As I watch back the highlights of this year's Olympic gymnasts leaping through the air with such elegance that one begins to look skeptically for the support cables, I'm reminded of the latest tide of freshmen that crashed ashore our humble campus last weekend. These athletes have mastered what our newest classmates must all learn this year. For better or for worse, the key to surviving freshman year is: Balance.
In quantities that most new college students have yet to experience in their lives, they are met with a great freedom, and, in turn, faced with a daunting responsibility. They have the freedom to do what they want, when they want, with whom they want, free from worry of a parental veto. But with the veto goes the safety net. Freshmen must be credited with their failures along with their successes, academically and otherwise.
Balance is as new to many freshmen as they are to the YCP campus. This year, they'll be overwhelmed with choices. Spend extra money on food they actually like, or suck it up and use the meal plan that was already paid for? Go out on Friday nights and get the full "college experience," or work on that project due after the weekend? Relax whenever possible in their free time, or join multiple organizations to help boost their resume?
Freshmen must not let themselves get possessed by these false dilemmas; to do so is to assure failure. They don't have to choose A and forget B -- what they need to do is compromise, find the point of equilibrium between A and B.
They will make mistakes along the way. Sometimes, they will choose too much A and not enough B. Not all freshmen will win the gold, and fewer will earn a perfect 10.0 from the judges. But with their disappointments will come even more triumphs. Here's hoping they all stick the landing.
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