Classic Bev

I woke up this morning all excited and nervous (and also about two hours earlier than I wanted to–stupid sun). It’s kind of a weird realization: this is the last time I’ll be feeling like this for a long time (well, let’s face it, there’s next semester too, but there’s something special about the first day of the year). Job interviews, grad school interviews, Wooster commencement in May: will these be the next events that ellicit the same response?

I didn’t expect to find myself in my senior year of college as a Classics major. I was thinking Communication, honestly–my FYS professor advised me to take Latin to fill my foreign language requirement. I had taken it in high school and enjoyed it–I had already met Dr. Sternberg, a Classics prof here at the time, back when I was a prospie and I adored her, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong. I didn’t anticipate, however, loving the language and the department so quickly (literally Day One). There’s something about the enthusiasm a professor puts forth that makes it easy and exciting to learn and Dr. McGowan, the Latin 101 prof, certainly had that down. I decided around the first Friday of my first year that I would be a Classics major. And here I am.

So now I’m trying to figure out how to bridge my Classics major/Comp Lit minor/PR ambition all into one. Luckily, my advisors are very creative and (key word) patient women who have helped me develop an IS topic that will bridge all three. I have my first official Senior IS meeting tomorrow afternoon (ahhhh!!!). Stay tuned to see how it turns out for me…

So on Sunday night, I went to go see Superbad with three of my oldest (and dearest) friends, Mike, Chris, and Ryan. We’ve known each other for a pretty long time, Chris was actually my first friend in kindergarten (we had the same birthday, so with kindergarten logic, obviously, we were brother and sister and didn’t know it). So I’m sitting there watching this ridiculous (but hilarious) movie about three friends and their final weeks of high school and one of the lines really hit me. Evan says to his best friend Seth that he’s living with Fogell (or McLovin, as his fake ID states) because “I didn’t want to live with strangers.” These two guys spend the whole movie ignoring the fact that in a few weeks, they aren’t going to be together anymore. I think that security blanket is pretty hard to let go.

Chris, Ryan, Mike, and I all went to separate colleges. And yet here we were, years after we graduated from high school, still hanging out and watching this movie as if no time had passed. Sure, we spent hours afterwards talking about grad school and law school and what we were all going to do after we graduate from our respective colleges this spring, but it was really comforting to know that, once again, we’re all in the same place in our lives: the unknown.

The unknown’s a pretty familiar place at this point, we’re all frequent residents: I was there when I started my new job, when I went abroad, and especially when I started college at Wooster. I think that the one thing that’s really important to remember about college is that everyone is starting out in the unknown. No one there knows what it’s like to be a college student.

Don’t be afraid to go up to someone you don’t know and say hi, because no one knows anyone. Everyone is just as nervous and excited and scared as you are. This is an amazing opportunity to be on a level playing field.

I’m looking forward to being on campus for the first day of orientation for the first years. I’m hoping to see a lot of kids stepping outside of their comfort zone–I plan on grabbing the wallflowers and throwing them into the mix. I remember meeting my roommate Allison inside the Kauke Arch (could we have been more cheesy and symbolic?) on that Wednesday and I just walked up and hugged her. I don’t know if I would have been so bold anywhere else, but a) Wooster’s a pretty friendly place and b) I figured she was just as nervous as I was. If you look at our class picture, we’re sitting right on the Kauke steps with everyone else and there’s a pretty common theme among the class of 2008: excitement. I’m hoping that’s the case with the Class of 2011 (and more Wooster classes to come…).

Hi! I’m Bev Brooks, a 21-year-old senior here at the College of Wooster. I’m a Classical Studies major/Comparative Literature minor and I hail from Kent, Ohio (though I was born in Syracuse, NY). I have a lot of loves, everything from dancing to Classics (especially Rome–sigh) to Wooster itself (insert cheesy comment here). I’ve wanted to go into public relations since I was 13. I took one of those career aptitude tests in 8th grade. The first time I took it, it said I should be a public relations specialist and that sounded like it would fit me perfectly. I love talking with people and changing the way someone sees the world–and the way the world sees others. For the record, though, the second time, I filled it in with silly answers and the test said I should be a model– so if this whole PR thing doesn’t work out, clearly modeling is my backup. I’d have to start learning how to stand for long periods of time though. And grow a solid nine inches. Note to self…

Why Classic Bev? Well partially because I’m a Classics major and I wanted to be clever (ugh, did it fail miserably?) and partially because this blog will be student life directly from a student–reality only. It’s going to cover everything imaginable–or at least it’ll try. Social life, classes, Wooster traditions (just wait till it snows!!), some backstory on myself. Stay tuned as I navigate through my senior year and all that comes with it–IS, senior events, grad school vs the “real world”–ahhhh!! If you have any questions or comments, just post or email me at bbrooks08@wooster.edu.

I’m really looking forward to this year, especially since I get to share it with all of you. Cheeseball, I know, but it’s only cause it’s summer. Wait till the year starts, I’m sure my trademark sarcasm will set in.