For my last passion post, I wanted to highlight something that, coincidentally, I am really passionate about. So here it goes! By the time anyone reads this blog post, I will be on the way to Indiana University where I will be running my first half marathon! Which is both super exciting but super nerve wracking. These past few months, I have been tirelessly training, racking up mileage like never before. I had never run this much before in my entire running career.

Indiana U

Here’s a quick breakdown of my training before I go into specifics. For you non-runners, I’m sorry, this will probably be slightly confusing or even not interesting. Maybe keep reading anyways–you might be able to learn a thing or two! Who knows, you just might want to tackle the task of long distance running yourself.

Shoutout to the best training pal ever!!!

Mondays: Long Run days. Every week, my good ol’ training partner and I (yeah, you know who you are) added on the mileage, adding around a mile a week to our long run. We started around 6 miles, and got all the way up to 11.5 miles. Long runs, personally, were my favorite runs of the week. My bestie and I had chats about life–about careers, the future, how much we freaking hate the snow…oh wait, that was just me. Many good therapy sessions were had. And beyond that, long runs definitely helped me to run faster when it came to shorter runs–which was progress that I was very excited to see.

Tuesdays: Every Tuesday, we said we would try to run 4-5 miles. And let me tell you, that almost never happened. For some reason, the day after a long run, I could barely move. Everything was sore, but it was somehow the best feeling ever. Knowing that I had run 11.5 miles straight was a feat that I couldn’t even wrap my head around. So typically, Tuesdays were down days–where we ran around the golf courses here at Penn State.

Wednesday: Okay, by now, the legs were feeling better. Wednesdays typically consisted of pickups (on occasion) or a run that was 4-5 miles. Just an average, mid-week, hump day kind of run.

Thursday: Thursdays tended to be a long run part two–but not nearly as long. Somewhere around 6 miles, on trails behind the Arboretum. A nice way to almost finish out the week.

Friday: Our fittest days ever! (Note: fittest day ever has been a phrase that members of the Penn State Club XC team have coined. It means you’ve had a really athletic day.) Typically, I would go to classes, go for a run of about 4 miles (maybe 3 if I was feeling slightly lazy), and then, hit the gym for a classic friend group Power Remix. Yes, we even got the boys to go. Let me tell you, watching boys try to dance to the beat and do all of the moves is quite a sight. Followed by 45 minutes of sweat-inducing dancing, we ended our fittest day with a 20 minute core class.

Typical Friday run

Saturday & Sunday: Occasionally, we would run on these days, but not frequently. Weekends are for fun! And schoolwork of course.

So taking that all into account, I am really really proud of all of the hard work that me and my teammates have put in for this weekend. I am so thankful that I found this team, because running a half marathon is something I used to just talk about. It wasn’t until finding Penn State Club XC that my passion for running was in full swing. In high school, I used to cross my fingers that I wouldn’t have to run in races because I didn’t like it, and now I am here fighting to get a chance to race.

And with that, it definitely comes down to the people. The people you’re surrounded by will surely dictate how you feel about something–and these are the most passionate, hardworking group of people I know.

My running career started when I was just eight years old, and when I was eight I didn’t imagine that it would become such a big part of who I am. But I’m really thankful to be where I am today.

Can’t wait to muster up the courage to sign up for the big 26.2…Philly Marathon 2018 perhaps? Only time will tell.

Family picture from Easter

This past weekend I did something that I usually don’t do–I went home. Home to see the ‘rents, my sisters, and my entire family. I also did something I don’t usually do in the process of going home–skipped not one, not two, but three classes! Shocker.

The past few weeks here at Penn State have been nothing but tears and stress, classic college student vibes. “Bad” grades on papers, waking up with pink eye, planning fall semesters, AND realizing that I have enough credits to be a junior next semester felt like too much to handle!  I hit a point where enough was a enough. I called my mom and she happily said she would come to get me on Thursday–a whole day earlier than I planned on even leaving in the first place. I was greeted by a smiling mom, who instantly took me to the creamery to get ice cream–and ice cream to take home. Another first here–we took not one, not two, not three, but SEVEN half-gallons of ice cream home! Yes, you read that right.

Another first–we were going to have creamery ice cream at our Easter dinner. I was beyond excited. We hopped back in the car and drove a long three hours to get back to my favorite small town ever, and it was exactly what I hoped. Perfect weather. 72 degrees and sunny. I thought I was dreaming.

Creamery ice cream + Easter!

Lil’ pup!

I jumped out of the car and ran inside to hug my dog. Made my day even better. My mom and I dragged the ice cream inside (while my sisters “helped”–more like they couldn’t wait to dig in) and I poured a glass of lemonade, sat on our patio, and did homework. I know right, doing homework when I needed nothing more than a break. But somehow, the change of scenery made it a bit more bearable.

My dad got home from work and I gave him the biggest hug. We all enjoyed dinner together–something that I truly missed. Our family time didn’t end there–during the weekend we watched the “new” Star Wars movie together, went to our favorite restaurant, and even hit our favorite spot to go when the weather is just perfect–Longwood Gardens.

My favorite cacti at Longwood

This weekend was everything I needed and more–good food, good company, and some quality time to catch up on sleep. I really did not want to come back to campus. The weekend concluded with a really nice Easter dinner.

We piled in the car and drove to my aunt’s house, greeted by screaming cousins, barking dogs, and lots and lots of food. The kids had an Easter egg hunt and I got to answer many questions about college. Sigh. Either way, I was really happy. I was not thinking about the impending schoolwork or any of the stresses that are scheduled to hit in just a few short weeks–yay finals!

All smiles

I left my aunt’s house to come back to Penn State, and I left feeling really content. I had a lovely weekend, and the most necessary break. And although my home and all of the places I ventured t0 this weekend were not new, they left me feeling new. And I think that is just as good.

Being the oldest has its perks

Sometimes, when you’re stressed and tired, you just need to take a break, refresh and recenter, and then come back. Personally, I find this makes a world of a difference. And even though I didn’t want to come back to school and tackle my stress head on, I know it’s only making me stronger and preparing me more for what is to come.

If you know anything about me, you know that I enjoy putting myself through excruciating pain for the joy of a runner’s high and staying healthy!

Running has been something I have been doing since 2008–just eight years old when I joined the cross country team for the first time. I had never run competitively before, but I was excited to give it a try.

And let me tell you, it changed my life.

Since 2008, I have been on a team running–meeting new friends along the way, improving my fitness, and growing a love for a sport that many do not enjoy.

So with that little backstory, let me tell you about my new experience this week.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to take a trip to my home city, Philadelphia! The home of the great cheesesteak debate (Pat’s v. Geno’s–anyone have a preference?), the city that people associate Wawa with, and of course, the home of this year’s Super Bowl champs. But I wasn’t going to Philly to do touristy things, but rather, run!

Franklin Field, what a view

Penn State Club XC took to Franklin Field this past Saturday, competing in the University of Pennsylvania’s “Club Penn Relays.” We were joined with several other club cross country teams, including Temple, UVA, UPenn, Drexel, Pitt, and the list goes on.

My friends and I ran a Distance Medley Relay, or a DMR. This consists of a 1200 meter run, 400 meter run, 800 meter run, and is finished with a mile. Each teammate runs a section of the race–I ran the 800 meter run–something I hadn’t run since my earliest years of high school.

Blue skies & best friends!

Instead of running with a baton though, we used a rubber chicken that made squeaking noises. It was pretty funny running around the curves squeaking a rubber chicken.

After our race, a bunch of the freshmen gathered to play a game of baseball–using a wiffle ball bat and a tennis ball in place of the real things. This game was nothing but intense–teammates sliding on the turf and getting turf burn (yep, that was me) while others are shouting and cheering as we run from base to base.

Pause: it’s time for a dance party!

But the shenanigans don’t stop there–the boys definitely took the opportunity to do something goofy to a whole new level.

What a handoff!

My friends decided to use the wiffle ball bat as their baton. And that’s not even the crazy part. They made the executive decision that they would play the game “dizzy bat” while handing off the baton. So not only were they running with a “baton” that was about 5 times the size of a typical baton, but they were also putting their head on the bat and spinning around a circle five times.

This was such a sight–watching 4 boys attempt to run after spinning in a circle was simply classic. And to conclude the event, the last runner, David, finished the race by hitting a tennis ball at the finish line with the wiffle ball. It was a home run! The crowd (Penn State Club XC) went wild!

The day was finished with a team photo and then we headed to get cheesesteaks in the city–because there were many teammates who weren’t “locals.” After a day of shenanigans in the city, it was time to pack up and head home to State College.

The whole crew!

This was such a fun weekend, and it brought me right back to my high school days spent with my best friends outside, with perfect weather, just enjoying each others company. And although I wasn’t with those friends, the friends I have made from Penn State Club XC made this old experience something completely new.

I’m already looking forward to the next meet we have together!

Run happy my friends.

Picture this. It’s March. You and 6 of your friends decide to take a trip to the good ol’ 609 (yes, that is the area code), piling into the Honda Pilot, cramming bags and bags of food into the car, while song requests are shouted left and right. There is barely room to put your feet on the ground, you’re not sure what you’re sitting on, and you struggle intensely to buckle your seatbelt. How college.

This Spring Break I had the opportunity to take a trip to Stone Harbor with my friends from Club Cross Country–let’s face it, that’s where I met all of my friends (I’m not complaining though). We spent the weekend at someone’s real fancy beach house–equipped with an elevator and everything. So classic.

But this trip wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine. We almost had to cancel it. Why? Well SOMEONE, you know who you are, locked himself out of his house and several people didn’t have power, thanks to Nor’easter #1. Once Aidan got back into his house, things were good to go.

After spending three freakin’ hours in the car, we had finally gotten there. We unpacked the car and instantly started baking cookies, tested out the in-home elevator, and started to play games.

Sunset succession

We look pretty, but the view looks prettier

We had dinner together and then watched the sunset, which let me tell you, everyone needs to stop hating on the Jersey Beaches, because this succession of the sunset is absolutely breathtaking.

After a really long night of goofing around and dancing (yes, we did the line dance, isn’t that just classic too?), we all hit the sack. The next morning consisted of making pancakes and mostly making a mess.

1,2,3 Jump!

High tide

We hit the beach, clad in jackets and even boots–how bizarre. We adventured down the shore, while the tide was ridiculously high.

As soon as the water met our toes, everyone screamed. It was absolutely freezing. We kept walking down the shore, and then hit a section of quick sand! What on Earth! I got stuck shin-deep in this stuff, my jeans were a soaking wet sandy mess. Megan even lost a shoe in this quick sand. Everyone was freezing, shoes were missing, and morale was relatively low–but everyone was having fun. We went back to the house, hoping that was the end of the cold water for us all. And then, the moment we were all dreading. Hannah had the most brilliant idea to do a polar plunge.

We suited up as fast as humanly possible, sprinted to the beach, and went into the ocean. Hannah and I did that not once, but twice. Which was rather unpleasant later, when her feet turned purple. All I have to say is, wow, who knew ocean water was that cold. We sprinted back to the house, taking photos along the way to document the crazy thing we had all just done.

Florida or New Jersey, you tell me!

Not pictured: Aidan #1; Pictured: Aidan #2

Everyone showered off and then had to nap to recover from the horrors of the polar plunge. Then we hit the town, while Aidan took us to all the local places, most of which were closed. We went at the perfect time, as the sun was setting. Downtown Stone Harbor looked so eclectic, I never wanted to leave!

After a great dinner in town, we hopped back in the car and headed home, where we spent the night playing card game after card game after card game, finishing the night with the line dance of course. Only Penn Staters are extra enough to do the line dance after a night out. Hey, I’m not complaining, it was fun!

The next day we all had to do the dirty work–laundry and dishes. We eventually rallied everyone up and headed home. What a fun weekend away with new friends. Every time I think about how much I love college, I owe it to the people that I’ve surrounded myself. In which case, I owe my love for college to Penn State Club XC. This Spring Break weekend was a new trip for all of us, but I am fairly certain that it won’t be the last trip we take together.

It’s February, and you know what that means…Groundhog Day!! Just kidding, it’s the month of Valentine’s Day! Interestingly enough, this holiday has a lot of history behind it, but now, it’s a day of chocolate, roses, and a lot of binge watching rom-coms.

One of the most classic romcoms (Courtesy of Google)

I don’t know about you, but I am FAR from having a Valentine to make plans with for the sappy holiday. Does that bother me? No…why?

Because I 100% have the most amazing friends possible and we decided to celebrate each other rather than feel bummed out while other girls get all dressed up for a night on the town with their fellas.

And thus the idea of Galentine’s Day popped into my head. I quickly text my closest gal pals and they’re sold. So technically Galentine’s Day is the day before Valentine’s Day, but this was not schedule permitting, so we settled for Monday.

End result of dorm cooking!

Took a quick trip to target where I gathered all my goodies for the evening. Face masks, chocolate, parchment paper, and strawberries–just the essentials.

The 3 gals roll up–popcorn, heart shaped donuts, and speaker in hands. We crank the jams (yes Taylor Swift was a must have) and get to work on making this first annual Galentine’s Day a success.

Pictured: my amazing cooking skills

Thanks to my newly discovered engineering abilities, I was able to create a double boiler in my freakin’ dorm room in order to melt chocolate for chocolate covered strawberries. Of course I texted my mom and told her this–she was nothing but proud.

Classic Polaroid

We follow the strawberry dipping with taking classic Polaroids, thanks to a good friend we got all the good angles (I guess that’s what happens when you’re 6’2″) and basically our own photographer for the evening. How did we repay him?

By making him do a face mask with us gals. We slather on face masks and giggle, while the tunes keep bumping. Donuts, chocolate, strawberries. Face masks. Everything you need for the ultimate night in with your best friends.

And then Valentines were passed out. Thanks to McLanahans, Paw Patrol Valentines were the literal highlight of the evening. Writing Valentines to the missing boys in our friend group was certainly classic, filled with laughs as deciding which cartoon Valentine would most suit them. The boys (minus our photographer of course) were not invited to Galentine’s Day–I’m pretty sure they’re really offended but what can I say, Mondays are most definitely for the gals!

Photographer face mask–now initiated into the group

After the Valentines were dished out, and chocolate roses were presented, we took the face masks off and settled in. Somehow three gal pals were all snuggled up in my bed–how did a twin bed fit so many bodies? The world may never know. After getting cozy, we decided to stay up even later for a good ol’ Nicholas Sparks movie viewing. Wanna guess? Nope, not The Notebook! We decided to go with a classic–Safe Haven.

Classic tale of “girl abandons home to start life over again but old life gets in the way but new amazing boyfriend helps girl through all of this.” By the end, there were definitely sniffles as the plot thickened and came full circle.

Crafty!

While watching the movie, we crafted elementary school style friendship bracelets with block letter beads–really brought Galentine’s Day full circle.

After the movie was over, we all decided it was time to get sleep, and everyone left happy and smiling.

Although my new adventure for the week consisted of spending time with the same people I spend every second of every day with, it was a new holiday to celebrate and will surely become a new tradition. After all, who needs boys when you have the best friends a girl could ask for?

Supporting the #CancerCannot campaign!

We are just a little over a week away from THON. And I can hardly wait! Although this is my first THON, I have nothing but the highest hopes for the so called best weekend of the year here at Penn State.

To prepare for THON weekend, my committee (Rules and Regulations) had a retreat, where we got to know each other better and bond before the big weekend that we’ve all been waiting for.

I’m not going to lie–I was kind of nervous to go on this retreat. I didn’t consider myself close with other members of the committee, so it was kind of scary to think about hanging out and getting close to people that I barely know.

But I had a really good time and realized that it is totally okay to be nervous when it comes to new experiences, but don’t let that nervousness get in the way of you having fun. I went into the retreat with a open mind which I think was really the best approach I could have taken.

Pictured: snowy roads on the way to Indiana

It started out with a nice two hour car ride through snowy roads to get to a fellow committee member’s house (Laura) in Indiana, PA.

Along the way we listened to a playlist that my car made–it made the trip that much better, and I almost didn’t notice that I had been sitting in the car for as long as I had. We also took a pit-stop at Sheetz, which was the first time I had eaten in Sheetz before. Being extremely loyal to Wawa, I was rather confused as to why there was seating in a convenience store to sit down and eat food. Nevertheless, it was a bonding experience for me and the four other committee members in our car! We hung out and Sheetz for a while and then decided to hit the road again. Before we knew it, we were at Laura’s. We were instantly greeted by Laura’s dog, who was eager to see us!

Eventually all of the committee and our lovely captain made it to Laura’s and we enjoyed a nice dinner of pizza and super unhealthy snacks. Then, we played card games and other games that allowed us to bond and get to know each other better. It was not until the late hour of 4am that we all decided to call it a day and get some shuteye.

A whole four hours later, we all got up, as some committee members had to head back to campus for early morning commitments. The rest of us who were lucky enough to not have a time to be back at campus spent the morning circled around the breakfast table playing game after game of Uno.

I know, sounds very elementary school, but let me tell you, it was so fun and it was such a great way for all of us to just hang out and enjoy each other’s presence. Eventually, we all had to pack up and head back to campus, but it was really refreshing to spend some time off campus with new people.

When I got back to campus, I was really happy knowing that I took the opportunity to do something that scared me a little bit and it ended up having a really great outcome.

Our committee picture, in our committee themed shirts at the infamous Lion Shrine!

So here we are, just 10 days to THON, and I’m so excited to take on the weekend with these people! I have no idea what I’m in for, but with new friends by my side, I am confident that it will be an experience for the books!

This weekend was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. A new experience that I couldn’t have imagined to be as amazing as it was. 46 hours that left me completely in my bag (this is Downingtown “slang” for in my feels/ emotional if you haven’t heard this before)–in the best way possible.

This weekend was Penn State Club Cross Country’s Miles for Smiles. The Penn State Club XC team’s efforts in raising money for THON have reached an entirely new level with this event.

So here’s how the weekend went. We hosted a 46 hour treadmill marathon, where someone was running on a treadmill in West Commons at all times, even at the late hours of 3am! Each hour had a theme, such as “The Best of The Office” or “Karaoke” or even “Guac Power Hour” where teammates did a demonstration of preparing guacamole–and then we got to eat it!

Now this sounds like fun and all…but why exactly did we do this?

FOR THE KIDS!

If you look closely, some of us are sporting FTK face paint!

Why else?

In order to participate in Miles for Smiles (and by participate I mean run–because some teammates didn’t run but still came to cheer everyone on), you had to get three sponsors who would donate to Club XC Benefiting THON. Because after all, this was a fundraiser for THON!

As soon as the information about this event came out, I was so quick to contact family and friends and gather sponsors. I knew it was something I truly wanted to experience.

The early stages of the Mao circle.

The weekend started off with a ton of cheering, music (FToK of course!) and lots of smiles. 6pm was the kickoff, and by 11pm, many teammates started to go home. But my friends and I knew that we wanted the full experience, so we found a deck of cards and thanks to a sophomore teammate, we learned a new game called Mao. “It’s like Uno” was how the game was explained to me. But trust me, it is nothing like Uno. This game consumed the next 4 and a half hours. It was so fun to hang out with people that I wasn’t necessarily great friends with–such a bonding experience. It wasn’t until 3:30am that my friends and I decided to finally go home to get a teeny bit of sleep.

Day two. I spent 14 hours at Miles for Smiles. 14! That is more than I slept the entire weekend. The day started off with cheering runners on as usual, and continued with Mao. For probably 5 hours. Until dinner time. And then we had dinner, played Club XC trivia, and rounded out another hour with karaoke.

Karaoke was probably one of the highlights of the weekend. My closest friends and I decided to sing Mr. Brightside by The Killers, and we decided to invite the entire freshman class up to the stage to sing with us.

Two mics. At least 15 freshmen guys and girls. Screaming. Sweating. Dancing. Living in the moment.

Everyone was clapping and cheering and laughing; it really was something.

Then it was my time to run. A half an hour on the treadmill. Shins screaming with pain, feet pounding the hard surface, just a few minutes longer. 30 minutes and 3.5 miles later, I was done. And although it was wildly painful, it was so worth it. I run for the kids, so that one day they can run their own race! 

We hung out for a little longer, and then decided to go home to rest up for the big day–the day we find out how much money we raised FTK!

The last hour of Miles For Smiles consisted of nothing but standing around, singing classic songs like Don’t Stop Believing and Piano Man, while our former president and future THON dancer ran at a 4 minute mile pace.

10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…FTK!!!!!!!!

We did it! 46 hours, 76 runners, and 394.21 miles later. It was now time for the big reveal.

Everyone was on the edge of their seats, anxiously waiting. And what we saw was more amazing than anyone could have imagined.

$30,464.67 ALL FTK!

We raised nearly double what we had done at 2017’s Miles for Smiles. I have the chills as I’m sitting here writing this. The atmosphere went from energized and vivacious, to suddenly quiet, as tears of happiness hit the floor.

People embracing left and right, more tears, laughs, and smiles.

This weekend was about so many things, and to wrap it all into one, it was about being together as a family. Family isn’t blood, and home isn’t a place. I’ve never felt more at home and part of a family than I do with Penn State Club Cross Country.

What we did this weekend was absolutely incredible. Every day, I look at the photos and videos and smile, thinking about how the miles we ran this weekend will go towards kids growing up and one day experiencing the love and home that Penn State Club XC has to offer. 

This week’s “try one new thing” was something a bit more abstract. Rather than trying a new food, or a new restaurant, or reading a new book, I decided to try a “new” way to destress and relax. And by new, I mean giving an old habit a second chance…let me explain.

Here at Penn State, I work in the ceramics studio, which is located on the ground floor of the HUB. Many people don’t even know that it exists, let alone where it is. Tucked in a corner of the HUB, the ceramics studio is the absolute perfect place to take a break from studying and just let your creative side shine.

I spent a good majority of my high school career in the ceramics studio, countless hours passed as I kept working on piece after piece. It was always the best part of my day when I could spend time in the studio working on something that I truly loved so much. When I found out that Penn State had a “leisurely” art department and a ceramics studio, I knew that I wanted to be a part of it.

Ever since I can remember, I have always had passion for creative activities. When I was little, I loved making jewelry–something that I actually have the opportunity to teach others to do here at Penn State. This semester, I will be teaching a jewelry class to Penn State students and faculty. I’m really excited about this for a couple reasons. One being that I just love art and I love being able to share it with others. Two being that as I am considering pursuing a career in teaching, this is going to be a great way to get a taste of what it’s like to teach a class full of people something that I consider myself an expert on.

Here they are–two lil’ pots that I plan on turning into planters!

Anyways, this week, I headed to the ceramics studio where I found the pieces of pottery that I threw at the start of last semester. When classes started to overwhelm me and my workload got to be too much, I had to put creative outlets on the back burner. Rather than destressing by channeling my creative side, I would destress by watching a show on Netflix. What a bummer. So while I was watching episodes of Jim and Dwight shenanigans, these pieces sat on a shelf in the studio, collecting dust.

This week however, I decided to take a break from everything and rekindle my creative passion! I sat diligently glazing these already bisque fired pieces and I started to think about the end result–two beautifully glazed pots that soon will be ready for use! The ceramics studio has a very great selection of glazes that are very earthy and give off just the vibe that I was looking for!

Here are the tiles of glazes!

When I created these pots in the fall, I had every intention of turning them into planters for cacti. And now I’m so excited that I gave my creative passion a second chance so I can see this become a reality.

Here are the pots, glazed and ready to be fired!

So although this week’s episode of trying something new is actually something old, I think that giving it a second chance counts as it being new. Giving things a second chance allows you to see a new perspective–and it reminds you just how much you love what you do. With college being as crazy and busy as it is, it is really really easy to lose sight of things that you’re passionate about and things that make you happy. You start to just focus on the things that are required of you, rather than doing things for yourself.

All I have to say is this–if we all could give something we were once passionate about a second chance, chances are that passion would instantly resurface, making you wonder why you ever stopped doing what you love in the first place.

Alright, welcome back fellas! In last week’s blog, I told you that I was going to try one new thing every week. That being said, last week’s new thing was a skiing trip for the weekend, so after a long waited week, you have a lot to catch up on! I’m just going to give a play by play from the weekend because let me tell you, it was really something else.

So it’s Friday, the highly anticipated day of the week! Classes are over, and all I had left to do was pack my bags. However, a weather update started to take over and attempt to destroy weekend plans. The alert flashed, “Extremely dangerous driving conditions…” Lovely. What a promising start to the weekend.

I get a call from my friend Aidan who is doing all the driving for the weekend, and he seems to be fazed by the weather. For a brief moment, I thought that our plans were going to be called off. After much contemplating, it was decided that this was a “Full Send” type of moment, meaning that we were still going!

So we pile in to “the man van,” as we called Aidan’s minivan for the weekend, and the weather was absolutely terrifying. Fog covered the entire sky, almost like an omen that our weekend was not going to fare well. However, with a classic collection of jams, the ride flew by and before we knew it, we were at Washington, PA–the our destination!

Spa night

We were greeted by Stephen and his dog, while it started to snow. Things were looking good! We all piled into the house and set up our things, followed by a dinner full of laughs. It was Spa Night–we all (even the three boys) did facemasks–and let me tell you, what an experience. I’ve never heard three boys complain about their face hurting so much before.

Morning comes and we are heading into Pittsburgh, which is a bit of a convoluted process. We drive 20 minutes to a T station, and then hop on the T and wait for the stop at Station Square, where we rode the Monongahela Incline. It was very interesting because it almost felt like a trolley that we were riding, but it basically was a train–which, why don’t people from Pittsburgh just call it the train? Philly people are rather curious!!

View from the Incline

Another new experience for the day (aside from the T), was riding in an Uber for the first time. We had some bad luck with our first Uber that we called–as in he didn’t show up. But we got another one which took us to the Oakland side of Pittsburgh, where we took a stroll through Schenley Park, admired the beauty of Saint Paul Cathedral, and ended our time in Oakland visiting the iconic Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus.

Cathedral outlook at the 35th floor

We rounded out the day with ice skating at PPG Place, which was really beautiful. Penn’s Landing surely has some competition. We hopped on the T and went home, preparing ourselves for the next day–the day I finally attempt to ski.

I literally could not have been more unprepared or unaware of what was to come at Seven Springs. An hour and a half long car ride kept me on the edge of my seat, and as soon as we got there, the process ensued. Rentals took forever, Hannah couldn’t figure out how to get ski boots on, snow pants didn’t fit–these are just a few struggles we encountered along the way.

Hannah and I once we started to get the hang of things!

Once that horrible process of suiting up was done, we were ready to hit the slopes. All eight of us trek out to the snow and clip in to our skis and I’m just thinking, “What on Earth did I get myself into?” I attempt to walk but it doesn’t work. I just slide in the snow, and wipeout. Things are already off to a fabulous start.

All but two of us knew how to ski, so Hannah and I felt bad that we were holding everyone back, but everyone was so willing to help us learn, it was really awesome. Patience was unreal, as we spent a good amount of time learning how to do simple actions on the bunny hill. But once Hannah and I got the hang of things, we decided to move up and take on a Green hill.

We all boarded the ski lift and I was pretty nervous, but once I got off the ski lift and attempted this hill, I started to realize how fun skiing was. Even when I wiped out over and over again. There’s something satisfying about persevering and then finally succeeding, even if it takes you seven hours to accomplish going down a Green hill and not falling.

So this weekend was surely full of many firsts. Which I think is awesome, to think that I have a group of friends that want to do spontaneous things together and are willing to try new things together. It’s really great, and I feel beyond lucky, and I’m sure if you watch this video I made you’ll know exactly why I feel the way I do.

Definitely time well spent with my family!

What a nice break we had, spending time with our families,celebrating holidays, and ringing in the New Year! Ah, January 1. You know what that means. It’s New Year’s resolution time. A tradition that has roots dating back to the Babylonian era. I’m talking about the classic resolutions–hit the gym, study more, cut down on carbs, eat healthier, hydrate more, and the list goes on. Although all of those resolutions are surely ways to make my life better, I really wanted to figure out a resolution that would push me to go outside my comfort zone and do something different every once in a while, or more so, every week!

I was racking my brain trying to think of something I am truly passionate about that I could use as a jumping off point for my blog this semester. Everything that I consider myself to be passionate about was expressed in my last blog. But then I thought to myself, rather than focusing on one of my concrete passions, I thought about taking a more intangible route.

And then it hit me. New Year’s Resolution: to try one new thing every week, whether that be a new food, or a new coffeeshop downtown, or reading a new book, or picking up a new skill or hobby.

I drew inspiration for this idea after reading, hearing, and seeing a plethora of New Year’s resolutions posted everywhere. Most of them were aimed at becoming a better person, which I’m all for, however, I wanted to do something a bit more adventurous. Rather than creating a blog highlighting each and every one of my resolutions, I wanted to pick a single resolution that would encompass many aspects of my life, allowing me to grow as a person!

Sounds cliche, trust me I know. But, I really think that establishing such a broad resolution really allows you to adventure in all aspects of your life! Not only does it allow you to have crazy cool adventures that bring about the most amazing stories, but trying new things helps you to overcome fears and figure out who you really are as a person. Those are just a few of the benefits that trying new things brings into a person’s life.

And with trying new things, you can find out what you’re truly interested in. It allows you to have an open mind and you are more prone to stepping outside your comfort zone, which is definitely what I’m trying to do.

Fun, but would not recommend to a friend!

So here I am, week one of the semester, and the only new thing I have tried is the most disgusting jelly beans known to mankind (if you’ve played Beanboozled you know exactly what I’m talking about). Let me tell you, would not recommend to a friend. But that’s just fine, the year is very young and I already have plans to do something new this weekend that mostly scares me to death.

This weekend I am taking a skiing trip to Pittsburgh with my closest friends from Penn State. I have never skied in my life. I can barely ice skate, so I think this is shaping up to be quite the weekend. I’m definitely scared, but my resolution is keeping me in check. Beyond that, I’m excited for the experience, because I know that it’s going to make for so many stories, both good and bad. And I think that that’s what resolutions are really good for–creating stories that you otherwise may have not had, had you not put yourself out there in the first place.

That being said, I’m really excited for this year and this resolution to take shape! 2018 I’m coming for ya!

Make sure to check back next week for an update on my skiing adventures coming up this weekend!