Northwestern’s undergraduate admissions tour begins at the Segal Visitors Center. As you walk along Sheridan Road, on the southern edge of campus, you’ll see Fisk Hall, East and West Fairchild and Harris Hall before pausing at The Arch to cross the street and discuss what it’s like to live at NU. As tour guides, we refer to this spiel as the residential “bucket.”

When I was asked to write a piece for this issue, I considered how I would write a letter to my old self. If only I had known where I’d end up liking to go, how to budget my time and money, and that I would have people here whose company I not only knew, but loved and enjoyed. I might’ve rested easier over the longest summer of my life.

I like to get coffee and study in the little room on the first floor of Kresge Hall with the small tables and big windows between classes. I like Allison Dining Hall for lunch, but appreciate a well-timed meal exchange at Norris.

The quarter system is fast, but the work is manageable — students know how to work hard and, yes, play hard. Meeting people is easier than you think, too — they’re the main reason I love this school.

Tours end with the guide’s “Why Northwestern?” statement. When I applied to NU, the application only required an answer to this prompt for its written supplement. Out of tradition, guides are encouraged to explain to prospective students why they chose NU and, more importantly, why they decided to stay.

Two years ago, I entered into a community I will be part of for life. The faculty and alumni of this institution seek to cure diseases like cancer and ALS, lead global conglomerates and make us laugh on national television. 

In many ways, these qualities make Wildcats natural targets of those who bow to bullies. Just this week, CBS canceled “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (Communication ‘86), days after he denounced a decision by Paramount, CBS’s parent company, to settle a frivolous lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump over the editing of an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris on “60 Minutes” last year. 

NU, with its abundance of resources to help students discover and unlock their potential, is truly remarkable. But being part of this community is not merely something to see or hear, but a thing to live. This is a place where you will learn interpersonally and grow unapologetically. 

What makes NU “The Good Place” are the parts of this experience that cannot be studied or perfected — those that can only be discovered through lived experience.

Finding the joy of being in and around this place over the last two years — that’s been the most beautiful part of my “Why.”

There are times on this campus when you will be unhappy. Perhaps more often than you expect. You may worry about how to be social and how to adapt to this new place and all these new faces.

But find comfort in the fact that you’ll soon come to know your “Why.” Maybe ours will be similar. I know why I love NU, and why I will ultimately owe part of my accomplishments to the experiences I’ve had here.

I love this school because I didn’t let it all wash over me. I made myself an active participant in my own experience, allowed myself to be present here, in this place of all places, with all these incredible people.

I’m inclined to believe that if I had the chance to go back two summers and tell myself that I’d be happy here, I would. But the reality is, I wouldn’t change the last two years for the world. My highest highs and lowest lows — I learned to own all of it, and that just might be the most important lesson of all.

So with all that, I suppose I would leave past Aidan with this:

You made it. Welcome to Northwestern. Time flies.