Thanksgiving was yesterday. I unlike many college students did not go home. Christmas break is only 3 weeks away, so it was not worth the airfare to go home for less than four days; besides, my family does not even celebrate Thanksgiving. Instead I celebrated Thanksgiving with other members of the Bryn Mawr community. It was fantastic to have a home-cooked meal after so many weeks of dinning hall food !
In America, Thanksgiving begins the holiday season. Christmas songs begin to appear, Santa hats are resurrected out of dusty boxes, Christmas lights and trees are erected . . . the list goes on, but the holiday season is also about giving. I recently did a French debate about whether or not we are more civilized now or before. I believe we are less civilized, especially because we have become less giving. Wat ever happened to giving time and money to help those less fortunate ? Have we forgotten that in an instant we could be those at the bottom of the pecking order without a place to stay ? Our current "social status" is never permanent, it ebbs and flows over time. Nothing lasts forever, do not believe that it will because you will be disappointed.
In these harsh economic times, there are more and more people struggling to make it through the holiday season, so find a warm spot in your heart to think of them. Think of those who are fighting for our freedom away from their families in other countries, think of those who have no where to go when the snow starts to fall, think of those who must decide whether to buy their children gifts for Christmas or pay the heating bill, there are so many more examples because the hardships go on. Think of others this holiday season : send a letter to a member of our military, donate your time to a non-profit organization, buy a gift for a child you do not know, there are so many ways to help those in need.
Even the little things go a long way in the spirit of the holidays !
Friday, November 25, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
College Life Through My Eyes
Freshman year of college . . . no-one ever tells you how it will really be. It is your chance to discover freedom, to discover domesticity, to discover who you are.
No-one ever tells you that you will be up late into the night running around bare foot in the Cloistsers.
No-one ever tells you that you will be running up and down your hall in a shopping cart.
No-one ever tells you that you will have intense Celtic study picnics in the hall.
No-one ever tells you that you will sit on a ledge outside the window with a blanket and pillows at midnight.
No-one ever tells you that you will spend the night finger-painting and colouring pictures like a five-year old.
No-one ever tells you that you will be forest nymphs dancing on the wall in the mystery of the night.
No-one ever tells you that you will be rolling down hills.
No-one ever tells you that you will be up at doing a Harry Potter jigsaw puzzle in the wee hours of the morning.
No-one ever tells you that you will climb up walls and jump over fences.
No-one ever tells you that you will use tea bags for arts and crafts not tea.
College is what you make it. I have memories to last a lifetime and it has only been three months into freshman year. Who knows what these next four years will hold, but I know I will live each day (and night) to the fullest because you never know which one will be your last.
No-one ever tells you that you will be up late into the night running around bare foot in the Cloistsers.
No-one ever tells you that you will be running up and down your hall in a shopping cart.
No-one ever tells you that you will have intense Celtic study picnics in the hall.
No-one ever tells you that you will sit on a ledge outside the window with a blanket and pillows at midnight.
No-one ever tells you that you will spend the night finger-painting and colouring pictures like a five-year old.
No-one ever tells you that you will be forest nymphs dancing on the wall in the mystery of the night.
No-one ever tells you that you will be rolling down hills.
No-one ever tells you that you will be up at doing a Harry Potter jigsaw puzzle in the wee hours of the morning.
No-one ever tells you that you will climb up walls and jump over fences.
No-one ever tells you that you will use tea bags for arts and crafts not tea.
College is what you make it. I have memories to last a lifetime and it has only been three months into freshman year. Who knows what these next four years will hold, but I know I will live each day (and night) to the fullest because you never know which one will be your last.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Bryn Mawr Alight with White Snow and Green Lanterns
Sunday night was a beautiful tradition at Bryn Mawr called Lantern Night !
The freshman class, the class of 2015, carried on the Bryn Mawr tradition by receiving our black lanterns with green glass.
It really seems as if we have entered a cult. The black robes, the magnificent stone Cloisters, the gorgeous lanterns all lit up, singing Sophias in ancient Latin . . . it really was quite a scene ! Definitely one I will never forget and one I will cherish forever. I now understand why every woman who has passed through or who is currently at Bryn Mawr places their lantern in a place of respect, to be admired for years to come, because they are so proud to call themselves Mawrters. I am proud to call myself a Mawrter of the class of 2015 !
The freshman class, the class of 2015, carried on the Bryn Mawr tradition by receiving our black lanterns with green glass.
It really seems as if we have entered a cult. The black robes, the magnificent stone Cloisters, the gorgeous lanterns all lit up, singing Sophias in ancient Latin . . . it really was quite a scene ! Definitely one I will never forget and one I will cherish forever. I now understand why every woman who has passed through or who is currently at Bryn Mawr places their lantern in a place of respect, to be admired for years to come, because they are so proud to call themselves Mawrters. I am proud to call myself a Mawrter of the class of 2015 !
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