Letter from the Editor

By Eden Teshome

Editor-in-Chief

Dear ’28,

Open your mind and heart to a college experience you are not expecting.

Matriculating into college is a scary experience, in concept. There are a number of things to fret over as a newly-minted Princetonian: selecting room decor, making friends, contemplating an academic path, completing the pre-read, taking a prox photo, and packing up your whole life into a few boxes.

The summer before my first year, I felt pressure to be entirely prepared for all that college has to offer. I remember spending ages studying my residential college’s floor plans, prematurely scrolling through course offerings, and consuming all the “day in my life” videos I could get my hands on.

That’s the conventional wisdom: be prepared. It’s a message you’ve probably been told your whole life.

For example, take an exam — I’m sure, if you’re reading this, that you have. From the first day of classes, the teacher will say to take good notes, because without them you’ll struggle to catch up. Then, a week before you’ll be reminded — ‘Start studying now, and don’t wait till the last minute!’ Ignore the warning, and the 24 hours before the test will likely be grueling. Finally, as you walk into the classroom, you’re holding an extra pen or pencil, prepared for the possibility the one you plan to use breaks. You sit down, with perhaps a few pieces of scrap paper in hand to plan your answers out, and you're off to the races.

We’re conditioned to think that, to succeed, you must be overcautious. There’s an intense environment, as of late, that makes it difficult to avoid getting caught up in the anxiety-inducing narratives of what college life will be. The grown-ups in your life, and the national media, have likely given you an impression of what you will encounter. You may be nervous or scared; maybe excited and ready.

As you prepare to enter Princeton, let go of what you have learned in preparation, and open your mind and heart to a college experience you are not expecting.

Now, I am not saying to forget how to study for a test, that will certainly come in handy. But, often, we are burdened by expectations — of how peers will behave, of the ideologies floating around, and of what you’ll learn in the classroom. If you let go, however, you will have what I see as the true Princeton experience; leaving with a changed mind.

60 percent of seniors that graduated this spring told The Daily Princetonian that they have changed their political views, and 78 percent had changed their major at least once. That’s a remarkable amount of change, and not counting how many changed their friend groups, sense of style, or the extracurriculars they thought they would commit to.

When I first matriculated into Princeton, I never thought I would join the ‘Prince,’ much less try journalism. Looking through the listserv with an open mind led me to apply. I’m glad to report that I have not looked back since.

There is so much to experience on campus, but honestly, so little time. Here at the ‘Prince,’ we try to help. Through our stories, columns, cartoons, graphs, and more, we work to try to expose the various facets of the Princeton community to each other — so, you can meet and greet the stories and faces you may not otherwise have the chance to.

If you’re interested in joining that mission, I urge you to answer my call and sign-up in the fall. Don’t worry: you don’t need to be prepared, we’ll teach you the ropes.

Eden Teshome is the editor-in-chief of The Daily Princetonian. She can be reached at eic@dailyprincetonian.com.