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"On What Came to Pass"
January 15, 2007
“Time is the coin of your life. Only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.” – Carl Sandberg
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| See kids, this is what happens when you procrastinate! |
Just like cold, hard currency, one can waste time with reckless abandon and wake up one morning with none left to spend and a million things to finish. Even with valiant efforts made toward frugality, unforeseen expenditures and sloth cost the best time-managers sleep and sanity, two things I know I’m always lacking, perhaps the latter more than the former.
My faithful contingent of readers, I apologize for not keeping up with my fall semester entries as faithfully as you deserve. We all fall victim to that inviting but deadly pitfall, procrastination, at some point in our lives, and unfortunately I found myself eating the forbidden fruit more times than I should have in my first semester. Putting undue pressure on final exam time, my procrastination cost me more than I wanted to spend in my final few weeks of semester one. Luckily, I wound up with straight As for the grading period, but toward the end, I sweat bullets in every exam, including the ones I thought I wouldn’t have a great deal of trouble acing.
Instead of groveling and giving up, I look at every mistake as a learning opportunity, and I never have and never will regret a single thing I’ve done in my entire life. Though I have no regrets, I never make the same mistake twice. This is the first time in my life procrastination has severely hampered my progress on life, and I cannot let it happen again. As George Bernard Shaw once said, “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful, than a life spent doing nothing.”
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| Dr. Newcomb invited our class over for dinner, and
here we are! |
To progress to a nostalgic, but much lighter subject, there’s some moments from the fall semester not reported on which merit some time of their own. I have to start with my RCC class and the RCC Olympics, as no freshman has had a complete first semester without a few interesting stories to share from his or her RCC.
All freshmen take a Rollins Conference Course, an introductory course either pertaining to a student’s intended major, or perhaps the subject matter just sparked his or her interest. I entered into the Honors Degree Program, so I had to take “Giving Offense: Speaking Freely in the 21st Century.” The class focused on current and past free speech issues in America and around the world and raises the question: “So what exactly qualifies as obscenity and when have we said too much?” Apprehensive of the potentially dry, drab nature of the material, I entered the class not knowing what to expect, but of course hoping for the best. I wound up with way more than I could have ever asked for. Most of the course material held my interest, but my professor, Dr. Newcomb, and my classmates made the class memorable and worthwhile. The chemistry of the group facilitated healthy debate and warm camaraderie, not to mention I think we all just enjoyed each other’s company.
To release some stress from the nerve-racking daily grind, the First Year Program staff puts together the RCC Olympics, a series of competitions throughout the semester including old sports favorites like dodge ball and volleyball, and for the performance inclined, a karaoke competition and even a creative Alma Mater event. The games culminate with the RCC Olympics in which one class wins the RCC Cup, and of course bragging rights for being the number one RCC. Well, right from the very beginning the members of our class shared a passion for the pursuit of the cup and we waged an epic struggle all semester against the other RCC’s. Okay, maybe it’s not quite as epic as I make it out to be, but it’s really a great way to have a wonderful time and make some close friendships. To all incoming freshman: take advantage of all the first year programs offered! You won’t regret it in the least.
When all was said and done my RCC came in 2nd place, and of course while first would have been nice, we were so pleased with the teamwork and integrity we developed in our first semester. We may not have won, but we were definitely the most spirited RCC. Go Blaze! (It’s an inside joke…)
My goodness, I’ve already taken up an entry’s worth of space just talking about my RCC. Alright, there’s a few more coming… stay tuned everyone, there’s plenty more to tell.
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| More about Robert...
Robert grew up in Florida and has a strong interest in
theatre and music. He also looks forward to participating in
Rollins Players,
Brushing
literary magazine, GLBTA, Concert Choir, the Cultural
Action Committee and many other dance and music
ensembles on campus.
Robert lives by the mantras of "Make them hear you" and
"Do all things with passion!" He looks forward to reporting
back on all the opportunities for students at Rollins.
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