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From street reacts, to Fourth of July articles, to trend stories, cherubs have found themselves consistently cramming interviews and “locking in” almost every day. But many have found a safe haven to relax amidst the chaos — the beach.
[PEOPLE PLAYING ON THE BEACH, WAVES]
Jordan Balousek from Mercer Island, Washington, is a self-proclaimed “avid beach goer.”
JORDAN BALOUSEK: I go to the beach every night if we have time, or four to five days a week, sometimes three if we’re busy.
She first discovered the beach doing what cherubs do — work.
JORDAN: So I went to the beach they took us on for the all-day story and I sat between some boats and I responded to some college emails. And I was all alone so it was kind of depressing but it was really pretty, and it was gorgeous, so I took a bunch of pictures.
The beach isn’t just a place for scenery and sightseeing. For Jordan and many other energetic cherubs, it’s a place to destress and have fun through exercising.
JORDAN: I like playing rondo on the beach.
Rondo, otherwise known as monkey in the middle or keep away, is when players form a circle around one to three people, and throw around a ball while keeping it away from those in the circle.
JORDAN: Playing rondo on the beach has been awesome, at one point we got like 20 people to play, which is super cool.
Besides a friendly game of rondo, another, slightly higher stakes sport, claims a spot as one of the more popular beach activities — football, which became a staple during the cherubs’ first week.
JACK SPECTOR: We’ve been playing ever since, that’s gotten pretty competitive, and keeping score, and especially on the beach, you know, it’s a soft ground, and people will push and fall and dive, it gets pretty intense sometimes.
That’s Jack Spector from Washington DC, who’s also an avid beachgoer. His adoration for sports on the shore started on one of his first days as a cherub.
JACK: We went in the water, which was freezing cold, so to survive that we stood about ten feet in on the sand and just sprinted into the water as far as we could until we fell down, and we did that a couple times, which did not make it any less cold, but it was fun, and I guess the adrenaline helped.
For cherubs who prefer to stay away from sweating, tanning is another popular option. That’s how Madison Kane from Long Island, New York, spends her time at the beach.
MADISON KANE: I really like to just sit in the sun and listen to music. Finding a piece of relaxation amongst the camaraderie that a beach entails.
Tanning doesn’t come without its costs, though. Madison, who sunburns easily, once had to convince the CVS on campus to stay open at night so she could buy aloe for her burns.
MADISON: I don’t know I guess I was laying down on my back for an hour, finishing up my feature story, and a couple hours later when I guess the sun tan developed, I was shocked to see that my back was bright red. But it was really fun and it was something that I did with my friends, so it’s always about not what you do but who you’re with in my opinion.
In the end, the cherubs’ beloved beach goes beyond just day-to-day relaxation. It’s a way for students to come together and bond through shared experiences, to learn and to have fun.
MADISON: We kind of get the best of both worlds, because we can incorporate our experiences as journalists on the beach, and vice versa, just kind of immersing ourselves in every aspect Northwestern has to offer. So I’d definitely say that it has played a big, big role in my time here as a cherub.
For the cherubs, I’m Olivia Ma from Fremont, California, signing off.
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Music by Lee Rosevere.
