Just when you think you're really into the swing of things, a whole new load of "firsts" show up! For me, these include my first concert, my first trip home, my first college test, and my first two weeks in the caf without ice cream.
The ice cream incident seems to happen every year without fail. This year, students were throwing ice cream at Ylvi (pronounced Ill-vee), one of the freshman dorms, on their way back from dinner. After posting a warning next to the ice cream machines, stating that if things didn't stop, the ice cream would be gone, one day the ice cream really WAS gone! It was a sad two weeks, for we had to rely on the caf for dessert, and if you didn't like it, well, sorry. But last Friday, they gloriously returned the beloved soft serve machines! In retrospect, I am probably better off without the ice cream, since I hear the freshman fifteen hangs out near there =), but sometimes after a long day, all you want is some ice cream!
My first test was in my Calc 2 class, which I have last in my day, and it was on a Friday. It was a little hard to concentrate, but for the most part, it was the same as in high school, except the problems were more difficult, obviously. And the teacher left the room! That was something I'd never experienced before. As part of the Honor Code at Luther, which is the basic rules of cheating and honor and honesty here, the teachers leave the room during tests. Needless to say, coming from high school, where the teachers practically hover over everyone, this was an interesting change.
Friday was also host to another first for me: my first concert! OK GO, which many of you know, you just don't realize it (think the treadmill video on YouTube), came to perform for us. They were really good, the concert was fun, and the people I was with were great! The opening band was great, too; they were a smaller band from Chicago called Company of Theives. Their lead singer has a very unique voice, and I really enjoyed their music. After about a 25 minute wait between the bands, OK GO finally took the stage and rocked out for just under 2 hours. They were great! They even came out into the crowd to do a few songs, something I hear not many bands do. They played their famous treadmill song (also known as Here It Goes Again), and donned these really cool jackets, each of the band members having a different letter of OK GO on the back, which were lights that flickered on and off. Not a bad first expereince, if you ask me!
There's no place like home. Woke up early Saturday, and after a nice drive, ended up in my driveway. There's no words to describe the wave of emotion I felt at being back home. Don't get me wrong, I love it at Luther, but sometimes, it's just nice to be back in your element. After a nice long weekend, which included a much needed Chipotle burrito and a trip to the shopping mall, I returned to school late Sunday evening. And the weirdest thing happened. I felt another surge of emotion. It felt so good to be back! Walking into my dorm room felt almost like walking into my house. It made me realize that Luther is becoming a second home to me.
Well, I've got another paper to write, along with a nice Spanish brochure to work on, so I will leave you with these words of wisdom: Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Always,
Allison
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The hand is quicker than the eye
Typical Friday night at college: hanging out with new friends, going for a walk under the light of street lamps, being treated to your very own magic show? Yes, yes indeed, this is how this past Friday found me-sitting in a dorm room with some new friends, being entertained by Luther's very own freshman magician. Drew, as this "magic man" is called, wandered aimlessly into the dorm room, asking, "Hey, do you guys like magic?" Oh boy, what a great opening line! So we invited Drew in, and were privy to a great show, including, of course, "pick a card, any card." By the end of the night, I was living proof that the hand is, indeed, quicker than the eye.
Which brings us to family weekend. It seemed to sneak up on me, even though I had been counting the days for just over a week. It was wonderful to see everyone, especially my brother. After the initial euphoric feeling of seeing my family again, we made the long treck from the parking lot up four flights of stairs to my dorm room. We spent the rest of the day eating (NOT from the caf, thankfully), going to Dunning's Spring, and of course, the mandatory trip to WalMart. But the weekend seemed to slip through my fingers, as it so often does, and here we are, another Sunday night. So in this case, it wasn't the hand that was quicker than my eye, but time.
And here we are, a new week just beginning. And already my calendar is full to the brim. So I'm already anticipating another case of slight-of-hand in real-world form; time going by too fast. Until next time, take each moment as it comes.
Always, Allison
Which brings us to family weekend. It seemed to sneak up on me, even though I had been counting the days for just over a week. It was wonderful to see everyone, especially my brother. After the initial euphoric feeling of seeing my family again, we made the long treck from the parking lot up four flights of stairs to my dorm room. We spent the rest of the day eating (NOT from the caf, thankfully), going to Dunning's Spring, and of course, the mandatory trip to WalMart. But the weekend seemed to slip through my fingers, as it so often does, and here we are, another Sunday night. So in this case, it wasn't the hand that was quicker than my eye, but time.And here we are, a new week just beginning. And already my calendar is full to the brim. So I'm already anticipating another case of slight-of-hand in real-world form; time going by too fast. Until next time, take each moment as it comes.
Always, Allison
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Just a rainy Saturday at Luther
Rain, rain, go away, come again another day. As most of you know, this is a common chant among young children. However, I welcome today's rain, because it will force me to stay inside and get ahead on my homework for the week. Right now, for example, I'm sitting in the library getting ready to start on a pre-lab assignment for my biology class. And it's all because of the rain. If it had been sunny out, I'm sure I would be sitting outside doing leisurely reading instead of sitting inside staring at a computer, trying to make graphs on Excel. So thank you rain, for being my motivation for today.
I woke up early this morning (yes, a college student awake before nine on a Saturday, what is this world coming to?) for a volleyball workout. We ended up running sprints inside on the track, which was much better than I anticipated. Who would have believed that I, Allison Croat, who never runs, who in fact hates running with a deep passion, would wake up early on a weekend to run? But it wasn't too bad. And afterwards, I ate breakfast with Liza, one of my teammates. And it also got me up early, which gives me more time for my homework. So I guess I owe thanks to exercise for motivating me as well.
This week seemed to fly by. Classes were kind of slow, but the week was speedy. Volleyball had our first conference game this week. The JV team managed to pull out a win over Loras, but the Varsity couldn't manage to do the same. It was a two hour bus ride, but that makes for good conversation. It was nice to talk with some of the upperclassman about things completely unrelated to volleyball.
Anyway, back to class, which is the main point of college, or so I hear. My Spanish class is really fun. The professor likes to have us sit in a circle and has us do some silly things to get our minds working, but it really helps. Like yesterday, we were working on commands, and she had us stand up. Then we threw a ball around and if you got the ball, you had to give a command (in Spanish, of course). The rest of the class had to act out the command until the next person gave a command. Let me assure you, thinking of a command in English is hard enough, then having to give it in Spanish...no piece of cake. But it was fun! We have our first official Paideia paper due this week. We read the play Antigone by Sophocles and have been discussing power and justice. It's been a fun class to be in. I had my first biology lab on Thursday. We went to Dunning's Spring and collected "microinvertebrates" (or small insects) from the water, then went back to the lab to analyze. For not liking bugs a whole lot, this lab wasn't too bad. And calculus is always a favorite of mine.
Been getting to know some of the other freshman on campus a bit more. There's still many unrecognizable faces, but there are also a few that I do know. It's kind of cool, to go from not knowing anyone to knowing a small amount of people. I can't wait until I can know even more!
That's all for now. I wish you all sunshine, unless you need to get something done, in which case, I'll send some of my rain your way!
Always,
Allison
I woke up early this morning (yes, a college student awake before nine on a Saturday, what is this world coming to?) for a volleyball workout. We ended up running sprints inside on the track, which was much better than I anticipated. Who would have believed that I, Allison Croat, who never runs, who in fact hates running with a deep passion, would wake up early on a weekend to run? But it wasn't too bad. And afterwards, I ate breakfast with Liza, one of my teammates. And it also got me up early, which gives me more time for my homework. So I guess I owe thanks to exercise for motivating me as well.
This week seemed to fly by. Classes were kind of slow, but the week was speedy. Volleyball had our first conference game this week. The JV team managed to pull out a win over Loras, but the Varsity couldn't manage to do the same. It was a two hour bus ride, but that makes for good conversation. It was nice to talk with some of the upperclassman about things completely unrelated to volleyball.
Anyway, back to class, which is the main point of college, or so I hear. My Spanish class is really fun. The professor likes to have us sit in a circle and has us do some silly things to get our minds working, but it really helps. Like yesterday, we were working on commands, and she had us stand up. Then we threw a ball around and if you got the ball, you had to give a command (in Spanish, of course). The rest of the class had to act out the command until the next person gave a command. Let me assure you, thinking of a command in English is hard enough, then having to give it in Spanish...no piece of cake. But it was fun! We have our first official Paideia paper due this week. We read the play Antigone by Sophocles and have been discussing power and justice. It's been a fun class to be in. I had my first biology lab on Thursday. We went to Dunning's Spring and collected "microinvertebrates" (or small insects) from the water, then went back to the lab to analyze. For not liking bugs a whole lot, this lab wasn't too bad. And calculus is always a favorite of mine.
Been getting to know some of the other freshman on campus a bit more. There's still many unrecognizable faces, but there are also a few that I do know. It's kind of cool, to go from not knowing anyone to knowing a small amount of people. I can't wait until I can know even more!
That's all for now. I wish you all sunshine, unless you need to get something done, in which case, I'll send some of my rain your way!
Always,
Allison
Monday, September 8, 2008
Dance party anyone?
Half a week down, fourteen to go before Christmas! But only twelve days until family weekend!!! Yay! I'm very excited to see everyone, because talking on the phone is only good for so long...
Anyway, everything is going swimmingly here. This weekend, the freshman class participated in our service project, which consisted of digging through large piles of an old school building to find bricks that can be reused. In doing so, we became "a part of Decorah." It wasn't too bad, because we got to be outside, and there was music which called for a few random dance breaks :-)
Speaking of dancing, my roommates and I had a really fun dance party in our room on Saturday night. We turned out the lights, turned on the music, and grabbed some glow-sticks that one of my roomies had. We had a rip-roarin' good time. The roomies and I also got creative this weekend. We took a trip to WalMart and got ribbon, puff balls, neon paper and wooden cut out animals. Don't worry, there was a purpose to this craziness. We needed to spice up our door a bit. We got back and promptly dumped everything on Emma's bed. After a few trial and errors with glue sticks and push pins, we ended up with a pretty cool door.
That's about it for now. I'm sure that after a full week of class, I'll have more to write; however I might not have the time. But I'll be back, don't you worry.
Take care!
Allison
Anyway, everything is going swimmingly here. This weekend, the freshman class participated in our service project, which consisted of digging through large piles of an old school building to find bricks that can be reused. In doing so, we became "a part of Decorah." It wasn't too bad, because we got to be outside, and there was music which called for a few random dance breaks :-)
Speaking of dancing, my roommates and I had a really fun dance party in our room on Saturday night. We turned out the lights, turned on the music, and grabbed some glow-sticks that one of my roomies had. We had a rip-roarin' good time. The roomies and I also got creative this weekend. We took a trip to WalMart and got ribbon, puff balls, neon paper and wooden cut out animals. Don't worry, there was a purpose to this craziness. We needed to spice up our door a bit. We got back and promptly dumped everything on Emma's bed. After a few trial and errors with glue sticks and push pins, we ended up with a pretty cool door.That's about it for now. I'm sure that after a full week of class, I'll have more to write; however I might not have the time. But I'll be back, don't you worry.
Take care!
Allison
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Excuse me, it's college, coming through!
I can't believe summer is over! I have my first official homework assignments already, and class hasn't even begun! Welcome to college.
I've been on campus now for two weeks. I play volleyball, so I moved in early to begin pre-season practices. The past two weeks has found me living and breathing the game, but I'm extremely glad to have had the opportunity to get to know campus these past few days. Plus, I've got a new family with the volleyball team; we're already pretty close with each other, which is awesome! It was also cool to be on campus with all the other athletes. I've met a lot of great people already. It was strange when my roommates moved in, because I went from being alone in a four person room, doing whatever whenever, to having three others living with me and having to think about what I was doing so I could minimize the distraction for them. It was a welcome change, though, because it can get pretty lonely every now and then. Living with three other girls, chances are there will always be someone in the room to talk with!
Our first Paideia class was yesterday. Paideia, for those of you who aren't familiar with this crazy term, is the required English class for all first year students. There are 18 kids in my class, which will make for good discussions, as we already seem to have different opinions about the summer reading we had to do. So there's where my first assignment came into play. The second is having to read the first chapter for my introductory biology class. I love biology, though, so the only problem is trying to open my extremely large book without hurting anyone :-)
I've become quite acquainted with the WalMart here in town, along with Mabe's pizza (get the regular original with extra cheese and dip it in ranch dressing. Trust me, it's awesome!) and the Whippy Dip (for those of you not accustomed to this Decorah trademark, think small town Dairy Queen). I've also come to love Dunning's Spring. It's the very picturesque spring coming down from the bluffs. The water is about 50 degrees, and makes for a nice ice bath when the ones in the training room are broken. I've also had an opportunity to go tubing on the Iowa River, which passes through Decorah. I would suggest to anyone and everyone that you try this at least once. Bring a cooler with some Gatorade or water, rent a tube, and hop in for a nice relaxing time. Bring some friends, too, as there are many opportune moments for a shared laugh.
Well, that's about all I have for now. I've been putting off my reading for long enough, so now it's time to be a good student. Oh, wouldn't my mother be proud! ;-) I wish all of you sunshine wherever you may be.
Peace and love,
Allison
I've been on campus now for two weeks. I play volleyball, so I moved in early to begin pre-season practices. The past two weeks has found me living and breathing the game, but I'm extremely glad to have had the opportunity to get to know campus these past few days. Plus, I've got a new family with the volleyball team; we're already pretty close with each other, which is awesome! It was also cool to be on campus with all the other athletes. I've met a lot of great people already. It was strange when my roommates moved in, because I went from being alone in a four person room, doing whatever whenever, to having three others living with me and having to think about what I was doing so I could minimize the distraction for them. It was a welcome change, though, because it can get pretty lonely every now and then. Living with three other girls, chances are there will always be someone in the room to talk with!
Our first Paideia class was yesterday. Paideia, for those of you who aren't familiar with this crazy term, is the required English class for all first year students. There are 18 kids in my class, which will make for good discussions, as we already seem to have different opinions about the summer reading we had to do. So there's where my first assignment came into play. The second is having to read the first chapter for my introductory biology class. I love biology, though, so the only problem is trying to open my extremely large book without hurting anyone :-)
I've become quite acquainted with the WalMart here in town, along with Mabe's pizza (get the regular original with extra cheese and dip it in ranch dressing. Trust me, it's awesome!) and the Whippy Dip (for those of you not accustomed to this Decorah trademark, think small town Dairy Queen). I've also come to love Dunning's Spring. It's the very picturesque spring coming down from the bluffs. The water is about 50 degrees, and makes for a nice ice bath when the ones in the training room are broken. I've also had an opportunity to go tubing on the Iowa River, which passes through Decorah. I would suggest to anyone and everyone that you try this at least once. Bring a cooler with some Gatorade or water, rent a tube, and hop in for a nice relaxing time. Bring some friends, too, as there are many opportune moments for a shared laugh.
Well, that's about all I have for now. I've been putting off my reading for long enough, so now it's time to be a good student. Oh, wouldn't my mother be proud! ;-) I wish all of you sunshine wherever you may be.
Peace and love,
Allison
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