Photorious

A two week stay in Chicago was the perfect reason to FINALLY go back to visit my alma mater. I haven’t spent any real time there since…well, since I was paying to be there. Seeing campus in its deserted state let me take all the time I wanted. And made me remember the first time I fell in love with the place as a senior in high school.

Arnie’s Arch. Ok, it’s technically the Weber Arch.

My First Dorm: North Mid Quads

My Second, Third, and Fourth Dorm: “The Plex”

So many memories…

It is what you think it is. Thank God for this place.

The Black House Porch

In four years, I set foot in Deering Meadow once. But I walked by it at least 4 times per day.

The Library

Tech: In the pantheon of uninviting structures, Northwestern’s main engineering building manages to barely edge out the Death Star

Tech Lobby: this is about as inviting as it gets. And it hasn’t changed in 20 years.

Shakespeare Garden. Probably one of the least well-known but most beautiful gems on campus. I couldn’t remember how to get there and had to look it up on a map.

I spent more time here than anywhere else in college. I worked here all four years, and in my senior year I clocked 30-40 hours per week. Many of the people I’m now closest to were also 4-year Norris-ites. This is where I moved tables and chairs for money, where I was a Center Manager (which basically meant I wore a tie and carried around about 30 keys to unlock every door in the building), where I met celebrities, where I did never-ending problem sets, where I had an office in the basement, opened my grad school acceptance letters (and cried with my mother on the phone as I shared the news), pulled finals week and Dance Marathon all-nighters, and saw the OJ verdict. When I have fond memories about my college years, its a pretty safe bet that Norris is at the heart of them.

I think I made it to Chicago maybe twice in all of college. Great city. But I didn’t find out until I’d already left.