[CHERUBS AUDIO THEME MUSIC]
After the last lecture of the day, cherubs get a chance to be independent. They can venture into downtown Evanston, take a walk or simply shower and relax. They just have to be back to Jones Hall before 10 p.m. to check in for the night with the CAAs.
During what usually is a 90-minute nighttime break, Athan Joshi and his friends head into Evanston, grabbing bites from different dessert shops.
ATHAN JOSHI: We’ve gone to Insomnia Cookies,
ATHAN JOSHI (on tape): Can I get five chocolate chunk cookies, four sugar cookies…
ATHAN JOSHI:: We’ve gone to Kilwins, we’ve gone to Cold Stone, a lot of different places in that time.
If they aren’t out on the town, Athan and his friends spend their free time diligently working on story assignments.
ATHAN JOSHI:: But yeah, it’s usually a mix of work and fun.
For Cullen Faulkner, his nighttime routine has changed since the beginning of the program.
CULLEN FAULKNER: Earlier on, a lot of the time, we’d just kind of like, hang out in the lounge, talking to the other guys on the floor and sometimes we still do that. It’s kind of a fun way to bond, but sometimes I like to take a walk down by Lake Michigan and see the sunset.
[BEACH WAVES]
CULLEN FAULKNER: Especially if I haven’t really gone to get some fresh air that day.
Through his walks, Cullen takes a mental reset, breathing in fresh air while feeling the slow, dwindling heat of the setting sun.
CULLEN FAULKNER: It’s something that I really enjoy doing whenever I get the chance here.
Before check-in, fourth floor cherub Phoebe Measer loves to play cards in the dorm with her friends.
PHOEBE MEASER: We’ve definitely become an avid group of card players I would say. Especially Spoons gets us, sort of, laughing a lot and in a really good mood and it’s always a good way to wind down and connect with your peers.
Phoebe and her friends also like to go to Kilwins ice cream for a frozen treat on a hot summer night.
PHOEBE MEASER: It’s so good. Kilwins has absolutely mastered the art of a beautiful scoop of ice cream.
May Lin and her group like to get sweet treats in Evanston too. One night, they found a scrumptious deal at Insomnia Cookies and had a fun chance encounter with another customer.
MAY LIN: We were talking to this lady who also used to do journalism and she gave us free bread, so just little side quests and adventures like that.
One night, before Cherubs Got Talent and after lecture, May and her friends stayed in Jones to rehearse their dance.
MAY LIN: Before our talent show we actually didn’t go outside because we really had to lock in and utilize the time we had to practice our Pitch Perfect dance. Our choreographers, Mads and Sascha, drilled us like the navy.
Choreographer Sascha Keller loved the time she and her friends spent together repeatedly rehearsing their dance like, as May put it, the navy.
SASCHA KELLER: We worked really hard in the Jones ballet studio.
[DANCE PERFORMANCE]
SASCHA KELLER: Basking in independence if you will and just like bonding with people.
Sascha and her friends ran out to grab ice cream right after their rehearsal, just making it back in time.
SASCHA KELLER: Once we get back after check-in it’s very like Jones community-centric if you will, but in that hour you feel very independent and free rein.
[CHERUBS AUDIO THEME MUSIC]
Reporting for Cherubs Audio, I’m Maya Daniels. See you next time.
Music provided by @prettyjohn1 on Pixabay
