Name: Chloe Hawkey
Class Year: 2016 (Sophomore)
Class Year: 2016 (Sophomore)
Hometown: Oakland, CA
Major: American History
Clubs/Organizations: Columbia University Ballet Ensemble,
Hiking Club, BSAR, New York Cycle Club
Hey everyone, I’m Chloe, and I’m a sophomore who transferred
to Barnard in the fall. I spent my freshman year at a very small school in rural
Washington. Moving away from home was a challenge—as it nearly always is—but in
general my freshman year was wonderful: I made intelligent and passionate
friends, I had some great classes, and I became comfortable living on my own.
But I came to realize during winter break that I felt a little too comfortable, a little bit like I was
settling into what happened to be convenient rather than striving for what I really wanted. Upon realizing this, I realized
something else: I only have four years of college, and they are neither
inexpensive nor unimportant ones. They are the only four years of my life that
I know could be dedicated to
academic/ intellectual/ nerdy (pick your adjective!) pursuits. In other
words, I could not afford to sit still and watch things happen.
So I reapplied,
and yes, it was just about as gnarly as the first go-round. I won’t bore you
with too many more details, but I will tell you that September found me in
Morningside Heights, confronting the wonder, excitement, and challenges of
living and going to school at Barnard. I could not be happier: I have found
friends who are every bit as enthusiastic about school as I am, professors who
are brilliant and welcoming and supportive, and libraries and books enough
to keep even the biggest nerd happy. Beyond all else, though, the intellectual
climate on campus is exactly what I was hoping for. People here want to learn, and they are willing to bend over
backwards to make that happen.
So now, part two of my post: the challenges of being a rivers-and-mountains
kind of girl in the big city, where Central Park
is the extent of the great outdoors. (Feel free to skip this if
that sounds like a good thing to you!) I am, essentially, an outdoorsy type. I went
on my first backpacking trip at one month of age, and I’ve been hiking, biking,
rafting, kayaking, and snow-camping with my family and friends ever since. I
rely on nature to maintain my sanity (I’m writing this from rural Vermont, where I am
visiting a friend for spring break).
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| Rafting on the Main Salmon River in Idaho (My Natural Habitat) |
I would imagine that some of you feel similarly and are
struggling with whether you want to spend the next four years living in such a
big city, so let me offer some of my thoughts. The first is this: it is
possible to get out of the city on weekends. The Metro-North train stops at 125th
street, and can take you to the wilds. Columbia also has a hiking club that will
drives groups out of the city for day hikes, and a whitewater kayaking club that
will take you on weekend trips to local rivers.
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| Columbia Hiking Club |
But I have found myself surviving (even thriving!) staying
within New York City. For one thing, I am too busy (so many books!) to spend
more than a few minutes dreaming of rivers. One of the first things you learn
in college is how to construct a life for yourself here—what classes, clubs,
friends, coffee shops, and trips downtown you need to feel fulfilled—and part
of that is finding new ways, at least for the time being, to fill the time that
you no longer fill doing _____. This may be a challenge (for me it certainly
was), but aren’t we all in college to be challenged, to try new and difficult
things? I knew when I transferred that I wanted to stretch myself and
this—along with incredibly challenging and exciting courses and brilliant
friends and classmates—is just one more way I get to do that.
Thanks for reading, everyone, and if you have any questions
or comments—on academics, comparing schools (I’m something of a pro at that by
now), or awesome boating stories—feel free to leave them below. And best of
luck with this decision!
