See: field notes

Another lovely Bwogger shares their Wisdom. If you’ve ever needed some guidance on sunburns, free sweatshirts, or the day after Bacchanal, Renée Kraiem is the woman to talk to.

Name, School, Major: Renée Kraiem, BC ‘14, English

Claim to fame: More famous for getting outed on Bwog than working for it, apparently.

Where are you going? Literally nowhere. I’ll be finishing up credits next fall under a conditional mandate from my parents that I participate in absolutely nothing extra­curricular and make at least what looks like an attempt to become gainfully employed.

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2018?

1. Send a follow­up email. During NSOP I signed up to get updates for how to get involved with The Varsity Show, and, after never receiving any of said updates, wrote it off as a place to get involved. Through a series of happy accidents I ended up the Stage Manager of the 119th Annual Varsity Show, which gave me a family here and changed the way I think about myself and my career. If only I’d sent a follow­up email, maybe I’d have three sweatshirts instead of two.

2. Quit things. Halfway through this year I made the decision to resign from a position I had had been working on for about six months. It pissed a lot of people off, and it pissed me off too at the time, but I’m graduating more fulfilled because of it, and six months later everybody’s the better for it. Respect your limits; not convinced? See note below.

3. What to do if college isn’t the best time of your life.

“Back in my day…” Control + Alt + Backspace reset printers all over campus, those printers also didn’t have locks on them, and there were no doubles in Plimpton. In all fairness, though, I also didn’t go here.

Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: During Hurricane Sandy my suite and I spent the entire day in 616 drinking wine and betting on my roommate’s cousin’s “baby pool” for her extended family. I won.

Write your most memorable note from the field: Last year I convinced myself that the day after Bacchanal I could make take an 8:38 AM train to Baltimore for Johns Hopkins’s Spring Fair. I promptly fell asleep at the beer garden about five hours later and woke up two hours later with what developed into a second-­degree sunburn. I took the first train back to the city the next morning and worked a Days on Campus performance for The Varsity Show; see photographic evidence above. Also, “PLIMPTON.”

Would you rather give up oral cheese or sex? I’m going to disagree with President Spar on this one. 

One thing to do before graduating: “Don’t feel pressured to make your mark./ Do what you want, don’t care who sees./ You’ll be okay if you can say/ It’s here I made my memories.”

Any regrets? Not getting here that one year earlier.