A fun but relaxing weekend

This weekend was a good time to spend some time with some friends, catch up on some sleep, and work through my stack of homework!

Friday night, one of my roommates and I went to the brandddd spankin' new Chipotle that finally opened in Erie!  For all of you who come from areas that have Chipotle, you can only imagine how much of a struggle it was to survive two whole years of college without one in Erie!  Luckily, though, someone finally figured it out and opened one here!  It was very delicious and definitely worth waiting in the line that wrapped around the entire restaurant!

My new friend!

After that, we went to Millcreek Mall just down the street and played with the puppies at the pet store!  This is an activity that almost all Mercyhurst students will probably do at some point while they go to school here.  They are SOOOOOO adorable and fun and gives you a little slice of puppy love when you miss your family pet at home.  The only bad part is that it is SOOOO HARDDDD to send them back in the cage when you leave!  I hate that fact that I can't take them all home with me!



sorry, this is blurry!



Saturday was an Open House on campus so I gave a tour for Ambassadors.  Lots of prospective students came to check out the campus and see all the awesome things that Mercyhurst has to offer.  And after the Open House, I spent the rest of the day being a lazy bum and catching a little R and R.  Sometimes you just need one of those days!  That night was a Mercyhurst tradition called "Haunted Hurst".  I didn't go this year but it is a reallyyyy cool event!  You may not know this, but our campus is known for being haunted, so ambassadors take groups of students on a haunted tour throughout campus and you get to experience haunted house-style fright right here on our own campus!  I  usually get really scared, even though I know the ghosts are my fellow students!  I heard it went really really well this year, even though I didn't go!



The WHOLE gang!



On Sunday, we had a social event for Ambassadors!  We went bowling at a local bowling alley and it was SOOOO fun!  As you can see by the pictures, lots of people participated.  We even had a contest for what team got the best score.  I, being the super sporty and coordinated person that I am (not), got the worst score on my team :(.  But it was ok because we still ended up with third place overall and I had fun anyway!



This week is a veryyyyy busy week full of meetings, paper-writing, and preparations for Halloween!  I can't wait for all the things that are coming up!

I'm SO EXCITEDDDD!

I just had one of the most exciting things happen to me in a really long time!  Earlier tonight, I tried out for Laker cheerleading (after not cheering for about THREEE YEARS!)  And guess what...I MADE IT!  I am now officially a cheerleader for 2010-11 Mercyhurst Basketball season!!!!  I am sooooo excited!

Sports at Mercyhurst are HUGE.  We have 24 sports teams (that is A LOT for a school our size!), so basically where ever you go on campus, you will probably find someone that plays some kind of sport.  We have just about every sport you can think of, everything from basketball and football to field hockey, lacrosse, and water polo.  And we are a Division II school (except for hockey, that's Division I) so the games are really fun to go to!  Plus, they are free for students to get in!

I have been to a few different sports games, like football, basketball, and hockey.  Our teams are usually fairly good, so who doesn't enjoy seeing a winning game??  And now I get to cheer for them! 

We also have a Laker Spirit Club, which is really cool because they give out free stuff all the time.  You can get tshirts, clappers, cowbells, you name it!  Anyone can be involved and they just get together and support the awesome Lakers at games every week!

I'm gonna go bask in my excited-ness about being a cheerleader again, so until next time!

Fall break!

Hello again! 
It's been a a little while since I have posted because I have been SO very busy!  Last week I studied reallyyyyyyyy hard for midterms and then it was fall break!  And right now I technically don't have time to be doing this, but I needed a little mental break from my paper writing...lol.

But, I had a really amazing, entirely too short fall break!  It's a really nice break because it really splits up the term and gives my brain a chance to recooperate after midterms.  This break was especially good because I spent it visiting my boyfriend at his school.  We had a lot of fun and I got to spend the silly Hallmark holiday of Sweetest Day with him!  He took me out to dinner :).

There are a lot of really really fun ways you can spend your fall break.  Some students just go home, but others choose to use this long weekend as a time to take a roadtrip somewhere fun with friends.  My freshman year a few friends and I stayed at my house is Bay Village and spent a day at Cedar Point for Halloweekends.  And last year, my friend from Oklahoma (couldn't go home because it was so far for just a weekend) came to my house and we spent some quality time at home.  I was a little sad to see break end this year but luckily the end of break means there are only 4 more weeks left in this term!  And then it's holiday time!

Here on campus everyone is starting to get ready for Halloween!  I LOVE THIS HOLIDAY!  Costumes, candy, sillyness, it just couldn't be more fun!  My roomies and I have been planning costumes and weekend plans today and it has just gotten me so excited for what's to come!  Hopefully it's a good one this year!

Well...I'm going back to paper-writing, so until we meet again!

Study, Study, Study: Midterms have arrived!

Sooo, as we go through a long period of endless raining, we are also going through the wonderful time that is midterms.  Everyone on campus is studying to take what are usually the first tests of the year and it is certainly a very tense time.  However, even though I seem to be doing more school work lately than fun, midterms also means that this term is already halfway over! 

This wonderfullllllll thought is due to the awesome Mercyhurst trimester system.  A lot of people outside of Mercyworld hear the word "trimester" and think, "What on Earth is that??"  It is very rare nowadays, especially with most schools moving into a semester system.  But, let me tell you, trimesters are the way to go!  They are a lot like quarters in that we have three 10-week terms every year.  Each term we take 3-4 classes. 

This is really nice because it means at any certain time you only have 3-4 classes worth of homework.  At semester schools, you could have to do 8 classes worth of homework at once!  That's a lottttt of reading and papers!  It's also really convenient because if there happens to be a class that you hate (there is no doubt you will have a few of those), that class will be over really soon.  I love the fast pace and the fact that we constantly change scenery throughout the year.  You get to meet three sets of friends in class every year, plus we get really looooong breaks between terms that other schools don't get!

So basically, even though midterms are stressinggggg me out right now, the trimester system is totally worth the stress at the end of the day!  Just another one of the many reasons that Mercyhurst is such an awesome school to choose!

Love off the Hill, not always the easiest

Hi Guys!

Many of you blog readers out there are likely still in high school.  And high school is an amazing time for dating.  The hard part is what to do once you reach the end of your senior year.  Some boyfriends and girlfriends go to the same schools, but most end up in different schools.  Sometimes those schools are hours apart, in different states, or even across the country from each other.  Long distance relationships are really tough and unfortunately do not always last.



My boyfriend and I!



However, I can personally give some insight on what it is like to have my boyfriend not be a Laker along with me and how making it work definitely is possible.  My boyfriend and I did not start dating in high school, but we are from the same home town.  He pretty amazing but it certainly can make my time at the ' Hurst much less enjoyable.  Even though I LOVE it here, there are times where I would rather be anywhere but not with him.  If you are one of those people who's heart is elsewhere (mine is in Ohio...), then let me tell you what I do to cope!

I think the thing that helps me the most is talking to that person everyday.  Whether it is texting, a phone call, or facebook chat (thank you technology!), we are almost constantly in connection with each other.  Another really good way of keeping in connection is through skyping.  Then its like he (or she, for those boys out there) is right there with you.  And my personal favorite way of coping is frequent visits, whether its both going home for the weekend or going to each other's schools. 

While the times in between seeing my significant other suck and i often miss him, I do have a lot of fun at Mercyhurst with all the fun stuff going on and everything I am involved with on campus.  I keep myself busy so that I don't have too much of a chance to miss him.  And another advantage?  I probably get a lot more homework done than couples that both go to Mercyhurst!  The times when I would probably be spending with my other half I fill with school work.  I also work ahead and extra hard before the weekends I leave campus to see him so I can enjoy my time away work-free. 

The point is, while having the person you love far away can make college really really hard (I can't lie and say it will be easy),  it really is possible and there are even some positives!  If you do go to school away from your boyfriend/girlfriend, just promise me you won't let it hold you back from creating your own life at school and enjoying every second you have there!  You only go to college once (...well hopefully) and you have to take full advantage of the time you have!