Six months ago, I wrote my first “Hot or not” list. I felt like I was going through a rebrand — deciding what is best for me and how I wanted the rest of my year to look. I loved doing a deep dive into my subconscious and thinking about the people and things in my life that spark joy. In October, I have continued to ponder my list and have identified what is now in my current cycle of things that are hot and things that are not. Personally, I choose to believe that this list is going to be my ride-or-die for the rest of the semester. I will catch you in the spring with an updated list, but for now enjoy my current thoughts and joys.
Hot List:
1. Hot coffee and tea: The weather is dropping and so are my domer dollars. Someone get a dirty chai in my hand ASAP. I’ve been counting down the days until I could stop holding a cold cup but instead hold something warm.2. HALL STAFF KARAOKE ROUNDS! If you have any requests, send me an email. I love walking through the halls of Lyons with my bright pink karaoke mic, singing Taylor Swift at the top of my lungs.
3. Student journalism (and doing graphics for The Observer!) There is nothing I love more than spending hours in the basement of South Dining Hall, thinking about sports.
4. Saying “I love you.” If you have hung out with me at least once, the odds that I have said these words to you are so high. I will never regret saying “I love you” to someone.
5. Andrew. McGuinness. My favorite Sports Editor (sorry, Aidan Thomas). Who else would let me text him random thoughts at any hour of the day?
6. Celebrating half-birthdays. My half-birthday recently passed, and the only person who wished me a happy half-birthday was Andrew. What is that about? It is the halfway point through your year! Tell your friends happy half-birthday!
7. Diet Coke. To be so completely honest, this never left. Every day I am grateful for the fact that I can drink Diet Coke. Something about that carbonated beautiful drink will never not make me smile.
8. Walking around in chilly air. As the temperatures continue to drop, I will not stop going outside for my silly little Hot (Cold?) Girl Walks.
9. Afternoon naps. Maybe it is because I have been sleeping less at night, but something about napping from the hours of 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. is so exciting.
10. Quietly playing guitar in a group of friends. The current craze of my friends includes something called “quiet guitar time with scheduling”, where I sit and play songs on the guitar while my friends go through their schedules. It makes overwhelming times feel a little more bearable.
Not List:
1. Feeling embarrassed. The world is too big to worry about what other people think! I have realized that I rarely think about what the people around me are doing, so why would they be doing that to me?2. Not attending section social. Please hang out with your RAs. They are trying so hard. Eat their snacks, and do the silly little activities!
3. Being abroad for a semester. This is only because I am salty and I miss my friends (ISA COME HOME!) The semester has felt long and hard without some of my closest friends here.
4. Summer clothing. It is now time to transition into the muted colors and long sleeves. I am expecting to stop seeing shorts and instead start seeing flannels over hoodies. There is no reason to be wearing flip-flops in 40 degree weather.
5. Stressing about midterms. It is fall break, baby! Finally time to relax, go to Nashville, see some family members, do anything other than work. I know that personally I will not check my email until I get back to campus.
6. DH Grill Line. Does not matter which dining hall it is, I do not want to step foot in the grill line. We are past the season of cheeseburgers and hamburgers, it is time to be for real.
7. Forks. As I mentioned earlier, it is getting cold. Let’s not lie to ourselves and eat things that need a fork. We should be eating soups now. Forks need to go.
8. Walking past The Observer Print Edition. If you see the paper, I am expecting you to pick it up. Countless hours go into making this paper a reality, and it is always worth the read.
See you guys on the flippity-flip, and have a fun and safe fall break!
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
