Is a series of columns representing the opinions of the Summer Editorial Staff. The columns do not necessarily represent the official views of The Dartmouth.
When she first walked across the Green two years ago, the campus had a very different look to it. Not the construction, or the buildings, but just the feel of it. The Tower was filled with unopened books, Dartmouth Hall held no memories of early morning drill and the walls of the Courtyard Cafe had yet to hear the echoes of her lunchtime conversations.
The Dartmouth she knew then, looking through the eyes of an overwhelmed freshman, has been transformed through the process of familiarity.
She knows so much more about the College than when she first arrived: what classes to take, where to go to have fun, what there is to do, to see and to experience.
But where has the time gone? Where did she lose track of the past two years, the first half of her college career?
In two short years, which will most likely seem even shorter than the two that have already passed by, she will leave Dartmouth behind, and move onto something new. In two short years, her Sophomore Summer will seem to have been so different than what she is experiencing now.
But she starts thinking, while on the River, or playing volleyball, or studying, that this is it. This is college. These are the only four years she will spend at Dartmouth. And her time here is half over.
In the laziness of the summer heat, she begins to reflect on what she has accomplished in two years: what she came here hoping to achieve, and whether or not she has been successful. Did she dedicate herself enough to her studies? Did she volunteer as much as she'd hoped? Did she create the friendships she dreamed were possible? The questions are endless -- the time she has in which to answer them is not.
So another day begins, and she walks across the Green, and notices that her surroundings seem to have changed once again, adding a few more questions to her list of reflections, and consuming a few more of her minutes at Dartmouth.
It's a turning point, the term beforejunior year. The point at which she has a full two years left to make the most she can out of her college experience. The point at which two years have already passed, faster than she can remember. Her reflections will keep her busy for quite some time.
