COLUMN: Guess things happen that way

Pete Imburgia

I was never one to approach people in class. So when a girl – my type – appeared in one of my classes, I stuck to that antisocial way of thinking. To this day, my greatest regret was not talking to her when I first noticed her reading a tattered copy of 1984 next to me in class.

It wasn’t until just two weeks were left in the semester that, out of nowhere, she asked me for my notes. Saying she needed to catch up, I thought nothing of it and gladly handed her my notebook, convinced that her motive was purely academic in nature. It wasn’t.

We got together soon after to hang out, even though I wasn’t quite sure what that would entail. As with everybody, I assumed she was in a relationship and kept my hopes ridiculously low so that my mind would not create unreal scenarios that would never take place.

But things worked out great. We instantly realized how similar we were and became close within a matter of days.

Then, one day, she called me, her voice barely audible, telling me that at the end of the semester she was transferring to another school that wasn’t close to Kent State. That was hard to take. I guess things happen that way, I thought.

The next two weeks were sensational. But because it was finals week, we could only do so much while still getting all our work done.

Soon came the final day of the semester. There we stood in the parking lot. We said goodbye the only way we knew how: as two people who didn’t want to say goodbye. Our relationship seemed to end with a question mark, full of uncertainty.

College provides us with the highest concentration of people in our age group, and some feel this experience is the last chance to meet someone of quality to start a serious relationship with. So why is it so hard to meet people? When you walk into your first class, you usually start not by skimming over the syllabus but by scanning the people to see if someone in particular catches your eye.

So when that person comes along, you better sit by them. For some reason, even though we don’t have assigned seats, people always sit in the same seat every class. Get that seat. Believe me, people will notice if you change seats during the semester.

That important chair will provide you with the close proximity needed to engage in a casual conversation with the person. Observe them. See what they’re like; how they interact with others before starting up a conversation with them. The rest is up to you. But keep in mind, those fifteen weeks of a semester go by extremely fast. You won’t have much time to work.

See those people you’ve been eyeing since day one? Do yourself a favor next time and sit next to them. Talk to them. They might hate your guts, but who cares? This is college, and you’ve got four years to meet tons of people who hate you and a few who will like you. You’ll never know.

Pete Imburgia is a senior English major and columnist for the Summer Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].