What am I doing at U.Va.?
What am I doing here? No really, I mean it. What am I doing here, in this chair, in the McGregor Room, in Alderman Library, at the University of Virginia, on this Tuesday evening in Charlottesville?
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What am I doing here? No really, I mean it. What am I doing here, in this chair, in the McGregor Room, in Alderman Library, at the University of Virginia, on this Tuesday evening in Charlottesville?
It was one of those Monday mornings where I literally rolled out of bed and walked to class in the clothing I had worn the night before. I dragged my feet along the sidewalk as my unzipped backpack weighed down every step I managed to take. I cleaned my thickly framed glasses with the end of my T-shirt — you know if I don’t have the time or energy to put my contacts in, it’s going to be a rough day.
With a steaming bowl of ramen in my lap and the “Pride & Prejudice” soundtrack blaring in the background, I’m currently staring blankly at my computer screen as I grapple with my worst enemy — writer’s block. This foe is not just the enemy of loquacious English majors and Cavalier Daily columnists. I’m pretty sure all of us have had to face the challenge of coming up with something remotely valuable to say in a paper, in a class or in everyday conversation, even when we know the words we’re spewing aren’t coming from some deep corner of our souls.
As my castmates and I took our bows after our opening night of “The Triumph of Love,” the only thing I could think about was how I almost didn’t audition for this show. Last December, I hesitantly wandered into the drama department to try out for this play, which I hadn’t actually read. Somehow, though I was unfamiliar with the intricacies of the show, I happened to fit the bill for one character and was cast in the production. For the last month and a half, I’ve been working with some of the most talented, intelligent and driven people I have ever met, and the experience has made me reflect on how valuable it is to pursue things which both scare and excite me.
I recently learned Facebook allows you to unfollow your friends’ posts so you don’t have to see them on your News Feed. Discovering this feature has been a godsend during the surge of politically charged declarations people make on social media. I must have unfollowed 20 people of all ages who regularly share articles on why former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is a bureaucratic monster who will eat this country whole, and other individuals who write fiery comments about why Donald Trump is actually the antiChrist. I couldn’t care less about reading passionate Facebook posts someone wrote and shared in under five minutes.
When Snowmageddon hit a couple weeks ago, I’m pretty sure I was the happiest Wahoo at this school — not because I was particularly excited at the thought of playing in the snow, but because I had a valid excuse to shut myself up in my apartment all weekend. There is nothing quite like the feeling after your schedule is completely cleared and your social obligations are postponed. I was giddy at the thought of wrapping myself in furry blankets, binge watching “Parks and Recreation” and not having to move off my couch unless I wanted more popcorn.
The day after Christmas, I found myself sitting across from a screaming toddler on a 14-hour flight to New Zealand. While I plugged in my ear buds and covered my face with an eye mask and blankets, I was definitely questioning why any parent would be crazy enough to bring a child that young on a flight this long. But, I was also bursting with excitement. New Zealand has been at the top of my “places I want to visit but don’t think I’ll ever get the chance” list ever since my dad first described what a hobbit is. Disclaimer: if you don’t know or like “The Lord of the Rings,” I’m sorry for the plethora of references that are peppered into the following paragraphs. (Actually, I’m really not sorry at all. Everyone should see “The Lord of the Rings.”)
Every time I nonchalantly refer to U.Va. as “home,” my mom immediately whips her head around and exclaims, “That’s not home! THIS is home.” But even she catches herself referring to Charlottesville as my home occasionally, despite her efforts to convince us both otherwise. While we’re both thankful I get to study and live in a place I really enjoy, there’s definitely tension between my home in Northern Virginia and my home at U.Va. Heading back for the holidays makes that tension all the more noticeable.
My hands have been permanently burned from my own negligence with a curling wand. I have spent hours scraping paint off of the floor of the Student Activities Building. Occasionally, someone on the carpentry team has handed me a power tool with directions on what to drill… and I opt to hand the screws back to them. I’ve stacked dozens and dozens of chairs, folded tables, bobby-pinned countless curls, zipped up costumes and hairspray-ed so many updos I think there is hairspray permanently in my bloodstream. All of this is part of show week for First Year Players — tonight is our opening production of “Merrily We Roll Along.” An entire semester’s worth of work is finally being displayed this weekend.
On the first day of fall break, I found myself on a stuffy, cramped Megabus to New York City. My poor mother helped me drag my suitcase to the bus station, and after I waved goodbye out the window, an old lady who reeked of soap and apples plopped herself down next to me. I didn’t care, though. I already had my NYC playlist blasting in my earbuds and I was silently and shamelessly rapping all of “Empire State of Mind.”
My eyes widened in horror as I heard myself say it out loud. Sure, I’ve chided myself for thinking it before, but I never thought I would say these words in front of other people: “We should totally do it; we’ll get such awesome pictures out of it!”
When I marked my calendar at the beginning of the semester, I placed a special star next to this coming weekend and wrote, “Fall Convocation… and FAMILY WEEKEND!!!!!” Yes — that’s five exclamation points. I’m positively thrilled by the thought of reuniting with my family on Grounds over the next few days; sharing this place with the people who matter most to me is a simple yet unparalleled joy. Although I am extremely excited for this weekend it brings profound sadness as well.
I know it sounds contradictory — how can someone who identifies as an introvert simultaneously be … outgoing? The answer is actually pretty simple.
When I walked onto Grounds fall of my first year, I had a plan. I knew exactly what clubs I wanted to join. The prospect of working with intelligent, driven individuals who actually shared my interests was exhilarating. There’s nothing quite like the threshold between what could be and what is — it felt like the world of U.Va. was wide open and at my fingertips.
If you walk into Crozet Pizza without a reservation, even on a weekday afternoon, you might not get a seat. By 8 p.m. on a Wednesday, almost every booth is taken. Students in one booth gossip over pepperoni, tourists study a National Geographic travel guide at a corner table, and a pair of parents try to control their three children scurrying around the dining rooms.
Maybe you've seen them sitting on the roof of Brillig Books around lunchtime.
Doctors Robert Brown and David Snyder sit together with businessman Stephen Roszel at a candlelit table in Brown's spacious and classically decorated home.
Bartenders hear everything," Melissa Neuner said. "We're not trying to listen, but when you are talking about how you got laid four times last night, we definitely hear you."