Gulfem Demiray

As I have tried to put together the Sesquicentennial Vassarion, my last year at Vassar has been full of nostalgia. The yearbook made me consider not only the past four years, but also my entire academic career – a fifteen-year-old journey I started as a little kid that will culminate in a diploma on Sunday.

I remember the first week of my freshmen year. I was extremely jet-lagged and was trying to adjust to my tiny room in Jewett. It was also the first time I had ever set my foot on campus. Unlike many new friends I made, who had eagerly sent early-applications, I had not really considered coming to Vassar but still ended up here somehow. So my mind was set on transferring to some other school when I first got here. But my transfer applications were trashed after the first few weeks of college. I loved Vassar so much and was so happy here that I felt like I couldn't leave this place ever. During the freshmen winter break, I couldn't wait to come back to Vassar, no matter how much fun I had at home. Ever since, it has been like an anchor I could keep coming back to.

I joined The Misc around that time as a fledgling staff writer covering the art and music scenes on campus. I worked for the paper through my sophomore year as well, getting to know new people in various campus organizations, ensembles, or a cappella groups, as well as all sorts of cool artists and musicians that came to campus. Although it took so much time, I took a perverse pleasure in working for the Misc, doing interviews, writing articles and reviews, and doing countless edits and revisions on the Arts section. The newspaper was among my numerous other interests. I always wanted to do 10 different things at once. So I kept playing the piano, worked for the yearbook, and joined the Jewett House Team. All the experiences I had with the house team were special and meaningful, including setting up for study breaks and decorating Jewett for Seven Deadly Sins.

And of course I had to do a double major, having such strong desire to pursue many things. For some, double majoring in art history and economics sounded like having the best of both worlds, although it was more like living in two separate worlds on the same campus. Steadily working everyday on a different problem set with fellow econ majors, I usually missed out on all the fun activities many of my friends did in their free time. And when my econ major friends were finally done at the end of the term, I'd be struggling to finish a gazillion papers along with other art history majors. So while at Vassar, the birds-chirp a cappella has been a regular part of my daily nocturnal routine and I always wished humans needed less sleep because I always wanted to enjoy all that Vassar had to offer.

Of course, we have all been here for academics, but I really can't sum up my Vassar experience fully in terms of readings and problem sets. For me, Vassar has been far more than just academics. I have also made great friends, from whom I have learned as much as I have from classes. Looking back on my college experience, it's the nocturnal chats with friends, the all-nighters we took playing beer pong, trips we made into the woods, and random ACDC sessions that I recall first.

I have neither come to terms with leaving this place that has been my home for the past four years, nor leaving my friends. Yet, it's time to bid farewell, at least for now. Having reached the end of my odyssey at Vassar, I still feel dazed, confused, and unready for May 22. But even when I'm not physically here, breathing in Vassar's atmosphere, I know Vassar will be with me, as part of my character, my identity. I'm very grateful to Vassar for everything it has given me and for being my home. And I want to thank my friends for everything, for helping me build an amazing college experience. I really wish I could take you guys with me wherever I go after graduation.

—Gulfem Demiray is the outgoing editor-in-chief of The Vassarion.