Another year has come and gone, and with its end summer soon approaches. I say another has come and gone as if I've been in Catonsville/Arbutus/where ever this place is considered to reside for long enough to be reflective on what the change of seasons presents, although its only the close of my freshman year. However, both because I'm enough of a smart ass to be reflective at such a junior state, and if I started writing about the recent racial decisions in Arizona I would burst some more blood vessels, I'm tackling the "sentimental look back on what I've learned" column. Don't try to follow an order of events or train of thought here, this writing will be just as the title implies.

When I think of summing up the semester, for some reason my first thought is of the snowstorm, probably because the air conditioning is broken in my dorm and it thus resembles January. I feel like all in all this was a positive experience for several reasons. One, it gave me the opportunity to sit in sweatpants for extended periods of time, eat corn chips, and watch reruns of The West Wing. Two, for a week I was able to actually sleep the doctor-prescribed amount of hours for a healthy and functional human being. Three, and most importantly, it gave us a true sense of community. For a campus that is constantly battling students leaving on the weekend, when given the opportunity (and by opportunity I mean forced to by two feet of snow and a state order to stay off the roads) to actually be at UMBC, many of us, or at least I, realized this is actually an O.K. place to be.

I'm excited about the new Performing Arts and Humanities Building. I think you have to take the good with the bad on this one. Yes, we will lose a parking lot, but in return for an absent asphalt bloc of land we get a multi-million dollar state of the art (no pun intended) facility. If you've seen the specs you can agree with me, it's amazing. Once it's complete we will all be able to consider our minds blown.

Freeman Hrabowski is one of the most remarkable individuals to ever grace the face of this planet with his presence. Enough said.

We should try to throw less food away at the dining hall. It's better for the whales, or something like that. There's no reason you need to lasso up three plates at once and end up throwing away two of them. We could literally feed small cults in the Midwest with all the food we unnecessarily dispose of.

On the issue of changing the school name, I'm still undecided. Yeah, Maryland State does sound pretty cool but we don't want to get confused with Maryland. We attend one of the best schools in the country. Those US News and World Report stats are not simple fun and games. Make no mistake, UMBC is for real. Are we really that upset with the name, or did someone just not get hugged enough and is going through an identity crisis? Regardless, if we're UMBC, Maryland State, or "that place in Catonsville," I'm proud to be a Retriever.

I leave you now for whatever awaits you this summer (post-finals) with my last observation. We all know that college is more than simply papers and exams; it's about defining what kind of people we truly are and aspire to be. You don't need a freshman who wears ties too much to tell you that, but you may need him to remind you. UMBC has turned out to be all I expected and more because people here are not afraid to truly be themselves. What makes UMBC unique is what makes all of us unique. Always hold true to that. Never forget where you're going, or more importantly where you came from. And always take up free pizza opportunities on campus.