Life Outside of Loyola
For those who do not know me by now, I am a commuter student. I live in Albany Park, which is about 45 minutes to an hour away (depending on rush hour times and whether or not there is a baseball game at Wrigley Field). Besides the academic life at Loyola and talking about all the things that Loyola has to offer, I want to direct my attention to life outside of Loyola and what things I do that are not Loyola-affiliated.
Like I have mentioned before, the single, most distinct characteristic that separates students is whether or not you live on campus or live at home with your family. Again, this is a big factor. Commuters live their lives very different. Those who live on campus participate in a lot of LUC events and hang with their friends for dinner or for an outing by going downtown.
I, like other students, have other responsibilities and other obligations I have to meet. My home life and academic life are split up entirely.
My weekdays, Monday through Friday, are generally dedicated to schoolwork and any extracurriculars I am a part of. These component you should have a basic idea of already through my previous post as well as my fellow bloggers’ posts.
Weekends and Friday nights are pretty hectic.
Friday nights are spent at laundromats, washing, drying, and folding clothes for a family of 4. After, maybe go to a family member’s house and eat dinner there.
Saturday is spent going to the grocery store or supermarket to restock our fridge and make meals for the following week. We usually go to 2-3 stores because some places do not have the things we are looking for. Buying food generally takes up all of the morning. When we return home, we get started on cooking and/or I get started on my school work (which can be a lot!). By 4pm, I’m out of the house again and on my way to church for choir practice (no, I don’t singing nor am I a very good singer; I play the cello). 5:30pm mass lasts an hour or so. Some Saturdays, my choirs may have weddings or funerals or other events that I have to be at too, and when you factor in rehearsal times, my Saturday nights are quite busy.
Sunday is the busiest. 9:30am is when I have my weekly meeting for the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement (a church group for kids), where we talk about what we will teach the kids this week and what events we need to take care of in the future. From 10am to 11:30am, I alongside some my friends, teach and play with the kids. 11:30am mass.
Sometimes, my cello lessons at Loyola are on the weekend too, so that means I have to commute to Loyola with my cello either Saturday afternoon or Sunday late afternoon.
Either way, it is easy to see that life outside Loyola, especially for me as a LUC student and Chicago resident, can be busy and filled with so many things to do. There is certainly never a dull moment during the week and there is never a time when I am not being unproductive or couch-potato-like.
In a way, I do enjoy this lifestyle because there is a greater purpose to my life rather than doing nothing. In addition, most of the things I do outside of school are to support my family or support a good cause- this makes me feel like my time and effort are worth something.
Life outside of Loyola can be very fun and thrilling. We live in one of the greatest cities, so take advantage of it and get involved in everything that Chicago has to offer!