Maintaining Your Mental Health

Hello everyone!  Hope you're all doing well.  This has been a crazy week for me - next week is the last week of classes before spring break so I've had a lot of work to do.  In the midst of all my work and activites though, I find it increasingly important to take some time for relaxation.  I've always heard the saying that you can't have good grades, enough of sleep, as well as a social life when you're in school.  While some days I think this is true, I do my best to convince myself otherwise.  Sometimes I get so caught up in my work that I forget to take a break.  In these times I have to remember that stopping for even five minutes might help me to feel refreshed and be much more productive when I return to my work.

If I'm being honest, I didn't participate in a crazy amount of extra-curricular activites when I was in high school because I was afraid that if I did, I wouldn't have time to get my homework done.  I consider myself a slow reader (although I've definitely gotten faster since the beginning of college!), so I like to allow myself a significant amount of time when I know I have a lot of reading to do.  However in college, my schedule is quite different.  When I came to SMC, everyone told me the best way to meet new people and make long-lasting friendships was to be involved, so that's what I tried to do.  As a result of participating in many different activites, I have to carefully plan my days to make sure I give myself enough time for my school work.  Especially during busy weeks like this one, going to the library works really well for me becuase it provides an environment where I can really focus on being efficient in getting things done with minimal distractions.

Some days, however, I choose to work in my room instead.  As you may know, I have an awesome roommate and we live next door to two of our best friends.  You can probably guess that if we're all home at the same time, it's really tempting to hang out rather than work.  However, I have come to realize that even if I get my work done, I don't feel as good about everything unless I spend some time with my friends each day.  With the exception of meals, the time I spend with my friends is often unplanned, which makes it all the more special.  For example, last night I got home around 9:30 with the intention of showering, working, and going straight to bed.  But it just so happened that a few of my friends were hanging out together so I went to say hi and ended up spending half an hour with them and going to bed later than I had originally planned.  Even though I didn't get as much sleep as I would've liked, I woke up in a fantastic mood because I had allowed myself to spend some quality time with my friends (for the record, I did get the work done that I needed to!).

Especially in the past week, I feel like I have put a special focus on maintaining my mental health by spending time with friends during the week (rather than just on the weekends).  This has happened sporadically as well as by simply texting some of my friends to see if they want to grab a meal together.  Each time I see my friends, I am reminded of how much I love them and how lucky I am to be at a wonderful place like SMC, surrounded by such great people.

Speaking of great people, I would like to give a special shoutout to my fellow blogger and amazing friend Alex.  In addition to cooking a meal for me, she has listened to me rant about various stressors in my life (classes, activites, etc.) a lot this past week.  I read her blog religiously before coming to Saint Mike's and never imagined that we would become such great friends.  She is like the sister I never had and I'm so thankful for all the advice she's given me, whether it be about friendship or how things like class registration work at SMC.

It is quite possible that I think mental health is so important because I'm a psych major, but whatever the reason, it's so important to surround yourself with wonderful friends and make time to show them how much you appreciate them.  I have been working on this a lot lately.  I like to say that my new motto is "It's all about that mental health!" because that's truly what I believe.

Alright, I think that's all I have to say about that!  I have a busy weekend ahead (full of activities to boost my mental health :)) which I will be sure to update you on soon!

As always, thanks for reading my blog!!

PS Shoutout to everyone in my wonderful SMC family, especially those who have helped to make this past week awesome!

Home For the Weekend

Hello everyone!  Can't believe it's already Wednesday - this week is going by so quickly!  Here's a quick update on what's been going on for me.  Saint Mike's students had this past Friday off so I took advantage of the long weekend to go home and see my family for a few days.  I spent a lot of time (probably too much) thinking about whether or not I really wanted to make the trip since I would be home for such a short time and spring break is in a few weeks, but I'm so glad I did it.  As I've said before, being away at college makes me appreciate my family and all the comforts of home so much more than I used to, so it was really nice to have the ability to go home for the weekend!  I didn't too anything too exciting, but I did get to spend some quality time with my family (and my goats, of course) and I returned to SMC on Sunday night feeling refreshed and ready for a new week ahead.  As many of you know, I absolutely love snow, so I would say one of the highlights of being home was waking up on Saturday morning to a snowy view from my window:

And if you follow me on Twitter you may have seen this:

Clearly the SMC squirrels followed me home!

As I mentioned, I returned to SMC on Sunday night.  I spent the night doing some homework and hearing about my friends' weekends.  This week has been pretty busy for me (maybe that's why it's going so quickly!), but I would definitely say one of the most exciting things was giving my first tour of the semester!  Three lovely girls from Massachusetts were on my tour.  It was great to have such nice people help me get back into the swing of things and remind me how much I missed giving tours!

I'm off to babysit in South Burlington, but I wanted to give a special shoutout to everyone in Massachusetts who has vacation this week - have a blast!  And best of luck with your college search!  If you decide to make SMC your new home next fall, I can't wait to meet you! :)

As always, thanks for reading my blog and have a great day!
Merrill

PS Parents of accepted students - there is a special Parent KnightChat tonight at 7:30 - click here to register for it so you can ask any questions you might have about SMC!Twitter

The SMC Experience

Hello everyone and Happy Tuesday!  Hope you all had a great weekend.  I know I did - especially because of all the wonderful snow we got!  Unfortunately I didn't make it to Smuggs, but I plan on going again soon!  I spent a fair amount of time catching up this weekend - on homework, sleep, and of course my favorite TV shows!

Anyway, last week in my of my sociology classes we got to talking about how expensive it can be to attend a residential college and with online classes being much less expensive, maybe it makes more sense to do that.  My professor then tried to figure out some of the reasons everyone in my class chose to attend Saint Mike's and whether or not we would consider sending our children here in the future.  He also pushed us to think about what the benefits might be of attending SMC vs. getting a degree online instead.  All of this has turned into an ongoing thought process for me over the past week about why I am okay with my parents making such a big investment in my education and what I am truly getting out of my SMC experience.

For me, one of the most important aspects of living at SMC (a residential college) is getting used to living away from home.  College was the first time I really left - I was never a fan of sleepaway camps during the summer or anything like that.  Naturally, it was a big transition for me, and one that is still difficult from time to time.  However, I can honestly say that even though it's hard sometimes, the relationships with people I have at home in New Hampshire have only gotten stronger as a result of me being at school.  I have learned how important it is to make time to call or text my friends (and family of course) to see how they're doing and make sure they know I'm thinking of them.

Obviously, a huge part of why I'm at Saint Mike's is to get a great liberal arts education.  I can definitely say I'm getting that - I am so happy to be able to take a variety of classes (not all of which pertain to my psych major) and not feel like I'm wasting my time.  As I mentioned last week, I am absolutely loving my sociology class, even though it doesn't count towards my major.  Last semester I took General Chemistry (also not required since I had already fulfilled my lab requirement) and got to have an amazing professor.  Speaking of professors, that is just one thing I love about SMC.  If I decided to take online classes, I wouldn't be able to meet so many amazing people, participate in on-campus activities (and be a part of the campus community), and I wouldn't get to have such meaningful in-class discussions like the one in my sociology class.  All these little things add up to make me so grateful for being able to go to Saint Mike's.

Back to classes though - in addition to my liberal arts classes, I am loving my psych classes.  Now that I'm a second semester sophomore, I've taken a fair number of psych courses.  Each one I take reconfirms my decision to be a psych major, which I'm obviously very happy about!

As important as getting an academic education is, I am tempted to argue that the education I receive outside of class is just as important, if not more, than my academics here at SMC.  As I mentioned, being away from home has taught me a lot and helped me to grow as an individual.  But more than that, living on campus where all my friends and activites are has truly been a blessing for me.  I absolutely love having everything so conveniently close, but also having the option to get off campus if I need or want to.  Choosing to live near my friends this year has been great as well.  It allows us to have sporadic dance parties, great conversations, or go on spontaneous outings and act like complete goofballs (see below).

Cait and me in our animal masks at Shaw's :)

While it's hard for me to put into words everything that being at SMC has taught me, I hope I have been able to convey that there is so much value in getting an education at a residential liberal arts college like Saint Mike's.  I couldn't be happier that I decided to come here and make this place my second home!  And for those of you deciding what school you might want to attend in the fall, I hope you strongly consider all that Saint Mike's has to offer you, inside the classroom and out. :)

As always, thanks so much for reading my blog!  Have a great week!
~Merrill

Liturgical Choir Trip Diary

Hello everyone!  So sorry I haven't blogged in so long, I have been extremely busy with my classes and other activities!  I can't believe this is already the fourth week of the semester!  However, amidst all the work, I've been able to fit in some fun, including a trip to Smuggler's Notch (which I talked about in my last post) and going to Al's Frenchy Fries for the first time with my wonderful friend and fellow blogger Alex.  Much of my time outside of classes so far this semester has been focused on preparing for the annual Liturgical Choir/Ensemble trip.  Last year the group traveled to Portland, Maine (see my post about it here). This year we went to NYC/NJ and had an absolutely wonderful time! We left on Thursday afternoon and returned to SMC on Sunday night. Here's what we did with our time!

On Thursday afternoon, we loaded the bus and headed for our first stop (dinner in NY, near Emma's hometown!)

Emma (right) and me, ready to get going!

After dinner, we went straight to Bergen High School in Oradell, NJ, which is an all boys Catholic high school.  We set up all our equipment and headed to the hotel.  As many of you know, Emma and I are roommates here at SMC and we were lucky enough to be roommates on the trip as well, so we were very excited!  Here's a picture from our hotel window:

 

Beautiful city lights!

On Friday morning, we got up bright and early so we could get to the school on time to practice before Mass started.  It was a little chaotic since it was our first Mass of the trip, but everything worked out and we had a great time!  Afterwards, the school provided a delicious lunch for us.  When lunch was over, we headed back to the hotel for some downtime, which Emma and I spent working on some homework and taking mini naps.  Then, it was time for one of the best parts of the trip - heading into New York City!  I have been to the city before, but I absolutely love it and was so excited to be going with some amazing people from SMC!

 

Since there was a total of around 40 people on the trip, we all split into groups so we could choose what we wanted to do in the city.  Here's a picture of my group before our adventures began:

 

Ellen, Sarah, Emma, me, Father B, Amelia, and Jordan

I would love to post all the pictures I took here, but there are way too many!  So I'll just stick to the best ones:

 

New favorite roomie picture :)

Rockefeller Center!

What color M&M are you?

Becca and me - part of our photo montage!

 

We also got to go to the Lego Store, Saint Patrick's Cathedral (where Father Brian gave us our own personal tour), eat dinner in Rockefeller Center (at a place called Tri-Tip steak...so delicious!), see the Empire State Building, and of course experience all the excitement of Times Square!
 
On Saturday we got to sleep in a bit, thank goodness!  After breakfast, we went to Liberty State Park.  We had planned on walking the boardwalk, but unfortunately it was closed off do to damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.  But it was still very nice to walk around and I got a great picture of the Statue of Liberty!

 
We were also able to see New Jersey's 9/11 Memorial.  Once we left the park, we headed to a restaurant called Laico's where I enjoyed some delicious chicken parmesean!  Afterwards, we headed to church to practice, set up, and perform at Mass.  After Mass, I sold CDs from last year's trip with an alumnus who accompanied us on the trip named Marianne.  She was so nice and I was so happy to be able to meet her!  It was wonderful to receive so many complements; I could tell the parishoners truly appreciated us being there.  Once the bus was loaded, we headed to another church to unload and set up.  When we finished, we proceeded to another hotel called Breakers.  As you can see, it was absolutely gorgeous!!

 
Even though we spent less than twelve hours there, it was wonderful!  On Sunday we got up bright and early to have breakfast and then sing at two Masses before heading back to Vermont.  At each Mass we were able to present a check (one to the parish and one to the connecting high school) to aid in Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.  I was so honored that we could help the community in such a way - it was clear that they were extremely grateful!
 
Overall, I had an absolutely fantastic time on the trip.  It was tiring, but so much fun.  One of the things I loved most about it was getting to know some of the other members of the choir a bit better (shout out to Sarah, Ellen, Jordan, and of course Becca!).  And of course, the choir director, Jerome, picked out some great music that I genuinely enjoyed singing.  It is always wonderful to share my faith and my love of music with others!  If everything goes as planned, I will be studying in Ireland during the time of the trip next year, but I am already looking forward to going when I'm a senior!
 
As always, thank you so much for reading my blog and let me know if you have any questions, about Lit Choir or anything else!
~Merrill

Back to Reality!

Hello everyone! Hope you are all doing well and surviving this crazy cold (it's currently 9 degrees at Saint Mike's)!  Since there's a bit of snow to make everything pretty, I don't mind it.  Having just begun my second week of spring semester, I wanted to take some time to update you on the classes I'm taking and how they're going.

I start my day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 8:30 with Cognitive Psychology.  I have the same professor for this class that I had last semester for Research Methods I.  Cognitive is definitely different but I really like it so far!  Right now we are going over some of the basic methods psychologists use to obtain data and how important the topics of validity, reliability, and falsifiability are in gaining knowledge.

After Cognitive Psych, I have Intro to Sociology.  My professor actually wasn't in class on the first day because he was in D.C. but we had another professor from the Sociology department introduce the topic to us.  I liked him a lot and almost wished he was going to be my professor instead!  But on the second day of classes when I met my real professor, I really liked him as well and I think Sociology might end up being my favorite class of the semester (I like it so much that I'm considering minoring in it...we'll see how the rest of the semester goes!)  I particularly liked our class activity yesterday in which we were given three different statements and asked to theorize some possible explanations.  For example, my partner and I focused on the topic of why people stand (instead of sit) at parties.  We came up with a few of our own ideas and then had a very interesting discussion with the rest of the class.  I think we'll be doing more of that type of activity tomorrow so I'm definitely excited about that!

After Sociology, which ends at 10:50, I'm done with class until Tuesday morning at 8, when I have Child Development.  All of my classes this semester start a lot earlier than I'm used to, but so far it's working out.  The only trouble I have is forcing myself to go to bed!  Anyway, Child Development seems like it's going to be a great class.  I have been babysitting since I was about 12 and have always loved kids, so it's fun to learn more about them and how they progress from infancy to adolescence.

After Child Development, I have Research Methods II.  To be honest, I was a bit nervous about taking this course, but so far I absolutely love my professor and the class is going well.  We have mostly just been reviewing what we learned in Research Methods I and making sure we have a solid understanding of the difference between theories and hypotheses.

Now on to the fun stuff!  Coming back to school and starting classes right away after having a month off definitely took some getting used to, so I made sure I packed in as much fun as I could this past weekend.  On Saturday my friends and I took bus (free to all SMC students) to Smuggler's Notch for a day of skiing and snowboarding.  My roommate Emma hadn't been skiing since she was three, so I did my best to help her out.  We took it slow but we definitely still had fun!

Me, Cait, Emma, and Alex

Once we got back from skiing, I ended up taking my friend Cait to Fanny Allen, the hopsital just across the street from SMC, because she had a little trouble getting on the chairlift at Smuggs and wanted to get it checked it.  I had never been to Fanny Allen before but I felt very comfortable there because I knew I wasn't far from SMC and the doctors and nurses were all very nice.  Everything was fine with Cait and we were on our way back home in no time!

Cait (right) and me :)

My friends and I ended our day on Saturday by going to Texas Roadhouse for dinner to celebrate my birthday.  I am completely obsessed with steak and had never been before, so I was beyond excited!  The food was absolutely delicious and I loved the atmosphere (especially the country music)!  On the way home we stopped at Cumby's to pick up some Ben & Jerry's, a Vermont classic!  Even though I didn't get much done in terms of homework (until Sunday that is), it was great to spend some quality time with my friends ~ I missed them after a whole month apart!

So overall, I'm so happy to be back at Saint Mike's and am very much looking forward to this semester!  As always, feel free to contact me with any questions and thanks for reading my blog!  Also, if you're free tonight between 7:30 and 9, definitely check out the Knight Chat where you can ask SMC bloggers all about Saint Mike's!  I'll be there :)

Have a great day!
~Merrill

Highlights of 2012!

Hello everyone!  I hope you all had wonderful Christmases filled with peace, happiness, and love.  Seeing as it's New Year's Eve, I thought I would write a post about this past year, specifically about some of the lessons I've learned and the especially great times I've had at Saint Mike's.  I'll try not to make it too long! :)



Me sporting my new hat with Alex!

Believe it or not, last year at this time I was dreading going back to school.  Fall semester of freshman year was pretty rough for me in terms of dealing with being away from home.  I left for winter break having the foundation for some solid friendships, but, as I know all too well, friendship takes time.  It was hard for me to accept the fact that while I had great friends from home, those kinds of relationships do not form automatically.  So, when I returned to school in January, the first night back was really fun because I got to see everyone again, but the next day it really hit me that it was back to reality, which meant lots of schoolwork and a significant amount of time before I got to go home again.  Phone calls definitely helped, but more importantly, I specifically remember my friends Vick and Emma being there to give me hugs and to listen to me talk through how I was feeling.  And of course, a care package with a hand-knit hat from my best friend Paige couldn't hurt!



The smiling trio, as Jerome likes to call us :)
We always have such a great time at
Lit Choir so we can't help but smile!

Getting back into the groove of college took some time, but it got better each day.  I had my first Lit Choir trip to look forward to, which I posted about here.  I had an absolutely wonderful time and what made it even better was that my mom got to come see us perform, and when we came back it was time to watch the Superbowl!





The next big event for me happened over spring break in March - as a belated birthday present my mom and I went to go see my absolute favorite celebrity Nick Jonas on Broadway.  It was a big adventure getting into the city (my mom doesn't like cities at all) but we made it and had a great time.  And of course I got to see some of my friends from home who had the same break as I.  Before I knew it, it was time to go back to school.  The day I got back it was really warm so I ended up changing into shorts (keep in mind, this was in March) - it was crazy!  It was warm enough to wear summer clothes the entire first week back, which was very exciting for me because I'm a huge fan of dresses!  Throughout the week students brought blankets outside and laid on the grass in the quad, soaking up the sun.  At some point during that week, my friends and I bought tickets to go see Christina Perri at Higher Ground (a small venue about 5 minutes from campus) - best decision ever!  And of course, that was something else to look forward to and help myself feel a little better whenever I felt the homesickness start to come on.

April was probably my favorite month of spring semester.  If you don't already know, P-Day is arguably one of SMC's biggest events.  It happens just before finals of spring semester, and is basically a stress-free day to relax and just have fun with tons of food, bouncy houses, and MidKnight Breakfast in Alliot.  Just about everyone makes themed t-shirts.  My friends and I decided to make Hunger Games shirts using various types of fabric paints.  It was a long process but very fun and definitely worth it!  Also in April, my friends and I had a surprise birthday party for one of our good friends Cait.  It was really difficult not to spill the beans but we didn't and she loved it!  To top it off, Ben & Jerry's had their annual Free Cone Day which was very exciting and delicious of course!

As you probably know, most college students finish their spring semester in May, and I would definitely say that I packed in as much fun as possible during my last few weeks at SMC.  I finally got to use those tickets I bought in March to see Christina Perri!  My friends and I loved the concert so much that we decided to start planning a trip to see her again in Montreal in the fall.  A few days and a whole lot of studying later, it was time to say goodbye and head home for the summer.  I was obviously very excited to be done with schoolwork, but I was surprised at how long it took me to transition to being back at home.  Clearly I was used to Saint Mike's!

The majority of my summer was spent babysitting, being with friends and family, and going to Maine.  It was absolutely wonderful and when it came time for me to go back to school in August, I was a little nervous but mostly very excited to get to see my friends again.  On the drive to school, I surprised myself by being a little upset that I was once again leaving my family and everything that I love in New Hampshire behind.  But when I pulled into the SMC parking lot, I couldn't wipe the ear-to-ear smile off my face.  My first thought was "I'm home!"  I hadn't realized how much I truly missed SMC over the summer and how attached I'd become.  I couldn't hope to feel any more positively about my school than I do about SMC!

It was a little challenging getting back into the school routine during the first week of classes, but I managed pretty well.  I was just so happy to be back at school and happy with the fact that I wasn't feeling homesick!  In addition, I was getting really excited about my trip to Montreal at the end of September!  As I mentioned, my friends and I went to see Christina Perri open for Jason Mraz.  While the trip was filled with fun, it definitely taught brought us closer together as friends because we were truly on our own - from finding our hotel to getting to the concert to locating the nearest grocery store.  I have great memories from that trip that I'll never forget!

 

The best part about October was probably the Halloween Dance.  I usually hate dances, but my friends encouraged me to go so I decided to give it a chance and I'm so glad I did!  I never thought I would have as much fun as I did and it was so fun to see all of my friend's costumes!

 

The highlight of November was definitely my roommate and friend Emma's birthday, which we decided to turn into a holiday because it lasted for so long between our celebration, her family sending gifts, and her dad coming to visit.  You can read more about it here!

December was a combination of fun and stress.  Right after everyone got back from Thanksgiving break, we started decorating and preparing for Christmas.  It was a bit difficult to balance decorating, exchanging presents, and all things Christmas with studying for upcoming finals.  Thankfully though, I made it through and have now been enjoying all the comforts of home for the past two weeks. 

Looking back, there is no doubt that 2012 has been a great year for me.  I have come so far in terms of truly being comfortable at SMC and being able to call it my home away from home.  I have my family and friends from home as well as all the wonderful people at SMC to thank for that.  My various roles at Saint Mike's (tour guide, blogger, TA, VITA leader, etc.) have pushed me to become more comfortable with myself and to grow as a leader and a person.  As you can probably guess, this post barely scratches the surface of everything that happened for me in 2012.  There were definitely some hard times both at home and school, but the important thing to remember is the lessons they taught me.  Being away from home has taught me to appreciate every second I get to spend with my friends and family there.  I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to attend SMC and participate in everything it has to offer.  The friendships I've developed there are some that will truly last a lifetime.

A special note to the Class of 2017 readers - within the next few months you'll be making your decision about where you want to attend college.  Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck - the upcoming year will definitely be one to remember!  And if you decide to make SMC your home away from home, I hope that you come to love it every bit as much as I do.

If you've read this whole post, all I have to say is wow and thank you so much!  I hope it was worth it!  Have a happy, healthy, and safe New Year everyone!!
Merrill

Horses & Healing: First Year Seminar

Hello everyone!  Are you ready for Christmas in just 3 days?  I'm so excited!! 

If you're confused as to why I'm writing about a first year seminar even though I'm a sophomore, no worries!  As you may know, I took Horses & Healing last year as a first year, and this past semester I was lucky enough to be a Teaching Assistant (TA) for the class along with four other girls who I have absolutely loved working with (shout out to Alex, Lauren, Meaghan, and Devan)!

Horses & Healing was one of my favorite classes last year.  I first heard about it in the New Student Guide I received in the mail after I officially decided on Saint Mike's.  There was not one class I wanted to take more than Horses & Healing.  Unfortunately I didn't get into the class on registration day, so I emailed the professor, Bridget Kerr, to be put on a waiting list.  I still hadn't gotten in when I arrived on campus last fall, so I talked to my academic advisor and he suggested I go to the first class meeting and see if there might be any space.  I went with Alex, who was also on the waiting list and really wanted to take the class.  Luckily, when we got there, there was one open spot and Bridget, seeing how much we both wanted to be in the class, decided to make an exception and allow both Alex and I to take the class.  I could not be more grateful!

While the main focus of first year seminars is on solidifying writing skills, a huge part of the course is the service learning component.  Everyone who takes Horses & Healing gets the opportunity to go off campus once a week to a barn called Champ in South Hero.  Champ has many therapy horses and depends on volunteers to keep everything going smoothly.  They are always so grateful to have Saint Mike's students come help them out.  This year, both sections of the course went to the barn at the same time.  Once we got there, the general protocol would be to meet as a group to discuss our tasks for the time we were there (an hour and a half) and then split up into our "barn groups," each of which had a TA leader.  Usually one group would get the opportunity to help out with a lesson by being a sidewalker or helping the rider get on the horse.  My group ended up in the Champ barn a lot, where we mucked in and around the barn.  It might not sound fun to some, but we always had a good time with it!  Sometimes we would have some downtime where we would get to play with the horses or talk about things like registering for classes or just general topics about Saint Mike's.  Because each TA was assigned to a specific work group, I was able to get to know the students in my group.  I loved this aspect of going to the barn because, as you may know, I love giving advice and sharing my opinions and awesome experiences about Saint Mike's!

In addition to getting to know the students in my group, I definitely felt closer to my fellow TA's as the semester progressed.  We always had tons of fun on the bus rides to and from the barn, and we even had a few "TA Sloane Dinners."  Sloane is the cafeteria on SMC's North Campus (where I live this year), about a mile up the road from Main Campus.  Sloane is only open for dinner, but it's especially fun because it's set up like a restaurant - everyone sits down and indicates what they would like for an appetizer, entree, and dessert, and the food is great!  My fellow TA's and I always had a great time.

To top off a great semester at the farm, we decided to take some pictures during our last farm class.  We tried to be serious, but it was sort of difficult :)

Lauren, Alex, me, Meaghan, and Devan

I absolutely love my group of friends at SMC, but it never hurts to have more.  I'm so happy I got to know these girls better this semester!

I could not be happier to have had the opportunity to be a TA this semester.  Alex, Lauren and I had a meeting with Bridget (who teaches the class) before we left for break to talk about how smoothly everything went.  She even wants to have us over to her house for dinner sometime in the spring - I'm so excited!

So, if you decide to come to SMC next year (shout out to everyone who recently received acceptance letters!) and you're interested in horses or service learning, I definitely recommend taking this course - you will love it!

As always, thanks for reading my blog!  Have a great weekend!  And if you still have some last minute Christmas shopping to do, good luck!
Merrill