So Long, Fare-NOT!
Graphic by Max Weinstein
I was gonna start crying and getting all emotional over my time at Syracuse, thinking that I was leaving the beautiful school I’ve called home for a year and a half when I decided to write this piece. But NOPE! Just like herpes, when you think you get rid of me, I keep coming right back! GUGINO LIVES ON!!
Anyway, let’s focus on what I was going to say. I’d planned on leaving Syracuse for the spring semester and had some things to say about it, advice to give, all that good stuff. And I still do! But now, I’m giving it to you, dear reader, as much as I am giving it to myself.
The biggest thing I was going to write about is friends. It’s not one size fits all at this school. It can take a really, really long time to find your footing here. Syracuse is a massive school! There are thousands of people, and not everyone is going to love you. Unless you’re me and you’re perfect, it’s going to take a while to find your people. It’s truly a “trust the process” moment in your adolescence. Yeah, it’s annoying, and you want to skip to the part where you find people who understand you and don’t make you feel small. But the best people come up from the weirdest places. Two of my best friends only popped up at the beginning of this semester (shout out to Brooke and Reegan)! College was the first time that I’ve had friends who weren’t friends with me simply because of proximity. Not all of them worked out, and that’s okay. They taught me things I can work on with myself and how I can be a better friend and person in general. People are lessons, and it’s important to take notes!
The other thing I am preaching is to work your ASS off. Seriously. Don’t sleep for a full 24 hours? That means you want it. Are your hands cramping up from typing papers and articles? Good. It means you’re willing to put in the work to get what you’ve been dreaming about. I’ve got big dreams, some might say too big. One of those dreams is to be a kick-ass Syracuse alumnus. So, therefore, I stay! I stay with high hopes and dreams that are still too big for small-minded people to believe I can accomplish. My biggest superpower is being delusional, and it’s going to take me farther than some people I’ve grown up around can imagine. Sucks to be them. I’ll see y’all at SNL.
Just go to your classes. Like, deadass. You’re paying $80k a year to skip a class? Lame. And I have the right to say this because I do it way too often. It’s a horrible habit to start building up. That is one thing that I legitimately have to start changing. That and my medications, amiright? I know you’re laughing through the screen. Don’t worry, I can feel it. You’re reading my articles because you’re either my family, who are forced to read them (one more shout-out to the Gugino Gang), or my friends who are in the same boat. That means you have to laugh. Everyone else? That’s up to you, I guess. Back to classes. Yeah, just get up and go. Stop being lazy. Every once in a while is fine in MY opinion, but I’m not held responsible for your grades dropping horrifically low. That’s all you, fam.
Yeah! That’s all I got! Two surprises in one article, how ‘bout that? I hope you all have a kick-ass end to your semester. See you for the spring!