Not ours
Since graduation in May, I’ve been back to Olin a couple times, most recently this past weekend. Although the college building experience was often painful, it was something I felt I was truly contributing to, something that I could consider mine. Leaving for the real world was something I looked forward to, until it actually came time to leave. I admit it: I cried. I was leaving the place that had been my home, my closest friends and my significant other, but I was also leaving my most proud creation, my very own college.
After the initial departure, life more or less stabilized. I still manage to stay in contact with the friends who matter and have started to make new ones in my new location. I’ve made a home for myself with a wonderful couch and fabulous kitchen. The distance hasn’t yet damaged my relationship. Yet I can’t say I’ve completely moved on.
I still read articles about Olin. I keep up with the news on campus. I feel compelled to defend Olin when people ignorantly insult it around me. I still feel Olin is mine, but I am quickly coming to the realization that it is not. Life on campus has progressed without the Class of 2006, morphing into something recognizable, but not familiar. New clubs exist and CORe functions in new ways, but it’s difficult to let go.
Difficult, yes, but not impossible. This week I made a major break through in living my post-Olin life. While I still cling to friends made and follow the news, I’ve taken a step back. When an incendiary post on Aaron Swartz’s blog brought out the Olin defenders, I realized it was not my place to respond to the accusations against the college in such an arena. It’s no longer my college to have, but neither is it mine to defend.
After the initial departure, life more or less stabilized. I still manage to stay in contact with the friends who matter and have started to make new ones in my new location. I’ve made a home for myself with a wonderful couch and fabulous kitchen. The distance hasn’t yet damaged my relationship. Yet I can’t say I’ve completely moved on.
I still read articles about Olin. I keep up with the news on campus. I feel compelled to defend Olin when people ignorantly insult it around me. I still feel Olin is mine, but I am quickly coming to the realization that it is not. Life on campus has progressed without the Class of 2006, morphing into something recognizable, but not familiar. New clubs exist and CORe functions in new ways, but it’s difficult to let go.
Difficult, yes, but not impossible. This week I made a major break through in living my post-Olin life. While I still cling to friends made and follow the news, I’ve taken a step back. When an incendiary post on Aaron Swartz’s blog brought out the Olin defenders, I realized it was not my place to respond to the accusations against the college in such an arena. It’s no longer my college to have, but neither is it mine to defend.
posted by Kimble at 9:57 PM
3 Comments:
I disagree. This is exactly why I debated with myself so much before I ended up commenting, but in the end I decided that while I think it's up to the current students to be the real defenders, in cases like the Aaron Swartz post, we are at an advantage, having the out-of-Bubble perspective. The fact that I can still defend it (in all its weirdness) after having moved out of our cultlike world was something I felt was significant. Perhaps not, but it's what I felt.
I thought a while about whether I would post or not, and decided not to, mostly based on what other people thought about the idea.
However I contemplated sending him (privately) my phone number so he could talk to me if he wanted, or just ignore me. That said, Miks's words were well-chosen and refreshingly mature, so they were certainly not out of place.
I would defend Olin at any time, but I felt that his impression of Olin ought to be based on what is there now, not what we wanted it to be and pushed for while we were there.
But we do as Miks said have insight as to how the Olin experience can prepare for the "out of Bubble" real world.
The best part is when I realize some of my coworkers think our company is incredibly nimble and able to change things up easily, whereas I see stagnation compared to some aspects of Olin.
Then I realize that my view is biased by certain ways I want the place to be, and that if I had ended up at some of the places my coworker had described working at before, it would be utter hell. So I'll just push the company towards continuously improving and appreciate where it is now.
Hmm, I'm on a tangent. Oh well. :) Hope all is well. I never did contact your brother but one of these days I might when I have some free time.
I, obviously, side with Grant on this one, but it's not really about sides. The actual point is supposed to be about Olin not being what we think it is. We created a lovely school on the basis of change and now we have to live with the fact that it continues to change without our input. We do have a unique viewpoint having passed through Olin to the other side, though.
...and Grant, if you want to meet up with Chris/fool/my brother, you should do that. He's only planning on hanging around Austin until next June. Show up at one of his Livejournal parties.
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