Dear freshmen,
There’s a great quote by Ferris Bueller in the 1986 hit “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
The same could be said about your time at the University of Detroit Mercy.
As blatantly unoriginal and cliché as it is, I can’t believe that I’m a senior at UDM.
I remember being where you are now. That first week. Adjusting to UDM’s campus, meeting new people and, basically, trying to figure out life in general.
So that feeling of uncertainty that pops in your head every now and then is fine. The college career you envision as a freshman and the one you have as a senior are typically two different things.
If someone would’ve told my freshman self that I would pledge and become a brother of a fraternity, have three internships under my belt, become editor-in-chief of The VN, double-major and live off campus by the time I walked across the stage at Calihan Hall, I would have looked at them the way people look at me when I say I’m from Chicago.
And please, don’t read the previous line as bragging or tooting my own horn. That’s not my point.
My point is, make the most of your time at UDM because it isn’t here all that long.
So if you want to sit around and only go to class, go ahead. I guarantee that UDM will make your college experience the worst it can be if that’s all you do.
But if you choose to go out of your comfort zone and take a risk here or there, well, UDM can become one of the greatest decisions you could’ve made.
Now, I’m not going to put on blinders and say UDM is perfect. It isn’t. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar. No college is perfect.
Early on as a freshman, specifically when there were no parties over the weekend or things to do, I remember asking myself why I was here.
Yet, the thought of transferring never popped in my head.
Why?
Because I got involved on campus.
Pledging my fraternity was like getting a second family. A crazy and, at times, dysfunctional family that I love. I bonded with guys that I would have never met if it wasn’t for UDM. I know the same can be said about the other fraternities and sororities that we have here.
If Greek Life isn’t your thing, and I didn’t think it was my thing either until I rushed, check out other campus organizations.
From University Ministry to Chem Club to even The Varsity News, there are worthwhile groups in this gated campus that are worth joining and will expand your boundaries.
Go meet people. Strike up a conversation. That kid that you know is a freshman and is eating by himself in the TDR? Ask him if he’d like some company. Say hi to the girl that you always walk by in Shiple.
And believe it or not, office hours can be used for more than just issues you’re having with a paper or problem set. Professors are people, too.
At a school as small as UDM, even the smallest of actions can have the biggest of impacts.
Now, I have the liberty of being able to look back at my past three years on this campus. You freshman don’t. But trust me when I say your time to do that will be here soon enough.
Mistakes? As Frank Sinatra said, I’ve made a few. I’ve learned from mine and you’ll learn from yours.
But I’ve made far more good decisions at UDM, ones that make me hopeful for whatever my future holds.
So, freshmen, enjoy your time here.
And one more thing: Don’t be like Ferris.
Go to class.
Walsworth is VN editor-in-chief
