on leaving spelman's gates

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

i have been reflecting on my time at spelman college. i suppose i had a typical u
ndergraduate experience. drugs, sex, alcohol, parties, etc.- i did none of that...
...say it with
me "GTFOOH!" you know
i did it. you did it, too. and there's nothing wrong if you didn't,
but i did and i'm ok with that. i made decent grades. i wish i'd done better but some things are beyond my control or interest level. i'm also ok with that. i don't have regrets but i tend to wonder what if. so instead of saying "i wish i had..." i'll say "i might have liked to..."

i'll do everything again plus:
1. pledge something- maybe, i don't know. i go back and forth with the
thought. i'm not a legacy and i would have liked to possibly start one. not saying
that my daughter would have to do what i did but rather she could have somewhere to start if she was interested in exploring the world of black greeks. unlike me, she wouldn't have to interrogate members of various organizations to get an idea of what it's all about.


2. study abroad- i wanna travel and i had to get the credits anyway. would have been nice to go outside the country and "kill two birds with one stone" (eww, hate cliches/idioms).


3. a worthwhile summer internship- if i had worked harder and got better grades and built strong relationships with professors, i could have gotten some of the covetted summer internships in my field and have more experience. i'm ok with what i have but it doesn't hurt to be exceptional.


4. better choices in friends and mates- some of the less enjoyable times could have been completely avoided but lesson learned


5. not gain nearly as much weight as i did- still working off the weight. so annoying. i know i didn't gain it overnight but i still wanna wake up and have it gone.

6. cross-registration- being a part of the consortium known as the AUC, i had the option to take courses at morehouse college or clark atlanta university. i did not take advantage of this opportunity because 1. when i started out, i was a biology major and said action would not have been advantageous and 2. after switching my major i was mainly concerned with meeting the requirements and getting away from this place on time. knowing what i know now, i could have afforded to experience coursework at both institutions.

10 thought(s):

back2life said...

I definitely just changed my major, and I will have to hustle to get out of here on time. Thanks for the advice, I would try ONE of those if I had the time ...

Product Junkie Diva said...

Congrats, graduation is such a wonderful time in your life...embrace each moment!
Product Junkie Diva

T said...

Ok, since you're asking our opinions and such (a couple posts back), I'd like to see a post where you talk about what you're glad you DID do at Spelman. I KNOW [hope] you had a fab time and made some contributions to the campus, so make sure you don't leave with the coulda/shoulda/woulda face. :P

And you're going to grad school, so all the stuff you skipped in undergrad, you can do in grad school. (It may just take you some extra years to finish). Womp.

antithesis said...

there are def. things i'm glad i did/had fun doing. they may not have been directly related to the college but they occured during my time spent in undergrad. i have a love/hate relationship with spelman but overall, i'm richer for the experience.

Don said...

i love this post. love the pictures.

when i was younger and @ college we always gave respect to the atlanta black colleges. the females were the ish.

not much has changed either, cause after reading this post i too think you are the ish. you have intelligence and common sense. glad our blogs found each other.

Ananda said...

congratulations. many blessings.

Brown Girl Gumbo said...

Congratulations!!! You can still get those coveted internships. Companies are always looking for recent grads.

One chapter of your life is now closed. Cherish those memories!!!! :-)

I wish you all the best!

Muze said...

yay to another spelmanite blogger!

ahhh those priceless days at the blue and white...how i miss thee. lol.

first, congrats on your graduation!

second, we ALL have some things that we would have done differently if given another opportunity to have that experience again.

like you, i would have studied abroad. i have friends that did and they had so much fun.

i would have pledged, definitely.

i took a photography class at clark and i absolutely LOVED it.

overall though, are you happy with your college years and where you chose to go?

i know for me, being at spelman exposed me to a lot, i made lifelong friends, and learned a whole lot about my blackness and black people in general.

it is an experience i wouldn't trade for the world.


looking at your pics makes me nostalgic.

Muze said...

and ... sorry about the embarrassingly long comment. lol.

antithesis said...

@ muze- i am content with the choice and accomplishments i made. thanks for the comment, sis. and no need to be embarrassed!