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My friends playing basketball with Noah Kahan!

If you didn't know already, Noah Kahan, a world-renowned folk-pop singer, grew up near Dartmouth, and often visits campus. Last summer, a few of my friends played a game of pickup basketball at the Dartmouth Alumni Gym, which is pictured (as seen in the header photo)! His music is inspired by Dartmouth's location, so I thought it was fitting to write how his lyrics relate to Dartmouth.

"Stick Season"

"As you promised me that I was more than all the miles combined"

This line stands out to me because so many Dartmouth students come from all over the world to get here. I have friends from Vietnam, England, Chile, and so many more places that require many miles to get here. To most people, Dartmouth is completely worth "all the miles combined" to get to campus.

"And I love Vermont, but it's the season of the sticks"

Noah Kahan popularized the term "Stick Season", which is a known nomenclature around these parts. Stick season is the period between fall and winter, right when the trees lose their leaves. Vermont and New Hampshire have beautiful falls followed by a brief stick season. Though Noah Kahan says he loves Vermont despite the stick season, I love it even more during this time. To me, it represents change as finals are happening and winter is about to blanket Hanover with snow.

"New Perspective"

"The intersection got a Target

And they're calling it downtown"

This line is about the Target just 10 minutes from campus. He ironically calls it downtown because Dartmouth is in a rural area. Coming from the booming metropolis of Atlanta, I have really appreciated my time in this quiet town. I know that I will probably leave in a city for the rest of my life, so living in a rural setting for four years is a welcome change of pace and new way of life.

"Homesick"

"I'm mean because I grew up in New England…I'm homesick"

There is a common stereotype that New Englanders are mean and harsh, mirroring their winters. However, I find hospitality here that is the same if not better than back home in the south. My professors and peers are all wonderful people, and the people of Hanover treat us college students as if we're family. Kahan goes on to say that he's homesick being away from New England, and I have the same feeling. When I've been studying abroad or doing off terms, I often ache to be back at Dartmouth. There is something special about this place that keeps drawing people in, including Noah Kahan himself.

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