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One of the greatest aspects of the English Honors Program is the community. All eight of us meet in a seminar every Wednesday night, and Prof. Gettleman advises us on how to articulate our research and better define our approach to writing our thesis. It’s honestly just relieving to hear everyone’s experience with the thesis process. Well, tonight, we had…wait for it…PIZZA. Yes, if you are crazy enough to be a member of two honors societies, you are more likely to have free pizza throughout your senior year. It’s not a bad trade off, honestly. 🙂

So now I’m almost finished with my work for this week. I have literally been going non-stop since September 1st. I cannot wait for Fall Break. I’m leaving on Friday for a conference in San Diego, and then I’m leaving San Diego on Sunday (yes, it’s a short trip, unfortunately) for Atlanta. I’ll be home until Thursday, and I plan on sleeping for a majority of my time home. Don’t worry, Prof. Gettleman or anyone else associated with my thesis – I will be working on it. Well, at least a little bit. But now it’s back to my paper!

There have been times in the past couple of weeks where I’ve just been running around and trying to get so much accomplished. Between organizing the ballroom team’s intercollegiate socials and competitions, writing my thesis, attending my classes and finishing my work, and applying for fellowships and graduate schools, I’ve been so busy that I’ve forgotten the bigger picture sometimes.

Last night at Ballroom practice, I was off in my own little world. I will admit that I do miss dancing at Oxford simply because of the intense nature of the team; at Holy Cross (or even in America in general), we simply can’t run a program similar to Oxford’s. In the Advanced lesson last night, a sophomore who I didn’t know all that well asked to stay for the lesson even though she explained that she was only Intermediate. My coaches agreed to let her stay since it’s always good to challenge yourself. As usual, there weren’t enough guys for all of the girls, so I acted as a leader (boys are called leaders and girls are called followers). Coral said that she was having difficulty understanding what the coaches were saying, so I attempted to break it down for her. That’s when I realized that Coral is partially deaf. Even for those of you who don’t dance will recognize how difficult it must be to dance without being able to hear the music or the instruction. Right when I realized the situation, it made me step back and take a look at the bigger picture. I’ve got a lot going on in my life right now, but I have always used dance as a release for pent up energy, aggression (it happens sometimes, and jive is always good for that!), or sadness (it happens sometimes too. Not that often, though!). I even just use walking around campus whilst listening to my iPod as a release. I couldn’t even imagine dancing being difficult because I couldn’t hear the music – I don’t know what I would do. After Coral let me know the situation, I started to break it down more for her, and she taught me some helpful bits of sign language that would make it easier for her to understand. By the end of the night, Coral was able to “hear” more of the music and was able to dance the routine throughout. When I told her that she danced extremely well during that lesson, her smile was enough to get me through my late night of applications and essays.

Honestly, welcome to an education at Holy Cross. I always conclude my tours by saying that Holy Cross asks you to be a man or a woman for others and to share your talents with the community. Last night just made me really step back and realize the talents that I have and the opportunities that Holy Cross has given me to use them for the benefit of others.

In some less heavy news, please enjoy some of the photos from the Ballroom Team’s social that was held this past Friday. We held a 1950’s sockhop and we even had a Lindy Hop lesson. We also had a great turn out, and it was great to see so many ballroom teams from New England.

I think I’m speaking for every senior – this is the busiest that I have ever been at Holy Cross, and it’s only the second week of classes. What is going on?

The classes that I am taking are fantastic this term. My Honors Seminar is Apocalypticism Through the Ages taught by Prof. Murphy (you probably remember that name from first semester of my sophomore year). In this class, we’re exploring Apocalypticism from its pre-Judaism roots and moving right up to the current trend amongst fundamentalist Christians. It is absolutely fascinating. I’m also taking Fr. Brooks’ seminar (maybe that’s why I’m so busy…) on Contemporary Christology. In this class, we’re going to select one theologian that we’ll study for the rest of the semester; at the end, we’ll present our theologian and defend our assessment of his/her theology to a panel consisting of Fr. Brooks and three to four outside professors. I think the final exam is the real reason why I decided to take the course! I’m also taking Shakespeare; how can you major in English and not take a class on the Bard? My fourth course is dedicated to my thesis; Professor Kee is serving as my advisor, and Professor Ireland is serving as my reader. I also have about five other professors who are helping me in the topic (I’ll dedicate another post to that one; it’s just too long to get into here!). I’m also enrolled in the English Honors Program’s seminar, Research Methods, although it doesn’t technically count as a class.

Although I’m running around like crazy, there are perks to this academic schedule. I don’t have classes on either Mondays or Fridays. In addition, there are perks of being a crazy student who is enrolled in two honors programs – I have access to the English Faculty Common Room. 🙂 It’s the little things in life…

P.S. In other very exciting (aka…not really) news, Prof. Pierce is sitting at the table next to mine at Crossroads as we speak/type. She’s currently interviewing a Medieval Theologian to join the Theology department. So, for those out there that think that there aren’t jobs in Medieval studies…HAH! Well, those jobs are few and far between. Hm. Maybe I should just become a professional ballroom dancer. My parents would love that… 🙂

Since I’ve been back at Holy Cross, I’ve had a couple of moments where I’ve realized how much I’ve missed Holy Cross. Last night, though, was the biggest moment so far. I was lectoring at the 10:00 Mass last night. I was an active member of the Catholic Chaplaincy in Oxford, and the Jesuits there did make me feel like I was part of a community. However, Campus Ministry at Holy Cross is simply a community that cannot be replicated. We are, in a word, crazy. When I arrived at St. Joseph’s last night, we were all running around as usual. I came into the sacristy to see Fr. Lynch and Paul Melley (director of liturgical music) cracking up at some random joke, and then my friend, Bill, almost caught his hair on fire. We all started cracking up around then. Then there was a ridiculously impossible word to pronounce in my reading, so Bill and I started cracking up as we tried to figure out how to pronounce it. And, right before Mass, Paul went over some of the songs to be used in the liturgy, and he started out by saying, “Come on – this song is easy! You all can sing it!” Of course, he sang it in his beautiful liturgical voice. It was then that I just had a moment when I realized how much I missed this particular aspect of Holy Cross when I was away last year (and, no, this realization was not enhanced by the S’mores offered after Mass). Yes, we all take our Catholic heritage and our participation in Mass seriously, but we all have a great time (maybe too much of a good time!) doing it as well.

On Wednesday, I started my final year at Holy Cross/my final year before I hit the real world.*

That’s frightening.

Anyway, one of the questions that most of my friends and professors have asked me since I’ve been back is the following: Is it weird to be back at Holy Cross? To an extent, it is. My daily schedule has changed dramatically (no more 20+ hours of dance a week!), and I have to get used to eating at Kimball instead of cooking for myself. But I thought that I would have the most difficulty readjusting myself to the American way of higher education. Honestly, this hasn’t been that big of an issue. My classes this semester are, for the most part, self-driven and mimic the tutorial system a lot. I’m taking two seminars and a lecture; the lecture operates more like a seminar than anything. I’m also writing my Senior thesis, which is exactly like the tutorial system anyway. You know what has been the most difficult part, though? Hearing a bunch of different American accents and not hearing any British accents. Everyone speaks just like me!

*I realize that some people think that graduate school really isn’t the real world…so, I guess that we’ll just go with that this is my last year at Holy Cross. Sound good? 🙂

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!