My Last Quarter in Chicago

Yesterday, my parents helped me get resettled in my dorm apartment. Yes, they’re the best and they know it. This always entails unloading a ton of Columbus-bought groceries and my break clothes. This time, though, I started sending things back with them. I won’t be here for another Chicago winter, so I piled my heaviest boots, coat, scarves, and sweaters into boxes to go back home. I sent home several of my too-many mugs. I promised myself I wouldn’t buy more non-perishable food till what I have is gone.

Because excuse me but holy shit this is my last quarter in Chicago.

It’s not my last quarter of college (that comes in the fall in Paris), but it sort of is, you know? And it’s mind-boggling. It’s so exciting, and so scary, and I’m so freaking ready.

I’ve said before that I’m looking forward to my post-grad reflection blog post. Like, I’ve been planning parts of it since my first quarter of first year. Hey, I never I said I was good at living in the moment.

For now, though, I’m not going to get into detail here about the whys and hows of choosing UChicago, how fortunate I feel to study here, my college experience, and my decision to graduate early. I think that stuff is better saved for when I’m on the other side of undergrad. And don’t worry – it will happen. Instead, I’m going to focus on the next ten weeks.

This quarter (in academics)

I’m “only” taking three classes. Three or four classes make you a full-time student, and I’m hoping that the three will leave me with a little extra time to take in Chicago this quarter. Sometimes that works out, sometimes it doesn’t. Out of my ten quarters here, I’ll take five quarters with three classes and five quarters with four. (All my other credits come from AP tests.)

I was able to drop my Ancient Empires class this quarter. I would need one more quarter if I wanted to use it for my civilizations requirement, but I’ll be fulfilling that in Paris. So, my two quarters of Ancient Empires so far will just go toward my electives. Sure, I’d rather have taken electives I enjoyed more, but I didn’t know for sure that I’d be studying abroad. It’s all good.

In place of that class, I picked up Cognitive Psychology. The professor gets incredible reviews, the class is unlike anything else I’ve taken, and the average outside-of-class time per week looks pretty low. All good things!

I’ll definitely be taking The Economics of Sports. I’ve had this lecturer twice before (my only repeat teacher in my three years here), and I really like him, though I think it’s a little cruel to make this a three-hour class on Friday mornings. Still, I really like sports, and this is a much more applied economics class than any other I’ve taken. It actually requires some empirical work, which makes me a little nervous. I figure a little experience can’t hurt, though, and I think I convinced one of my friends to take it, which means I already have someone to work with on the final project. Also, it will mean that we’ve had at least a class together every quarter we’ve been here. 

My third class is where there is a little bit of uncertainty. I’m currently signed up for Intro to Finance. I’m not terribly excited about it and it sounds quite challenging, but I’ll take it. Getting two econ electives in a quarter isn’t easy, and I’ve now done it twice in a row. Plus, the teacher seems nice. I’m trying to get into Health Economics and Public Policy instead, though, because that sounds fascinating to me. We shall see. I’ll be going to an extra class for this week at least in an effort to get into that one. As in, on Tuesday and Thursday I’ll be in class from 10:30 to 3:00. #allthesnacks

But no Monday or Wednesday classes!

This quarter (in other things)

I want to go to all the yoga classes and chill out in a toasty studio with excellent people and flows as often as I can. I’m sure I’ll get to a place where the Columbus studios feel like home soon enough. For now, I’m just incredibly grateful for the community I’ve found at Corepower Hyde Park.

So many smiles, tears, lessons, and therapy sessions have happened for me there and I wish I could take those people back to Columbus with me.

I’m going to make an effort to go to Chicago places I haven’t gone before. I’m not setting a target on how many, how often, or which ones because I don’t want to guilt myself into doing something that doesn’t sound fun at the moment. But if I can, I’ll take a weekend day or one of my no-class days or something and go eat at a restaurant I’ve want to try or go to a workout class I can’t find in Columbus. I think I’ve seen the major attractions, but who knows where I’ll find myself.

As much as it feels natural, I’m going to write here about what it feels like to have no idea what you’re doing or what comes next and how to deal with it. That’s what I’m going through right now. For my entire life, I’ve thought that everyone else had their lives all figured out and I was the only one who didn’t know what I wanted to do in the future. The more I talk to my peers, I realize that the people who know exactly what they plan to do are more the exception than the rule, and I think it’s important to talk about that. 

How I’m feeling

Um, well, a little nervous and overwhelmed. Sure, I’ve been doing this whole first-day-of-school thing for many years now, but it still gets me. Last night, I started getting some of my study abroad materials together, filling out my planner, and trying to schedule as much as I could (one week, thanks for asking). Somewhere in that process, I broke open a large bag of Sour Patch Kids my friend got me for my birthday, and before I knew it, that bag plus a few KIND and Kashi bars became dinner. Adulting at its finest, obviously.

My stomach yelled at me for it, don’t worry. I’m ready for vegetables and real meals. Just needed to soothe some stress with some sugar.

Oh, and I managed to lose my driver’s license. So if I want a drink, I have to count on people believing I’m 21… which usually only happens when I’m with very adult-y adults.

UPDATE: My mom found my ID. She’s great.

Also, I’ve been having nagging headaches for the last week or so and my stomach is a mess and all my pain is going up. Super fun. My doctor conceded that I’ve probably officially developed the fibromyalgia everyone my support system has been waiting for. 

Despite all that, though, I really do feel strangely calm. As long as I put in the work, my GPA isn’t changing majorly when I’ve already taken 28 classes here. My roommates are lovely. I’ve found some semblance of balance eight times before. And spring in Chicago is stunning.

Your turn:

Do you have any spring goals?

How was your weekend?