Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

I have been very lucky to meet a lot of awesome, interesting people here at Carleton, making friends through my classes, clubs, job, dorm floor, and just meeting new people in the dining hall. A question I get a lot as a tour guide is the following: “How do Carls spend their weekends?” Well, for me, every single Friday night consists of the same event: Girl’s Night! My friends Chloe, Emily, Kitty and I gather in Emily’s room in Goodhue Hall and recap from the previous week, eat snacks, and generally just enjoy each other’s company to celebrate the beginning of the weekend. 

Chloe, Emily, Kitty, and I met the first week of our freshman year at Womxn’s Club Soccer practice. From there, we bonded at practices, games, and social events until we started hanging out outside of soccer. Now, Emily, Kitty, and I are lucky enough to be leading club soccer together as captains, and Chloe plays on the varsity team. So, soccer is still a big part of all of our lives. But when we aren’t planning soccer practices or designing our team sweatshirts, we spend time doing other activities together.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of some of our favorite Girl’s Night activities:

• Movies
  • Chick-Flicks are a must to unwind after a busy week of classes, homework, and extracurriculars.
• Playing board games and card games
• Too many puzzles
  • Emily, Kitty, and Chloe are puzzle enthusiasts. Emily keeps a puzzle under her rug and every Friday, we roll back the rug to reveal a half-completed puzzle. Emily and her roommate are so enthusiastic that they are working to start their own puzzling club on campus!

• Proofreading papers
  • Some weeks, we are too busy to have a night solely devoted to fun. These weeks we still order pizza and take breaks from work to chat, but we also help proofread papers, test out computer science projects, and read one another’s job/internship applications. You will find that Carleton has a collaborative work environment with students more concerned with their peers’ mental health than their GPA. It does not feel like we are competing against one another but rather working together to do the best we can.

• Baking pancakes and cupcakes
  • Kitty and Emily especially love to bake. Chloe and I provide moral support as Kitty and Emily argue over the best recipes for frosting and how to flip pancakes.

• Charcuterie board
  • Emily made a delicious and beautiful charcuterie board one Friday night. Despite sitting on the floor of a dorm room, it felt very fancy to be eating crackers, cheese, and pear slices with friends.
• Ordering pizza
  • Less healthy than the charcuterie board, but we frequently order pizza from the local Domino’s.
• Face masks and painting nails
  • Another way to relax is by doing face masks and painting nails. Chloe and I accidentally spilled nail polish on Emily’s bedspread, but she did not notice, nor care when we told her, so all is well.

• Getting ice cream from Blast and playing the bean game by the river
  • A couple of Fridays during spring term we walked down to Blast, a new ice cream place in Downtown Northfield, and sat by the Cannon River that runs through town. It is very peaceful and pretty by the river, in contrast to the intense bean game we played. Emily introduced us to the bean game where you trade beans to grow the most bean plants. It sounds silly, but it’s super engaging.
• Sleepovers
  • Winter term when Emily’s roommate was studying abroad and I had a single since I’m an RA, Emily and I would have sleepovers to keep each other company. I would have to wake up extra early on Saturday mornings to make it to my Karate class.

The most important girl’s night of the year: Galentine’s Day

We prepare for Galentine’s Day weeks in advance. Galentine’s Day happens the Friday before Valentine’s Day and consists of dressing in pink and red outfits, eating lots of chocolate and candy, watching a rom com, and various other activities. This year Carleton had ice sculptures outside of Sayles, so we looked at the ice sculptures and picked up food from Culver’s. We returned to Emily’s room where she had drawn us each pictures of our favorite animals in our favorite colors. We also exchanged flowers through Friday Flowers and I received very pretty Galentine’s cards that I pinned onto the bulletin board in my dorm room.

Being there for each other through ups and downs.

If I have learned anything from my time at Carleton, it is that it is necessary to surround yourself with positive, loving people if you want to succeed. This is all dependent on having a support system and time in your schedule for the people who you care about.

Girl’s night has been the cure for many of our problems this past year. Didn’t get the grade you were hoping for on an exam? Girl’s night will solve it. Frustrated about not being able to play the music for orchestra? Girl’s night will solve it. Went on the most awkward date of your life? Girl’s night will solve it. 

You can see the trend—girl’s night is a cure-all for any college-related stressors. While this blog is specific to my experience making friends at Carleton and what I like to do on the weekend, you will find that all Carls are interested in becoming friends with each other and are open to meeting new people no matter their class year or interests.

Kelly is a rising Junior at Carleton. She is a Psychology major and is considering a minor in Cognitive Science. Her other academic interests include Neuroscience and Educational Studies. Kelly considers Northfield her home as she is spending the summer here as an Admissions Fellow. Outside of the classroom, Kelly enjoys hosting programs for her residents as a Resident Assistant, planning practices for the Womxn’s Club Soccer team where she is one of the captains, and playing the cello in the Carleton Orchestra. Meet the other Bloggers!