Picture a non-descript little girl, lopsided pigtails, Spice Girls backpack, around five or six years old. Enter dialogue: “Mommy, can I do math camp like Molly and Girl Scouts like Sammy and piano like Christina and soccer like Daddy?” Of course, Mommy is on the phone and hurriedly remarks, “Sure, honey, you can do anything you want.”

Well, stop right there, we’ve just covered all of the bases as far as any nurturing parent is concerned: social, academic and cultural enrichment.

Fast forward five or so years and this little girl will have grown out of most of these activi­ties and become passionate about only one or two of them. She may not ever participate in these activities ever again in her life but as this little girl has become accustomed to, Mommy and Daddy know what’s best. The idea is, expose your child to everything they could possibly dream of, and just a little more.

According to every advisor (defined here as a person who gives advice, not just a meaning­less PIN number for registration) I’ve ever come across, I should be a) passionate, b) intel­lectual, c) fun-loving, d) involved or e) all of the above. That’s right, you guessed it, all of the above. At any point in the day, week, month or year, I am expected to be my very best. No, I’m not saying I’ve been an over-achiever. Frequently, I’m anything but. I’m not complaining either; I’d just like to point out that my over-involvement is not purely the result of my own curiosity. I’d venture a guess that I’m not the only Colgate student who feels like one of those dream-catchers we used to make in arts and crafts classes — tied in every direction, piled with promises of a better tomorrow. Trying to be 10 places at once makes me feel like someone’s playing a sick joke on me.

Dream-catchers aside, I’m happy to volunteer my time and skills for the betterment of any of the organizations and clubs I’m involved in on campus, if only there were more time in the day. In addition to excelling academically, I am expected to leave Colgate as a well-rounded liberal arts student. Some days the “work hard, play hard” mentality that is ingrained in the Colgate community gets the better of me and I end up not succeeding at either.

While at home, I’m constantly reminded that college is short. It’s supposed to be the best four years of your life, the most amazing experience ever. And yes, I can say that after three plus semesters, Colgate has been all of that and more.

When I look at the chapel, I sometimes wonder if the golden cap is tricking my eyes and I’m seeing the silhouette of happy graduates whom I imagine possess stellar GPAs, resumés and lives. We’re all here for one reason or another. For me, the silver lining on every difficult exam, event, paper or project is success, in all its forms.