New Experiences

This year has been a battle with the limitations of the 24 hour day....Granted, I do not have to spend any part of those 24 hours knocking on doors for fire drills, confiscating alcohol bottles, or calling Campus Safety about a fight, but things have been busy. Below I have some words of advice and some stories I wanted to share with you.

Lesson #1: Partake in finding those hole in the wall places and enjoy the community!
This past weekend I spent 10 hours on a my CAPTA analysis and then headed to East Lansing for the weekend with my family. I hit the road with an overnight back sans my laptop and books and reveled in the fact I would be away from the books for approximately 32 hours. I had my first Crunchy's experience-sounds super divvy and greasy but the food is great, the drink specials astound, and it is the perfect way to get in the mood for a college football game. While we did not indulge in the bucket of beer, we did enjoy our pre-game celebration. Believe me-we'll be going back.

Lesson #2: Meet new friends, even if its just for the night!
Readers, this is not a suggestion to partake in one night stands or to make some wasted friends at a local bar. Go sit in a college football student section! I graduated from a small liberal arts Catholic college-our basketball games were probably the most well-attended events. Going to MSU and sitting in the upper bowl with thousands of my not-so closest friends was fantastic. This community has its own way of communicating: listening for the cue of the band or slamming our cabooses onto the metal bleachers to row together or to calling out the one Wisconsin kid sitting with his rather embarrassed girlfriend. Green and white were the appropriate colors in dress and bottle water and hot pretzels and hot dogs were the foods of choice and convenience to stave off the effects of the mass consumption of alcohol that occurred earlier in the day. My throat is sore because I bled green that night.

Lesson #3: Take the time to eat a bowl of chili at midnight.
AKA celebrate the little and big moments in life. After the game nine of us sat around my sister's and her friend's apartment eating white chicken chili and replaying every note worthy play from the game. Talking until two in the morning and then sleeping until it was actually light out was a treat as well, especially for a girl that gets up at 5:30 to work with 3 to 6 year old children. :-)

Moral of the story: take the time to enjoy life. Often I find myself saying "I don't have time", "I will never have time", "I shouldn't take the time". But guess what? You should take the time and reward yourself every once in a while. My friends find something rewarding this week to do for yourself-it'll make you a happier, more patient, and more loving person.