Oberlin Blogs

As it is this wonderful tradition to bring as much as possible of Oberlin to New York, I implemented a plan last fall to bring as much of OCircus! to New York as possible. In this post: Circus! Photos! Autumn!

Isaac reflects on his first impressions of Oberlin after flying back home for fall break--only to find that his real home is at Oberlin. Awww.

...but it wouldn't have mattered because I probably wouldn't have listened anyways.

As I mentioned before, I was back early as an academic ambassador, a friendly, name-tag-emblazoned helpful upperclassman to help the overwhelmed freshmen during their first academic duties. Other than the perk of arriving back on campus early, I got to meet a number of extraordinary new students.

On theater, travel, and the Oberlin connection.

I headed to a small coffee shop and discovered that it really is an Obie world after all.

Think of it as essentially this blog (more long-form stories, anecdotes, photos), but with a slightly different focus. Now that I have graduated from my dear alma mater, I figured it was time to branch out a little on my own.

It turns out that for a pair of liberal college campuses, both boasting large feeder populations from elite(ist) NYC high schools, Cornell and Oberlin couldn't be more different.

I've been working at the Decafe ever since, my hours fluctuating every semester, but I still keep signing up for hours because I truly love working there. I love playing with food, I love making people happy with their food, and I love being creative. And here is where the adjective sandwiches come in.

Say "commencement" and I think of the iconic hats in the air, traditions, pomp and circumstance, formality... But Oberlin students don't really DO traditional.

Oberlin students have a certain spark. It's not snark or cynicism, it's more of a slightly pointed... silliness. Weird implies non-functionality; uniqueness is too bland. Eccentric? Zany? Jaunty? Quirky? .... Does anyone have a word for us?

If someone told me six months ago that for spring break of my senior year I would be living on a farm in rural Kentucky for nine days with scarcely any internet or phone and sharing a room with eleven people I had never met before, I would have laughed in their face. All I can say is what a difference a week makes.