Ah, I remember the long-ago day that my family pulled up to the AMR II, unloading me and all the boxes of college stuff that were never going to fit into my tiny room in Griffin. There I stood, an impressionable freshman, excited to finally be at college.
Now I'm old and wrinkled, a wizened and forgetful senior nearing the end of my Hopkins days. I while away my days in the Blackstone, playing bridge and shuffleboard. But for a moment, young freshman, why don't you sit down on my knee and listen to some advice. No, no, not that knee! There we go.
Hopkins is hard. The only thing that will keep you sane is getting involved in an extracurricular activity. Fortunately you have literally hundreds of groups from which to choose.
There's more to the Hopkins social scene than Greek life. That said, expect to spend a significant proportion of your first year inhaling asbestos and airborne perspiration in a frat house basement.
There is no "typical" Hopkins student. However, a significant proportion of Hopkins students are apathetic about current events and campus politics. You can only justify being apathetic about the latter.
Seek out the greatest professors regardless of what they teach. You're a pre-med? Try Contemporary International Politics with Steven David. You're studying International Relations? Take Abnormal Psychology with Aaron Noonberg (actually, that class is a lot more applicable to your major than you think). You may be certain you want to be a doctor, lawyer, politician, writer, traveling minstrel or any number of other things. Give someone else the chance to convince you otherwise.
Learning in college is not like learning in high school. You will mistakenly believe that because a professor fails to lecture about everything that shows up on the test, he or she is a bad instructor. Not true. Be prepared to be pushed.
You ain't the top dog.In high school, you were probably among the smartest kids in your class. The teacher was required to teach to the slowest kid in the class. You are now among the slowest kids in your class, and nobody is teaching to your level. Be prepared to be pushed.
Toss the Ivy envy.You didn't get into Harvard. Get over it! A Hopkins student who makes the most of the university is leagues ahead of a lazy Harvard student.
Baltimore is a weird city. You'll either love it or hate it. But before you put it down, give it every opportunity to impress you that it can. And no, the Inner Harbor is a commercial tourist trap and has nothing to do with the real Baltimore.
The university is hard on alcohol.Some "community advisors" use thermal imaging scanners to catch you drinking in your room. Others buy beer for you. Pray you got the latter.
Don't forget to call Mom and Dad.
So there you have it. As I scoot my wheelchair into the twilight of my college days, may yours be full of learning and fun. Good luck!
- --Joshua Robinson is a senior international studies major from Potomac, Md.
