Keystone Magazine Keystone Magazine 5th EN | Page 22

Overcoming the
Learning Curves
of Freedom
By Vincent Liu, Grade 11
I
never thought I would leave home before
I became a college freshman. “Why would
I ever leave home before that?” I used to
say, but I did and I don’t regret it. Apart from
the luxury of being 3 minutes away from your
classroom, living on campus has its perks.
To me, the freedom that comes with being a
residential student and the bonds one builds
as a boarder are truly special.
Our freedom starts at 3:20pm on school
days. From this time until 7pm, our time is
ours. These few hours give us the freedom to
do pretty much anything. We are in charge
of our own time, and responsible for the
decisions we make. This realization dawns on
you like a double-sided blade. I hit quite the
learning curve with my newfound freedom.
In addition to occupying most of my free
time with basketball, I also squeezed multiple
extracurricular activities and leadership
responsibilities into my schedule. The
excitement was blinding. At the end of this
semester, I was faced with the stark reality
that though I may have used my free time to
pursue my passions and acquire leadership
skills, I may have done so at the cost of not
leaving enough time for academics. But I have
no one to blame but my own lack of foresight.
should I get myself more organized?” The
answer was obvious, but not easy. Though
I had to take time away from some of the
activities I loved and enjoyed, it was something
I had to do in order to catch up with my
peers because I also enjoy learning. Though
a challenge, I was able to overcome thanks
to my dorm family. My parents’ support was
significant, but I also received a crucial amount
of help from my dormmates and dorm parents.
One of these people was my roommate.
Before I tell you how he, a close friend, is
a pillar of support for me, let me start with
how different we are. For one of the kindest
students I know at Keystone, he can be
really messy after having eaten at my desk.
Two people living in one room can be like
microscopes that enlarges each other’s
smallest traits, most often the ones we find
hard to accept. So of course our road to
friendship began with a few disagreements.
But, we soon realized