What a week!

Things I Love: exploring, new food, and retreats.  

College life never seems to stop moving does it?  This post is going to be a combination of the past 2 weekends.  On September 13, some of my friends and I went downtown.  It is so nice to be able to hop on the Chicago 'L' or the Loyola shuttle bus and be downtown in 20-30 minutes.  On Friday night we went to Roti.  Roti is basically like Chipotle but for Mediterranean food.   It was delicious! I was going to upload a picture of my food, but looking back, the picture isn't that appealing.  But I definitely recommend the place to anyone! After that, we went and got Garrett's Popcorn, a Chicago classic.

On Saturday, my friends and I went to Chinatown.  It was interesting to look around and see the different culture and way of living.

I also tried Bubble Tea from Joyyee.  I personally did not get any of the "bubbles" in mine but I tried some of my friends' drinks.  I got a Lychee and Strawberry fruit freeze.  It was delicious! I will definitely be trying more flavors.

On Wednesday, Soledad O'Brien came and talked at Loyola.  She is a very good speaker and encouraged students to do what they want to do.  She spoke about her difficulties in life and how she overcame these difficulties to get where she is and be who she is today.  

This past weekend I went on a Loyola 360 retreat specifically for honors students.  I have always loved retreats so I, of course, was very excited for this retreat. On Friday, almost 100 honors students boarded three buses for LUREC, Loyola's Retreat and Ecology campus in Woodstock, IL, about an hour and a half away.  Even though I love the city, it was nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city and see trees and large spaces of grass! It's the little things you miss.

On the retreat, I met so many new people! You think since you live with these people and have some of the same classes that you would at least recognize a majority of the people.  I was surprised at how many people I did not recognize!  

We also completed a challenge course and a high ropes course.  I love adventure, so I was really excited for the high ropes course.  We didn't get to complete everything, but it was still challenging and a lot of fun! I hope I will get to do it again sometime soon!

We arrived back on campus late Sunday afternoon.  Even though the retreat was amazing, it was still nice to be back in my dorm room.  I also had a lot of work to do for Monday and everyone was tired, so that wasn't the greatest feeling, but I would not have traded the weekend for anything! 

Where is your inner compass leading you?

Papers

Well, I have officially survived my first Honors Paper!  The honors program is a very difficult program at Loyola and the first paper is always interesting.  The professors are always saying, since day one, how almost nobody receives an A in the class or on a paper... Talk about stress from the first class! They also said that the Honors program is "learning through suffering." 

All of the freshman honors students live together in one dorm, holding a little less than 250 people.  It was so interesting on Thursday night.  My hall at least, was out in the hallway editing each other's papers.  You could definately feel the sense of community and wanting everyone to do their best! 

This has been passing around my section of the dorm just for a little moral support! 

Tomorrow starts the fourth week of classes.  People are starting to find their rythm in classes, activties, clubs, friend groups, everything- you name it.  Of course people are still trying to figure everything out about college and what they want to do.  People will always be changing and growing.  College is the time for discovery!  

I am already understanding why people say these four years will be some of the best of my life!  The five weeks since move-in have flown by! 

What a great day

This post is from last Saturday- September 7, 2013. 

I have had such a good day today!  Some of my friends and I went downtown and shopped a little bit.  But the most exciting part was the Chipotle Cultivate Festival! The "festival" was all about Chipotle and their efforts towards a "world of more sustainable, wholesome food."  If you went to 4 out of 6 stations, you received a coupon for free Chipotle!  Who wouldn't want that?

There were so many people there! But fortunately, there was a lot of space to move around, so the only time it felt crowded was when we went close to the stage.

My friends and I went to see Walk the Moon.  They are a band that originally started in Cincinnati.  I have always heard about them from my friends, but this was the first time I had seen them.   AND they are very good live! I could not believe that this was the first time I had listened to most of their music.  I will definately be listening to it more! 

So it has been awhile...

Wow, it has almost been a month since I have blogged last! I have been so busy! I recently moved up to Chicago for my freshman year of college.  I began college classes and with that- the crazy schedules with homework and activities.  I will make sure I blog more regulary from now on.  

I have been living in Chicago for a little over 2 weeks now and I love the city!  Although I have not had much time to explore yet, the campus is gorgeous. Right on the lake and not far from the city.  Who wouldn't want that?  Isn't this just so pretty?

The first few days I had said goodbye to my sisters, moved in to my dorm, met my roomate, had orientation, said goodbye to my parents, and had some welcome week activities... in the span of 3 days.  It was full of excitment.  Some of the welome week activities were a lot of fun though! On Thursday night there was a trolley ride around Chicago with pizza afterwards.  The trolley ride showed the city lit with with all of the lights.  This was my first real taste of deep dish pizza, and it was very good!  

There was also a day of service that I did with some friends.  We went to a church and cleaned out one of the attached buildings that nobody had lived in for awhile.  It sure was dusty!  Sunday was more of a preparation day for everyone because most of us still had to finish The Odyssey.  The Honors program will definately be fun this year... But we will all survive! 

This was my first weekend in college in Chicago! Definately more to come.