Apparently, Chicago weather has gone on a record-breaking spree since I moved here. First with the polar vortex last winter, and now, with record-breaking snow fall on Halloween. Prior to this year, the only recorded snow in the city on Halloween was in , when the city recorded one tenth (0.1) of an inch. We definitely broke that this year, and we had two to three inches of snow appear in Lombard! Literally the night before the snow started, I took Lily for a walk and the fall leaves were so pretty I had to take her picture in front of them. The next morning, I took a picture of another tree on campus that was dropping some leaves on the fresh snow. It was really pretty.

Before I decided to come to school here, I attended a Campus Visit Day. I HIGHLY recommend it! You get a tour of campus, a lunch with current students, and often get to sit in on a class. I met a few people at my Campus Visit Day who are now my friends on campus (shout out to Jen and Joanna!), but one person I met was Jane. She lived on campus at the time, as she was finishing up some credits in the bachelor’s program. I ended up moving in a couple doors down the hall from her when I started here. We have been great friends ever since! She just started the ND program, and I was so happy to get to attend her white coat ceremony. Ironically, the same day I attended her white coat ceremony, I had lunch with some visiting students who were here for Campus Visit Day. I was able to tell them about my dear friend Jane whom I met at my visit day, and it felt like my life was coming full circle. 

This program is tough, and I cannot stress the importance of having friends in the program with whom you have classes–but also with whom you don’t have classes. I am thankful for the many upperclassmen who have befriended me, and who have always been there to help answer questions. Hopefully, I will be able to help Jane as she begins this program (not that she will need it, she was Valedictorian when she graduated, and I know she will absolutely rock the graduate program)!