Sandbox

Tonight on the C-1 the kid next to me pulled out a copy of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. I have no idea why he not only possessed this book, but happened to be openly reading it on the bus—but that’s beside the point. Naturally I sat there and read the whole thing over his shoulder.

After all, who doesn’t love Green Eggs and Ham? (I will not eat them here or there. I will not eat them anywhere!) Whenever I am reluctant to try new things, I am reminded of good old Sam-I-Am.

But then I remembered I’m a freshman. I’m all about trying new things. It’s this perpetual state of over-eagerness for Duke—for rush, meeting new people, participating in an excessive amount of clubs, figuring out a major, being on a million listservs, pretending like I’m pre-med/BME/pre-law/pre-business. So what if I still attend all of my Chemistry lectures, get lost on the way to class and think Shooters is the greatest nightclub ever? I’m not ready to be a cynical, world-weary sophomore just yet.

In the spirit of trying everything Duke has to offer, I decided to tent this semester. And so far, it’s been pretty ridiculous, enough so that almost called it quits.

Then I thought of the little things that happened in Kville this week: singing “Amazing Grace” in hopes of convincing the line monitors to give us the night off; racing through huge inflatables with my drunken, wannabe frat-boy guy friends; almost missing a 4 a.m. tent check because no one in the tent woke up.

Things like this—the Green Eggs and Ham of freshman-ness—have made me laugh, smile and appreciate my existence. I’m glad that Duke has pushed me to try and appreciate new things even when they’re difficult. Only next year will I start responding, “I will not eat them in a box. I will not eat them with a fox.”