I'm a rising senior at Swarthmore College. I think I was originally destined for an English major, having spent much of my childhood with my nose buried in a book; current trends in that field, however, convinced me to embrace something stodgier, namely Classics. My plans at the moment involve a major in Greek with a minor in Physics.

And what about life after Swarthmore? Ah, that. My current ambition is to teach Latin for a year or two, meanwhile picking up some German. Then graduate school for a combination of art history and Classics. Am I studying art history now? Yes -- enough that I could minor in it if I wanted to. Why am I not minoring in it? A perverse loyalty to the Physics department, perhaps. But the fact is that I would really like to keep the natural sciences in my life as long as possible. That's not the direction in which I think my career ultimately lies, but I've had a lot of fun with science anyway. I'm not ready to renounce it yet.

I always seem to be fielding questions on the topic of homeschooling. The last five years of my pre-Swarthmore educational career were directed by my parents, at home. I tell people this and their reactions tend to range from curiosity to sympathy. I enjoyed it, and my parents seem to have survived, so it was, overall, a positive experience.

* A love of text adventure games, all sorts

* Barely suppressible loathing for bookstores smaller than one full city block

* Thoroughgoing coffee addiction

* A total lack of humor which evinces itself in all I say and do

* A really cool set of wooden blocks. I know other college students with Lego collections but none with blocks. They make me happy. They keep me sane. They never get dusty. And I got them from a terrific place. If you like toys, try Never Grow Up -- they have a neat selection and their customer service is fantastic.

email: mmcmeno1@cc.swarthmore.edu