Kaitlin Welborn | 20 things you didn't know

Since I don't really go on Facebook, I thought that I'd use my very last DP column ever to write my "25 Things (You Probably Didn't Want To Know) About Me and Penn." Except I could only come up with 20.

1. Best place on campus: 6th floor of Van Pelt. Go check it out.

2. Place on campus worse than David Rittenhouse Laboratory: Basement of the Psych Labs. Why have Guantanamo when we could easily use this depressing building instead?

3. I transferred to Penn after my freshman year. While I missed out on some cool stuff like NSO and living in the Quad, I avoided living in Hill, eating in any of the dining halls, or paying another $40 grand. I got a good deal.

4. Senior-like things I never did: Feb Club, go to Smokes, see a Mask and Wig show. And yes, I'm okay with that.

5. Thing that has gone the most downhill since my stay at Penn: Amy Gutmann's Halloween Party. 2006's was amazing, terrorist look-a-like included. This year you served awful candy and ice cream. Really, Amy? Ice cream on Halloween?

6. I moved to 43rd and Pine streets my junior year and it was a great decision. Venture west of 40th, kids. Chances are you won't get mugged, and you'll have an awesome time.

7. If you do move past 40th, don't move next door to a pizza place, lest you wind up with a once-a-week pizza habit like me. Don't judge.

8. I love to bike around the city. It's really not that dangerous, it's good exercise and it's way cheaper than SEPTA. Wear a helmet!

9. For the past few semesters I've bought a soda every morning from the Williams Cafe. They're about a quarter cheaper than everywhere else on campus.

10. I wish Penn would institute a reciprocity agreement between majors to make changing your major easier. I didn't realize until my junior year that I should have been an Urban Studies major, but none of my French major classes would have transferred. This sucks.

11. However, being a French major was awesome. The classes have all the same people in them. We're one of the few majors who can have inside jokes in another language.

12. I really enjoyed fulfilling my requirements. For you non-science-y types, I highly recommend "Survey of the Universe" with Professor Devlin and "Sex and Human Nature" with professors Fernandez-Duque and Valeggia.

13. Go see the peer tutors at the Writing Center. Not only will they help you with your paper for free, but they are also funny, awesome and insanely attractive. (Full disclosure: I am one.)

14. Volunteering in West Philadelphia changed my life. I was all set to become a hotshot lawyer, and now I'm going to work in the nonprofit sector. Volunteer in your community. You won't regret it.

15. I do not own a Blackberry or an iPhone, as I have no need to check my e-mail in the middle of class. If I can wait 50 minutes, so can you.

16. I met my best friend at Penn walking home from a Model UN meeting. Even the dorkiest of clubs provide a way to meet like-minded friends without having to join a sorority or fraternity.

17. I once saw a rat in Fresh Grocer. No joke.

18. I love going to the farmers' markets in Clark Park. You can buy cheap, local, organic produce there and incredibly delicious baked goods. Mmmm.

19. I came to Penn as a Republican and left (ha! Get it? Left!) as a Democrat. My parents think this is because I went to a liberal East Coast school. I think it's because I grew up.

20. Coming to Penn has been the best decision I've ever made. I have learned so much about myself and have made the most fantastic friends. Through the hours of lectures, the multitude of tests - if there's more than one per semester it's not a midterm, people! - and the stacks of papers written, I have earned lifelong bragging rights to say that I've graduated from the first university in the country, founded by Benjamin Franklin. And now I can forever sneer when I meet someone from Princeton.

Have a good summer, kids! See you in the real world!

Kaitlin Welborn is a College senior from Tampa, Fla. Not Your Mother's Daughter appeared on alternating Wednesday. Her email address is welborn@dailypennsylvanian.com. Kaitlin is currently interning in London and hopes to move there permanently.

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