The first and only entry that appears in the diary I brought with me to college is dated “September 11, 2009 – somewhere between New Jersey and Chicago.”

Yup, that’s right. The only time I journaled at college was on my flight to Northwestern to begin the journey of amazingness more formally referred to as college.

When I think about writing this reflection, it feels like I’m trying to do the impossible task of writing the last entry in my diary of the life I created here at NU.

With only the beginning and the end actually written on paper, the rest is left documented by mental pictures, Facebook posts and the effects of stress eating. I guess I never felt the need to furiously scribble down every last detail because I never viewed NU as only a four-year deal.

Deep in the bottomless pit that is Campus Gear, my friend found the perfect T-shirt that fully captures how I now view the NU experience.

The back of the shirt depicts a tropical island scene and the front of the shirt reads, “Livin’ on Northwestern Time.” Truth be told, I have never been able to make sense of the shirt. But I’ll give it my best shot.

“Northwestern time” is not similar to island time, like the shirt would have you believe. “Livin’ on Northwestern time” for me has meant squeezing out every bit of goodness this place has to offer.

It’s dancing in Dance Marathon when you have finals the next week because there will always be exams, but each DM is once in a lifetime. It’s waking up at 9 a.m. to buy tickets to see Tracy Morgan when they don’t go on sale until 10. It’s being woken up by a friend with a bagel in one hand and a beer in the other on game day.

It’s staying up until 3 a.m. to talk about nothing, because there’s nothing better than talking about nothing at 3 a.m.
I am lucky to have lived at NU for four years, but the clock hasn’t run out yet.

Knowing how to live on NU time won’t magically disappear during my flight home, somewhere between Chicago and New Jersey.

I am leaving NU with more than just a diploma. The opportunities will be different, the place will be different, even the people may be different. But the NU lifestyle doesn’t have to end just yet.