Since we’re approaching the end of midterm season, I’ve begun to reflect upon my experience at Gonzaga thus far and count the ways in which I have changed and adapted to the culture I’ve been exposed to at this university. One of the major aspects of Gonzaga I noticed within the first month is the trends many of the students strictly follow. There have been two constant trends I’ve noticed among multiple, diverse groups of students at this school.
Firstly, nearly everyone, regardless of who you are, wears a Patagonia jacket. It seems to me as if alongside your Gonzaga acceptance letter, the Admissions Office also sends a required dress code item as well. No matter what your personal style is…Everyone. Here. Wears. Patagonia. Jackets. (I’m totally guilty of buying a fleece after noticing that everyone wears them.)
Another fascinating trend I have noticed is the lack of plain, sticker-less water bottles. Each water bottle carried by students is covered in stickers, showing clubs they’re involved in, trips they’ve been on, and brands they love. It’s a way of self-expression. It does not matter if you are active in the French Club or a leader of GU Outdoors, your water bottle is most likely decorated in 20 stickers. After one month of being here I shamelessly ordered a Nalgene on Amazon and purchased an extremely large order of stickers on Redbubble to keep up with the trend.
While neither of these trends are bad, (I myself am guilty of following both), I find it funny that basically everyone follows them. It only took me my first few days here last year to pick up on these. What happened to all of the North Face jackets? And why have I never seen a plain Hydroflask water bottle? What are some trends you’ve noticed on campus? Leave your thoughts below!