100 Awesome Amazing Fantabulous Things

This is my 100th (whattttt) Oberlin blog post! OH MY.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, I planned this post for months. I decided two things: to have a contest, and to have the COOLEST blog post to date.

When it came to writing, I planned to tell you guys 100 things I loved about Oberlin. I managed to list all 100 and began writing commentary on each, but after just 25 of them, I realized it was too long. And I don't want to do that to you. That writing won't be in vain, though, there's a bunch of good stuff for future posts there.

I ended up veering an entirely different direction, and instead, this post is a compilation of 100 adjectives to describe Oberlin. There are few things I love more than adjectives. They are by far my favorite part of speech. I inject them into conversation and writing at an alarming rate. I make up new ones. And most importantly, I make sandwiches out of them. (I even made a website for them :D).

I can't write a post about adjectives to describe Oberlin without mentioning that we tried this once before. To be noted, I was the last class to come in with the motto "Think one person can change the world? So do we." The very next application cycle was deemed the first "We are Oberlin: Fearless" class, which spawned far more commentary (see also Brandi's blog entitled "We are Oberlin: [Insert Adjective Here]"), dissent, and parodies than ever imagined. My friend and former housemate Chris created We are Oberlin: Fear Us shirts on Zazzle and were sported around campus by a handful of people. NPR came to campus and interviewed students (including me!) on our perspectives on the new motto.

I don't believe that a school needs a motto, but I understand that it may make things easier at times. And I do believe that Oberlin is far too complex and huge and means so many things to so many people that we can't try and define it in just one word. What a complicated thing. It was sort of a mess, but it's also not here anymore. Whew.

So, in that light, I give you (my) 100 adjectives for Oberlin. Enjoy!

(WAIT MA'AYAN WAIT. Where's my contest? I wanna win cool stuff!)

Right! A totally awesome contest!

For the 100th commenter to either a.) co-op knock to any one or many of my listed adjective that you like and/or b.) add to my list of 100 adjectives to describe Oberlin, you will receive a framed photographic print of your choice, from my way too extensive collection of Oberlin-related photos.

I realize 100 comments is a tall order, but I believe in you, dear readers. Lists are fun! So are prizes! And comments. Also adjectives.

Rules:

- Only one comment per day per person (I'll know, guys. I have my ways.)
- No repeat comments (as in, you must knock to something new or add another adjective to the list each time).
- You must input a valid email address (I need to know who to contact as the lucky winner!). Any comment without an email address will not be counted towards the 100 comments.
- No meanness, no slurs, and nothing you wouldn't want your or my parents to hear (hi my parents and Ben!).

And now, we adjective!

1. First. See also: our historical precedent for admitting women and having a policy to accept students of any background.

2. Cooperative. See also: OSCA.

3. Scientific. See also: the science center.

4. Conscious. See also: the Oberlin College Dialogue Center, co-op discussions.

5. Contentious. See also: the history of the Anti-Saloon league.

6. Active. See also: our gym.

7. Beautiful. See also: all of campus!

8. Musical. See also: the conservatory, or any day in the Cat in the Cream, Finney Chapel, Warner Concert Hall, Kulas Recital Hall, Fairchild Chapel...

9. Performative. See also: OMTA, OSTA, our dance collectives, junior and senior recitals, the theater and dance department.

10. Dreamy. See also: students sleeping in womb chairs.

11. Creative. See also: the art/cinema studies/dance/etc. departments, the Oberlin apparel challenge..

12. Restless. See also: the Watson Fellowship.

13. Perspicacious. See also: our desire to change the world.

14. Emotional. See also: the range of laughter to tears to tears of laughter I encountered (with pleasure!) over my four years here.

15. Thoughtful. See also: the number of alumni who go on to earn advanced degrees.

16. Artistic. See also: the Allen Memorial Art Museum.

17. Theatrical. See also: Hall Auditorium, Little Theater, and Wilder Main.

18. Snowy. See also: December through March.

19. Historical. See also: Our role in the Civil War.

20. Progressive. See also: this Oberlin Review article from 1997.

21. Passionate. See also: the staggering amount of original research and projects produced by all levels of students.

22. Huggable. See also: my friends (and maybe your friends, too!).

23. Theoretical. See also: our sprawling discussions of all things under the sun.

24. Brilliant. See also: our professors.

25. Odd. See also: the year Oberlin (college and town) were founded (1833).

26. Flexible. See also: the tumbling club and Oberlin College aerialists, some really creative class schedules.

27. Dirty. See also: the rugby teams.

28. Verbose. See also: the number of on-the-air alumni on NPR and affiliated stations.

29. Quiet. See also: quiet hours in dorms so we can get our beauty sleep.

30. Overwhelmed. See also: 500+ concerts every year!

31. Far-flung. See also: all of my friends after graduation.

32. Worldly. See also: the number of students or alumni who go international for internships, winter term, fellowships, jobs, or their future lives.

33. Epic. See also: the campus scream at midnight before finals begin.

34. Weathered. See also: all of northeastern Ohio.

35. Studious. See also: Mudd during midterms, reading period, and finals. And also the rest of the year.

36. Fun loving. See also: The Big Parade, study breaks.

37. Protested. See also: the Vietnam years, our recent representation at the G-20 protests and mountain top coal removal activism.

38. Vegetarian/Vegan. See also: Fairkid and Harkness co-ops.

39. Athletic. See also: our 22 Division III varsity teams and our myriad club and intramural sports.

40. Storied. See also: the Oberlin Stories Project.

41. Flanneled. See also: Aries' blog post.

42. Impressive. See also: our New York Times articles on SEED house and Oberlin apparel!

43. Edible. See also: the Oberlin Farmers Market, George Jones Farm, and the garden behind Harkness.

44. Sunny. See also: our dispositions.

45. Tuned in. See also: WOBC.

46. Wired. See also: our wireless coverage around campus, our numerous computers/computer labs.

47. Voracious. See also: co-op special meals.

48. Dapper. See also: a number of my sweater-vested, non-ironic tie-wearing friends.

49. Ebullient. See also: most any Obie describing a project driven by a class, professor, or idea nourished at Oberlin.

50. Loud. See also: the audience when someone amazing walks out on the Finney stage (or leaves and we cheer them back in).

51. Mikado yellow and crimson. See also: our school colors.

52. Land-loving. See also: the George Jones farm, a recurring interest in creating community gardens, napping students in North Quad and Wilder Bowl.

53. Exploratory. See also: our science labs, the Peters observatory, the outings club.

54. Healthy. See also: The Center for Leadership in Health Promotion, Active Minds, and the Sexual Information Center.

55. Experimental. See also: ExCos.

57. Ambitious. See also: the number of "majors plus" here (double/triple majors, minors, concentrations).

58. Entrepreneurial. See also: the Creativity and Leadership program.

59. Twirly. See also: contra and swing dances.

60. Recycled. See also: the Recycled Products Co-op, the Big Swap, and the free store.

61. Smiley. See also: practically everyone you pass on the street.

62. World-traipsing. See also: our study abroad program.

63. Magnetic. See also: the sheer number of Obies I have randomly run into because of wearing an Oberlin shirt.

64. Hot. See also: Oberlin in the summertime, what happens when you wear all your winter clothes into a heated classroom.

65. Gorgeous. See also: Oberlin in every season.

66. Well-read. See also: our 2.2 million books between our four libraries.

67. Well-written. See also: our awesome alumni writers like William Goldman, Lisa Abend, James McBride, Michael Dirda, Ishmael Beah, Tracy Chevalier, Donald Sobol...

68. Gender-bending. See also: Drag Ball.

69. Jazzy. See also: the Kohl Building for Jazz Studies, the Cat in the Cream on Friday afternoons.

70. Sustainable. See also: Robert L. Kahn Hall, sustainability hall in Burton, SEED house.

71. Improvised. See also: The Semi-Automatic Players, Primitive Streak, the Sunshine Scouts, OBehave.

72. Energetic. See also: Wilder Bowl on a Friday afternoon.

73. Exuberant. See also: a conservatory student in the middle of a performance, a circus performer in the middle of a great trick.

74. Green. See also: Oberlin in the spring, the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies.

75. Sexual. See also: the SIC and Safer Sex Week.

76. Directed. See also: at least one play or musical per week during the semester.

77. Zen. See also: the meditation rooms in Wilder.

78. Inquisitive. See also: alumni Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, creators of Radiolab.

79. Coherent. See also: the number of in-class presentations given every semester.

80. Traditional. See also: Illumination during commencement, The Oberlin Review.

81. Connected. See also: the number of incredible people who return every year for reunions (or whenever, actually).

82. Generational. See also: the more than two dozen incoming first-years each year who had at least one parent attend Oberlin.

83. Fearless. See also: this video.

84. Fearful. See also: the future.

85. Rocking. See also: The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, that one drummer from the Mars Volta, every student band created here.

86. Enthusiastic. See also: this entire blog post about the enthusiastic class of 2015.

87. Playful. See also: cuddle puddles in Wilder Bowl, TGIF.

88. High flying. See also: the Oberlin College Aerialists.

89. Sleepy.See also: Mudd during finals.

90. Awkward. 

91. Diverse. See also: the Multicultural Resource Center, the Social Justice Institute.

92. Intense. See also: OCircus and the outings club. (You see what I did there?)

93. Driven. See also: our dozens of yearly grant and fellowship winners.

94. Cyclical. See also: our sheer number of bicycle wheels on campus.

95. Photogenic. See also: the Oberlin poster.

96. Fierce. See also: Fiercegiving.

97. Danceable. See also: the 'Sco, the Argentine Tango/swing/blues/jazz/tap/modern ExCos, the dance department.

98. Quirky. See also: the Neofuturists, a improv and performance collective in Chicago that was started in Harkness co-op by alum Greg Allen.

99. Shareable. See also: the bike co-op, our car sharing program.

100. Delicious. See also: adjective sandwiches!

There ya go, guys! 100 posts, 100 adjectives, and now, 100 comments! GO GO GO.