Time is very interesting in that it’s always in motion and ever-present in our lives but very difficult to grasp definitively. It flies when you’re in the moment and it drags on when you’re dreading it, but it’s very difficult to get a sense of the passing of time until momentous occasions like a birthday or the end of a school year… And so here we stand, all lined up and ready to push through for two last weeks, and then get away from it all and from each other for a while.
I remember talking to Marcy Herr, a graduated senior in the PLA, as we stood in one of the rooms at the Penn Stater, and she told me “this is probably one of the best things I’ve been a part of Penn State.” I was a bit taken aback, naturally because I had no idea what I was getting into, but now that I’ve been a part of the PLA for a couple semesters, I can definitely see why. This year, I’ve forged strong bonds with a lot of my peers, I’ve gotten to collaborate with a few of them, and I’ve listened to and seen how some of them think. The Zeta Class is probably one of the most well-rounded and sound group of individuals I have ever been a part of.
Naturally, we didn’t come in that way. I remember when we were all fresh recruits and the environment was still competitive, and people would awkwardly insert self-praise into casual conversation with comments like “actually, yeah I recently started an activism campaign on campus for the eradication of foie-gras practices in Naples.” But gradually, ever so gradually, and I believe the Boston trip is what truly broke the ice, we all begin to dismount our high horses and genuinely enjoy each other’s company and just chill out. Once this happened, and people could be comfortable in their skins, the conversation changed and I felt I could learn from my classmates rather than be in competition with them.
I’m going to miss seeing the squad every Wednesday for the next two semesters, but soon enough, we’ll be back to mining for the grey matter beneath the philosophical bedrock of PLA.
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