Gustavus Adolphus College

I joined the speech team mainly because people were forced to listen to me talk (or at least pretend to listen). I realized speech gave me real power, and I should use that power to inform the world on important subjects. With this in mind, I spoke on garden gnomes and the creation and evolution of the smiley face. I also had a hobby of paddling around a boat in a small pond and catching turtles. Afterwards I would race them (I did not myself race them, but I’m sure I could have beaten the majority of them).

I refused to even consider going to Gustavus after bad memories of homesickness when I came here for basketball camp. My dad finally convinced me to just go on a visit. I walked around campus and simply had a good feeling. A feeling I hadn’t had at any other college I’d visited. I felt very comfortable and relaxed on the tour. The people were very nice, and it seemed as though they actually wanted me to come to Gustavus. They were excited about their life at Gustavus and wanted me to know what that felt like.

I was raised Christian and valued that about myself, but was never very active in my faith. When I went to a worship service called Proclaim for the first time and saw how passionately everyone loved God, I knew I had finally found my place. Within Proclaim I took the role as skit crew leader. Prepare is a Bible study. Even though I am not best friends with every person who goes, I know that if I ever needed anything, I could count on any one of them. Rugby is a strange game, but the new friendships and the athletic challenge have made it one of my favorite pastimes.

In my FTS, Environmental Justice, we did reports on plants indigenous to the nature trail in Saint Peter. Portions of the reports were going to be posted along the trail. I thought it was very cool that my work wasn’t going to end in the classroom. I took a creative writing course in which the final was a ten page paper of whatever style we wanted. I chose to write a creative nonfiction on my summer job in a factory. My professor was interested in further exploring its economic class undertones. I enjoyed how my professor helped me develop my paper into something both entertaining and meaningful.

My favorite food in the Market Place is a Steak Sandwich. It consists of a toasted croissant, four pieces of cheddar cheese, chicken strips, and cattleman’s gold sauce. Where’s the steak, you ask? Well, it is actually named after the creator. Her parents weren’t mean, it’s a nickname.

The last day of my Social Justice Theater class we met at my professor’s house. I love seeing professors for who they actually are as people rather than purely as authority figures. Many of my professors prefer being called by their first names. This makes it much easier to feel comfortable around them and to start conversations when I see them outside the classroom. I have friends at other colleges who think it’s strange to call professors anything other than Doctor.

My dream job would be owning a gym complete with every sporting facility imaginable. Along with it would be a water park and laser tag arena. No place is complete without food, so naturally there would be a restaurant. Within this restaurant would be a special healthy chocolate. The electricity would be created by the stationary exercise equipment, and the only way to get to the different floors would be by escalator. Except people would have to run up the downward moving escalator and down the upward moving escalator to ensure an extra workout.

Before I came to college, I was scared about the drastic change my life would take. I was nervous about making friends and living in what seemed like a small box. I would tell prospective Gusties that everyone else is going through the same thing the first couple weeks at college. It may seem as though you’re going through it alone, but there are hundreds of others struggling with the same thing and are looking for someone to get through it with. You will find those people who you mesh with, people who will become your best friends, and that small box will become the most comfortable place you know.

Midnight Express is the ultimate way to rid of stress. There is nothing better after days of nonstop studying than to head over to the caf in your pajamas (that might just be me) and eat buffalo wings and ice cream. It’s even better when they’re served by the president.