10 years later, we’re living our own Zoey 101

Zoey 101 was a teen drama/comedy that ran from 2005 to 2008 on Nickelodeon. It followed the life of Zoey, a teenager who just enrolled in a formerly all-male boarding school. The percentage of girls is still very low and the boys who have been enrolled at PCA for years are experiencing culture shock. Zoey along with her younger brother and new friends go on adventures and occasionally get into trouble while looking like they’re having the time of their lives.

In the past week, everybody has been talking about Zoey 101 because Sept. 18 was the 10th anniversary of an episode from the show’s second season called “Time Capsule.” As many of us remember, Zoey promised that in 10 years she would tell Chase what she had said about him in the video that she buried in a time capsule, so the creators of the Nickelodeon show released a video featuring Chase Matthews (Sean Flynn) and Michael Barret (Christopher Massey). In the clip, Chase finally finds out that Zoey said she may love him, but we all guessed that when we were eight.

In a lot of ways, we are living life like Zoey here at Hopkins. Although we may have a bit more class time and a heavier workload than anybody at PCA, we can still consider ourselves to be living an awesome life in Baltimore. First of all, who doesn’t remember Sushi Rox? That restaurant always looked like it had the best food, ambience and company. Luckily we have our very own at Hopkins! If you haven’t been to Bamboo Café in the Mattin Center, you are definitely missing out. Sure it may not be as cutting edge as Sushi Rox, but the food is delectable and the aesthetics are alluring. You can hang out on a comfy couch at Bamboo just like Zoey, Chase, Logan and the rest of their friends did back when this first-rate show was still on the air.

While we’re still in September and nowhere near prepared for the upcoming chilly weather, the past month or so has been like an endless summer in Baltimore. Classes started but the sun still shines down on the quad every day. It’s as if we’re in Southern California, just like at PCA. Lying on the Beach and letting your worries melt away is the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. While the students of PCA seemed to do this much more than any other student, we still have our last taste of beautiful weather.

The characters of Zoey 101 pretty much spanned all of the quintessential people that you will meet during your school years. Zoey is the laid-back girl ready for any challenge or adventure who will protect her friends more than anything. She sounds a lot like one of our first friends that we met on move in day. Chase is the sweet boy down the hall who always wears his heart on his sleeve. Logan is the rich obnoxious jerk who we always seem to run into when we are not in the mood to deal with whatever happens to come out of his mouth, a.k.a. the people we always try to avoid. Nicole is the loud and quirky girl who we can always go to for a laugh when feeling homesick or stressed. Quinn is the insanely smart friend who is always in her room or the library but still knows how to have a good time.

You will meet tons of people during your four years at Hopkins. You may not remember all of them (awkward when you can’t seem to remember their name when they’re standing right in front of you!) but there will be a special select few that will be in your hearts forever, just like the fact that we will never forget the extraordinary characters from the show that encompassed our childhood.

Every kid shed a tear when it was announced in 2008 that Zoey 101 would go off the air, but who knew that college at Hopkins could relate so much to being at PCA, our real dream school? I suggest that everyone take a quick break from studying and watch an episode or two. It will flood your mind with memories of sitting in your living room with your siblings and watching episode after episode on Nickelodeon. Sure, the acting is a bit second rate, but eight-year-old you never knew it! Today when you walk across our charming Homewood campus, think of yourself as Zoey or one of her friends and see how fast a smile spreads across your face.