A Special Day in the Life

You may be asking yourself: How do Carleton students celebrate different holidays? You’ve seen blogs about class schedules and everyday life, but people don’t really talk about the special days. I’m here to show you a day in the life of my birthday, and how my community at Carleton made me feel really loved. 

Wake up and decorate:

I woke up later since my morning class was cancelled, and immediately went to work decorating my room. My friend and I had gone to Target earlier to get some decorations (some would say way too many), so I spent my morning putting those up in my room.

Getting ready:

One of my friends on campus did my nails, and I completed the look with one of my favorite dresses. Although this is more dressy than I normally look for class, no one gave me any weird looks.

Going to class:

I know some people might think that going to class on your birthday is a bummer, but I was actually really looking forward to it. My anthropology class is super interesting, and I like going to each class. When someone found out it was birthday, he actually tried to get the whole class to sing, which was super sweet. 

Mailroom:

My family was able to send me gifts and flowers through Sayles mail services. It was really nice that they took time out of their day to send things. It made me feel really special (not pictured: the trek from Sayles to my room with four boxes and a vase of flowers). 

Dinner off campus

Being a sophomore comes with certain privileges. One of those privileges is being friends with someone who has a car. Since we do dinner in the dining halls almost every night, going off campus for a meal was a fun treat! 

Friends! 

A lot of my friends cleared their schedules and came to hang out with me. I felt so loved, and it meant the world to me that my community here came together to celebrate with me. Even though most people didn’t know each other very well, everyone got along super well and spent the evening eating cake, talking, and laughing. 

There are so many ways to make your birthday feel special on campus. Don’t let the fact that you’re not at home stop you from finding ways to celebrate. Whether it’s buying a balloon unicorn from Target or ordering in, even something small can make the day even better. And while Carleton students are busy, I promise you, we will always find time to celebrate someone’s birthday. 

Kate (she/her) is a sophomore History major from the Bay Area, California. She loves Carleton’s artsy community, and is involved in both the Theater and Dance department and Vocal Studies Program. Kate’s favorite places on campus are the practice rooms, either in Myers or the Weitz, where she can sing or play the ukulele. She loves the campus during all the seasons, but fall is definitely her favorite. When not in class, you can find Kate either petting the nearest cat or forcing her friends to watch bad movies in a study room.