TAYLOR LIFKA ‘17
Opinion Editor
The plaid couch always reminds me of home. Three beige walls, an open window out to a-quad, and six finger-smudged desktops seem to welcome me every time I walk through these doors. As the last paper of the semester rolls off the press I feel I must pay tribute where it belongs: to The Denisonian
Coming back from abroad this past semester I had changed a lot as a person, grew out of old passions, and came back to Denison wondering where my place was on this campus or if I even still had one at all. My transition back to life on the hill has been far from flawless, but nothing is perfect, am I right?
Before I left for Chile I was a victim of the micromanaged day without a single second to breath. I desperately wanted more out of life, but the repercussions and the guilt of letting my mind wander elsewhere seemed more unbearable then anything I could possibly gain from making a change.
Suddenly, however, life in another county forced me to ask myself the hard questions that I’d been burying for so long. I was able to separate my own happiness from my parents and my passions from theirs. I ventured to take a step outside of the perfectly constructed box that I had made for myself so long ago, and I decided to make the changes in my life that I had refused to consider a mere six months beforehand.
I quit the swim team and left behind an identity I had carried around with me since I was six years old. I stopped worrying about how people would perceive me and my actions, and it seemed that after the first leap of faith I had the courage to keep falling for the first time in my entire life.
That’s how I ended up here, on this plaid couch, surrounded by some of the most genuine, hard-working amusing people I have ever known. Walking into this office on the first day of the semester I felt like an alien to a strange conglomeration of individuals who laughed at my inability to work the most basic of computer functions: their new opinion editor.
Five months later and I wouldn’t trade my Sunday nights spent in the office alongside Emily and Neil for anything. I love more than anything seeing Carson in between classes and exchanging one of my favorite hellos.
All semester long I thought I missed being a part of a team, but what I now realize is that I’ve found my own team right here in Knapp. I’ve met people I may never even have crossed paths with, and I can only hope I’ve given them all an ounce of what they’ve given me.
We go through life determined to ignore the little voice in our head telling us to make a hard decision – to make a change that might have consequences that will be tying. Life is hard, but nobody said it wasn’t. I feel that some of the most challenging decisions, however, can have some of the most rewarding outcomes. Don’t be afraid to take the initiative in your life because it’s bound to be worth it. There’s something to be said for one door closed and another door opened, because what’s waiting on the other side might just be what you were looking for all along.