Stalgia: Chapter 1

It’s a September afternoon and the Fall 2019 semester is just starting to pick up steam after a fun-filled Syllabus Week at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York...Classes let out and the quad fills with students rushing off in all directions—to the Coop, back to the dorms, down the hill to Case Library… It’s ‘shorts and a t-shirt’ weather and the energy on campus feels just like the sun.

Among the scattered scurry of students is senior Tristan Niskanen (an English & Creative Writing major from Aspen, CO). He walks down the Persson Hall steps and strolls along College Street, smiling as he passes Donovan’s Pub and Taylor Lake. He takes out his pocket notebook and pulls out a pen from behind his ear to scribble a quick note for himself. As he walks, he reflects on the last couple of years at Colgate and how his decision to transfer had worked out. Then he thinks about how happy he is to be back on campus after spending last semester studying abroad in Bloomsbury, London.

Meanwhile, senior Eric Fishbin (a Philosophy major and English minor from Port Washington, NY) is on his way to the same apartment complex—but to a different room and for a different reason. Eric is driving over to see his friend, Jeremy Harwin (a Chinese major and Economics minor from Mamaroneck, NY), because he is eager to show off a new book of poetry called “Big Man, Small Europe.” The book was written by his friend and Living Writers classmate, Tristan Niskanen, who gave it to him that day in class. 

Jeremy doesn’t know why Eric is so excited; he doesn’t know the name Tristan Niskanen, either. He is pretty interested in finding out what the big deal about this book is, though. Eric opens the door without knocking and Jeremy is at the table waiting for him. Eric pulls off his shoes and tosses the copy of the book onto the table for Jeremy to see. 

“This,” Eric tells Jeremy, “was written during the Spring 2019 semester when I was abroad in London.” 

Tristan, who writes in order to document his life and share it with the world, took pens and paper wherever he went and turned memorable moments from his semester overseas into poems. By the end of the trip, he had over 100 poems and decided to self-publish the collection. When he first got the book, Eric was thrilled to show it off; reading it reminded him of inside jokes, small details that triggered bigger memories and other special moments from the semester abroad. 

Jeremy loved it; he was jealous he could not recall similar details from his semester in Shanghai the previous fall. He knew he had the best four months of his life, but had nothing to make his journey come to life. He had photos, notes, videos and group text messages with friends, but it was impossible to read any of that on his phone. 

Now, a year and a half later, Jeremy’s semester in Shanghai seems like a lifetime ago and much of the value from the trip feels lost. So, the next day, Jeremy asked Eric for “this guy” Tristan’s number—he had an idea and he needed to see if “the poet” was interested. 

They connected, and soon after our team of four (Fishbin ’20, Harwin ’20, Niskanen ’20 and Spencer Spitz ’21, a Computer Science major and Psychology minor from Mount Sinai, NY) tepidly strolled into 20 Utica Street on a Saturday morning for our first Thought into Action Workshop. 

We had an idea for improving how we preserve and share our memories from experiences like a semester abroad, but not much else. 

We asked ourselves, “What is it about going to a new place that inspires such a drastic shift in perspective and makes us more observant, more adventurous and more in the moment? How can we build something that helps make the details behind a defining moment or experience last?”