Perhaps another introduction of myself is due. It has been quite a while since I've contributed to the blog and I am a bit of a different person than the eager first-year I was when I first wrote on these internet pages.
So! My name is Alex Rosenberg. I am a third-year (sixth-semester) student at Shimer College. I am a traditionally aged college student currently taking Humanities 4, Natural Sciences 4, Film: Narrative Through Music and an Oil Painting Tutorial at Shimer as well as American Sign Language at Gage Park. I have served on several different committees at Shimer and am the Vice President of the IIT Hillel. My interests range from religious theory to feminism to video games (with much overlap) and, since a few of my most time consuming responsibilities have recently ended, I hope to write about many of these things on this blog in the upcoming months.
I currently live with two roommates, whom we will name J and H for the purpose of anonymity, in the Bridgeport area. I have been roommates with J for three years now, with H for two. Many years from now I will describe these days as those of gold and wonder and beauty (or so I believe at this point anyway). However, something monumental is about to occur in my time-line and I am preparing for everything to change.
J is graduating in just a few months and H is leaving for Oxford in the fall. Seemingly endless decisions must be made in light of these two facts. Will I find new roommates or live alone? Will I renew my lease or apartment hunt? Not to mention how my (rare) social time will be restructured.
This, however, is not the point of today's post. Today I am writing about Oxford.
Once upon a time, Oxford was a dream of mine. I thought about the joys of studying on the other side of the ocean and the prestige of the whole thing. Over the past few years I kept the idea of it in the back of my mind as I joined more groups and took on more responsibility.
Then something happened. I changed. I have always loved Shimer, but my feelings for it matured. There are no longer the butterflies in my stomach that come with first love, but an enduring sense of place that I'm not ready to give up.
I decided not to apply after all. My excitement for all of my friends who are planning to study there has grown and I feel even more delighted to be one of the few of my class still planning to be on the Chicago campus next year. I will miss them all (especially my roommate) but I'm also anxious to exchange stories with them a little over a year from now when our paths re-converge.
This is also exciting news for you, dear reader, as it will (hopefully) make a faithful blogger out of me.
Until next time.
