Tag: Thanksgiving

Giving Thanks For LUC

Giving Thanks For LUC

I feel bad for Thanksgiving. This perfectly good holiday has become overshadowed by the upcoming Christmas season. Rather than serving as a pause and time to give thanks with our loved ones it has become the perfect long weekend to get the best deals on the perfect presents and set up the Christmas tree. I’ll admit that this year I was out shopping on Black Friday and had been listening to Christmas music since the week before, but I still think that Thanksgiving should be given the credit it deserves.

I want this holiday to receive the credit that its due, because I for one have so very much to be thankful for. My thanksgiving weekend was filled with quality family time, reuniting with high school friends, and of course good food—all of which I am insanely thankful for. But I’d like to send some thanks Loyola’s way because it too has brought me plenty to be thankful for in the last 2 ½ years.

LUC thank you for…

  1. The city. I’m grateful that you have given your students the city of Chicago to explore. You’ve never tried to keep us hidden on the Lake Shore Campus, but instead encourage us to enjoy all the exciting things our neighborhood and our city offers us. And I’m always grateful that we’ve got a UPASS to get us around, plus a campus right in the middle of downtown.
  2. Jesuit values. Before I started school at Loyola I didn’t even know what a Jesuit was, but now that I’ve seen them in action I’ve become grateful that it was upon their values our school was founded. Our mission for social justice is one that seeps into nearly every course I’ve had and is certainly a message I will carry with me far beyond my college years.
  3. Experiences abroad. I quite honestly would not have become the person I am today without having spent a semester at Loyola’s John Felice Rome Center. LUC thank you for encouraging your students to take a leap of faith and spend time abroad while we are in college, and thank you for making that opportunity so easily accessible to us.
  4. Caring for the environment. You were not given the title of “The Greenest University in the Midwest” on accident. The initiative you take to make our campus one that will leave a small footprint on this planet is widely appreciated by your students. Thank you for recycling bins, water bottle refill stations, and geothermal powered buildings; your efforts haven’t gone unnoticed.
  5. Our professors. The reason we are here is to receive a high quality education and that would not be true of this institution if your professors didn’t strive to meet that standard. I’ve seen professors teach classes of 200 and still show us how very much they care and each semester I have a professor that blows me away with their knowledge, expertise, and ability to inspire.

Thank you Loyola, for all that you do.

You are very Fortunate…

You are very Fortunate…

peanuts-thanksgiving-table

I cannot express how fortunate I am to be able to live life the way I do. I may not live a luxurious and stress-free lifestyle, but I have the basic necessities and more that many others cannot afford to have. Especially at Loyola where students come from fairly stable families, people such as myself can forget how lucky we are to such a good school with good facilities, food, faculty, and most importantly, a private, Jesuit education.

Walking around campus throughout the day, I hear people talk about how they did not wear enough layers of clothing, how restless they are, how they procrastinated on schoolwork, how “broke” they are, and more- typical college student complaints. We truly do not know how fortunate we are until we become the unfortunate ones ourselves.

 

Here’s a good Dr. Suess quote:

When you think things are bad, when you feel sour and blue, when you start to get mad… you should do what I do… Just tell yourself, Duckie, you’re really quite lucky!

Some people are much more…oh, ever so much more…oh, muchly much-much more..unlucky than you!

 

Personally. I am extremely grateful for my mom for the support and care she has given me. Without her, I would not have been able to attend Loyola and be the person that I am today, writing to you guys.

If there is one message I wish to get across, it is to think about what you say and do, because there will always be others who have it worse than you do.

For this upcoming Thanksgiving holiday this week, I wish all of you a wonderful day with family and friends that you care about. There’s always something to be thankful for.

Grateful for this City, Grateful for this School

Grateful for this City, Grateful for this School

Thanksgiving is quite obviously a time to give thanks. I could go on and on about all the things I am grateful for, but I wanted to give a little extra thanks to the city and school I’ve come to know and love over the past year.

CHICAGO, Thank you for:

  1. The skyline. It always brings a smile to my face and usually a jaw drop. Whether I catch a glimpse from the Lake Shore path during the day or when it’s all lit up at night, I’m certainly grateful for the view.
  2. Free things to do. Zoos, concerts, parades, or tours, Chicago knows how to keep college kids happy, and we are all thankful to be able to enjoy the city without having to spend money.
  3. Lake Michigan. Whoever decided to build a city on the shores of Lake Michigan has all my gratitude. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of running on Lake Shore Path or driving on Lake Shore Drive.
  4. The food. This is one city that knows how to eat—deep dish, popcorn, hotdogs, plus cuisine from nearly every nation—I won’t get bored of all the options Chicago offers.
  5. The parks. I love getting to spend time wandering through Chicago’s parks, especially along the lake or downtown. They don’t qualify as full blown state parks, but a little controlled nature still works for me.

LOYOLA, Thank you for:

  1. My professors. Even in classes as large as 200 students I have felt cared for by my professors. All of them have their quirks, but always teach me more than the required material.
  2. U-Passes. Including CTA all access U-Passes in our tuition is something all of us are definitely grateful for. Our campuses put us in the perfect position to explore the city and not having to buy tickets every time we use public transit is a huge blessing.
  3. Lake Michigan. Well, I had to put this one on the thankful list twice because I could not be happier that our Lake Shore Campus bumps right into the lake shore. Our location makes for the most beautiful sunrises and calming study spots on the north-side of the city.
  4. The students. At first I was a little intimidated by a student body of 10,000 undergrad, but I have come to really love it. I’m glad to go to school with a diverse range of students who all come from different places and are interested in different things. But amidst all these people, I have found people I really click with. I know some of these are friendships I will cherish for a long time.
  5. Two campuses. I love having both a city campus and a “typical college campus”. Coming to the city I didn’t want my school to just be skyscrapers on a city block. Loyola provides more than what I was looking for–a spread out campus on the lake and some pretty cool skyscrapers downtown, and I couldn’t be happier.

 

Thank You Loyola

Thank You Loyola

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Thank you Loyola for choosing me to be a part of your university. You not only brought me closer to my dreams and aspirations to become a doctor, but you have supported me through clubs and organizations and let me find friends who can be considered true, genuine, and life-long. I am still on my way to finding out who I am as a person and what I can do with a great mind; you alongside many amazing people (staff, faculty, and students) have helped me see my potential and my future. Without you Loyola, I would not have met people I consider my best friends who are there to comfort me when I am down and support me in every way.
Loyola, I’m so grateful to not only attend a high level education, but to attend a well-known prestigious school. As a first generation child, this is more than I could have asked for. I am more than thankful for that. Besides me, I know there are so many other students like myself who are slowly but surely reaching out towards their goals for the future- we all, “will set the world on fire”.

I wish everyone has an amazing Thanksgiving holiday filled with family and friends.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thankful Loyolans

Thankful Loyolans

 
 
In order to show their gratitude and thankfulness this year, Ramblers took hundreds of post-it notes to a chalkboard on-campus to share what they were thankful for:

thanks 1

Administration

Chicago

Easy Mac

Family

Friendly Students

List

Loyola Community

Loyola

My Students

Opportunity Loyola

Roomies

UNIV

You

 

Happy Thanksgiving from our Loyola family to yours!

 

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving break was a much needed, relaxing time.  I booked it home on the MegaBus Tuesday, and arrived home Tuesday night to my family, dog and my favorite pasta! It was the perfect things to come home to.

I went to both sets of my grandparents houses on Thanksgiving day.  I ate twice (it’s possible.. trust me) and then had some leftovers later.  I was basically in a food coma for the remainder of break, but I wasn’t complaining.  Thanksgiving food is definitely in list of top five favorite meals. Deeelicious.

I braved the crowds and went Black Friday (well, Thursday) shopping Thursday night.  I went to Target just to look around.  The line wrapped around the entire building! It was insane, but it wasn’t too long of a wait because they were letting mass amounts of people in at a time.  I didn’t get anything, but it was fun experiencing the Black Friday craze!

The rest of my break was spent relaxing and catching up with old high school friends.  On Sunday, I drove back with a friend to Chicago.  Now, I’m just anxiously awaiting Christmas break! One week to go!

Lucky Number Twenty!

Lucky Number Twenty!

I have reached my twentieth blog (not counting my miniature Autobiography), hurray! In celebration, here’s a nice picture I took of the Chicago skyline:

This skyline is as lovely as the real one.

Now, my brief Thanksgiving Break breakdown:

Wednesday: I went to King Spa with my mom, as I said I would. While there, I tried an aloe juice drink– one of the yummiest drinks ever! If anyone ever goes there, try one of them. They have real aloe chunks in them, which filled me up because I was hungry, and they have a sweet taste to them that satisfied my sweet tooth; it took all my strength not to chug it and order another one.

Thursday: On the grand day, my mom, my grandmother and I made a Thanksgiving feast consisting of our signature vegetable salad, mashed sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and stuffing, chocolate cake, and of course, a beautiful Turkey. My cousin and her family, and my boyfriend joined my mom, grandma and me in the festivities before my boyfriend and I went to his brother’s home to continue the feast. I said I would compare the two, and I must say, they were nearly the same. We had the exact same food, only cooked in different ways- both were scrumptious.

The rest of the break was lazy and chill, spent exercising, sleeping, hanging out with friends and avoiding homework. Luckily, nothing important was due the moment I came back.

All in all, this was the best Thanksgiving break that I have ever had. I can’t wait to see what Winter Break has in store for me!

Thanksgiving with the Family

Thanksgiving with the Family

Thanksgiving.  During the year, probably the holiday I look forward to most.  This year, it had special meaning for me.  Of course, I had a chance to go home, but it was the first time I was able to be home with my two younger sisters since we all left for college.  In fact, it was the first time we were able to share a true family meal with this group of people in a long time.

My best friend (a family member, minus the DNA), the guy with the yellow shirt, was in Nicaragua all summer working with an organization called Amigos for Christ; building wells for those who need clean water.  Between his dedicated service in Central America and my internship up here in Chicago, we haven’t all been together since last Easter, which was a long time ago.

So this thanksgiving, besides the great food, family parties, football and hikes, I was especially grateful for the chance to reconnect.

It’s (Almost) Thanksgiving Time

It’s (Almost) Thanksgiving Time

I wrote about the Canadian Thanksgiving several weeks ago, but the American one is coming up fast now. Just yesterday, I was sitting and thinking about how Halloween was almost a month ago, Thanksgiving is in a week, and within weeks it’ll be Winter Break and the rest of the Holidays. We’ve even had our first frost recently!

Because of Thanksgiving, we only have classes Monday and Tuesday next week, which means that Tuesday night, I’ll be heading over to my hometown in the Northern Suburbs. I’ll be spending some time with my mother, which I’m really looking forward to (and I bet she is too). On Wednesday, we are planning on going to King Spa in Niles, IL, a place that we go to several times a year to unwind and get peace of mind.

Thursday will be Turkey Day, so we’re hoping to have a family “dinner” at our place. I say “dinner” because we always eat at around 3:00PM. I’m looking forward to putting my cooking brain on and maybe trying out some new recipes to make along with my usual Thanksgiving favorites. I love to make the sweet mashed potatoes and corn-off-the-cob. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Along with my own family’s Thanksgiving, I’ve been invited to my boyfriend’s family’s Thanksgiving dinner. The timing is perfect because my stomach will settle after round one right before I begin round two of eating. I’ve never celebrated a holiday twice in one day before. I don’t know if this is a good thing or not, but I’ll let you guys know based on how stuffed (pun intended) I am.

One thing that will be cool about celebrating twice -other than double the food- is seeing how my two Thanksgiving dinners will differ from each other. Other than seeing Thanksgiving on television, I don’t recall ever experiencing it outside of my own family, so I’m excited about trying something new, or seeing that it’s similar to my own.

I hope to post again before the break begins, so until next week. Have a safe weekend!

Back To Classes

Back To Classes

Fall break has come to an end, but the Halloween season is just beginning. On Monday, I carved my first pumpkin. He’s not the best, but he’s not the worst, but you guys can judge that:

(We tried to make him look half happy and half evil. I don’t think it really worked.)

Along with pumpkin carving, I also got a massage from Elements Therapeutic Massage out in Bloomingdale (they have several locations). It was a 55-minute session that helped me relieve some stress. The best thing that came out of this massage were the tips I got for relieving my tension headaches, which at this time of year are pretty common for college students. I’m definitely going to use my new found advice daily and I recommend that people check out this place.

The day was wrapped up with a big self-prepared dinner, and let me mention that using the entire stove-top while cooking leaves a lot of room for disaster. Somehow we miraculously managed to not burn, break or ruin anything, but the kitchen was filled with tension and preparing food for almost an hour.

This dinner was not for any special occasion, though I’ll continue to joke that it was for the Canadian Thanksgiving. For those who didn’t know, Monday was Turkey Day for Canadians and for people like me who used that as a reason to make a feast. For those of you who did know, you either broke out the pots and pans and joined the cooking party, or you are jealously waiting for the American Thanksgiving, which is still a month and a half away.

I started writing this blog yesterday as a break from doing my homework. This week may only be a half-week, but that doesn’t make it any easier. Thursday, I have my first Social Statistics test, followed by my first Management test on Friday.

Grades are starting to trickle in, so I’m slowly getting an idea of where I stand in my classes, and though I’m doing well, I want to step it up a notch to do even better. This semester has not been an easy one and tempers are getting hotter as the weather gets colder, but two things to be happy about are that the leaves on the trees look beautiful, and in two weeks, we’ll be halfway through the semester. Let’s keep on trucking.

PS: I started re-watching the Vampire Diaries from the beginning which reminds me to tell everyone what an awesome show it is. And Season 4 premieres this Thursday at 7PM. That’s all. 🙂