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Family

Hello, again!

I have been absent for too long, so my greatest apologies. My schedule has been super packed this Holiday Break, but I regret not having posted more during my break. I mean, what’s not to post about family, friends, and food?

This break has reminded me two things: 1) Why I LOVE my family and 2) Why I LOVE Holy Cross.

1) My family has always been so supportive and each and every member is so important to me. They inspire me to do good and every day I hope to make them proud. Seeing my  parents and my siblings made me so happy. Seeing my little cousins, er, who are actually not so little anymore, caused my heart to swell (really, it’s like they’ve grown five inches since I left).

Their support and their perennial love makes me want to succeed in anything and everything I do, not just for me, but for all of them. They almost drowned me with questions about how I felt and how I was doing, but they were concerned mainly with how much I missed Holy Cross.

The answer: a lot. Though college brings work (and work on top of that work — see my post about that here), it also brings such fun and laughter and learning and friends. My friends and I stayed in touch over break, sending “memes” or funny quotes to each other and even exchanging Christmas gifts.

It has been the best experience of my life, as many often say, and though I am not eager to leave my wonderful family back home, I can’t wait to join my family back onthe Hill.

So, the blog take-away is: I love my family, both families – the one I grew up with and the one I grow to love more and more each day on the Hill. 
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Work on the Hill

My apologies for my absence these past couple weeks! Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday, so I was extremely excited for Thanksgiving Break, even if it meant some time away from the Hill, and I tried to finish all of my work before it.

But alas, I am back and of course, work is back with me. Work becomes a dear friend here on the Hill, one who never leaves your side, a constant companion. In fact, sometimes it feels as if I spend more time with work than I do my other friends. However, it is important to know that work understands that distance makes the heart grow fonder. In other words, make sure you SOCIALIZE and TAKE BREAKS and LEAVE DINAND LIBRARY. Work will understand.

In all seriousness, when you’re happy in your social life, you’ll definitely be motivated to be happy with your class work as well. December break is two weeks away and for Holy Cross students, that means readings, essays, assessments, and the ultimate final exams. It is possible that when you hear the phrase, “there is a lot more work in college than high school,” you might brush it off as a cliche or a tactic used by teachers to get you to buckle down on your assignments. I’m here to tell you — that is a huge understatement.

Clearly, there is a lot more work in college than in high school. As I said, work becomes your best friend. However, there is much more work beyond just your classes. Please, I urge you, to work on getting closer to people in your hall. Please, work on becoming involved in any way you can on campus. Work on finding out what is you want to be remembered for or what it is you want out of your college experience.

Work on making memories and work on getting out. Homework is always important and will always be salient, but homework doesn’t last the same way memories and experiences do. This may all sound really corny, but I believe it’s true. I am in the process of finishing an essay due tomorrow, an essay due Thursday, and an essay due the 11th, but I still make sure I take time to work on getting to know my RA (note the picture of those fantastic sugar cookies we just made in the kitchen)!

So, the blog take-away is: Work will become my best friend here on campus and I will be very devoted to our relationship, but I will not limit my experiences to just work. No, at Holy Cross, I will have experiences in my faith or in an extra-curricular activity or in simply branching out. Here on the Hill, I work on having the best four years of my life. 

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From left to bottom: A sugar cookie I am very proud of made for my friend Victoria, another picture of the insanely delicious sugar cookies my roommate and I helped decorate with our RA, Megan, and lastly the CASA E-board at our November Head-to-Toe Fashion Show.
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The Hill

Hi, again!

Looks like I’ve got a hectic week ahead of me. Being involved in organizations has proved to be quite the challenge, but ultimately I’m still extremely happy. Nevertheless, with a heavy workload (German research paper due, English paper due, History team assignment due, plus all the additional work) and a heavy organization workload (two new songs for Fools on the Hill, preparation for CASA‘s Head-to-Toe Fashion Show, hosting for Prospectives, and, you know, keeping up with my blog), I feel a bit overwhelmed.

However, the great thing is — Holy Cross knows this. I don’t mean they know that they’re assigning a lot of work (which I’m sure they do know), but I mean they know that we feel overwhelmed and they are there to help. My professors actually like to know what I’m involved in and when I explain that I have/had an extremely busy week or weekend, they understand — but they also want me to understand that I’ve still got to get that work in.

Regardless, I’m happy here on The Hill. I have a fantastic roommate, who watches Netflix with me when I just cannot tolerate another Greek play and belts out Sam Smith songs with me. Moreover, I have fantastic FRIENDS! I had to leave a friend’s birthday get-together early for Fools rehearsal and someone saved me a piece of cake AND party food. This may seem minuscule and minor, but food is a big deal to me – I now deem that person to be especially special.

This blog post was certainly not as focused as my others, but below I wrote a little poem that should sum everything up. 🙂

So the blog take-away is: Life on The Hill can get hectic and life on The Hill can get hard, but life on The Hill I will never discard, for I know every day someone will make me smile and I know in the end it will all be worthwhile. 

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First picture: My hectic November calendar. Second picture: Cheering on the Crusaders at a football game (I honestly do not understand football, but it’s all about team spirit, you know?) Third picture: Walking up from Kimball. I honestly see Holy Cross in this filter 24/7. Fourth picture: Walking from Kimball again, but from a different, beautiful path.
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The week before Fall Break

Not only is FALL my favorite season, but Holy Cross students also have a week-long Fall Break! To say I am excited is truly an understatement. Though I love campus and everything about it (honestly, it’s incredible), I am also quite excited to go home for a bit. Yet, I have heard that once home, all I’ll want is to come back to my second home here. I guess we’ll see!

I am sure you are interested in what campus is like before this short vacation. So, here is your peek of the week before Fall Break.

1. Papers/Midterms. It’s kind of like high school in that sense. You know, when teachers decide to give a million assignments before break. It’s doable, though, because this is college! You’ll have enough free time to get your work done. Hang out with friends and have fun, but remember to finish your work so you’re not cramming before break.

2. Info, info, info. There’s a lot of different activities here on campus, so you’ll be getting a ton of emails about things you can get involved with. Also, emails about shuttles are essential to read. Tomorrow, I am taking a shuttle to New York, which is very convenient for me. So, though you may get a thousand of them, you should read your emails.

3. Celebrations. People are excited to go home or to basically have a stress-free week on campus. Some of my friends are staying at Holy Cross this week, which I think could actually be very fun. Campus to yourself and you get a chance to meet some people you probably wouldn’t during a regular, busy week (like football athletes, perhaps?)

There is your overview of the week before Fall Break!

So, the blog take-away is: Though I will be sad to leave such a fantastic and unique campus, I will also have the great opportunity to go home during October. However, this means I’ve got to get my homework and papers done, study hard for my midterm(s), and make sure I stay focused until Friday. Then, and only then, can I celebrate! 
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Thursday Homework Lesson

It’s Thursday!

I personally love Thursdays, because I know the next day is Friday and the long awaited weekend will begin! One thing I’ve realized here at Holy Cross is that the week goes by quite quickly, but the weekend passes by about twice as fast.

Therefore, it is extremely important you do your homework when you can. Procrastinating is not an option. Now I’m not saying you can’t take a break, because as I said in my first post, breaks are essential. Maybe take a walk around campus, grab lunch, or even watch an episode on Netflix (my favorite kind of break). However, make sure you get back to your work.

You’ll feel so much better if you finish your homework, or at least a good chunk of it, before the week starts again. As soon as Monday evening rolls around, you might have a new paper assignment or a great deal of reading and you will feel that you have absolutely no time to do your weekend work.

Moreover, I feel that the courses are truly interesting here at Holy Cross and you will definitely love them. So homework won’t really be a drag, but rather quite fun. I know, I sound insane, but it’s true! Make sure you give yourself time to really dissect what it is you’re reading or completing.

So, the blog take-away is: I will have a lot of homework if I come to Holy Cross, but I can manage it. All I need to do is be smart with my time. I should take breaks and I should eat and stay sane, but I should also make sure I get my work done when I can. That way, I can finish the new Netflix series I just started with my ample amount of free time. 

 
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The Truth about Holy Cross

Hi, everyone!

Welcome to my blog. If you’re reading this and thinking about coming to Holy Cross, you truly need to read no further – apply. I can honestly say I feel completely at home here. Not only have I made fantastic friends, but I’ve already learned so much. I will risk sounding cliché and say that I truly feel Holy Cross is the perfect college for me.

Okay, I admit that was a pretty quintessential blog beginning, but it’s true! However, you probably want more specifics. Like, what’s the food like? Are there any cool organizations? Will I have any time to sleep or will homework consume my life? Never fear. I have the answers. Granted they may be “freshman” answers, but they are answers none the less. Here is the truth about Holy Cross.

First, the food is quite amazing (I went a little overboard with the curly fries my first week). Don’t worry, though. I’ve heard from many that the “Freshman Fifteen” doesn’t really exist here, which you’ll learn after conquering the everlasting Dinand staircase.

Second, there are so many interesting organizations on campus. Honestly, I felt a bit overwhelmed trying to choose which ones I wanted to join. I feel so comfortable here that I knew I would enjoy being a part of anything Holy Cross has to offer. As of now, I am in a coed a cappella group, in the Caribbean African Student Assemblage (CASA), and I sing during the Inter-Denominational services on Sundays.

Needless to say, I am quite busy at times. Does she even have time for homework? 

The answer is yes. I won’t lie and say the courses are easy or that the workload is light, but it is possible to stay on top of things. Manage your time wisely (and take breaks – they are essential), and I’m sure you will be fine.

That’s it for my first post. I truly hope this was helpful. Talk to you soon!