Samantha Cohen Staff Writer

With December 21st fast approaching I am especially eager to befriend those at Latin who I haven’t previously had the chance to. After all, if the world truly does fizzle to an end I would regret not getting to know that sophomore who is always in the library at the same time as I am, or that freshman who has a fantastic shoe collection. To me, relationships are the most important thing life has to offer. Whether it be one’s relationship with their family, their friends, or their poodle. When I was standing in the cafeteria line with junior Nicole Rich one day after school I decided she would be a great gal to get to know. Being only a year apart, I was surely privy to her existence, her presence on the basketball team, and was friends with her on Facebook, but I felt as though I had never truly gotten to know her. She accepted my request, and accompanied me to a cafe across the street so that we may get to know each other over tea. While Nicole drank hot green tea, and I, iced passion fruit, we shared fluid conversation and learned that we have quite a lot in common. Nicole has two older brothers (samesies) one of whom recently had a baby! Nicole is now an aunt and hopes to one day be “that cool aunt”. You know what we’re talking about. Both of her brothers live in California, a place where she can one day see herself living. Neither Nicole nor I are lifers. She attended middle school at Near North Montessori. We both agree that we are lucky to have gone to Latin and feel it was the right fit for us. Nicole played Tenor Saxophone avidly from fourth to eighth grade and almost went to Chicago Academy of the Arts for music. While Nicole has stopped playing sax, her love for music is still a huge part of her life. She especially enjoys discovering new artists and has a talent for identifying upcoming talent. Her current favorite artists include Ed Sheeren and Tori Kelly, an ex American Idol finalist, whom you can read more about in Nicole’s recent Rhythm Review article! While both Nicole and I consider ourselves Beliebers, neither of us have truly jumped aboard the One Direction bandwagon. And we both very much enjoy Taylor Swift’s catchy music despite our jealousy of her having dated all of our celebrity crushes. Nicole hopes to one day go into music management by pursuing media studies and public relations. In addition to listening to music, Nicole also enjoys watching CSI Miami re-runs and reciting lines from “I love you Beth Cooper”. Nicole is a healthy eater and for a while, was gluten free. She focuses on eating protein and greens to give her energy for basketball. Her favorite treats include popcorn and frozen yogurt. In fact, during the summers she works at a scrumpcious ice cream parlor called Annette’s. Nicole begins her mornings with a coffee and ends days with a cup of warm tea. If Nicole could change something about Latin she would suggest that each student has the same advisor for all four years rather than just three. She reasonably argued “Everything changes so much after freshman year, It would be nice to have something consistent”. I agreed. Something that really impressed me about Nicole was her perspective. Throughout our conversation, when I would mention college or our upcoming exams, she would spew out pearls of wisdom that reminded me to re-evaluate things. Nicole knows that academics aren’t everything and that there is so much more to life than school. In the pressure filled bubble we live in it can be tough to keep one’s priorities straight. I was very impressed by Nicole’s calm demeanor and wise  soul. I am so lucky that I was able to get to know Nicole Rich prior to the possible apocalypse! Not only is she quite possibly the next big thing in the music industry she is also a very sweet individual with a shining personality. In a world dependent on free wifi and social media, it is lovely to know that you can still connect with new people over tea in “real time”. The next time you see Nicole jamming out to her favorite new tune in the hallway, or grabbing some grub from the cafeteria give her hug. Because hugs are nice. And the world may end soon. Just hug everyone. Adios Amigos, Sam Link to Rhythm Review: http://rhythmreview.tumblr.com]]>