North by Northwestern

As we roll on into our second quarter of college, it might be a good idea to reflect on some of the ups downs that we’ve experienced throughout the past couple of months.

Ah, the tears! The emotions! The excitement! It was the week in which you got more exercise than you have in a long time, and found surrogate parentals in your PAs.

Ok, technically we don’t live in Chicago, but the view from the Lakefill is close enough, right? And when the city is just a “L” ride away or when Northwestern pays to ship you off to downtown with your PA group, it takes little to no effort to find yourself in the Windy City.

At how many schools can you quote High School Musical and yell “What team? Wildcats!” and have it make sense? There’s nothing like standing on metal bleachers on a Saturday and roaring with your friends. We don’t always win, but it just makes our triumphant moments all the more sweet.

The Arch is the closest thing we get to a meeting place on the Northwestern Campus, so it’s not unusual that we see some pretty weird things there. Troupe of talented drummers beating on plastic containers? Eh, that’s normal. A manic preacher screaming at students, condoning us all to hell? Not at all beyond reality.

Whether or not you’ve been to a frat party, you’ve gotta admit that Northwestern frat parties are particular. Get your texts ready and enjoy the convenience of having every party within the 5 minute radius of the frat quad.

At other schools it might be seen as a sign of social awkwardness or an inability to make eye contact. At Northwestern, though, you’re probably just reading all the flyers taped to the sidewalk.

Chances are Northwestern’s world-class academics and faculty factored into your decision to come here. From Intro to Russian Literature to Rocks for Jocks (s/o to Prof. Jacobsen for the amazing lecture Spotify playlists), you have probably found a class that reminded you of why you picked Northwestern.

There comes a time in all of our lives when our alarm clock betrays us, and you wake up to your roommate looming over you and poking you in the side, asking “Don’t you have class?” Also note that this usually occurs when your first class is all the way across campus, along the furthest reaches of Sheridan Rd.

Went to bed before 2? Ate an apple instead of inhaling that bag of Reese’s Pieces that you picked up from the C Store? Knocked your essay for British Lit. out early instead of waiting for the night before? You’re basically an adult with all the responsible decisions you’ve been making.

Of course we are all human, and occasionally make mistakes. Maybe you forgot to pack your winter coat and the fickle Chicago weather got the best of you. Or maybe you had a little TOO much fun one night, and ended up on the bathroom floor of the Deuce. Just part of the process of making memories, right?

You’ve been grocery shopping before, but your arrival to Northwestern marks the beginning of a new era. The closest convenient options are Whole Foods or CVS. While CVS might stock the junk food pile of your dreams, you have to venture to Whole Foods if you want anything else. In other words, this is the year where many Freshmen reconsidered how much they were willing to drop on a block of cheese.

Because of the quarter system, Northwestern’s motto seems to be “a midterm here, a midterm there, a midterm everywhere.” Ain’t nothing like running on low sleep and ungodly amounts of caffeine while you frantically riffle through your notes for tomorrow’s test. Not to mention the hundreds of pages you still have to read for class. Jokingly (or maybe not so jokingly) entertaining thoughts of dropping out is not at all uncommon.

If you’re not from the Chicagoland area, you’re in for a rude awakening. You may have heard about the bitter Chicago winds, but it’s not guaranteed you can survive them.

Ain’t nothing like a milkshake from Fran’s or a waffle sundae from Lisa’s to distract you from your ever-growing mountain of work.

You’ve gotta admit there are some crazy-smart, crazy-fun, or just straight-up crazy people at Northwestern. Whether it be friends or professors, you’ll meet some of the best people in your life here.