ADOCH vs. Reality

Alright, alright excited little pre-frosh, calm down for a second. ADOCH was a weekend of fun and games. I hate to break it to you, but college is a little bit different. Here’s a heads up so you aren’t disappointed when you get to Brown and things have changed... ADOCHSwag bags! You’re greeted with a sack of swag and you’ll be strutting around with that bright red string bag all weekend, stuffing it with all the free candy you can get at the club’s fair.RealityIf you steal enough fruit from the Ratty and put it in your backpack, it’s kind of like a swag bag? ADOCHName tags on cool lanyards! Never forget the names of the 20 people you’re sitting with at the ratty again! Not only do you get to see their names, but you also get to see where they’re from! Wow, someone else is also from Westchester, NY, or a Massachusetts suburb? Instant conversation!RealityYou will have to greet 98% of the people you meet during orientation with a nice long “Heyyyyyyy!” and have to face the awkward moment when they use your name in conversation and you can’t reciprocate!ADOCHIt’s SO SUNNY! There are people everywhere! This is what college campus dreams are made of: spikeball galore, frisbee games everywhere, and blankets covering every square foot of the Main Green. No one’s doing work! (You may even get a whiff of some marijuana!)RealityAlas, these days are a rarity. Brown students are a breed of hibernators, bound to the dark corners of various habitats including rocks and hay. For one or two days a year, when the sun breaks through the perpetually gray Providence sky, they may run abound until the clouds come back and the students must retreat. ADOCHThe Ratty is delicious! You are amazed by the sheer quantity of options -- roots and shoots, comforts, omelette bar, salad bar -- it’s almost too much! And the coffee, too! Mom doesn’t let you have caffeine before bed, but guess what? No parents, no rules! RealitySoon enough, Siberian grain bowl week will arrive at the ratty and you’ll have to suffer through a week straight of potatoes, barley, mushrooms, and cabbage (this is not a joke). You’ll rethink your original opinions (although Ratty breakfast will never disappoint*). ADOCHYou’ll meet so many cool people and start talking incessantly about how much you love Brown and how it feels like home. RealityYou were right about that one. <3  *Pro tip: if Orlando is ever cooking the omelettes at the Ratty, you must get one. He flips those bad boys like no one else. Images via, via, via, via, and via