Crimson Christmas

A week ago today, I got to participate in one of my favorite Transy events. Every year around the beginning of December, the Transy community teams up with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Lexington to host “Crimson Christmas.”

Prior to the event, the residence life staff collects money from their residents to purchase gifts for a particular child in the program. Then they shop for gifts according to the child’s wish-list, so they for sure get items they want and need.

The day of the event, several organizations, including most of the Greek organizations on campus, set up booths for the children to come do crafts or play games for prizes. This year there was face painting, gift box making, pin the red nose on Rudolf, and I worked the cornhole game!

Santa visits Transy!

I can’t believe how much fun these kids had. Every one of them had a smile on their face the whole day! After games were played and pictures were taken with Santa, it was time for them to open their big gifts! It felt so incredible to know that the Transy community gave these kids an awesome Christmas, especially since some of them wouldn’t get to have Christmas otherwise. I’ll never forget how one little girl jumped up and down when she opened her Justin Beiber poster and then promptly began to show it off! Two little twin boys had a basketball and football among their gifts and started up a game of catch with some other children and transy students.

This event always reminds me that Transy is a very special community in itself, but we never forget that we are part of a larger community. You can see the dedication to helping that larger community here, and that’s something I’m incredibly proud of.

A photo recap of recent fun things!

A quick photo update on fun things that have happened recently:

I made it to my concert in Cleveland, Ohio a couple of weekends ago! It was absolutely incredible, and it was just what I needed to do for myself to keep myself motivated for the end of the semester. I got to be in the front row! The lead singer of the first band tossed me his water bottle after the show, because I knew all the words to all their songs (they are one of my favorite bands, and they broke up 5 years ago, so not many people in the crowd knew them). The drummer from my favorite band threw me his broken drumstick, and the lead guitarist from the main act gave me his guitar pick! It was so worth the 5.5 hour drive!

Anthony Green- Lead vocalist for Circa Survive!

THE MAN aka Colin Frangicetto- Lead Guitarist for Circa Survive. I was RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM!

My loot!

Phi Mu had a Masquerade Ball on Friday night. All the other sororities also had their winter formals this weekend. It was a lot of fun to hang around and dance with friends, and I had so much fun making my mask!

The members of the new Sigma Tau Delta chapter on campus (that’s the international English honorary, by the way), met for brunch this morning to chat and discuss our upcoming charity event! Doodles is an amazing local breakfast and lunch restaurant, and it is quickly becoming a Transy tradition. Every time I go there I see at least 3 or 4 other Transy groups there.

It's that time again

It’s that time of the semester again! Finals are coming up, papers are coming due, and everyone is getting excited about the holidays. For me, this semester has been eye opening. I have realized that I am about to enter my last semester of college. I have had to juggle my school work, my job and applying for grad school, but it’s all about over. Oh my. Really, this is about how I feel right now:

Exhausted in the Rambler Office

You’ll hit these points throughout your college career, where you’ve done so much, that all you really want to do is just rest for a while. Completely veg out and do something mindless. Remember, though, that something will always come back to encourage you to keep going with school. You’ll read something really interesting in one of your classes (like the book “The Known World” for me in my 20^th Century American Literature class right now) and you’ll be back in the game.

READ THIS BOOK. Really.

I’ve found that the best way to stay motivated is find a way to incorporate your school work into other things you find enjoyable. Take your articles down to Third Street Stuff or Cuppa or Common Grounds (local coffee shops) one night instead of cooping yourself up in the library or your room; take your textbooks home for the weekend and study while around your family; I am about to go run a bath and read there. Take breaks when you want to (not too many); take naps (not too many); and listen to your body when it tells you it’s had enough (but make sure that’s what it is actually saying).

Around the Holidays it’s easy to want to quit, but ya gotta stick with it. It’ll pay off; I promise! I’m walking proof.