Image by Hillary Busis, mediaite.com

To inform those who do not know what this column addresses, I must remind you that college is what you make it. Forget Harvard, Yale, Stanford and all those famous schools. Success doesn’t come with the acceptance letter; it comes out of drive, hard work, and friends.

St. Lawrence may be the greatest adventure in your life and all the tools are here for you. Use them to discover who you are, then who you want to be. Make a plan, and go for it as hard as you can. It’s not going to be all bacon and butterflies; you will be challenged, defeated, cold, very cold. You will cry, you will puke, you will make terrible decisions, and you will struggle. When you’re down, just remember that in order to get into this school you had to have something going for you. You’re smart, you’re talented and you will get through this. At the end of the tunnel waits success, stories, lifelong friends as well as a wealth of knowledge and skills. Work hard, play hard, then look back and find yourself different and better than you were when you stepped on campus as a first year.

In a recent conversation with some peers, we all agreed that the most powerful and important aspect of St. Lawrence is its tight-knit community. This column is about our community and ways to enhance it. Let’s make these days the ones we will cherish for all our lives.

Every week I will give a challenge or two, if you complete this challenge let me know by commenting on the Hammer Time post on thehillnews.org. If you complete over half the challenges, you get a free tee shirt!

Challenge 1: Take the television out of your room.

If you are one of those people who play endless video games or watches Desperate Housewives all day, I urge you to rethink your recreational activities. My TV is sitting in my room, but I have yet to plug it in. As a senior, I cannot waste anymore of my time on the Halo Machine or watching TV. I have done enough of that in my life and have learned to be a bit skeptical of the flashing box. It’s a one way form of communication, it lies to you, and it manipulates how you feel about yourself with ads and other crap. TV is just not sexy anymore. Unless you pull the age old “Wanna watch a movie?” trick… but I don’t count heavy petting with a soundtrack as watching TV.

Challenge 2: Volunteer this weekend.

Saturday, September 3 is The Day of Service and students have the option do all sorts of great volunteer work around greater Canton community. Choices include helping farms get ready for harvest, collecting books, building playgrounds, repairing trails, cleaning/organizing Campus Kitchens and much more. Sign-up sheets are located on the bulletin board next to the ATM in the Student Center or contact myself, mdpetr08, Amy Brady, or Andrew Hosmer for more details. This is also a great opportunity for a romantic and creative date, something this school seriously needs.

Peace, Love and Hammer Time.

Columnist, Opinion