By Tejasvi Shirolkar, Stentorian Editor-in-Chief
This past summer, I had the privilege of traveling a mere 1,659 miles to the great state of Colorado. From watching the sunset at Gunnison National Park to grabbing dessert at a local ice-cream shop in quaint (and very wealthy) Aspen, my experiences were paralleled with a humble, yet complex concept: family.
This trip presented me with the opportunity to meet my cousins from across the country; some of whom I had no recollection of. Most of my experience was normal: the seven of us were huddled in a hotel room, making jokes as we played cards. Eventually, we got down to the nitty gritty and I was asked the ultimate question: how is your high school experience going?
Cary, North Carolina. For all seventeen years of my life, I have called the Raleigh suburb my home. Truly, I became scared of the familiarity Cary bred. I have been on every street and seen every sign. The peers I discussed AP Calculus questions with had been line leaders in my kindergarten class. At the same time, Cary was all I knew. I was constantly asking myself the same question: is this place bad or does it not get better than this?
I left the cornerstone of my life and traveled a mere 30 minutes to Durham. Sure, in comparison to my classmates coming from Asheville or Wilmington, this number seems insignificant. But the truth? No matter how far you live– if you grew up hours away or if the campus is in your backyard– NCSSM is bound to be different from your old school.
My truth? Being 30 minutes away from home means living an entirely different life. At home, I am defined by my last name. I am part of a collection of people that live separate lives and reconnect over a hot meal during dinner time. At school, I am defined by my first name. Whether it is my friends knocking on my door to ask to go to Ninth Street or raising my hand in REXHum, I am independent. The NCSSM community knows me not by my roots, or my past, but by who I choose to be.
I found myself missing my home friends at school and missing my school friends at home, which never allowed me to stay present. Maybe that is the value of staying home when you are young; splitting yourself down the middle between two places never feels truly fulfilling.
So when my cousins asked me the question, I found myself at a loss of words. There is truly no way to articulate the NCSSM experience. Living away from home at 16 years old and engaging within the (many) acronyms of NCSSM is unique; being a “Blobby” warrior, throwing a Watts Porch birthday party for a friend, and engaging in late night talks in the 4th Bryan lounge can’t be understood by anybody else but a unicorn.
Dear Juniors, enjoy it. Enjoy the late-night talks and groaning as you wake up early for 8:30 classes. Enjoy PFM meals and take classes of subjects you didn’t even know existed. Few have the privilege of experiencing this; after all, for a unicorn, NCSSM is a magical place.
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