The Last Whitworth Weekend of My Freshman Year

Wow, did you read that title?! I am unsure what to think about that. A lot has happened over these last couple of weeks and quite frankly, it is all sort of a blur. I went into this last week unsure how everything would get done, but of course it did. And it literally meant taking it one day at a time, which can be a good skill to learn.

Two weekends ago on Friday night, one of my good friends, Katelyn, who lives next door to me proposed we should do something fun. I told her I was unsure because I had a lot to do. Well I eventually convinced myself that I could afford an hour or two and that it was one of my last weekends here so why not. Well, an hour or two for dinner or a movie turned into a seven and a half hour, late night adventure! We went to Teriyaki food, went shopping, went and saw the new movie The Lucky One, which was adorable! Then we went to Sharis to have a pie shake (which I had a coupon for a free one!) and eventually headed back to campus.

The following Saturday was the Powder Puff football tournament! I was not on a team but definitely went and rooted for the team that was mostly Arend freshman girls. When I set out to head to the tournament, it was cloudy and overcast and I thought the tournament might last about an hour….well that then turned into a five and a half hour tournament that I couldn’t pull myself away from, as well as eighty degree weather that gave this girl a very bad sun burn on her arms! Aside from the painful, burning arms and people gawking at how red I was, it was definitely worth it.

A picture of the sky while I was at the tournament. It was much brighter and hotter outside than this picture looks like!

After the tournament I went with a good friend to the mall to get his hair cut (we always do random stuff like this), and on our way back we saw a carnival! Well it’s not every day you see a carnival in town, and they do not have many in Hawaii (which is where he is from), so of course we had to stop! We ended up playing a couple of games and we won four goldfish. Well this was exciting at first until I realized that I have no way of caring for these fish. I went to Wal-Mart and got everything I needed to care for these fish, but sadly, within a couple of days we were having a fishy funeral, and they are no longer with us. I think they were unhealthy.

So Sunday was full of homework and studying, but I am so glad that I decided to break loose from campus for a lot of the weekend and do other things, because it was one of (the many) most fun weekends I have had here. But do not worry, it did not take away from school, I managed to get my homework done as well ;)

Last weekend was also a pretty busy weekend. Friday night we had something called Pirate Idol, which is where people showcase their music abilities. At the end everyone votes and whoever wins is crowned the Pirate Idol. It was incredible and I am always blown away at how many talented people I go to school with and I LOVE listening to some of those musicians because they write great music and can sing and play instruments beautifully. After Pirate Idol there was a dance, which I went to later on in the night. It was really cool, there were black lights everywhere and neon body paint that people had painted on their arms and faces. Randomly there would be confetti dropped from the ceiling, or toilet paper unraveled into the air by a leaf blower. It is kind of odd, but silly and fun.

My friend Katelyn and I at the dance

The Arend crew at the dance! I love them all!

Saturday morning I went with my small group from one of my classes to volunteer at Habitat for Humanity to help build houses. It was a great time, I really enjoyed it. I learned how to caulk inside and outside of the houses. Then when I arrived back on Campus we were having Spring Fest, which is like a carnival on campus where different clubs, dorms, and departments put up booths doing different things. There are also bouncy houses, food, and entertainment. I wasn’t able to go to much of it, but I walked through, ate lunch, and tie dyed my first shirt! I wish I had been able to be at more of it but there is always next year. And also, the proceeds of Spring Fest always go to a charity and this year they went to BELIEF, the organization that I helped with over Jan Term! So that is exciting.

Last night, we had a dorm BBQ. There were people everywhere outside, socializing, and it was nice just to take it in. Being the end of the year, it makes you realize that this won’t last forever. It is not a bad sad feeling, but a happy sad feeling. After the BBQ we had another Arend Unplugged, which is like a talent show for Arend residents. The performances range from music, skits, dancing, and funny performances. It was hilarious and a great way to kick off our last weekend this year.

After that I ended up coming to my room and I started packing (and found a lot of things I forgot I had or that I have been looking for). It is a weird feeling. My walls are white again, and my pictures are off of the walls. My bed no longer has bed risers and there are boxes stashed in corners. It is really making the fact that we are leaving soon set in. Late last night I went and said my first goodbye, to a friend who had to leave school early. It is a strange concept, to be in a place that has become your home with people that have become like family, and then you are told to be out 24 hours after your last final and everyone disperses across the country. Summer will be a good break, and the sense of accomplishing a year of school is refreshing and fulfilling. However, in all honesty, it will be very different. It is going to be hard to go back home after being on my own for almost a year, and going from always having people around to not constantly being with friends. As I said earlier, summer is needed and it will be good, but I am doing my best to be intentional about being open minded and not having any expectations as well as making the most of the time I will have at home with my family.

A little update on the baseball team status which I mentioned in my last post: they won their tournament last weekend and are conference champions! They talked about how they were dreaming of a dogpile at the end if they won, and then it happened!

And there it is, the dogpile and the first conference championship in 20 YEARS!!

Also, I found a picture of my roommate Erin and I at the Green with Envy dance that Arend put on in March, and I love it. It is one of my favorite pictures!

And more pictures to share of my beautiful school's campus:

Sun and warmth!

Flowers blooming! I love that there is a very dead, bare tree in the background and then there is new life blooming in the foreground.

As I was writing this blog, I recieved some pretty great news. I applied and interview to work at the Whitworth library these last two weeks, and I was just notified that I will be hired and be able to begin in the Spring of next year. So that is pretty relieving, good news!

And alas, I am at the point at the end of my freshman year where I have completed every single homework assignment and the only thing left to do is complete four finals! Next week is not a bad week, all I have to do is be good about studying. Thursday is my last final and then I am moving out Friday morning. I will be staying at my roommate’s sister’s house for a couple of days and then I am heading home on Sunday. Saturday, one week from today, my roommate Erin, her twin Emily, and Emily’s roommate are all going to Silverwood!! A long time ago back in October when a bunch of us from the dorm went to Scarywood, we received a voucher to get into Silverwood for free during May. So since we will still be around here, we are taking advantage of that. I am very excited for that and hoping for good weather! After that, onward to Oregon and summer vacation!