Going around the quad with a shark costume, Cole gives hugs to everyone to make their day a little brighter. With a warm and passionate manner, he talks about his experience within the Explo community.
I am taking Behavioral Psychology and Beatmaking + Music Production. I DJ, which I would like to get better at. I started piano in the 3rd grade, when I was 8. I am trying to get into electronic. I think it came really after I took the piano for a few years, and when I took a break for a year, once I started playing, I really started to enjoy it. I’ve been playing ever since. Playing piano doesn’t feel like work. I feel the mood of the songs I play. However the song feels, I feel. And my dad is a musician — he plays the guitar and performs live a lot. My dad’s really my role model.
Just being at Explo gives you something to hold on to. It’s a lot different than at home and I like that. Everyone is sort of thrown into it and we’re all in this together. It’s like a family.
But at Explo this year I want to meet new people and make friends. The first main event with dueling pianos — I went there with a bunch of my friends from last year. We sang every song and I got to go on stage. Just that being an entrance to Explo is quite a memory.
Last year [at Wellesley], I brought this shark costume as a bathrobe and my roommates dared me to go outside with a “Free Hugs” sign. I did it one day and it just became a thing after that. At the end of the day, I have this feeling like I gave one little piece of myself and maybe made somebody’s day a little brighter. I love hugs.
And I really love Explo. I love how you get to meet so many people from different places that I would never been able to meet before. Here I really get to remake myself as someone who I want to be. It’s been a struggle for me back home. I am not very social normally, so here at Explo, I can change that. And being a hug-shark and giving out free hugs all the time is how I really meet and talk to a lot of new people.
Just being at Explo gives you something to hold on to. It’s a lot different than at home and I like that. Everyone is sort of thrown into it and we’re all in this together. It’s like a family.
Mari Armei