Letter to My First Year Self: Naomi Ravick
To my first year self,
Well I never thought it would end up like this, let me tell you. It’s been a wild ride and I guess I shouldn’t have expected the end to be any different.
When NYU announces that it will be closing for the semester and that you have 48 hours to move out of the city and back home, ending your senior year a few months short, it’s going to hurt. You will cry, a lot. There will be accidental tears on FaceTime with your boss — more on that later- don’t worry, I promise it’s normal. Two hours later you’re going to be curled in your
bed sobbing hysterically.
You’re 22 years old and think you should be past this stage in life, but you’re not.
Mom’s going to sit on the edge of your bed like she did in high school asking why you’re inconsolable — I know you think she’d learn that it annoys you when she does that. She doesn’t. You’ll tell her to go away like you always do, and she’ll stay like she always does, until you concede. You’ll do your best to articulate what you think it is you’re losing. It was graduation and Yankee Stadium, it was Washington Square Park in the springtime, it was the lasts that you’ll be missing- the last class, the last shift of RA duty, the last coffee with a friend. Countless tissues later, you’ll finally able to articulate what it is that you’ll be missing the most in the semester that is being robbed from underneath you. It’s Bronfman. I can’t tell you how much that brownstone on 10th Street is going to shape you over the next four years, but you know what they say: you never know how much you truly love something until it’s gone. I wish I could prepare you for the hours that you’ll spend there, or tell you how much you’ll learn or how much it’ll mean to you by the end.
I wish I could say that from the second you walk into that building, that you’ll know it’s the place for you. But you won’t. It’s going to take a few months for it to sneak into your subconscious and to penetrate your daily routine until it’s just a part of you. But that’s okay, be patient It’ll come sophomore year. One day at the beginning of first semester you’re just going to wake up and it will have just completely consumed your life in the best way possible. Your days and weeks will be centered around being there and your best friends in the world are there — hold onto them. You’re going to find a mentor and a friend who will become your boss and shape you in ways you can’t even begin to image.
When you think of NYU it’ll be forever inexplicably linked with the Bronfman Center. It is my entire college experience. Hundreds of shabbat’s spent on the 5th floor, moments turned into hours on the fourth floor with staff who became friends and friends who became a family. And hours turned into days spent in the first floor office — our office — planning Shabbat for Two Thousand and Havdalah Under the Stars with your best friend. You’re going to lose a lot of sleep, and probably years off of your life. But wow, enjoy it, because it’s going to be the best four years of your life.
I’ve learned so much about myself in that building, it’s hard to put into words. I’ve learned an immeasurable amount about what it means to be Jewish, what it means to be an adult, what it means to be human. My life has been forever touched by the people I’ve met there and the experiences that have shaped me, all in that building on 10th Street. Everything that I’m taking from NYU was brought to me through the Bronfman Center. My classes were truly exceptional, and not to minimize that part of the experience; but what I’ll remember the most, is the person that I’ve become in that building. I’ve become a leader, a student, a teacher, a woman, and most importantly a friend.
Well this is meant to be a letter of advice to myself at the beginning of it all, so here’s the advice:
Sleep when you can — you won’t be sleeping that well for the next few years (especially during H2K and S2K planning) but you’ll get used to it
Crying is normal. Don’t be afraid to be yourself. Not everyone is going to like you and that’s okay, because the ones that do are the ones that matter. Learn from the criticism, but don’t let anyone change you. Julia is going to be your best friend and you’re going to learn more from her than you could ever
imagine — even though she annoys you to death sometimes- don’t be too hard on her. Do everything. You’ll regret everything you say no to, so say yes to it all. Enjoy every single second because it’s going to be over in a heartbeat.
I’ve been hearing for the last four years that you never graduate from a family, and I cannot be happier to know that it’s true. For every single thing I’ve learned, every memory made, every life that’s touched mine in ways I can’t even put into words- I couldn’t be more grateful. Onto the next chapter.
With love,
Naomi
