Welcome back, everyone! I hope those of you who had a Fall Break enjoyed your time off and got to either go home or visit friends and family somewhere. I know our Fall Break is not over yet, but this weekend was such a great time that I just have to share it with you right now! I originally was not planning on leaving campus for break, but I got a generous offer from my friend Lauren to go to her house in Illinois, so that’s where my story begins.
After class on Friday, I made a mad dash to my apartment to grab my duffel bag and Lauren and I made our way onto the road. During the 3-hour car ride, some seriously terrible singing (on my part) occurred and some solid laughs were had as well as some awkward eye contact from other drivers. Besides that, it was such a beautiful ride staring out the window at the fall trees and beautiful colors. Once we arrived at her house, we got settled in and then headed to restaurant called Champps. We met up with a high school friend of hers and watched the Blackhawks game, which was a lot of fun. Even though I’m not a huge follower of the Blackhawks, it was fun to be in such an exciting atmosphere. It was especially fun meeting her friend from high school because now I can put a face to a name and be able to understand who she is referring to. It’s always fun meeting friends of my Hope friends, just for that reason! After a win for the Blackhawks, we were pretty tired so we pretty much just bummed-out and watched Gossip Girl until we fell asleep.
On Saturday, we just hung out for a while and then went to the mall. No break is complete without going to the mall for some quality girl-time with one of your best friends. However, the highlight of the day was going to Fright Fest at Six Flags Great America! Surprisingly, there were a lot of people there, but we managed to only get scared once the entire night, which was pretty successful in my opinion. Going to Six Flags was even more special to me because I had not been on any roller coasters since third grade, so it was fun being flipped around and feeling like a kid again. Once we got tired of standing in line, we decided to go to Walgreens and pick up some chocolate to splurge over. We only meant to buy a bag, but those darn cheap deals forced us to buy two instead. Oops! I’m slightly ashamed to say that I ate about ten pieces just on the ride back to her house, but hey, it’s Fall Break! You’ve got to take advantage of those fast metabolisms while you can.
Finally, on Sunday Lauren and I took the train into the city of Chicago and luckily, were able to meet up with my brother! We went out to lunch and then went to the Water Tower and walked through stores until my friend Shannon came. It was such a treat to see my brother plus one of my friends from home that I haven’t seen in a few months. After an eventful day in the city and walking what felt like 50 miles, I took the train back to Holland and met up with some friends that were on campus. It was the perfect way to end the weekend and finally get to unwind and relax without thinking about schoolwork for a few days.
Even though Fall Break is so short, there are so many things you can do in that amount of time. I am so thankful that I have friends that welcome me into their homes and who are willing to put up with my craziness and terrible singing in the car. Now that Fall Break is coming to a close, we only have half a semester left until the first semester is over! How crazy is that? I cannot wait for Thanksgiving and getting to have another break before finals and everything. Well, that’s all I have for you now, but I hope everybody had a safe and fun weekend!
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