I wore that jacket throughout the Intro week. It was something to cover that brightly-colored Intro t-shirt we were given to wear, but also something to hide behind. This made the round of introductions on the first day of Intro a game: what do you say about the person underneath the jacket? Everything goes. Nobody knows you, so you don’t have any expectations to meet. That in itself already serves as a good replacement for confidence, making it a jacket that attracts adventure, one befitting of a new city and new people.

The first adventure I had with my red leather jacket started when I stumbled out of the ball pit dazed and confused on Intro Wednesday. Everyone knew the night couldn’t really be stretched out much more, although that was the quest on which we had sent ourselves. While we were arguing about the remainder of the night, my eyes wandered to a cute guy next to us. A fellow Intro group member saw the look in my eyes - he’s the wingman type - so it only took seconds for both of our Intro groups to make a joint plan for the night. It was all new to me, but I had my jacket.

We went to all kinds of places afterwards. We snuck into a house party, were thrown out of Stratumseind, tried to order ‘everything’ at cafeteria ‘de Hoek', and explored the dark, empty city in search of a night store and another fry place. Everywhere we turned up that night, we made more friends. We ended up skinny-dipping in the Dommel river at dawn. As the cold was so sobering, we were ready for bed all of a sudden. His bed was closer, so it was an easy call.

hopped on my bike later that morning. Lost, but with my jacket on - and with that soundtrack in the background again - I rode toward the sun, hoping I’d recognize something that would allow me to find my way to campus. That Wednesday night of Intro taught me what I was to expect from my time as a student.

This jacket allowed me to meander along the bike path, sing along to the music, open an extra button, make countless friends, make enemies, flirt with everyone, have an extra beer, start conversations with strangers. The world was my oyster.

Everyone deserves to have that feeling, and to try on a new jacket once in a while. That’s why I’ve worn a great many jackets during my time as a student: that of a quirky physician, polo-wearing and field hockey-playing out-of-towner, overachieving 5 AM career tiger, pretentious red winedrinking philosopher, ambitious artist, Tinder pro. I can’t say all of them suited me to the same degree, but I play the role that I am. Which has certainly built my character and instilled me with the confidence of knowing what looks good on me.

I don’t need that red leather jacket these days. To tell you the truth, I had already lost it during skinny-dipping. Now, seven years later, it’s that feeling that’s keeping me going. You’re the protagonist in a story you get to write yourself. Write a blossoming saga on your time as a student, filled with plot twists and charismatic characters, full of love, friendship, and excitement.

Tim de Jong is an Industrial Design student at TU/e and a columnist for Cursor. He wrote this column for Cursors Intro magazine.
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