Freshman regrets previous freshman-like behavior – mcb

Corey Lehnert

For Michael Weck, class of 2010, the beginning of this academic year is a sore spot. The freshman from Minnesota is uncomfortable when he recalls his first and early second term actions.
“Sometimes I think about how I used to act, and to be honest, it’s kind of embarrassing,” Weck casually ruminated. “I was super excited to be here, and I guess that I let that enthusiasm get the best of me.”
Among the actions that Weck is less than proud of is his premature enchantment with his personal social group.
Weck confessed, “When I first started hanging out with the guys on my hall, I thought that everyone was totally chill, and that we would all be friends for a long time.”
Now on the final leg of his first year at Lawrence, Weck finds his youthful optimism foolhardy. He said that while he has kept some of his early friends, many original friendships have been left by the wayside.
“A bunch of those guys are real [hygiene products]. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
The freshman, while finding his initial eagerness distasteful, believes that his actions were commonplace and justifiable. He said that he was not accustomed living in such a close proximity to his peer groups.
Dorm life provided him with constant, intense social interaction, and this interaction filled him with a vim and vigor that prompted his juvenile behavior.
But Weck refuses to allow his earlier misjudgments define him. “While I definitely acted like a tool for the first few weeks, at least I’ve changed,” Weck asserted.
“It’s not like I’m still sitting in the hallways, listening to some other freshman on his acoustic guitar. Some of [my earlier friends] still spend most of their time in the hall lobby, and refer to themselves by nicknames they got during Welcome Week.”
Weck does not, however, give any advice to future first-years. “I think that acting the way that I did is just a part of experiencing college. Most people either just grow out of being a freshman, or become RLAs.