Category: Freshman Focus

Freshman Focus: 9 things I learned in my first year of college

1. It’s okay to voluntarily change.

I made a conscious effort to be more outgoing and easygoing when I came to college. I introduced myself as Cat, started wearing lots of cat shirts, and let myself laugh when I typically would have suppressed my emotions in the past. Continue reading →

Thinking about extroversion and how much I’ve changed this past year

source: plaaastic

I was perusing Thought Catalog this evening when I saw this article, “What Each Myers-Briggs Type Does If They Like You“. The article reported:

INFP: Writes about you on their secret blog while fantasizing that you’ve been following it all along and will write them back.

Woah. How did the website know?? Have they been watching me since like, junior year of high school? Continue reading →

This is the Greek life

sydney white

source: corusent

40%. This is the percentage of students involved in Greek life at Northwestern. Even some of the largest state schools in the South report around 25% of students to be involved in Greek life, but who knows how the number at Northwestern could change in the upcoming years? Continue reading →

Freshman Focus: 6 Times I Was Proven Wrong About the “College Experience” In the First Quarter

Source: wearealltourist.tumblr.com

This article was originally published in the print version of the Northwestern Chronicle!

Before I came to college, my expectations were molded by what my friends told me, what I saw on social media, and what I learned from watching girly movies. I heard stories of late-night pizza and ramen, saw pictures of lavish formals, and learned that sororities were selective and exclusionary.

I also thought that this first quarter was representative of the other eleven or so quarters that would follow, when in reality I may have been duped by the expectations formed in these past few weeks. Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Break Thoughts Part 1: Routine, Card Games, and the Old Days

Source: http://secretdreamlife.tumblr.com/post/102519120261

A few months ago, my parents and I were discussing flight schedules; I was adamant about just staying on campus over the two-day break my university had allotted the students.

Those two days don’t justify spending a small fortune for the plane ticket home! I’ll be back home two weeks after Thanksgiving for my Winter break anyways! Other people will definitely be staying on campus for the break too, so I won’t be alone! Continue reading →

Family Weekend (11/7-11/9): A Well-Deserved Break

I elaborately planned out this past weekend for when my parents would fly into town to come visit me in my first year of college. We were going to take a tour (led by yours truly) of the campus, watch an a capella concert, and go into downtown to explore Chicago.

We didn’t really do any of that. Continue reading →

You Thought You Knew Who Your Friends Would Be

trip

You had it all planned out. You had met people just like you online, and they were so nice. You were so compatible. But they don’t look like their profile picture one bit and you don’t like each other’s statuses. Problem?

You had friends going in, people that you knew before they changed, and before you changed upon arriving. The issue is that you both changed, but not in the same way. Continue reading →

The Inner Monologue of a College Student in a Lecture

music

Where should I sit? Aisle seat? Nah, middle of the row is the way to go.

I should have brought popcorn; I don’t really take notes in this class anyways. I remember I used to have a teacher who gave lectures as if he were telling stories. True, the stories were freaking awesome, but I never remembered what I needed to know for the exam.  Continue reading →