Bittersweet Finals Week

This past Friday was a momentary day for celebration. It was the last day of classes with both students and professors relieved that they made it through the semester- well almost. Final exams are the now the remaining item standing between us and Christmas break. As I left my room around 11 on Saturday morning, I saw the signs that finals are upon us.

1. Campus grounds were deserted. Everyone is holed up in their study niche.
2. Chatter at the lunch table revolves around these 2 questions: When is your last final? When are you going home for break?
3. The library is now open past midnight.
4. Cookies, hot cocoa, and treats are being offered almost daily and they are being advertised as good ways to 'Take a Study Break' (along with exercise and healthy meals, of course).

Finals week is always a little bittersweet. It's sweet because it's the last hoorah for the semester and a break is so near. The bitter part is the intense studying and minimal interaction with friends before everyone suddenly disappears from campus. Thankfully I have a pretty good exam schedule, with tests on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday all at 10:15. Having them spread out is much less stressful and will give me time to crawl out of my library niche once in a while to see the outside world.

Tonight's candle-light worship service in the CFL will provide the perfect opportunity to de-stress from a full day of studying and remind everyone that the real reason for the season lies not within a classroom or the words in a textbook, but in a manger.

Wishing everyone a safe and merry Christmas!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Last Sunday evening I arrived back to campus to see the Christmas lights glowing around campus as the snow was gently falling. How quickly everything was transformed for the Christmas season! Only 2 weeks of classes and 4 days of finals are scheduled between Thanksgiving break and Christmas break, therefore students are trying to cram in many holiday activities around studying and spending the last remaining moments of the year with friends, myself included.

This past week has been one of the most enjoyable for me this whole semester despite having one final chemistry test before the final exam. On Monday I got to decorate the Legends Fitness Center with tinsel and Christmas lights, which was a nice surprise. My roommate had her first home basketball game on Wednesday so I was really excited to go watch and cheer her on. I love basketball and often wish I was out there on the court playing. So to appease my desire to shoot hoops, I coordinated a basketball game between the ladies and guys on the cross country team. It was a ton of fun, running up and down the court, trying to match up with the taller stronger guys, and bringing back some moves from my high school-playing days. I think we were all laughing and smiling the whole time, just having fun playing around even though many people hadn't had a basketball in their hands in a while.

Then on Thursday night I was treated to a Christmas At Luther performance, and it was amazing. This year, the annual choir and orchestra Christmas concert was being taped for Iowa Public Television, so the CFL (Center for Faith and Life where the concerts are performed) had beautiful Christmas trees and lights put up, as well as beautiful background decorations to put everyone in the Christmas spirit. I really loved just being part of the audience and trying to take it all in. One of my favorite songs of the evening was 'I Saw Three Ships' because during the second or third verse all of the choirs were singing, the orchestra was playing, and bells were chiming from all around the CFL. It was quite an experience, and in my opinion, it definitely topped last year's performance from what I can remember.

To finish out a great week, Saturday was our traditional cross country Snow Football game. A lot of alumni returned to help out the upperclassmen, who would've been struggling due to injuries and the vast number of freshmen and sophomores they would be matching up against. Snow was on the ground and the sun decided to come out, making playing conditions wonderful. The upperclassmen jumped out to a quick lead, but we answered back. Eventually, due to their experience, recruitment of ringers, and good passing skills, the upperclassmen went on quite a run. But, to our credit, we didn't give up and came back with a run of our own. When the score was 7-5 (upperclassmen leading) and we had just scored 3 times in a row, the game was called. I suspect the game was ended out of fear that our comeback would continue with enough force to take over the game. But in any case, the upperclassmen won, as always, and we all headed over to Baker for some hot cocoa and treats to warm up.

This week doesn't promise quite as many fun activities, but there is Christmas in the Union on Wednesday where we can listen to groups sing while enjoying sugar cookies and cocoa. Right now it's easy to forget that finals are just a week away with all of the festivities going on. I'm trying to soak up all the time I can with my friends knowing that I won't see them for over a month because I will be in Ecuador for J-term. I want to enjoy the Christmas season and the company of my friends because before I know it, this most wonderful time of the year will have passed.

My Friend Kay

The summer before my senior year of high school I started volunteering through a business called Aging Services. Each week I would go over to an elderly person's home and read to them. The woman that I got paired up with is in her 80s, is legally blind but still living on her own, and is the only member of her immediate family still alive. Her name is Kay.

Kay and I got along very well from the start. She took me in just like she would a grandchild. Each week I would sit in her living room for an hour or so and we would chat, or I would read something for her. Eventually I started taking her to run errands and she would occasionally treat me to lunch. I would also be treated to her specialty cakes that she loved to bake for her church as well as for my family. We developed quite a relationship.

Now each time I go home for break and visit Kay, she tells me oh just how much she misses me, and that I better not forget about her. She continues to amaze me at how well she is doing considering her health history and that she can't see much at all. This past week when I visited her, listening to her current problems really made me thankful for all of my blessings. I have family close-by, I have my sight, I'm pretty agile and don't have to worry about getting light headed upon standing, and I have so many positive things in my life. It just takes someone like Kay to help me put my life in perspective and to be thankful for what God has blessed me with.

Action, Relaxin', Break Time

It's almost here. I can feel it. Things are looking up because Thanksgiving break is only 2 days away! Count it, one-two! That's it! I am very excited. Fall Break seems like it was forever ago with so many assignments, tests, and cross country races filling the weeks. I am looking forward to a couple of days where I can take a break from homework and stress, some time to just relax.

But I can't let myself relax too soon because I have one more test to get through before my brain will officially be on break. It's hard to make that final push of thorough studying when I know that break is so close. I would love to be on break now, but this test is keeping me tied to my books. At least I can take comfort in knowing that tonight is the last night that I'll have to spend studying. Just one more night, just a few more hours.

I have to admit that these past 3 or 4 days haven't been the most productive due to my relaxed state of mind. On Thursday night the local movie theater was showing three free movies for Luther students who have a student activities card. The theater has a deal with Luther so that there's a free movie night about once a month. So I went with a few friends to the new James Bond movie. We had to stand in line outside of the theater for about 30 minutes because so many students showed up and the doors didn't open until 9pm, with movies starting about 9:15. That got to be pretty chilly, but a nice alternative to studying.

That was the first time I've gone to one of the free movie nights and I thought it was worth the time of waiting in line. I didn't understand much of the story line in the 007 movie, but the action was really cool. I think if I would've seen Casino Royale I would've known more of the story line, but I enjoyed feeling like part of the real world instead of always staying in my Luther bubble. I'm looking forward to a few days of break outside of Luther, but I know I will be ready to come back to my dorm, my friends, and my routine.

Looking Deeper

This semester I'm taking my first education class since I'm planning on majoring in secondary education. This class focuses on the diversity of students that I will potentially be teaching in the future. I have learned a lot so far about laws that exist for helping students with disabilities, as well as programs that are available for gifted students. I have had to think from a totally new perspective- one in which I'm not the student focused on my own needs, but the teacher figuring out how I can reach out to all of my students with different needs.

This week we started looking a little closer into our personal backgrounds and culture since our personal backgrounds could influence how we deal with future students. We started by discussing our ancestry and how much our families know about where we came from. That was a lot of fun hearing how some of my classmates have connections to people who signed the Declaration of Independence or who fought in the civil war.

This week we have an assignment to look up definitions of culture and explain our culture. One of the definitions that I found talked about culture being one's beliefs, social forms, and material traits. So then I had to think about my own beliefs, social forms, and material traits- which wasn't as easy as it sounds. It was fun thinking back to some of the values and rituals that I picked up from my family. One example of a ritual at my house when I was younger, my dad would teach night classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and my mom would make my 2 older siblings and me 'silly suppers' on some of those nights. These silly suppers often included popcorn, apples, crackers and cheese, or pancakes with green food coloring. We always ate dinner together as a family and this was just one memory that sticks out as special, and something that I would want to continue with my own family in the future.

After putting a lot of thought into what I believe and how I formed those beliefs, it was pretty clear that my family and my experiences greatly influenced me. The next part of the assignment now involves comparing my culture with someone with a different culture. I love seeing how everyone is unique and has different beliefs and attitudes based on our experiences growing up. Everyone has their own story to tell, and each of us should take the time to examine our own lives to gain a better understanding of where we come from and why we believe what we do.

Pleasure in the Small Things

It's amazing how much stress can be relieved just by rescheduling an exam. This past week I was supposed to have 2 exams on Friday, and not in easy classes by any means: Organic Chemistry and Human Physiology. On top of that my last cross country meet, a JV-only meet at St. John's College, was on Friday afternoon and the team was leaving at 11 AM. This meant that I would have to take both of my exams back-to-back starting at 7:30 and ending about 10:45, then quickly get down to the vans to leave for the meet. Thankfully, I didn't have to do that.

I arranged to have one of my exams on Monday, which left me a lot more composed and confident in how I could manage to do decently well on both tests. It also gave me a weekend in which I was able to have some fun and revisit some of my favorite things to do:

On the 4 hour drive to St. John's on Friday I cracked open the book Nineteen Minutes (Jodi Picoult) that wasn't assigned for a class! Someone had loaned it to me before Fall Break, and Friday was the first time I actually felt ok sitting down and getting started on it. I love to read. It was so nice being able to lose myself in a book and not be bogged down by real-life responsibilities- or the traffic jam we were stuck in.

On Saturday afternoon I gathered up some friends and shot hoops for a while. Basketball was my first love and getting a ball in my hands always brings on feelings of excitement and comfort. Since it had been a few months since I'd even touched a basketball, I can't say that I was shooting anything but bricks, but it didn't matter, it was fun. After shooting around, I managed to do some cartwheels, round-offs, handstands, and back walk-overs without pulling or straining anything. My muscles had to tap into memories of when I used to do gymnastics in 2nd grade! That running, flipping, and jumping brought a nice adrenaline rush and made me feel like a little girl again, practicing my gymnastics moves all over the house. How I would love to have that care-free feeling more often!

Sometimes doing those small things, like reading a book or doing a cartwheel, can bring just as much pleasure as running with my teammates or doing well on an exam. Small pleasures make life more enjoyable and help to remind me that life is so much more than how I do on a test.

Conference Meet Trick-or-Treat

On Friday the cross country team loaded up 2 charter buses and headed off for Storm Lake, IA where Buena Vista was hosting our Conference Championship Meet on Saturday. From Decorah it was over a 4 hour trip, so we made sure to have plenty of movies along. The mood was one of excitement, not only for the Conference Meet on Saturday, but because of the feeling that Halloween brings to everyone who has memories of dressing up as a youngster and getting loads of candy to either hoard, share, or consume in record time.

We arrived at our motel a little after 10pm. I think that most of us were surprised to see that it was actually a motel, not a 5-star hotel with a pool and hot tub. As I walked into my room that 3 other girls would be sharing with me, 2 of my roommates exclaimed, 'It smells like my grandma's house!' And surely, it did. Never the less, it served the purpose.

At our coaches' direction, the team dressed up in whatever costumes we stuck in our meet bags on the way out the door and went trick-or-treating at the rooms of our fellow teammates. It was a ton of fun since we were at a motel and able to go door-to-door outside in the dark of the night. Some of the costumes were pretty creative and the stash of goodies wasn't bad either.

Some people might not have gotten much sleep Friday night depending on how much of a sugar high they had or how nervous they were for the upcoming race, but Saturday was a successful day never-the-less. The race was held on a golf course that was as flat as a pancake (no complaints about that!) on a day when the weather couldn't have been better. A slight port-a-potty toilet paper crisis occurred early on, but not even that could distract the runners from focusing on the race.

The men raced first at 11 and the women followed at 12. The times were ridiculously fast thanks to the outlay of the course and the level of competition. The Luther men won first place as a team in the varsity race and also in the JV competition. The Luther women took 2nd place to Wartburg in the varsity race, and took first place in the JV competition. It was a successful day all-around, leaving the Norse runners feeling proud of their efforts and excited for things to come. Perhaps we should try to combine Halloween and Conference every year!

The Scary Unknown

Over fall break I participated in Luther's Externship Program where they pair up current students with alumni for a job shadow. This is the second year that Luther has had this program in place to give students an opportunity to narrow down their future career options. I was able to shadow a physical therapist at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for 2 days since I've had the idea of possibly working in the medical field for a little while now. Before doing the externship I didn't know if I wanted to be a physical therapist or not, but I wanted to explore my options and see what was out there. Now I know what I don't want to do.

When signing up for the externship I had expected to be at a rehab clinic working with outpatients. When I think of physical therapy I mostly think of athletes working to get stronger and come back from an injury, because that's the only side of physical therapy I've had any exposure to at all. It didn't even cross my mind that physical therapists work with patients who are currently in the hospital, and it definitely didn't hit me that I'd be shadowing a physical therapist who works only with inpatients and specializes in patients with neural injuries.

So Monday morning I left my house at 6:45 am and didn't return until 6 pm. All day I wore scrubs, walked all over the hospital, and observed some patients who were not in the best situations. A lot of the patients that we worked with were quite elderly and could barely move around in bed without help. Some other patients were located in the ICU after having spinal injuries. It was hard for me to be around that kind of setting where people were so immobile and sick when I knew that that night I was going to be going for a 10 mile long run.

After just one day I had the strong feeling that I do not want to work in a hospital. The atmosphere was just too grim for me. I would rather be working with younger, optimistic athletes who aren't in life or death situations and who can really get some benefit out of the physical therapy. So I haven't ruled out physical therapy totally but if I don't want to work in a hospital then that rules out a huge chunk of other possible jobs. That's scary.

I had been thinking about taking the MCATs after my junior year and applying to medical school. Now that seems to be out the window if I don't want to work in a hospital. All of this thinking about the future makes me feel a bit anxious, leaving me to wonder what in the world I'll be doing in 5 years and whether it will be a fulfilling job or just something I got mixed up in. The future can be a scary thing since I don't know what I'll encounter, but for now I'll just try to live in the here-and-now and take opportunities as they come.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:10-12

The little girl within

I got home Saturday night anxious to plop down and begin my fall break. Most of the other students had already been home relaxing for 24 hours by the time I got the luxury, but then again, most of the students didn't get the opportunity to run through the dissipating fog at the cross country meet in LaCrosse on Saturday morning.

So coming home I definitely had some expectations. You know, some good home-cooked meals and affection, lots of sunshine, and time to de-stress and catch up with my parents. I also expected my parents to see how I'd grown (in wisdom, not height) and changed since they last saw me, and I was more than ready to awe them with my new knowledge of sheep brain parts and nervous systems in the body that I was just tested on in Physiology.

What I was not expecting to find were all the changes in them! That's probably really unfair of me, to expect them to stay the same forever and all, but that's what children do! We're brought up thinking that our parents will always be there and always be the same. It's easy to pretend that's the case since their voices sound exactly the same from week to week and they haven't changed all that much in the past (or so I thought)! So I was a little taken aback when I got home and realized that my parents are starting to resemble the grandparents that they now are!

Another thing that hit me again, as it had been evident over the summer too, is that I am no longer their 'little girl'. Or at least I'm not treated like one. I don't get tucked into bed anymore- no more back rubs or bed time songs. I don't get as many hugs or kisses, and usually the few I do get only come from mom now. And when it comes to spending money, most of the money is now coming from my bank account.

All of this is fine and dandy most of the time. I do enjoy the independence that I have and the fact that I can now carry on somewhat-intelligent conversations with my parents. I am almost 20, but still... what about the times when I still want to be their little girl? What about the times when I do just need a hug to let me know that they love me no matter how hard I study or how well I run? What about the times when I want someone to tuck me in, but I'm too 'grown-up' to ask?

At times like these I feel stuck; stuck between grown-up and child, independent but still wanting to feel supported. It will take some time to fully take on this grown-up role and adjust to everyone around me growing older too. But for now, bring on the hugs and back rubs, and remind me once in a while that I am that little girl.

Be Still

The past few weeks have been jam-packed with a lot of activities, homework, and meetings. Most days just fly by at a ridiculous speed, making me feel like I'm living life in 'fast-foward'. I thought last year went quickly with everything I was involved in, and now this year has somehow managed to surpass last year in keeping me busy. This 'fast-forward' business may seem like a good thing because I'm not continually looking at the clock with the seconds dragging on, but honestly at this point I would love to have some time where I can just slow down for a few days.

Beware of possible side effects of fast-forward living:
1. Loss of motivation- when you're continually busy, eventually you reach a point where you just lose the urge to do stuff, you just don't care anymore (until that big test comes back with a not-so-wonderful grade).
2. Loss of social life- work, classes, and homework have definitely taken up the majority of my days leaving very little time for me to just hang out with friends. Thank goodness for cross country practices and long runs!
3. Limited time outdoors- when you have three tests and a project due all in the same week, the library becomes your daily home. It stinks because this time of year is so beautiful with all of the trees changing color and those crisp cool nights tempting you to forget about studying and go for a refreshing walk. Once again, thank goodness for cross country, otherwise I might not even know it is fall.

These are just a couple of the side effects that have begun appearing in my life, much to my dislike. So I'm very thankful that Fall Break is just around the corner so I can take some time for myself and recharge my batteries. Today when I went to teach Spanish at First Lutheran Church there was a poster that grabbed my attention. "BE STILL and know that I am God" was printed in big letters, and then there was a message underneath about taking time for what really matters when life gets so hectic. It was a very timely reminder for me and helped me realize that everything I'm stressing over at the moment cannot compare to the comfort and help that God can provide. So my advice to all of you overburdened, hardworking people is to take some time and just Be Still.

Spanish Sponges

'Kids are like sponges, they pick up on everything.' I had heard this before and even witnessed it to some extent while babysitting over the course of years, but learning a new language had never been anything I'd seen little kids do before. So this past week I was pretty amazed at how quickly those young, active brains are able to remember and make sense of foreign words.

Last week I began teaching Spanish to preschoolers and 5-8 year olds at the Montessori school in town. I teach a half hour to each class Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I was contacted before school even started about this opportunity and thought that it'd be great to make use of my Spanish major and education minor. I love being around children and that was one thing that I definitely missed last year. So I jumped at this chance to be around kids for a few hours a week.

On Monday I was nervous because I had never been to the classrooms, never met the regular teachers or kids, and didn't have much of a plan besides our "Buenos Dios" song and "Adios" song. I was going in blind and had no idea what to expect. As I walked in the doors to the preschool classroom the whispers started going around- "The spanish teacher's here!"- and I could sense the kids getting a little squirrely. It was neat to see how excited they were.

I was given their full attention...for about 1 minute. Then poking their neighbor or telling how they love to surf became higher priorities. Immediately I realized that I had my work cut out for me. I would have to be pretty creative in my teaching activities in order to keep their attention.

After finishing with the preschool classroom I went up to the K1 classroom and was amazed by how much of a difference was apparent in attention span, knowledge of some Spanish vocab, and just how advanced they seemed for their age. I was very impressed. Over the course of the week we learned how to say the date, numbers, and colors. I couldn't believe how quickly they picked up on repeated phrases that I would say. By the end of the week the kids were singing songs with me and made me feel like I was actually a decent teacher!

The plan is for me to continue teaching throughout the semester and I can't wait to see how these children progress in their knowledge of the Spanish language. I'm also excited for the fun and light-hearted times that these children will give me, whether that's present in a preschooler coming to class with blue marker all over her face (art time was too boring?) or just hearing their giggles after we play a clapping game. I'm sure that I'll be learning from the kids just as much as they learn from me.

Continuing the Tradition

This past week I had the opportunity to listen to a passionate, distinguished speaker about the history of Luther College cross country. This speaker was Coach Kent Finanger, the former cross country coach at Luther who spent 28 years working with the men's and women's teams, getting to know each person on the team and make them the best runner they could be. He is now retired, but his passion for the sport and his will to succeed was still coming through loud and clear- as if he was the current coach.

This wonderful talk took place last Thursday night before the team took off Friday for the Roy Griak race at the University of Minnesota. We had a team dinner at a freshman male runner's house, and it so happens that Coach Finanger is his grandfather. The meal was delicious, beating the caf by a long shot, but the talk by Coach was the highlight of the evening.

I learned that 2009 will be the 50th anniversary of the men's cross country team competing in the IIAC (Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) and that Coach Finanger has been the only Luther XC coach to have a team win nationals, which was in 1985. That is really something special.

He reminded the current team of our responsibility to run for each other, this family that we have, and that our actions should always reflect well on Luther College and be pleasing to God. He wrote down some of his thoughts and coaching phrases for us to have, and the following quote from Coach Finanger encompasses exactly what I've experienced on the team:

"Luther College Cross Country Family: Our lives are woven together with strands of Respect and Trust, Love and Friendship, Commitment and Family. Each is a Fiber of Strength in a Secure and Lasting Relationship"

The ties that connect Luther runners do feel like those of a family, and it's neat to see that the passion and love Coach Finanger felt when he was coaching is still being felt today. At the Griak meet it was awesome to see and hear all of the fans who were out there supporting Luther-parents, alumni, High school coaches and teams, and people I didn't even know. The support for Luther cross country continues to build. The tradition of hard work, love, and trust is passed on so that more people become part of the family.

Finding Time for Faith

Being in college means my days are pretty full with classes, practices, work, and time with friends. So why is it that some days go by when I get to cross off multiple things from my "To Do" list and enjoy time with friends, but I still feel unfulfilled, like something's missing? I've realized that missing piece has to do with my faith.

Luther provides many opportunities for students to grow in their faith. There are two worship services on Sundays- a traditional service in the morning and FOCUS, a student-led contemporary service at night. Many Bible study groups meet regularly and some even go together to Decorah churches on the weekends. Clubs, like Fellowship of Christian Athletes, also provide a way to meet fellow students with similar beliefs and interests. These options are all outside of the education realm, but Luther also requires students to take at least 2 religion courses before they can graduate. These courses may span multiple religions and eras, and are not like Sunday School.

Plenty of opportunities exist to strengthen my faith, but sometimes it's easy to just let that part of my life go unchecked with everything else keeping me busy. Last year I regularly attended church Sunday mornings on campus and even went with friends to a couple of different churches in Decorah. I also joined FCA and a bible study group that met Wednesday nights, which provided a great place to discuss what I was learning in the 2 religion classes that I took. I enjoyed being able to talk about the differences in what I had learned about the Bible growing up versus what the professors here were teaching. It definitely allowed me to examine what I truly believed.

This year, though, has been a bit of a challenge with a new schedule and new responsibilities. I don't have any religion classes, which I really enjoyed last year and they were an easy way to get me reading the Bible. I've gone to church on campus this year, but find my mind wandering during the service. Often I think that my best connections with God occur during some of my runs for cross country where I can enjoy nature and clearly see His power all around.

So I was thrilled this past Wednesday when I met with my Bible study group from last year and we had a great discussion. I'm also excited that FCA will be starting up again. It's great to spend time strengthening a part of me that is so easy to neglect. It's also relieving to be reminded that no matter what I'm going through, I have a loving God to watch over me and help me through.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
-Proverbs 3:5

Back to the Future

As much as I didn't want it to happen, I knew the day would come. I tried my best to push it out of my mind and not think about it. I told myself to just enjoy the moment and make the most of the time I had left with that special group of ladies...

Last year's experiences running cross country and track were phenomenal. I never wanted to have to say good-bye to the seniors who made my first year on the team so much fun. What would the team be like without them?...

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My eyelids open, a dull light is coming into the room from the window. It looks a bit hazy and overcast outside. Perfect weather for running. Personally I'm hoping it doesn't rain today, but I know the forecast isn't in my favor. Our cross country course could have some big mud holes if it rains a lot.

I get up, brush my teeth, throw on some clothes and head down to the locker room. Some other runners on my floor are heading out too. The overall consensus is that it doesn't seem like a race day. Since we are hosting the meet there's not the usual bus ride to get our minds focused on the race ahead. Today that focus will come in the locker room, on the warm-up, and on the starting line.

Another factor taking our minds off of the race is the fact that many of us have parents and siblings who will be coming to cheer and spend the day with us. Questions fly about people's plans with their families and what they'll do if it rains.

In the midst of this chatter, I realize another reason this doesn't seem quite like a regular race day. The alumni will be back and they will be running with us! That thought just brings a smile to my face and joy to my heart as I think about seeing Hokie, Mel, Hillary, and Heidi (the ladies who were seniors last year) wearing the Norse blue again. As we continue to the locker room I can just imagine their cheerful voices and welcoming smiles that I was first introduced to a year ago, those smiles that I never wanted to say good-bye to.

It's Heidi who I see and hear first. She comes into the locker room just like old times. I feel like my mind is playing tricks on me. It's like one of those puzzles where you have to figure out how picture 2 is different from picture 1. To me it feels exactly like last year with Heidi still being one of the senior leaders. I remind myself that time has passed and things have changed. But have they really?

Hokie, Mel, and Hillary are all in a pack as I run up to them grinning like a goof-ball. It's so great to see them again and I can't stop smiling! All I can think about is how different (not necessarily bad) the team is without them and how I miss having them around to run with every day. I realize how much these ladies impacted me in my first year at Luther, and how much they are connected to my ideas about what Luther XC is all about.

The gun goes off and the Luther Alumni are right with us, all in a big blue pack. I hear the supportive voices of those Alumni, "Let's go Norse" "Work together now", just like last year. The Norse family and pride still running strong.

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It was great to run with those teammates again, those ladies who will forever in my mind be the ones who introduced me to the fun family of Norse runners. I realize that last year was something special to be cherished and remembered forever. But now it's time to turn my attention to this season, which calls for all of the same hard work, passion, and love that I experienced last year. It's time to make the most of today and enjoy my time with this special group of ladies.

Potty Talk

Being at college where students' minds are constantly working, being filled with new information and challenged by what others are saying, it is no surprise the diverse and wacky topics that arise at the dinner table, in dorm rooms, or on a long bus ride home from a cross country meet. So I was not at all shocked when last week the discussion at dinner turned toward the new "sweet" toilets that have been put in the new science building.

This fall Luther is proudly opening its new eco-friendly Sampson Hoffland Laboratories building. It will house the biology and chemistry labs, as well as some offices for the science professors. From the outside, one sees beautiful landscaping and many windows showing the comfortable study lounges right inside the main doors. Just glancing at this masterpiece will make any student wish they were a biology major (if only for a few minutes).

Now back to the subject of these new toilets. At dinner some of the guys were raging about how neat these porcelain bowls were. These toilets not only just flush, they have 2 options for flushing! Option 1 is when only liquid waste is present. In this case the handle should be pushed up. Option 2 is when solid waste needs to go down, and in that case the handle should be pushed down. These choices aren't just to make patrons feel more empowered during their bathroom experience. Rather, it is to save on water and electricity. When the handle is pushed up to get rid of liquid waste, less water is used than when the handle is pushed down.

And so after hearing all about these new potties, I decided I couldn't wait until my labs this week to see for myself actually how cool they were. So I wandered across the street and prepared myself to be amazed. I found out that not only are the toilets pretty high-tech, the whole bathroom is aimed at conserving resources. As I tentatively pushed open the bathroom door the motion-censored lights flickered on not wasting electricity when the bathroom is empty. Then I noticed that the handle on the toilet also has a green coating on it to fight germs! I really like that added amenity, hopefully saving students from spreading nasty colds throughout the year. The sinks are also motion-censored and will cut down on wasted water. All of these things will help reduce the mark that Luther leaves on the environment, and that's just in the bathroom! The rest of the Sampson Hoffland building is also very environmentally friendly- special windows, air circulation, and more.

Be sure to stop by and see this new addition to our campus. It is pretty neat (and not just the bathrooms). If you won't be on campus, you can check out pictures here.

One of the guys at dinner that night actually stood in the bathroom and repeatedly flushed the toilet just because it was so cool, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of the new toilets - but I guess the draw of these toilets will at least get people into the new building!

One Year Wiser

I have now been at Luther for one week, after coming to campus a little early for cross country practice. It's amazing how much difference a year can make in how comfortable I feel here. On the drive up to Luther on move-in day I was thinking about how my feelings and knowledge differed from moving in as a freshmen. This year I knew where my mom should park the car in order to unload and move my stuff into my dorm. I knew who my roommate would be and who else would be living on my floor. This year I knew where the track was and where to meet for our first practice. And, best of all, I knew who would be there to greet me when I arrived- my wonderful friends and teammates.

As a sophomore I just feel a little bit older and wiser. For example, this year I actually know where I'm running when people say we are on Dug Road or Van Peenan Trails. The street names and trails are no longer a foreign language like they were at the beginning of last year. Also, I don't need to have my campus map out every time I leave my dorm room in order to figure out which way I should be heading. This time around I have an idea of what to expect from college courses and how much homework is involved. Nevertheless, each semester brings about new classes, new professors, and new challenges.

I am very excited to be on campus and to be running with the cross country team. As an older, wiser student I realize that my role has changed. I am no longer the lost, excited, anxious, homesick, giddy freshman girl of one year ago. Now I get to be the one who welcomes and greets all of the lost, excited, anxious, homesick, giddy freshmen, showing them the ropes, and reassuring them that they will, in fact, survive college life. I get to give out the advice to the new runners on the team and try to convince them that racing in 'buns' really isn't that bad.

I am enjoying the perks of being a sophomore: air-conditioned dorms, free time outside of orientation meetings and paideia class, but with all classes starting this Wednesday, I know my free time will dwindle. Although some thoughts resembling those of last year may cross my mind as the week unfolds, (What have I gotten myself into?!) now I have a little more confidence and experience to know that I'll be just fine.

I hope everyone will keep up with my new adventures this year. I will be trying out a new job at Legends, the fitness center on campus, as well as attempting to teach preschool kids and kids ages 5-8 some Spanish! It should be interesting and entertaining. Comments are always welcome and I'm looking forward to sharing my second year at Luther with you.

The End is Near

Two days left of classes. Two days! That's it! I am really looking forward to summer and leaving the caf behind for lots of grilled food! The warm weather we've had over the weekend has made it difficult to sit down and finish up the lingering assignments. Finding motivation to study for finals will not be an easy task with the sun shining and the birds chirping.

Thankfully I'll have a bit of a break from classwork and studying when we have our conference track meet this Friday and Saturday at Wartburg. I know there will be some fantastic performances. I'll be racing the 10K Friday evening, and am really looking forward to it. The distance will suit me well, but it'll be a lot different running that far on a track. I've only raced a 10K in a road-race, but I'm sure this will be awesome running under the lights and with my teammates. It's hard to believe that this is the end of the track season already. In January when we were beginning practice I thought that the season would be endless with both indoor meets and outdoor meets. But in reality, it has flown by- just like the rest of the year. Like the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun!

This year has been everything I hoped college would be, and more. I've made lots of friends and memories. It will be hard saying good-bye to everyone, especially the seniors, but we're already making plans to get together over the summer. If this year is any indication of how the rest of my time at Luther will be, I am really looking forward to coming back!

Freshman Year in Review

I can't believe that my first year of college will be over in just 2 weeks! Where did all of the time go? It seems like just recently I was moving into my dorm room, saying good-bye to my mom, and feeling so excited/nervous for our first cross country practice! But this year has been one of the best school years I can remember- thanks to the friends I've met, the activities I've been involved in, and just the welcoming, positive atmosphere of Luther and Decorah.

So I thought I'd make a short list of what I'd do over again and what I'd change if I had the opportunity to redo my first year here at Luther.

Do's

1. Get involved! Whether it's in choir, sports, intramurals, bible studies, or some other club on campus, participating in an activity is the easiest way to meet people with similar interests as you. All year long there are advertisements for fun events on campus, so take advantage of them.

2. Get to know your roommate(s) and the people living on your floor. They're the ones you come home to each night so you want to be on friendly terms with them. They're the ones you can go to for help on homework, when you're bored, if you need to talk, or if you need a ride to Wal-Mart. Dorm life is a lot more fun if you're included in all of the birthday celebrations and floor socials. Make an effort to know who you're living with.

3. Go to class! It's pretty clear that if you come to Luther you want a good education. Make your tuition worth it and actually go to class. Sometimes it's hard when you had a late night and don't really want to get up for an 8 AM class, but remember that you'll most likely have time later for a little nap. The professors are all very knowledgeable and the classes are small enough that they know when someone isn't there. Show the professors respect by attending class and be confident that you'll learn a lot from them too.

4. Buy textbooks online if possible, it can save you some money. I know after first term when I had gotten most of my books from the Luther bookshop and then went to sell them back at the end of the term, I felt like I got ripped off. The money you get if you see them back to the bookshop isn't a grand amount, so it will be beneficial to just pay less in the first place.

5. Have an idea of what classes you might want to take before you talk to your advisor and before it's your time to register. Advisors are great in helping you get the general requirements covered, but freshmen advisors get randomly assigned to you, so they most likely won't be experts in the field that you're thinking of majoring in. It's helpful to look through the course offerings before meeting with your advisor, because he or she may not know when certain courses are offered or what the normal sequence of courses it.

6. Branch out: try new things, meet new people, explore Decorah, and be yourself.

Redo's

1. I would apply for a 2-person room in Brandt instead of a 3-person, just so my room wouldn't always have someone in it and there's additional space to have a futon or place for friends to come and hang out.

2. I wouldn't sign up for 8AM classes every day of the week in February when it's dark and getting out of bed is hard enough as it is.

3. I would apply for a job on campus so that I could have some income. Granted, there's not a whole lot that I need to spend cash on, but it'd be nice just to know that I was getting paid in case I wanted to go eat in town, or buy something at WalMart.

That's my year in review. I'm sure I'll learn a lot more next year and the years to follow, but right now I feel right at home at Luther and I wouldn't trade this past year for anything. It was great.

Banana Bikes and Forest Hikes

After a long winter, I think I can finally say that spring has officially arrived at Luther! For the past week or so we've had warm weather, lots of sun, and a few rain showers. The flowers are starting to bloom and students are 'studying' outside, playing frisbee on library lawn, and riding their bikes around again.

Speaking of bikes, Luther has 6 bright yellow bikes that they are allowing students to rent out for a day at no fee. It's a trial for the spring to see if lots of students are interested in a bigger bike rental program for the future. I tried one out over the weekend just to go into town real quick for an errand. It was definitely a nice option to have so that I didn't have to track down a friend who has a bike on campus and so I could save time riding instead of walking.

These bikes are pretty simple. They are very upright with huge handle bars so that your hands are almost at 9 and 3 on a clockface, the brakes are in the pedals when you push backward (reminding me of the bike I had when I was about 7, there are no gears, and I don't think you can change the height of the seat. So, like I said, very basic. You definitely wouldn't want one of these bikes to go up any big hills or for super long distances, but they are convenient for quick errands into town.

The bright yellow color makes it easy to identify a Luther student who has journeyed off campus. I think that's probably the point though, that if someone tried to take one of the bikes, it would be quite obvious that it belonged to Luther.

Besides running and my occasional bike ride, I've also been able to get out and enjoy the weather in my biology lab. For 3 weeks we are hiking in the Hickory Ridge Woods (right by Baker Village), learning to identify trees and then we are going to plot part of the woods to get an estimate of what types of trees are the most abundant in which parts of the woods. I've actually learned a lot about identifying trees based on their bark and their buds, and I have to say, it's a whole lot better than sitting in a lab room for 2 hours peering out the window and seeing kids outside playing, just wishing I could be out there too.

So with only 11 days of actual classes left, the weather warming up and classes winding down, I'm going to enjoy these last few weeks and make the most of the wonderful outdoors opportunities Decorah offers.

Success!

What a great feeling! You know, when you were anticipating something, hoping it would go well, and then afterward you are happy, relieved, excited? Yeah, that feeling of accomplishment and success. That's what I'm feeling right now as I look back on what I've done this week:

Our Norse Relays that were supposed to be last Saturday got snowed out (flurries in April, can you believe it!?) so we turned Monday's practice into our own Norse Relays. So I did get to run the steeplechase and the weather was much nicer. I loved it! The water pit was pretty fun, especially once I got over the initial shock of how chilly the water was. I felt comfortable hurdling the other barriers, and didn't fall or clip them as I went over. Success! Now I'm excited to give it another try and see how I can improve.


This week was also the time to register for classes that we are going to be taking in the fall. It's amazing to me that we have less than a month left of school! This year just flew by. Anyways, I had all of my classes picked out ahead of time and there was really only one way that my schedule would work. So I had to get into specific time slots and certain labs, there weren't any alternatives. When I logged onto the computer, I saw that in the Human Physiology lecture only 3 spots were still available until the class was full, and only 1 spot available in the Human Physiology lab that I needed so my adrenaline was rushing. So at 7:28 Tuesday night I anxiously awaited for the minutes to tick by until 7:30 when I could push "submit" on the registering website. The thought kept crossing my mind, "what if someone else pushes submit 2 seconds before I do and gets those spots, then what am I supposed to do?" But thankfully, I got in. That was a big relief.

Next on my list of things to accomplish successfully is this biology test tomorrow, my 5k race tomorrow night at Augustana, and finalizing my rooming situation for next year. I can't wait to be able to check them off and know that I succeeded-doing the best that I could under the circumstances.

Water Hopping

If asked, I would say that I'm a pretty adventurous person. I like to try new and challenging things, especially if they have to do with athletics or being outdoors. Just this past Monday for our long run I spent many miles on winding, hilly, and muddy trails known as Upper Palisades. It was great! I had only been up there once before and that was in the fall with Coach Yarrow leading the way. This time I was running with two of my best friends and happened to be leading. It was really neat just exploring, hoping we didn't slide down the steep slope just wide of the narrow trail.

We came upon a farm where some beautiful, auburn colored horses were out in the pasture just hanging out. We saw a horse or deer skull that someone had planted so that it was sticking out a tree. And we saw an old, run-down, rusted car that had a gnome inside and a plastic mannequin leg sticking out the back window. That was a little freaky! Anyways, you get the point: I'm not afraid to get out and about, and try something new.

That brings me to track. This Saturday at our home Norse Relays meet I'm scheduled to run the steeplechase. I ran the steeplechase indoors and it went really well as I managed to hurdle all of the barriers. But now that we're outdoors, a new element is added...THE WATER PIT! So the past couple of weeks we've been practicing our technique for how we'll clear the water barrier and get through the water pit, but we've been using the sand pit in place of the water pit. Today, though, we actually get to go in the water pit. I'm excited, but a bit nervous.

After watching last weekend's steeplechase race at Central College I was able to see how much of a difference technique makes on the water pit. A lot of girls stepped on the barrier and then landed with 2 feet and a splash. It looked fun, but unfortunately it stopped all of their forward momentum. So my goal is to not land on 2 feet but only 1, and to keep running through the water. We'll see if that actually happens though. Most likely by the end of the race as fatigue sets in, my form and technique will not be that great. But I'll definitely try to stay away from planting a huge cannonball and splashing all of the water out of the pit!

Application Memories

Over break I had plans and ambitions to complete quite a few applications that are coming due in the next month: scholarship applications, my application to study abroad next J-term, and my application to do an externship next October for a few days during fall break. Some of the applications got done, some didn't, but it made me realize what a great break this past year has been from all of the stress that application processes can bring.

In some ways it's hard to believe that it's been a whole year since I was going through the process of applying to colleges and then making my final decision. In other ways it doesn't seem all that long ago because I can remember it all so vividly. There were some late nights sitting at the computer filling out paperwork and some long afternoons writing and rewriting essays for scholarship applications. Of course this is nothing new to all of you students.

As I was trying to decide which college was right for me, I struggled with knowing what I really wanted in a college. I had been accepted and offered scholarship money from most of the institutions that I had applied to, so that didn't really help me narrow down my choices. I didn't know for sure if I wanted to do sports or what I thought I might want to major in. As March rolled around I had my choices down to 2: Luther College and Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. These two schools were quite different in size, religion, and academic strengths. I wasn't sure which one would suit me better. It was a little frustrating but I came to the realization that no matter what college I decided on, it would work out just fine. My college experience would be what I decided to make it. I could be successful at any school if I made an effort to get involved, meet people, and work hard in my classes.

So how did I decide on Luther? I realized that I wanted to be an athlete at the next level. I saw that if I didn't continue with organized sports then I wouldn't be making use of my talents and doing what I really wanted to be doing. I also thought about the size of Luther and thought that it would be a better fit for me than a big university. I wanted to get to know my profs, and here at Luther I have definitely had the opportunity to. I wasn't sure that a big school would give me the small class sizes and the relationships with professors and students that I was comfortable with.

After I chose Luther it was like a weight had been lifted off of me and now I don't regret any part of my first year here. It has been everything I imagined and more. The students and faculty are all nice and they actually care about you. People see you walking across campus and actually know you and ask how your day is. The athletics have been challenging and extremely fun, while classes have been interesting and sufficiently difficult. Now I can't wait for my current applications to get finished so that I can feel that same sort of relief and usher in spring, just like last year.

Caf Controversy: Do Trays Stay or Go?

Last Thursday on the front cover of CHIPS (Luther's weekly newspaper written by students) was an article titled "Trays' Days Are Numbered". The article went on to describe how the student council approved a trial period of 2 weeks sometime during the rest of the semester when the caf will not have trays for students to put their plates, silverware, drinks, or food on.

The idea behind this is that too much food is getting wasted at Luther because people just pile it on their trays without thinking about how hungry they actually are. During the two week trial the amount of food wasted will be recorded so that it can be compared to the amount of food wasted when students are allowed to use trays. Apparently this information will then be used in determining for next year if trays will permanently be taken out of the cafeteria.

The article also claimed that the students will ultimately make the decision about whether or not trays are necessary are whether or not they will be kept. We are all counting on this because I know a lot of people feel strongly about keeping the trays. I know I do. I think the idea behind getting rid of trays is very good, but I don't think that getting rid of trays is the only way to decrease waste.

Just so you know, the trays at Luther are very plain: green rectangles without little compartments for food. Some people choose to put food directly onto their trays, others choose to use plates or bowls. Everything goes through the same washing process so it's not a hug deal, unless you're eating soup or ice cream.

As an athlete I typically get 2-3 glasses of drink at each meal-at least one for water and usually one for milk. If we got rid of trays then I would spend one trip just getting drinks. Then I would also need 1 hand to carry a plate for my sandwich and vegetables, plus 1 hand to carry silverware and fruit. So at least 2 trips would need to be made. And when I think about all of the lunches where I get soup, I know that just that one bowl is going to require both of my hands. Just last week I went back to get a second helping of soup with just my bowl and ended up spilling some on my shoe. That's another thing trays are good for, catching spills.

So, although the plan may be able to be accomplished,I think that it's going to be more time consuming to get food, more plates are going to get dropped and broken, and the caf could potentially be more congested with a lot of people making multiple trips back and forth like busy bees.

Instead of getting rid of trays why don't we get rid of plates or have some fine or consequence for those people who are the food wasters. Maybe Luther should just buy trays that are smaller so that people can't fit so much food on their trays. We did get rid of plates, bowls, and silverware for one day in the fall to try and raise awareness about food waste and I know that quite a few people were upset. They argued that we're paying enough to attend this school so why can't we have all of those utensils to eat?

Right now that is the talk of the school other than spring break. Our last day of class before break is Thursday, and then we'll come back Tuesday April 1. I am really looking forward to break and will definitely be happy to just relax and take it easy- making full use of all of the plates, silverware, and cups available to me at home!

Basketball on the Brain

Ok, I admit, I love basketball season! These past few months have been great (despite the snowy, cold weather) because I've been able to come back from dinner, turn on ESPN and watch basketball whenever my heart desired. My roommates probably think I'm a little obsessed and are probably wondering how much longer this routine will last. Oh, just another month or so. But if they think that ESPN was on a lot in the previous months, just wait, because this month is the best...March Madness baby!

Whenever I watch a close, intense college game, a buzz of excitement fills me and I just love it. I think it's because I still vividly remember some of the close, intense games that I played in. The warm-up music, the fans, the atmosphere, the competition- all that is what makes basketball such a fun sport. I just can't imagine the same kind of thing for say, a golf tournament. Granted, Tiger Woods can bring some pretty fierce competition, but for me the atmosphere on a golf course would be nowhere near that of a basketball arena.

Last weekend as I was leaving the Ethnic Arts Festival early in order to get back to watch the Duke/North Carolina game, I realized how popular the sport of basketball is. I was opting out of a really cool Ethnic Arts show that's only once a year just so I could go watch college basketball which I could see any night. How bad is that?

At lunch Saturday afternoon I heard quite a few of the guys talking about good games that were going to be on TV, and how homework would just have to wait until Sunday. Just think about how many people will take part in some sort of March Madness bracket competition, or how many people will be locked in front of their TV sets once the NCAA tournament gets started. People will go so far as skipping work and class to see games- or perhaps they will just sneak in a lap top or IPOD so that they can watch or listen to the games in class. Basketball is a big deal!

So as Selection Sunday approaches, I anxiously await and try to figure out which bubble teams are in and which will get bounced. The past months' games are all culminating at the conference tournaments. This is the time when teams' hard work either pays off or their hopes are dashed. This is the time that every player, coach, and fan loves best: March- where basketball rules the brain.

Yoga: Stretching the Body and Mind

Downward Dog. Warrior 1. Sun Salutation. Child's Pose. If you've ever taken a yoga class before, then these terms might be familiar to you. My senior year of high school I really got into power yoga at my local YMCA and felt myself not only getting some flexibility back and getting stronger, but I was more aware of my stress level and breathing. It's really eye-opening to see how my everyday breathing varied from my breathing when I was nervous, and how both of those were so much different from the relaxed, deep breathing that we did in yoga.

Here at Luther I was pretty excited when I saw that they offered yoga classes (along with other exercise classes like pilates and kickboxing). I've attended a yoga class a couple of times, and it provided a nice break from my normal, busy routine. The class here focuses a lot on relaxation, closing your mind from outside thoughts, and just focusing on your body and your breathing at that moment-something I don't think many students take the time to do.

This past week I've been reintroduced to some yoga techniques and I've realized how helpful yoga could be for me if I took the time to practice it. Last Friday before I raced my first indoor 5K at our conference meet (25 laps) I was pretty anxious. I was anxious about the various competitors and just about running for almost 20 minutes on the same oval. I could almost feel the nervous energy pulsing through my body. So to calm myself down I did this breathing exercise that I had learned in yoga. It's called a "breath of fire". You exhale through your nose 9 times fast (without inhaling in between, just keep exhaling until most of the air in you is gone) and then on the tenth time inhale deeply. Not only does it clean our your sinuses, but for me it just has a calming effect. That exercise definitely helped me to calm myself before the race and as a bonus, I ended up doing much better than I ever expected.

And then this week in Personal Fitness and Wellness we did yoga as our physical activity. It was great to take time and stretch my body, helping me reconnect with my muscles that I didn't even realize were tight. As a college student it is easy to get so wrapped up in classes, homework, friends, and sports that I neglect good posture. Some days with my backpack so full I get home at night and feel my back aching. So to do yoga in class was a great way to stretch and strengthen my body and also just to take time to de-stress. What a great way to deal with the stress that comes along with Paideia papers!

I'll have to keep in mind how great I felt during that session and take more time to practice yoga on my own. And when I need a quick-pick-me-up, I might even give that headstand pose a try.

Class=Fun! Really?!

This week has started off great. First of all, we somehow slipped by the predicted snow storm yesterday, leaving the roads all clear for running and leaving my pants without the snow/salt line on the bottom.

Secondly, my classes have been pretty entertaining, possibly even fun. Now I know that may be hard to believe, but perhaps the profs have gotten a bit of spring fever and decided it was time to add a little pleasure to class. In my biology class we are beginning a new unit on microbiology. For part of our lab these next few weeks we, the students, get to come up with our own experiments dealing with microbes in the soil.

At first I wasn't too excited about this because it requires more work than other labs. But now that my group has decided what we're going to test, I realize that WE are actually in charge and I think it will be a good time. Although I will admit, the most fun part may be getting the soil samples from under 4 feet of snow!

So that is definitely hands-on and more interesting than just doing a lab out of the lab manual. The other class that I will venture to say is actually FUN is personal fitness and wellness. All freshman have to take this class that lasts for 7 weeks and is a 1 credit class. My class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8-9:30 AM. On Tuesdays we do some sort of physical activity and Thursdays are a lecture.

This semester our activities have included lifting weights in Legends, walking on the indoor track, jumping rope, a stretch-band workout, and competitive 2 on 2 baseball! I'm a pretty active person so I enjoy doing all this, but today was absolutely fantastic. It was an open gym day where we could play basketball, raquetball, ultimate frisbee, go to Legends, or do an aerobic workout with Greg Lonning the Wellness Director. I chose the aerboic workout and I'm super glad I did, although I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow.

We were in a dance studio with some pretty groovy music playing. Greg led us through some hard-core sets of push-ups and sit-ups, then a kickboxing routine, followed by a stretch-band workout. We did that for 45 minutes, and then repeated all of it again at a lot faster pace for the last 15 minutes. The kickboxing was the most fun, with all of us jab-stepping and doing combinations that made us feel like pros. One combination of kicks ended with the WWF "skull crush" as Greg called it and made me smile every time we did it. The move is quite simple: bring your left knee up to your chest as you bring both arms down from over your head, but just thinking of all of us girls doing "skull crushes" makes me laugh.

It was a great way to get my heart rate up and start my day off right. Now I'm in a great mood and energized, ready to take on the day. Bring on more fun!

Running in Circles

At times college life feels to me like I'm a hamster on a running wheel, working very hard but not really getting anywhere. I get into this routine of eating, sleeping, studying, running that just repeats each day. It's a bit overwhelming when I finally get one major assignment done and feel a sense of accomplishment, and then another professor assigns something big. Oh the rigors of college classes!

Ultimately I know that I am gaining knowledge, that all of my hard work will pay off, and that I will get it all done. It's important to take a deep breath, realize that many other students have gone through these exact same feelings before, and that they've succeeded. If they can do it, I can do it.

Better than just feeling like I'm running in circles with homework, I actually have been running in circles for track! We have now completed two of our four indoor track meets. Our first one was held here at Luther two weekends ago, and it was a small field: us, our Alumni, and Iowa Central Community College. I was really excited for that meet because I got to run the 2000 steeplechase for the first time ever. It was definitely a fun race and I hurdled over all of the barriers. Success!

This past Saturday we traveled to UW-Platteville for a much larger meet that was an all-day event. We left Luther at 7:45 so that we could make it there for the first events at 10 and we didn't end up getting back until 10:45PM. It was a long day but very much worth.

We started off the meet in an awesome fashion with one of our senior ladies winning her heat of the 5k. There were more exciting races as the day went on and I got to learn a lot more of my teammates as I spent a lot of time cheering. My 3k race was originally scheduled for 6:15 PM but I didn't actually race until 7:15 due to us getting behind schedule. It was really difficult waiting for 9 hours to race. I was pumped and raring to go at about 11 AM!

When the gun went off for my race, another freshman and I hung together toward the back before moving making our move. We ran really well together and were able to push and support each other for all 15 laps. I felt great and the results were better than I expected. It was so neat racing at that time because most of my teammates were done with their races and therefore spread out along the whole track cheering as loudly as possible. Along the homestretch it was just a sea of blue cheering us on, giving us the "WHOOSH!" as we went by. That is the beauty of Luther sports: constant support.



Now I can't wait to see what's in store for the next races, and I've learned that running in circles can be very rewarding.

Valentine's: Loving What I Used to Dislike

With Valentine's Day coming up this week it's natural for students to be thinking about the people and things they care about: family, friends, pets, sports(ok so maybe my love of the game isn't on quite the same level as my love for family and friends.)

As I walked through the Union yesterday the line to pick up something at our Luther post office must have been thirty people long. That can only mean that something really good is waiting for all of those anxious students in their SPOs; something like homemade cookies, or candy, or better yet, a card with some money in it!

Many students are receiving care packages from home and I find it a bit ironic that now, as a college student, I look forward to some of those things from home that I used to dislike. For example, I remember getting annoyed with the kisses that my mom would plant on me each morning before she took off for work, and the conversations each night at the dinner table with the parental units inquiring about my daily activities. But now, I'll admit, I miss those things. A lot.

When I came to college in the fall it was an exciting time. I was stepping into new, unchartered territory with hopes and dreams. Now, coming back after J-break I know more of what to expect, and the newness of college life has kind of worn off. So at times I find myself wishing I had a parent around just to give me a hug, kiss, or back rub. I wish I could open my door and smell fresh waffles baking in the kitchen. I wish I could have someone inquire each night how my day was. Granted, I do have a lot of friends to support me, but it's just not quite the same as the love of a family you've had your whole life.

So, this Valentine's Day, no matter how fed up with your family at the moment, enjoy their presence and be thankful for all that they do. Take in all of the love that people send your way and don't forget to pass it on. And parents, FYI, those care packages, baked goodies, and phone calls are always welcome, even if it isn't Valentine's Day. :)

CAF creations

This was our first week of full classes and it was tough after 2 months of not having any homework to suddenly have 5 classes to stay on top of. So to reduce the stress that a lot of the students were feeling and to give us something to look forward to, the cooks in the cafeteria got creative. In the first week and a half of classes we've had 3 special themes: Orange Day, Mardi Gras-CAF style. and a Chinese New Year meal!

This is the third or fourth time this school year that we've had Orange Day at lunch and I think I've figured it out. It's always the first day after a break and the idea is, "Orange you glad to be back?!" Ha ha ha. For that meal the main line has tomato soup, grilled cheese, and cheetos. When I first saw that day on the menu I was a little shocked, but it's kind of fun at the same time. I just wish they had meals for the other colors too!

For our Mardi Gras dinner this past Tuesday night the main line served blackened shrimp and chicken, crawfish boil, red beans and rice, spicy cabbage, and Mississippi mud bread pudding. That night you could smell the fish from way down the hall, which made me a little wary of the meal because I'm not a huge fish fan. I did try the blackened chicken and it was actually really good. It had quite a bit of zing to it as you would expect from Cajun seasoning. The Mississippi mud bread pudding was, let's just say, interesting. The girls at my table who got it thought that it was just a brownie. When they tried it they found out that it definitely wasn't a brownie, yet it definitely wasn't pudding either. We discovered that it was somewhat like the consistency of Play-Doh and even bounced a bit!

The last themed meal of the week was Wednesday night, which happened to be the Chinese New Year. One of the exchange students on campus actually cooked some authentic Chinese food, and it sure looked really good, which explains why the lines were super long. I, unfortunately, didn't have the patience to stand in the long lines, but I did get to try some really good lettuce wraps with sauce in the salad bar. Here's what the menu consisted of: Hot and Sour Soup, Asian Mixed Green Salad, William Lu's Grilled Special with pork or beef, Fried Rice, Make your own Lettuce Wrap, Pad Thai Mandarin Orange Cake, and Green Tea Ice Cream. That dinner seemed to be a hit with most students. Too bad the Chinese New Year only comes once a year.

Normally the cafeteria food is pretty decent. There's always a main line, a salad line, a pasta line, soups, a deli sandwich line, and the cereal bar. At lunch a grill line is also open where you can get hamburgers and then usually a grilled chicken or some other meat. I've started to realize that the menu kind of recycles itself after a month or so. Not too often do the chefs get creative and brighten up the lives of the students. I really like it when Chef Nic makes his homemade soups. Those are usually really good and differ from the normal day-to-day caf soups. For example, today Chef Nic has a roasted red pepper and tomato bisque that I had. It's just nice to get a change because after a while I find myself getting the same food. For ambitious students you can always make your own stir-fry at dinner, pizza, pb&j, panini, or anything else that creative minds can come up with.

I can't wait to see what exciting themes come up the rest of the year...perhaps a wonderful, loving Valentine's dinner?

LOST again

Thursday was not only the first day of our second semester, but it was the season premiere of one of my favorite shows, LOST. This is going to be the fourth season of the hit show on ABC and I'm really looking forward to it. I got started watching LOST sometime during the first season and now it doesn't seem possible that this is already the fourth season. The producers decided to do something really smart in order to please viewers- they show the whole season of new shows all in a row, instead of including some reruns every so often. This is great because LOST needs to be watched sequentially in order for viewers to understand the plot and backgrounds of the characters. It could be really confusing to new viewers if reruns were thrown in the mix. The only down side to this setup is that the show is only on for a limited of time. The plan was for there to be 3 more seasons of LOST, including this season, with each season consisting of 16 new episodes. Now, with the writers' strike, only 8 shows for this season are made. That is a bit disappointing but it also makes me enjoy the 8 shows even more.

So, for all of you LOST fans out there, who do you think is in the casket at the funeral home Jack goes to? As my friends and I were watching the recap of the previous seasons and anxiously counting down the minutes to the season premiere, a few possibilities were thrown out: it could be Sawyer, Ben, or even Michael. I personally think that it's Sawyer because why else would Jack call Kate to see if she had seen the obituary? Kate and Sawyer have some sort of relationship so that makes the most sense to me. Also, who do you think the "Oceanic 6" are?

I think this season will be really good since they are now including flash forwards, instead of just flash backs, to tell the story. This will keep viewers intrigued and guessing. Already I have lots of questions which I can't wait to get answered. Hopefully the 8 shows will help answer some of them.

Other than getting together with friends to watch LOST, I've been doing quite a bit of homework for my classes. Despite only having 2 days of school this week, I am grateful for the weekend to be able to get some work done. I think that my classes this term will be enjoyable, but I know it will take me a while to get used to my new schedule. This term's schedule is a lot different than what I had first term. Last term on MWF I didn't start until 11. This term I start at 8 and my last class getting done at 3:45. The plus side is that I'll be up and moving, and I'll be able to can get homework done and study between classes. I know it'll work out fine, I just need some time to get used to it.

Let me know if you have any questions I can answer, and I would really love to hear from LOST fans about what they are thinking about the season. I can't wait for next Thursday's show!

Downside to Dorm life

J-term has been full of new experiences, some good and some bad. Over the weekend Brandt (my dorm) unfortunately experienced something that I was not fond of:

Fire Alarms in the middle of the night, 2 nights in a row!!!!

In Brandt we've had at least 6 false fire alarms this school year. On Friday night around 2:30 the alarm went off with the voice coming over the loud speaker repeatedly saying "An emergency situation has been detected in your building. Exit Immediately" while lights in the hallways flashed on and off. So everyone reluctantly got out of bed (if they were asleep at that time, which I happened to be), put on some extra layers if they were smart because the temperature was below zero outside, and stood outside in the cold for 5-10 minutes while the RA's checked the building. Not too surprising, but no fire was found. Apparently there was a fight up on 4th floor and somehow the alarm got set off. To make matters worse, the people in the fight trailed blood down one of the stairwells on their way out, which really freaked some of my friends out, because no one knew what the blood was from.

Then on Saturday night, a little after midnight, the alarm sounded again. Not only was this very agitating because we had just had one the previous night, but this time we had to stand outside for 15 minutes in the cold weather because most of the Brandt RA's were not available to search and secure the building because they were helping out with Open Mic Night at Marty's. It was not fun.

We never did get official reports of what happened during those two nights, or why the alarms went off. Typically when the alarm gets pulled and no one confesses to it, the whole building gets fined. I just don't understand why people even pull the alarm. It's not funny and now we are so used to the alarms being false, that if some situation does occur where everyone needs to get out quickly, very few people will take it seriously. I know that I definitely took my time both nights to put on layers of clothes because I didn't want to freeze while I was standing outside. It's unfortunate and I can only hope that nothing serious ever does happen in the dorms.

On the bright side, there's only 1 week left of J-term! That means only four more nights to get through without alarms going off!

As always, your questions and comments are welcome. If there's anything you'd like to know, I'd love to be of assistance!

Cool Runnings

My nose is cold, my hands are stiff, my cheeks are freezing, and my legs are red. That is exactly how I felt when I finished my long run for track yesterday. Welcome to winter running in Decorah! With the high around 9 degrees and the wind chill below zero, it was not an ideal day to be running 12 miles. But we distance runners accepted our fate, bundled up in many layers and headed out in packs. It was kind of funny seeing just a couple of eyes poking out of face masks, hats, and other winter apparel. Once I got going the only bad part was facing the wind. It seemed like no matter how many layers I had on, I could still feel that wind chill. When I got back after the run, I don't know if I've ever been happier to thaw out and warm up. While the weather outside is pretty brisk, the indoor track season is just heating up. We've had practice for about a week and a half, and thus far it's going well. Some of the team is not here during January though, as they are taking the opportunity to travel abroad or do an internship. On Tuesdays and Fridays the WHOLE track and field team meets for warm up drills before each group, sprinters, throwers, and distance, split up to do their workouts. By meeting together as a whole group I've met a lot of people who weren't involved in cross country. I've also been introduced to hurdle mobility drills and steeple mobility drills. I'm excited to try running the steeplechase during the track season. It's a 3000 meter race (a little less than 2 miles) with 4 barriers (steeples) and 1 barrier with a water pit on the other side on each lap. I've always loved obstacle courses and I am definitely pumped to give this a try, despite never jumping over a hurdle, much less a huge steeple.

It is clear that all of the coaches are really excited for the season and willing to give their time to help the team continue to improve. Already a sense of unity is developing among the team. When I run a couple of strides on the indoor track while the other groups are finishing up their practices, I'll always hear a "Good Job" or "Way to Go". It's great encouragement and helps me feel more like a part of the team.

I haven't run track since my freshman year in high school and I can't wait to see what this season will bring. For now I'm going to keep warm and keep running through these chilly days in Decorah...where there's always Cool Runnings.

The Other Side of the Desk

Since the beginning of J-term last Thursday, I've been anticipating my first day in the classroom as a teacher's observer. My J-term class is an education class where four days a week we observe and help out in an area school classroom. I was placed in a Decorah High School science class since I am interested in possibly teaching biology at that level.

This morning was full of excitement and anticipation, especially after we found out that there was a 2-hour delay due to weather. I received a call from my car pool driver at 6:10 AM telling me about the delay, and I was a little relieved. (I stayed up a little too late to watch the national BCS title game last night, and it wasn't even that close!) So after sleeping a bit more I was refreshed and ready to go. I felt so professional as I donned my black dress pants, heels, and nice top before heading out; not my usual type of attire.

Other Luther students are also placed at Decorah H.S. in other classrooms, so we all had a meeting this morning with the principal before school started. Then in we went, to meet our teacher and the students with whom we'll be working for the month. As I walked into the classroom I could tell it would be a great fit for me. The teacher is super enthusiastic and the kids were all participating and talking, and not just talking to their friends, but actually talking about the current classroom topic. This teacher really encourages discussions, interactions, and activities that help apply lessons from the book to real life. I'm really looking forward to seeing what all goes in to being a great teacher-the lesson plans, the relations with the students, relations with the other faculty, etc. It will be a great experience to see if teaching is what I'm really interested in, and it gives me an opportunity to step away from my role as a student, and try out being a teacher. It also gives me something to do during the days while all of my friends are taking their 2 hour classes and then doing homework. Last Thursday and Friday I was getting a little bored because we don't have much work to do outside of our observation.

Speaking of down time and boredom, during J-term not too much is going on at Luther other than movies on the weekends, varsity basketball, wrestling, and swimming, and INTRAMURALS! Intramurals are huge during J-term. Dodgeball, card games, basketball, indoor soccer, and much more are all offered to students. I'm playing in a 5-on-5 basketball league on a team made up of all cross country girls (we all played basketball in high school, though). Last night was our first game and it was awesome! We played a team of guys and we rocked. Despite the fact that we only had 1 substitute and non of us had shot a ball in quite some time, we did really well and won by 7. The 3's were dropping and I was amazed at how physical we were. It was so fun to play again and to see this 'baller' aspect of my teammates that wasn't apparent during XC. We have a total of 11 games in the next 3 weeks, so our conditioning will pay off.

So after a slow start, J-term is shaping up to be a fun month full of new opportunities. Not a bad way to start off a new year.

New Year, New Opportunities

Welcome to the new year of 2008! I don't know how the days, months, and years just whiz by, but it seems like not too long ago everyone was in a frenzy over what would happen at the turn of the millennium. Now I'm back from Christmas break, finished with one semester of college and one collegiate season of cross country, and I'm ready to take on the new opportunities that come my way.

Looking back, my first semester at Luther was extraordinary. I can't pinpoint many things that I would want to change if I could do it over. Even finals weren't that bad, granted, I had a pretty decent finals schedule. I had 5 finals originally scheduled for that week: Spanish and Religion back-to-back Monday morning, and then my other classes had exams scheduled Tuesday through Thursday at 10:15. Luckily for me I got to take my Spanish exam the Thursday before finals started because it was an oral exam with a partner and only half the class would be able to finish in the allotted 2 hour period on finals day. So that helped ease a bit of stress, and then my last final, Honors Conversation, was a take-home final which my professor allowed us to turn in early. So I ended up with only 3 mornings where I took one test and most did not take me the full 2 hours to complete.

Going home for 3 weeks was very nice. I got to relax and do some pleasure reading while keeping busy seeing family and friends. We got a lot of snow over break, making it a little tricky to get a lot of running in, but I managed to make my way around the roads and at times I just felt like a little kid having fun in the snow.

When I arrived back to Luther today I felt like I hadn't been here in such a long time, almost as if I were moving in for the first time all over again. But, differing from when I moved in this past August, now I had friends that I couldn't wait to see and a much better idea of what college really is. As I settled in and unpacked, I realized how much of a home Luther has become for me. Yes, I still love going home to my family, but here at Luther it seems like I have another family, another routine, and it feels great to be back. I can already hear the excited commotion in the hall as roommates trickle in...