It’s the prerogative, maybe even the obligation, of youth to wear shorts and flip-flops in the snow, shun sleep and nutrition, to run, slide, or jump when simply walking down the stairs fails to inspire. Whether the impulse is to make your friends laugh or make your mother shake her head in exasperation, to test the edges of safety and so-called common sense is to remind yourself that you aren’t wasting your beautiful life following dull convention. Generations have looked back on their college years and asked themselves how they ever survived—the stories range from small indiscretions to epic stunts, but those moments of pure freedom and fun, no matter how unwise, hold some of the warmest places in our hearts.
The fellow in the corner not laughing along with your stories is an insurance carrier. The reality is that risk equals danger, often to arms and legs, and as a result it also equals potential lawsuits. For better or worse, institutions of higher learning have needed to conform to our litigious culture to protect both student and institution from unintended disaster. So climbing on roofs, ski-jumping on Deeds Hill, dangling out of windows, and even the perennial winter favorite, “traying” down Skin Hill, are now officially verboten. Enjoy your memories, and rest assured that the imaginative energy of youth abides.