Reflections of a College Student

Perfect background music to set the tone. :-P

In the spirit of having completed my last day EVER as an undergrad, I began reflecting upon my college experience. Actually, it was a colleague of mine, who also completed her last day as an undergrad today that got me thinking. She said that she found herself tearing up as she left Snell because she was thinking about what mark, if any, she left on Northeastern. Further, she was talking about how she noticed all the people on campus and kept thinking to herself 'Why don't I know any of these people? Why didn't I make friends with more people?' Before seeing her, it didn't hit me (probably because I have 2 finals, 1 paper and 1 presentation left before I'm actually done) that it was my last day. It got me thinking about my college experience and how it seems so recent that I was a freshman. I guess, all the talk about Northeastern and meeting people and leaving an impact got me thinking about how Northeastern is like a mini-city within itself. I mean, it's definitely a different feel being on versus off campus, a quick walk from Columbus, through Ruggles and onto campus, leaves one to feel they've entered another city. Essentially, it is a community within itself, equipped with a diverse population and all the necessities of a society including, eateries, a health center, library, jobs, etc. Further, everything is so fast-paced, very much reminiscent of city life. It is rather hard to remain connected with someone if you don't have class with them/share the same major or live on campus. This got me thinking if the city is does not create a space for relationship building and if that is reproduced in mini-cities like college campuses? It is often said that America fosters individual, fast-paced, superficiality...but how can one resist that and still partake in city-life?