Winter quarter means colder temperatures and greyer skies. But through it all, Northwestern students find ways to brighten up their lives with sparks of joy. Michelle Hwang has the story.
DEAR NORTHWESTERN STUDENTS, SNOW IS ON THE GROUND, GREY IS IN THE SKY, AND GLOOM IS IN THE AIR.
THE HARSH COLD OF THE WINTER QUARTER ISN’T EXACTLY A FUN TIME FOR ANYONE. SOMETIMES IT’S A CHALLENGE PREVENTING YOURSELF FROM GETTING SWEPT UP IN ALL THE SEASONAL DARKNESS.
IT’S SO HARD, AND IT’S COLD HERE, BUT NORTHWESTERN STUDENTS FIND WAYS TO HOLD ON. WE FIND THE THINGS THAT UPLIFT US, THE THINGS THAT BRIGHTEN OUR MOODS IN DREARY WEATHER. BORROWING FROM THE KONMARI METHOD, WE FIND THE THINGS THAT SPARK JOY.
WHICH COULD BE…
[Anita Li] “Whole Foods tiramisu.”
THAT WAS ANITA LI, A SOPHOMORE STUDYING JOURNALISM. SHE FINDS JOY IN THE FIVE-DOLLAR SLICES OF TIRAMISU SOLD AT WHOLE FOODS. BUT IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE LAYERS OF COFFEE, CAKE, AND CREAM.
ALONG SIMILAR LINES OF SELF CARE, BUT IN A BIT OF A DIFFERENT WAY, A SPARK OF JOY CAN ALSO COME FROM SOME CARDIO.
SPECIFICALLY, THERE’S ONE SPAC CLASS THAT BRINGS THE SEROTONIN. WERQ WITH A Q. SOPHOMORE EMILY AMESQUITA (AH MESS KEY TAH), A WEINBERG AND BIENEN DUAL DEGREE STUDENT, EXPLAINS
[Emily Amesquita] fade into quote about how werq is just fun. Very low stress. She enjoys it.
IT’S A SIMILAR STORY FOR WEINBERG FRESHMAN RONALDO TINEO.
[Ronaldo Tineo] quote about how dancing is two hours he doesn’t have to think about anything else and can just destress.
OTHERS, LIKE WEINBERG JUNIOR LENA CHOE, CHOOSE TO EMBRACE THE MOODY WEATHER.
[Lena Choe] quote about how Lena likes to listen to music that matches the cloudy weather. Almost makes it feel like the mood is on purpose. Fade out of her audio.
AND FOR MEDILL SOPHOMORE ANNIE XIA (SHH-AH), HOME IS WHERE THE HAPPINESS IS.
[Annie Xia] quote about how Annie has decorated her room and how attached to it she is. After a long day, she looks forward to going back to her room and sprawling on one of her rugs.
THERE ALSO SEEMS TO BE AN AFFINITY FOR WARM DRINKS IN THE WINTER.
[Philip Liou] quote about warm drinks being nice and being surrounded by people is good.
THAT WAS PHILIP LIOU, A SECOND YEAR STUDYING COMMUNICATIONS STUDIES. HIS SENTIMENT IS ECHOED BY WEINBER FRESHMAN, YIJU CHOI.
[Yiju Choi] short Yiju quote about loving hot chocolate.
A SPARK OF JOY COULD STEM FROM JUST FIVE MINUTES OF A STUDENT’S DAY.
[Michelle Sheen] introduces herself. Talks about her gratitude journal
A SPARK OF JOY COULD ALSO BE BUILDING A SNOWMAN, WORKING ON YOUR CROCHET PROJECT, SUNRISE YOGA, PLEX SOFT SERVE,
AS WEINBERG SOPHOMORE HANA-LEI JI SHOWS, JOY MAY ALSO BE CLOSER AND SIMPLER THAN EXPECTED.
[Hana-Lei Ji] quote about how spending time with people who support her and are close to her on campus provides her with the most warmth.
SO FELLOW STUDENTS, LET’S FIND OUR SPARKS OF JOY. AND IN THE FACE OF WIND AND SNOW AND GLOOM, HOLD TIGHT TO THEM THIS WINTER QUARTER.
