Coming to Goshen College, I never thought that I could have a big effect on people’s lives by just sitting on a purple couch and giving my honest thoughts and opinions to the students here. To be honest, coming to the connector every day for hours and hours wasn’t on my agenda when coming to this school.
At the beginning, it was just my friends and I not wanting to stay in our rooms all the time, being bored and watching reality TV. I felt like I had done enough sitting around and being inactive during the first few weeks of the semester. I felt that there was no reason to be a residential student if all I was going to do was sit in my room and look at the same four blank white walls. Even then, I only ever ventured out to the Connector on the third floor of Kratz, where I live. I mean, it does have a kitchen and a nice-sized TV. But it was never enough. I needed human interaction.
This led me to the connector on the first floor, across from Java, where I am now infamous among residential students as the “Java Junction Therapist.”
Being in the connector made me develop a sense of observation, not only of the students that would pass me everyday, but also the custodian workers that I learned to know. I saw the groups of students that studied together and the ones that would fight during their game of Uno. I learned who were the early risers and the night owls because I am both. It might sound creepy, but watching people go by was one of the best parts of my day. I made many friends and new acquaintances during this time. It helped me learn people’s names and their passions. It also taught me that around 3 a.m., Campus Safety goes around making sure all doors are secured for our safety. Not only do they ensure our safety, but they always make sure that you’re okay if you’re up at that time, especially on school nights.
The name “Java Junction Therapist” was actually funny to me when I first heard it. I would joke to people that I was always in the Connector because I was the student therapist, but I was only saying that I was a listening ear if anyone wanted to talk. In most cases it worked because many people would ask for my opinion for various situations and, of course, I would give them a logical answer with an explanation or an answer from my own experience. I thought it was helpful for them because everyone needs a shoulder to lean on.
Being on that purple couch in the Connector has shaped my life in a way I wouldn’t have seen coming. It has made me see even the smallest things that most wouldn’t notice, like the different types of music the Java Junction workers like to listen to, or how different a person could look with or without their glasses. It has even made me notice the different hair colors that one girl dyes her hair. This purple couch has even made me observe myself in the things that I do and what I have changed about myself since coming to GC. Never in a million years would I have thought I would be thanking a purple couch but today I am. It really shows that the connector brings people together in all kinds of ways.
