Here at Hope, we’re very quickly nearing the end of the school year. As the weather heats up, the ants in the pants start squirming, and everyone is ready for summer. I know that at most colleges and universities the time is winding down, but high schoolers might still have a little ways to go.
For both parties, here’s how to survive the last month or two of school.
1. Get some sun – it’s out there, so you might as well take advantage of it. While the sun might make you want summer more, your body is probably craving the natural vitamin D that has been absent since the winter clouds rolled in. Go outside, enjoy it.
The sun is shining bright in holland!
2. Do not procrastinate. Avoid putting off everything that you have to do until the last few minutes. It’s so much better to divide up your time between work and fun while it’s nice out. For your own sake, do not procrastinate!
3. Take lots of pictures (of friends & fun times). If you’re in high school, I promise you you’re going to want these. You only have so much time to go. If you’re in college, I still feel like the same goes. You’re not going to see your friends for three or four months! Take pictures so that you can reminisce over the summer. Plus, it’s fun, and it’ll take your mind off the far-felt summer.
A sign I saw in downtown Holland. I might have to take their offer up!
4. Spend time with those around you. This sort of goes with the one above. Hang out with your friends while they’re still close to you! You’re going to miss them soon.
My friend Grace and I after getting froyo downtown! (Credit to Grace’s snapchat)
5. Slow down. Time already goes fast enough, we don’t need to try to make it go faster! Live in the moment and be present. Everything will feel so much better. April showers always bring May flowers; summer is coming, I promise! There’s no need to sit around waiting for summer to happen when there’s so much going on around you in the present.
Those are five of my tips on surviving school for whatever time you may have left. Make the most of it!
If you have any questions for me you can contact me at brookelyn.wharton@hope.edu, through Facebook, or my twitter @hopebrooke18! I’d love to answer them!
When I was younger, I would always love going to museums during field trip days. It was exciting to not go to classes and spend the day in a museum! I don’t remember if my parents had to pay anything, but it was probably $10 or less. As I grew older, I realized why I stopped going to museums: they are too expensive! Students here in Europe have it good, let me tell you. If you are under 26 years of age, you can visit museums here for FREE. (Note: there are a few museums that you do have to pay for, but being a student lets you pay a reduced fare!) Being in Paris, you have the best of the best of the museums to choose from, which I have taken advantage of since being here. I am going to share a few museums I have visited and recommend, as well as a few I want to go and visit:
1. The Louvre
If you are in Paris, you HAVE to visit the Louvre. No exceptions. It is one of the world’s largest museums, with more than 35,000 works of art on display dating from the sixth century B.C to the 19th century. This place is HUGE, meaning you will have to go back more than just once or twice to se the whole museum. You are probably already familiar with this museum because it holds only one of the most famous paintings in the world: The Mona Lisa (or La Jaconde, as she is called in France). The funny part about seeing the Mona Lisa for the first time was that I was so shocked at how tiny she was! She is protected by bullet proof glass and with security personnel watching nearby, just in case. People wait around for hours just to be able to get a selfie with her, which I find hilarious. In any case, the Louvre is not only known for what is inside, but also what is outside, a.k.a the famous Pyramid, which stands out against the backdrop of the more Baroque outer structure.
2. Musée d’Orsay
The second most visited museum in Paris, the Musée d’Orsay has an interesting background to it: it was once the Gare d’Orsay, a former train station! On the inside, you can still see the giant clock that once stood there during the early twentieth century. If you appreciate impressionist or post impressionist art, then this museum is the place for you. In the middle of the museum there is also a big open space for you to walk through to see sculptures as well. This museum looks small from the inside, but it is pretty big, with three floors.
3. Musée Picasso
Keeping up with art museums, I have to include the Musée Picasso because it just recently opened after a few years of renovation to the building. It was so interesting to see some of Picasso’s earlier works form when he was just a teenager to some of his most iconic paintings that he painted just before his death in 1973. I have a personal preference towards abstract art, so I am just a little biased by choosing this museum, but it is still worth visiting! What I like about Picasso’s artwork is that there really is no concrete meaning behind his paintings, which makes it more fun (in my opinion) to just look at each painting without trying to over-analyze it. This museum has three floors, with the very top floor dedicated to showing off some of Picasso’s own collection of paintings he owned from other artists like Matisse, Renoir and Braque.
4. Musée Carnavalet
This is one of the museums I have on my to go list because I have heard really good things about it. This museum is dedicated to telling the history of Paris from its beginning origins to the present day. That sounds like such a daunting task, but somehow this museum has compiled Paris’ vast history together in one place. It holds all sorts of artworks, from paintings and sculptures to pieces of furniture and other mementos from various periods of French history!
Thanks for reading and until my next post! Follow me on twitter @HopeMarisela16 or send me questions at marisela.meraz@hope.edu!
This truly makes me sad to say that the last intramural season I will ever participate in at Hope has just started. Intramurals have really been such a highlight for me through my four years here and I honestly will miss playing various sports and hanging out with friends. This season, I’m playing co-ed soccer and ultimate frisbee, which happen to be my favorite intramural sports besides tennis. The soccer team I’m on is a ton of fun, but this year we are in the most competitive league, which will be really difficult but I’m excited. As for frisbee, I’ve been a part of a championship team for the past couple of years and I have no doubt that the streak will continue this year. The best part about intramurals is having fun, but also winning shirts! I thought it would be fun to have this post be a flashback on the many teams I’ve been on in the past four years.
Freshman Year
Not knowing anything about intramurals, I took the opportunity to participate in as many sports as possible. My friend Tim and I played tennis together and won the “Less Competitive” division. I was also on a women’s volleyball team, which was a ton of fun because I never really played before so it was definitely a learning experience. I also had the chance to play ultimate frisbee and at first, hated it because nobody on the team knew what was going on. However, it was fun just goofing around and struggling together. I joined a co-ed soccer team as well, which was interesting because nobody knew each other, so we all got to know each other pretty quickly.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Sophomore Year
Again, I played tennis with Tim but we unfortunately didn’t win this year when we joined the “More Competitive” league. This was the first year I got involved with co-ed soccer, basketball, and inner tube water polo. Soccer was a ton of fun but water polo was a huge struggle because it was so hard to see with everyone splashing and being completely lost with the rules. Fortunately this year I joined a different Frisbee team with people that understood the game and it was a lot of fun! We won and got a championship shirt from it, which was an added bonus. At the same time, I played co-ed soccer with some friends and all I can say was that it was VERY entertaining because we had soccer players on the team as well as people who have never played the sport before. Good thing we were in the “Less Competitive” league!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Junior Year
This was probably my favorite year because I played tennis with Tim and we played some of our best tennis ever! We won “More Competitive” and man that felt like a huge accomplishment. In addition, I played co-ed volleyball and still managed to under-perform in that sport, but oh well! As for soccer, my team was really good but ended up losing in the finals. However, we won Frisbee! I was on the same team as sophomore year and it’s the same team I’m on senior year and I’m sure we’ll pull out another win.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Senior Year
Unfortunately, Tim and I couldn’t play tennis this year, which was the biggest disappointment because it was my favorite intramural. However, I played women’s indoor soccer and we lost in the semi-finals. Right now I’m on the same co-ed soccer team as last year as well as Frisbee team. I’m very interested to see how this season goes for these two sports and if we can pull out two championships or not!
That’s all I have for this week, so don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @hopeleslie15.
I’m sitting in the library at a table on the first floor near the Cup and Chaucer by myself, and I might be alone, but I’m not lonely. The rain is falling against the window, quietly, but it’s just loud enough for background noise. A girl across the room keeps shouting, “Want to take a survey for free candy?” to everyone who walks in the door and in return, every person who walks past her says, “No.” She keeps glancing at me, and I keep looking away when our eyes meet by accident. I’m avoiding it, because I have “better things to do,” such as scroll through my Facebook timeline.
And I’m laughing now, because “better things to do” was a concept that made sense in my mind, but after writing it down, it’s completely absurd. Do you ever do that? Think about something, maybe overthink it so much in your head that when it finally strikes reality it becomes absolute nonsense? I realized something important.
Maybe my sight is too narrow.
Sometimes it’s as if we’re looking through the lens of a camera, and that view is all we can see.
There comes a time where there’s so much going around us that we become immune to our surroundings. Maybe it’s because our brain is talking too much or we want to remain under the radar or we’re too busy being the center of attention of a different situation. We operate on our own tracks, like trains, never crossing into unknown territory. The worst part is that I don’t think I’m really afraid; it’s more the fact that I never considered off-roading in the first place. It’s more ignorance than it is a lack of courage.
I guess that’s why they call it a “train of thought,” too. Because it has a tendency to go in one direction until it reaches the end. I wonder if I could change that, even a little, to create a path with many trails rather than to stick to what I know to be solid ground.
How are you stepping out of your comfort zone? Tweet at me @hopesophie17. Questions about Hope? Other comments you may have? Feel free to post below or email me at sophie.guetzko@hope.edu.
There are many activities to be involved with on campus, but probably the most popular is to play an intramural sport (IM). Before this semester, I really hadn’t played in too many IM games. Growing up, I had always enjoyed watching sports, but really never played. But now, I’m on an ultimate frisbee team and having the time of my life – just wishing I would have joined a team before senior year.
All that being said, I thought it would be fun to share with y’all about the different intramural sports and teams that you can play on while you’re at Hope. Basically, if there’s a sport you want to play, Hope most like has a IM team for that sport. Here’s a picture that shows all the different sports:
Intramural games are played twice a week – either on M/W or T/R. Games can be anywhere from 6:30 PM to 11:00 PM. You might think that you would be too busy with other things to play a sport, but it’s really nice to be able to take an hour study break, run around, and hang out with friends.
If you’re nervous because you aren’t great at sports or super competitive, don’t worry! The intramural staff understands that everyone wants to compete at a different level. For some people, they’ve played sports their entire life and want to be extremely competitive. For others, they just want to run around and have a good time. So, to allow everyone to play how they want, you can sign up for different leagues: “More Competitive” and “Less Competitive” (and for some sports Competitive).
The best part about playing in IM games is the prize if you win the final game in the playoffs: The Intramural T-Shirt. If you say that it’s just a shirt, you probably haven’t won one yet. I haven’t won a shirt yet, but I know that I don’t want to leave Hope College until I have a shirt.
So when you get to Hope, make sure to check out the different intramural sports. It’s a great way to relax and have tons of fun with your friends! {make sure to keep checking back for updates on if I win a t-shirt before graduation}
Hello Hope College! I hope you’re enjoying your final weeks of the semester and are ready to celebrate Easter this weekend. The weather is getting so nice that I hope you get to spend some time outside as well!
Speaking of the weather, today was beautiful! The campus was buzzing with life…the Pine Grove was packed with hammocks hooked high in trees and people basking in the warm sun. When I was there, I even counted four games of SpikeBall going on!
Besides just soaking up the sun between classes in the Pine Grove, one of my favorite activities to do when it’s warm out is run. When I was in high school, I was involved in a lot of different sports, but I thrived at the ones that involved running outside. Soccer and cross country were my favorites, and those running habits carried over into college. Some people say when you start running, you catch “the running bug”, and when I played those specific sports, I definitely caught it.
Running is easy for me. I am blessed with an able body that wants to push its limits everyday, and in running, the only person you have to beat is yourself. I thrive on this concept, and on good days when I beat my mile time, it’s the best feeling in the world. When I was in grade school, like most kids, I hated running. But moving into high school and college, it has been my stress reliever and the way I cope with difficult situations.
Last summer was my first long distance run. I ran a 10K (or 6.2 miles) at Stoney Creek Metropark by my house, and it was the hardest race I’ve ever run. I had limited training beforehand and, although I felt great during the race, I was wrecked after. My legs were extremely sore and stayed that way for a week! However, that accomplishment only fed my love for running, because this summer, I’m running a half-marathon, which is 13.1 miles. (Yikes!)
This 10k was such a great race – I got a medal and everything!
Unlike last summer, I am on a strict training schedule. Workouts are six out of seven days a week with lower mileage during the week and long runs on the weekends. Getting started on these was difficult because, like all activities, you have to make time for it! During the winter, I would work out at the Dow during the night because there was snow on the ground, but running around the track 30+ times (10 is a mile) gets really boring really fast. That’s why I’m so grateful for the warmer weather thats on its way!
Even if running’s not your thing, I encourage you to give it a try! It’s so nice being outside and getting that fresh air into your lungs. Running also releases endorphins in your body, so it’s a mood enhancer and puts you in a good mood. 🙂
Enjoy your Easter holiday, and enjoy the coming warm days!
You know the weather is good when the Pine Grove is so packed that you can’t even set your hammock up!
The Pine Grove is just one of the many awesome things about Hope College. A lot of campuses don’t have a perk like this. It’s an open space where you can play spike ball, frisbee, KanJam, hammock, throw a ball, or just relax and do some homework. It’s a great place to just spend time with friends.
Some other things students enjoy about the Pine Grove:
Dane Peterson – “It’s a great community place. I always can walk in the Pine Grove and find some of my friends just chilling.”
Briana Bailey – “My favorite thing is the community, but I also love all the tress.”
Tyler Melby – “I love hammocking in the Pine Grove, you can just fall asleep.”
You could ask anyone and they will say it’s such a great place to hang out with friends. These are just a few people I interviewed.
Hopefully you all are having a great last semester in high school! Hope to see you here for admitted students day and next fall!
I’ve learned throughout the year how important it is to be healthy at this time in my life. No one is around to moderate the health value of the things you’re putting into your body. At Hope I’ve learned to not only value my education and classes, but also my body and my mind. It’s a really good idea to keep healthy snacks in your dorm room.
It can be really tempting to just stock cookies, candy, and other empty foods in your room. Here are some of my suggestions of healthy foods that you can keep in your room to make sure you stay on track!
1. Fresh Fruit
You don’t truly appreciate the fresh things at home until you get to college. I miss having strawberries and blueberries readily available to me. I’ve started buying my own and keeping them in the fridge. They’re a great sweet alternative to other sugary foods!
Another thing to mention is the Holland Farmers Market, which is around for a good portion of the year in the fall semester! It’s a great place to go to get all of your fresh goods for the week!
2. Low-sugar cereal
Cereals can be packed with refined sugars, but I’ve found one that I like that doesn’t contain as much. It’s the Kashi Heart to Heart honey one. Another good option is Cheerios! These are great for breakfasts and also just light snacking!
Keeping fresh fruit in your room is the best!
Kashi Heart to Heart cereal is low in sugar!
3. Nuts
Nuts are not only really yummy, but also very filling. They’re good for you in moderation, and can hold you over from meal to meal and during classes!
4. Snapea Crips
I can’t obsess over these things enough. It’s hard to describe the salty crunch, but I promise they’re delicious. The perfect alternative to a potato chip, I think!
Mixed nuts!
Snapea Crisps are the best : -)
5. Rice Cakes
Yes, they might be the most boring food to ever grace the earth, but when paired with something like hummus, or peanut butter and jelly, they’re so great! Sometimes I like them plain, but mostly I like to spread something on top of them for a great treat.
6. Low-Sugar Granola Bars
Granola bars can be really bad for you if they’re packed with sugar. Luckily, not all of them are. I really enjoy the Kashi brand, but there are plenty of others to check out at the store. These are great for on-the-go breakfasts or snacks!
Rice cakes are gluten free and can be eaten with a lot of yummy toppings!
Kashi granola bars are low in sugar!
I hope this post gives you some good ideas to staying healthy in college! Every Thursday Hope has a shuttle that runs to Meijer, so if you need anything you’re able to go!
This week we have Good Friday off, but I’m staying up in Holland for the weekend. Hopefully I do something fun to write about and share!
If you have any questions for me you can contact me at brookelyn.wharton@hope.edu, through Facebook, or my twitter @hopebrooke18! I’d love to answer them!
Here we are at the beginning of our second week back from Spring Break. Two days before I left home to return to Hope my laptop decided to give up on me. I packed it into my backpack and put my hope into CIT of Hope College to bring my trusty sidekick back to life.
I dropped off my laptop the Monday we returned to classes and anxiously awaited its diagnosis.
In the meantime – I had a paper to write. I moved myself, my books, and a fuzzy blanket (the necessities in life) down into the basement study lounge. I’ve learned I would get even more exercise if I did all my studying in the basement versus my room or a friend’s room on the third floor. A forgotten pen or book, or the need to have a mental break and chat with some friends a few stories up, equals climbing the 49 stairs that make up the three flights from the basement time and time again.
On Wednesday I recieved my laptop’s diagnosis from CIT: its hard drive was bad.
Initial reaction: panic.
I’m not a huge fan of the basement dwelling life, but even less so of having to get a new laptop just a few weeks before the semester is over.
Thankfully, CIT is awesome.
They backed up my files for me and offered to install a new hard drive if I bought one and dropped it off.
So, Thursday night I bought a new hard drive, dropped it off Friday morning, and am content to live the basement dweller lifestyle temporarily while I await the call to pick up my revived computer.
The nicest thing is that CIT’s services are free for Hope students so all that they are doing for my computer only cost me the price of a hard drive which is so great.
Hats off to CIT for being magical and saving the day.
Thanks for reading & I hope you have a great week!
~Erin
You can follow me on Twitter (@HopeErin18) or Instagram (@e_delaney333) for little thoughts & pictures about life at Hope 🙂
As of today, there are 34 days left until commencement (probably the first thing seniors do not want to hear). I feel as if college seniors get asked what their future plans are during the beginning and end of the school year. At the beginning of this academic year, I posted a blog title, “Things Seniors Don’t Want To Hear.” Although accurate then, it is definitely applicable now that we are graduating in practically one month (it was really funny to reflect back on that)!
Graduation is in (X number) of days!
Thank you, Captain Obvious. Although I will confess; starting spring semester, I created a countdown on my planner. For me, it was motivational. For others, not so much. We seniors already have so much going on between now and then; graduation is definitely the last thing to think about. With papers, projects, and exams left, all of our “energy” (it’s gone, we’re burnt out from academia) goes into that. The more we think about graduation, the higher the chance of a stress-attack. I am excited to graduate because I’m so checked out with school work, but I am NOWHERE near ready to say my goodbyes.
What are your plans after college?
With the exception of a slim 1% (me included), many seniors DO NOT know what their plans are after college. Real talk, most of us don’t know which TV series to binge watch on Netflix, or what to eat for dinner. If many of us can’t figure that out, how the heck would we know about our post-college plans? I am lucky that I do know what I’m doing (Peace Corps!) and I’m THAT senior that everyone hates because I know my plans. It’s ok, I suck it up, because in the end, we will all end up somewhere. It’s just a matter of when. To you “non” seniors out there, be careful when asking this question!
When are you going to settle down?
Well, Netflix and I have been going steady, and we are definitely ready for the next level. I joke, I joke! Again, with the slim 1% who are engaged or already married, KUDOS! I am happy for you that you have that settled. As for the rest of us, people, we’re only 22-23. The only commitment that I have in my life (other than family and Netflix) is food and sleep. I’ll settle down when someone finds me in my cave.
Are you ready for the real world?
Last time I checked, I live in the real world. Others may not think that college is the “real world,” but the real world is what we make it. College has challenged us and taught us so much. As much as seniors think that they are not ready for post-college life, think again. We have all the tools we need to survive, and the skills that we have grown in will definitely put as at an advantage in wherever we end up. So we ARE ready for the real world, we just have to realize it.
Enjoy college while it lasts!
This is the reason why I hate this question: we only have a limited amount of time left, but there are so many things to do between now and graduation. I’m trying to enjoy college while it lasts, but I still need to balance academics and life out. One of the main reasons college exists is so we can get degrees; I would definitely like mine. But you don’t need to tell me to enjoy college while it lasts. It just tells me that a) the number of days keep decreasing and b) life without my college friends around at all times is going to be an adjustment.
Are you ready to graduate?
And lastly, the Holy Grail of all questions. Are we seniors ready to graduate? Yes/No. We are ready to graduate because we want those challenges in various settings, we may be getting tired of the people we have been with for four consecutive years, we just want a new environment, and we are just so done with school work. But why would we not be ready? We don’t want to leave this place we call home behind, and we may not be ready to say our farewells to our closest.
It’s actually happening!
Despite the fact that seniors don’t want to hear this, we have to face its reality. Graduation is upon us whether we are ready or not, but there’s a reason why it’s called commencement; we are starting afresh! Thank you for reading, all! Make sure to follow me on Twitter and on Instagram!
