Just like the New York Knicks' season came and went this weekend, so did Green Key. The days and nights kind of blended into one big blur for me, sort of like J.R. Smith's ventures to the 40/40 Club during the NBA playoffs. Therefore I apologize in advance if you were expecting a detailed Green Key weekend recap.
Last year when Green Key was over, I remember the intense hangover and struggle I had in writing what was the eighth column in my journalistic career. I actually recall my grandfather and my uncle, who would help me edit my columns, telling me, "next time don't write your columns when you're drunk." Fast-forward a year and I've now written 35 of these, but the struggle is still there, with the hangover and the inspiration for what to write about.
Honestly, when I first started writing for The D it never occurred to me that I would be writing once a week for my final four terms at Dartmouth. At the time I applied to be a writer I thought I was the next Jim Rome. I know you might not believe me, but I have actually given up on this dream.
With football and a "rigorous" academic schedule as a history major, I figured I didn't have enough time to get involved with the school television and radio. So I decided it wouldn't be too difficult to put aside a couple hours every week to write. And when I first started I thought it was kind of easy.
I was really pretty excited to have the freedom to write 800 words about whatever I wanted to. With so many thoughts swirling around in my small-sized brain I started to tackle sports stories that had national implications the Los Angeles Dodgers, Peyton Manning, F.C. Barcelona, etc. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. I remember I made a list of all the things I wanted to write about. Like fantasy sports, college basketball and cricket (not really the last one). But the truth of the matter is I never intended on writing about Dartmouth.
After I wrote my first few columns I sent them to a friend to get some advice and that's when everything changed. He told me he loved the writing (which he was probably saying to be nice), but suggested incorporating more issues that related to my school, since after all it was a school newspaper. That's when things started to get really tricky. How in the world was I supposed to come up with 800 words every week that someone else might be interested in reading, relating Dartmouth to sports?
Have I accomplished this feat for 35 weeks? Probably not. Actually, definitely not. There have been some rough times, my friend. But that's what life is all about, trial and error. Hopefully at moments during my tenure I've made you laugh. Maybe even made you cry. Inspired you. Made you think. Made you throw away the newspaper. Those would all be fine by me.
The thing that I have learned the most from my experience with the column is that you should always try new things. Never cut yourself off from anything. If you want to do something, do it. You never know where it might lead you. Cliche as per usual, but I'm a believer.
Junior spring was in a sense when everything improved for me at Dartmouth. I guess you could categorize my time in Hanover up to that point as "run of the mill." I just hadn't found something I truly cared about yet. And even though I never expected to find it through the medium of writing, when I sat down to write my first "Corey's Corner" (what an awful name), I can now confidently say that I did.
As always come Green Key time, Hanover was swamped by an influx of alums. One of the things I do remember from the weekend, which is kind of a self-call, but you should come to expect this from me by now, is the number of alumni who mentioned to me that they still check out my column every week. I was extremely humbled by this since, as I mentioned above, I never envisioned this endeavor would last so long.
It's weird to think that when I wrote my eighth column, I never imagined that I would be writing so many more. And now how foreign it feels knowing that I only have one left.
Through all the lists, brackets, insane far-fetched sports comparisons, even the Vann Island videos, I just want to say thanks in advance for hanging with me. I'm getting all nostalgic on you now, since I know for certain next week I will be looking toward the future. See you one final time next Tuesday.
