Make it a hot girl semester

We all know about hot girl summer. (If not, give this a read. It’s excellent and written by a former Observer staffer aka it doesn’t get better than this!) Do what you want, and do it proudly. Make some questionable decisions, and make them without regrets. Oh, and don’t forget to look hot while doing it.

All meme-ry aside, you can’t help but love everything hot girl summer represents. Life becomes the best it can be once you embrace who you are and what you like, and the colligate experience is no exception. 

Now it’s time for the hot girl semester.

Obviously, school is important. Read your syllabi, go to class and do your homework. But remember that taking care of yourself and putting aside time to rest and enjoy life is necessary. Put aside an hour of your day to unwind and watch Buzzfeed “Unsolved.” That’s one step closer to achieving the ultimate hot girl semester.

Only drink black coffee for the aesthetic and not the taste? Really craving one cream and two sugars but don’t want to seem extra? Who cares! Hot girl semester.

Keep throwing up those peace signs. Keep unironically using cringe-worthy slang. Keep expressing your sadness over One Direction’s break up. (I acknowledge this paragraph is excessive and about me, but guess what? Hot girl semester!)

But really, college is the place to discover what you love, what you hate and what you never thought you’d enjoy. It’s OK to indulge in guilty pleasures — I’m sure there’s someone around the corner who’d like to indulge with you. This hot girl semester, we’re in the business of making friends while loving ourselves.

So I say open the windows, blast some music and let the world know about your passion for Jimmy Buffett. Wear those questionable shoes to class (we all have that one pair, don’t deny it). Excessively post on social media. Pop off on your main. No one can stop you mid-hot girl semester.

Now for possibly one of my most controversial takes to date: Take advantage of what the tri-campus community has to offer. Go to another campuses’ activities fair and sign up for a club. Hop on the bus and take it all the way back to where you got on. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, take a walk around a campus that isn’t your own. 

Check out Holy Cross’s Ave Brew Cafe. Walk through the Snite Museum of Art at Notre Dame. Discover the tunnel that connects Le Mans Hall and the Saint Mary’s Student Center. The campus community is your oyster and happy to embrace you.

But what’s the easiest way to start your hot girl semester, you ask? Uncover the truth and report it accurately in the basement of South Dining Hall at The Observer. You may even hear Megan Thee Stallion’s “Hot Girl Summer” blasting from the computer in the back.