A Guidebook to Boulder
By Cayden Stice
Writer’s Note: To help incoming students at the University of Colorado Boulder, graduating senior Cayden Stice offers a poem sharing insights into the key moments, places and experiences students can look forward to.
* * *
Pack your boots and get ready to hike!
There are so many, many things to like!
Join some new clubs, even if you’re leery,
you may just learn new intricate theories!
Take a random class, drawn out of a hat,
you may find you want to learn more about that!
Talk to your roommate, sign your contract,
and if things go awry use your RA for contact.
Borrow vacuums and pans from the front desks,
and don’t forget cleaners lest your room gets grotesque.
Be courteous in the bathroom, make sure to flush,
and make sure not to forget your toothbrush!
If you feel homesick, there’s no need to worry,
take some deep breaths and go buy a Slurpee.
Call up your dad, your aunt, or your dog,
you will get through this momentary slog.
And if it persists, as some pests often do,
CAPS awaits to see how it can help you.
Make some friends at the Black and Gold Bash,
take some cool pictures (but turn off the flash!).
Go see a concert at lush Farrand Field,
and see how much fun you can yield!
Explore the Hill and all of its wonders!
(Just be sure not to make any blunders!)
Eat around campus, and explore elsewhere,
invite your roommate for a meal to share!
Enjoy a burger straight from Alferd Packer,
and some other yummy scrumptious snackers.
Use your meal swipes, Munch Money too,
and as you eat, enjoy the world-class view.
Meet your advisor, your academic mentor!
Explore your major, deep dive and explore.
And don’t be afraid to subtract and add;
this is your first of many launchpads!
Check out your audit on the Buff Portal,
and maybe you’ll find the key to being immortal!
Explore around campus, go up every tree,
you never know what you may see!
use the rich history as your mentor!
Scuttle yourself to the top of Gamow
and hear yourself gasp and say “Wow!”
On Norlin Quad, stretch out on a hammock,
take an art class and learn some ceramics.
Find a secret study spot (I hear UMC is best!)
and study and study for all of your tests.
Make sure to stretch your legs and rest your eyes,
reflect on your learning that makes you so wise.
I promise you, friend, it will all be OK,
just relax, breathe and smell the new day!
Go to the REC, put the good tunes on,
swing through Norlin like a newborn swan!
Go to Macky and CASE, Imig and East Campus,
see everything and intrigue your hippocampus.
Pack quarters for laundry, load your Buff OneCard…
Get a frisbee ready to throw ‘round the yard…
Talk to your professors, go to office hours…
Bring your flip flops for the showers…
Get to bed early (at least before dawn),
and drink some coffee to stifle your yawns.
Welcome to Boulder, your life starts anew!
One day you’ll look back and see how much you grew.
Appreciate the Flatirons and all of their beauty
(that’s not a suggestion, rather a duty!)
I know you’ll have fun, I know you’ll make friends,
and if you ever need help, every Buff has help to lend.
