An Open Letter to Concerned Parents

Dear Empty Nesters & Concerned Parent(s),

As you read this, we are probably immersing ourselves within piles of reading, which never shrinks however many pages we race through. We have already ordered pizzas directly to our rooms, pulled all-nighters and had sleepovers, and spent long, social nights playing billiards while eating curly fries. We are sweating over the environmental impact of printing articles — my roommate has already exhausted 0.7% of a tree….

But the discussions from our classes and beyond are invaluable, and genuinely interesting! I spent hours reading a long, long poem for my English class, but did not mind because I was entranced. The people I meet share stories about their backgrounds and hometowns, making Carleton’s most diverse class (which we’ve heard about countless times) come to life through our interactions.

There is time to miss home, but we are occupied and enjoying the thrill of a new environment. With only several weeks under our belt, I’ve grown to feel comfortable with friends who are honest and eager. To celebrate this absolutely crazy leap in our lives, I have decided to compile a list of various Carleton experiences from the first weeks. So far I/we have:

• showcased our talents in the 2020 Variety Show, including an operatic solo performance from “The Phantom of the Opera”, two dramatic readings of Nicki Minaj lyrics, body contortions, and breakdancing
• seen more Birkenstocks and Tevas than ever before in my life
• cleaned a microwave after accidentally exploding microwaveable mac & cheese
• tried walking through the arboretum but ended up running into Carleton’s organic farm and spotting goats!
• eaten apple crisp & ice cream at Stevie P’s (the president!!!) house
• witnessed a reenactment of the defeat of Jesse James in Northfield (which occurred on September 7th, 1876), tried different fried foods like cheese curds, and walked across a bridge overlooking a gorgeous river
• blown our auditions out of the water for a cappella and comedy groups
• spent way too much time procrastinating on Facebook
• found out that my directional abilities somehow get worse the longer I am somewhere
• successfully destroyed 2 printers

Happy fall term~~
Sergio Jones

P.S. @ my mom: please send bug spray, pictures of my dog, and hot sauce

Sergio hails from Tucson, Arizona, a land where everyone adopts several cacti for pets, and eggs are fried to perfection on sidewalks from consistent 100+° F temperatures. That said, his interests include rock climbing, foreign films, and vegan/vegetarian cooking (and is always looking for treats in his mailbox). He is a potential Cinema & Media Studies or Political Science major who hopes to spread equality & activism through mixed media. Read on to meet the rest of our bloggers.