Don't forget that freshman spirit

Adele Hampton
Community Editor

You see them around campus, at The Diner with their trays tightly grasped in their hands, complementary GO MARYLAND! lanyards around their necks or walking on McKeldan Mall with over-flowing backpacks, a spring in their step and still, the lanyards securely around their necks.

Freshmen may seem at the bottom of the collegiate totem pole. They’re young and often scared and confused, easily targeted. However, there is something to be learned from the fresh faces at this university.

The excited tremor before a first football game or the "oh snap!" moment when you realize you missed your stop on the Orange bus and now have no idea where you are, are often forgotten memories for upperclassmen. We lose touch with the naïve disposition of our freshman years, hardened by tough professors, long drinking nights, and financial burdens. We’ve settled into our routine, perfectly fine with our group of friends, not having to try new things unless necessary. College is about self-expression, self-discovery and ending up in places you never thought you’d end up in. But, at the end of the day, the majority of us are just happy to write a paper or two, go to class during the week and hit up The Thirsty Turtle on the weekends.

What freshmen have that the majority of upperclassmen don’t is the eagerness to go beyond their boundaries. Sure they make a lot of mistakes – that one Natty Light too many, underestimating the work load for a class or simply standing on the wrong side of the escalator at the metro – but what counts is that they have an extra glint in their eyes, unaltered by the trials and tribulations of college life.

This is not a rallying call for upperclassmen to revert back to their freshman days. But while we spend our last years here, stop and take a breath and remember why you chose Maryland in the first place. Branch out again and join a group or do a sport you normally wouldn’t do. You don’t have to wear a lanyard around your neck to attempt new things.