Sophia White- I have been living in Minnesota for about 9 months now, and have noticed a few things in terms of personal preference and pronunciation from Minnesotans that differ from my experiences living in Nebraska for 18 years. This is not an anthropological study where I have lived in another place for several years, looked at one specific thing, and reported my findings. I … Continue reading Cultural differences among Midwesterners

Houston McLaury- Something that I’ve often taken for granted in these twenty-one years of life is how wonde rful hobbies can truly be. With our hands, we can do just about anything. Climb to tall peaks we never thought we could climb to, make sweet sounds we could never make with our voice, and write sweet honeyed words on paper to express an inner self … Continue reading Hobbies for the idle mind

Jonas Doerr- Is it in the Caf? Is it in Beck Hall? Is it true you don’t know where your Gustieware is at all? Is it in the Lib? Is it in the trash? Is it possible you’re really wasting your own cash? Bad poetry aside, your Gustieware may have escaped even further than you would imagine. Some abandoned Gustieware has been known to haunt … Continue reading O Gustieware, where art thou?

Raquel Vaughn- Imagine this: I’m sitting there, on my hardwood bedroom floor, and looking at the mess that was formed while packing for college. I’m thinking to myself, “I’m going to have to bring pretty much everything with me to school.” And then my baby blanket, not great in size but in everything else, catches my eye. As I’m having a crisis about every other … Continue reading Normalize sleeping with baby blankets

Sophia White- By the time this article reaches the rest of campus, my 19th birthday will be in two days. The last year in my teens. Yet 19 just feels like a number that means nothing in terms of age. It feels awkward to be placed between 18 and 20. At 18 you become an adult (in most states), which is such a freeing feeling. … Continue reading Feelings surrounding getting older

Houston McLaury- Well Gusties, welcome back to Gustavus! It’s been too long, about a month and two weeks since we’ve all been on campus together, and boy is it interesting! We’ve come through the new year, a snowless one, into a mostly snow-free January. This weather continues to bleed into February. We’ve continued to be snow-free, with temperatures so warm I haven’t had to wear … Continue reading The final farewell to J-Term

Jonas Doerr- Allegedly, there was a Super Bowl last Sunday. Although the commercials and halftime show were arguably subpar, the game did have an exciting finish, so it might be worthy of being called Super. But where was the bowl? How could there be a Super Bowl without a bowl? The first assumption might be that the trophy is a bowl. It is not. It … Continue reading The Super Bowl vs supper bowls

Raquel Vaughn- “All I want for Christmas is you”…to actually buy good gifts this year. With the holidays coming up, it’s the season of giving. Whether you’re looking for that “perfect something” for that “perfect someone”, or your mission is to win the gift exchange with your roommate this year, everyone is searching to get somebody a little present during this time. I’m sure if … Continue reading This is not a guide to gift giving

Sophia White- Christmas in Christ Chapel (CinCC) is truly an adventure in personal discipline and building connections. With several hundreds of hours of rehearsal and 360 hours of performances, my body was full of aches. Headaches, blisters, dehydration, and a variety of other pains. I was entirely convinced that, at some point, my knees would give out and I would slip underneath the risers as … Continue reading Christmas in Christ Chapel as a first-time participant

Houston McLaury- Well, folks, we’re in the month of December. Right now Mariah Carey has thawed out and they’ve blown the dust off of old recordings of singers pining about red-cheeked nights out in the snow, Grandma getting run over by reindeer, and chestnuts roasting against open fires as the air gets colder. And yet, no snow has stayed in the state, instead opting to … Continue reading The horrors of gift wrapping