I hope all of your breaks were wonderful. We have one week of our new semester down and it is looking like it will be bringing all new challenges. Change of major, higher-level classes, starting another job as an overnight host, and the opportunity to meet new people in new classes. Although there may be challenges, there are also some great things coming back. Seeing all the people you care and enjoy spending time with is awesome! Your hallway becomes your family. They will be there for you and be the ones you get to spend a lot of your day with. It helps when you have such great people in your hall. I am very excited for this new semester, new experiences with friends, and new opportunities.
Yesterday I got to have a great time at the Hope vs Calvin mens basketball game, even though it came with a disappointing loss. However, I got to cap the night off with the Gungor concert and a donut run with friends. I cannot tell you guys enough how blessed you will be by the people around you here at Hope College. The people and community are what make this place so amazing, on top of all the wonderful academics, great athletics, fantastic faith opportunities, and beautiful campus.
Hopefully all of you are enjoying being back as school as much as I am!
Thanks for reading!
Snow days at Hope are very rare. Most students live on our (relatively small) campus, so most of the time we can usually get to and from class in a matter of a few minutes and we don’t have to account for all that many people driving to school or walking very far at all, which is a big difference from high school for most people. We got two snow days last year due to essentially impossible travel conditions for the very beginning of the semester, but yesterday was the first snow day in my college career when most of the student body was actually on campus.
I was actually only supposed to have one class yesterday, so a snow day wasn’t a huge deal for me, but for those who were getting up for an 8 AM and beyond, I’m sure it was super exciting! The thing with college snow days is that sometimes professors really don’t like them. In fact, sometimes professors email you everything they were going to do in class that day so you can prepare to stay on the planned schedule for the next class meeting. That totally makes sense, but it’s definitely a little bit of a bummer as well. Luckily, since it’s Friday, we still have a whole weekend to prepare if professors sent us work yesterday.
I basically spent the whole snow day relaxing. I spent the morning watching Parks and Rec on Netflix, reading, and eating breakfast and enjoying coffee in my room. After lunch at Phelps, I got organized for some homework (that I didn’t end up doing… whoops!), practiced some art stuff that I’ve been working on, and wrote a song, which always gets me super excited. I worked on that a lot for the rest of the day and I hit dinner at Phelps as well. My residents watched movies together and played games together all day. Snow days are an awesome opportunity just to unwind with your friends. It’s easier to spend time with people than it was in high school because you’re all together in the first place, rather than having to drive across town to your friend’s house when the roads are terrible.
Enjoying the snow!
Last night, I went to see Upright Citizens Brigade, an improv group that Amy Poehler from Parks and Rec started. SAC (Hope’s Student Activities Committee) has brought them in for the past few years and it’s such a great event! They are always so fun to watch!
The Hope/Calvin rivalry men’s basketball game is today as well. I wasn’t able to get a ticket, so I’ll be streaming it online or watching it on TV, but I’m super excited to see it! Go Dutch!
(P.S.: I got to sing the National Anthem for the women’s basketball game on Wednesday! Such a cool privilege!)
I love singing for Hope games, especially now that I finally have my voice back!
Thanks for reading! Keep up with me on Twitter,Instagram, or via email at kathryn.krieger@hope.edu!
For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does.
A lot happened in 2014. Here’s my 14-point summary of the year – high school seniors should relate 🙂
1.) Finally the seemingly ever elusive Senior year of high school begins.
2.) SAT/ACT scores are a big deal.
-Meanwhile, less than a year later, they will become essentially irrelevant.
3.) College applications consume all spare time.
4.) “All spare time” is really whatever time you can salvage from the black hole of “Senioritis”
5.) You get accepted to college(s)!
6.) Then you worry about having to pick a college..so you pick some Verses of The Year:
Philippians 4:6-7
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
Jeremiah 29:11
“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.”
7.) You make your college decision and are surprised by how easy it was.
-My hope for any current high school seniors is that you find your decision as straight forward as I did after prayer and thinking and that you are confident and content in your choice. 🙂
8.) You attend your final school concert, musical, sports game, dance, class…
9.) You graduate high school!
10.) You discover that the “Freshman 15” is really a “pre-freshman 15” due to the amount of graduation parties you attend over the next 2 months.
11.) You pack your entire existence into what looks like way too many boxes and move 6 and a half hours away. (or 6 and a half minutes, 6,000 miles, however far it may be.)
12.) You unpack your entire existence into an unfamiliar place, say good bye to your family and play far too many ice breaker/get to know you games than should exist in one week.
so. many. games.
13.) You have that moment of awareness as you walk across campus a few weeks into classes that you are actually a college student.
14.) You discover a home away from home and family of friends
Life is completely different now than it was a year ago. A new state, new home, new friends, new school, new family, new sources of happiness.
It’s funny, the difference a year can make.
~Erin Twitter & Instagram
Have any questions about college life, the transition, making decisions, or relevant Disney gifs that are better than the ones I found? Feel free to send me a message at erin.hoolahan@hope.edu
Well, the first week of the spring semester is finished. To top it off, it finished on a great note because we have a SNOWDAY TODAY! For those of you who don’t remember, the weather was like this exactly one year ago. It was so bad that people coined the term, “Snowpocalypse 2014.” I definitely think it’s safe to say that it can be carried over to this year. But in comparison to last year, my gut tells me that its worse this time around. In less than 24 hours, Holland accumulated 1 foot of snow, and more is expected. The wind gusts are so strong that it shifts the snow making it very deep in some places. This snowday is for a good reason,
The text message that brought one of the best news of this week.
Despite all of this cold weather, the winter and Mother Nature make Hope look very pretty, making this week back to school that much better. Personally, I’m not a big fan of the winter except that I can go skiing. Other than that, snow is only pretty from the inside. My plan for today’s snowday is to stay in my sweats, eat food, watch Netflix, and stay in bed. Oh, and maybe do some of that thing called homework.
Okay, enough about the weather. Classes are going swell. I just can’t believe this is my last undergraduate semester, so everyday counts. Before I know it, May 3rd will be around the corner. It feels great to be back and go on a routine. Seeing all of my friends is also a plus! Back to the weather one more time, even though today’s snowday is a highlight, I have better new for you. In October, I applied to the Peace Corps in hopes to serve our country abroad in the health field. This past week, I have been notified that I am being considered to serve in Cameroon for the Child and Maternal Health Volunteer Program. To top it off, I RECEIVED AN INVITATION FOR AN INTERVIEW NEXT WEEK! To be considered for a program and to have an interview is such an honor in itself. I am looking forward to my joinery with the Peace Corps. I will keep you all updated!
Well, that’s it for now my fellow readers! Enjoy these two beautiful pictures of Hope I took this week, and make sure to follow me on Twitter at @HopeMarvin15 and follow me on Instagram at Marvsolberg to get a feel for what life is like at Hope! Stay warm!
In the first days of classes, I have been walking from class to class with my head down, battling the bitter cold and icy wind. I walk briskly as I try to get away from the never-ending snowfall and consuming gusts of wind tangled with snow.
The common walk that happens during this time of year by college students.
As I take on that mannerism, I seem to be doing the same with my freshly started classes. Already, I find myself wishing for them to end faster and dreading the work that accompanies them.
As a friend and I were talking about this, we came to the conclusion, that too often we wish things away and that we forget to find and look for the beauty in the situation. Looking at this winter, we could choose to focus on the cold, the wind, or the way our hair gets messed up every time we go outside, but you know what, I am going to try take a moment and breath in the beauty of what is happening around me. Sure, if I breath deeply enough, my nose boogies are guaranteed to freeze, but that won’t stop me from seeing the unmistakable beauty that is swirling around me.
The same can be said for my classes. Sure I could focus on the stress that will accompany them, but I would like to try to focus on the enlightenment, knowledge, and skills that I will be gaining after I put in the work necessary.
All in all, I need to focus on not worrying about the present and thus trying to rush out of it and wish it away. To put it concisely, instead of worrying about the present, I should live in.
Welcome back from Christmas break! Since I went home to California over the break, I didn’t get to see how much snow Michigan got. Hearing from my roommates that there was hardly any really surprised me and once I flew back, inches upon inches piled up and were blowing very aggressively. I’m currently writing this from the living room of my apartment and I feel like the wind is going to break through the windows! Anyway, some people don’t have to suffer through this terrible weather. Why you ask? Because some of them are studying abroad in other places.
One of my closest friends from California who happens to go to school in Illinois just arrived in South Africa to study abroad. From pictures she has sent me, it’s nice and warm there and she’s enjoying the good life full of warmth and sunshine. In addition, another friend from home is going to be traveling to Israel in the Spring! One of my roommates just got accepted into the Vienna June Term here at Hope, which made me really nostalgic because that was me last year, but during the May Term. A friend of mine and fellow blogger, Marvin, went to Vienna with me is going abroad over Spring Break because he loved the experience and exposure to a different culture so much. Obviously he learned the importance in putting yourself in a new environment where you are unfamiliar and vulnerable. This helps figure out how to communicate with others and other skills that are necessary when relating to others.
After experiencing abroad for myself, I cannot say enough good things about it and encourage everyone to at least travel outside of the state. Another one of my roommates took an internship in Chicago and is being exposed to a completely different atmosphere and lifestyle than what Hope offers. I strongly believe that a true education is beyond the textbooks and classrooms—it’s about learning other life skills that are applicable to the future and the “real world.” Staying in your comfort zone and bubble only allows you to master handling your current lifestyle, but to reach your full potential as a person, one must take risks and realize that obstacles will be encountered. However, overcoming these obstacles like simply learning how to speak a new phrase or learning a different form of transportation is a huge accomplishment and gives a new perspective.
I would absolutely love to travel abroad again like Marvin is planning on doing just because it was a tremendous learning experience and way to become more of an individual. I know that Hope offers so many opportunities to explore various areas of the world, so the only difficult task is figuring out a schedule that will allow you to hopefully graduate on time and meet a class requirements. Even if you don’t want to study abroad necessarily, Hope also offers a ton of mission trips that give the same emerging feel but the purpose is different that obtaining knowledge but is instead about being more charitable. If I haven’t beat it into the ground enough yet, I strongly encourage everyone to travel somewhere new just to have a good time, gain experiences and create some funny stories to tell when you return! Hope this helped and try to survive this terrible storm!
That last one wasn’t important… But I really, really like mugs. Exhibit A:
The latest addition to my mug collection.
I got back to campus a little earlier than most people for some quick RA training sessions, so I had some extra downtime to think, refocus, and prepare for a new semester. This semester I am really getting into classes for my major, which I’m excited about, but it also worried me. However, as I’ve gone to the first few days of classes, I’ve really enjoyed them and I’m excited about the content areas I’m studying this semester.
While I know this probably won’t last long, I’ve also been asleep by midnight every night this week, and I’ve been getting up early to allow myself a lot of time before class in the morning. I think that taking time for a slow morning and sitting down to eat breakfast makes a huge difference in how my day goes and I’m so glad that I’ve been able to make that a priority so far this semester. If this first week is any indication of how the rest of the semester is going to go, I have a lot to look forward to.
Most importantly, I really want to focus on Jesus this semester. As I spent the past semester letting myself get caught up in schoolwork and stress without letting Christ infiltrate into those aspects of my life, I quickly became very overwhelmed and found myself complaining about anything and everything. As I let my focus shift away from Christ, I also found my sense of peace dwindling. What’s beautiful in that, though, is that Jesus never quit pursuing me. I am thankful that as I reorient my heart and pray for an insatiable hunger for Christ, he meets me despite my shortcomings and rebellions. As I come into a new year and a new semester, Jesus pours new mercies over me and that is more than I could ask for.
Thanks for reading! Keep up with me on Twitter, Instagram, or via email at kathryn.krieger@hope.edu!
“Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.”
It feels so odd not being on campus to experience the beginning of another semester! As I mentioned in my last post, I will be studying abroad these next four months in Paris. I write this post as I take a break from packing and getting all of my things in order before I leave on Friday (SO.SOON). It doesn’t quite feel real yet, but I’m sure when I am on the plane over the ocean it will hit me, who knows. Either way, I am mentally and emotionally preparing myself for this new journey.
I am not the one to make a resolution for the new year, but I decided to make one for 2015 and it is this: To let it be and to let go. I am a planner, an organizer, and when things don’t go as planned, I get upset and focus on the negative side of the situation. I need to learn how to accept things as they happen, the good and the bad. I have no doubt that something will go wrong while I am France, because I am learning to live in a country I have never lived in before. Things happen. I will get lost, take the wrong train, and will surely (definitely) mispronounce words 95% of the time. When something goes wrong, I can either dwell on the negativity or pick myself up and let that bad energy go. I will choose the latter. Anyone who knows me knows that this will not be easy for me (I’m looking at you, Mom!) as change is a slow process, but well worth the wait.
I hope that my resolution of letting go this year will allow me to focus on what is happening right now in my life. Too often we let what has happened in the past affect us from living in the present. I know I have, and it has only kept me from moving forward. Undoubtedly, these next four months will change my life. I will make mistakes, I will have setbacks, but I will also be learning something new every day.
I hope that this year treats you all well and that you will all learn to let go in your own lives.
I was so ready for the new year that I took my assignment notebook on December 31 and tore out all of the pages leading up to January 1.
“New year, new schedule,” I told myself. Along with a new schedule, I created new truths for the upcoming year. Due to future circumstances that make it nearly impossible to find out where this year might lead, I’ve created a list to apply for the first six months.
I don’t know where this year will lead, but I sure am ready to find out. I also don’t post pictures of myself very often, so here’s a snapshot of me, too.
I’m planning to be different by the time summer rolls around, so here’s some tips to focus on for now:
1. Take the tags off of clothes as soon as you buy them. Why? That way, on the first day of class, you won’t have a cute guy telling you that you forgot to take the medium sticker off of the back of your leggings.
2. Embrace each moment as if you would have chosen it. Unpredictable things happen. But when we embrace circumstances that seem uncontrollable, we can move through them gracefully and level-headed.
3. Love people. When we hold onto hurt, we lash it out onto others. One thing I learned in these first six days of 2015: It’s not worth it. No matter how mean, or frustrating, or annoying someone can be, when we choose to love, we find greater joy than anything else could bring.
4. Eat healthy. Last semester, I was eating approximately four meals per day because I was hungry all the time. I wasn’t eating enough protein or taking sufficient vitamins. But once I realized that taking care of myself by eating healthier is a key to my success as a student, I’m totally down for the challenge. It’s easier now that I moved into a cottage this semester, too, because I can make some of my own meals with two accessible kitchens.
5. Grow in at least one way. Whether it’s growing a couple of extra inches taller, buying a shoe size up, or kicking a habit that no longer serves you, do it. Dye your hair red (again) like me. Ask someone you want to get to know better out to lunch or coffee. Say I’m sorry, if that’s something you avoid. It’s amazing how a little growth in one area can change everything.
6. Forget everything you think you know and trade it in for the stuff you do know. Find out the facts, leave behind the rumors.
7 1/2. Choose a word for the year. I call this “seven and a half” because it will be one that will begin now, but take place the whole year. Choose a word based on an area you want to focus on – perhaps discovery, love, adventure, acceptance, or joy – and write it on your mirror, your notebooks, anywhere that reminds you what this year will mean to you. My word is restoration. What’s yours?
What’s your word of the year? Tweet it at me @hopesophie17. Questions or comments can be sent to sophie.guetzko@hope.edu. Happy “Spring” Semester 2015 (It’s snowing like crazy here.)
I hope you all had a wonderful break and are ready to start a new semester fresh!
If you’re like me, it was bittersweet coming back to school. You’ve just spent all of your much-deserved vacation bonding with your family over Christmas dinner and mingling with your high school friends while ringing in the New Year. In other words, it’s hard to go! To leave all of those comfortable people and come back to…what? What, or who, are we coming back to?
In my eyes, when I left the comfort of my family at home, I was coming back to not only my friends, but my family here at Hope. Because if you really think about it, you see the people in your residence hall, your classes, and even the cafeteria more months out of the year than you see your biological family, and that says a lot. You might be leaving your family back at home, but you’re rejoining your family when coming back to Hope.
I didn’t see it like that freshman year, but that’s only because I hadn’t grown close to the people around me. As the year wore on, I grew closer to my roommate, my cluster mates (I lived in Dykstra) and even the constant flow of people I saw en route to my morning classes. They slowly but surely became my little family – my home away from home, as they say. I came to miss them when I went home during the year. As last year melted into this year, breaks like the one we just had have turned into nice rejuvenation periods to reconnect with loved ones, but coming back to Hope I know that I truly have missed the friends I now call family.
I’m sure that as my upcoming years at Hope pass, I’ll grow even closer to this family. I will be sad to see them go, come graduation, but as my college years turn into adult years, I’ll be able to look back and reminisce on the family that got me though some of the best years of my life.
Start this semester off great, everyone, and appreciate the people around you as you start classes. Until next time, readers!
