As a Freshman, You Can’t Avoid Reinvention

One purpose of college is to give young men and women a place in which to further mature while engaging the mind with more than posting on Instagram and Snapchat. For most human beings, what the writer describes is plain old fashioned Growing Up. Breaking free from the addiction to being On Line rather than Being Alive, finding pleasure and inspiration from learning, from experiences, from (as Shakespeare put it in "King Lear") seeing better are reasons so many of us cherish memories of our days and nights on campus. O, the wonders you'll see! The changes you'll be. The "unexpected" you'll experience. And if the marvelous process should continue throughout one's lifetime? Doug Giebel, Big Sandy, Montana

As a Durham alumnus, I'd question whether the author actually attends the university, considering the many linguistic errors she makes, using words that no actual Durham student would ever use. Phrases which are in some cases wholly inaccurate. "Freshmen" for example is never heard in Durham. A new undergraduate may be referred to as a "fresher" in their first few weeks, but after that is simply a "first year". Similarly problematic is her insistence at calling Durham a "college" when it is in fact many colleges (16, I believe) all of which are a part of the single University of Durham. Most insidious is claiming that Durham has "semesters". This word implies the academic year is split into 2 parts when in fact it is split into three "terms". These are know as Michaelmas term (just past), Epiphany term (just to come), and Easter Term. While I certainty don't want to say this is "fake news", the fight against inaccurate reporting must permeate through every level of journalism- even short and apparently innocent opinion pieces need to be factually correct for if we can't place our trust in these, what are we supposed to do with the important articles? Oh, and as far as a "landscape dotted with castles and cathedrals" goes, last time I checked there was a single castle and a single (gloriously beautiful) cathedral in Durham.

Not so much reinventing, but discovering. An opportunity to explore, shake off the notions of what others feel you are.

I’m sure with time you’ll recognize the roll that privilege has played in your reinvention, but it does not detract from your awakening, and it doesn’t have to mean everything. Reinvention is a fantastic blueprint for life. Keep doing it.

A lovely piece by an intelligent and articulate student. She is to be commended. My gripe, however, is with the article's title, chosen, presumably, by the NYT editors and not the author herself. Though female, she is referred to as a "freshman." U.S. universities have been regrettably very slow in releasing the traditional gender-exclusive terminology employed for first-year students. But U.K. universities--including Durham, her own school--have done much better, in shifting to the gender-neutral "fresher." I urge the NYT to be more careful not to use male terminology for female referents.

Great piece. Sounds like you and your friends are growing up. Just keep that open mind.

The "transition" only happens if one is away at college. For those who study locally, there is little in the social/societal learning curve. And of course college being what it is -- the pursuit of one own's career, there is little broadening of scope save in the minimalist liberal arts requirements , unless that is one's major.

Your comments about constantly editing selfies of yourself in Singapore indicates that you were seeking to re-define yourself before you left home. You and your friends obviously went far from home, but the question of "Who am I?" traveled with you.

What a great piece Meera. I salute you - for your self-awareness and for your openness to new things. There is power in periodically reinventing ourselves - which it is clear you have embraced. One can only hope that more citizens of our world begin to adopt your approach to life.

A lovely tribute to the liberal arts.

This is so true.

Great piece Meera, nicely written. It's odd though. When you go home to the old environment, to your old friends, to your family, you'll look the same them. It will take time for them to see the changes on the inside, and take time to see the changes in your friends.

From a distance of 7 decades, I think the transition to high school requires a greater reinvention. A student may be making the transition from one school district to another. That's the mental side of the equation, the physical: adolescence is a a REINVENTION all by itself.

Pretty good first half year at college. Nice intellectual and emotional growth. This is what college should be, although it will be interesting to see if any commentators think otherwise. Hope Meera continues this way in her life, although it will be difficult to maintain this pace, and family gatherings could prove challenging. Other future challenges could be balancing passion and future marketability when choosing a major, and navigating work environments if opportunities for self-learning and expression clash with pressures for conformity and discipline. Perhaps the meta-lesson of the early college experience--"I don't know everything I thought I did," and "There are other possibilities than the ones I knew about" could prove useful in working through dilemmas and the way choices are framed.

Would it do any good for the Teachers of graduating students in Secondary Schools to sit down and discuss, with those students, what life is really like after High School. Would they listen ? Would it make any sense to them ?

Meera, Thank you for your thoughtful piece. I found it optimistic--in the best sense--and even inspiring. I hope that I am not too old to meet the challenges of change and reinvention even at my more advanced age. Best wishes in all you do!