If you had asked me a week ago what I was excited to see here at Colgate University, I would have joked that I just could not wait to get out of Schenectady, New York. It would not have been a genuine answer. Now that I have actually arrived on campus and moved in, however, I believe that I have found the real answer. I am excited for Colgate because going here will allow me to do so many things new things.

This is true even of the classes I selected this year. For example, I have Elementary Latin I on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is one of the most exciting learning opportunities that I have ever had access to. Since I was seven years old, I have always wanted to learn Latin. Finally having that option in my grasp is indescribable. Coming to Colgate has let me finally achieve a childhood dream that I thought I never would.

Learning Latin is not the only option at Colgate that I look forward to. Even writing this very article for The Colgate Maroon-News is a dream come true. I have always been interested in the news. Every night for years, without fail, my parents and I would watch “Nightly News with Brian Williams.” I would dream of being a part of the news. Writing a story, telling a story, even predicting the weather; I could not get enough of that dream. Years later when I finally arrived at Colgate, and before classes even started, I have been given this opportunity by being a writer for the newspaper. The idea that you are reading this article right now in a real newspaper puts a smile on my face.

Besides learning and writing, I am also quite excited to make new friends. I certainly talked to people back home in Schenectady – we knew one another, we had conversations and we had fun. It was exceedingly difficult, however, to build a meaningful connection with anyone at home. We were too different. Here at Colgate, I have already made connections deeper than I had in Schenectady. I am closer to the friends I have met here than to anyone I met back home, and that is even before most of my class has arrived on campus. 

Colgate is a huge change from home, and that forms a large part of why I am so excited to be here. Besides those differences though, it will be nice to finally be able to accomplish so many of the things that I set out to do years ago. Learning Latin, being a part of the news and making close friends in person are things that I have always wanted, and Colgate has made them finally all options for me. I simply cannot wait to see what else Colgate has in store for me throughout the year. Who knows what other dreams lie ahead.

Contact Joseph Giordano at [email protected].