Birthday Festivities!

My friends and I in our party hats!

My birthday was a few days ago. Since I was turning 19 I was not super excited because there is not a whole lot you can do at 19. At 15 you can get your permit, at 16 you can get your license, at 17 you can get into R rated movies, at 18 you can buy lotto tickets and 19… nothing. But it turned out to be a pretty fantastic day. My friend, Amanda, painted a picture for me, Sydney wrote me a poem, and my roommate, Mary, made cute drawings that represented different bonding experiences or times together as roommates. I have only known all three of these girls for about five months, yet they all took the time to do something heart-felt and thoughtful. It really brightened my day.

To celebrate my special day, Mary and I ordered pizza and we opened my “Party in a Box”. Let me explain. My step-mom sent me back from break with a box which I assumed was a present, but she told me it was a “Party in a Box”. She was not kidding. It included SpongeBob party hats and noisemakers, a Happy Birthday sign, 12 pudding cups, princess coloring pages, silly putty, and a bunch of other fun goodies. We enjoyed that for about an hour and then headed off to see Frozen for SAB’s (Student Activity Board’s) $3 movie night that they have every month. It was my second time seeing the movie and Amanda’s SIXTH! She loves Olaf, the little snowman, and she sat there talking along with him throughout the entire movie. She was quiet so I didn’t mind.

                In addition to all of the festivities and crafty gifts, I received homemade muffins, two running hugs and a bunch of normal hugs. I know that may seem like a strange thing for me to mention, but it meant a lot. I have not been a RU that long, but I already feel like I have found a second home. I couldn’t be happier with my choice of a University and I can’t wait to see how the next three years go with this awesome group of students.

Sorority Schtuff!

My friends and I on BID DAY!

School has begun again and it is as crazy and fun as ever. Sorority recruitment happened a few days before school actually began and now anyone who jointed has started attending meetings, going to sisterhood events, and marking their calendars as the first formals of the New Year approach. I was honestly very surprised to find myself involved in Greek life because when I first got to Rockhurst I was totally against all things sorority. This strong aversion was due to all the stereotypes I had been exposed to through the media. In my mind, sorority girls were ditsy, thirsty, easy, and mean. Sound like an awesome group, right? Obviously, that was not the sort of crowd I wanted to be chumming around with, but Rockhurst proved me wrong on all accounts.

Amanda and I during Recruitment BINGO

                All of the sororities on campus have a GPA of 3.4 or higher and have some of the sweetest girls I have ever met as members. They are also all very chill and are perfectly fine with bowling or watching a movie on the weekends instead of going out and partying. I felt accepted by all the girls almost instantly without having to do anything to prove myself. Within the first two days, I had gotten over fifty friend requests and over thirty wall posts from my new “sisters”. The active members also encouraged all the new members to join them in the cafeteria everyday for lunch, if they could, to eat or just sit and talk. They honestly want to get to know us all.

I would encourage everyone to go through recruitment at Rockhurst because even if you do not think Greek life is for you, you may be surprised like I was. And even if you decide not to join at the end, at least you can say that you gave it a shot and that you met a few new people. I couldn’t believe how many people I already knew who were in a sorority and how comfortable they seemed to be with their “sisters”. Even more unbelievable is how at home I already feel after only two weeks.

The Last Day of School

Mary wrapping her Secret Santa gift

Our wrapped Secret Santa gifts

Today was the last day of school… It is the last day of school? It is so weird to think about because it feels like just yesterday I was at orientation dancing in a pit of bubbles and tossing eggs. So much has happened in the past four months and I don’t really know a good way to sum it up. I think the best way may be to just tell you what I am doing right now. I just finished doing an hour and a half of P90X yoga with a bunch of my friends in the basement of Corcoran (my residence hall) and now we are all sitting around and getting ready to watch the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. It all seems so natural. I feel as if I have known these people all my life and I can’t imagine being anywhere else in this moment. I feel like I am at home. For this reason, I know Rockhurst was the absolute best choice I could have made when deciding on a school. There are only about 2500 undergrad students and the small number has made all the difference. I see many of the same people every day and we have all become a family. I even feel a sense of community with the people I see in the halls because they always send smiles my way. Although I have never attended a large university, I know this same experience could not be had at one.

Watching Return of the King in the basement [:

The Rockhurst community does not only include the students. The faculty and staff are essential to the success of the university. Rockhurst would not be the same without leaders such as Bill Kriege, Assistant Director of Campus Ministry, or Rev. Thomas Curran, President of Rockhurst University. Their presence inspires students to enjoy their time at school and make the most of every opportunity. These two men are often in the back of my mind as I go through the motions on campus. They have worked so hard to make this campus what it is now and I would not want to ruin that by not living up to their high standards. I would only want to enhance the experience for other students in everything I do. Just being on campus has transformed me. It has been such a nurturing environment spiritually, academically, and socially since day one. I thank God every day for everything Rockhurst has already done for me and will do over the next three and a half years.I hope that one day I can find a way to repay the enormous debt.

Thanksgiving

Mock-ugly sweater

I had been pretty excited for Thanksgiving for the past couple weeks. Finals are just about to begin, so I needed a break. In addition to that, my family is all off work, so I have had the chance to spend more time with them than I generally did during fall break. The ride home was fun because I was with a friend that I had not spoken to a lot since the first couple weeks of school. I had initially been a little disappointed when we began to drift apart, but not that I have had time to chat with him, I see why we did. He is much more into the part scene than I, and that is ok. He is still fun and interesting to talk to. We just may not hang out as often anymore.

Once I got home, all of my time was pretty much spent doing homework, eating, and shopping (and don’t worry. There wasn’t too much homework). Teachers at Rockhurst are pretty good about not assigning a lot of homework over breaks. It is a little difficult for Thanksgiving though because finals are a week away. As for the eating, let’s just say that I have a family full of very talented chefs, so the food was delicious. It was so good that I struggled to refrain from loosening my belt to keep going. I’m sure everyone has those one or two foods that they look forward to around this time of year. For me those items are crescent rolls, leftover turkey sandwiches, and cherry pie. I love the leftover sandwiches so much that I have had three of them in the past 24 hours. I have no shame [:

My bro finishing the cherry pie

Dad's caramel brownies!

If you are about to become a college student in the next year or so I hope you will let me offer this small piece of advice. Make sure you take advantage of your breaks. Universities, including Rockhurst, schedule them very strategically. They place them exactly when they know everyone will need a break or need some family time. You family will be excited to see you so go home and spend time with them. Chances are you will enjoy yourself too. I know I have never appreciated my family so much as I do now that I am in college. I never realized how much I took their presence for granted.

Amanda's Birthday

Making a birthday wish!

Finals are just around the corner and everyone has been stressing out about something. There are papers, tests, and projects coming out of the woodwork and it can all seem overwhelming at times. All that this means is as soon as there is the possibility for fun or a break people snatch it up as fast as possible.

Amanda's birthday was a few days ago, so a bunch of the girls from the hall got together for dinner at Dave and Buster’s to celebrate. If you have never been, I would highly recommend it. The food is delicious and the games are fun for everyone. It sort of reminds me of an adult Chuck E Cheese… but much cleaner and there are not any creepy dancing animals.

Amanda and her roomie!

The night began back at the dorms. All of the girls were talking about it because we have all been pretty stressed from preparing for finals, so we needed a girls’ night out. The moment we got in the car, the music went on and we all started singing. The songs were all ones I had completely forgotten about from the late 90’s or early 2000’s, but I somehow managed to remember all the words to every single one. It was the perfect way to start the night because it got me pumped. Once we got to the restaurant, we sat down, ordered, and had our food pretty quickly. Everyone began sharing food and trading so that by the end, we had each tried almost everything on the table. We even got to have some free chocolate cake because it was Amanda’s birthday.

Once we had all so gracefully stuffed our faces with food, it was time for games. We played everything from DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) to giant fruit ninja to larger than life connect-4. It was fun getting to see everyone a little more relaxed. The past couple weeks have been so hard on everyone and it was obvious that a break was needed.

When we were finished playing, we all went to cash in our tickets. I couldn’t find anything that I wanted, so I got Mary, my roommate, a stuffed M n’ M toy. Amanda got a set of key covers that all looked like cute zombies (if that is possible), so we all got to have one.

All in all, it was a great night and a great break from the hectic end of the year schedule. Happy Birthday, Amanda!