It’s easy to get caught up in your own life at UVa. Between your classes, your activities, your friends, and potentially a job and/or significant other, things can get hectic. And I’ll be honest—I’ve gotten lost in the “I’m too busy” mindset and unfortunately, sometimes not explored all that UVa has to offer. But this weekend, the opportunity to escape my “bubble” presented itself and I jumped on it—and am so glad I did. To my surprise, not only did I have an unforgettable experience, but it also made me realize something about myself.
Here’s what happened: My good friend Katie from dorms (and ironically, from South Florida—who knew!) casually invited me to her UDC (University Dance Club) fall performance when we ran into each other the other day. She told me the details (she was just in the third dance of many, and I could leave after that) and said if I was free to stop by, she’d love for me to come.
I figured it would be fun to surprise Katie, as she wasn’t expecting me to actually come. I had fully intended just to stay for those three dances—after all, the reason I was going was to see Katie dance and it was Sunday aka “catch-up-on-all-of-your-work”-day—and work, as usual, was plentiful.
After arriving in Newcomb, I found a seat, but as soon as the first dance started—to my surprise—I immediately got up and went to stand up behind the seats—I wanted to get the best view possible! The energy in the room was incredible. I even got the chills. Katie wasn’t on stage yet, but I was already loving it. Needless to say, I was completely caught off guard by my reaction. When Katie came on, it was awesome to see her strut her stuff, just as I had expected. But what I didn’t see coming: I stayed for the entire show! My automatic reaction after the third dance ended was “Time to go crank out that problem set!” But I stopped myself.
This is part of why I’m here, too. Although it’s easy to forget, it’s important to not just participate in your involvements. From older students and graduates, I’ve been told numerous times that part of why college is so great is that you have the opportunity to grow and learn in your experiences, by going outside your comfort zone and seeing what’s out there. And as I was reminded this weekend, it’s amazing what happens when you’re spontaneous! Going to the UDC concert reminded me of how rewarding that can be and how great a place UVa is, as there is so much going on here to explore.
And then it dawned on me, as I scheduled for classes next semester. This applies to academics, too. I scheduled myself to take three math and two commerce classes? Probably a good idea to round out that schedule a bit—I did want somewhat of a liberal arts experience, after all! Art history? Another psych class? Only time will tell. But I do know that I want at least one out-of-my-element class each semester. My social psych and advanced econ class have both been extremely gratifying, and arguably up there with my favorites. Shocking, I know. (I smell a future post on this).
Catch ya later, readers!
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