La Nostalgie de la Hilltop.

Le 13 novembre 2004.
As many people know, my final semester at Cornell was a difficult one for me. Returning from my amazing semester in Toulouse, I came to understand how much I had, almost unwittingly, changed. My intentions for my time abroad had been to improve my language skills and immerse myself in a new culture. My almost disgust for one of my fellow traveler’s intent to find herself was a difficult pill to swallow as I began to realize that I was following a similar course. When I returned to Cornell, with new thoughts and ideas and beliefs, I found that while I had changed it seemed to me that the Hilltop had not. The pain I associated with that inequilibrium of being in a familiar yet unfamiliar place made my time back at Cornell tortureous.
But tonight, as we sat at the gay bar, recommended by Bobby, I realized that it seemed I had spent the majority of the last four years in an extremely open and welcoming environment. Through conversations with other of the group, I felt as if I had truly experienced a unique setting at the Hilltop. In addition, I’ve noticed myself lamenting not reading more of the classics, either self- or class-motivated, yet I’ve rationalized that if I had read the classics, I mightn’t have had the opportunity to read and discuss some of the less mainstream literature to which I found myself exposed. Instead, I read literature less well known and often quite edgy. The rest of my life gives me time to read the classics bit by bit. Tonight I realized that I was quite lucky to have had the experiences I did at the Hilltop. Without having had them, I would not be the person I am today.
So as I fall asleep tonight, adieu.