Wednesday, January 21, 2015 // The Statement 3B

Becoming a Townie: An afternoon in the Arb

I have a confession to make: I’m a 

little superstitious.

I check my horoscope every week 

on the Seventeen Magazine website 
and trust the failing teen publica-
tion’s judgment a bit too much.

The people you’ll be getting close 

to will be pals.

Blindly trusting the wisdom of 

some editorial intern, I prepare to 
become friends with certain indi-
viduals I’ve been talking to lately.

I sound insane, I know. But 

believe me, it doesn’t stop there.

My watch is my comfort object 

and, if I don’t have it, my life is com-
pletely out of order. It’s not a fancy 
watch by any means. It’s dark and 
round-faced with a thin band — 
unnoticeable and insignificant at 
first glance.

Every morning, before leaving 

home, it is the last thing I put on. In 
my mind, the only way I’m physi-
cally able to walk out the door is if 
it’s on my wrist. Leaving for class or 
work without it just feels wrong.

The second-hand stopped work-

ing about a year ago and the minute 
hand lags by three minutes, so it’s 
not in the best of conditions.

But this watch brings me good 

fortune. I’ve worn it to every ACT 
test I took in high school and it was 
permanently attached to my wrist 
when I was writing my application 
to the University.

I believe the fact that I’m writing 

this column for The Michigan Daily 
is proof — kind of — that this watch 
works. 

As a 21st century college student, 

it’s a bit humiliating to admit that 
I’m willing to suspend some dis-

belief when it comes to horoscopes 
and good-luck charms. But I guess 
it’s genetic.

My grandparents regularly con-

sult a “professional” astrologist 
themselves. He visits their home 
once a month, debriefing them on 
what course their lives, their chil-
drens’ lives and their grand-child-
rens’ lives will take.

Now I’m not completely crazy, 

I’m not willing to put misguided 
faith onto the alignment of the Uni-
verse.

I, the astrologer told me five years 

ago when I last visited my grandpar-
ents, will become a scholar. Now, 
I don’t know if the stars weren’t 
aligned in a perfect semicircle or 
Venus was blocking Mercury’s 
shadow, but there is a possibility 
that the astrologer’s calculations 

were incorrect; I barely passed Cal-
culus last semester.

Now my grandparents aren’t 

fools. Their astrological consulta-
tions are rooted not in a deeply held 
belief of the occult, but in a faith. 

“Good omens are important,” I 

remember my grandmother saying 
to me. “They show you the right way 
and help guide you.”

Sure, I didn’t end being a scholar, 

but I still think about the astrolo-
ger’s prediction and in some way it 
wills me work harder on my school-
ing.

My tendency to take Seventeen’s 

cautions into consideration is not 
only because of my grandparent’s 
influence. By keeping track of my 
horoscope and wearing my watch I 
feel like I’m a bit more in-control of 
my life.

If I can foresee the challenges I 

may face and — thanks to the assis-
tance of Seventeen — if they do turn 
out to be true, I’m comforted by the 
fact that I’m ready to face them.

ILLUSTRATION BY MAGGIE MILLER

STATE OF THE UNION:
BRINGING BAMA BACK

ON THE 
RECORD

“We still live in a country where too many bright, striving 
Americans are priced out of the education they need. It’s 

not fair to them, and it’s not smart for our future.”

– President BARACK OBAMA at the State of the Union 

address Tuesday night
Into the woods, into the woods.
Standing on the Diag, surround-

ed by the chaos of the college envi-
ronment, some students might be 
surprised to learn that not far from 
the hustle and bustle of our con-
crete campus they have the ability 
to experience acres of preserved 
forests and waterways.

The Nichols Arboretum is a 

University-controlled park, offer-
ing wide-open space where stu-
dents and Ann Arbor residents can 
run free — free to be you and me. 
Just like in the ‘70s TV special — a 
Marlo Thomas-Michael Jackson-
Gloria Steinem collaboration that 

I’m sure all true Ann 
Arborites cherish as much 
as I do — it is a invigorat-
ing departure from the 
rest of the city.

The tranquil Peony 

Garden 
and 
rushing 

Huron River may imme-
diately come to mind 
when you hear about 
the Arb. But the hills 
made clear and barren 
by winter’s harsh hands 
and the canvas of falling 
snow is something from a 
12-year-old’s dream.

Recently, I joined a group com-

prised of (almost) 20-somethings 
to venture out amid single-digit 
temperatures in exploration of the 
great outdoors. We each represent-
ed fields of study so varied that we 
might have been a group of Univer-
sity orientation leaders.

I found it a curious feeling to 

walk out of a class on the Arab-
Israeli conflict to feel the prickling 
wind stinging my cheeks and a sen-
sation of flight and everything the 
world once seemed to be: open and 
wild, forgiving and terrifyingly 
vast — yet unknowingly narrow — 
all at the same time.

As so many before us had, we 

slid down hills on recycled boxes, 
dining hall trays, and $5 sleds. We 
rustled through paths and wore 
borrowed snowshoes that still held 
the dust of the attics from which 
they were retrieved. 

We heard and felt silence. The 

buzz from someone’s new Tinder 
match was masked by the thick 
snow apparel we had donned, and 
our laptops were nestled in their 
cases at home. While rumor has it 
that a few lucky graduate students 
get to live buried away within the 
Arb’s grounds, the mystery house 
wasn’t found on this particular 
adventure, but there is always next 
time. 

And there will be a next time, 

though I hope to be wearing shorts 
instead of three pairs of leggings.

Only a select few make it to the 

Arb this time of year. Maybe the 
townies know better than to leave 
their toasty abodes this time of 
year, but remembering that the Arb 
does indeed exist and experienc-
ing it in all seasons is a great way 
to remind yourself that a world 
beyond Ann Arbor — and beyond 
the Diag — exists too.

My Cultural Currency: Superstitions are in my genes

B Y TA N YA M A D H A N I

B Y E M M A K E R R

Magazine Editor:

Ian Dillingham

Deputy Editor:

Natalie Gadbois

Editor in Chief:

Jen Calfas

Photo Editor:

Luna Anna Archey

Design Editor:

Jake Wellins

Illustrators:

Megan Mulholland

Maggie Miller

Managing Editor:

Lev Facher

Copy Editors:

Laura Schinagle

Hannah Bates

Emma Sutherland

THE statement

COVER BY LUNA ANNA ARCHEY

ILLUSTRATION BY MEGAN MULHOLLAND

LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/DAILY

