After a long year of getting brainrotted on tiktok and conversing with chatgpt, northwestern students are ready to leave behind their 2025 selves and enter a new era. I went around campus to figure out what students’ 2026 ins and outs are.
SAHANA UNNI:What are your 2026 ins and outs?
SAM GEIGER: For my ins, my ins are definitely moral philosophy and kind of an add on to that, discussing class content after class. Kind of like an academic weapon type beat.
ELIZA FISHER: In is chalance, like being chalant, which I guess leads to outs, which is nonchalance. We’re done with that.
AANIKA SAWHNEY: Walking backwards is in.
NIKASH KHANNA: North campus is out. South campus is in.
VINCENT CHEN: Mopeds are out.
LULUYA TEKLE: My 2026 in is definitely orange blush and weird socks.
But it’s more than just socks and abolishing mopeds: some students are eager to use their ins and outs to make lifestyle changes
BRIANNA HARPER: My 2026 ins are getting more sleep, eating more, traveling more, and my outs are procrastinating.
ALI MOHAMMAD: I’m trying to leave behind my indecisiveness, and I’m going to leave behind cancelling plans last minute, because I keep doing that. I think I’m gonna work on improving my sleep schedule.
MAXIMILIAN KASTL: One thing I want out from 2025 is sleeping too little hours.
DISHA SANKHLA: My out is staying up past midnight on a school night.
Northwestern itself is a subject of this year’s ins and outs
GEIGER: My outs are Fran’s, lowkey controversial, but it really has stopped hitting since first quarter. And friends kissing friends. That’s another out.
AARON BUTIKOFER: My in for 2026 is Allison Dining Hall food and my out is Forno’s Pizza.
But more than anything, students are aspiring to change their plugged-in habits
LULUYA TEKLE: My outs are Instagram.
BEN HARRINGTON: My outs? Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, GroupMe, MySpace.
ELIZA FISHER: Out is my phone. Goodbye phone, you are horrible to me.
KAIA WOOLFE: My 2026 out is 67.
AARAV JAIN: My out is 67. My 2026 in is going to be dabbing, I think it’s making a 10 year comeback.
LAUREL BUESCHER: My 2026 out is ChatGPT.
BEN HARRINGTON: My 2026 in is gonna be spending time in nature.
So here’s to a year of hoping for orange blush, Allison dining hall, nature, and ins that will stay in and outs that will hopefully be left behind in 2025.
For WNUR News, Sahana Unni.
