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The Best Place Ever… My Animal Crossing Island

Audney Burnside Student Contributor, St. Bonaventure University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Since my freshman year of high school, I have been signing into a second home of sorts… my island on “Animal Crossing: New Horizons.”.

I cozy up, pull out my special edition Animal Crossing Nintendo Switch, and all is well in the world.

I named the island itself “Eroda”… IYKYK. It made sense for the time, but I am slightly wishing I could change it every now and then.

I’ve maxed out at 10 villagers, whom I absolutely adore. Allow me to introduce you!

Lolly An adorable affectionate cat, who loves sweet food and drinks with a dream of being a chef.
Gala A precious pig I moved on in honor of my mom’s favorite animal; she cracks me up cause she calls me “snortie”.
Fauna Fauna is a deer that sort of brings the caring grandma energy I need to my island, while adoring nature and being oh so lovable.
Daisy The newest addition to my island, a dog who describes herself as “Just a regular girl in a crazy world!”. I’m loving learning more about her!
Savannah A zebra, and a real family gal, always mentioning needing to call her mom and dad. A real music lover as well.
Iggly One of my OG islanders, a penguin who loves working out and playing sports.
Clyde MY FAVORITE. The funniest neon green horse who loves running around (he calls it playing), food, and cracking the silliest but best one-liners ever. He also loves a good nap.
Norma A gleeful pink cow who loves plants and is frequently found fishing in the pond by her house.
Diana An absolute diva of a deer, who loves fashion and seldom leaves the comfort of her luxury home.
Mira The second of my OG villagers, a bunny who loves fitness, jokes, and for some reason dressing like a superhero…
HIGHLY recommend looking these guys up for a visual

Not very unexpectedly, my island is pretty female dominated, and I plan to keep it that way.

All of my pre-built island establishments are fully developed (the museum, shops, hotel, etc.), but I have spent a lot of time adding other features, like my tiki bar, outdoor cafe, farmers market, and outdoor movie theater.

Overall, playing this game reminds me that things don’t always have to be so complicated. It’s okay to shed a tear at something an animated cat said to you after a hard day. Decompressing doesn’t have to look productive at all. You get the point.

So thank you Animal Crossing, for six grand years and counting. Forever a favorite place to be.

Audney Burnside is Co-President of the St. Bonaventure Her Campus chapter. She publishes articles weekly, spanning the topics of music, lifestyle and popular culture. She hopes to further the amazing creativity that her chapter of Her Campus has to share with the world, while coordinating meetings, helping where needed, and running the business side of things!

Audney is currently a senior at St. Bonaventure University, studying Public Health in the 3+2 Occupational Therapy Master's program. Audney brings a high degree of campus involvement to the chapter, not only as Co-Pres of Her Campus, but also as a peer mentor in Bona Buddies, the President of SBU for Equality, a Student Ambassador and also as a peer tutor!

Apart from academics, Audney’s life revolves around the music she loves, outdoorsy adventures, and her best friends. Audney is a devoted cat mom and enthusiastic nature explorer, who loves kayaking with her family, takes way too much pride in her Taylor Swift concert attendance, and will bring up The Catcher in the Rye at any moment possible. Don't even get her started on Pride and Prejudice....