Beads of sweat sprint their way down the bridge of your nose, gathering on your upper lip. You fake a smile, but you’re not sure how much longer you can hold your sunny composure. The pressure is building as every second ticks away.
Hang on, wait a second: Are you a GOP candidate facing your first debate on the national stage, or a college student sitting on your suitcase in the late August sun, trying unsuccessfully to get it to close?
Alright, that may be a bit dramatic. Maybe your life isn’t exactly analogous to that of a politician vying for the ultimate Class Officer position–the top dog, the POTUS with the mostest. However, if you caught FOX News’ telecast of the Republican debate last Thursday night, along with a record 24 million other viewers, you may have noticed a couple of things.
First, we may not be the only ones with a flair for the dramatic (here’s looking at you, Mr. Trump). Second, you have a lot more in common with these GOP candidates than you’d think.
Here, we break down 5 expressions, reactions, and gestures captured in the GOP debate that we’ve definitely glimpsed on the faces of Notre Dame students, circa the last couple weeks of summer vacation.
Note: Any views or bad puns expressed from here on out do not necessarily reflect the views of Her Campus Notre Dame and will probably not reflect any legitimate political views anyway.
1. The Sorority Side Eye
You’ve endured it all before — the barrage of social media posts filled with foreign hand signals, matching pastel frockets, and captions proclaiming, “so glad I amma Kappa Kappa Gamma.” The rush of Greek rush.
With the opening days of August, sorority and fraternity recruitment come out in full swing for many colleges across the nation. And as a supportive friend, you throw out the courtesy Instagram “like” here or there and listen to your hometown pals rave about moving into their new and improved sorority house.
You’re genuinely happy that your friends found their fit in their respective sororities and wouldn’t trade out your own dorm pride for Greek letters anytime soon, but you can only hear too many intense professions of love for one’s “Big” or “Little” before you have a “little” meltdown of your own.
Enter the Sorority Side Eye. It’s revealing enough to give a gentle indication of your strife and offer you some release, yet still subtle enough that conversation with your good-intentioned sorority pals will carry on without offense. Heck, you might not even realize you’re doing it. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, pictured above and master of this Side Eye, was certainly conscious of his technique while duking it out with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. You probably want to cut down on the sass for your reprisal, though.
2. The Family Feud
Families: you can’t live with them, but you can’t live–and bicker–without them. Just like Donald Trump keeps things interesting on the political front, there’s something about the heat of summer vacation that brings out the best insults and fiercest feuds at home. You get along swimmingly for a few weeks, but eventually things take a turn downstream and the teeth come out.
Think Jaws-on-steroids kind of teeth. You don’t remember what exactly set it off, but suddenly your little brother is in a spider monkey formation on your back and your life is flashing before your eyes. Or perhaps you’ve forgotten your summer curfew one too many times and your parents aren’t exactly beaming with joy, instead using the kind of colorful language that would make Samuel L. Jackson blush.
But have no fear. Although there may be tension now, it ebbs and flows just like your mother’s held-back tears when it comes time for you to leave home again. As the adage goes, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” Plus, who else is going to give you abundant love and home-cooked meals like she does?
3. The Nostalgic Nod
You’re inching down the highway amid a chorus of honks and the sighs of mildly irritated businessmen. It’s your last day of work for the summer, and although you’d grown to secretly enjoy your mid-morning commute, you’re relieved to shed your title of Intern/Nanny/Lifeguard for a bit of free time before it’s time to brand yourself as Student again.
Your train of thought, however, is suddenly interrupted by an over-zealous radio DJ and an all-too-familiar tune, and *that one song* starts to play. You know the one. That Taylor Swift feminanthem you and your roommates would blast while trying on piles of outfits and pleading with your eyeliner to appear at least somewhat straight.
That brain-numbing tune made intolerable after one too many replays by a certain North Quad Men’s Residence Hall. That hip-hop remix that prompted you to screech “turn it up!” at an unlucky cab driver, en route to your first adventure at a certain “hottest” night club.
Whatever the song may be, it brings with it a wave of nostalgia for life under the Dome. An appreciation for where you’ve been and an excitement for things (dorm parties or political parties) to come. Not to mention an involuntary head nod… dang, that thing is catchy.
4. The Brain Freeze
Sometimes a break from writing term papers and calculating equations rejuvenates your mind, but too much chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin’ all cool can actually take a toll. (And occasionally it lands you on a one-way trip to Bel Air, but I think that was just a Will Smith anomaly). After being removed from your studies for an extended period of time, you may start to mourn those begone brain cells and yearn for the challenge of thought once again. Just as your body needs the occasional exercise, you entertain the realization that a couch-potato brain could benefit from some jumping jacks again, too.
This reaction comes after either A) a particularly long Orange is the New Black binge, surrounded by half-full bags of Skinny Pop and prompted by Netflix, “Are you sure you’re still watching?” or B) a particularly long workday, surrounded by inventory and prompted by your brain, “Are you sure you still remember how to count?” In case you were wondering, we’ve experienced both.
But don’t listen to us… listen to retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
5. The “Who’s Ready to Go Back?”
Now, you love summer as much as the next college student. It’s a sweet escape from the sleepless nights of finals week and the pressures of deadlines; a kind of freedom that lingers like sand on your toes and campfire smoke in your hair.
But these days, there’s someone else in the picture. Summer’s time has passed. Memories of all the little moments you shared come sneaking back: how she embraced you with each football game push-up, how nice she looked on your jogs around the lake. Yep, you’ve fallen head over heels for Our Lady and, come August, you’re itching to be back on your respective quad. So when someone inquires, “Who’s ready to go back?” you confidently raise your hand and flash a sheepish grin like debate moderator Chris Wallace because, in just a couple weeks, you’ll be headed to your home under the Dome.
And there’s no debating that.
The HCND application is now open! For more information contact Rebecca Rogalski at rebeccarogalski@hercampus.com or Katrina Linden at katrinalinden@hercampus.com.