First come, first (or soft) serve!

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