Cullen Harwood

Some of my closest friends at Cornell were seniors. Guys who taught me many life lessons, recruited me to my fraternity, would fingerpaint in our basement at 2am, have my back in a fight without asking why, and help me get “Yuge” at the gym.

But there is the terrible cycle in life. My best friends keep graduating, and there is nothing I can do to stop them.

Suuuuuuuuucks.

One shout out is particularly pertinent: Tim Liddell, a fellow blogger, and the one who pointed me towards this job. I will never pretend that Tim was my closest friend, or that he responds to my texts or emails in a quick and timely manner, but I will always recommend him as a blog to be read and a person to be talked to.

One of the pledging activities that my fraternity has is that you have to find out the basic information of many of the brothers. You know, full name, hometown, year, major, interesting fact, etc. When I went to do Tim’s interview, he refused to just give me the information. He said that we had to have a conversation, and if I could gain the tidbits through that, then fine. That is the kind of person he is;always looking for conversation. Trust me when I say that it is always enlightening and interesting.

So if you see him, say hello. Ask him his opinion, or about his latest interest. He will never disappoint. I wish him the best of luck.

And to the rest of the seniors, may you find nothing but happiness and success out there in the real world.

It’s been real.

Let’s keep in touch.

As the year draws to a close, I look back at what has happened and think “wow”.

As the calendar year runs, it is obviously January to January. For me though, it always seems to run from May to May. The summer acts as my downtime and the beginning of my year, where what occurs during the school year is what really comprises my year.

It is from this perspective that I look back at the past year and go “Wow”. A year ago, tomorrow, I took my last exam as a Sophomore, packing up my room, and grappling with the concept that I was halfway through college. My mom called me to tell me she had gotten engaged, and from that point, my New Years Day in a way, the year started at 60 mph and hasn’t slowed down a whole lot so that I could stare at the scenery ever since.

This was by no means a bad thing; in the past year I have ended one relationship and gone into another, joined a fire department, held 2 different positions in my Fraternity, had 5 jobs, turned 21, bought and sold a car, taken nearly 40 credits, found an apartment ,driven between Chicago and Ithaca 6 times, gotten sick from drinking once, watched Cornell teams kick-ass and take names, spent $63.24 on Net-Print, filled up one Hot Truck card, fallen in and out of love, and been home for about a total of 4 weeks.

So as I packed up to approach my senior year, one of the most terrifying prospects of my life (side note: leaving college is scarier than coming to college because when you show up, you know where you’ll be for the next four years…) and reflect on what the past year has been, the huge and dedicated readership I have developed, the trials and tribulations I ensued, the joys and lows, and all that was accomplished…All in all, it seems pretty cool.

Give my regards to Davy, but don’t worry too much Skorton, I’ll see you next year.

Just throwing it out there, I don’t think we’ll see a Triple Crown Winner in our lifetime.

Let me clarify that, we won’t see a Triple Crown winning horse. Damn you Calvin Borel!

Slope day, the culmination of our semester. When everyone forgets whatever responsibilities they have and enjoy the sun, warmth, and music.

Slope Day with the sisters!

My sister came up to check out what Cornell had to offer. Friends who had graduated in the recent past were back to escape the real world, and the Slope Day planning committee pulled off another excellent event. My only complaint being that I am ready for a really cool artist to come. Freshman year was Gym Class Heros (a Cornell Alum), last year was the Pussycat Dolls (actually a kind of cool show), and this year was Drake. I’m sorry, but all three of these were huge disappointments for Slope Day.

Regardless though, it was an epic event! But now, reality kicks in and I have to face the 4 papers and 1 final that are threatening me next week…