This past week I found myself sitting in the lobby of Pep Boys for a few hours, waiting for my car to be serviced so I could find out why different lights had been coming on when I start my car. Planning to take a few road trips in the following weeks, I wanted to make sure my car wouldn’t quit on me as I was driving down the interstate. Forty dollars and two-and-a-half hours later, I was told that my car was fine. I was already at a car store and in need of new wipers. As I was staring at the wipers I called my dad to try to figure out what my car needed. Trying to look like I knew what I was doing, I picked up a couple different wipers and looked them over. My attempt to look like I knew what I was doing failed and a nice grandpa who worked at the store helped look up my car’s needs. One 19″ wiper and one 22″ wiper and I was headed back to campus.

My father had told me that if you purchase the wipers they would install them for you, but I was determined to install them on my own. After all, the last time my windshield wipers were replaced was when my dad and I did them in August. Once I started to attempt to take the current wipers off I remembered that this wasn’t an easy task, and then I felt really overwhelmed at the task I had just given myself.

Cold and windy, my hands were stiff and I was blindly trying to switch out the wipers. The directions on the package didn’t help and my two attempts for help were also clueless. Alas, after about 20 minutes of self-questioning and prayers that I wasn’t going to break my car, I had successfully changed my windshield wipers. To some, changing your windshield wipers may be simple, but for me, it was a task! College is about learning, studies and how to be an adult. If there’s only one thing I learned in college it may be to have the mechanic install your wipers for free,  but I like to think of myself as strong independent women who can do that herself.

Christopher Newport University has a beautiful, well manicured campus.The weather, however is a little less well manicured. We’ve recently had some chilly rainy days (very normal for any winter day) but as a college student there isn’t really an opportunity to stay in bed on those cold days. Here are some motivations that make getting up and going on a cloudy chilly day worth while!

• Classes with Friends
  • The great thing about smaller classes means that you get to know those in your classes. The best part is I have found that these peers, as the semester progresses, become friends.
• 12:00 Lunch
  • My friends and I have a daily tradition of all meeting in the dining hall at noon everyday to have a meal together. This is a great way to have fun during a normal day!
• Einstein Pick Me Up
  • There is nothing better than a caffeine pick me up. From the seasonal to the traditional drinks, there’s no way to go wrong.
• Group Exercise Classes
  • The Freeman Center offers a variety of daily group exercise classes. This makes going to the gym even more fun and allows for friends to tag along with you.
• Check the daily email for different events
  • As a Christopher Newport student, we are sent a daily email of the goings on of the campus. So no matter what, there will always be something on campus to attend!

Although tempting to stay in bed when the wind howls and your bed is just all too comfortable, getting up and going to class, lunch, the gym, Einstein’s, or an on-campus event are the perfect solution to a very motive-limited day!

In which the fire alarms go off in the middle of the night

I have just begun the second semester of my junior year! Quite honestly I have never felt more at home at Christopher Newport University than I do now. Looking back, I’ve realized that I began referring to going back to school as “going back home” as early as my freshman year. Don’t get me wrong, I love being home–home its where I can rest, relax and re-energize with friends and family in between semesters.

I have pretty much lived in the same house my entire life and I knew almost everyone I went to high school with because for the most part, they lived in the same house for their entire lives too. Familiarity is what I loved so much about being home and was also what I was most nervous about coming to Christopher Newport. Now, three years into it, I consider myself to have dual homes. My first home is where my family is, where I go to on breaks, where friends from Christopher Newport intercept me on our own travel plans on breaks. My second home is where Christopher Newport is because it is where my life-long friends are, where I’ve met challenges and have come out stronger and more able than ever.

I spent almost 18 years calling Northern Virginia home and now, in three short years Christopher Newport has become home too. As I’m attempting to pen all the many reasons why Christopher Newport is home to me, I’m realizing that it has been in the details. Those little details are things like becoming best friends with my freshman year roommate, becoming involved in campus activities, having professors get to know me as me, attempting to make it to as many on campus speakers, seeing broadway shows at the Ferguson Center of the Arts (at a discounted student price!), always having the opportunity to say hello to someone as I walk to class, speaking with President Trible when he’s on campus, knowing my peers and professors in class, and last but certainly not least (or even last for that matter, just have to end my list somewhere) the incredible opportunities I’ve been given as a Christopher Newport student that I would not have elsewhere.

Christopher Newport is a special place. It is home to me and my friends, I know that even after graduating it will always have a nostalgic sense of home. As I have come to realize in these last three years, I have understood how hard it is to move and make where you live feel like home. Making school feel like home wasn’t really by my force it was the atmosphere of this school, the equal opportunities it has for its students and the faculty and staff that make Christopher Newport feel like home-home.

If you’ve been on Christopher Newport’s campus recently or just this past weekend you may have seen flocks of girls cycling from the Freeman, to the DSU, to the New Greek Village. These larger-than-usual packs of girls were participating in Panhellenic formal recruitment. This is when all seven of our sororities on campus host rounds to showcase their philanthropies and sisterhoods. Potential new members met with each sorority Friday night and over the course of Saturday and Sunday morning narrowed down their preferences.

For many students, and not just those going through recruitment, bid day is the best day. Bid day is when the girls going through formal recruitment receive their bids and then physically run home to their new sisterhood.  Bid day was held in the Freeman Fieldhouse for the second year in a row and was packed with sorority girls clad in gold leggings (a popular trend this year), glitter and face paint. The stands and leftover standing room was filled with fraternity men, friends, staff and curious spectators. A very overwhelming day, Bid day is filled with lots of tears, laughs, hugs and regrettably a few trips.

As a senior who just ran ( I was in charge of my sorority’s recruitment) and went through her last recruitment, it’s a bittersweet moment as all things senior year are. Not only was I emotional over the four years I’ve gotten to experience Greek life but thinking back on all the memories I have made at CNU and through my sorority had me feeling very grateful.  However, after welcoming home our new members I have a new-found hope. These girls are going to carry on the legacy I helped to shape and advance, these girls are the future of the organization I have come to love and call home. It’s exciting to be standing on the end and seeing these girls coming in wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. While I would change places with them in a heartbeat I know there’s so much for them to come.

While I start to pursue post-graduate options rather than possible littles I know my time in the collegiate chapter is coming to an end, However, I will be forever in debt to my sisters for their constant love, support, motivation and laughs. Regardless of what letters you wear, joining a sisterhood is one of the greatest decisions you’ll make. As you grow in the organization and finish your schooling you’ll be blind to all that it gives you, until you’ve reached your senior year and look back on your successes and downfalls. You’ll know then that without your sisterhood you wouldn’t understand how you made it through everything. To all of the girls who just went through Recruitment congratulations and welcome to the Panhellenic sisterhood. To those who have been Greek for some time don’t forget to really soak up your time with sisters and reflect periodically. To the seniors on their final lap take advantage of everything you have left, sign up for intramurals, volunteer to sing a cappella, study all night with sisters, this time next year we’ll be without them and wishing we could repeat those things the most.

Go Greek and make a change in your life.

In which I talk about new year’s resolutions.

A few tips to ensure roommate success once you get on campus:

1. Talk early on. It doesn’t have to be the first day, but if you have any particular customs or pet peeves, let your roommate know early. That way, he or she will not upset you unintentionally. Which leads right into the next tip…
2. Communication! Communication is key! The worst thing you can do is let a problem fester. Talk it out as soon as you can so you and your roommate can reach a mutual understanding. Being passive-aggressive or overly assertive are two ways to definitely create a rift in your room.
3. Keeping tidy. No one likes a mess. It’s one thing to let some clutter build up, but when it starts overflowing to the other side of the room, you’ve got a problem. It’s no longer only your room. You’ve got to respect your roommate’s space. Clean your side up regularly to keep the room looking presentable for you, your roommate and any visitors.
4. Respect property! Just like you probably wouldn’t want your roommate going through your stuff, you shouldn’t go through theirs. If you want to borrow something, ask! When in doubt, always ask if you’re overstepping a boundary!
5. The lights! This is something most people don’t think about before they actually get to college, but it’s kind of a big one. Some people like working with the lights on, and others like the lights being off. If you and your roommate disagree, that’s OK! If you want to turn the lights on/off, simply ask first. Your roommate will likely will say yes whether they agree or not. The difference is, they appreciate that you asked them first. It’s a nicety that shows you respect one another. And remember, you can always leave your room to study/work elsewhere!