Advice & Adventures from the Start of Second Semester

Welcome back! A new semester at Holy Cross means continued weekly posts filled with updates about my life on the Hill, and though I’ve only been back for a week, what a whirlwind of a week it has been! Obviously, the talk of the town  has been the mixed feelings of uneasiness and excitement over new classes starting, but for me, I’m personally leaning more on the optimistic side. All of my classes are in areas I’m passionate about and interested in studying further (English, creative writing, education), and I even have some friends in my classes, which is a HUGE sigh of relief! To help prepare for the semester, I took a peek at my class syllabi ahead of time and organized all of my due dates into a massive color-coded spreadsheet (I am a big fan of color-coding anything and everything I can), which was enormously helpful. For one, it was great to get a glimpse of what my semester would look like before it actually started, and as life got busier it was extremely beneficial to have the document always open on my computer to keep me organized and grounded.

Speaking of things that keep me grounded, reconnecting with my friends and spending time with them has also been quite the gift this past week. Hectic game nights, afternoons at the Jo, long dinners at Kimball and CAB-sponsored song trivia made it feel like no time had passed at all, reminding us that Holy Cross is truly our second home. I am very thankful for the time we were able to spend together, and I’m looking forward to creating more memories as the semester progresses.

And of course, it wouldn’t be a New England winter without mentioning the snow that coated the hills of Worcester this past week. I was thrilled to check off a Holy Cross bucket list item earlier this week: sledding down Freshman Field (no injuries today!), and what better way to end the week than going ice skating with a bunch of Holy Cross students at the Worcester Common Oval! (shoutout to SGA for organizing the event!) I will admit- I was far from the best ice skater around, but being able to laugh at every stumble alongside my friends, surrounded by the loving support of the Holy Cross community, ensured the smile stayed on my face.

Stay tuned for a similar summary of next week’s adventures- thank you always for reading!