Bye, Freaks

Ella Diers, Editor-in-Chief

Four years ago, I came to Beloit in the middle of a global pandemic. I hadn’t toured, I had no idea what campus looked like, and it was hot as balls on move-in day. I remember feeling nauseous from the heat, sipping on a sort of gross lemonade from Blue Collar. 

I wanted so desperately for a new start, new experiences, new people. I was going to throw myself into whatever came my way. I’ve had my grubby little hands in many aspects of campus life, from playing sports (throwback to that), working with LEADS, working for C-Haus, and especially the Round Table. But I have to say, nothing has made more of an impact on my life than my friends. 

I first met Cam and Flora freshman year. They were both so cool and pretty and I wanted to be both of their friends immediately. Flora, with her cunty crop top and huge shoes stomping on the Powerhouse turf as we played hide-and-seek, Cam with blue streaks in her curly hair and clothes that I wanted to steal so bad.

This was also the year I got involved with Round Table. The Round Table was in bad shape. It had maybe seven members, we were over Zoom, and it didn’t get better when restrictions were lifted. My friend (a freshman!) was the editor of the News Section (this is an insane move on the part of the Editors-in-Chief btw), and she asked me to write articles for her section. Neither of us knew what the hell we were doing, but boy was that section filled every damn week. 

The next year, we met Zeke. By this point, I was Features Editor and had also roped my friends into writing. I freaking love Zeke, I don’t even know what to say. They helped us regrow the Round Table and stood up for all of us when we needed someone. 

I’ve had some insane experiences throughout the last four years, and for each one my friends have been there. 

I have talked a lot of shit about Beloit and I do stand behind everything I’ve said: the food is bad, the administration seems to hate students, the Powerhouse is evil, ResLife is evil. But as many tears I’ve shed, as angry as I’ve been about this school, there is no part of me that regrets it. I can not ever regret the people I’ve met or the friendships I’ve made. 

And that’s the annoyingly special thing about this place. No matter how much it beats you down, you’ll always have people to bring you back up. I feel insanely lucky and grateful for Flora, Cam, and Zeke. Coming in, I never would have imagined that I would have these people in my life. I never thought I’d have people who would sniff my armpits and let me know if I’m stinky, who would let me be cringe and be cringe right back, who would be honest and kind and let me eat food off their plates and liquid from their cups because it tastes better when it’s not mine. 

I have tried to write this article so many times, and each time it just sounds corny and cheesy and not quite the right words. I really just want to say I love my friends a lot.