My Future as a Doctor Doesn't Look Bright

I woke up today around 8:45 AM, with 45 minutes left before breakfast ended. I got up out of bed, showered, and then decided that I would rather use the time I had before 9:30 came around to practice my trombone than eat breakfast, because my RA group would be heading down to a bakery later, and also because I wanted to explore the music rooms and the rest of the building in general before classes start tomorrow.

I headed down to the music room at around 9:15 AM, and practiced for around 40 minutes. The practice room had a window looking out on the quad area in front of the dorms, and so there was plenty of natural light. The walls also projected back a nice, full sound, but it wasn’t tinny, which was nice. The room also had a piano, multiple chairs, and a music stand. Overall, it was more than adequate for my purposes, which is good because I’ll be using it often.

After I practiced, I headed up to meet with my RA group. Today we had an outing to the Oriental Institute, and we also went to a bakery called Medici to get milkshakes. The Oriental Institute was a smooth, if relatively uneventful, experience. There were basically just replica models of historic artifacts, and it was enjoyable to observe them with my roommate, George, who had a completely different perspective of everything because of where he came from.

We went to Medici bakery after the museum to get milkshakes. Once everyone had theirs, it was decided that we would play Mafia, so we walked to the quad. While we were walking, I talked to this guy named Alex, who also happens to be in my class. He plays lacrosse, so we talked about that, and he also asked me about soccer.

Once we got to the quad, we started playing Mafia. Basically the way it works is that there are two members of the “mafia” who elect to kill someone, but the catch is that everyone has their eyes closed while the two mafia members decide. There is also a doctor, which I was chosen to be, who can choose to bring dead people back to life. When there is no one left but a mafia member, then they win. Everyone else can vote on who they think a mafia member is, but whoever gets voted is killed, even if they’re innocent. The mafia and the citizens take turns electing who to kill. The citizens win if they kill both mafia members, but the mafia wins if they kill all the citizens. I was killed literally right away, so I couldn’t really do anything, but it was fun watching everyone try to guess who was in the mafia.

Mafia with the RA group.

After the group outing, I went to the beach near 57th street with Jahnvi, Lindsay, Olivia, and Kara (Olivia’s roommate). I sat on the rocks and read because I didn’t want to go into the water. It seems to me that Lake Michigan has kind of been a constant on this trip; it was there when we went to Navy Pier, when we visited Northwestern, and now even today. After a while, we all ended up on the rocks just lying around. The waves really picked up towards the end, and we got sprayed a little. For some reason, a bunch of flying insects started swarming us, so we left when that happened.

Our view of Lake Michigan.

We took an Uber to Target after the beach to buy snacks and a mirror. The mirror was because Kara and Olivia felt like they needed it for their room, and pretty much everyone bought snacks. I also got some masks for my face that I haven’t tried yet. Olivia and I decided that we would probably need a little caffeine some mornings, so we bought boxes of matcha and chai to share.

When we got back, I met Cecilia’s roommate, Michelle, who happens to live in Union City. We had dinner with her, and she found out that her and George’s families come from the same city in China. Speaking of George, his passport situation is looking a little better after he reported it to the police. Anyway, after dinner, we went to a study lounge on the second floor to write the room descriptions and blogs. At around 9 PM, I decided that it would be a good idea to take a break from the writing and try to find the building where my class is tomorrow.

Michelle and Lindsay at dinner.

The walk to the Psych building was an experience. First off, there were so many clouds in the sky, and they were pink, and against all the night pollution the sky really looked surreal. All of the buildings, especially the old gothic-style halls, were lit up from the ground, and it gave them even more of a grand, intimidating vibe. The sprinklers were also on, and the mist they emitted filled the warm air with a sheer tone. The whole scene was just so different from what the school looks like during the day. The walk took at least 10 minutes more than it should have because I was so amazed by the images I was taking in.

I eventually made it back to the dorms, where I checked in and went upstairs to finish working on the blog. Tomorrow is my first day of class, and I’m pretty nervous but also feel just ready to finally start what I’ve been waiting for since the interviews. I’m sure it’ll go well, and it’ll be an experience at the very least.