Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

35° Evanston, IL
Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Guest Column: Rachel Poletick

Let’s get together, yeah yeah yeah.” Of all the trite quotes in popular culture, this line from The Parent Trap best sums up Wildcat Welcome Week.

As we shuffle from activity to activity, between dorm pals and PA group activities, the word “college” has taken on a whole new meaning. Everyone at home said that this would be the life-changing, new level of freedom we’ve been craving for years, but so far it feels like another week in a sleep-away camp to me. I wake up every morning asking myself if I’m still on summer vacation. Much to my chagrin, this confusion does not entitle me to an extra four hours of sleep.

Every time I walk into a room of new faces, I feel like I’ve regressed to kindergarten, making friends by asking, “Hi, do you like Mary Kate and Ashley? They’re my favorite too!” except I have now progressed to a college version that sounds something like, “Hey, I’m Rachel, where are you from?” I must admit, I prefer being an exclamatory five year old. But despite some less-than-thrilling introductions, making friends is rarely an issue.

In one respect, this is a great way to settle into a new place. Everyone is excited and anxious to meet people and that makes the adjustment much more natural. But I don’t feel like I’m being fully prepared for the start of classes on Tuesday, which makes me even more nervous for the coming weeks. Is it more important to spend a week being hyper-social, or should we be doing all we can to ease into brand new courses that are infinitely more complicated than our dinky high school classes? The two aren’t mutually exclusive, and maybe that’s the biggest flaw in the Welcome Week schedule.

Perhaps it’s simply the lack of people on campus and the profusion of peer adviser groups, but I highly doubt this strange social experiment is what college will ever truly be about. While laughing with a group of new friends and dancing on the lakefront is definitely an experience not worth missing, finding my classes and organizing my schedule seems to be the more lasting, crucial aspect of this week-long experience.

As Wildcat Welcome comes to a close and the full weight of academia settles back into the forefront of our thoughts, the meaning of “college” will finally return to its denotation. And as sad as I may be to see summer end, that’s something to be excited about as well.

Rachel Poletick is a Medill Freshman he can be reached at [email protected]

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881
Guest Column: Rachel Poletick