#14: It's All Downhill From Here

October 28, 2012:

So it's the end to another Sunday night. Homework is frantically being finished, coffee is brewing, and phone or Skype calls to loved ones back home are being made. I can honestly say that this past weekend has been one of my favorites by far here at Loma. Here's why...

1) It's nice to take a weekend off. Just relax. Get the homework out of the way and forget about it. When you're in that mindset of feeling the need to be busy doing things EVERY weekend because " I work hard and study all week so I deserve to have fun", it's good just to take a weekend off to do nothing but rest. By that I mean go with the flow. Don't plan things, just let them happen. Like going Halloween costume shopping with good friends. Who said getting excited over Halloween was just for kids ;)

2) Experiencing "first"s with people is a great feeling! Especially when that person is your roommate :) Whether it be Chick-Fil-A, timeout, or froyo, go do it! Making new friends along the way is also a bonus. You won't be sorry.

3)FAMILY WEEKEND! Okay so I didn't have my family here this weekend, but I'm still happy for it. It meant FREAKING GREAT CAF FOOD! Sure Loma is just sucking up to the parents, but hey, we get great food out of it! Can't wait until preview days start, more sucking up!

4)Lomapalooza. Sounds like a carnival, actually is a pretty chill outdoor BBQ with great music. Meg & Bryan headlined it, but there were a few other great opening bands too! Sitting out on the lawn, eating with friends, and enjoying great music on a perfect evening is definitely my definition of Point Loma Nazerene University. Eat your heart out UC's!

5) Watching your friends play intramural dodge ball. Aaaaah intramurals...I love those ninjas :)

and finally

6) Walking around campus on a Sunday afternoon. By yourself. Quietly. Just do it.

And that was my relaxing weekend in a nutshell. This week wasn't so bad. And you KNOW everyone is counting down the three weeks until THANKSGIVING BREAK! YAY!

And with that I will leave you with this. Courtesy of my freshman core values class :)

Peace Loma!

-Emily

#MyLife@Loma

P.s. Did you watch that tsunami? LAME.

#13: Home Is Whenever I'm with You

October 22, 2012:

Two months behind us!

Midterms. Done.

Hundreds of trees were killed to provide the massive amounts of notebooks, pencils, and flashcards used in this one short week of exams. Index cards and a cup of something filled with caffeine were a common sight in practically everyone's hands. The library got a lot of love and use too!

SO glad that that's over with.

Because after all of those wretched tests, we got fall break! No school on Friday equaled me hopping on a bus Thursday afternoon headed for my home. Now you may remember that my first trip back home in September didn't end up being everything that I had hoped for. This time was exactly the opposite. Maybe it was the longer stay? Or maybe homesickness had finally set in? Either way I felt that my weekend was perfect. My weekend was packed full of scary movies, down time with the fam bam, full nights of sleep, 24 hour access to food (take that caf!), Sunday service at my home church, shopping, and a trip to Disneyland with my little sister. Oh did I forget to mention homework? Good, because I did none. I truly felt that this weekend flew by. So much so that I "missed" my bus back home and caught a different one 4 hours later. Oops! A big thank you to my good friend and travel partner, Michael, for keeping me calm during those bus rides. I may be getting used to public transportation, but like the age old saying states "you can put the girl in the bus, but you can't take the nervousness out of the girl."

Through this weekend I've not only learned how much I value my education and the experiences that come with it, but that I value my family and time spent with them just as much. Going home and seeing life go on like it always has is kind of hard. Then I see the people who ended up staying home for college or not even going to college at all and I'm grateful that I'm going to the school of my dreams, even though it may take it's "academic excellence" a tad too seriously. I'm also grateful that I'm apart of that "middle ground" of being just far enough away that I can't go back every weekend, but I'm not too far that my only time to go home would be Thanksgiving or winter break. I'm now realizing that this will be good for a comfortable level of independence.

Also, a big shout out to you out of state kids. I don't know how you do it. Kudos!

A huge plus of coming home after a weekend like that is seeing all of your dearly missed hall mates and your adorable roommate in a room FULL OF SNACKS! Yes, I think life is good when you have sugar and caffeine on your side. Plus I got to bring my winter wardrobe back with me :) Thank God for spacebags!!!

All in all I hope that I've had enough rest to get me through this upcoming week. So far it's been a manic Monday, and to top it off I'm off to see my writing professor about my paper that she literally wrote DELETE all over. Bummed? Upset? Me? Nahh..

Later Loma,
Em

#MyLife@Loma

#12: That's Debatable

October 13, 2012:

Another week in the books!

I feel like I say that every time. Life around here has gotten into such a routine, that it’s practically a countdown. And for me, it’s a countdown to next weekend. Fall break.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love Loma. It’s the actual realization that, behind the entire lure of college life and being independent, there is a lot of stinkin’ work involved! Case in point: this weekend, the weekend before midterms. For the record, THEY’RE MY FRIST MIDTERMS EVER. So this should be interesting…

Speaking of a lot of work and the weekend let me tell you about mine so far.

I’ve spent it at a debate tournament.

Now, I hope you don’t take what I’m about to rant about the wrong way. For the record: 1. I LOVE Loma’s debate team. All of them. It’s been a pleasure getting to know them. 2.Debate takes WORK. Don’t ever count debate out as a sport, because it definitely works your brain out like one.

With that said, here it goes.

In the beginning of the year when I got my class assignments, I was honestly excited that I would be ABLE to debate for a grade. I love arguing, so this would be my thing, right?

WRONG.

I’ve been in the class for 7 weeks now and have learned a little bit more about how this “game” of debate is played. Note the word, “little”. Debate really is a game, but it’s a game that I don’t really think I was meant to play.

And to top it all off, this class REQUIRES two completed tournaments for necessary points for your grade.

Yay. Outside classroom hours. Boo.

Since I haven’t been able to attend previous one day tournaments, (hey, I had XC meets geeze.) I needed to attend an overnight tournament in Irvine. Can you say “goodbye weekend”? But like any good student, I toughened up and decided that I was going to try my darndest to be ready for my first ever tournament. Was I prepared? Not in the slightest.

Now this experience could take PAGES to explain, but I’ll save the time and shorten it up for ya’ll ….

-Debate/ debate tournaments are not like any other “tournament” that you’ve ever been to. NOTHING like them!

-“debaters” are a special kind of people. No, not that kind of special! Speed writing, critical thinking, speed thinking in general, and eloquent (or way too fast!) speaking are all normal things to them.

-They have sweaters!

-Other teams can be vicious. Someone should tell them that whole bit about sticks and stones breaking bones…

-I knew NOTHING and just when I thought that I had finally started climbing up the ladder of success, I was still on the ground.

-I may not have liked debating, but I sure as heck got fired up at the judge’s scores that were just handed to me! Robbed I tell you…

All in all, we debated all day Friday, had a GREAT dinner, slept in a super fancy Hilton, some debated/did their speeches all day today(while the rest of us just waited around ALL DAY), had ANOTHER great dinner, and now are finally going home.

All of these travel meets and tournaments are really getting to me. Really.

Finally I would like to close with some words of wisdom that I have acquired throughout this crazy week…

Take every opportunity to hang out with someone new.

It may be going to PBC for a break from the caf with a hallmate who you never really see, or befriending the girl who sits behind you in writing class, who just happens to be on the debate team AND was homeschooled (yes! There are more of us! Homeschoolers unite!).

You never know what you may find out about them. Plus, if you feel like your life is just a big routine, it never hurts to shake things up a bit.

Well, I’m almost back to Loma so I’ll end now.

Keep it classy Loma.

-Emily

#MyLife@Loma

P.S. First days of rain on campus this week!!!

 

#11: Dawn of the Dead and Sleep Deprived

 October 8, 2012:

Week seven begins...
I meant to blog about last week LAST WEEK....but alas I caught a nasty cold. Me and probably a good chunk of the student body.

Welcome to fall flu season and community guys!

Anywho, last week was my first ever glimpse into a real life zombie apocalypse! (haha real life...zombie...funny.) Yellow cation tape and orange bands were a common sight around. Also nerf guns and cardboard swords in the caf cubbies became a norm. I for one was going to play....I swear I was going to play! I even had my bands, but when I saw how intense it got and how people literally lost sleep and became paranoid from playing.

Crazy college kids...

And then it all came down to storming the Greek on Friday! Five p.m. zombies and human survivors alike flooded to the Greek ampitheatre to one final face-off. By the end of it there were about 15 humans who officially "survived" the apocalypse.

Then on Saturday, the final event was an "Acapocalypse" acapella concert here on campus at the Crill auditorium. I was so stoked because
1. I'm super into acapella right now. Like Pitch Perfect? Saw that. Glee warblers? Loved them.
2. One of my best friends from my home town (a FRESHMAN mind you!) made the school group "Pointless". So proud of that kid. He's the only freshman ginger in the group might I add ;)

It was great. The songs were FANTASTIC! "Home" and "She Will Be Loved" made me cry. Pointless KILLED it. Key Of Sea (our newest ALL GIRL group) made their debut. Shout out to my friend Sophia! Great job girl :]

AND THE BEAT BOXING COMPETITION. Who knew all of those sounds could be made with JUST you mouth?!? Mind. Blown.

Yes, I really was sick this weekend. Yes, acapella concerts, zombie apocalypse fights, midnight scooter rides, random trips to the movies, and kayaking trips are my medicine. With a school like mine, "carpe diem" is a way of life. All day, everyday.

Well, I better wrap this post up. Gotta get to an ASB meeting....

Peace and Love Loma,

Em
#MyLife@Loma

P.s. here are quite a few visual aids....and some (crappy) video. Sorry about that. But please do enjoy the lovely commentary on the Zombie/Human showdown video done by my crazy cool and super funny hall mate, Kaili Kinoshita!
And another thank you to my blessing of a roomate, Marissa Loera, for all of the funny "human" photos;) I love all 4 ft. 9 in. of her!

  

#10: Changing

Oct. 1, 2012:

Wow, it has been a while hasn't it.

Blame it one the books, extra curriculars, projects, and of course, the social life.

Plus, my cross country team had a meet in Willamette Oregon this past weekend.
Can you say no sales tax?!
And of course the team did pretty well too! The girls team even took a picture with Nick Symmonds. You don't know who that is? Shame on you!

Just kidding. Olympic runner from Oregon pretty much. Anyways, it was a blast :) And exhausting...

This past week has been one stinkin' whirlwind. Well at least for me it has been.

Renewal week is now a thing of the past.

I really enjoyed it. Whoever put it together (spiritual development?)  did a wonderful job with the decorations (super cute) and speaker. He had his entertaining moments for sure. And we even got to TEXT VOTE as a student body. Yes, you heard right. TEXTING IN CHAPEL WAS REQUIRED! What's that? Your school isn't that cool yet?

I'm terribly sorry.

It's also the start of the 6th WEEK! Geeze school is a breeze! (well I thought it was pretty funny myself...) But seriously, am I the only one who thinks that the weeks go by so fast? I mean I'm already seeing Halloween decor in the dorms! Speaking of which, anyone excited to see what a bunch of college kids who are on their own and on a college kid budget can do for a costume? I am ;] I still can't decide what I want to be....

-Toddlers in Tiaras
-Sophia grace or Rosie (if you know who they are then I mentally high five you!)
-Jess from NEW GIRL! (also another mental high five!)

Decisions, decisions...

Decisions about what takes up ones time here is also something that is hitting me smack in the face this week. Saying "no" has never been one of my strong suits. Plus it's so tempting to just do EVERYTHING like in high school. News flash: this isn't high school. All this I am going to try to put into practice this week as I make some changes. (title word there, folks!)

All this talk about stress and craziness being said, never forget to take some time for a mental break. Now, I'm not talking about that "break" that everyone takes while studying that usually consists of facebook, email, temple run (if you all still play that...), facebook, and a bunch of other time wasting activities.

I'm talking about a good walk, a good talk, quiet time,

or my personal favorite,

Finding a remote, scenic spot on campus and singing at the top of your lungs with a good (maybe best?) friend. Now that, my friends, is therapeutic.

Well I should stop my "mental break" and get back to studying. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I was given an idea from my lovely friend( and debate class partner!) Abbey Stewart for a post about some crazy caf creations here at Loma. Now I must admit I'm always trying out new ones, so I have a few myself. If you have any, feel free to share(: If not, you are all stuck with mine. Sucks.

Until next time Loma,
Peace
-Emily

#MyLife@Loma
P.S. MOVIE IN THE GREEK THIS THURSDAY! Take advantage of this not-so-common college activity. I mean really. How many colleges do this?? Exactly.

(random things that happens in an Evarkiou WRITING class...)

(And of course we have to end with a campus favorite. The sunset shot.)