Yes Mom, I'm Being Taken Care Of

Happy Sunday! I wanted to share with you a few things about all the amazing people here at SMC who have helped me out over the past week.  I could probably go on forever, but I'll try to cut to the chase.

Last Friday, I unfortunately found a nail in one of my tires.  Although I'm perfectly able to get gas, fill up my tires, get a car wash, and other basic things like that, I'm rather incompetent when it comes to bigger issues relating to my car.  Long story short, I ended up needing a new tire.  Since I don't live in Vermont full time, I wasn't sure what I should do to find a truthworthy and reliable person to replace my tire for me.  I ended up calling my mentor of sorts and the Lit Choir director, Jerome, and asked for his mechanic's information.  Rather than giving me a name and number and leaving me to my own devices, Jerome called me back with a plan to take me to a number of different places to ensure I found a tire that would be compatible with the rest of my tires.  The next morning (which was a Saturday), he took time out of his day to accompany me in my search for a new tire, which ended up being a success.  He even called his mechanic to make sure they thought my new tire would work with my old ones.  Before calling Jerome, I had thought about driving all the way home to my own mechanic, but I'm so glad I didn't.  I felt so blessed to have Jerome's help in what otherwise would have been quite a difficult situation for me to handle by myself.

Marianne (who I met through Jerome), myself, and Jerome

This past Friday brought with it a whole different adventure of sorts.  After attending the Career Symposium (which was a fantastic event, more to come later), I really didn't feel well.  I thought after I got some food in me I would feel better, so I headed to my friends' house for some pizza.  Unfortunately it didn't make me feel any better, so I decided to go home and go to sleep.  My wonderful friend Sharon came up North with me, missing the shuttle back to Main Campus to make sure I was alright.  I was so grateful to know that I had someone there if I needed anything.  I ended up sleeping for a while and feeling much better by the end of yesterday.  Both Sharon and my friend Cait checked in on me multiple times, which made me feel really special and important.  Not that I like being sick, but in a sense it served as a reminder that my SMC family will always be there for me, especially when my immediate family can't be.  Usually when I'm sick, all I want is my mom (which may sound childish, but oh well).  But this time, I was totally content (well, as content as I could be while sick) to have my friends take care of me.

Sharon and me :)

Sharon, myself, and Cait being a little crazy

Not only does my SMC family make me feel better, they help my mom and family out as well.  When I first came to college, my mom, being her wonderful and loving self, wanted to make sure that I would find people who would always have my back when she couldn't be there for me.  I would definitely say that I've done just that.  I couldn't be more grateful for the amazing people I've met here, many of which aren't included in this post (by name, at least).  I know I've said it before, but I honestly couldn't be happier to have attended Saint Mike's.  The community that I've been immersed in has been so welcoming and continues to help me in whatever way I need.  I am going to miss it immensely when I'm abroad next semester!

Thanks for reading and have a great Sunday!
~Merrill