Hello friends! I am very excited to share with you awesome news. This past weekend, I ran AND completed the Park2Park Half Marathon here in Holland! So yes, this was definitely the highlight of my weekend. After more than 200 miles of training, I crossed that finish line exhausted, in pain, but happy. No one can take the accomplishment away from me!
To make the race even better, my best buddy Joey and many of my close friends ran the race too. Seeing familiar faces really made me push myself to keep going. Trust me, I wanted to stop. At the 8th mile, I started having runner’s trots, which are cramps. Then, my legs started hurting bad. It was just one bad event after another. At this point, I was ready to just walk the entire thing. But, I never start something and not finish. I owed it to myself to keep going so I did. I might of not had the time I wanted, but it was about the journey and the finish for me!
Here I am crossing the finish line 13.1 miles later!
I encourage you all to try running races. Start small of course, with 5K’s and what not. Then up your game, then dream big! I signed up for this half marathon in the late spring/early summer so I had time to train. Make sure you allow yourself adequate time to train, and make the time for it. I remember I used to very much detest running. But once in the mindset, all you’ll want to do is run. Truly, it’s the effort that counts. Also, running is free therapy. It will get your mind off thoughts and clear your head. Yeah, you might be in physical pain after, but your brain will be clear. Here are some pictures from the race. Let me know if you have any questions! Thanks for reading everyone!
We have been blessed with some beautiful weather this past week and I wanted to take advantage of what might be our last opportunity to venture to the beach before fall’s chill sets in.
So, my roommate promised that if I finished writing my papers she would take me to the beach this weekend. I finished one and outlined the second so we considered that close enough and took a homework break with a friend on our floor to get some Cold Stone ice cream and then head to the beach.
While my parents were in Holland for orientation weekend back in August they found Laketown Beach Park and insisted I get the chance to visit before winter. I am so glad that we did! From the parking lot you have to climb stairs up the dunes and then down the other side to reach the water. The view was breathtaking! The sound of the water and feel of the sand under my feet was enough to give my mind a re-charging for the week ahead.
I took too many pictures of the amazing view, but here are a few of my favorites from our beach adventure!
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Fall recess is in just 5 days! I can’t wait to visit home for awhile, but I will miss the beautiful sights Holland, MI has to offer.
I hope you have a fabulous week!
~Erin
Feel free to follow me on Twitter or Instagram for thoughts and images of life at Hope from my point of view 🙂
On Saturday, September 27th, Hope College had their 117th Pull competition. For those of you who don’t know, Pull is the longest college tradition in the nations that consists of Odd Year versus Even Year playing a crazy intense game of “tug-a-war” across the black river. Odd year consisted of the sophomores (class off 17′) with senior coaches (15′). Even Year consisted of the freshmen (18′) with juniors as their coaches (16′). Below are some pictures that help explain the pull.
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Here is a video right before the pull of the girls moralers getting pumped!
Here is a video of the very beginning of the pull!
In the end, the Sophomores (ODD YEAR) won after a hard 3 hours. They also set a record for the most feet ever pulled with 90 feet, 8 more feet than the previous record! GO ODD YEAR! It was a great day!
This weekend I got to see my family and run my first half marathon. The half marathon was called the Park2Park. It was put on by Holland Hospital. Holland is a beautiful city, with multiple sites to see. This half marathon took you on a run throughout some of the most beautiful and peaceful parts of town. This is a picture of my cousin, uncle, sister, and myself after finishing the half marathon.
There are many other options as well. For example;
1. Every Wednesday and Saturday morning they host a farmers market downtown, this is always a good time and you can get some healthy, fresh food as well!
2. Downtown Frozen Yogurt bars will do fundraisers that are fun for all of us.
3. If you are able to be in the area for a couple days after the school year ends, you can see the awesome Tulip Time Festival! This festival exibits the awesome heritage of Holland and is a lot of fun as well.
These all are just a few opportunities that Holland puts on. Hope College also takes the time to really put on a lot of fun opportunities for the student body and surrounding community.
Fall Break is in one week, definitely something to look forward to! A nice long weekend to spend with family relaxing and catching up on the sleep that you miss out on during the hustling and bustling of the college life. It also gives you something to look forward to at the end of a busy week of classes, activities, friends, and homework! Thank you all for listening, I hope you had an awesome weekend and that you aren’t as sore as I am or as sore as the Pull guys are.
Time flies when you’re at college, right? Well, it sure does for me. I mean, we are already more than one month in for Fall Semester. What’s even scarier for me is that I am a senior, and next week is October. Crazy. During my first month at Hope, a lot has happened! For starters, life got real. It finally hit me that it’s my last undergraduate year, and I won’t be around these people after being with them for 4 years. WOW, it’s going to be one large adjustment.
Thinking about graduate school too has been somewhat stressful. I’m just embarking on finishing 4 years of school, and I want to go for 4 more years. Why? I guess I just can’t get enough of it. I’m somewhat kidding, but in order for me to get my Ph.D., that 4 extra years is necessary.
Time is flying because I am finally in the swing of things. I am in a routine and have a set schedule for everyday during the week. Of course there is room to do spontaneous things, like going to football games, or going out to eat with friends. Because my life is hectic, I need this spontaneous time to socialize and be with my friends!
Some of the highlights I’ve had so far were going to 3 Michigan games with some of my favorite people. 1) With my best friend Joey, 2) with my roommate Nate, and 3) with my friend Lauren! (see the slideshow below for some pictures!) Last week, we also had a Vienna reunion dinner. It was so great to see my very best friends, even though I see them often, and it was also great to see the other students who went to Europe. Of course no one turned away free food! Another fun time was just last Thursday, or the Ben Rector concert with Joey. His music is simply the best, and SAC sponsored it, so I’m not biased at all 🙂
Well, that’s just a summary of what has been going on. I have mentioned some of these in my previous blogs, so check those out! Also, check out the pictures below. Thanks all for reading!
Odd (noun): every sign pointing closer to the Black River.
Have you seen them?
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ODD (verb): lifestyle.
It’s more than ending with ’17. It’s more than the three hour strife of the pull in the pits. It’s Odd Year Pride.
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Today, Hope College celebrated their 117th annual tradition known as The Pull. Alumni, students, and faculty gathered near the Black River to support their beloved side: Even or Odd. (You’re considered “Even” if your graduation year ends with an even number, and “Odd” if your graduation year ends with an odd number.)
And I’m proud to be Odd.
Keep up with me @hopesophie17 or feel free to shoot me an email at sophie.guetzko@hope.edu.
We’re like birds in cages, flying about, so focused on not getting too close to the walls that we don’t even realize that the door out was left open. And it was not left open by accident.
I had a chat with God tonight in the fifth pew from the front on the left-hand side of Dimnent Memorial Chapel.
“Hey, God,” I whispered, “Where do I go from here?”
But it was a selfish whisper. The true whisper said something more like, “Where do I go from here? …AND I’m a Communications major, I’m not going to a third world country, it’d be great if I could have a boyfriend, I’d like to get an A on that Statistics quiz, tomorrow I hope I can sleep in, and maybe next Thursday I’ll forgive my friend for hurting my feelings.”
And I heard a voice speak over me, I know your heart.
In that moment, I saw the limitations I had placed in my heart that affected my relationship with God. Nothing can fix my failed relationships. I’m disappointed. I’m not wanted for that position. I’m not goodenough, I don’t have the intelligence to play that part. I’m not brave enough to reach out. I’m not competent. I’m not qualified. And, most of all,I’m scared.
How would I react if God calls me to wake up early tomorrow? Will I roll over and sleep, or go where He leads?
It comes down to one question: Will I say yes to the calling God has for me?
[Tunnel Park Sunset]
An event called The Send took place tonight in Dimnent Memorial Chapel. Worship leader Lindy Conant of the band Jesus Culture lead worship and members of the Ekballo Project presented part of their documentary about the way the work of Christ is moving in the Himalayan Mountains in Nepal.
Side Note: For any who followed my blog last year, you may vaguely remember a rather short post about The Ekballo Project (in case you’d like a refresher, you can find it here: Ekballo Project: Be the Answer). The work they have done in the past year is incredible. I encourage you to check out their website here to learn more: http://ekballoproject.com/
Christ came to the earth so that we could be liberated from these chains. These limits are not our destiny; they have been replaced. They have been replaced by grace and sufficient preparation so that we can say “yes” when God calls us from the cage.
Too often we put limits– consciously or unconsciously– upon the capacity of our all-knowing, holy God. And although tonight’s focus was upon the ways the Spirit is moving through Nepal, we don’t have to travel around the world to share Christ. We can walk down the hallway of our dorm. Invite our lab partner to Chapel. Let go of a grudge.
All of the limits we place upon ourselves in the cage are part of the lies that we accept as the truth. We don’t have to be perfect before God calls us. When we have a call, He prepares us to fulfill that calling.
By speaking the name of Christ, we can provide a home to the homeless, a father to the orphans, a key to the lock and the chains of the people around us. An invitation for a bird to see the opportunity to fly out of the cage.
Here’s a video sponsored by the Ekballo Project I’d like to share:
Keep up with me @hopesophie17 or shoot me an email at sophie.guetzko@hope.edu with any questions or comments. Have a wonderful, blessed, and safe weekend.
A little fact about myself: I am indecisive and over think decisions–big or small.
So, when it came to my college search, I was lost.
I did not know what major I intended to study, how far I wanted to be from home or whether going to a Christian school even mattered to me. The summer of my senior year I poured over college books and emails and websites and letters creating lists and charts of pros and cons and haves and have-nots—I gathered more information about more schools than I knew what to do with. I sought advice from a friend who was just starting college at Purdue University. I told him I had no clue what I was doing with my life let alone what kind of college I wanted. So, he suggested checking out U.S News Top Hundred Liberal Arts Colleges. A liberal arts education equals lots of options, aka exactly what undecided me needed. So, that night I scrolled through the top hundred list with nothing jumping out and pausing on occasion to look at a website. I read Hope College, thought, “that’s a cute name for a school.” and clicked my way to more information at www.hope.edu.
I’m not sure how long I spent on the website that night looking at the cute names of intramural Ultimate Frisbee teams (my favorite name of the 2014 season is Huck Huck Goose 🙂 ) and decades old traditions (The Pull [which is Saturday!] and Nykerk! ), but something about Hope struck me. On a whim I decided to ask my parents if we could go and visit this private liberal arts school none of us had ever heard of that’s 6 and a half hours away. We scheduled a dual college visit weekend so my sister could see the University of Michigan and I could see this cutely named college and hopefully (get it? 😉 ) discover whether its mysterious allure was more than just a side effect of late night college searching.
Keep an eye out for the follow up post: Visiting Hope!
Happy Friday!
~Erin Twitter & Instagram {places for more little insights and pictures of Hope through my eyes 🙂 }
Happy Fall, everyone! As you know (or as I figured out today), yesterday was the first day of Fall!
WOWZA!
You’ve been here a whole month, the leaves are changing colors, and now you get to experience Crane’s in the season it was meant to be in! Yet another glorious season at Hope is upon us! I have two syllables for you all: Chi-der.
There it is! Paired perfectly with a Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffin: Chi-der!
In addition to the amazing Chi-der (a mix of chi and cider) from LJ’s, Hope comes alive in the Fall. Honest to goodness, the campus is brimming with activities, and places to be. For example, this upcoming weekend is the Pull. For those who haven’t seen it…wow you have to experience it for yourself since words won’t do it justice. Tug of war to the extreme, potential for broken limbs, ODD YEAR (sorry, I had to throw that one in there). And entering into my birth month, maybe I’m biased, but in my opinion, it’s the busiest and most beautiful month of all!
Besides the Pull, other fun Fall events make their debut in October. Homecoming festivities start up on October 17th with the Homecoming Hoedown. If this year’s hoedown is anything like last year’s, it will be awesome. Trust me. And on October 25th is the Chicago Bus Trip! Visit the Windy City when the Fall breeze is blowing in…what a perfect combination.
If you’ve got a free minute after all these school-wide events are done, be sure to check out the great Fall treats Holland has to offer. Let’s start with the Farmer’s market on Wednesday’s and Saturday’s. This is where you can buy all the mini-gourds and apples your little fall-loving heart desires. The colors will be beautiful, and if you’re in the market for a Fall-themed center piece, this is your place. Next, we have Crane’s apple orchard. What’s better than getting a bag of apples, some doughnuts and cider? People, that is Fall. That’s the flavor. You have to do it, at least once. You can even buy more mini-gourds (if you didn’t get enough from the farmers market) and pumpkins here! It’s the perfect Fall excursion, so go do it. You know you want to.
These are just a few of the activities you can try out this Autumn, and they are my personal favorites! But I want you to experience the season your way, there are so many ways to do it! Enjoy this Fall, wonderful people…
Ok friends! So a while back, I posted about some of my European travels and said that I would post them in differing sections, almost like a series! If you haven’t read my first one, click here so you can get all caught up! Anyway, for this second post, it’s all about Budapest, Hungary and Bratislava, Slovakia!
BUDA-PEST
As the title suggests, Budapest is actually comprised of two city sections, one being Buda and the other being Pest. Buda is home to the older, more historic buildings as it was the capital of the Hungarian Kingdom. Here, Buda Castle resides as well as the Citadella. Pest on the other hand, is the home of Hero’s Square the Parliament Building (don’t worry, I have pictures of both of these). The best part is that during my time in Budapest, we saw both Buda and Pest by taking a cruise on the Danube River! There is just so much history in Hungary. We did a lot of walking because of the tour, shopping because it was cheap, and we even went to a waterpark because it was scorching hot and sunny one day! Another cool thing we did during “Hungary” weekend was we went to visit Visegrad Castle just outside of Budapest. There were so spectacular views here, and you could see Austria from across the Danube! So, some of the prominent places we saw were :
Parliament Building
Hero’s Square
Danube River
St. Stephen’s Basilica
Visegrad Castle
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Later that week, our class also visited Bratislava, Slovakia for the day. A big thing I enjoyed about Europe was how accessible it was from other countries. In Bratislava, we took a historic tour, visited Bratislava Castle, walked around, and watched La Bohème, an opera! The historic tour was so cool. It is so fun to learn about the history of these countries because they are diverse and old. Bratislava Castle was also very beautiful and offered an amazing view of the city. Lastly, the opera was the best! We sat on the 3rd row, practically in front. The experience was just simply amazing! Check out some of these pictures!
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If you want any more information regarding traveling abroad, let me know and don’t hesitate to ask! Traveling abroad is one of the best things I did, other than choosing Hope College of course! If you haven’t, make sure to follow me on TWITTER and check out the other blogger’s blog!
