Sunday took us to Princeton University in New Jersey. Yes, we drove from Providence, Rhode Island, to Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and back to Princeton over the course of three days. Vienna and I are becoming very familiar with the roads out here on the East Coast!
When I was a junior in high school, my school went to the East Coast to visit colleges. I fell instantly in love with Princeton and decided then and there that this was the school I was going to attend. Of course, history shows us that Princeton rejected me, and I went to Stanford. I have wondered what if I had gone to Princeton, how things would have remained the same and how things might have been different.
Following Vienna’s performance at Cafe Vivian in Princeton’s equivalent to Tresidder Union at Stanford, we were given the unofficial tour by two juniors, Dave and Leslie. I asked them if they liked Princeton, and the two of them gave each other this look and told me that no, they didn’t like the University all that much. Of the course of the next several hours, the 11 years of regret and wonderment of “What if?” gave way to relief as they told us about the cold, aloof and exclusionary attitudes of many a Princeton student.
I decided to test the theory that everyone is stuck up at Princeton by saying hello to nearly everyone whom we walked passed. I must admit that many of them looked a little surprised when I said hello, and they only were able to muster an awkward smile or hello back. We did, however, run into some genuinely nice people, like Sarah, a prospective freshman (whom Dave knew from high school) and Scott, who worked in the University Dining Services (and has to work until 2:30 in the morning!).
Dave and Leslie were great. We really appreciated them showing us around the University. They brought us to this Japanese restaurant where they know the owners, and we had a delectable dinner of unagi don and ngiri. We even ran into one of the people to whom I said hello to!
And now for some pictures from Princeton.
tow.com 