Oberlin Blogs

January is supposed to be a quiet month, but as usual I've got too many things going at the same time.

I don't know what it is about giving a speech that makes it so affecting, its ability to connect with and instill hope and pride in the hearts of listeners. All I knew at the time was that it was something I had to experience doing.

When I was at college, back in the Pleistocene era, I always wondered what happened to my small college town outside of Boston when I wasn't there.

Once people get over the novelty of Dorothy jokes and tornado questions - inevitable, I've learned, when I'm outside of my home state and meeting new people - it's actually pretty cool to be from somewhere unusual. Especially when I get the opportunity to share my hometown and state with other Obies, many of whom have never even been so far west.

It seems only a few weeks ago that I was trying to get myself psychologically prepared for the start of the academic year, and now suddenly I'm in the last throes of paper-grading. (And no, I don't actually teach chemistry. Bear with me on this.)

It is fitting that even in my last semester here at Oberlin, I am fortunate enough to be taking advantage of one more opportunity that this school has offered--one that is wholly unique to graduates of Oberlin. For two years, I will be teaching English in the northern Chinese province of Taigu through the Oberlin Shansi two-year fellowship program.

I’ve been having fun reading about everyone else’s paths to Oberlin, so I thought I’d throw my own story into the mix.

Because there's no better way to procrastinate writing your college application essays than reading tips about writing your college application essays.

It looked delicious... but we were told we couldn't eat yet. It is an extremely sadistic thing to show us food and tell us we can't partake. I was ready to dive in. But there was a reason.

Unqualified and unsolicited advice on the college essay from someone who went about it the wrong way.

I've gained a certain amount of respect - if not understanding - for mass spectrometry and I've begun to understand how the microwave in the kitchen works, at least for making Ramen noodles.

Off-campus status is both a blessing and a curse...but mostly a blessing.