Although the pace of the quarter system is one of the things I loved about this school while I was applying, I’ve come to realize that it has its flaws. I won’t waste my time going into the differences between us and the semester system (how does a week of reading period sound to you though?) because we have all had our respective crisis the first time we realized that the pace of the quarters means that we can sleep when we’re dead. That being said, it seems noble that the administration decided to treat us to a day free of classes for no particular reason. I don’t know the history of College Break Day, but I think this is one of those instances where accepting mindlessly is not going to hurt you.
This past Friday, I turned off my morning alarm and pretended that the work I had to do for the weekend did not exist. I couldn’t be bothered to think about the libraries on campus or the food in the dining halls. It was my day off from all of that. I considered it a vacation (albeit a very small one) that needed to be fully taken advantage of. With this in mind, two girlfriends and I decided that we needed a day of art and hipsters, so we planned on going to the Art Institute and then heading over to Wicker Park.
I had never been to the Art Institute before, and I must say it was breathtaking. There has always been something about famous pieces of art that have seemed inaccessible to me. I’ve always carried this idea that the only famous pieces are on display in Europe, or are hoarded by the filthy rich who want a good investment. I realized I was wrong about this when I walked into the impressionist wing of the Art Institute and found myself in a room with nothing but pieces by Monet. I understood then that this museum was the real deal. It was a huge tourist destination, and for good reason. I often forget that Chicago is such a big tourist destination, never having come here as a tourist while growing up. But now, when I go downtown I realize that I’m not the only one who is having trouble finding the blue line since there are so many tourists around.
After several hours of gawking, we decided to make our way to the community of Wicker Park to eat at our favorite restaurant, Miko’s Flip Side, a winter-only establishment known for its homemade food. I ended up having a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich on rosemary bread and a side of curried lentil soup. I can’t describe how good it was. Afterwards, we decided to check out some of the thrift stores around the area. After moderate success at two stores, we decided we couldn’t handle the snow anymore and called it a day.
I look forward to 3 more years of College Break days, and am confident that I’ll come up with something fun to do on all of them. Until then, I’m going to bury my head in my books and try to do well on my second set of midterms.