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From Bloomfield to Beantown:
Freshman Year Lessons
By Kristin Demorest
November 2002
 My
first few months of college, both on and off of the lacrosse field,
has been both the most exciting and most terrifying period of my life.
The other day, I had some time to think about it.
I came to the realization that even in the short time that I have been
here, I have changed in many ways. The most obvious way is that I essentially
have two different lives now: one at home in Michigan, and one at my
new home in Cambridge. New friends, teammates, classes, activities,
and the perpetual attempt to find something edible in the dining hall,
make up my life here. Sometimes it can be confusing, as I find myself
asking where I really belong. I must confess, at times I am completely
overwhelmed by classes and the novelty of everything around me...and
would do anything to just go back to Michigan, where everything was
much simpler. But in spite of these occasional feelings, and sometimes
in spite of myself, I have begun to think of Harvard as my home —
a second home that offers things to me that other place couldn’t.
I am being completely honest when I say that I absolutely love playing
lacrosse here. One change that’s refreshing is that I am now surrounded
by other people who share the same passion for the game that I do, and
we all appreciate other people on the team who really push themselves
to improve. I am an intense person, and for the first time, I feel like
this part of me is accepted and encouraged by other members of my team.
The more intense things get, the more improvements I make, and the more
fun I have. What I really love about college lacrosse is that they are
constantly pushing you to improve. The great thing about my coaches,
though, is that they understand people have bad days and lapses once
in a while, which takes off a lot of the pressure to be perfect. In
a way, this makes me want to work even harder.
The biggest lesson I have learned so far is to be open to new things
— ideas, people, and strange food combinations in the dining hall,
whatever. On top of being open to new things, I have also learned that
I need to be patient with others and myself in adjusting to them. This
is something that has been true for me on and off the field. On the
field, I have been pushed to do things I have never done before and
to improve on the weaker parts of my game. When I worked at them rather
than getting frustrated with myself for not being able to do them right
away they eventually click. In life away from lacrosse, this lesson
was most applicable to life in my dorm. Everyone is used to doing things
their own way and compromise is the only way to keep everyone from driving
each other crazy.
I can't believe how fast these first few months have gone by, though
at times they have seemed to drag on forever. It has been very hard
for me to be away from home, I have spent a lot of time feeling like
there was a void in me that I couldn’t fill because of how much
I missed my family. I know that my parents did me one huge favor by
leaving me here before their 750 mile trip home. If it had been up to
me at that time, I probably would have gotten back in the car and forgotten
all about Harvard. But if they had let me give up and if I had given
up on myself, then I would have denied the strongest part of my personality
that is found in most goalies: we are fighters. When things get tough,
I refuse to be beaten, and when somebody tells me that I can’t
do something, it only serves to make my resolve stronger. Being at school
has done nothing but strengthen this part of me.
A Glance at our Columnist: Kristin Demorest
Kristin Demorest
Harvard University, Class of 2005
Hometown: Birmingham, Michigan
High School: Seaholm High School
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