Take us wherever this is?

Our next senior wisdom comes from Sophie Laruelle who wants you to get off your phone (after reading this). 

Name, School, Major, Hometown: Sophie Therese Laruelle/CC/Music/New York City!! JK Westchester. Ok……Scarsdale.

Claim to fame: Over the past four years, I’ve played everything from a demonic environmentalist to an incestuous queen to a frisky CUMB member to Jeb Bush. And that’s just on stage!

Where are you going? Back to square one. That’s not as depressing as it sounds.

What are 3 things you learned at Columbia and would like to share with the Class of 2021?

1) Capitalize on Columbia’s resources! That student life fee isn’t for nothing. If there is something you want to use or change or create on campus, find out how you can. This is your school. Use it!

2) Get off your phone. Acknowledge the person next to you in the elevator. Make eye contact with the other living, breathing humans around you and live in the present moment. Look out for people- ask them how they are and genuinely find out. No one can make Columbia a community except the students within it.

3) Be warned: If you sign up for a meal plan, you can’t cancel it once classes start. It’s a year-long, fiery, emotionally charged commitment. You’ll go through ups and down, shockingly good and inevitably bad days, but surf and turf will make it all worth it maybe.

“Back in my day…” Lion’s Head had ONE dollar beer night instead of two or six or whatever it is now. Also I got my funky gear at RICKY’S. RIP Ricky’s.

Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: According to my middle school french teacher, my last name translates to “the space between the bed and the wall.” So yeah.

What was your favorite class at Columbia? New York Avant-Gardes: Music and Performance Since 1950 with David Gutkin. Each week we listened to and learned about incredibly inspiring artists- Meredith Monk, Yoko Ono, and The Talking Heads were just a few. Also Modern Dance with Caitlin Trainor. Also Jazz Vocal Ensemble with Christine Correa. She will change your life.

Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? A good manchego has never let me down.

One thing to do before graduating: See the Varsity Show. It’s Columbia’s oldest performing arts tradition. Also, so many students work tirelessly on it each year so check out their work and see the show.

Any regrets? Many. I wish I had done KCST’s Spring Show. I wish I had directed something on campus. I wish i had gone to more improv shows and a cappella concerts. I wish I had lived more spontaneously and realized what I wanted a little earlier in my college career. I wish I had stayed friends with everyone from NSOP and branched out even more. At the end of the day though, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, happy with what I’ve left behind, and ready to begin the next step. Congrats to the Class of 2017!

Photo via Sophie Laruelle