Ten years from now I’m not sure I’ll remember the exact logistics of my Politics in the Media class, but I’m fairly certain I’ll remember the time my friend drew a face on his pinkie, placed a chip on the tip for a hat, and had the newly formed “Georgette” carry on a conversation with me in a ridiculous British accent (with a mysterious Southern twang) during said class. When it comes down to it, an education is important, but the most vital things I’ll learn while in college might not be from behind a desk at Tech, but rather from the friend who explained to me that nick names are “crude and unnecessary.”
Although I’m sure Jon Lefkovitz learned a great deal from his film classes at Northwestern, the cover story on page 3 details how he could not have made his feature-length film, “Movie Boy” without the help of his friends who he’s met here at school. Happenstance introductions can turn into intensely connected relationships, which result in fruitful collaboration — whether it have a definitive end product, like Lefkovitz’s movie, or result in an ever evolving revision to your personality.
But college is like bizarro world and the people you meet here will likely only be in close contact with you for these four years. Being from New Joisey, I like to think that I can convince everyone I love to move to New York after graduation — I’ve already started instilling the notion into the minds of many — regardless of their Nebraska or Wisconsin roots, but as time progresses and graduation nears, the idea that there’s a limitation on the time I have with certain friends is upsetting. A plane ticket from Newark to Denver is $235. I checked. And considering my likely profession — a lowly journalist — I doubt I’ll have the income to throw around.
Regardless of the distance (and the possible lack of communication that may result), my relationships here will leave me forever changed. Because I don’t think our personalities are set in stone. They cultivate with experience and relations, and some personalities are more adhesive than others. I’ve picked up the best aspects of all the people I know, and I carry these traits around with me everywhere I go. I find myself spelling “hot” with excessive Ts and using inane slang that few understand. I can tell I’ve rubbed off on others as well. At the very least I’ve excised the phrase, “New Jersey is the armpit of the United States” from the diction of anyone who claims to be my friend.
There are divots to my personality but my amassing of traits smooths these imperfections out. Because of this, I don’t think we develop personalities so much as we acquire and build them. Luckily my friends provide me with an enviable collection of idiosyncrasies to draw from.
And who knows, perhaps my constant subliminal messages promoting New York will pay off. If not, I know we’ll always have Chicago.
Communication junior Lindsay Sakraida is the PLAY editor. She can be reached at [email protected].
