For those of you with a particularly strong imagination, you might be able to recall warm weather. While walking around campus, you might have seen a girl casually strumming her ukulele as she herself walked to her destination. Though enigmatic and a delight to see, it’s natural to wonder about this student that everyone knows, yet no one “really” knows.
“One day I was just walking past the quad and this girl was just kinda walking along, playing a ukulele! I was taken a little off guard, but I thought it was pretty cool. Like, go her,” said Liz Roderick, a freshman psychology major. Many students were curious as to this mysterious musician’s true identity, but very few actually knew her personally. Well, I decided to track them down to see the person behind the music, as it will.
Her name is Cassandra Larrosa, a freshman at the University. A music education major who plays 11 instruments, Cassandra is clearly cut out for her actions. First impressions showed her to be bright, happy, and cheerful, like the strum of her infamous instrument.
“I actually walked around with a ukulele in high school all the time, nobody thought it was that weird,” said Larrossa. “When I did it here people started to stare and be really impressed or something.” Cassandra is friendly and creative, and it shows in her social circles. While interviewing her over lunch, a friend of hers, Alice Soubasis, decided to interject and shared her thoughts on Cassandra.
“She’s smart, funny, and very compassionate. Like, empathetic, you know?” While compliments are good, being told how nice she is doesn’t let anyone truly know what she’s like. With all this praise flying around for her character, it would do well to actually learn about Larrosa’s aspirations for herself. As it turns out, she’s working her hardest to pursue her passions.
“I was really good at math in high school, so naturally everyone expected me to be a business major, but I decided to follow my dream and do what made me happy instead,” stated Larrosa.
Cassandra wanted to pursue a career in musical education, to spread that talent she herself possesses. It’s noble to look at your options and choose the path that gives a meaningful reward later on in life, rather than the one that simply looks sound at the start. Not many people are willing to truly do what they believe in, as opposed to doing what other have suggested you do in the first place.
“I don’t really think about my future,” Cassandra added. She says it’s more about finding where you are going and doing what you’ll enjoy most rather than stressing about the next three or four steps in your journey. Cassandra still goes home every weekend, to spend time with her friends and family.
“Cassandra was very outgoing and made big contributions to class discussions,” said Jennifer Mantle, an instructor of English.
In the end, Cassandra Larrosa is just another member of the University student body. Despite her impressive talents and remarkable character, there’s not a lot that’s different from other students here. We all have our own stories, quirks, dreams, and journeys.
The only difference is how we go about these decisions and experiences. But what’s most important here isn’t just reading about one student, but what one student can set an example as to the rest. For those that don’t know yet, your only true goal in life is to make sure that you are happy.
People can stress themselves out when in college, and that’s completely understandable. It’s a new environment, and every semester brings new challenges that never go down easily. It’s incredibly easy to get psyched out and want to quit before you even get started anywhere.
That’s why the image of someone just casually strumming along while doing their own thing is so appealing to us. To have that bit of peaceful fulfillment helps for anyone to see. Perhaps that’s why Cassandra had never thought of it as “weird” previously, as it’s just another amusing facet of a happy lifestyle.
Life is long, and with it comes many hurdles but it’s important to relax and take a hint from Cassandra and learn to be happy with your life and your choices. Laugh. Take up an instrument. Sing a happy tune. All these and more are extremely beneficial to absolutely anyone, in college or not, to add to their lifestyle for the better.
“As long as you’re happy, right?”
Photo taken by Robert Zadotti
