freshman year

Markus: On the ups and downs of freshman year

August 11, 2023

I was never more excited for anything then I was to start college. At the time, it seemed like my whole life was a series of days, weeks and years leading up to the moment I moved into my freshman year...

Howell: Discovering my growth mindset

February 13, 2019

During the fifth week of my freshman winter quarter at Northwestern, at around roughly 12:30 pm, I found myself sobbing my eyes out in one of the over-engineered bathroom stalls of the Kellogg Global Hub. Throughout...

Jackson: What I learned about failure during my freshman year at NU

May 28, 2018

Last week, I wrote a column about how I learned to take ownership and be unafraid in my friendships during my freshman year. But I learned things in the classroom too, like the fact that academics shouldn’t...

Jackson: What I learned about friendship during my freshman year at NU

May 24, 2018

I’ve recently realized what freshman year and the rest of this weird four-year period is all about: adjusting to the culture that permeates this campus and digesting a new pseudo-adult life. It’s about...

Lachow: Parents, friends should normalize tumultuous first year at college

March 1, 2017

“Is she happy there?” The question seems easy enough. Yes or no. I mindlessly scroll through Instagram, liking photos of distant high school acquaintances on various elevated surfaces. “Is...

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