Midterm Exams and a Beautiful Spring Day [:

Getting ready to go outside

Today was the second full day of spring break and it was a beautiful one. Although the temperature has dropped again and all of us Midwesterners are quite sick of winter at this point, it was great to just relax at home after a jam-packed first half of the semester. There have not been many chances to catch my breath so far this semester because our breaks have been so far apart. At many times, I felt as if I could not breathe at all. A full two months passed between winter break and spring break. Although that may not seem like a lot in theory, in practice, it is. Granted, there was one long weekend right after we got back from winter break, but hardly anyone took advantage of it because we had all just been home and there was no reason or need to go back. After that, every weekend has been filled with dances, mandatory events for Theta Phi, homework, retreats, and many other activities.

            Last week was a lot to handle for Rockhurst University. The pressure of midterms piled on top of the lack of sleep, general stress, bitterness towards the cold weather, and homesickness created a strong negative attitude that seemed to be flowing from every student at school. Luckily, there was one ray of light that saved us from completely losing our minds; the weather.  On Thursday afternoon (the day before we were free to go home), the temperature was in the seventies and the sun was shining brightly. After about twelve, the campus started buzzing and did not stop until well into the night. Everyone was outside. People were reading on the hammocks, there was a volleyball game in the sand pit, my friends and I were playing soccer, and many were playing music or doing homework on the quad. It was like the campus had taken a huge sigh of relief. It was a great way to leave school because it was on a slightly more positive note than I was expecting. Plus, I even met a new friend during our game. One thing I have come to love about our campus is our ability to bounce back from a hard situation and make the best of a sunny day.