Getting Oriented

The first time TigerBlog carried his daughter's refrigerator into her dorm room, he cut his finger on one of the sharp edges.

This isn't a standard little mini-fridge. This one is sort of one-and-a-half times that size, and it's old, with said jagged edges around it. The fridge isn't overwhelmingly heavy, but it is very bulky, especially since you need to watch where you put your fingers or else you'll end up with another cut.

He remembers that when he put the fridge down in Forbes that day, he thought to himself: "Hmmm, only seven more times carrying this thing." He figured he'd have to carry it back out of that room and then in and out three more times after that.

TB carried the darned thing again Saturday during move-in day. After he put it down, he said to himself "one more to go." Then he followed that with "how the heck did that happen so fast?"

It does seem like yesterday that TB was first helping Miss TigerBlog move into a dorm for the first time as a college student. Now, suddenly, she's a senior. 

Where does the time go? TB has interviewed so many Princeton seniors and alums who say "the time flew by" that he long ago lost count. Now here he is own daughter, suddenly a senior. That's crazy.

By the way, TigerBlog would like to say something to whoever it was who organized move-in over the weekend: You did a great job. Seriously. That was the most organized set-up TB has seen for anything in a long time. 

The best part were the signs that had the names of the different dorms on them with arrows pointing where to park. And the people who were directing the cars were very friendly and well-informed of who should be where. TB presumes that most of the time whoever is in charge only hears complaints, but that was a job well done.

Meanwhile, the newest generation of Princeton Athletes gathered together yesterday in McCosh 50 for new student-athlete orientation. If you've read this for a few years now, you know it's always one of the more fascinating events for TigerBlog.

For one thing, there are so many different sports represented, and it's so interesting to consider that each athlete in the room took a different path to finding that sport and excelling in that sport and as a student. It's fun to glance at them and figure out what sport they play. The only sport where it seems really easy to do that is hockey, for some reason. Hockey players seem to carry themselves a bit differently. 

As he's written so many times before, there are not many times where the entire athletic class is assembled together. This is one of them. So is the Gary Walters PVC Senior Award Banquet at year's end. 

The juxtaposition of the two is what really strikes TigerBlog. There they sit, in McCosh 50, with no idea of what to expect. And then they gather for the banquet as seniors – the last two times virtually, hopefully in person for every year moving forward – having had their entire Princeton experience play out for them, with graduation just a few days away. 

It goes by in a blink. They'll all be amazed by that fact. They'll all have that in common.

Their roads will diverge, of course. They won't all have the same experience. It's not possible. Some will be starters. Some will work for more playing time for four years and never get it. Some will stay healthy. Others will be nagged by injuries. Some – most, TB hopes, and if history is an indication, most will win at least one championship. 

There will be commonalities. They will make friends who become friends for life. They will learn lessons through being on Princeton teams that they will take with them forever. They will learn about struggling and what they need to do to work through it. 

They come from all over, from 30 states and 17 countries to be exact. They're still getting to know each other and know the University.

TB is envious of them. He hopes they appreciate the great good fortune they have to be Princeton athletes. He hopes they all make the absolute most of this opportunity.

He's looking forward to seeing them all at their senior banquet. 

It'll be here before they know it.