Approaching Thanksgiving Break

As I start this blog entry, I'm about 3 hours away from Thanksgiving break, which can seem a little unfair as I know people who got to leave on Monday or over the weekend.  Me and many of my fellow students have talked jealously of other schools, like Penn State, where break started on Friday.  As much as I might whine about the shortness of this break, however, all in all I had a pretty good weekend that I'm glad I didn't miss.

Friday night was the 80s party at TRAX.  My friends and I began getting ready early, mainly because we didn't have much else to do.  I didn't have 80s clothing, so I borrowed a pink Star Wars shirt and gray leggings from my friend Karen.  Annie lent me fluorescent socks to add to the 80s look.  The most quintessentially 80s aspect of my appearance was my hair, which Karen wrangled into an impressively enormous side ponytail (the enormous part came naturally, sans any teasing).  When we first arrived at TRAX, which was admittedly early, the place was pretty empty, but soon things picked up.  We danced our night away to 80s tunes and belted out "Living On A Prayer" and "Don't Stop Believing," among other songs.  

Saturday my friend Jill picked me up to go shopping, and we headed over to the mall on the strip.  I bought the most adorable pajama pants at Maurice's.  It was significant that I bought anything, since usually on shopping trips I'm the one who goes away empty-handed.  Later that night, my friends Karen, Lindsey, and I headed over to Charlie's Coffeehouse for a "Charlie Brown Thanksgiving."  This was my first time at Charlie's, much to the shock and dismay of my friends.  Somehow I had never gone any of the times other people on my floor had.  I was very impressed with the atmosphere and enjoyed having a soft pretzel as I watched Charlie Brown force his dog into making his friends Thanksgiving dinner.  That same night, I ordered some Dominos and stayed up late with my friends talking.

The low-point of the weekend occurred when I experienced my first fire alarm at Hass, approximately at 3:40 something in the morning.  I must have been asleep for about a half hour when it sounded.  It wasdisconcerting, though my first thought was that it was my alarm waking me.  We dashed out of the building.  I was wearing slippers and fell on the steps.  Luckily, we all got out alright, though it was pretty cold and spirits weren't exactly jovial.  On the bright side, I was wearing aforementioned adorable pajama pants.

Sunday improved from there and was, all in all, a relaxing day.  I went to chapel service at 11.  Chaplain Radacke performed a great one-person play about Christ the King.  Afterwards, a friend I sat by at chapel accompanied me to brunch in the caf.  Later, Karen and I went to see our friend Kathleen in her band concert, which was really great.  Then the three of us and a friend from InterVarsity Christian Fellowship headed over to the Church of  the Nazarene to help with Christmas decorations.  We assembled a fake tree and decorated it.  We also got some really great food while we there; the sugar cookies were delicious. 

Monday almost felt as if it was part of the weekend, since I only had one class, compared to my usual four.  I had a great time going to Lutheran Student Movement, and I also got to watch some of my favorite TV show Freaks and Geeks with my awesome roommate Sarah.

Even though I do wish our Thanksgiving break was longer, I had a good time with the days I was here that some other students weren't.  Now bring on break!

Making it to Fall Break



Me in a
lovely Susquehanna
 sweatshirt
at the retreat

Before and even at college, I’ve heard this advice for freshmen: “Don’t go home until fall break.”   I’ve followed this advice, and now I’m eagerly looking forward to tomorrow, when I’ll be on my way home for the first time since my parents dropped me off August 26^th.

Orientation was inevitably awkward, but soon the third floor of my residence hall Hassinger (affectionately known as “Hass”) provided me with great friends.  At Susquehanna I’ve already had many late nights of giggling and talking—and as many late nights trying to finish homework.  I’ve written my first college paper and survived my first nail-biting exam.   I’ve raved at the club on campus, TRAX.  I’ve had my words workshopped by my peers in Tom Bailey’s Intro to Fiction class.  I’ve started my assistantship in Advancement Communications, which has meant writing articles, interviewing professors, doing research, and starting this blog.  And I’ve gotten involved, going to Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Lutheran Student Movement, and even a Religious Life retreat at Mountain Dale Farms that allowed me a weekend off campus and one of the best views of the stars I've ever had.

Up until this weekend I viewed Fall Break with a certain amount of apprehension.  Home is home, and I love it, truly, but it’s so different from here.  A friend of mine compared college to a constant sleepover where you have to do homework.   So far, I agree.  There’s always that world waiting right outside your dorm room door.  At home, I open my bedroom door to a usually empty hallway with some laundry machines.  Not exactly as thrilling.

I’ve come to realize, though, that a break from the constant whirl of people will be a welcome refresher.  I look forward to spending time with my parents, meeting up with friends from high school, and catching up on all the TV I miss now that I actually have a life.  I want to be relaxed and renewed when I return to campus on Tuesday.   My shock at actually being in college is starting to wear off, and now I’m thrown into the reality of the situation.  Now I’m thrown into making that reality the best it can be.

I am finally excited about Fall Break.  In fact, I'm depending on it. 

That long Winter Break, however...