Welcome to installment 1: letters A-H.

A, Atlanta

A is for Atlanta, a city far more colorful and interesting than the town I come from. From Ponce City Market, the Beltline, towering trees brimming over the highway lines, and a plethora of murals and ice cream shops awaiting down every road, this city is not what I expected to find in moving from the Midwest to the "south". (Who knew that to find the "real south" of Georgia you could drive North OR South of this city?) It's a shame maybe half of the student body I know has never ventured beyond campus into the heart of Atlanta. Do not be deceived by any of the following entries – I love this place. But after a couple years, you learn some things.

B, Biology 141

B is for Bio 141, a dark and gloomy rite of passage for all pre-med hopefuls. Many a time I have looked up from my own homework to see the masses of freshmen on their way to the Bio and Chem exams on judgment day. If you want to know how the test went, don't ask; just check the Emory memes site.

C, Canvas

C is for Canvas, the online tool for everything you need to stay updated on your classes (as long as you remember to check it, anyway.) Depending on how well Emory Unplugged is behaving, everything you need can be found here. Even everything you don't need from last year's courses, hangs around like a clingy, unwelcome ex even weeks into Fall semester.

D, DUC

D is for DUC, the blessed holy land of free I mean DUC-swipe food. This is the sole and almighty power of being a freshmen: unlimited buffet-style food. Don't take it lightly. Enjoy the thoughtless routine of taking as much as you need of whenever you need as a freshman (first year? Are we still saying that?), and then spend the following three years making friends with Freshmen who will swipe you in. Or just 'use the bathroom'. That usually works too.

E, Eagles

E is for Eagles! Which we are! But we're also not! Because we like our unofficial mascot Dooley better. So much so we have a statue of him but no sign of an eagle anywhere. The only students to acknowledge Swoop are the athletes on campus, probably just because we've been called the Emory Eagles by other schools who don't know enough about us to know about the whole Skelton thing.

F, frat row

Imagine: Proud, sticky buildings with unevenly hung decorations. Population: 30% of Emory sophomores/junior/senior males, alongside 90% of freshmen girls and 20% of freshmen boys, half of which spend their Friday/Saturday nights standing as rejects outside the fraternity doors promising they do know Dan or Craig or what's-his-name from that fraternity, the other half linking themselves to a group of 2-10 girls as to be allowed in obligatorily. Last year, during my Sunday morning walks from Few to the WoodPEC, I have never failed to see a sprinkle of red cups and beer bottles decorating the lawns, plus the occasional walk-of-shame-ers, some of which are more friendly than others. Give em a wave; we've all been there.

G, GPA

G is for GPA, the decimalized number we Emory students just about regard as a price-tag on our current value and all potential future value to the world (and the grad/med schools we've been thinking so much about, fresh from the womb). This slippery number slope can careen up or down at supersonic rates so be sure to check it out on a daily basis just to be sure nothing has changed overnight! Don't worry, you'll always wish it was a little higher, but it's a good thing you planned on doing 3 extracurricular too for that resume…. didn't you?

H, Hospital/helicopters

H is for the hospital, which we have right on campus! Which is awesome. Even though it's not where students go if we're in need of medical attention. Although all of the cool doctors-saving-lives stuff can't be seen whatsoever from outside the walls, this whole hospital on campus thing is still awesome because you're sure to see a helicopter landing on the hospital at some point. Saving lives is cool. So are helicopters. Definitely so are helicopters.