HI! :) I’m Ayumi, a proud member of the Class of 2016 here at Carleton College. I hail from Honolulu, Hawaii, a place synonymous with paradise in many minds, which means that friends from home, cashiers at the Twin Cities Ikea, and the various unenlightened people out there who don’t know how wonderful this place is think I’m loony for coming to frigid Northfield for school. I’m very lucky that my college counselor in high school took the time to learn what kind of college I wanted to go to and also happened to be a Carl who loves his alma mater as much as anyone does, so if you are less fortunate, I hope that this blog will offer you some insight into whether Carleton is the right place for you. In case you’re wondering, I’m still rather undecided about my major, but I tend toward Cognitive Science because the main thing I want to take away from college is a comprehensive understanding of how people work. Ambitious, I know... In terms of extracurriculars, I’m keeping an open mind but I’m mainly interested in community outreach programs (this past weekend, I went to adopt a grandparent!) and dance. I’m writing this introduction on the Monday of my third week here (trying to focus in our floor lounge while surrounded by my ever-raucous floormates, one of whom is brandishing a Nerf gun), and I truly believe there is no better place for me to be right now. Anyone who knows Carleton will tell you this, but it’s true: the community really makes the place. I struggle constantly with the push and pull between wanting to spend as much time as possible with people here and wanting to make the time I spend in the classroom meaningful (aka setting aside quality time in the somewhat solitary company of books). There never seems to be enough time for everything plus sleep, and I’ve never been anywhere that makes me regret that fact as much as Carleton does. I’m glad to have you join me on my journey through the sometimes scary, often joyful, always exciting jungle of college! Please shoot me an email at tachidaa@carleton.edu if you have any questions at all.