Adulting At Carleton: Novices at Romance

Romance

August 11, 2019:  “In a car for hours and forced to listen to sad songs while my darling unapologetically proclaims that ‘love isn’t real.’ At the same time, I’m learning how to best attract my crush—courtesy of BuzzFeed articles on Zodiac signs. Is this what vsco girls do? Leave me here forever.”

This is what I posted on my Instagram story the day I was headed over to Duluth to door-knock for my pal running for one of the At Large seats on the City Council. The car, completely flooded with songs that exclaimed anger and annoyance over relationships and recommended the attainment of a high socioeconomic status as a replacement, I thought to myself, “how are there so many opportunities to be romantically involved and yet, I remain single?” 

Interestingly enough, this didn’t change once I arrived back on campus, despite the many opportunities Carleton hosts for students to get to know each other. “Sure, college will be rigorous. But we’ve got the resources to help you succeed,” says Carleton Admissions, and this means mentally, physically, academically, and even socially, because Carleton cares about its students. This is analogous to a parent/child relationship. Carleton undertakes the new responsibilities of a pseudo parent, doing everything in its power to set your child up for success in all sectors of life. In this blog, I will describe a few different avenues that I’ve found at Carleton to explore my romantic side: 

Date Knight

Date Knight takes place each fall in early November. The purpose of Date Knight is for students to get to know someone new on campus. It starts with your roommate setting you up on a blind date with an individual they deem compatible. Once the blind date has been set up, all the fun begins, normally on a Saturday night. The designated day is filled with events like concerts, dances, comedy, and get this, a “switcheroo” — which is literally a block of time set aside for you to trade your date. It happens. 

I have had several friends who have been on Date Knight tell me tales of great success but also of great awkwardness. As for me, I usually save myself the trouble and don’t bother with Date Knight. It absolutely has nothing to do with my insecurities…but I guess this is a missed opportunity.

It might seem like Carleton is made up of hopeless romantics who display a powerful sense of passion for social interaction with minimal social skills, but I assure you that’s only part of it. Most of the awkwardness has to do with the way in which Date Knight is set up, which I guess embodies the quirkiness of our community. I should also tell you that “Knight” was not accidentally spelled wrong, but intentionally done so because our school mascot happens to be a knight (and also sometimes a penguin).

Midwinter Ball

This year marked the 40th annual Midwinter Ball on February 8. I’ll admit, I barely go to any of these things, but this year I decided to go check out what Midwinter Ball had to offer. Honestly, it was pretty amazing how well people here can clean up. I spent most of my time at the dance, that was chaperoned by staff and faculty members, admiring individual outfits. The College brought in a full-on jazz ensemble (Roseville Big Band), a salsa band (Salsa de Soul), and had a section entrusted to student DJs. It was exactly like high school, but more expensive to put together. Nevertheless, I was pretty impressed, and you probably would be too. Just go read Alvin’s blog post about the Midwinter Ball!

I didn’t go into the event with the expectation that I was immediately going to find my soul-mate, mainly because I was too busy guessing how much individuals spent on their outfits and admiring that jazz band. Or maybe I don’t really care all that much about being in a relationship.

Friday Flowers

This one is the best nontraditional traditions we have at Carleton. Every Friday at Sayles Campus Center, student mailboxes are overwhelmed with carnations, black-eyed Susans, sunflowers, roses, lilies, etc. Local florists sell flowers on campus to students who buy them for each other with little note cards attached. Usually left in your mailbox, 1900 of them creates quite a scene, to say thank you, I like you, to congratulate you, or to just be friendly! It’s part of what makes Fridays so exciting. We all check our mailboxes, consciously or unconsciously (or maybe because you should be checking them on a regular basis anyway), especially on Friday just so we can all see if we were graced with a heartwarming surprise. 

Fun fact: I’m convinced that I have finally obtained a secret admirer because thrice this Winter term I was left Friday flowers with no note attached…. Make yourself known!

The point of this post is to expose you to some of the opportunities for social interaction during your time here at Carleton. During the term, it’s almost impossible to be bored, partly because you’ll be engrossed in your studies, but also because of all the events that are constantly taking place. As far as romance goes, there are plenty of fish in the sea and frankly, it’s not that deep. Plus, it’s much more fun when it’s unexpected and a surprise. So don’t think about it too much, maybe phone your mom or dad, talk to your pals, or confide in BuzzFeed articles about zodiac signs.  

Do your homework, stay in school, and don’t forget to keep it real.  

#AdultingAtCarleton #CampusLife

Sagal is currently a 2nd-year student at Carleton, bringing with her an electric personality passionate about protecting the Somali waters. If you haven’t already met her, I’d say this should be on your bucket list! She currently lives in Minneapolis, MN and organizes for the Official Youth Caucus of the Minnesota DFL. She loves to dance, debate, and travel. She is formally studying Statistics but is also interested in History, Political Science, Public Policy, and Maritime/Admiralty Law. You should ask her about her research! Meet the other bloggers!