New Year, New Northrop, New Life
“We all have our routines… they are like the endless pacings of a caged animal. If they are not madness itself, then they are a prelude to it.”
–John Connoly
BAM! Students of the University…
THE NEW YEAR is here. I know what y’all are thinking – when did this happen? It literally feels like last week that you were enjoying the soothing caress of a midsummer night’s breeze on your face, looking through the syllabi for your new fall classes, or even counting down the seconds to close out 2012. As we get older and our problems continually compound and multiply, we rapidly lose appreciation for each individual day that we are given on this earth. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of the everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. But the cost of such monotony is an absence of personal growth. Most of us live in our comfort zone, never really stepping out of our hobbit holes to explore the many parts of the universe we know nothing about. We’re afraid of what lies out there, or are just not motivated enough to reach out for something crazy or unknown. We’re all into New Year’s Resolutions, but I present to you a New Life’s Resolution –
Do something.
Sounds beautifully simple, doesn’t it? That’s because, when you break things down, it is. What I mean to say is, starting this year – Nay, this very day! – I implore you to go out in the big, wide world and experience life. I’m not saying you need to start climbing pyramids and riding dolphins (that may come in time); I’m telling you to go out and actively engage in perhaps small, silly but NEW activities which before reading this diatribe against the daily grind you would never find yourself considering. Look at Bilbo Baggins – he was at first reluctant to leave his warm abode in the Shire, but once he steps out his round door into the waiting arms of adventure, he finds himself enjoying a series of daring quests, climbing over mountains of gold, and even chancing upon a Ring of Power.
Northrop is here to help people find adventures. Opportunities to experience new and diverse things are difficult to not find with Northrop’s plethora of impelling events. On Tuesday, January 14, Northrop will be presenting Wayne McGregor | Random Dance. With a radical approach to exploring movement coupled with the incorporation of advanced technologies into dance and music, this performance not only will give students further exposure to dance, it will show the staggering innovations that provide for even further exploration. On Saturday, February 8, The Royal New Zealand Ballet will perform for the first time in the state of Minnesota. This prestigious group provides stellar insight into the essence of the country’s national identity – giving students a unique chance for cultural enrichment.
These are just a couple of the breathtaking events Northrop has coming up at the front end of the New Year. Northrop obviously can’t provide you with all of your adventures in life, but we can certainly help you to make a meaningful dent into the list of incredible experiences that are waiting for you in the Twin Cities and beyond. So this New Year, take that proverbial (and literal) step out the door and begin writing a story for your life that’s interesting to tell as the years go by.
-Written by Northrop Student Engagement Intern Chanse Shirley
