Our Time 1998

ach one of us is initially attracted to IMSA for our own indi- vidual reasons . Pe r haps the prestigious educa t i on called to us. Pe r haps we l onged for the freedom of living on our own , and we r e eager to cast off the s hadow of parental supervision . Pe r haps we simply l onged for a fresh new start on life. How- ever, wha t eve r mo t i ve s may have conv i nced us to come to the unknown wo r l d of the mys t e r i ous a c ademy still could not prepar e us for the one-of- a-kind, haphaza r d chaos of IMSA Student Life. Our school's eclectic mi x t u r e of scattered origins and ideals forged special friendships, created exciting educationa l opportunities, and offered a un i que array of social functions. Occa s i ona l l y confined to the limits of campus , we we r e forced to utilize our creative abilities to their u tmos t potential , in order to invent new me t hod s of hav i ng fun. Non e of us could have predicted that we could d i scove r s© ma n y wa y s of goofing off wi t h a r oomma t e , wi t hout ever leaving the comfor t o f ou r room. The abs ence of cars didn't stop us from e s cap i ng IMSA' s dreary landscape . Fr equen t trips to the mall, the mov i es , or Ch i cago ma d e full use of all the publi c transporation at our disposal. Dance s , as oppos ed to be i ng a chance to dress up in outra- geous l y priced outfits, we r e cons i de r ed opportunitie s to get off c ampu s and enjoy t ime wi t h friends. At IMSA, en t e r t a i nment took on who l e n ew va l ues and priorities. For examp l e , living on our own had raised the status of mon e y to the po i n t whe r e it wa s hoa r ded as a p r ec i ous c ommo d - ity. But even the mos t e conomi c -mi nded student had to treat h im or herself out once in a while, a l l owi ng a little splurging he r e and there. Howeve r , it d i dn ' t matte r if we we r e flat b r oke . . .we still we r e de t e rmi ned to enjoy our se l ves in our own little way. Student Life not only encompa s s ed social gatherings, but educational lectures, as well. As a memb e r of the IMSA commun i t y , we are exposed to no t ed guest speakers, who enhanc e our w i s d om as we l l as satisfy our curiosity. The s e formal affairs are as mu c h a part of IMSA as the red carpet. Starting off the yea r with Convoca t i on i n t roduced us to a b r and n ew env i r onmen t s ophomo r e year. Si nce then, it ha s been accep t ed as tradition to attend and hear the advice of alumni wh o share our experi- ences as a functioning asset to our Pi onee r i ng Educa t i ona l Commun i t y . IMSA student life even ex t ended to the pe r i ods wh e n we we r e n ' t on campus . Every summer, despite the fact that all of us ven t u r ed off in separate directions to pa r t ake in our individual s umme r activities at home or abroad, the spirit of IMSA still affected us. Reun i ons among r oom- ma t es , wi ngma t e s , and ha l lma t e s occu r r ed frequently, for we cou l d ha rd l y get by wi t hou t the individuals with wh om we shared our lives for an entire school year. After endur i ng the trials of academi c life at IMSA, friends found it difficult abandon each other, and ove r c ame vast distances to visit and ma i n t a i n their relationships. The flavor IMSA Student is so filled wi t h conflicting diversity, it's enough to give s omeone a s t omachache . Indeed, trying to digest it all at once wou l d p r ove a formidable task. As a result, you c a n ' t j u s t sum up Student Life in words , or pho t os , or me r e observation. You have to live it. \ H $ Student,<=&{& V ) < u 4— W e ' r e a l o t V ) w e a k e r a i k d £ _ w e ' r e a I d t ( ^ ) m o r e Asian. £ - E . J . L o p e z , O s o p h o m o r e £ o u _ We're s h o r t e r " O - > M c e K i m # V ) fc) s e n i o r V ) If) M O W i k n o w h o w t o b o n d • M e l i s s a H i j r f f i n g t o n , j u n i o r