A Few of My Favorite Things

When I was a prospective student there were a lot of things that made me love Carleton (or more so the idea of it), so much so that I applied Early Decision I. That being said, now that I am a student here, here are some of the random things that I have come to love about Carleton.

*The following list is a weird mix of traditions, locations, and/or ideas and memories (really just an excuse to use some of my photos too)

The Arb

One of the huge draws to Carleton for me in the first place is the 800-acre arboretum. I love having the green space and the trails to walk along when I need a break from my homework. Just this past weekend I was able to see a bit of the Northern Lights while in the arb and it was awesome (unfortunately I do not have a photo).

The arb is beautiful in all seasons that I am on campus, fall, winter, and spring. Fall and spring bring walks and runs throughout the trails and winter means Nordic skiing!

The Geology Department

One of the reasons I decided to major in Geology in the first place is because I love a lot of the people in the department, students, faculty, and staff alike. Some days I don’t even have geology homework to do, yet I sit in the geo space and do other assignments, help intro students (or “TA for free” as my friend Clara calls it), or chat with some of my fellow majors and classmates. Something about the geology classrooms, lounge, and museum feels a bit like home.

Friday Flowers

Friday Flowers is one of my favorite traditions! Basically, everyone at Carleton has a mailbox in Sayles, and every Friday a vendor from a local florist shop has flowers available to purchase. You can get them wrapped in paper and you get to write a little note to stick with the flower into mailboxes. I buy flowers for a friend almost every week because there is something so exciting about brightening up someone’s day, especially after they have had a challenging week.

Professors

The professors at Carleton are fantastic. They are funny, understanding, caring, challenging, absolute experts, and much more! Most of my professors have copious office hours and are always willing to answer questions. Even better, one of my favorite things about professors here is that they admit that they don’t know everything! I have had classmates answer questions where profs do not know the answer, and they take the time to look into it or follow up during office hours.

The best thing a professor (shoutout to my Latin professor Chico Zimmerman) has taught me at Carleton so far is the ~power of metacognition~. For those who don’t know, metacognition is basically your understanding of your own thought processes and ways of thinking. I spent a lot of my Latin class learning about how I learn, and how I can be a better learner, rather than focusing on my grade as an outcome. That’s another thing I’ve come to learn (and am still learning…) grades are NOT the most important thing.

Minnesota Sunsets

Okay, I may be a bit biased here (as a person from MN) but I have heard from many other out-of-state students that Northfield has some pretty great sunsets (some of the best in fact). This was also an excuse to use some of my Carleton sunset photos.

The Chapel

This is a weird one, because I don’t really use it for religious purposes. A lot of events happen here like Convocation, our Carleton version of a Tedtalk. On top of Convo, the chapel lounge is a great place to do homework. I also come here sometimes to think because nobody is ever in the chapel during the day unless things are scheduled (though why would you be?). Sometimes it is hard to get alone time on campus if you have a roommate and the weather isn’t great (though don’t worry you can always find somewhere to go). Personally, I like to sit way up in the back balcony that overlooks the entire chapel and think my thoughts while I am alone in peace and quiet (now that I’ve said that… if you come to Carleton, don’t steal my spot).

A Lack of Seriousness (in a good way)

One thing I have come to learn about a lot of Carls is that in the grand scheme of life: it’s not that deep (as the kids say these days). That basically means that it’s not worth sweating the small stuff, and in the end, things are probably going to work out. Carleton students know how to work hard– don’t get me wrong, this is a very academically rigorous school– but we also know how to have fun.

I have met some of the funniest and goofiest people here, and I found it is easier to be myself here than it was in high school (at least in my experience). We all have a bit of that Carleton quirk, a niche class topic we love to discuss, a certain sense of humor, a strange talent, or a wild hobby. Whether we are debating hypotheticals that will never happen, cracking the worst dad jokes known to humankind, or rolling and sledding down the snow-covered hill of Bell Field, Carls know how to make things fun.

Trimesters

I’ve already written so much on this… read here!

Four Seasons!

Once again I’m coming in with that Minnesota bias… what can I say? One thing I love about Minnesota is that we have such distinct seasons! A beautiful and colorful fall, a snowy and glittery winter, and a muddy and green (and eventually hot) spring.

Curiosity

Finally, one thing I love about Carleton is the ability to pursue my interests. A liberal arts education makes it possible to take classes across a myriad of subjects with many different people. From what I can tell, people come to Carleton because we all love to learn. Having some of my classmates be as passionate about topics (whether they are class related or not) as I am has been incredible. People here love to learn, and that might be my favorite thing about Carleton.

Hannah is a sophomore majoring in Geology and minoring in Classics. Born and raised in Minnesota, she considers herself somewhat of an expert on MN winters. At Carleton, she fills her schedule with writing for the Admissions blog, working as a CCCE Communications Fellow, taking flute lessons, and increasing voter engagement on campus. When Hannah isn’t in class, she can be found tossing a frisbee with Syzygy, looking at rocks, reading, walking and skiing in the Arb, thrifting, and hanging out with her besties. Meet the other bloggers!