Summer Days and Senior Year
So, I took a little break from updating my blog over the summer and now it's back to school!
I was really glad that I had a few months of summer after I got back from Malta before school started. It was really hard adjusting to things-culturally and starting to work again. I thought (and still do) think of Malta every day and it feels like it was just yesterday that I was there.
However, I did have some goals this past summer:
1. Get a job and earn enough money to travel
2. Lose the "Malta 15" by running around my neighborhood every day
3. Catch up with family and friends
4. Start researching for my honors thesis and reading for the Tuleja Seminar (class-related)
5. Begin planning for post-grad plans (JVC, taking the GREs, Grad School)
I accomplished a few things. This summer, I worked for the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, or the HESAA. It's the place where college students get approved for loans and grants. I simply helped process loans, worked on past loan cases, and helped around the office. It was nice because there were other summer interns there who were my age and it was close to my house. I think I earned enough this summer to start traveling again.
This is me, right outside of our office
When I first got back from Malta I missed being in Europe and all of my friends but there were some things that I was excited about being home in America like eating home cooked Filipino food by my mother, having a couch and TV, driving on wide roads on the right side of the road (it was so scary driving a car for the first time after 6 months), going to 24 hour diners with greasy french fries, and of course NYC.
One of the first weekends after I got back, I went up to Jersey City to meet up with some of my friends from SPC. We went out and had a picnic in Central Park and I was so excited to be in Manhattan again! After being on an island where there are no skyscrapers at all, it felt so different being back in the city after so long. I had so much fun re-visiting the places that I went to so many times before.
In Journal Square there was an Egyptian Festival where I had my first fried oreo! They were so good.
Our picnic in Central Park
This was taken outside the PATH station after we had just run 3 blocks in the pouring rain-we were all soaking wet!
I also had the chance to attend a concert for the Good Morning America show with my friend, Megan (who graduated from SPC). We woke up super early on a Friday morning and took the train to Manhattan. The concert was in Central Park and Brad Paisley was on the show that day! We were close to the stage and even got to be on TV! Brad Paisley was promoting his new CD and performed some new songs from it. It was so awesome seeing him perform live. He was also really cute and interacted with the audience during breaks. Seeing the GMA Show was a first for me-and I'd do it again!
Megan and I on the stage
Brad Paisley! It's like he was looking straight into my camera!
On the 4th of July my family had a barbecue at home and we had cousins come over. My Dad and I cooked some ribs and they tasted so good. It was just nice being able to enjoy the good weather, good food, and being with the family.
My Dad and I BBQing
Later on that day, my cousin and I decided to go to Six Flags. LeAnn Rimes was singing at a concert and we also wanted to see fireworks. Surprisingly the lines for all the roller coasters weren't that long. I finally got to ride El Toro and I think it's my favorite coaster in the park, so far. Yet another thing that they didn't have in Malta-amusement parks.
In front of a gigantic watermelon in Six Flags
Watching Leann Rimes for free!
One of the reasons why I love the 4th of July so much is because of FIREWORKS!
I also saw a lot of my friends back at home. One of my friends celebrated her 21st birthday by having a pool party in her backyard. It was like being in the Residence in Malta again!
Jumping into the pool
My friends and I chilling in the jacuzzi
In August, my cousins had their graduation party. Of course it was fun because there was plenty of Filipino food and line dancing. It was nice seeing family members that I hadn't seen yet. Two of my cousins graduated from college and one of them graduated from high school this past year and I'm so proud of them. I was so sad that I had to miss their actual graduation ceremony, but I was happy that I got to celebrate with them at least.
I also got the chance to visit my friends at the beach several times over the summer. Even though I miss the intense blue and calm of the Mediterranean Sea, I still like going to the Jersey Shore.
Chilling at the Jersey Shore
I visited Manhattan one more time before school started in August with friends from SPC again. This time we ate lunch at South Street Seaport and walked around lower Manhattan.
In front of the Brooklyn Bridge
Posing in front of a statue
Right in front of the New York Stock Exchange
Jersey City!
I got the chance to move onto campus early this year because I helped to lead Campus Ministry's first Adventure Retreat. The Adventure Retreat is an idea that came out of interviewing one of our Jesuits on campus. My friend Jacob and I interviewed Fr. Stump who spends his summer in the Adirondacks as a rector for a Boy Scout summer camp. Jacob had the wonderful idea of having a type of adventure retreat for incoming freshman.
This retreat is meant to be a weekend where freshman can meet new friends, learn what to expect from the challenges of college, work as a team with everyone else, and to learn about Jesuit values. I gave a talk about the Examen prayer, a five-step prayer that St. Ignatius Loyola gave the Jesuits to do every day. It's basically a reflection on the day and how you felt and if you could have done better. It's a very powerful prayer and helps you learn more about yourself, try to change, and also get closer to Jesus.
Not only did we have retreat talks, but we had low-rope and high-rope challenges that we all participated in. We went to the Marist Brothers retreat center near Poughkeepsie, NY about two hours away from campus. We slept in log cabins and stayed there for about 3 days. You can read all about the Adventure Retreat from Nicole's Blog. She wrote about our exciting campfire where we got caught in a thunder storm and our high ropes challenge (there's a video too!)
It was fun leading this retreat because I really felt confident as a senior. I had the chance to give advice to freshman and talk about my experience about the past three years of college. It was also just another chance to have fun during my last year at SPC. We had four freshmen, two sophomores, and two juniors come on this trip and we all really bonded and worked together as a group. The Adventure Retreat is definitely on the top of my favorite retreats list. I hope that this retreat will continue onto next year as well. So look out for information next summer incoming freshman!
Me and the other retreat leaders, Jacob and Katie B. Father Stump, SJ also came along with Mary Sue and Doug from Campus Ministry, and our new Assistant for Community Service, Clare.
During the hike we came across this beautiful waterfall
At the top of the mountain, overlooking the beautiful Hudson River
Me doing the high ropes course, up 25 feet on a tree!
Once we got back from the retreat, campus was slowly coming back to life. Upperclassmen were moving in, the freshman had their orientation day, professors were back on campus and I started to see people I hadn't seen since last December.
In some ways it feels like I never left SPC for a semester abroad. Everyone has been asking about my trip and updating on things that happened when I left. I guess it's just weird saying that I'm a senior already, starting my last year at SPC. Freshman year seems so long ago when it really wasn't. Now I'm worrying about what I'll be doing after graduation already. But I want to enjoy my last year as a senior too.
Classes started on August 26 and already I'm super busy (what's new?). On the first day, we had our annual Pavo dinner. I loved seeing everyone in Admissions again!
Barbecue!
Last week we had Club Fair for all the new freshman:
I was promoting the History Club, among other things.
This past Thursday I also got the chance to see my first professional football game! Granted, it was during the pre-season, but it was still fun! I went to the Giants Stadium to see the Jets play the Eagles. We had really awesome seats and had an amazing view of the game. I'm also really happy because the Jets won!
My friend Ivo and I at the Giants Stadium
So senior year started off with a bang. There are so many things that I'm stressing about already like starting research and writing my honor thesis, writing an intense history research paper for the Tuleja Seminar, and applying for jobs/opportunities for next year. I'm also president of the History Club this year as well as an ISEP Student Ambassador (I want to convince more students to study abroad). I just hope that I have the chance to enjoy my last year here at SPC.