On and Off Campus, BB&N's weekly blog, features contributions by members of the BB&N community, including the student writing panel, current and past faculty, and alumni/ae.
We welcome BB&N community members to submit posts of 300-700 words for consideration. Longer submissions may be considered under exceptional circumstances. Please contact the editors for more details:
Kim Ablon Whitney '91
Director of Digital Engagement
Editor
kwhitney@bbns.org
+1.617.800.2731
Amie Margolis
Office of Advancement
Design & Layout
amargolis@bbns.org
Student Editors
Nicholas Kolbas '20
nkolbas@bbns.org
Jayanth Uppaluri '20
juppaluri@bbns.org
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At first, I didn't want to believe that my life as I knew it could change. This was my junior year, and I had AP exams, finals, a varsity crew season, and prom to look forward to. The prospect of any of those things being interrupted was unsettling for me.
Sometimes taking a step back has helped me with stress management and my large workload. With this in mind, I took the winter season off from sports. Taking a season off from sports this past winter, however, surprisingly, didn't work out the way I thought it would.
As a child, I didn't believe in boundaries. I hugged, played, and laughed with whoever I wanted to. I wasn't scared of the world--a place that seemed to contain endless possibilities. As I got older, however, the world advanced, and with it, grew my new perspective on the world, and specifically, on Jamaica.
"The college process is like the terrible twos all over again," a parent of a long-ago senior once told me. She said that parenting a teenager often feels as if one has been thrust back into the heady days of toddlerhood. The push-pull of dependent independence from a teenager, combined with growth spurts, a driver's license, and some gentle mood shifts can make for some serious flashbacks to the days of "no!" and "I can do it myself!"
When I told my friends that I voluntarily added an extra academic class to my schedule, they thought I was crazy. Junior year is said to be one of the most difficult, and BB&N classes are already demanding as it is. Despite that, I enrolled in a Japanese language and culture class through the Global Online Academy with 19 other students from across the world.
