Drop the books and hit the beach

Kalamazoo College has a unique holiday called DoGL. It stands for Day of Gracious Living, but most people just refer to it as the best day of spring quarter. It is simply a day off from classes and usually sports practices too. What makes it even better is that K gets charter buses and buses people to and from Lake Michigan throughout the day. Overall, DoGL is just a very relaxing and fun day for the students at K.


Photo credit: Chuck Stull, Professor of Economics

This is an audition?

I didn’t experience the most stressful finals, but it was still alarming to quickly yank myself away from the pressure of K and off to my friend's lakeside cabin where due dates were replaced by dunes and unusually sunny weather for Michigan in March. From there it was off to Chicago where my friends and I experienced the windy city for two days at the expense of another friend's dad's Hilton hotel points. Then I spent the last of my spring break at home in Madison, Wisconsin, eating cheese and ice cream.

Maybe I'm addicted to stress. That's the only explanation I can think of for the way I dove into a pool of commitments upon returning to college.

"I'd love to write an article on viral activism!"

"Of course I'll be at your Men Against Patriarchy meeting!"

"Peer Leader applications? Gotta do that!"

None of these things could compare with the ultimate commitment: Auditions for "Kahani."

Living Graciously in Florida

I got off the plane at 11:00PM. After frantic packing, driving an hour to catch a plane in Grand Rapids, and experiencing a two-hour lay-over in Baltimore, I finally made it to my warm 85 degree homeland to visit my father – and I’d gotten away from my rather cold days as a permanent visitor at a college with no family for miles. Though I enjoyed the classes, hanging outs in coffee shops, the intellectual conversations in dorms, and the perpetual uncertainties of the weather in Michigan, I was excited to venture into the familiar territory of Florida. I was eager to finally seize the opportunity of a weekend at home, a pleasure not often obtained by a Non-Michigander, or a Non-Midwesterner, for that matter. Although I had left on a Wednesday for this trip, informed my professors that I would be gone, and finished my homework early, little did I know a day off of classes for everyone was in store: Day of Gracious Living was announced for that very Friday. My Michigan adventures became an Atlantic Ocean escapade and family bonding.

An exquisite domicile is now in our possession!

       “What does that mean?” “Umm… Exquisite is grand or beautiful, a domicile is a place of living, and possession is ownership."

You can thank my snarky English-major housemate for my catchy blog title, but the point is that we finally found a house for next year! The lease agreement is itching to be co-signed, but it’s been quite the journey to get where we are today. I started looking at houses about a month ago, and I thought I’d found The One (of the three that I’d seen). We all applied for my “dream home”, which is more problematic than you’d think due to two of my future housemates still abroad in China and the twelve hour time difference! We had everything in but the signatures and deposits, and then it slipped from under us to a group who had everyone on campus. The trouble with a small school like K is that when things like this happen, you know who stole your house. It was no big deal, really, but fourth and fifth week are when midterms and papers all start stacking up, and I’d bitten off more than I could chew.

Breaks

As I write this, I am sitting in the lobby of Light Fine Arts (commonly referred to as FAB – Fine Arts Building). The sun is shining through the huge mosaic of stained glass that looks out on the corner of Academy and Thompson. Across the way is the Library where I would usually be spending a Sunday afternoon, such as this, but I decided to go for a change of pace and I definitely lucked out, because the view is fantastic and the study space is tranquil.
 
The stillness of a Sunday afternoon always welcomes me back to K after a break. Whether it is a three-day weekend, a long winter break, spring break, or even summer – the Sunday before classes start is always one of my favorite times of the quarter. It is the time where we share hugs and stories with our best friends; we walk up and down Academy, across campus to visit those we have not seen in a while, or welcome those who are moving back in from being away on Study Abroad; we trod along the well worn sidewalks that will take us to Hicks and the cafeteria, or the library and Biggby Coffee; but above all, we soak in those few short hours we have of delightful bliss before resuming classes.
 

Deadlines and due dates

Since the time we enter high school, we reach a point where deadlines are required more of us than before. To add on to that, as we keep getting older, they get more serious and frequent, almost becoming part of a routine and even an expectation. Even as a write this, there’s a loose deadline attached to it. If you’re reading this, the majority of you are considering K as a choice for college, so you’re obviously familiar with the college application process and how serious those deadlines are. Miss one essay, transcript, or letter of rec, and you can kiss most chances of entering any school good-bye. And the same thing will happen as we proceed along all walks in life.