I never really thought about what it would be like to get to this point – the last semester of college. As if going to a five year school wasn’t awesome enough already, (milk it for all it’s worth, ladies) I’m still not ready to leave. Sure, I am excited for what’s next, (no job opportunities just yet, but at least I’m past the freak-out stage) but Northeastern has become my home over the past five years, and leaving is not going to be easy. So what will I miss most (and least) about NU? Let’s start with the bad and get to the good…
WHAT I WON’T MISS
Info commons
If there is one thing I would do away with, it is this “place.” I will not miss the anxiety ridden feeling I get in the long lines, as printers suddenly stop working and you slowly realize everyone around you is ready to scream too. Unfortunately, I have no proper proposed solution to Northeastern’s printing system, but I hope one day printing can be a walk in the park for NU students. However, that day seems to be very far away.
The NU shuffle
You knew this one was coming! We’ve all experienced it… filling out paperwork to change your minor, sending it in, it getting lost, and then you have to resubmit it. Or, you make a phone call, get redirected five or six times, until finally you’re back to the first person you called. Every time I hear a NU shuffle story, I can’t help but start to hum, “everyday I’m shuffling…”
Explaining what a “middler” is
Even though I may get this question as an alumna, I will not miss explaining to other college students, friends’ parents and my grandparents what a “middler” is. What’s so hard to understand that we have an extra year of school, and it needs a name? All kidding aside, if I had a dollar every time I was asked and had to explain this, I could pay for my school loans up front.
Trying to avoid tour groups
Don’t get me wrong, I have some really great friends who are tour guides and are AWESOME at it (here’s to looking at you, Audrey and Steve) but there is nothing like trying to weasel your way around a group of 50 students, and a person leading them, all the while walking backwards. This problem around usually arises in Snell Quad and Centennial Commons, where the prospective students and their parents “ohh” and “ahh” at the beauty of a campus in the middle of a city. Thankfully there are only a few weeks of class left; I think most of my professors are tired of hearing me say, “sorry I’m late, I was stuck behind a tour group.”
WHAT I’LL MISS
Stetson East breakfast
My days with a meal plan have been long gone since sophomore year, but I do have some generous friends with profiler plans. With that said, I will absolutely miss one of my favorite meals at NU– egg white omelet, half a bagel and a huge bowl of fruit salad (minus the oranges). I spent many lazy Saturday and Sunday mornings eating this exact meal during my freshman year with my girlfriends. That was the time when we could procrastinate everything we had to do that day with a long breakfast at Stetson East. Keep making those yummy omelets, Stetty.
Warm days in centennial common
It’s like a day at the beach, minus the sand. One of the great things about spring and summer time at Northeastern is the ample grass space to lounge on. Whether you’re reading a good book, or trying to get some homework done, sunny days lounging on centennial are the best.
Last call at Our House
Confession: I love Our House. Why? Because it is the best place to conduct social experiments, people watch, and best of all, sweat all your night’s consumed alcohol out by singing and dancing to “Don’t stop Believing.” Conveniently located right off campus, I’ve come to appreciate Our House for exactly what it is: a fun and entertaining mess.
Co-op
It seems counteractive for me to say this as I am delaying the “real world” for as long as I possibly can, but some of my fondest memories at Northeastern were while I was on co-op. Not everyone can say that they don’t have classes for the next 6 months, and instead they are moving to New York for a new job, or working abroad at an orphanage. The co-op program at Northeastern has helped me grow in so many ways, personally and professionally, and I am more than thankful for it. I will certainly miss my six month break from classes to make money and experience different places, and return to be a student again once it’s all done. Without the co-op program, my time at Northeastern would have been completely different, but hopefully just as fun.
It’s easy to list out the things I will and won’t miss about NU, because let’s face it, everyone has their own opinion. But, no matter what, I’m going to miss Northeastern as a whole. My professors, friends and colleagues I’ve met have made my time here what it has been the most: fun. I don’t have to bid you adieu just yet NU, but when I do, it’s not going to be easy.