Page 220 - WhyAsInY

Why (as in yaverbaum)
had been stored and promptly left campus to return to Brooklyn, there to study for finals. (Not really; I just went home in a search of an alternative good time.)
Homecoming Weekend
Right before Thanksgiving, the Dean of Freshmen gave a speech to the class. He told us that when we got home—believe it or not—everything would have changed. We would get together with our old high school friends and soon discover that, our lives having diverged, our interests had diverged as well. After some perfunctory conversation, our old friends would not really want to hear about Amherst, and we would feel the same way about them and their schools. Friendships might not sur- vive the geographic and cultural gaps that had been created. One might also find himself breaking up with the love of his life. Our parents might seem different—in fact, smarter and more sophisticated than we remem- bered them. It would not be an easy time, and neither would returning to campus be as smooth as we would have liked. Moreover, finals would be lurking, and we would be keenly aware that daylight was in shorter supply.
It was probably a good thing that he gave that speech. It readied me for my homecoming, and, when my experience was similar to the one that had been forecast, I was somewhat prepared and relieved.
The highlight of my return home was a gathering of high school friends in the living room of my home, which, after initial conversation, turned into a rock ’n’ roll songfest at which my most enduring memory is the singing of the Five Satins’ “In the Still of the Night.”
Real friends remained friends, but most of what the Dean had said resonated with me. On my return it appeared to me that I had lost a part of my experience in Brooklyn. And at that point, I was still not entirely ready (prepared?) to assimilate in college, assuming that that was a desirable goal.
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