Appreciating those who make Duke feel like home

Every Thanksgiving brings about the laundry list of items to be thankful for, and we as Duke students have, as usual, more than most. As this time of year comes around, there is something to be said for thinking about the ins and outs of being a college student in a new light. Recast yourself not as a student, or a consumer, of a Duke education, but as a human being. We live very different lives than others around us in society—spending all day wandering around an architectural oddity, congregating with especially intelligent peers and faculty. Spend twenty minutes in Von der Heyden café, and it becomes clear that the conversations around you are far different than those that might take place at your average coffee shop. Never again will you be surrounded with people whose interests are, at once, as similar and as divergent as yours—people who, at any hour of the day, are willing to converse, socialize, speculate and pontificate with you.

The more you think about yourself, and your collegiate experiences, in these absolute terms, the more strange and wonderful this form of higher education seems. We often talk about ourselves and our experiences in terms of detachment—the Duke “bubble”, the culture of elitism, the "Dukebag" and so forth—but until one realizes the upside of how special this lifestyle is, it is difficult to be thankful for those outside of it who keep our “bubble” intact. Nearly half of us will sit down at the dinner table this Thursday and thank our parents for financing the entirety of our college education. More importantly, almost all of us will be thankful for the emotional support our families provide, something that becomes more and more evident during the first years away from home. Secondary to that are the many people who make Duke feel like home for the rest of us. Everyone thinks of someone different and, for some, it may be hall mates, resident advisors, members of an SLG community, friends, roommates or even the casual acquaintance. However spectacular Duke’s campus may be, it is the people that breathe life into it.

For those that hurry to class through the Duke Gardens in the morning, it is easy to walk right by the folks that care for one of Duke’s more unique amenities. There are so many just like them that contribute to the upkeep of our campus as well. Housekeeping keeps the dorms and bathrooms clean, and security guards pace the campus bus stops. Bus drivers shuttle us back and forth all day, and safe-ride drivers pick up where they leave off. We want to thank these people not only for the service they provide us, but also for the unique campus spaces they help maintain. It is worth noting that, sometimes, the most vibrant conversations unexpectedly take place on a C1 Express full of energetic freshman.

As campus empties out and people quietly depart for home this Thanksgiving Break, look around at the space that surrounds you. Successful people are the product of successful networks, so step back and appreciate the people that support the ins and out of your extraordinarily life at Duke.