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1. Take a lame selfie with the “Senior Rock,” or any cliché spot of choice
Don’t act like you didn’t take a selfie with the “Freshman Rock,” or the “Slippery Rock” fountain when you first rolled into Slippy in your family’s SUV. Freshman you wasn’t too good for that, and senior you isn’t any better. You need to validate your formal education by taking a picture with the polished “Senior Rock,” or the Slippery Rock fountain to show what your hard-earned money is worth.
2. Turn up (or down) at GHill
Ginger Hill is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea (or glass of beer, rather,) but it’s still worth it to commemorate your experience at the only bar in Slippery Rock that’s open past midnight and serves hard liquor. Despite its flaws, going to GHill is an unavoidable part of being an SRU student. While freshman you couldn’t go to GHill, freshman you always wanted to. Commemorate the life of your freshman self by inconspicuously toting a backpack as you walk to GHill, looking over your shoulder to ensure you won’t get stopped by police while simultaneously shushing your drunken friend. Good times.
3. Get Some Sweet Souvenirs at the Bookstore
Freshman you didn’t hesitate to buy T-shirts, hoodies and odd memorabilia emblazoned with the SRU logo, and now is the perfect time to revisit that long-forgotten part of yourself. Because SRU is as obscure as all of the hipsters who hang out in the quad, you usually won’t be able to find pens, mugs and bathmats that will eternally remind you of your alma mater. You better stock up now.
4. Listen to the Top 10 Songs from 2011
Considering you’re a traditional four-year student, and you came into Slippy bright eyed and bushy tailed in 2011, you probably heard your neighbors blasting 2011’s top 10 songs in the dorms. Listen to “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele to relive your short-lived crush on the girl who lived down the hall who ended up falling for the guy who had the sweet water speakers. Commemorate the first time you tried jungle juice in a dimly-lit basement by listening to LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem,” and celebrate the lameness of your freshman self by jamming to Katy Perry’s “Firework.” “Do you ever feel like a plastic bag,” was a lyric that really spoke to freshman you.
5. Treat Yourself to the Red Baskets at Boozel
Whether or not freshman you packed on the Freshman 15, chances were that every once in a while, you treated yourself to the hot dogs, burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches that accumulated grease in the bottom of the red baskets. Senior you, now older, wiser and equipped with a limited food budget, probably hasn’t graced Boozel dining hall since you moved out of the dorms, but now’s your chance to relive the former glory that came with eating at Boozel. Drink pop from the fountain until it runs out of syrup, load up on tots during the extended weekend breakfast and on your way out, be sure to pick up an ice cream cone only to drop it once you open the doors. This will probably (and somewhat thankfully) be the last time you will ever eat there.
6. Revisit your major building one last time
For a communication major like me, Eisenberg has become my home away from home. To think I couldn’t even distinguish it from the others in the quad when I first came to Slippery Rock. Whether your home building was McKay for you education majors, Spotts for you political science, English and philosophy majors, or even if you consider your home building to be Bailey Library for all of the hours you spend agonizing over your finals, be sure to visit it one last time before you set off. It will be sure to bring back some memories for you, and visit some of your favorite professors while you’re at it.
7. Write “Thank You” Letters to Everyone Who Shaped Your Experience Here
While you’ve only been here for four years (or more for you super seniors,) if you’re anything like me, they’ve been the most influential years of your life, especially your freshman year. Commemorate that experience by thanking the professors who showed you kindness after you almost missed your final freshman year and ran, backpack flailing into the wind, through the doors of your classroom only to be met with a smile and laughter, (thank you, Dr. Laux). Many of your professors helped you along the way, and there’s a good likelihood that you’ll forget what all they’ve done for you. Think for a minute, and I’m sure you can think of at least five who helped you when they didn’t need to. While you’re at it, thank the people you’ve met here, who ended up becoming your best friends, for sticking with you through this crazy adventure. You wouldn’t be who you are today without the nights spent on their couch, reading over notes for a big test for the umpteenth time when you decided to just watch Netflix instead. Lastly, thank the horrible roommate you had freshman year for teaching you humility by making you wash their dishes four times in a row, and teaching you how to deal with passive aggression the likes of which you’ve never seen before you came to college. Every experience you had here has shaped you into who you are, and freshman you would like to see that experience be commemorated.
