Muhlenberg College Blogs

I am currently sitting in my room at home in Maryland trying to figure out how to fit all the feelings I am currently having about just graduating from Muhlenberg into one blog post that is not twenty pages long, and let me tell you, it is not easy. The feeling is almost indescribable.

Senior Brunch

Muhlenberg was an amazing place for me to grow, learn and mature over the last four years. I was given opportunities that I do not think I would have gotten many other places. The faculty, staff and peers I met on campus were instrumental in helping me become the person that I am today and I do not know where I would be without the amazingly supportive community that I had at Muhlenberg. There are even alumni out there who I may never meet who gave in some way to the school or helped create a program that I participated in.  So from the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you.

Baccalaureate ceremony the night before graduation

I will miss many things about Muhlenberg, and while I am really sad to leave this part of my life, I am excited to take Muhlenberg with me into the “real world”. I am physically leaving Muhlenberg, but it really will always be with me. I have memories and stories for hours about the amazing moments that took place at college. Those moments that shaped me as a person today. Those moments that tested me and challenged me. Those moments that surprised me and shocked me. Those moments that excited and wowed me. Those moments will stay with me forever and will influence the rest of my life. I cannot wait to see what lies in store for me next and who from Muhlenberg I may get the pleasure to share it with.

Some of my closest friends and I as graduates of Muhlenberg college!

Three friends that I have had since freshman year. I am really going to miss them!

Graduation cap decorations (In bocca al lupo is a term for good luck in Italy)

As an official Muhlenberg alumna, I just want to say thank you to everyone again for helping me through this college journey especially my family and friends. It has been an unforgettable ride and I am so happy that I got to share it with so many wonderful people.

There are many things that I am going to miss about Muhlenberg, but as it gets closer and closer to graduation, I realize that I am really going to miss the theatre and dance community here at Muhlenberg.

Being a part of the theatre and dance community at Muhlenberg is like being a part of a huge, crazy family. I will start with the dance community first. Coming into college, I always enjoyed dancing, but I was really focused on theatre. The one passion in dancing that I have is tap dancing. I never thought I would be able to pursue it because I was so heavily involved in other activities, but that could not have been farther from the truth at ‘Berg. I was able to participate in classes, a couple performances and do the community tap ensemble. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to follow my passion of tap dancing without having to sacrifice any other interest in the process. On Tuesday, a couple of the other tap dancing seniors and I had tea time with Shelley. It was a lot of fun but really bittersweet. Tap was a bigger part of my life than I ever expected it to be at college but I would not have had it any other way. The dance community is strong at Muhlenberg. They let you in with open arms and you build  strong ties that will stay with you for a very long time.

Tea Time Tuesday with Tap Teacher Shelley

And now the theatre community. I do not really know where to start. The faculty and staff in the theatre department have been the most amazing support system for me throughout my four years at college. I never imagined I would be able to have such incredible opportunities at college. On Tuesday, there was a dinner with the faculty and staff of the Theatre and Dance departments, and it was really nice to have final conversations with the people who had such an impact on my life. It really made me reflect on just how special the theatre is at Muhlenberg. So this is just my moment to say thank you, thank you, thank you, to every faculty and staff member in the department who has supported me in my journey in the theatre. I am so grateful to have met and learned from all of you and what I have learned will stay with me for the rest of my life. I truly want to thank you for that.

Some of the faculty and staff at the Theatre and Dance dinner

Now a message to all my peers in theatre and dance: you all have been my rock throughout my time at Muhlenberg. I do not know what I would do without everyone who I have collaborated with, performed alongside or worked on shows with in any capacity. You are all so special to me, and I only hope that we can continue to create out in the real world. There is such a comfort working with such talented, smart and honest people like you all are. For the underclassmen: I wish you the best in your artistic pursuits at Muhlenberg. For the class of 2013: Keep on doing what you love and this is not goodbye, its just see you later <3

Some senior dancers at the Theatre and Dance dinner. I am going to miss you guys!

Some senior theatre major friends at the Theatre and Dance dinner

With only 2 weeks left till I return to the States, my family came to visit me here in Ireland. My parents flew in from Missouri, while my sister flew in from London. It was a fun little family reunion!

The first couple of days we stayed in Dublin, where we were surprised to find wonderful, warm weather. We spent a day visiting Wicklow National Park, which is absolutely gorgeous with breathtaking views. The park has actually been used as the location for many films including, PS: I Love You and Braveheart. The whole park is filled with vast lakes hidden in low valleys found in between the mountains. While there, we saw an old monastic settlement as well as the Guinness Estate, a beautiful home just beside the Guinness lake.

(from left to right) My dad, myself, my sister, and my mom by the Guinness Lake in Wicklow National Park.

After leaving Dublin, we set out for Adare, a small town just outside Limerick. Here we stayed in a magnificent castle, the same castle that my parents stayed in 25 years ago when they were visiting Ireland. The town of Adare was so cute! One of my favorite things about Ireland is the little towns. Dublin is amazing, but there is something about a small town where you can really feel a sense of community as they are filled with all family owned shops and one of a kind restaurants. While in Adare, we took a day trip through the Ring of Kerry. With true Irish weather – rainy and windy – we still made the best of it driving through the valleys and seeing Torc waterfall along the way.

The Adare Manor where we stayed. So beautiful!

SPOTTED: Mr. Mule looks out the window as we drive through the Ring of Kerry.

Next stop – Galway. Just outside of Galway we visited the Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Garden. The Abbey sits below a mountain and beside a lake giving it a breathtaking view. It was originally built as the home for a weathy man named Mitchell Henry and his family; however, over the years it was put on sale several times and eventually turned into an abbey. The architecture of the building was incredibly elegant.

The beautiful Kylemore Abbey.

Our last stop was definitely my favorite of the trip, if not one of my favorite visits of my time abroad. One of the reasons why I love Ireland so much is because a lot of my family is originally from Ireland. While most moved to the States long before I was born, I still have some distant family living here. During our last 2 days, we stayed with some of our family that live in Tuam, a town outside of Galway. Only my parents had met them before, but I was absolutely obsessed with them. I had so much fun! We even spent some time at our family’s farm, where my sister and I got to hold a 1-day-old lamb. It was so cute, I wanted to keep him!

Our cousin Teresa and her husband, who we were staying with, made us a proper Irish dinner complete with meat and potatoes. It was so nice to sit down to have a good home-cooked meal. The whole weekend was great, hearing stories about my great-great grandfather, as well as meeting our other family that still live in Ireland. While we are distant family, it was insane how much of a physical resemblance there was between my family in Ireland compared to my family from the States (funny enough our dogs even looked similar!). I can’t even explain how incredibly welcoming everyone was to us! I was sad to leave, but I am also excited to stay in contact and hopefully to visit them again. I can’t thank them enough for their hospitality!

Holding a 1-day-old baby lamb. So adorable!

Some of the family we met outside the family farm!

I had a lot of fun spending time with my family, as well as meeting more of my family, in Ireland!

Well, its official: I am done with classes and finals. I am now in Senior Week which is a great time to hang out with other seniors and enjoy Muhlenberg for one last week before graduation. We have already had some fun activities and there are more to come but I wanted to write about a big one that started the week: Senior Ball.

My friends and I on the way to senior ball coincidentally all wearing purple

Pictures before the ball

Senior Ball was last night and it was so much fun. All the seniors got dressed up and danced the night away. I had a blast and I loved sharing the night with so many of my close friends. It was a great way to start the week.

The beautiful view from the deck of the Woodlands

My friends Jimmy and Molly enjoying their meal!

Everyone dancing the night away

I cannot believe how quickly freshman year flew by! These are a few things that helped make my spring semester as special as it was:

Holding a Human Brain

My Bio Psych professor brought in half of a human brain! Even though a lot of us were scared to touch it, we couldn’t walk out of class that day and not be able to say that we held a human brain.

Birthday Surprises!

Without my knowing, my friends decorated my room, my door, and made me a ton of cupcakes and cake on my birthday!

Improv

Two of my friends, Avery and Alyssa, are in the all female improv group, “Damsels in Excess”. Some of my friends and I went to their last show and could not stop laughing the whole time.

Through the Red Doors Day

On Through the Red Doors Day, a bunch of accepted students came to Muhlenberg for the day. I got to see one of my good friends from home, Sadie, who is coming to Muhlenberg in the fall!

East Fest

This semester we had “East Fest” which is a festival that takes place on the east side of campus. There were games, free food, live music, T-shirt making, and henna tattoos. I decided to get one of a lizard.

Holi

Holi is an Indian color festival where everyone runs around throwing colored powder on one another. My friend, Danielle, and I went to the East quad to participate and left looking like walking rainbows.

Relay for Life

This year, I participated in Relay for Life for the first time. Aside from just walking, we had a cappella and music groups performing, blow up obstacle courses, and a bunch of free food that Erica and I are so gracefully eating above.

I cannot believe that I am no longer a freshman but I could not be more excited to start my Sophomore year in a few months!