Author: hcwebdev

On Saturday, the Class of 2014 moved in. It’s quite strange to see the number 2014 on campus. The Mass of the Holy Spirit went extremely smoothly, too (Bill and I were successful in gracefully laying out the giant corporal). It was the first time since my freshman year that the Mass has been held outside, and we had amazing weather. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the temperature was at least manageable, unlike my freshman year. As I served the Blood of Christ to the crowd of over 2400 people, I took my first good look at the Class of 2014. I have to be honest with you – I don’t remember being that small. Okay, at 5’2″, I’m quite small physically. But I don’t remember looking any different than I do now. Who knows – maybe it’s that gleam of innocence of never spending an all-nighter that was shining in all of their eyes. But that realization brought me back to my own experience on Freshman move-in day (for the hilarious story, read the post below), my own Freshman Orientation, and my first few days and classes on campus (fun fact: tomorrow will be the four year anniversary of me receiving this post. Cakes may be sent to my HC box number. :)). Serving at the Mass was quite nostalgic in itself. It made me think about my time here, and made me relive all of those memories that made me realize that Holy Cross was truly the place for me. Now, I won’t have any chick flick moments on the blog (I’ll save that for May), but sharing in the Mass made me realize just how much I’ve grown from that scared and crying freshman back on that scorching day in August to the calm and collected senior (HAH. I know, I know – that’s a good one, right?) guiding freshmen to the Mass. It’s amazing what can happen in a matter of four years, right? It also made me realize how happy I am to be back at Holy Cross for my senior year; Oxford was an amazing experience, but it is good to be back.

Of course, participating in the Mass of the Holy Spirit always makes me feel better about my own Mass. At the end of the Mass, Paul announces the blessing. Almost instantaneously, one parent and/or freshman will start to cry. Then it just works like a domino effect throughout the rest of the congregation. To those freshmen who cried – don’t worry; that blessing always gets the best of us.

Tomorrow is the first day of classes; my schedule is a bit wonky this year since I’m taking two seminars, a lecture, and writing my thesis as a part of both the College Honors Program and the English Honors Program. As a result, I don’t have classes on Mondays or Fridays (warning: results not typical until your senior year). Tomorrow, I have to work at Kimball until 10:15, and then I have Apocalypticism Through the Ages with Prof. Murphy. Later on at night, I have a seminar for English Honors Program called Research Methods…and so it all begins. Hold on tight – it’s going to be an adventure this year filled with applications, interviews, and enjoying my last year on the Hill!

Today is an absolutely gorgeous day in Worcester, but as I was walking from Healy to Hogan (so a total of ten seconds), I realized that there was practically no one outside. Just wait until tomorrow, though – Freshmen Move-in Day is tomorrow. You never would expect that such a hectic day is going to occur tomorrow when everyone on campus is just so peaceful. Of course, thinking about the events of tomorrow made me remember my very own move-in day Freshman year…Now it’s okay to look back on it and laugh, but at the time, I was not in a good mood at all. We were allowed to start moving into our dorms at 9:00 or so, but we hit so much traffic coming from our week long vacation on Cape Cod. We didn’t arrive at Holy Cross until 1:00. As we scrambled to pick up packages, sort out my reading list, and attempt to make my side of the room inhabitable, I picked up the schedule of events for the day; I was shocked. I was supposed to pick up my ID by 1:00 pm., and we had Mass at 4. The world stopped for about five minutes as I attempted to soak all of that in. A) I didn’t have my ID. B) Mass was at 4:00, which was in just a mere three hours. I had sheets on the bed, and that was about it. Suddenly, my sister snapped me out of my stunned reverie. When I told my parents that we only had until 4:00, they went into overdrive mode. And that’s when it all hit me – I was actually a freshman at college. After Mass, I’d be on my own. Like I said, it’s funny to look back on all of this…now. At the time, I was experiencing such a different range of emotions: from excitement to nervousness, from anticipation to sheer dread. And, yes, I will admit it – I did cry during the Mass and when I left my parents. But, as I told my parents, my Holy Cross experience had nowhere to go but up after that day. And it truly has gone up from there. So, tomorrow when I’m working at Kimball, walking around campus, and helping out at the Mass of the Holy Spirit, I know it’s going to be quite nostalgic, especially if I see any freshmen crying (little caveat here: there is no shame in crying! If your parents are anything like mine, they’ll just make fun of you for the rest of your life.).
If any freshmen read this before your big day tomorrow, know that it is a stressful day. You might cry (either tears of joy or sorrow), or you might remain emotionless. Whatever your reaction is to moving in, welcome to the Hill. You’re going to have a fantastic four years here.

When I was on the plane from London to Atlanta, it didn’t hit me that I would be starting my senior year in less than three weeks. After spending a week at home and a week on Cape Cod, I’m back on campus quicker than I realized. I arrived on campus on Monday, and my parents and sister left on Tuesday afternoon. As I was settling in to my single in Healy (yes, it is quite nice!), it really started to sink in: I’m a senior. Being back on campus was quite strange at first, but my professors and friends stopped me whenever I was walking around campus and talked to me about my year and what happened at Holy Cross whilst I was away. Although so much happened while I was abroad, I am happy that I did study abroad. If you followed my blog, my year at Oxford was fantastic. I was able to pursue more specialized Medieval classes that Holy Cross didn’t offer, and I was also able to lay a solid foundation for graduate work. And (some might argue more importantly!), I was exposed to a new culture, a new education system, and new people. I was able to explore England and Europe, and I made lasting friendships. But after walking through Fenwick on Tuesday afternoon, I realized that, as incredible as my year abroad was, it is good to be back. Classes haven’t started yet, and I know that it’s going to be a bit of a challenge to transition from the tutorial style to the lecture style, but I am excited for my senior year to truly begin.

Sorry about the lack of recent updates. The reason why I haven’t posted in quite some time is because a) I was traveling with my sister and then b) I was packing up to leave England.

I know. I know. I said it – I actually left England.

My sister arrived in the middle of July, and I had finished a bulk of my research prior to her arrival. The next morning, we headed off to Rome, and we spent four days exploring the Eternal City. I felt quite bad for Caitie at certain points since I was going off and being a typical Classics nerd. An American couple actually followed us around the Colosseum as I was going off about the history of the building (thank you, Prof. Ellen Perry!). After our amazing four days in Rome, we headed off to Paris, where we visited the Louvre, Versailles, the Arc de Triomphe, and, of course, the Eiffel Tower. Needless to say, after our eight days in Rome and Paris, Caitie and I had eaten more than our fill of excellent food. In order to return to England, we took a ferry from Calais to Dover. It was a bit more roundabout than the Chunnel would’ve been, but seeing the white cliffs of Dover was definitely worth the extra travel time. After exploring London and Oxford for a bit, Caitie and I then headed off to Dublin and Cork for a few days (don’t you love Ryanair’s cheap flights?!). Whilst we spent most of our time there exploring the pubs and checking out the Guinness brewery, we also saw the Book of Kells at Trinity College and I stopped at as many spots mentioned in James Joyces’ Ulysses as possible. Our return from Ireland, though, signaled that we only had three days left in England. In addition to seeing the major sites, we spent one of our last nights in London and took a river boat cruise on the Thames at night. I promise, photos will be uploaded! After that, we spent our last two days in Oxford packing everything up and saying good-bye to all of my friends. I really cannot believe that I accumulated that much stuff over the course of a year. I left England on Monday, and I’ve been home since.

So, what am I doing right now? Well, life just picked right back up when I stepped off the plane.I’m currently sorting things out for the GRE tests this upcoming fall; I’m also organizing everything for my senior (and final!) year at Holy Cross. I already purchased a majority of my books, and I’m (trying to, at least) packing up all of my clothes and other necessities. Honestly, after packing everything that I needed for a year into two suitcases, this task really isn’t that daunting anymore! Ballroom is already starting with a couple of major events in September (we’re hosting our first workshop and our third social), and Cecilia and I are already working on making this an extremely competitive team this year.

I can’t believe that I’ll be leaving for Massachusetts on Wednesday, then in Cape Cod for a week (my life is so tough, I know! :D), and then I’ll be back at Holy Cross for the 23rd of August. Hello, senior year!

In exactly one month, I will be on my return flight to America (yes, I have caught on that the only reason why my sister is coming to “visit” me is to drag me onto that plane). It still really hasn’t hit me. I have it in my mind that I’ll wake up every morning and go off to the Radcliffe Camera or that I’ll hop into London to go visit the British Museum (which, by the way, was the best four hours of my life!) or another site. All good things must come to an end, though.

So how am I spending my last month of my year abroad? Right now, I’m spending my this week studying and dancing. My last competition with Rubies is on Sunday. Unfortunately, though, I have to learn how to lead the ballroom dances in about…a day. Excellent! As long as I survive one round, I think I’ll be okay. We’ll see how it all goes. I am trying to plan a trip to Exeter Cathedral, but the trains aren’t cooperating with me. On July 12th, though, my sister arrives, and we’re going to spend a week in Europe and a couple of days in Ireland. Within that time frame, I’ll still be studying and dancing whenever I have a spare moment in Oxford, but I think I’ll be focusing more on spending my last couple of days with my friends. It’s all coming to a quick end, but it’s actually quite perfect. Most of my British friends are going on holiday the week that I’m leaving, so we all have to say goodbye anyway. However, I don’t want to think about August 2nd at 1:20 p.m.; I really just want to focus on studying, traveling, and dancing (my goodness, my life is awful) in the time that I have left in jolly old England.

One of my Holy Cross friends, Margaret, reminded me today that we have less than two months before we return to Holy Cross. Um. I’m going to be a senior in less than two months. It seems quite distant (literally and figuratively) since I’m about 4,000 miles away from Worcester. However, I know it’s coming, and I know that August 22nd (the day I move in to my sweeeeeet single in Healy!) will be here practically instantaneously. It’s frightening and exciting at the same time. Senior year is going to quite busy (especially in first semester), but I’m quite excited for it.

Speaking of Senior year (aaaaah!), my research for my senior thesis is going quite well. The libraries at Oxford are quite different during the summer than during term time. Firstly, there are so many more students during term time. It’s so quiet now – like eerily quiet. Secondly, the libraries aren’t open as late, which makes me sad. And, the most devastating difference of all is that the Upper Rad Cam is closed for the summer. I know. I know. The audacity that these brits have sometime astounds me too.

Summer in Oxford is gorgeous, though. The Catholic Chaplaincy is just a couple of feet away from the towpath along the Thames River, so I take my bike out for a ride along the river every morning (sounds quite romantic, doesn’t it?). Luckily, the weather has been extremely nice, so let’s hope that it stays like this for the next five weeks!

On Tuesday, all of my Holy Cross and American friends left to start their summer back in America, and I moved into the Catholic Chaplaincy to begin my summer in Oxford. On Tuesday afternoon, I received text messages from my American friends to let me know that they arrived at Heathrow and were waiting for their planes; Margaret ended hers with, “Well, this is the last time that I’ll be using my British mobile!” That’s when it hit me. My year abroad is rapidly coming to an end. It hit me even more square in the nose last night when I helped Sam pack up his room; he’s moving to London in the next couple of days. Yszi is still hanging around the city to complete some research, but she’s also going back home on the weekends. Lorna is finishing her exams today, and then she’s off back to Liverpool. It’s just weird to watch a city in which I’ve lived for the past nine months empty so rapidly over the course of a couple of days. I will admit that I was wondering whether I made the right choice to stay here during the summer on Tuesday. As my friends talked about eating American burgers, sleeping in their own beds, and driving their cars, I will admit that I was jealous that they get to go home. Suddenly, the wise words of my parents regarding this summer were ringing in my ears. However, I now know that I made the right choice because as I was moving into the Catholic Chaplaincy, I realized that I’m not ready to leave Oxford yet. Although I really wanted to go home on Tuesday (isn’t that supposed to happen toward the beginning of your study abroad experience?), I know that I would’ve been extremely unhappy if I actually did go home. There’s so much more that I want to see and do in Oxford. There are so many books that I need to read for my senior thesis. There’s so much that I still need to explore in England. So, although I’d love an American burger right now, I’m quite excited for the different experience in Oxford that awaits me this summer.

For those of you who don’t know, I’m staying in Oxford until the beginning of August. I decided (read: begged my parents) to stay so that I could get a jump start on researching my senior thesis. It’s going to be a tough transition, since after I leave England in the beginning of August, I have a week at home and then I’m back in Massachusetts to start my senior year. I’m also not going home for Thanksgiving (I’m dancing in England instead), so the next time that I’ll be in Georgia for a prolonged period of time is Christmas Break. Wow.
Anyway, the JYAs have started leaving (one girl on my floor actually left about two weeks ago). Iain left yesterday, and a majority of the other students are leaving early Monday and Tuesday mornings. It’s kind of weird to think that they’ll all be home in a couple of days and I’ll still be here. I’m not complaining – please don’t misunderstand me (especially you, Mom and Dad. I’m not coming home for a while!). I’d be lying, though, if I said that there were times that I wish I was going home within the next couple of days. It’d be fantastic to not have a dishwasher or to not worry about an exchange rate. Yes, I do miss my family and my sugary American breakfast cereals. I miss driving my car and being able to be at destination A in five minutes. Most importantly, I miss my mom’s cooking (see, Mom! I do love you!). Although I miss the comforts of home, I’m excited to stay here for another two months. I’m quite glad now that I took on all of those shifts at Kimball! It’s going to be a different experience in Oxford without the JYAs. Most of my dance friends will be here during the summer, but it will be weird without my American friends. I’m excited for the upcoming summer, though. It’s going to be filled with research for my thesis, trips throughout the United Kingdom and Europe, and dancing. Of course, that means that I’ll be existing on pasta. Mom, maybe you could come over here…?

I had my last tutorial as an Oxford undergraduate (notice what I did there!) today. Coincidentally, it happened to be with the Senior Tutor at Mansfield College, Dr. Lucinda Rumsey, and she asked me what I thought of this entire year. Let me be perfectly blunt: This year has been the best year of my life (yes, I know that I have many years ahead of me, but roll with me, people!). With regards to academics, I’ve been able to study topics in depth with some of the world’s greatest medievalists. Taking a course on Paleography with Ralph Hanna is something about which most undergraduate (and graduate!) Medieval Studies students dream. I’ve been so blessed to work with such amazing scholars who are so passionate and at the top of their field. Now, I’m not saying that the faculty and staff at Holy Cross aren’t at the top of their field and/or not passionate (quite the opposite, really), but the one-on-one tutorial system has provided me with such amazing opportunities to explore these in-depth topics in such a detailed meeting. On top of that, the flexibility of the tutorial system allowed me to choose (and, in some cases, design) classes that I simply wouldn’t have had the opportunity to take at Holy Cross. In case you haven’t noticed, I like the Medieval period. While Holy Cross is great for introduction and intermediate level Medieval courses, I wanted more specialized  courses, which resulted in me taking The History of the English Language, The Age of Bede, Medieval Paleography, Medieval Female Mystical Literature, and The History of the British Isles: 1045-1215. Furthermore, the tutorial system operates very much on what you put into it is what you get out of it. Yes, I guess that you could argue that American universities operate this way as well. But the tutorial system is a bit different, since you literally have to teach yourself (and the tutors are there to tell you if you’ve screwed up or not). In addition, this year has really refined my research and writing abilities. When you only have a week to learn everything about a topic and then condense an argument into 2,500 words, you learn how to refine your writing style. So, this year, the academic side of life has been one of the best years of my life. Every course that I took was engaging and invigorating, and each tutor challenged me and pushed me far beyond what I thought were my capabilities. These academic opportunities that I’ve had this past year will also hopefully serve me well when I begin graduate school applications (*gulp*). But let’s not talk about that, shall we? Let’s just enjoy today and the fact that I’m free from actual school work until September 1st, which is when classes begin at Holy Cross. Then again, let’s not talk about that either!

Yes, everyone, the day has finally arrived! It’s June 15th! You know what that means, right? Today commemorates the…wait for it…

795th Anniversary of the Signing (well, seal-affixing)  of Magna Carta!!!

I know that you have all had this day marked on your calendars for a while; I expect that you all are at your local pubs celebrating. Me? What am I doing to celebrate this momentous day? Well, the celebrations for me started on Friday. My last essay for Hugh was the following question: How far did Magna Carta fulfill the intentions of its makers? We spent a good hour and a half talking about Magna Carta (and, by that, I mean Hugh talked for an hour and a half whilst I rapidly tried to write down the brilliant things that he was saying), so that was a great way to kick off the celebrations.

On Saturday, I ventured to Runnymede, which is the meadow in which Magna Carta was signed. John was at Windsor, and the barons were in Staines; Runnymede is in the middle of those two. The issue with all of these medieval sites to which I’ve been venturing this year is that they’re either a) in the middle of nowhere (i.e., Sutton Hoo) or b) in the middle of a huge highway (i.e. Runnymede). Mom and Dad, if you’re reading this, don’t worry – I’m fine, and I’m always safe. Always. Anyway, there really isn’t anything to the meadows – they’re just meadows, which was fantastic. The weather was actually quite beautiful, so I was able to frolic in the meadows for a bit. There are three memorials scattered throughout Runnymede; one, which was set up by the American Bar Association, commemorates the signing of Magna Carta. Another commemorates those who served in the British Armed Forces. The last one commemorates JFK. Fun fact: The land on which the memorials dedicated to Magna Carta and JFK are actually American territory. So, in essence, I went home for the weekend. But, yes, I was able to visit where the barons negotiated with a) each other and b) King John and eventually where Magna Carta was signed. It was awesome. That’s one of the coolest things about this year – I’ve been able to physically be in the same places about which I’ve studied. Talk about making Beowulf come to life! Field trips are kind of hard to arrange when you’re a medieval studies student in America. Here, though, you just hop on a train and *bam* – you’re at the same place where Raedwald most likely stood.

More medieval nerdery related to Magna Carta will happen shortly, so watch this space.

Now, I’m not going to go into what Magna Carta exactly established (FYI – the 1215 original statement did not, in fact, create English democracy as we know it; that came with the later reissues), but it is a document worth celebrating nonetheless. So go out and show your pride for this document!