MARY WISNIEWSKI
Assistant Living Editor
When I was 7, I believed the world was going to end.
I also believed that poisonous clouds were attached to the sky, a boogeyman was coming for me, and a witch was selling apples beneath my bed, waiting to grab any dangling feet. Many nights, I hid beneath pink covers with brows arched and face quivering.
Of course these fears were irrational, as any worldly 8-year-old would soon come to realize. Even still, the imagination of a 7-year-old resists obliteration, and eventually those childish fears would transform into neurotic adolescent worries about security.
Later, fearing for my life, I dreamt of burnt candles relighting, wet curling irons electrocuting my unsuspecting mother and unlocked doors permitting night prowlers. But in the end, all I had was Chicken Little syndrome, chanting, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling.”
These days, I don’t worry so much about witches and boogeymen. Instead, the apparitions manifest themselves in my decision to attend college in Malibu (and sometimes scary birds, a residual childhood fear).
Let’s face it. Going to Pepperdine is certainly nice — the beach is only a few minutes away, there are plenty of interesting classes and the faculty truly cares for their students. Judging by appearances, it’s hard to complain. But this college seems more like an extension of high school, in that both merely provide a microscopic perspective of the world.
Most people attending Pepperdine are of the same ethnicity, worldview and economic status. Granted, there is some diversity, but it is few and far between. Being Catholic seems to shock many. With everyone believing in the same things, it is hard to be challenged outside of one’s comfort zone.
I spent last year overseas in London, where I met all kinds of people: break dancers, artists, Muslims. People I probably would never have met on campus.
This past summer, my adventures continued. I interned filming cowboys in Costa Rica. I interviewed jewelry-stand owners without knowing Spanish. I jumped out of a car flooding in the river. I went on a canopy tour, whipping from tree to tree. Everything was amazing.
Coming back to Malibu, everything is ordinary because everything is the same.
You need to be overseas to learn about life, but I do believe you have to get off of Pepperdine’s campus from time to time to get a more accurate representation of it.
For me, traveling is not an escape. It’s a solution to discovering more about the world. And I don’t just mean faraway places. If Dorothy can go to Oz, students can at least go to Venice Beach. Going places generally results in meeting people who are probably very unlike you.
The other day, I went shopping at Ralphs. I was looking for peanuts, and when I asked an employee for their whereabouts, he smiled and replied, “There are a lot of nuts here.”
Don’t get me wrong. Despite my apprehensions, I still enjoy the quest a new year offers: new people, new classes, new activities. But I want to keep on learning about different types of people.
People often deliberate the decisions they make, wondering what’s next. For me, not knowing what’s next is the journey. After all, I wouldn’t want a completely ordinary year, because where would that bring me?
To tell you the truth, I suppose life would be a lot less interesting without a little bit of chaos. So these days, I live recklessly, wandering under ladders and stepping over cracks while petting black cats with my fingers uncrossed.
Heck, you might even find me in Mexico.
11-03-2005
