al lreet
orivesiwoomfield
on my .background and surround-
ings," Karo says.
In Ruminations, Karo unveils
campus details to perfection.
Here are a few highlights:
Assisted Living from ,,3,500 per month
On Freshman Year: "Campus is
really a communist society. I
own nothing; it all belongs to the
university. I have no money —
it's all my parents'. My meals are
served in square portions at one
brick building only during cer-
tain hours of the day!"
On Parents Weekend: "Why does
my dad insist on wearing Penn
paraphernalia every time he comes
to visit? It's Family Weekend and
my dad shows up wearing a Penn
hat, a Penn shirt, a Penn sweat-
shirt and a Penn jacket. Dad,
everyone here goes to Penn!"
Aaron Karo: "Even with all the partying,
Im really a nice Jewish boy at heart."
And, of course, Karo's book wouldn't
be nearly as comical if he were to leave
out certain self-deprecating stories that
exemplify the potential embarrassment
one can experience at college.
Karo describes a time when he e-
mailed his mom after a few days of
"feeling a bit, well, irregular." His moth-
er replied with some advice on how to
),
get things flowing a little better.
Yet what Karo didn't realize — until
he glanced up in the campus computer
lab — was that his e-mail was being
projected onto a huge computer screen
that was being viewed by the entire
room. "I couldn't show my face on cam-
pus for weeks after that," Karo writes.
While Ruminations mainly docu-
ments Karo's and his friends' excessive
drinking and debauchery throughout
his hazy, four-year tenure, his ultimate
surprise, he claims, was when he start-
ed receiving e-mails from Jewish
mothers trying to set him up with
their daughters.
"I guess they realized that, even with
all the partying, I'm really a nice
Jewish boy at heart," Karo says. "I'm a
good catch!"
Although Karo admits that the
summer after senior year was depress-
ing," he didn't take long to continue
"
eder
t'he
On Spring Break "If you were going
to define the term 'scene,' you could
just show a picture of the pool at our
hotel in Acapulco my senior year. It's
pretty scary when you get kids from
Penn, Wisconsin, Indiana, Arizona and
Syracuse together in one place. I felt
like I was back home in Long Island,
except everyone was eating nachos and
guacamole instead of bagels."
"
eivrce
VVe
avoiding the responsibility he so suc-
cessfully deferred in college.
Since graduation, Karo has updated
his Web page (www.AaronKaro.com),
started a new Ruminations e-zine
about post-college life in New York
City, embarked on a new nationwide
college speaking tour, and debuted his
stand-up comedy routine to two sold-
out shows — where the New York Post
dubbed him a "Jewish Chris Rock."
Also, he is working on pitching
Ruminations to television executives in
Los Angeles.
Even though Karo is thrilled with all
his newfound success, it doesn't take
much to get the new grad reminiscing
about his favorite topic: college.
Asked what advice he would give to
high-school seniors about to depart for
their freshman year, he offers: "In
hindsight, you'll never have as little to
worry about in life as you do during
your four years of college. Make the
most of it."
As for advice for parents who are
apprehensive about sending their loved
ones off to college for the first time:
"Don't read my book." ❑
Freshman Diaries is a 10-episode,
half-hour documentary series
focusing on the lives of University
of Texas freshmen in Austin from
September 2002-May 2003.
Directed by R.J. Cutler (American
High). it shows what it is like to
be a freshman college student
today. Airing 11 p.m. Sundays, it
debuts Aug. 31 and runs through
December on Showtime. Check
your local listings.
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57