I realized upon posting my photo essay yesterday, that most (read probably all but Gretchen) wouldn't get all the intricacies of the story. See, I had something else in mind. I was going to photograph all my favorite spots on campus. But then I realized that most of my fave spots are not so picturesque or photogenic. Like the bench where I sat to write the following poem.
So then I got thinking about campus and how else I could construct my Cornell narrative. And it made me think about where you would have found me on campus. And about the idea of looking back and all the steps (figuratively and literally) I took while in college. So that's how I put it together. A window into my past and the steps I took to get there. If you haven't seen it, the photo essay is here or here.
(1) I started with the sign you first see when you hit campus, and (2) the admissions office, the first place I set foot on campus. It was also the first moment I knew this place would be home. (3) You follow with the welcome banner they put out anytime they expected guests on campus. (4) The back steps to Bowman, my dorm, were just the first 15 steps of 76 I climbed every time I went to my room. But they were more than that, they were the gathering place for us freshmen still trying to find our way on campus and afraid to go it alone. We'd meet there before heading anywhere. (5) Those little windows at the very top of the building were ours. Insufficient for cooling the room in the warm weather or to regulate the crazy heating during the winter, those windows quickly became the bane of our existence. Adorable and decorative but totally useless! (6) That freshman year was all about finding things you had in common. Finding your place among the masses. (7) I started to find that in music. These are the steps up to the music practice house. Most of the girls on my floor were music scholarship winners so we spent a lot of time in the building. (8) This is the window to my voice lesson studio. My voice teacher Stephanie learned a lot about me that year. (9) Unlike in choir where I was just one of the 60 voices. Choir was one of the places on campus I was sort of anonymous. It's hard to hide in a class of 12, but the group of 60 allowed for that. (10) Sophomore year found us with 2nd floor windows with the opposite problem. The cross breeze kept us cool in the warm months, and the air leaking in around the ancient windows kept us freezing during the winter too. (11) I got more involved in campus activites. These stairs were in the student commons. (12) They were near the Student Senate office where I found myself a lot sophomore year. This window was usually covered with paper when I was there so hiding out was totally an option. (13) The end of sophomore year brought some rocky stuff. A fight with Gretchen, and the prospect of living alone junior year. (Unrelated events, but kind of poorly timed to coincide) (14) I spent very little time in this single. (15) I'd moved up (or literally down) in the world and was on the first floor, but still found myself with a gentle sloping step that was deceptively awkward. Too long for single steps, but too short for 2, you were forced into a kind of odd gait on these. Quite symbolic of the year actually. (16) It was a year I learned how to be myself, and just myself. No longer just half of pair. (17) Senior year found Gretchen and I on a floor full of our friends. We spent less time in that room than ever before. (18) I spent a lot of my evenings in the newspaper office. Looking out the window into what sometimes felt like a concrete jail, but more commonly was a dance party and playground. (19) While the office was where I had the fun, the library was the place I did my work, whether it be homework or my internship there. It led me to my career path. (20) And now as I return I find myself just a visitor. (21) One for whom it's been 5 years. I know no students on campus. (22) I am officially an alum.
By the way, the music is Matt Wertz's Waiting. A song that I truly adore.
i did what i set out to do
i fit in
i belong
i am involved
i am loved
i am home
So then I got thinking about campus and how else I could construct my Cornell narrative. And it made me think about where you would have found me on campus. And about the idea of looking back and all the steps (figuratively and literally) I took while in college. So that's how I put it together. A window into my past and the steps I took to get there. If you haven't seen it, the photo essay is here or here.
(1) I started with the sign you first see when you hit campus, and (2) the admissions office, the first place I set foot on campus. It was also the first moment I knew this place would be home. (3) You follow with the welcome banner they put out anytime they expected guests on campus. (4) The back steps to Bowman, my dorm, were just the first 15 steps of 76 I climbed every time I went to my room. But they were more than that, they were the gathering place for us freshmen still trying to find our way on campus and afraid to go it alone. We'd meet there before heading anywhere. (5) Those little windows at the very top of the building were ours. Insufficient for cooling the room in the warm weather or to regulate the crazy heating during the winter, those windows quickly became the bane of our existence. Adorable and decorative but totally useless! (6) That freshman year was all about finding things you had in common. Finding your place among the masses. (7) I started to find that in music. These are the steps up to the music practice house. Most of the girls on my floor were music scholarship winners so we spent a lot of time in the building. (8) This is the window to my voice lesson studio. My voice teacher Stephanie learned a lot about me that year. (9) Unlike in choir where I was just one of the 60 voices. Choir was one of the places on campus I was sort of anonymous. It's hard to hide in a class of 12, but the group of 60 allowed for that. (10) Sophomore year found us with 2nd floor windows with the opposite problem. The cross breeze kept us cool in the warm months, and the air leaking in around the ancient windows kept us freezing during the winter too. (11) I got more involved in campus activites. These stairs were in the student commons. (12) They were near the Student Senate office where I found myself a lot sophomore year. This window was usually covered with paper when I was there so hiding out was totally an option. (13) The end of sophomore year brought some rocky stuff. A fight with Gretchen, and the prospect of living alone junior year. (Unrelated events, but kind of poorly timed to coincide) (14) I spent very little time in this single. (15) I'd moved up (or literally down) in the world and was on the first floor, but still found myself with a gentle sloping step that was deceptively awkward. Too long for single steps, but too short for 2, you were forced into a kind of odd gait on these. Quite symbolic of the year actually. (16) It was a year I learned how to be myself, and just myself. No longer just half of pair. (17) Senior year found Gretchen and I on a floor full of our friends. We spent less time in that room than ever before. (18) I spent a lot of my evenings in the newspaper office. Looking out the window into what sometimes felt like a concrete jail, but more commonly was a dance party and playground. (19) While the office was where I had the fun, the library was the place I did my work, whether it be homework or my internship there. It led me to my career path. (20) And now as I return I find myself just a visitor. (21) One for whom it's been 5 years. I know no students on campus. (22) I am officially an alum.
By the way, the music is Matt Wertz's Waiting. A song that I truly adore.
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