Autumn Dinh

I used to think that I work best when I’m completely alone in a super quiet place — but that was before I know how stressful college can be. The amount of work is much greater than that in high school, and I really have to invest my energy in every course I’m taking. Therefore, I start hanging out and studying with my friends every night. We would have dinner together at Foco (the Class of 1954 Commons food court) and go to Berry (the library) together to do our work. Most of the time I would put on my earphones to concentrate on my homework, but from times to times I would take a small break to talk to my friends, or simply just ask them for an energy hug if I’m too tired. Being with my friends helps me a lot in conquering this midterm week!

Whenever I need to brainstorm my essay, or simply just need to highly focus on my work, I always come to Rauner Library and sit next to one of its giant, classy window looking to The Green. The view is beautiful – it’s very green and very Dartmouth – and I’m totally in love with it. Another bonus point from Rauner is that the sofas there are super comfy, so I can take a 20-minute nap to refresh my mind whenever I feel tired!

And after five days of studying and exams and deadlines, Homecoming finally came!! I put on all my Dartmouth gear, and as non-athletic as I am, I still ran 5 laps around the bonfire. Alumni and upperclassmen cheered for us around the Green. “Run 21s,” they screamed. My friends and I even ran with a ’71 for a few minutes, and I was really touched to feel the connection between generations of students here at Dartmouth. “And how amazing it would be,” I told my friends, “that someday we would come back here and cheer for our kids from the outside!”

It was a spur of the moment, when I and my friends were walking back to a friend’s dorm and I suddenly said that I wanted to go stargaze. And we just did it! It was cold and the grass was wet and I only had a summer dress on me but everything was wonderful! We lied down on the grass and listened to old cheesy music and looked at the sky full of stars. Growing up in a city, I’d never seen the sky that beautiful. I saw four shooting stars that night, but I didn’t make any wish – lying under that sky made me feel like I didn’t need anything else. The stars and the sky that night made me feel fortunate that I chose Dartmouth.

Collis, our student center, has everything: free drinks, wild music, dancing, pool tables, foosball, video games, and a good sofa to chill with friends! Last week a friend taught me how to play pool and though I was still very bad I enjoyed it a lot! Collis is also a great place to meet new people and make new friends! And whenever I feel tired of people (I’m actually quite introvert) I can always escape to the super cozy One Wheelock room with a friend and enjoy nice free coffee~

The Lou’s Challenge is to basically stay up all night and get to Lou’s, a popular restaurant downtown, in time for breakfast and then go to class. I know that this challenge is quite pointless and it messes up your schedule but it’s college and you worked hard for all week so why not?? I did the challenge last week, and I was one of the three people who didn’t cheat! We watched movies, had late pizza, played cards, or simply just talked about everything. And Lou’s pancake was totally worth the challenge!