Much to my delight, as an intern at two fashion magazines, my summer thus far has been chock-full of clothing, shoes and accessories. Anyone who knows me, has read my column or has simply laughed at that short girl wobbling across campus in four-inch heels can vouch that this is the perfect summer job for me, a girl to whom fashion is like a sister.

It might surprise you, then, to envision my first Cornell experience: me, standing in ratty sweatpants and covered in corn pollen, in the middle of a 14-acre cornfield in Ithaca. What was a girl like me doing in a place like that? An enthusiasm for scientific research persuaded me to spend two summers during high school interning with the Department of Entomology at Cornell and ultimately led me here as an undergraduate. That’s right, the very English major writing this column who is wild about Miu Miu heels also harbors a passion for science.

Surprised? Don’t be. When it comes down to it, Cornell is for lovers. No, we don’t run around kissing strangers at midnight like your friends at Stanford get to do once a year. Nor do we make Playboy’s “Hottest Campuses” list. And while The Sun (the paper that you presently hold in your hand) does have a sex columnist, sadly, I am not her. (But I bet that plug just converted at least a handful of you into regular Sun readers already). Regardless, there is plenty of passion at Cornell. Cornellians are lovers of all things, from Jungle Juice to JAM.

My advice to you incoming students is to take these four years at Cornell to indulge your passions and to explore new ones. Take advantage of all Cornell has to offer, both academically and non-academically. Enroll in some of those wacky electives that you read about in the Courses of Study catalogue simply because you can. After all, when else in your life are you actually going to teach your palate to discern between a chardonnay and merlot (Intro to Wines)? Although these courses might not impact your career as much as Orgo, they sure do provide a lot of conversation starters. During my freshman year, my friend’s class assignment produced the fastest male bonding I’ve ever witnessed. On a whim, Mike enrolled in Spider Biology. He was given a pet tarantula the size of a small child to take care of for the entire semester. “Barbie’s” weekly feedings took group work to a new level, as guys from all over Court Hall came to watch, videotape and boisterously cheer on the vicious death of a baby mouse.

Don’t forget to also love the ones you’re with. Although our sheer number of students does make it take just a bit longer to get your made-to-order salad at Statler’s Terrace restaurant, Cornell’s large population also creates more opportunities to meet intriguing people. Remember how your guidance counselor kept harping about how the best applicant is well-rounded with diverse interests? Well, that applicant multiplied by 14,000 amounts to a heck of a lot of interesting Cornellians. It’s pretty cool to be surprised, and I can guarantee that many of your soon-to-be friends will throw you a curveball when you least expect it. Who would’ve guessed that the president of my sorority, the same girl who was positively giddy about her new Lilly Pulitzer dress for our spring formal, actually wrestled on an all boys’ wrestling team in high school? Similarly, that kid that always stumbles into your Friday 8 a.m. French section smelling as though he just showered in vodka might be the same person who routinely churns out Debussy’s Arabesques note for note in the dorm lounge during the day.

And whatever you love, however eclectic it might be, someone else at Cornell probably loves it too and has started a club. Thus, you can continue to pursue old passions while at Cornell, even if you don’t want to devote as much time and energy to it as you might have in the past. If you slaved away at a sport for twenty-odd hours a week all your life only to realize right before college that being on a varsity team in college just wasn’t in the cards (shoutout to my former gymnastics life), you can still satisfy your athletic urges with the abundance of club and intramural sports. Or you can move on to new passions, such as Greek life, student government or college life in general, and simply rehash your old passions from the sidelines, like I did when I watched Cornell’s varsity gymnastics team take third place at Nationals. Don’t feel a need to hide your academic passions either: we all go to Cornell, therefore we are all officially nerds (well, compared to our non-Ivy friends we are). So share your own summer-in-the-cornfields experience with friends, or take the more visual approach of my friend Christine and rock those Calc Club pants with pride.

The best love that Cornellians have, however, is definitely for all things Cornell. Chances are, you’ve already met at least a handful of Cornell alumni that can’t stop talking about Cornell, and there’s a reason for that. Whatever Cornellians do, they seem to do from the heart, whether that be screaming for the Cornell hockey team at Lynah or screaming at midnight before the start of finals. You too, in turn, will rant and rave about the never-ending snow as though you’ll never see clear skies again, and then pass out peacefully in the sun on Slope Day as though there had never been a cloudy day at Cornell.

But I believe you newcomers have already started your Cornell-loving ways; I’ve seen all of the Facebook groups you’ve already created that express your Cornell love, like “TOWNHOUSE G/H — SO FAR AWAY, IT’S EXOTIC!” That’s the spirit, Townhousies! Get ready for your first year, kids, because at Cornell, you definitely won’t lose that loving feeling.