Month: September 2008

Salvete!

I’m currently having a bit of writer’s block (I’m trying to finish an Intro to Philosophy paper on the figure of Socrates), so I thought I would give you all an update on the happenings in my life.

This weekend was a bit of a bummer, mostly because of the weather. For some reason, it tends to be lovely and sunny during the school week, and then all of a sudden rain clouds overtake the sky on Friday and we spend the next three days venturing out only when necessary. We’ve suffered this pattern every weekend except one since I’ve been here! This Friday was especially rainy. As I was splashing my way through puddles in my new rain boots Friday morning on my way to Greek, I saw a particularly drenched tour group, all wielding umbrellas but still getting pummeled by the soaking downpour. I’ve heard so many stories from my friends here and back home about how seeing a college on a day of bad weather really affects their opinion of the institution. I hope that tour group still enjoyed Holy Cross — although it’s really a campus at its best in blazing sunshine.

On Thursday I went to dinner with my cousins who live in Worcester. Ironically, I came up to Worcester when my cousin Kevin married his wife, Amanda — a native of the city — two years ago, unaware of the fact that Holy Cross was ten minutes away from our hotel. Fate brought me back exactly one year later in the summer before senior year to visit the Cross. It’s so nice to have family here, since I live too far to go home and see my parents and sisters on the weekend, like some of my friends can.

I have my first two papers in college due Tuesday (Philosophy) and Wednesday (Montserrat). I wrote my Montserrat paper, on a passage in the Iliad, on Friday afternoon — the first time I’ve really been productive on a Friday! Philosophy is presenting a bit more of a challenge, though. It takes a lot of thought. However, I wrote a 3-page outline, so I have most of my ideas hashed out already. Wish me luck with them!

What I’ve been up to: Activities.

Today was a gorgeous day, replete with sunshine and a nice fall chill in the air. I worked this morning at Kimball, and as I was walking there at 7 a.m., I took a look around at the campus ablaze in sunshine and I felt so lucky to be here. Weeks after moving in, whenever I see Fenwick with its towering turrets and ivy, I get all warm and fuzzy…even if in reality (like this morning) I’m freezing. For all incoming freshmen reading this blog, I highly suggest that you visit the colleges you are truly interested in. Only by stepping foot on campus will you be able to see and feel what the school is like, and for me, seeing Holy Cross made all the difference.

Tonight I’m hoping to head to my first meeting of Eta Sigma Phi, the Classics department organization that indulges in, and I quote the e-mail: pizza, soda, and Classics nerdery. Yay!  I’ve joined a few organizations I’m really interested in, in order to get involved right away, and to really make the most of my time here at the Cross. I’m singing in the chapel choir, which I’ve done for a while now and wanted to continue in college. I’ve also joined newspaper; even though I haven’t written for a newspaper before, I enjoy writing and have a hidden passion for it. My first article in The Crusader came out on Friday, which was quite exciting!
Besides clubs and academic groups, I’ve also participated in some pretty cool trips. On the last day of  Gateways orientation, I went kayaking and rock climbing in Rhode Island. The scenery was beautiful, and the day was perfectly sunny and warm. However, true to my style, I tipped over while kayaking and fell upside-down while repelling down a cliff face. Despite the difficulties, I still had a blast.

As well as rock climbing and kayaking, my Montserrat cluster, the Self, went on a hike up Mt. Monadnock in New Hampshire the Sunday after Move-In Day. Our assignment was to reflect on who we are as people, and what we aspire to be, all with the sweeping backdrop of the New England landscape to inspire us. The 4-hour hike pushed us to our limits, but we all bonded through the experience. I ended up really enjoying myself, despite the fact that I fell into a stream!

I have a ton of reading to finish, so that’s all for now! Have a great day, omnes (…everyone…)!

P.S. Sprinklings of Latin will inevitably end up in this blog. Pick it up and show off to your friends 😉

My First Weeks at Holy Cross

Hello, or Salvete (hello in Latin) to everyone, and thank you for taking the time to read this blog of my first year at Holy Cross! I’m thrilled to have this opportunity, and hope to give you an interesting insider’s view into what a Holy Cross first-year student experiences.

As my introduction tells, I was an Early Decision candidate to Holy Cross. For those of you who don’t quite know how that works (I know I wasn’t sure at the beginning of the college application process), Early Decision allows a student to legally bind themselves to an institution upon acceptance. I would recommend it only if you are absolutely, 100% sure that a college is for you, and not all colleges even offer the option. However, I was one of those people who knew, deep down, that Holy Cross was where I wanted to spend my college years. Hopefully, through this blog, you can get a sense of whether this gorgeous — and I do mean GORGEOUS — campus is for you, too!   

My first few weeks here at the Cross have been a wonderful, sometimes stressful, blur. On August 30, 2008, at 3:30 a.m., my family packed my life into our van and made the five-hour trek from Drexel Hill, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia, to Worcester. It was a terribly rainy, humid day, but seeing Holy Cross still thrilled me beyond belief. We hardly had to lift a finger when we pulled up to Mulledy Hall, my dorm, because so many upperclassmen were on deck to help out. I even saw President McFarland carrying boxes up;  when I figured out who he was later, I realized how many times I passed him without saying anything. Oops!

The event that stands out most in my mind from my first week at Holy Cross is the Mass of the Holy Spirit, the mass which is celebrated the evening of move-in Day. Although I was incredibly hot and tired, I specifically remember the entrance hymn, "All Are Welcome." As the faculty processed into the Hart Center in their academic gear, and upperclassmen swirled banners of ribbons around us, I truly felt that I was welcome at Holy Cross. Throughout Gateways Orientation, I felt this same sense of belonging. The faculty and students did a wonderful job of acclimating us to college life, and continue to do so even now, weeks into the semester.  I’ve also met so many fun and interesting friends in my short time here. The girls on my hall are so sweet and funny, and through classes and working at Kimball Dining Hall I’ve met even more people.

By the end of Gateways, I was definitely ready to jump into classes. Since I am a declared classics major, I take Latin and Greek. My Latin class, Horace: Odes, is full of upperclassmen; because I’ve taken Latin for so long, I tested into a 300-level class. It has been both exhilarating and stressful — it’s a lot of work, but the fact that I’m swimming and not sinking in such a difficult class feels great. I’m also taking Introduction to Philosophy, and my Montserrat seminar is Memory and the Past in Ancient Greece. If you can’t tell, I’m a humanities kind of girl.

I have so much more to tell about my experience so far at Holy Cross, and I can’t wait to see what the coming months will entail. Please stay tuned to see how my year unfolds!