Students need to get out of Elon and experience life

Bonnie Fitzpatrick / Columnist

You know what I am sick of? I am sick of hearing kids say they are bored at Elon, that there is nothing to do.

For one, no one in college should get bored when there is so much around. But the problem is that when it comes down to it, no one is willing to try. Having fun is just a matter of how much effort you are willing to put in, and a matter of actually leaving the Elon bubble. There should and can be much more to the Elon experience than fraternity parties and West End bar.

When I took the semester off last spring and was living on the beach in Florida, the strangest thing happened to me. I actually missed Elon.

Never in my wildest dreams would I think that I could or would ever miss Burlington, especially when I was living in such a more desirable place. What I realized is that no matter where I am, there are things about Elon that will stick with me the rest of my life. And most of those things have nothing to do with campus life.

The problem is that students don’t take advantage of all there is to do. Instead they sit around and stew about how boring Elon is. Life is only as exciting as you make it. It has no dependence on the city you happen to live in. And, if you can’t learn to not be bored wherever you are, life is going to be a long ride.

Being from Atlanta, I have always been accustomed to an abundance of cultural life and exciting activities. When I first started at Elon, I was scared that my life would suddenly become very dull – no great restaurants, no Starbucks, no beach, no concert venues and no clubs.

But instead of sitting around and waiting for fun things to magically fall in my lap, I went out and found them. And I found more of them here than I ever did back home.

The problem that I see in many people in college is the lack of motivation. One of the biggest principles that I have learned in college is being able to motivate myself. Unless I learn to push myself to try, no one else will do it for me.

I have also found that the times people end up regretting most are the times when they just didn’t try, didn’t ask or didn’t take advantage of a situation.

Burlington, Greensboro and the surrounding cities have as much to offer as virtually any other city I have lived in or visited. There is a plethora of activities that are cheap, easy to find and fun. But they will stay hidden until people get motivated to break away from the norm. I promise there will be a fraternity party every weekend. You have to actually get in your cars and go find some fun off campus.

There are many ways to start finding things to do away from campus. From team sports to jobs, you can meet people who can lend much more spice to life, and show you things to dispel your unnecessary boredom.

If you play sports, aside from Elon’s intramural and club teams, there are local teams for virtually every sport around the Triad.

I play on two different hockey teams in Greensboro and Charlotte, which have led to many friendships. These new friends have introduced me to more people and things than I can even do in one weekend.

Getting a job outside of Elon will open doors to new ideas too. You may think you wouldn’t want to meet people at a job because they are different than the typical Elon student you are used to.

Not to shatter anyone’s beliefs, but not all people around Burlington fall into the derogatory “townie” category. I met my roommate at the gym I train at off campus, and she is a local. Not only did I gain a great roommate and friend, but she has shown me places that have become frequent destinations for my Elon friends and me.

Through my internship in Greensboro, I have had the opportunity to become friends with some of the players from the Generals hockey team. I have more contacts and connections for future jobs than I could ever have made sitting around Elon doing the same things for the last four years.

And what could be more exciting than meeting different kinds of people – from professional hockey players to local day labors working at the coliseum – and remembering Elon for more than people in Greek life, people you see every time you go to the bar and the people in your classes and major?

When I graduate from Elon in May, I will have much more than memories of college; I will have memories of people and events that I made myself a part of out of sheer determination to make my college experience as full as possible.

No one pushed me to go off campus. But after opening my eyes and my mind to things that are unfamiliar and sometimes uncomfortable at first, I have seen my life take a direction and shape that I never would have anticipated just three short years ago.

I will remember the nights I volunteered at the Alamance Night Shelter and was able to talk to homeless people and learn to value everything in my life just that much more.

I will think about not being able to jump off the rocks at the rock query in Gibsonville. And I will miss the corn bread and fried chicken we found on the way home at Pete’s Grille, also in Gibsonville.

I will remember renting paddleboats at Lake Macintosh and later studying at a picnic table next to the lake on an April afternoon.

I will really miss taking the dogs for walks at Cedarock Park and watching my friends play disc golf.

At the same time, I will also remember the experiences that are related only to people and events and nights at Elon, but I feel richer for learning how to enjoy life on my own, away from Elon and my parents and gaining friends, life lessons and wonderful memories in the process.

If I could go back to the start, I would have done even more, and anyone will tell you that I do more in one day than many people do in a week. So, I challenge you not to leave Elon without experiencing what Burlington, Greensboro and the Triad have to give you.