Up to this point, I have done my best to censor my occasional tendency to shamelessly plug projects, people, subjects, etc., in which I am involved or with which I am associated. However, this has probably been long over-regulated, and since my Daily Forum days are heavily numbered (this is my last column), I’m finally feeling some obligation to give my readers a glimpse of who they have been reading once-per-week for the last nine weeks. (Although would you not love another quarter of me writing about trivial, relatively arbitrary topics that are designed to illicit Northwestern’s sense of humor, which I still have yet to decode?)

In light of my recent epiphany, I have decided to depart from imparting another interview story in which I gave my interviewer a “bro-shake” rather than the traditional “power-shake” and relay the biggest lessons I have learned over the course of Winter Quarter (along with a few aforementioned, still relatively censored plugs):

Now, I know I am not the only person who studied abroad last quarter, but my fair share of nostalgic moments has blurred my vision otherwise. I was so ready to get back to NU and kick ass in class, get an internship, run a business, market a book and write a column that I never considered the fact that my NU lifestyle in no way resembled my Barcelona lifestyle. Case-in-point: NU students do not have the luxury of treating themselves to a quick 90 cent, pre-9-a.m.-medieval-sexuality-class San Miguel beer.

For the 25 percent of the NU student body that will study abroad during their years here, realize that both your NU and study abroad experiences will be the times of your lives, but they will be unquestionably different. For one, although both experiences require you to step out of your comfort zone, NU, by definition, requires you to step out and transcend it.

If you ever feel like you have over-extended yourself, a feeling with which I have definitely grappled this quarter, talk to people. Seek advice. Sometimes I tend to over-leverage the 1920s American isolationist attitude, which doesn’t work. Here’s an example of a piece of advice I received: “If you aren’t sure about the next chess piece to move, think about it sans a few scotches and then think about it plus a few scotches. If you reach the same answer in both instances, you should probably move that piece.” Long story short, just like a case interview, we should think before blindly jumping. (It ended up taking me seven weeks to change my name from “Estiv” to “Stephen” on Facebook.)

Another big lesson I have learned is the importance of prioritizing and making lists. (You probably already have surmised this by now, given that 50 percent of my columns have contained a list.) This may be a little late in the game to recognize this fact, but if you have what you believe is an insurmountable amount of tasks to accomplish, write them down. There are few greater feelings than crossing off the last item.

Finally – and this is probably the biggest lesson I have learned since being back – the people who work the hardest will inevitably be rewarded. This is not me decreeing, “Run yourself into the ground,” but you know what I mean. You will get yours if you deserve it. Another case-in-point: in the spirit of the Academy Awards, the people who were supposed to win finally won (although I would have been fine with Javier Bardem getting his Best Actor award).

Despite my verbose writing style, which has annoyed its fair share of readers (I’ve seen the comments), if nothing else, I hope you have at least gotten a few laughs over the past nine weeks. I believe people innately want to have fun and have tried to write accordingly. How else are you going to regain the stress-years you’re losing? The pleasure has been on this side of the editor’s table (probably because there is minimal reciprocation from the other side, but it’s all moot to me), at least for now. Maybe I’ll be back next quarter. Good luck with finals, and have a great Spring Break.

Steve Hofmann is a Weinberg junior. He can be reached at [email protected].