As this semester wraps up, Alma College students are all anxiously awaiting their last class, test or exam, so that they can head home for the holidays. I am no exception.

Our hall's chalkboard decorated for Christmas

Only having two major exams this week, I have had lots of extra time to study and finish up Christmas presents. I’ve been knitting like crazy! I have to admit that the excitement of going home can make it hard to focus, though.

As a first-year student, this is the first Christmas that I was not around to help select and decorate my family’s tree, so I can’t wait to see the house decked and spend time with my family. As I am studying, I catch myself zoning off, thinking about what waits for me in the upcoming weeks. These thoughts captivate me, and I can’t help but begin daydreaming of what is to come.

But what is to come? What am I looking forward to most? Three full weeks of sleeping in a queen-size bed, and sharing that bed with my puppy!

My room's door wrapped up as a gift

I also cannot wait for Christmas morning and all of the day’s excitement. I will be spending it with my cousins, who are all under the age of 3. It’s going to be so fun to see how much they have learned to do and say, as they pick up new things each and every day.

I am excited to spend time with my friends and my boyfriend as well. We see much less of each other, so we always have lots of catching up to do!

Oddly enough, I also am looking forward to cooking and baking. At Alma, I have really missed having a full kitchen and oven. I have accumulated a whole stack of recipes that I want to make over break: snowflake cupcakes, green bean casserole, bacon mac ‘n’ cheese and chocolate chip Oreo bars. I love being in the kitchen and creating delicious treats almost as much as I love watching people enjoy them afterward.

You can see how these thoughts would carry me away from creating a rhetorical analysis and studying Modus Tollens or hypothetical syllogism argument forms. Somehow, I have to snap myself out of it and bring myself back to studying for just one more week.

With this “one more week” reminder, I am able to focus and study hard, knowing that as soon as my philosophy exam is done, I will be headed home. Until then, I will be busy studying, packing and preparing for the end of the semester.

I hope everyone has a wonderful break and comes back ready for winter semester. Happy Holidays!

As a freshman at Alma College, these past few months have been full of changes. The biggest change, of course, was moving away from home. Along with that came a whole bunch of new things: new friends, new surroundings, a new town to navigate, a new schedule, and even new food (most incoming students aren’t used to having all-you-can-eat for every meal, every day!)

In the days leading up to Move-In Day, I was both nervous and scared about leaving home and being on my own. On the two-and-a-half hour drive to Alma, though, I’m pretty sure I went through about 30 more emotions. I was excited to set up my room and meet my roommate, but I was worried that I wouldn’t make friends. The thought of community bathrooms also left me a little unsure. I mean, who gets excited about sharing a bathroom with 60 other girls?

With my roommate, Sarah

Looking back, that day seems like years ago. It has only been a few short months, but my first semester at Alma is coming to a close. I’m 1/8 done with college already. Time sure flies when you’re having fun!

These four months have been so much more than I expected. I have a wonderful roommate, Sarah, who is like me in almost every way possible. How many people can say that their very first college roommate was born only hours apart from them on the same exact day?

With friends at a volleyball game

My luck has continued outside of my room as well. I live in a hallway with some of the nicest, funniest girls on campus! We’ve already made so many great memories together: baking cupcakes, painting the Spirit Rock, attending athletics home games and winning Best Decorated Hall in Newberry for Christmas. And I can’t leave out our Sunday night movie and Pizza One get-togethers!

Not everything has been fun and games, though. Alma is definitely a school that challenges its students. Never in my life had I gotten a D on a test before college. The very first psychology exam I took… 61%. I was crushed. I stressed over this grade every day before I was able to remind myself that college is going to be harder, bad grades are going to happen and it is okay if they do once or twice. If you spend too much time worrying about one grade, your next one is going to suffer. I had to move on and study twice as hard for the second exam. My grade is now a solid B, which is quite an improvement.

Being away from home is much easier than I expected (just don’t tell my mom that!) I think most students would agree with me that at first freedom can be overwhelming, but being independent and doing your own laundry and grocery shopping feels good. As long as you keep yourself focused, you should be all right. Besides, being away from home makes every trip home much more meaningful and special!

All in all, I consider myself so lucky to have the opportunity to be away at school, especially a great school like Alma. I am so fortunate to have made the friends I have, gained the knowledge I have and started my college career off on such a positive note.