Every thought upperclassmen have when returning to Cornell University

The feeling of coming to Cornell for the first time versus when you’re an upperclassman is world’s apart. By the time you’re a junior or a senior, you’ll have had your fair share of classes and winters, and generally you would have absorbed life at Cornell and life in Ithaca.

You’re no longer the giddy freshman who was excited for a new life and you’re filled with a unique pair of sentiments…

161 Things to do at Cornell

You don’t seem to be ticking off things on this special to-do list for Cornell students at the pace you would like.  Quite frankly, it is actually harder to do all of these activities than you envisioned.

Although you know you might not get time for a bunch of them in the upcoming semester, you still resolve to get halfway through the list before the year ends.

Goodbye Popeyes, Forever 21 and all your favorite franchises that are not available in Ithaca  

As a freshman you’ll probably assume that a Ithaca, with a big school like Cornell, probably has all the major franchises you’re used to back home. And you will be surprised to find that a Popeyes, Forever 21, Aeropostale and even an H&M are nowhere in sight.

However as an upperclassman, you’re kind of resigned to this fact so you prep yourself up for being away from your favorite franchises for the semester…

To buy or not to buy a TCAT bus pass..

Once you’re no longer a freshman, your access to a free bus pass ends. Rest assured, you still get weekends and evenings free but you still go through the contemplation of whether or not to buy a full pass.

This decision will probably involve how far your classes are from your dorm and from each other.

Preparation to be exhausted

The academics and spending all your time in the library is one thing. There is also the exhaustion that comes from walking and walking and walking. Depending on where you’re from, you will probably have to prep yourself for walking up slopes across the large campus.

Honestly, this needs mental preparation and a build of stamina and the thought will definitely cross your mind to get in shape to beat the odds of the Cornell landscape.

You dread the length of time it takes to get to Walmart

If you’re on campus and you don’t have a car, then you are familiar with the long, route-changing bus journey to Walmart. You literally have to psych yourself up, a few days in advance for a journey to Walmart from Cornell. Of course, you could always get groceries from the campus store but really, its variety is limited and your best bet for groceries and other items in terms of availability, variety and price is Walmart…or Wegmans, which is also a thousand years away (pretty much next to Walmart).

The General Ithaca Area.…and the commons

Students usually get so involved in academic and student life on the huge campus that sometimes, one forgets there is a life outside of Cornell. At the beginning of the year one of the resolutions is to explore the Ithaca town and notable on the list is usually The Farmer’s Market, Stewart Park and of course, the Ithaca Commons which has a gazillion local restaurants and generates its own list of “places to eat.”

Cornell Dining

Cornell is known to have one of the best college dining foods across the country you always look forward to your favorite meal that you have discovered in one of the Cornell cafes that, of course, you cannot find anywhere else in the country. For most students, the Dairy Bar Ice Cream is at the top of this list.

BRBs

You breath a sigh of relief (if you have BRBS) because you realize that your debit card can take a little break from buying food because your BRBS (Big Red Bucks- a form of currency used to buy food at various Cornell cafes), will do the job and save you having to look at your bank account balance every single day.

The Clock Tower

When you’re on the campus, you get so used to the sound of the clock tower you literally live through it. When there is a familiar song you actually dance to it sometimes… kind of.

After you’ve been home for a while and return to Cornell, you get a little startle every time it dings or sings. It’s normal to forget it exists for a minute during your vacation.

Winter is coming

Of course, you would not be a Cornell student if winter in Ithaca (usually a great pain) was not a part of your worries. You’re either worried that it will be extremely dreadful this year or you’re worried that the previous year was relatively calm so it could be dreadful this year.

On the bright side, you appreciate that if ever you’re in an awkward conversation with another student or acquaintance, you can always bring up the weather as a part of the conversation. Everybody always has a lot to say about Ithaca’s weather.

You look forward to college tours on the campus

If you’re an upperclassman, you have probably heard the conversation that floats around campus that Cornell has a weather manipulation machine which they use during college tours for high school students. Cornell plans ahead for days that the forecast is promising but students refuse to shake of this idea of a manipulative machine.

So when you’re returning to Cornell, you look forward to seeing high school students running around campus because you know it’s going to be a good weather day.

As a freshman, you are yet to decide how you feel about the school but for us, upperclassmen, we have seen, we have experienced and though we will always find something to complain about, Cornell is home.