Dreams. We all have them. Some are realistic and some aren’t. My sister has this impossible dream to someday have high tea with the Queen of England. That dream, although a very imaginative dream, is nearly impossible (sorry sis).

But other dreams aren’t so much impossible as they are wonderfully and realistically possible. Take my dream for this school year, for example. My dream is to look past the freshman year, surface-level friendships I’ve made, and get to know the people I thought I knew on a deeper level. Fostering those first-year friendships, and making them into friendships that will last the rest of my life (hopefully!).

The way I plan to make my dream a reality is by “having coffee” with everyone I want to get to know more. Now, I’m really not much of a coffee drinker (I much prefer tea or chocolate milk), so for me, this term has come to mean “conversations.” This means that there are endless venues to try out, people to converse with, and beverages to be consumed while fulfilling my dream. Below are some of the ways I tried to put my dream into action.

Above is pictured one of the dreamiest realities of my dream I could picture. Here we have the warm, soft glow of a cozy room, a laptop stuffed with pictures from a semester in Ireland, and soft bedding (a must for deep conversations to occur). This is the perfect recipe for conversations that will delve a friendship deeper and give us memories to hold on to throughout the years.

Morning yoga and a trip to the Farmer’s Market was an unexpected dream fulfiller on the beautiful Saturday morning pictured here. Sometimes unexpected “coffee dates” are the best ones.

So far, these are only a few of the people I’ve conversed with, and places I’ve been on my journey to fulfill my dream this semester. There are so many people here at Hope and I know that there are so many people I am saddened to realize I will never get to know. But in light of my dream, and if you are reading this post, you need to know that I want to get to know you! I want to get coffee (or a smoothie) with you, have a meaningful conversation with you, and just plain get to know what your favorite color is. And maybe while we’re sipping our beverages, we can talk about what dreams you have for the school year or the years to come.

Because as the song goes: “They may say that I’m a dreamer…but I’m not the only one.”

Its been good to get back to Hope; to the rolling greens of the Pine Grove, the austere brickwork of century-old buildings like Van Vleck Hall and academic buildings on campus. To friends, professors, teammates, roommates and even the faculty members in dining halls and work crews. Its been good to walk along the spotless chrome-lit halls of Lubbers, peeking into the brightly furnished classrooms, walls lined with the posters of annual study abroad trips and monuments to academic and cultural accomplishments. Its been good to rediscover Phelps, to wander amongst sleek 21st century chrome and pinewood decor whilst pining for the warmer summer camp atmosphere of the old Dining Hall. Its been good to exchange greetings with warm familiar faces, reignite old friendships, relive the old passions of sporting and college events. Yes, its been good to come back to my Hope, the Hope I know and love, the hope of my future…and perhaps yours…

As this summer of 2014 draws to a close, slinking behind fall’s curtain of draughts with every passing week, I’d like to offer thanks; to friends then and now, who have challenged my physical, mental and educational growth. To the nation that embraced a young man from Ghana, West Africa, and the small college town that fed him in mind and body, sheltering him as one of its own. And to you, my dearest readers; college hopefuls, parents young and old, editors and co-workers; to you I say thank you. Thank you… for the kindness of the past, the warmth of the present and the alluring mysteries of future.

I know this is my first post, but I am going to go ahead and give my readers the benefit of the doubt that you all can keep a secret.

Are you prepared to take on this task?
Awesome—I knew I could trust you!

As an out-of-state freshman I was worried about settling into a new place so far from home, but the girls of Van Vleck made finding my second home here at Hope a breeze. So, I decided to put a little something together for my 3^rd floor family.

It began with lots of colored square papers from within a cow.
(Photographic evidence below)

Next came the paper folding.

Followed by more folding.

And finally—100 little envelopes later—came the fun part.

There is one thing I know that can make anyone’s day better and that thing is a sticker.

I arranged them into three categories:
Smiley faces, encouraging phrases (ex:  “You are bright as day.”, “Reach for the stars!”), and praise phrases (ex: “You did it!”, “Brilliant!”) Each category was allotted 25 envelopes and each envelope one sticker.

Now I wait with the baggies stuffed with sticker holding envelopes and the signs for each category created.

The plan is to tape them up on the bathroom mirror for Monday because who doesn’t want a sticker on a Monday?

Follow me on Twitter ( @HopeErin18 ) to see a picture once the plan is in action! And remember—this is just between you and me until Monday! 😉

Want to do a similar surprise for your floor? Here are the envelope instructions.

My favorite thing about Hope is that it’s a place where people love one another.
And leave Twinkies taped to doors and candy in the lounges and write “God loves you all the time” on clock faces.
Hope is like home.
Van Vleck is my Hope family.
And I just wanted to do a little something special for it.

Thanks for keeping my secret!
~Erin Hoolahan ’18
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