Military Life - Senior Year Edition.

So, this past weekend was drill for both my roommate Jesse and I. For those of you who may not know what drill is, it's an essential part of being in the National Guard or Reserve in the military where you go to your assigned based one weekend per month and do the job you were hired to do. For me, that is Client Systems, which is a fancy way of saying IT Technician basically. Jesse is a Navy Hospital Corpsman, so he works down in medical in his shop helping patients who need shots, blood work, and the like.

This is the first semester both of us have gone to drill at the same time while being officially done with all training required to wear the uniform and do the job. Jesse was gone to boot camp and his training school all last semester and some of the summer, while I did my training the year before around the same time frame. We've noticed that even though he's Navy and I'm Air Force, our schedules for drills have matched up oddly enough!

Jesse and I being goofballs after drill this past Sunday - 'Merica!

One of the reasons Saint Michael's College is such a great school is because of all of the support they offer for military members. Katherine Orthman, the woman in charge of coordinating students with the Veterans' Affairs Office for the school, has done everything from submitting paperwork for my GI Bill to selecting my classes for me when I was away training, and I couldn't be more thankful. Aside from that, the Air National Guard and Army National Guard both offer the Buxton Scholarship each semester, which can pay for the cost of up to 16 credits! I've been fortunate enough to receive it for the past two semesters, and I'll find out soon if I got it for next semester as well.

If you have any questions about how Saint Mike's works with the military, feel free to ask me! Im also going to be attending a military ball next month, so stay tuned for a post about that!

Happy Tuesday!

Wait...Senior Year?

Woah, that happened quickly.

Over the past couple days, I've been thinking about how weird it is to finally be a senior in college. In a way, it's the moment I've been waiting for since starting my career here at Saint Michael's, but it's also the strangest, most anxiety-causing part of my life currently. What happens after this? What do I do once I graduate? Do I stay in Vermont? Do I leave? What about all my friends? What about getting a job?

Obviously I'm a chronic over-thinker, and being a senior is not helping at all. Yet, even with the anxiety of senior year and graduating, I've found a balance of good things.

Of course, being 21 does have its perks, but I don't really care all that much about alcohol. Being able to go out with friends to bars and to have a drink on the weekends to relax is nice, but there's something else about being a senior that's even better - appreciation.

Since transitioning into senior year and realizing the "real world" is coming so soon, I've found myself appreciating so many things around me much more that I used to take for granted all the time. For example, I've picked up riding my roommate's bicycle nearly every day since school started and appreciating the beautiful Saint Michael's campus and the breathtaking foliage that comes with a Vermont autumn season. I've been making plans with friends more often. I've been more attentive than ever in class. I've been trying to soak up every little bit of college life that I can because I know it's my last year, and I couldn't be more grateful for it.

I get to walk this path to my townhouse every day - just the fact that I live in a townhouse is pretty awesome.

Kathryn, Paul, Jesse and I walking to Alliot for dinner. I'm definitely soaking up my time with these goons.

A gorgeous view of one of the academic buildings covered in autumn leaves.

Every day feels so surreal, and they all seem to go just as quickly as they come. Hard to believe I'm already on my fifth week of my senior year when it feels like I was just a freshman yesterday. While I may be sad to be leaving Saint Michael's soon, I'm also excited to take all the things I've learned, experiences I've had, memories with the people I've met, and the growth I've experienced within myself and use it somewhere out in the big world. Sometimes I still think of myself as a kid, but I suppose every 21-year-old college senior feels that way from time to time. The truth is that I'm more grown up than I think, and a world of change is coming very quickly.

In short, please enjoy your college years. Reach out to people. Get off campus sometimes. Put yourself out there. Make new friends. Be risky. Go on trips. Study abroad somewhere. Explore your options and find what you love. Don't let the stress weigh you down and be happy.

All I know is that college is a short four years, and you don't want to think back after graduation and wish you'd done it all differently.

Reflection Time.

Happy Friday everyone! I bet you all have some big plans for the weekend. I can't wait to hang out with friends and enjoy a few days off myself.

In the mean time, I made time to visit my parents this past Tuesday and it was really great. Since I only live about 30 minutes from campus in northern Vermont, I suppose I could go home more often, but I just love being on campus so much and I've been so busy this year already that I don't have time to go often.

When I got there, my mom had dinner ready and all my pets were so happy to see me! It was such a good feeling, and it also gave me some time to just get away from school and homework and think about other things.

My boy Duncan was happy to see me. Can't believe he's 10 this year!

Baby Suri lounging on the table. She makes anything her bed.

I'm always thankful to be home, especially when I get opportunities to talk to my mom about life post-college (I know, it's a scary thought). I told her I was thinking about vamping up my resume and looking for jobs in graphic design or advertising in places like New York City, Boston, or California. I picture myself being somewhere where there's a lot of people, and I know that I would enjoy doing those jobs for just about any company.

Fortunately, Saint Mike's has a Career Development Office where I can go to make my resume just right! As weird as it is to be graduating this year, I'm also excited to get out in the world and see what opportunities come up for me. I'll probably start applying for jobs next semester!

All in all, senior year has definitely been interesting so far, and I'm trying to enjoy every last moment of college I have left, but it's always wise to look ahead and prepare for the future too. I hope you all have been thinking about the future from time to time when you have breaks from your busy lives as well. It comes faster than you think!

Enjoying the View.

Happy Tuesday!

So I realized today that I've been taking a lot of pictures of Saint Michael's campus over the last couple of weeks since I've been back, and that inspired me to write a post about it and share them with you all. The campus is a truly gorgeous place, and I feel like I often take it for granted and don't really take the time to stop and appreciate it enough. Saint Michael's being located in Vermont definitely has its perks, especially when it comes to scenery. Since I've lived in Vermont my whole life, I just can't get enough of those trees!

Anyway, here's a few shots I've taken over the two weeks I've been back. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

I took this the first day I was back on campus - gotta love Bergeron!

A few nights ago, we had a full moon and I couldn't resist snapping a picture. I took this using my Nikon D3200 with a really large f-stop and a really fast shutter speed in order to capture the detail without it being drown out in light.

This is one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken. I took this just last night when I went for a walk with my friend Liz. It shows the streetlight shining through the new stone arch in the Word Garden. It's massive and quite a beaut!

I took this picture today while walking back from the gym today across the 3's Field. I love the big puffy clouds we get here in Vermont!

Have you seen any amazing sights around campus and snapped pictures of them? If so, please comment on this and let me know so I can see too! Photography is one of my passions and I'm always trying to get better at it, and Saint Michael's campus is the perfect palette to expand and build upon my abilities as a photographer and an artist.

Well, it's off to the amazing world of finance again for me - hope you enjoyed these shots as much as I did! Until next time, stay fresh people of SMC, and remember to take a break from the hectic-ness of life now and then and enjoy the beautiful world around you!

Family Dinner!

Happy week two of the new semester everybody! Needless to say, I've been super busy kicking off my senior year, trying to balance 4 1/2 classes, working on the Onion River Review, Air Force commitments, going to the gym regularly, and being a blogger of course! (More to come on all of those things, I promise). But for now, I thought I'd talk about the awesome family dinner I had with a few close friends of mine at Sloane today!

For those of you who may not know, Saint Mike's has another dining hall in Sloane Hall on North Campus that you can book for reservation Tuesday - Thursday! It works the same way as if you were to swipe your knightcard at Alliot, except it's restaurant style, so you put in your orders and someone brings you the food! I'd recommend it to everyone to try at least once, plus the food is always fantastic!

Paul, Callie, and Lily looking happy and ready to eat!

Fellow blogger Kathryn Miyahira and I being goofballs! You can check out her blog here!

I call them all my family because I became really close with all of them last semester when all of my friends from my grade were studying abroad, and we've been close ever since! Our goal is to have a family dinner at Sloane every week to just chat, catch up, and enjoy some awesome food!

So if you have a close friend group, a boyfriend or girlfriend, or anyone who wants a change of pace from Alliot, you should totally check out Sloane sometime! The number is 802-654-2253, and you can call to start making reservations for the week every Tuesday at 2! You can learn more about the dining experiences offered by Saint Mike's here as well.

I hope you all have had an awesome second week, and I'll try to post something about my actual schedule of classes for the semester in my next post! Peace out.

Senior Year Move-In!

Well hey everybody! I know, it's been WAY too long since I've posted in this (you know what summer tends to do to you...), but I'm definitely back in action and ready to fill y'all in on all my happenings during my last year at Saint Michael's (wait...what?)

Okay, let's backtrack - so last week I moved into Townhouse 109 with my friends Jesse, Paul, and Danny, and so far it has been one of the greatest living situations I've ever had! I've been friends with Jesse since high school and have lived with him every year of college as some of you may already know, I met Danny my freshman year through mutual friends, and Paul and I only became friends a year ago. We all got together last semester, made the plan, and took our chances (since Paul is a junior and Jesse has junior standing in terms of credit). After all of the anticipation and stressing out over the new online housing system, we somehow ended up getting the VERY last townhouse left! It was a definitely a miracle and the 1's have been great so far!

Anyway, I'll probably make a post sometime next week about my classes and senior-year-ish things, but for this post, I thought I'd show you guys the set up of our townhouse so far! (It's a little bland and undecorated at the moment, so work with me...)

Welcome home!

A really cozy and spacious kitchen.

The boringly decorated living room (I promise it'll get better!)

My desk set up. A cluttered desk is the way to go!

So in short, being a senior and FINALLY having the opportunity to have a townhouse has been absolutely incredible. Living with some of my best friends has been so nice, but of course having a townhouse means communicating with your roommates, making a chore list, and staying on top of your meals (although I got a meal plan, so I definitely don't cook all the time). We've all been great about these kinds of things so far, so we just have to keep it up! It's definitely worth a bit of extra work and communication with people to have your own townhouse.

I hope you're all having a great first week as well! I can't wait to share more about my classes, the Air Force, future career plans, and all the crazy adventures that ensue this year.

End of the Semester.

I can't believe I haven't posted in this for almost 2 weeks...just goes to show how crazy this time of the year can be. Regardless, I'm finally making the time to get back into the swing of things, and hopefully I won't take any more long breaks like that!

Today, I just want to talk about my semester with you all and the typical feelings associated with not only ending a semester, but ending an entire school year. To be honest, I thought I wasn't going to like this semester that much. Almost my entire friend group is studying abroad or taking a semester off, which left me here at St. Michael's, feeling like I was a freshman all over again and trying to make new friends. I was worried I wasn't going to be able to because I was so attached to my old group of friends, but to my surprise, I was absolutely wrong.

This semester was a blessing in disguise to say the least. I've meet so many new and amazing people, put myself out there, become more active in the Founders Society as well as with the Drama Club, and taken the time to just explore what I truly wanted to do and where I wanted to be in my life. I worked up the courage to get the tattoos I always wanted (and I'm sure there are more to come), and I've established so many amazing relationships with people I'm sure I'll be friends with for years to come.

Meals with McKenzie and Maggie are always a good time. Since they were also my friends last semester, it's been nice to have them around!

Leena and I before giving a big presentation for my Shakespeare class. She was also around last semester, but this class has definitely brought us closer!

Zach and Kylian playing pool. I knew Zach last semester, but I met Kylian this semester - they're both pretty entertaining to say the least!

Julia and I at the opening night of Dog Sees God last month! I'm so thankful this semester brought her into my life, she's a fantastic person.

Kylian and I getting our smolder on.

Zach, Michelle, Kylian, Maggie, Julia, and Meaghan all came over to my room a month or so ago to have a Bob's Burgers viewing party! It was a blast.

Me, Ivana, and Brendan ice skating last month! Although we're all juniors, I actually only met them this semester and we've all become really close!

Paul and I eating at Olive Garden before he stayed at my place for a couple days during spring break! It's been nice having him as well since we became friends last semester.

Getting my third tattoo last month of my mother's birthday in roman numerals! 

Lily and I getting some free pancakes at iHop a while back! We became friends thought Paul and his girlfriend Kathryn, and we happened to have a class together as well!

The Drama Club crew! I'm so thankful to have met all of these great people.

Ivana, Brendan and I hitting up Burlington for some frozen yogurt at Orange Leaf!

Callie and I at iHop! I met her through Kathryn and Lily this semester.

Ivana being sassy after our photojournalism class!

A picture of the entire cast of Much Ado About Nothing that some SMC students put on downtown last night! It was incredible.

Clearly, this semester has been nothing short of amazing. While it did have its stressful and low points, those were nothing compared to all of the love I've experienced this semester from all of these incredible people.

Of course I miss my friends who are gone as well, but I don't think I would've been able to experience things quite the same if they hadn't left.

Of course there's my best friend Jesse, who took this semester off to pursue his dreams and train with the Navy. I've had so many good times with him and I can't wait until he's back!

Cait and I last semester before going out to a friend's. She's studying abroad in Ecuador this semester! I miss her so much.

Lauren and I last year at the Champlain Valley Fair. Hard to believe this was almost 2 years ago! She's studying abroad in Morocco currently and I definitely miss her zaniness!

Sheila and I at the Champlain Valley Fair last year. She's currently in London studying abroad, but she's actually coming home in about a week and I'll be able to see her when she comes to move her younger sister Maggie out for the year! I can't wait.

I'm so sorry if you read all of this because I know it's long, but this was definitely eye-opening for me to see how much has changed, how much I've grown personally, and how excited I am for my senior year at St. Michael's with both old and new friends! All it takes is putting yourself out there, and I wish I'd realized that a lot sooner.