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May 16, 2016
It feels like yesterday that my parents dropped me off into my new life at the University of Chicago. I remember being filled with nervous excitement that first day, as I wondered aboutt the people I’d meet and things that I’d do during my first year in college. That first year is over now, and the anxious energy I felt at the start of the year has changed into more subdued contemplation as I take stock of the year behind me. I have complex thoughts on my first year, many of which are hard to put into words, but one of them is very clear: it definitely was not as fun as Space Mountain.
This is not to say that my first year wasn’t fun; I got to meet new people, explore a new city, and push myself in an academic environment more rigorous than any I’d ever encountered. That being said, none of these things were as exhilarating as the high—‐speed, hairpin turns in Space Mountain. Even the most rewarding aspects of my first year pale in comparison to the excitement I felt as I was rocketed at breakneck speeds through Space Mountain’s 3,035 feet of tunnels. That is a feeling that simply cannot be recaptured outside of Disneyland Park or Walt Disney World Resort.
My first year was great in a lot of ways, but it was far from perfect; I experienced pangs of homesickness, self doubt and fears that I just don’t belong at this university. Overcoming these negative emotions was not easy, especially considering that no one has ever experienced any emotion on Space Mountain other than raw, unbridled joy. I know I belong on Space Mountain.; I knew that I belonged the minute I was blasted through a CGI wormhole into a pitch black, 50-‐foot drop. Existential distress was the furthest thing from my mind as I entered a nirvana– like state while zooming through a strobe tunnel.
When I look back at first year, I see lots of ups and downs; great nights with new friends and awful nights grinding through problem sets and questioning my decisions. However, when I compare these things to Space Mountain, they seem downright boring. The emotional roller coaster of first year is a flat, slow haze when compared to the real roller coaster of Space Mountain, which stands out in my mind like a bolt of lightning. Even the personal growth I experienced throughout a year of new obstacles and challenges pales in comparison to the many ways in which my mind and being was expanded in those precious few minutes on Space Mountain. Already, moments from my first year are fading from my memory, but the adrenaline fueled bliss I experienced while going over the first drop in Space Mountain will stay with me forever.
In spite of the fact that it my first year definitely was not as fun as Space Mountain, I’m still grateful to have lived through my first yearit. One of life’s unfortunate truths is that it can’t all be Space Mountain; sometimes, you have to do other things. too. When I think about it this way, my first year seems pretty good. If Since I couldn’t have spent that time at a Disney-branded theme park, I suppose I’m glad I spent it here. So am I glad that I got to experience my first year of college? Sure. But would I rather have spent the year riding Space Mountain thousands of times consecutively? Absolutely.y
