Today is January 24th. For some of you this day is really of no importance. You woke up, ate breakfast, went to class, did some homework, and maybe went to practice for a sport. However, January 24th has a little more significance for me and my family because it is my mom’s birthday. Many people say they have the best mom is in the world but I am convinced that I in fact do have the best mom in the world. She has made such an impact in my life and I can say that I would not be the person I am today without her influence in my life.
So mom, thank you for everything you have done for me. Thank you for listening to me, laughing with me, making me smile, putting up with my short attention span, and allowing me to change the radio station every 20 seconds in the car. I love you a lot and can’t wait to celebrate your birthday with you next week! POGS!
Well. We are now back at Hope. This semester seems lighter and better already. Maybe it gets easier with experience, or maybe we are just getting used to the pressures of college and mastering time-management.
My first day back was quite a challenge. Over break I had a labral repair and removal of osteocytes on my right hip, a medical problem that has been causing issues for me for quite some time. Though I am feeling a lot better than I did, I am still on crutches and getting around is not very fun for my poor, pathetic, tired, and very sore body.
Being a pre-med student, my story is actually pretty funny. I mysteriously developed right abdominal/pelvic pain over the summer (June-ish) and had many ER and doctor visits checking for intestinal, appendix, and other organ problems. However, everything came back normal.
In October, I shadowed Dr. Carl Wierks (See my blog post here). I thought his labral repairs were so awesome, and after learning more about symptoms and possible causes, I thought I might be on to something. Though my symptoms were a tad different, they were very similar. I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Wierks and a week later, he had discovered bilateral osteocyte growths causing inflammation and labral tares, the source of my continual pain!
Though I was resting and working on recovering and getting my hip back in motion all break, I still managed to have a good time with family and friends. Check out a few of my pictures from break!
Winter in the Midwest usually consists of snow… apparently
not this year. Holland has received the most pathetic amount of snow this
season… it’s unbelievable. Some people may love it, but others are downright
upset about it. There’s no opportunity to go sledding, play hockey, or make snow
angels! Sooner or later, it will snow and when it does, aren’t you guys getting
a little tired of the usual snow sports and activities? Well, don’t fret
because some new activities were brought to my attention by my wonderful
mother. Just the other day, she
called me and told me about an article from the OC Register by Karen Schwartz she
found that had all these new activities to do in the snow so I thought I’d
share a few of my favorites with you all!
Bumper Cars on Ice: Everybody
has at some point gone on bumper cars with friends or family at a carnival or a
similar setting. However, have you ever done it on the ice? Well, if you love
running into people without feeling guilty about it, you should definitely try
this!
Skijoring: This
has to be my favorite activity that Karen mentioned in the article. It’s a
twist on the typical dog-sledding. Instead of using a dog, you use a horse to
pull a skier. I can only imagine that you would be going a whole lot faster
than when pulled by a dog, but how fun does that sound?
Air Bags: So air
bags are used for protection in cars, but for this activity, they protect you
from falling on your head after going off a slope. This activity is aimed more
towards advanced skiers and snowboarders who are coordinated and can pull off
stunts. I most definitely could not do it because I am unable to stand up on a snowboard.
However, when going off a jump, there is a huge air bag at the end of the jump,
so if you fall, you don’t die. Try this one out and see what kind of jumps you
can successfully land!
You can find the rest of the winter activities in Karen’s
article:
Let’s just hope that it first snows at some point within the
next couple of months so you adventurous people out there can try these out!
Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @hopeleslie15.
When Hope students hear that our men’s basketball team is
playing Calvin, people rush to DeVos to get a ticket for the big game. This
rivalry is unlike any other. It’s been going on for the past 93 years and 182
games in which each game against our rival is the biggest event of the year.
Orange body paint comes out, the Dew Crew emerges, and our 3-pointer man gets
ready to tape up a Mountain Dew cutout to the wall whenever Hope shoots a
3-pointer.
Men’s basketball is the best time of the year because the
student section and families from the Holland area are such huge
supporters—especially at the Hope vs. Calvin games. This was the case for this
past Wednesday. Only 200 tickets were given out for the game, which were gone
in a day because it is the most anticipated rivalry match-up. The games usually
are very evenly matched and are a real nail-biter when the last minutes
approach. However, that was not the case on Wednesday. Hope was struggling to
get on the scoreboard for the first half. Calvin was definitely dominating the
first half with a considerable lead, but it seemed as though Hope gained their
momentum leading into the second half, soon to be back in the slump at the end
of the game. Despite the huge rivalry, Calvin was the clear victor in this
particular game with a win over the Flying Dutchmen of 75-49.
In addition to the win that the Calvin Knights received, two Calvin students stole our Hope flag near the end of
the game. This just increased the rivalry between the two schools. It’s one
thing to win a game, but it’s another to take our “Go Hope” flag. The two male
students who thought it would be a good idea to take this flag from us ran back
to their dorm and took a picture of it, which was leaked to the Calvin website
and eventually found its way to Facebook and therefore, to Hope students.
Little did they know, their innocent bit of fun ended up being short-lived when
it was taken by campus safety.The
whole article can be viewed at this site:
This minor incident just makes the rivalry between Hope and
Calvin even more interesting because Hope will be hosting the next game in just
a few short weeks. Maybe this little prank will backfire and silence the Calvin
Knights and show that Hope truly is the victors in this heated rivalry when
Hope gives Calvin a run for their money on February 9th! Hope to see
you all at the game!
Do you have plans for spring break? Do you want to have plans for spring break?
If you answered no and yes to the questions above, then I have your solution.
Let me present to you…
Spring break immersion trips!!!
So just what is an immersion trip, you ask? This article in USA Today College explains it as:
an experience aimed at getting students outside of their comfort zone and into the often harsh realities of impoverished communities, both domestic and abroad
An immersion trip differs from a mission in that mission trips are usually meant to fix something or spread a faith, while immersion trips are an opportunity to expand your world view and learn about a social problem. At Hope, that also includes looking at the problem from a Christian perspective. Hope has been doing immersion trips for a while, and after hearing about them in chapel and from friends, I made the decision to not only sign up for a trip, but to co-lead one as well!
I grew up in the church, so I am familiar with mission and immersion trips, but have never gone on one for various reasons. When I came to college, I gave up all hope of ever going on a trip because I was leaving my home church and assumed that Hope would not have any opportunities. Luckily for me, that is just the opposite! Hope has lots of different immersion trips that are available for students to be a part of.
For the trip I am leading, Nikki (my co-leader) and I will be taking our amazing group to East Palo Alto, California!
Each trip focuses on a different social justice issue; ours will be focused on the education system in an urban setting. Like I explained in an earlier post, I have been interested in education for most of my life, so choosing a trip focused on the issue was a no-brainer for me. Some other teams this year are going to places like Nashville, Orlando, and Staten Island, where they will be learning about urban ministry, housing issues, and youth. After returning from the trips, teams will bring what they learned back to Holland and continue to educate themselves on the topic. How neat is that?!
During the week, my group will be visiting a few schools, working with first-eighth graders, leading a high school retreat, and talking about how education affects the urban community. Each night, we will come together as a group and have Bible study centered around what we learned that day and how it relates to the Word of God. Getting to be a part of this trip is one more reason why I love Hope. As a student at a liberal arts college, I am provided the luxury of exploration, inside and outside of the classroom. It is also cool to see Hope’s mission statement to “educate students for lives of service in a global community” acted out in my life.
If this sounds like something you might want to do, head on over to the website to sign up for a trip; make sure you do it soon, they are almost all full!
Questions? Comments? Tweet at me or leave a comment. Have a great weekend!
I’m almost through my second week of classes and feel like this semester is already flying. My classes are awesome, and my professors are a lot of fun. One thing I really enjoy back at Hope is Chapel. Hope’s Chapel services are always packed with people that welcome an inviting and loving community.
I learn so much from attending the Chapel services which occur every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10:30-10:50. There are no classes scheduled at this time so that everyone has the opportunity to attend. The Gathering occurs every Sunday night at 8 PM. Hope creates an environment where students can grow spiritually. Below is a quote from Hope’s Dean of the Chapel, who I enjoy listening preach.
“They shall be like trees planted by streams of living water…” This is my daily prayer, adapted from Psalm 1, which captures my deepest desire for each person in the Hope community. I painted my study shades of green to help us remember this prayer and to trust that God’s business is often one of slow growth formation. I need this reminder daily. Maturity doesn’t happen over night. And God does the growing, not us. As Hopes Dean of the Chapel, the best I can do is tend and keep the soil conditions for mature gospel growth. It is experiencing this growth that gives me hope. It is inspiring to be in the presence of a generation of women and men who sink roots deep into the dark soil of the gospel, even as they spiral upwards towards the light of Christ. It is in this vision that together, as a community of Hope, we will be like a mature forest, growing in the symbiotic mystery of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.”
— Trygve Johnson, Dean of the Chapel
Hope does an awesome job of bringing in a variety of different speakers for students to learn from. In the spring semester four senior students are chosen to give their own senior witness talk in chapel. I really have enjoyed listening to their talks and am looking forward to the senior witness speakers this spring.
Spending a full 5 days in Istanbul, and in the same hostel,
really allowed my friend Temi and I to embrace Turkish culture.
We had the pleasure of meeting Louise, whom we
affectionately referred to as “Always,” for a reason I don’t recall.
As an 18-year-old Aussie, she had been traveling independently for the
last 4 months, with extended stays in Thailand, Italy, and Japan. Despite her youth, she left me with
some resounding advice, “There’s a big difference between being a tourist and being
a traveler.” I believe she was paraphrasing
the famous words of Gilbert Keith Chesterton:
“The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.”
Luckily for Temi and I, we met Louise early on in our trip. Additionally, our lack of a “laundry list” allowed us the freedom to put that advice to use immediately.
Seeing as how we had seen both the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia our first full day, we were relatively open to going with the flow, so to speak.
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The second day was spent wandering through the city: literally. We attempted to get lost, with the intention of finding ourselves far
removed from the Americanized, tourist-friendly part of the city. We eventually succeeded, meeting a
group of gentlemen keeping their fitness up at an outdoor park, who kindly demonstrated how each machine worked, and posed for a picture.
Growing weak from hunger, and refusing to enter an establishment with any English
on the menu, we finally stumbled upon a promising restaurant that was set in a
permanent heated tent. Despite the
warning I received from fellow Americans, I insisted on trying Turkish
coffee. Boy, was it horrible. Not only was there actual sediment floating throughout the mixture, but a layer of quicksand was stuck to the bottom
of the mug. Politely, I finished
it—but only by washing it down with the delicious kabob and fried eggs.
Our hump day, we formed an alliance with Louise and a
friendly British fellow named Tom to set foot on the Asian side of the city.
Being the Istanbul veterans, they took us across the Bosphorus
(waterway between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea), via the ferry. Upon landing, we enjoyed talented
street performers playing the bagpipes and a large drum-like tambourine. We ate lunch at a popular Turkish
buffet, sampling various dishes that succeeded in tempting me to take much more food than I needed.
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We continued through a local market, without seeing a single
tourist. Amongst the spices, fresh
fruit, and vegetables, we stumbled upon an exotic fish seller, which
warranted a picture.
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Next up was a juggling store. Tom proved to be an experienced juggler, and demonstrated a
five-ball sequence in the confined floor space that the shop offered, much to
the amusement of the shopkeeper.
Ashamed, I admitted that I could not even manage the basic 3-ball
juggle. After watching me
struggle, he offered me advice as I continued to practice. Over the next 15 minutes, he took a
genuine interest in instructing me and I saw marked improvement, to his
satisfaction. Before leaving, he
presented me with a single hand-sewn ball, as a token of encouragement, to my
delight.
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A few hours later, upon our return to the European side, we
were welcomed into a tea shop by Cameron Diaz (no joke, I have his business card) and his son Toto. Apparently, Louise and Tom were daily
“customers,” who danced for their tea, instead of paying. Upon hearing this, I felt anxiety
creeping up, seeing as how I don’t particularly enjoy dancing. However, after three or four rounds of
tea, complementary soup, pasta, and cake, and as 50’s swing was cranked up
by Toto, I felt obligated to join in the festivities,. The six of us shook and twisted for the
better part of an hour, only breaking between songs for tea hydration. Throughout our dance marathon, we wooed
prospective customers into the establishment to purchase Turkish delight by the
kilogram. Exhausted, we exchanged
goodbyes, with promises to return the next day.
Other highlights included the Grand Bazaar, the world’s
oldest covered market (founded in 1841), and the Basilica Cistern, the city’s
largest water container dating back to the fifth century. Interestingly, the bases of 2 of the 336 supporting pillars contain
Medusa’s face etched in the stone.
One of her heads is upside down, while the other is flipped on its
side. No historical documents
exist to explain their existence.
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Unfortunately, my adventures have come to an end, as I arrived back in the states just in time to spend Christmas with my family. However, I will be posting about life in Holland as an on-campus student over the coming semester. Stay tuned!
Wow 2013, new year, new beginnings… I am so blessed to be back at Hope. I enjoyed my time at home with family friends. It is always hard to come back to school and get into the swing of things. I already feel a little behind and slightly overwhelmed with my homework load, but I really enjoy all of my classes so far, so I’m looking forward to a new semester.
Here are some of the highlights from my break. My friends from high school, Abby and Lindsey, have always done a Christmas photo shoot together. This was our 10th year of the Christmas shoot. It is crazy to me that we have been friends for so long and we have carried on this festive tradition for so long now.
Also during break I played a lot of games with my family and friends. Our family hosted dinner parties and prepared a ton of food. My dad and I spent some quality time together while cooking. My family eats Italian food for the holidays so my dad and I prepared some stuffed shells.
After Christmas we traveled to Michigan to visit my dad’s side of the family. We only see them once a year, so I really treasure the time while we are there. It was my great uncle’s 80th birthday while we were there so there we even more cousins than usual. We spent a lot of quality time together and played tons of games.
My break ended with my family picking up my boyfriend in Holland. Then we all drove back to Illinois together and he spent the last final days of break with me. We had so much fun together
Break was absolutely incredible! I am thankful for the time spent with family and friends, but I’m looking forward to another great semester at Hope!
For this post, I’m going to speak to any high school seniors out there. If you are anything like I was at this time my senior year, your life might be a little chaotic, nerve-wracking, and maybe even scary, especially if you are still in the process of applying to schools. Looking back on the experience now, there are a lot of things I wish someone had told me about applying to college. With this in mind, I have made a list of some important details to remember during the process:
Stop obsessing over test scores
Seriously, just stop. Stop worrying about your friend’s score, your boyfriend/girlfriend’s score, and your own score. Of course the ACT and SAT are important factors in college admissions, but they are not the only aspect of your life that admissions counselors consider when deciding whether or not to admit you. Schools like Hope look at your entire high school experience. And once you go to college, scores don’t matter anymore. Something that I had to remind myself of often is that everyone is different. We are all born with such diverse gifts and talents that to base your self-confidence or self-worth on how you performed on one test is doing a disservice to yourself. You are more than just a test score!
Don’t listen to too many opinions
Opinions are like fingerprints; everyone has one and all of them are different. While you should listen to the thoughts of others, don’t make any concrete decisions based on what someone else thinks. At the end of the day, this is your life. Don’t let someone else take the driver’s seat of your car. You live with the choices you make, and one as important as where you will spend the next chapter of your life should be made by your consideration.
Start Financial Forms Early
Documents like the FAFSA are a lot more time consuming than you might think, so starting early gives you more time to finish, and once you have it completed, you will have better consideration for financial aid. Someone once described federal financial aid to me by comparing it to a pie: there are only a certain number of pieces available, and the longer you wait the less pieces there will be. The same goes for other financial aid sources. Scholarships through individual schools and organizations may have approaching deadlines; check the websites of the schools to stay on top of them. Information about financial aid for Hope can be found here.
Relax!!!
It’s the second semester of your senior year!!! It is more than ok to let loose a little bit (but not too much) and enjoy the time you have left in high school. Make sure you are spending your last semester celebrating all of your hard work and getting ready to transition into a new phase of your life. You only get one senior year; live it right!
I hope you find this helpful! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to tweet me or leave a message here!
Welcome back! It’s officially 2013 and we made it past the “end
of the world” according to the Mayan calendar. During this Christmas break, I was able to truly relax from the
stresses of school and brace myself for yet another challenging semester. Even
though classes are a bummer, it’s always good to be back and see everybody
again. Right before I came back to Hope, I took a plane ride and took two
trains to get to Kalamazoo, MI to hang out with my former roommate for the
weekend before classes started. This was one last hoorah before buckling down
and studying. We were able to go sledding, have a snowball fight, watch movies, and eat home-cooked meals. This was the ideal way of having some fun right before classes on Tuesday morning. On Monday afternoon my roommate and I traveled back
to Hope and I was greeted with a nice email saying that I have books waiting
for me in the mailroom… great, time to study.
These first few classes of the semester have been well… overwhelming.
Things such as finding the right classroom, getting to class early, printing
syllabuses, buying books, unpacking, and doing assignments that are given
before class begins are extremely stressful. I already had a quiz due the day
school started and didn’t even have class that day! Talk about getting a jump-start
on the semester. Like all of the previous semesters, the first week is always
the worst because you’re getting in the groove of everything and making a
routine for yourself. However, while in this first week, assignments are
already starting to pile up and you are greatly needing yet another break from
school. At least that’s how I feel right now. I already have a lab report,
reading assignments, online quizzes, research articles, and other little things
that pop up — a constant reminder that break is really over and won’t
return for quite a while.
Despite the academics, there are some fun things that will
be starting up now that it’s the second semester. For instance, the new
intramural season is about to start in which I’m joining a co-ed volleyball
team and inner tube water polo team. Those should be very interesting. Beyond intramurals, Hope’s basketball
season is underway and the anticipated Hope vs. Calvin game is next week at Calvin. The Men’s Basketball season is my favorite time of the year because the entire school gets so involved through the Dew Crew. Some
other things to look forward to include: SAC events, such as movies every weekend, but also hypnotist Fred Winters and Winter Fantasia later this month.
Anyway, if you are reading this and are stressed about your
new semester, just take things one step at a time and do your best. That’s
honestly all you can do and I’ll try to take my own advice into consideration
as well. Have a good week, everybody!
