Living for the City


by Lori Sykes


If anyone's ever looking for an example of an oxymoron, "The City of Williamsburg" is the best
one going. Since I have suffered through four years of one eventless weekend after another, I
have pretty fertile ground to bitch about this cultural vacuum. Even though Williamsburg is a
city by definition, it lacks the many key attributes that make a place vibrant enough to fit that
description.

After spending every summer as well as every weekend in between in New York City, coming
to Williamsburg was a complete cultural shock. Having been raised in the city, I am used to
frequent trips to the Museum of Natural History and monthly excursions to the Met. So, butter
churning, iron-mailing, and mock slave auctions were not on the top of my cultural agenda.

I came to Williamsburg to study because I knew New York nightlife would ensnare me, and
academic obligations would be impossible to fulfill. In my naivete, I decided on a more
traditional, pastoral educational experience. I assumed that Williamsburg would lack the
sizzle and seductive chaos of the city, but I had no idea that I would be able to circuit the entire
social scene of the area during freshman orientation. Now, I long desperately for the java
guzzling of the dark cafes in the village and the jazz-saturated nightlife of uptown.

Meanwhile, I'm stuck here, so I'll stop whining and share some ways you and your friends can
escape this Georgian brick nightmare-if not in body, then at least in spirit.
As the years have passed here at the College, I've met more and more people who have
plans to immediately flee CW as soon as possible. Most plan to head to D.C., others to the Big
Apple; yet all share one common pursuit: to have a life. That, coupled with the dreary
weather, urges to escape.

The need to disassociate oneself with this area is so profound that some Virginians at the
College place strong emphasis on the fact that they are from No.Va., as if northern Virginia
were another state or something. Face up to it, you No.Va. dwellers, you suckers are still from
Virginia-sorry. It is really sad when natives of a state try to divorce themselves from the rest
of their homeland. Don't worry hope lies on the horizon for you, too.

For example, if you plan on pursuing a career that is remotely intriguing (i.e. government,
journalism, research) you've got to get the hell out of here if you want a job, so career paths all
lead toward bigger and better metropolies. In these cities places like museums, concert halls, clubs, and theaters exist, all of which provide stimulating and educational entertainment unlike anything you've experienced in Williamsburg. So, everything you haven't been exposed to at William and Mary because of hyperisolation and sheltering will smack you in the face as soon as you arrive in any of America's concrete jungles. Now, so that you aren't completely clueless when you hit the
pavement, here are a few tips: So, if you're ever in the city (N.Y. ,that is), and you need some company or directions, take the F
train to the West 4th stop and I'll see you there.

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