Defne's Senior Bucket List
In what seems like the blink of an eye, college is over and my time at Barnard has come to a close. Through exploring Barnard’s campus and the wonderfully calm yet exciting neighborhood of Morningside Heights, I have been able to build a home for myself in New York City. That said, I’m always striving to find a better work-school-life balance, and aimed to check off a few more items on my NYC to-do list before I walked across the graduation stage at Radio City Music Hall.
Visit most of Columbia’s 20+ libraries
Milstein Library is one of my favorite stops on tours: I love libraries and being able to gush about our library selection and amenities makes me endlessly happy. Between Barnard, Columbia, and affiliate schools, Barnard students have access to over 20 libraries. While a few have been constants on my list of favorites– Milstein, Avery, and East Asian– I’ve enjoyed getting to discover many new places and judging them based on the comfort and productivity provided by their study nooks, the availability of water and nearby outlets, and the overall vibe they are able to curate.
Day Trip Upstate
I’m a (pseudo) nature girl at heart. I love that I’m from the desert (shoutout Vegas!) and that I’ve spent so much time in the woods courtesy of my crunchy outdoor former high school. Being in NYC can sometimes feel overwhelming because of the lack of unbridled green space. While I cherish parks near campus, I also crave time outside of the bustling city. A few weeks ago, a couple of my friends and I took a day trip to Beacon, NY. Only 1.5 hours away from campus on the Metro-North Railroad, it proved to be the perfect day trip location. We visited a contemporary art museum, walked around the small city, bought books from a library donation store, had delicious smoothies, and ate at a nostalgic all-American diner.
Day Trip to a Beach
In addition to craving quality nature time, I also dream (frequently) about spending the day under the sun, on the beach, with good people and good snacks, and reading a book all day long. Luckily, New York somehow has everything just a train ride away. There are a number of beaches easily accessible from campus. NYC Parks has an entire page dedicated to their beaches that you can find here. I haven’t made the trip out to Rockaway Beach yet, but it’s been recommended time and time again. During the sweet spot between turning in all of my finals and twiddling my thumbs until graduation, I’m excited to finally pack my beach bag and slunk out to the shores.
The Met Cloisters
One of the biggest student life perks of being a Barnard student is having free access to a plethora of New York City’s best museums through the Passport to Museums, a program sponsored by the Arts Initiative at Columbia. I’ve visited some of my favorite museums around New York City, and am greatly going to miss the ability to walk into a museum unannounced and receive free entry with my Barnard ID. Before I forfeit that privilege, I’m very excited to make a trip uptown to visit The Met Cloisters. It looks absolutely gorgeous and I can’t wait to roam around and soak in the art and architecture.
See a Broadway Show
As soon as I arrived at Barnard in 2019, I knew I wanted to see a show on Broadway before I graduated. Between the pandemic, only returning to campus last year, then studying abroad… it has taken me 4 years to make the dream come true but I finally have! Last week, I was lucky enough to see Fat Ham with free tickets through Columbia’s Black Theatre Ensemble. I’m not a theatre critic so I’ll keep my thoughts of the show brief: GO SEE IT IF YOU CAN! It was wildly enjoyable, heartfelt, and bursting from the seams with talent, pride, and joy. There are countless other ways to see Broadway shows for free or with discounted tickets. For example, Student Experience and Engagement office at Barnard always shares their on Instagram, through their email newsletter, or on their website.
Queens Nights Market
Eating my way cheaply around New York City has been one of the highlights and joys of my college career. Whenever I’m feeling homesick or adventurous, I can find nostalgic foods or discover the world forkful by forkful. The Queens Nights Market is a cultural and culinary fixture on the NYC scene. Recently, it was even ranked– quite highly– as one of the city’s best restaurants on the New York Times 100 Best Restaurants in New York City 2023 list. Notably, it is also one of the vastly more affordable of the bunch, offering visitors a taste of the globe with street food and on-the-go bites from a diverse array of food vendors. I’m so excited to visit soon and fill up on yummy treats!
Visit a Jazz Club
I love live music. The atmosphere and ambiance are unmatched and always leave me feeling buzzy with excitement, fulfillment, and peace. I especially love live jazz! Luckily, there are dozens of jazz venues to choose from across the city. Secret NYC published a list of 14 of the best jazz clubs in New York City that I’ve been using to guide my search. Some are as close as Harlem and a 20-minute walk down on Broadway, while others are downtown and boast famous, Parisian-style speakeasy jazz club venues.
Though the last few weeks of senior year and college have been making me emotional, I am so excited to keep exploring New York City and enjoying my last moments in the city love and have come to call home.