Finals week is getting closer and closer, and I can feel the stress of the week building up. My hall-mates and I normally keep our doors open, and run into each other’s rooms screaming and laughing. Music is usually blared throughout the hall and people sing and dance down the hallways laughing and having a good time. However, as the week has gone by the tone of the hall has gotten quiet and the stress is starting to get to everyone. We have begun keeping our doors closed and only run into each other’s rooms to take a quick break before getting back to work. As of today, mandatory quiet hours are being enforced which will make the hall feel entirely different. This past week has been hectic because the due dates for essays and projects have gotten close very quickly, and on top of all of that study guides for the finals have been posted which only makes the exams seem that much more impossible. Since we’ve gotten back from Thanksgiving break, the pace of college has gotten far more intense and it will only increase as finals week approaches. Every night I find myself stress eating Oreos or Ramen noodles as I look over what I need to get done and what I need to study for my exams in the coming week. This week my parents sent me a package of food and face-masks for me and my roommate, and I know the food will only last me a few days as I stress eat and procrastinate my work. I find myself procrastinating in any way possible from going on Twitter, watching another episode of the Office, going to the gym, or listening to music. Anything to take my mind off of the fact that I’m going to be studying for hours and hours. After spending an hour and a half or so on a project or writing an essay, I convince myself to celebrate being productive by watching two hours or so of Netflix. As finals week approaches, I’m starting to realize just how much studying I’m going to have to do. I knew that it was going to be more intense because I’m in college, but I didn’t realize just how much work that meant I would have to do.

After what felt like years, I finally went back home during Thanksgiving break, and it was such a great time. Coming home after being aways for three months was one of the weirdest feelings I’ve experienced, because it felt like I had been living two separate lives. One life here at JMU with all new friends and experiences, and one at home with all of my friends from growing up. I walked into my room and realized it had been completely taken over by my younger sister, who transformed it into her own personal closet. It was a weird feeling to be living out of a duffel bag in my own room. It was also a new feeling to have to fight my brother for the car, because he recently got his driver’s license.

One of my favorite parts of break was being reunited with my old friends from growing up and high school. Some of them I haven’t seen since we said goodbye three months ago. It was great to hear everyone’s college experience and we all shared stories for hours. Most of my friend group ran track and cross country with me, and so in high school I was so used to seeing them everyday after school and spending hours with them on the weekend. It’s been such a weird feeling of getting used to not seeing them everyday. Ever since we hung out at Thanksgiving, we’ve all been counting down the days until we’re reunited again during winter break.

In addition to being reunited with my friends, I was finally reunited with my dog. I didn’t think I would miss her as much as I did when I first left for college. As soon as I got home she ran out the front door and jumped onto me. During break we took a lot of naps together, which was one of my favorite parts of break. Before I left she normally wouldn’t spend that much time with me, but now she’ll nap and sit with me on the couch which was so cute.

This past weekend was parents weekend, and it was by far one of the busiest weekends for me since I’ve been here at JMU. Everything started on Friday, when my roommate and I began cleaning up our room to make it spotless for our families. We changed our sheets, vacuumed the floors, re-organized everything, and made sure everything was neat. Our room was never extremely messy to begin with, but we wanted to make sure that it was spotless for our families, especially for our moms who were already worried we weren’t keeping our room clean.

On Saturday morning my family arrived, and I was so excited to see them. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen my entire family. My dad has been at JMU a few times in the past month to do recruiting for his company and I’ve gotten to see him then, but it was really special to see my entire family. We began the day by tailgating and catching up on everything that’s happened since I’ve left for college. My siblings were most excited to experience a college football game, even if they lost. That evening I took my family downtown for dinner, where I introduced them to sticky nugs at Billy Jacks, which quickly became my brother’s favorite part about the whole trip, and possibly another reason for him to apply to JMU next year. That night, my sister slept over in my room which was great because I got to spend more time with her, after not seeing her in what felt like forever. My sister is a freshman in high school this year, and it was so funny to hear her talk about what her high school experience has been like compared to mine. It was a busy day, but it made me realize how much I missed my family, and how happy I was to see them.

Sunday morning my family and I went out for brunch, and to top off the weekend, finished at the bookstore. This weekend was a great time because I got to see my family after not seeing them in forever, while also getting to show them around campus and Harrisonburg.

 

The message of the movie “Moana” focuses around the idea of  following your dreams, even if the odds are stacked against you. The film began with a young Moana first being called by the ocean through a special connection that only she shared, however  her father abruptly crushes this dream due to his fear of the ocean, and dedication of his entire life to protecting his people from the dangers of the unknown.  However, Moana’s curiosity of what lies outside the comfort zone of her home ensued, and she continued to question the possibilities of life outside of her reef. When a curse is brought onto her island, Moana felt called by the ocean to save her people and the island itself from dying. Although she had never sailed or traveled outside of her home, Moana set out on her quest with the guidance of her grandmother, and famous demigod. Throughout her journey, Moana fights through a series of battles, both physically and mentally. Physically, she had to fight off intruders trying to steal her precious metal. Mentally, she questioned her ability as “the chosen one” and also as the future leader of her people. She also questioned if she was truly capable of saving her island and people.  However, her most important challenge at the end has her facing the root of the curse on her own, without the guidance of her demigod friend. Moana had to face her fears head on, and stare right into the eyes of the evil curse. Looking into its eyes, Moana remembered everything she had endured to get to that spot. She recalled every piece of knowledge from her journey, and her parents, and reversed the curse that haunted her home and people. In the end, Moana reaffirmed her belief that more lies beyond the reef, but she also learned about herself. She learned that her intuition to travel across the ocean was ultimately her destiny in order to save her people, and that throughout all this time, her connection to the ocean was special. Without following her dream of exploring the unknown, Moana would have never saved her island, or become the amazing leader of her people.

I start to get ready for a very long weekend, right as the rain pours down. It’s rush weekend, and I knew at that moment, this weekend was going to feel ten times longer. This past weekend was the start of rushing a sorority, and it was a long three days. My roommate and I began the weekend opening our closet doors, looking at all of the clothes inside, then going to our hallmates to find an outfit that would work. Before I knew it, I was standing in line waiting to enter the first house of the open house round. I didn’t know what to expect, and I stood in line anxious, nervous, and excited for what was to come. As the leaders began to count down, everyone in line started wondering what was about to happen. The leaders blew the whistle, the doors flew open, and the chants began.

I didn’t really know what to expect for rush. My cousins and my aunt both rushed and have told me so many stories about their experiences, but I wasn’t sure what it was going to be like at JMU. The first two days I got to see what each house was like, which was fun for me because I really had no idea what each chapter was like. I ended up losing my voice after the second day because it was so loud in each house I had to yell just to have a conversation. The second round felt like it lasted for days, mainly because of the cold and the rain. We would have to stand in lines for what felt like forever, (although it was probably just 15 minutes) and the time spent inside the houses flew by. Thankfully, my leader had a zip up tent we could sit under with blankets as we waited for the next round to begin.

At the end of each day my feet hurt, I was extremely hungry, and so exhausted. However, I also had a lot of fun throughout all of the rounds,  and look forward to this weekend- hopefully it doesn’t get canceled because of the hurricane.

 

Last class we discussed the fact that Superman is modern day Mythology, which is something I never thought about. I haven’t seen many superhero movies, but I always hear about them on social media platforms such as Twitter. I’ve never taken the time to deeply think about Superman and wonder where the idea for his character came from, and what the storyline resembles. Most of the time I just watch the movie, asking questions to clarify who is who in the movie and why they are doing what they’re doing. After finishing a movie I never stop to think why everything just happened, and what that means for the characters in the future either. I realized that superhero movies are a lot like mythology first because the characters in each story have a background, which, helps the story or movie to make a lot more sense if you are familiar with said background. These histories help to explain why the hero is going after a certain villain, or why a villain is motivated a certain way. For me, I don’t keep track of what happened to the superhero before they got their powers, or whatever happened to the villian which makes them evil or at least against the hero of the movie. This makes watching the movies difficult, unless I’m with someone who knows what’s going on. In that case, I sit next to them and ask them why everything is happening, because that’s what makes the movie make sense.

This discussion helped me to realize that many popular concepts were inspired by ancient ideas, many of which I wasn’t aware of. Whenever I think of mythology, I always think of the Greek gods, and the crazy stories of the Odyssey, not Superman. Mythology to me has always been an ancient thing that I’ve had to study in English class. However, now I see it as a type of story, rather than an ancient concept. After the reading and discussion in class, I was able to apply the concept of Mythology to the modern era.  

 

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton