Last day of freshman year

June 8th, 2012

The last day - it ended with a start. Start of a new day, of a new dawn.

I was up all night, as usual during finals week, or Hell Week as I call it, alternating between studying for my last final (art history during the last possible slot to take a final) and packing up my dorm (my life for the past nine months). It was no easy task, but I was mentally exhausted already from the drawn-on week that it was simply manual labor to me. No thinking involved (well memorization was needed for the 78 slides I had to know), just work as if on an assembly line. By 4:50 a.m., after asking Google for the time of the sunrise, I went with a good friend (who I here thank for helping me get through all my hell weeks in spring quarter) on our trek to the lakefill. I was determined to see the sunrise, as it has become a ritual/goal after pulling all-nighters, or almost-all-nighters. (For the curious, the other ritual/goal was omelettes at Plex, which I stopped accomplishing with the decrease of my staying-up-late powers.) I had last seen the sunrise at South Beach (one of my all-time favorite spots at NU) on a chilly December night. Last time it was a reward for finishing an all-nighter. This time, I decided it would be a reward to myself for finishing freshman year. I wanted the last day to end well, and what better then a good start?

The sight was amazing. Nature is indeed full of beautiful wonders, and appreciating them just makes me fill up with happiness. Watching the glowing-red sun slowly rising from where Lake Michigan meets the light blue sky was probably the best ending to a fantastic year that I could ask for. Sitting there on the lakeside rocks with my friends, feeling the gentle wind on my face, looking out into the horizon - the sense of limitless, the joy of youth ("we can burn brighter than the sun"), and the appreciation of life.

Northwestern, it has truly been a great nine months.
Crazy always wins, and no regrets.