When I look back on my childhood, everything was mysterious and magical, dreamlike and sweet. But when I reflect on this past, I also feel somewhat melancholy. Everything was new and exciting, and time passed so slowly that sometimes I felt five minutes was a lifetime. Coming to Middlebury has put that into perspective.

I remember freshman year wondering why there weren't more hours in the day. Unfortunately, negotiating with the universe so that the days would be long enough to get all my work done and get a good night's sleep didn't present itself as an option.

My sophomore year, I took John Elder's course "Visions of Nature." It consisted of a reading list that spanned from Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle to Mary Austen's The Land of Little Rain to William Wordsworth's Intimations on Immortality , which struck a chord deep within me and spoke to this longing.

There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth and every common sight,
To me did seem
Apparell'd in celestial light,
The glory and freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore;-
Turn wheresoe'er it may,
By night or day,
The things which I have seen I now can see no more.

Wordsworth's poem resonated with me such that I grabbed my guitar, jotted down some notes, and, letting the inner child loose for an afternoon, took a dip in a refreshing pool of childhood memories. Not knowing what to expect, I walked over to John Elder's office to play the song for him. He called Dave Price, a fellow English professor, into his office, and I shared what I had written with them.

This experience sums up one of my favorite things about Middlebury. I not only feel comfortable expressing myself outside of the run-of-the-mill, I feel that this freedom and passion is encouraged and appreciated. A high school teacher once told me that I would have to grow up when I got to college. I disagree.