With school less than a week away, I’m starting to get excited about all the things I’ve had to do without over the summer. Here are just a few:
DIY Omelet Maker at NDH
Let’s be honest – I lack the skill and timing needed to make an actual omelet, but I can scramble eggs with the best of them. There’s usually a line to make your own omelet/scrambled eggs, but it’s never too long and I spend most of my time planning and selecting various precut vegetables and other things that go into my scrambled eggs (yes, bacon bits!). The DIY omelet line shuts down at 11 a.m. – seriously, they cut you off then so plan your class schedule accordingly.
Baraka Bouts Women’s Boxing
I didn’t do this my freshman year because it starts right after the first week or two of school, and I just didn’t know enough about it at the time. My sophomore year, though, I thought I’d give it a try and absolutely loved it. The workouts are physically challenging, but my favorite part was getting in the ring for practice spars. The first time I stepped through the elastic cords and onto the mat was terrifying and there was that panicked thought of “uhhh what am I even doing here?!” I would constantly pull back to avoid being hit and it came as a great shock once I was. Though, within a few weeks, being in the ring felt as natural as ever and getting roughed up a bit was part of the sport.
Yoga
My two favorite activities right now are yoga and boxing. One is stress-relieving, energy balancing, and restorative while the other is high adrenaline, stress-inducing, and purposefully damaging – I’m just trying to stay neutral here. Anyways, I’m thinking of signing up for a yoga class offered by RecSports. From what I remember, they are usually once a week (offered at different times) and can be around $30 (student rate) per semester. Also, there’s a local yoga studio called Solace that has half-off Tuesday classes (which includes hot yoga!).
Gyms within walking distance - FTW!
Social Lunches/Dinners
Sometimes I forget how much I love eating with a group of friends or even one friend in the dining halls. I'm currently sitting here by myself, around lunchtime, eating a bowl of oatmeal in my family room and it just doesn't have the same effect. At school, eating with friends is so effortless, too. When I’m at home during the summer, if I’m not already out, then I usually have to call someone up, drive somewhere, order, and shell out some cash before leaving. At ND, you can just round up some people in your dorm or send out a text, walk 1-5 minutes, and feel confident that no one will ask you for money (well, obviously you already prepaid that room and board). Every now and then I'll be eating a quick meal by myself in the dining halls, but for the most part I love this easy social aspect of being on campus.
Classes
I’ve always liked bits and pieces of my classes, but as far as enjoying them, there’s only two that comes to mind - Introduction to Philosophy my freshman year and my India Studies Seminar this past summer. I was speaking with an ND alum recently and he said junior year is the best year for classes because you start taking courses that are more what you want to study. For example, I’m an IT Management major with a concentration in Visual Communication Design with a supplementary major in Asian Studies. I’m finally able to take a web applications course and a 2D foundations course, both of which I’m actually looking forward to. Even the idea of my macroeconomics course is starting to grow on me as I’m flipping through the textbook reading things here or there that pertain to countries in Asia. We’ll see how that one turns out, though – I’ve heard Macro isn’t all fun and games.
Friends, people, and the like…
Mostly I’m just looking forward to being surrounded by all my friends again – you know, it’s the people you go out with, go to games with, or the people you wait in the omelet line with. I’m even thinking of new friends that this year might bring or the acquaintances that could become friends. Now it seems to be almost a rarity for me to meet someone my year that doesn’t at least know someone I know, and I’m sure a lot of other students could say the same. It’s sort of neat to already experience how a lot of people are connected through other friends at ND, and I still have 2 more years to go!
With that being said, I better start packing. See you next week, ND!