A neon-blue background, little written information about herself and pictures that range from the movie “E.T.” to “The Notebook.”

That’s what Valerie Armstrong, a freshman visual communication major, used to create her MySpace profile while relaxing.

“It was easy to adjust to life up at Northern; I just felt at home up here,” Armstrong said. “It’s a lot of fun. I hang out with people, go to classes, go to parties and play intramural soccer. Even though I played soccer before in high school for four years, I didn’t want to play soccer up at Northern because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t get on the team and I didn’t feel like trying out.”

Armstrong enjoys the ability to customize her schedule to her own desires, which differs from her high-school class schedule.

“I like my classes here,” Armstrong said. “It’s better than high school, because they’re not every day. It gives me plenty of time to sleep throughout the day and I like that.”

For some freshmen, the first year at college with a unknown roommate can be a bit unnerving, but it wasn’t a problem for Armstong.

“I really like my roommate in Neptune North,” Armstong said. “She’s not an art major, but she’s minoring in dance. I didn’t know my roommate before coming to Northern, but it was fun meeting her.”

Armstrong hasn’t had many problems with her roommate.

“The situation is fine and I like her,” she said. “I don’t know if I’d live with her next year because I want to get an apartment, and I’m sure she’d want to go live with her friends. I really want to live in the apartments because it’s a different experience that I’d like to try.”

One of the reasons Armstrong and her roommate get along is they both share a common interest: dance.

“I used to be a dancer in Chicago,” Armstrong said. “I danced ballet ’till the middle of eighth grade. I gave it up because it was one of those crazy ‘got to go every single day’ things. I liked going every day, but the teachers were getting crazy and I wanted to be home more. I’d have two classes and I wouldn’t get home till around nine. It would be Monday through Saturday, sometimes Sunday.”

Armstrong misses her dancing days.

“I haven’t danced in two years,” she said. “I took a class sophomore year, just because it was fun and I missed it. I miss it now, and because my roommate’s a dance minor, I’ll see her dancing and … I want to do it, too.”

Besides playing soccer and dancing, Armstrong has a strong interest in graphic design.

“I took a graphic design class this one time before and I thought it was fun,” Armstrong said. “I think it’s cool when you make something really interesting. I get excited about it when it looks neat. I wanted to learn why it looks neat and how to make more interesting things like it. Also, I really want to work for a magazine. I think it would be a very fun job. You’d probably get to meet a lot of cool and interesting people.”

Armstrong integrates her artistic style with her laid-back attitude in many aspects of her life, especially MySpace.

“I’m too lazy to write about myself, but I prefer to put pictures instead of words,” Armstrong said. “I think it’s more interesting that way; instead of writing all of my favorite movies, just put a picture of a favorite actor, or a favorite scene from that movie.”