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Wedne sda," 2027
2B WednesdayOctober 3, 2012 The Statement
THE JUNK DRAWER
from last week: personal statement random student interview
by kaitlin williams / illustrations by megan mulholland
You will never put a ring on it, so don't try
PERSON FALTENby KaylaUpadhyaya
4'.
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Online comments
Regarding: "/ am a first-generation college student"
Terra I just want to say thanks and wow!I am a Michigan graduate from
way back in 1986. I was also a summer bridge student in the summer of
1980.
I remember watching the Empire Strikes Back at the campus theater,
dancing in the Michigan Union Club under the summer stars and experi-
encing life away from home with my fellow bridge students.
How funny that!I now work for Lucasfilm. It was just a dream back then
but I've learned that dreams come true...with hard work.
I understand where you are now and what you still have to go through. I
would like to offer some wisdom from an older person.
I understand the less than utopian experience of being the first in the
family to attend college. There are real pressures from all sides. Trust your-
self. Trust your dreams. In the eod it's your choices that will define your
desired reality not others expectations. Michigan is not paradise but it is a
great micro universe where you can explore, observe, grow...and have fun.
Go Blue and thank you!
David
P.S. I lived in MoJo too. Great dorm!
-David Taylor
Welcome to the Random Stu-
dent Interview, where our
hopes and dreams haven't been
crushed by an overwhelming
sense of self-doubt ... yet.
So, the semester's getting
underway. You're a freshman.
Feeling the stress yet?
Oh yeah, little bit.
What's that stress feel like? Give
me a descriptor.
'A descriptor of stress? Like, I'm
always feeling busy... I don't know.
Describing stress, that's a tough one.
Is it crushing? Are you strug-
gling to stand up straight under
the weight?
It's not crushing. I'd say it's
stretching.
Stretching. That's a good one.
I was just wondering because
mine's more like a crushing sen-
sation. I'm a senior so things are
just piling up. You're a freshman
so you must feel like you have
everything figured out.
Oh yeah. I've got a system worked
out now so it's not so bad. I mean,
I'm only taking 13 credits.
Oh, you did it right! Who gave
you that great advice?
An Engineering advising person.
OK, good. So, let's take this oppor-
tunity youhave with anonymity
inthis interviewtounload some
of the things onyour mind. This
could be a mini therapy session.
So vent to me.Is your roommate
doing anything annoying?
No. My roommate's pretty cool.
And venting? There's nothing for
me to vent about right now. I don't
know. I love it here so far.
You're just living a great life.
The sun is shining because Matt
tells it to shine.
Yeah, I'm just having a great time.
I'm very happy.
Get back to me on that in four
years.
(Laughs)
So where are you headed to
know to spread your happiness?
Back to West Quad to chill out.
Maybe eat something.
How about that burrito bar?
I've actually never tried it.
Seriously? If you think you're
life is good now, wait until you
stuff your face with a personal-
ized burrito.
I know. I just don't want to be dis-
appointed.
Because
you have
Ssuch high
hopes?
« I'm from
California so
we have very good Mexican food.
Did you know that the burrito is
not Mexican?
No. I didn't know that.
Apparently it's not from Mex-
ico. I read it somewhere so it
must be true.
Oh, OK.
It's fast food Mexican.
It's notMexican. We just went
over this.
It's a step up from Taco Bell.
Wait. Let me get
this straight. I
just realized
that you're
- happy here even
though you're from California.
Yeah. I mean the weather hasn't
gotten bad yet, but...
You are just too optimistic for
me. I take back what I said
about coming back to talk to me
in four years. Come back and
talk to me after the first snow-
fall.
Yeah, well, I'm planning on mov-
ing back there once I'm done with
undergrad.
OK, so this is temporarily
endurable.
Yeah. It's like going on an adven-
ture for four years.
An adventure into a wilderness
that you can't get out of and
have to pay for and have to do
Engineering homework in.
Yeah. And you have to walk five
miles uphill to and from schog.
;k
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Like Michigan football?
Buy The Michigan Daily
Football Book!
book.michigandaily.com
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FoHow us on Twiter @thestatementmag
Have I broken your spirit yet?
Maybe.
Come talk to me tomorrow and
I'll get the job done.
How do you feel about Chipotle? -Matt is an Engineering freshman.
don't want to get married.
I've been telling people this since I was about 12,
though the thought was in the back of my mind before
then.
Whenever I tell people I don't want to get married, I'm
met with one of two responses: They either react as if I've
just informed them that I have a nuclear bomb in my purse or
they laugh and say I'll change my mind.
Though I could talk about heterosexist institutions and
the nuclear family for days, my not wanting to get married
isn't some kind of feminist endgame. For me, my stance on
marriage isn't any different from the fact that I don't want
to get a tattoo or live in Texas or become an investment
banker.
Though my mother brings up the 'm' word from time to
time (those times have come up more frequently since she
started watching "Downtown Abbey"), most people who
are not the Dowager Countess would probably agree that
I'm a bit voung for all this sedding talk, so let's put that
issue aside for now and focus on something more relevant:
datine
I .m.>e at
ILLUSTRATION BY MEGAN MULHOLLAND
I don't want to be good at dating. I used to join in with my
self-berating single friends and lament over failed attempts
at relationships. After all, years of watching too much TV
had taught me I'm supposed to long for a life of romance. It
took me a while to realize that most of my social ineptitude
has a clear cause: I'm bad at dating because I don't want to
date.
Because I've never cried during a movie, many of my
friends call me a robot. The guy I took to senior prom told
me that I'm cold and distant. My go-to piece of advice for
any friends who are fighting with their significant other
is: "You're probably better off without him/her." One
time, I attempted to have a heartfelt discussion about
relationships with a friend of mine over Facebook chat.
I ended up quoting - verbatim - a Joey monologue from
season two of "Dawson's Creek" just for laughs. He never
noticed.
Dating is just not something I want, or need, right now. I
am content with my single lady status. I'm perplexed bcon
c's ts as simple as holding ha.ris and cuddling. Those a.:
things I want, and unfortunateI that snot somethmn p'os
are uii!to eccept. I've had people accuse me of bemj <' il,.
damaged, insensitive. Yes, I'm afraid of commitment, but I
also don't want the most commonly accepted incarnations of
love and romance.
So back to that whole marriage hoopla. The only thing
less appealing to me than marriage is a tattoo. My attitude
toward dating is something I see as temporary and mostly
circumstantial, but marriage hasn't ever sounded like some-
thing I want.
As it turns out, my unwillingness to settle or compro-
mise is becoming an increasingly popular trend. New York
University sociologist Eric Klinenberg conducted a study
of adults who choose to stay single and published the book
"Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal
of Living Alone." Spoiler alert: They're not all selfish, heart-
less monsters. And I'm not destined to end up a bitter woman
with 17 cats or an uptight bitch married to her career (though
I fail to see what's necessarily bad about either scenarie
Maybe this is something I will outgrow. Maybe t will
change im mind. In the meantime, I'd like to have ius one
person rest'ons)::. i 'yn' 2i2'3"i"'-n't-fosr-me deckira-en in
mhe sameN' wt e :' to strang'ers who hit on me at pa tces:
Xvith comp' e anI Iutter indiff'rece.
Kaitlin Williams
Zach Bergson
Design Editor:
Nolan Loh
Copy Editor:
Josephine Adams
Photo Editor:
Terra Molengraff
Illustrator:
Megan Mulholland