Pro-tips

Friday last week, November 2nd, 2018, I officially became an adult. It was supposedly the most exciting moment of life (or not, because along with adulthood comes responsibilities — not the most exciting thing in the world, as a matter of fact). Personally, I felt no differences whatsoever. Maybe it’s because age 18 was not that exciting, nor was it a monumental change. It’s just another day in this long life, I gather. However, I believe that I have grown out of age 18 mentally a long time ago, having been tasked with the holy mission of taking care of a brother who is 7 years younger than me. It can be tough from time to time, yet observing him growing up from day to day is very rewarding.

Last time I talked about how Carleton College gave me the motivation and opportunity to be a much better person. Today, I will share some of my random (pro)tips on how to survive around the campus as I plow through the ninth week like a hero. Better late than never, right?

Tip 1: Choose a dining hall close to your dorm and stick to it forever like your life depends on it.

I personally felt so blessed to be living in Musser (amongst the wonderful floormates and classmates with really heartwarming birthday wishes). It’s closest to what I would call the centre of the campus, aka a complex of Burton Dining Hall, Davis/SHAC, Severance and Sayles Centre. I always eat at Burton, always. The only time I went to LDC, I was scarred for the rest of my life, and thus have been staying away from it ever since.

Tip 2: Make friends with your floormates so that you can hop onto their D&D team without the awkwardness

Floormates are the best! They are too close to be acquaintances but not close enough to be best friends, unless you end up falling in love with one of them — in this case then I have no advice for you.

Personally, I make friends with people by feeding them. Works most of the time. The rest is history: awkward hellos in the hallway and wrong-name shouting in the dining hall. Making friends with your floormates gives you someone to talk to and have lunch with. It also will be a good opportunity to learn about juicy gossip around the campus. Unless you are friends with boys and boys just don’t gossip (or do they?).

Tip 3: TAKE YOUR CLOTHES OUT OF THE WASHING MACHINE AND DRYER AFTER THEY ARE DONE

Seriously, time your work! The whole building of around some 150 people share 4 washing machines and 4 dryers, so it’s important that you pay attention to your stuff, so as to not affect people and mess up their time. It’s the little things that count, people.

Tip 4: Professors are your best friends

Just kidding.

No, really, they are amazing. I once sent a doodle/art caricature on my dorm’s wall to my Art History professor at midnight, and she loves it. She also always welcomes me in her office despite my crazy schedules and timings. My Calculus professor puts up with me asking stupid questions all the time, and he was also super helpful. And my Geology teacher is like a father figure to the whole class, and everyone loves him. (He feeds us.)

Tip 5: Always go to class 20 minutes early

The early birds get the worms, and the early students get the good seats. Aye, I always go to class early, assert my dominance, claim the spot, and grow roots there for the rest of the term. I don’t like moving around too much, and from experiences, professors are more likely to remember you if you stay still in one place. Like my A&I professor said: Chi is always there.

Chi is a self-proclaimed insomniac freshman zombie that always complain about not getting enough sleep, even though she deliberately goes to bed at 2am and wakes up spontaneously at 6am thanks to her roommate’s closet door. She constantly talks (obsessively) about how much she yearns to major in Chemistry and German, yet she’s starting to eye the awesome dark art that is called Geology with much desire. Meet the other bloggers!