Instead of going home to the comfort of familiarity for the first long weekend in Happy Valley, I decided to stick around this July 4th weekend. As I watched people drive away Thursday afternoon, I began to second guess my decision to stay in State College, but I knew in the back of my mind that continuing to get used to the Penn State atmosphere and the place I will be calling home for the next 4 years would help me in the long run. And as I anticipated, FourthFest did not disappoint!

While most of my new friends returned home for the weekend, I was given the chance to reunite with old high school friends who had chosen to stay at school as well. I was so happy to be able to catch up with them and learn about their new experiences in the past week, while still getting that old familiarity about being able to rehash on high school days. I started the weekend off in a pretty relaxed way by driving out to Trader Joe’s and Panera (where my gift card came in handy) and catching up on much needed sleep. But then on Saturday, I really got to see how State College celebrates a holiday! My friends and I were pleasantly surprised to see all the vendors setting up shop outside Beaver Stadium on our mid afternoon run and then to be greeted by the smells of popcorn, funnel cake, hamburger, and hotdogs. However, the food couldn’t compare to the amazing fireworks we would see later that night at Medlar Field. We had never seen such an amazing display of fireworks timed perfectly with music! It was mesmerizing!! As I sat in the stands of the baseball stadium amongst new and old friends, I was so happy that I had decided to stay the weekend and again reminded of why I’m so lucky and grateful to have chosen Penn State as my new home.

“Customer in Training” at Trader Joe’s! 🙂