When I was a little girl, one of my favorite things was to string together beads and make “bracelets” out of them. I put “bracelets” in quotes because they would tear as soon as someone tried to wear one of them. All the beads would then lie on the floor in disarray, waiting for me to string them again. I loved it! It never became boring or repetitive. Of all the childhood memories I have, this is one pretty close to my heart.
As I grew older, I moved to the U.S. and forgot all about beading and jewelry making. I became seriously preoccupied with adjusting to my new life and new school. Then in college, I became incredibly focused with becoming politically active, majoring in political science, getting all the requirements done, changing the world with my idealistic political criticisms…you get the idea. Basically, I became so engrossed in my studies that I never had time to look back and take some time off with the little things I enjoyed in life, like beading.
It has been nearly 8 years and I finally took out the long-forgotten pile of beads that I put away. I am into jewelry making again, this time seriously, with a jewelry making class here at Barnard. They offered it for free and I was able to take out some time to forget about work and pursue my long forgotten little-girl hobby. It is a small sort of delight, but it is the everyday small things in life that makes one happy. Yes, I am living for four years in a challenging academic institution, sister college and Ivy League and everything that goes along with it. But I also want to take some time for myself. My perfectionism often gets in the way, but there are student services here that help me realize that there is more to life that politics and academics. These student services organize community events like the jewelry-making class that make Barnard also a fun, comfortable place to be. We take time off to do everyday things in life, other than studying all the time. Now I like taking the time off to reflect that I am not only studying all the time but also spending a large chuck of my life here. Little fun things like these make this place a home for students like me.
Yes, I go to my real home in Brooklyn, roam about the city, and hang out with friends, but the dorms are where I essentially live. So, collaborative community events on campus become important. It is really good to know that my institution realizes the importance of community and makes the effort to be that comfortable space for me. Beading for fun for an hour a week is only one example, and it may not be your thing but it works for me. There are so many events that makes Barnard a close-knit community which might appeal to you: we share a dining hall and a cafe, have numerous fun events like cupcake decorating and (Barnard) Spirit Day (a themed fair where we celebrate being “Strong, beautiful, Barnard women”). Just to give you a number, there were 1,500 events on campus last year.
Community building events are very important in a rigorous academic institution to ensure that student life here is healthy. An institution like Barnard needs to be a space for appreciating those little things in life as well as being part of the world’s largest ‘academic acropolis’ that is Morningside Heights. Barnard provides this community life for me and my friends here and we couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. As my friend as Columbia College says, “depend on Barnard to put so much effort into organizing so many events for its students’ well being .” J
Welcome to Barnard College! I hope you will be as happy here as I have been. If you see me on campus next year, please say hi!
