To current students and prospective students; to friends and friends that have become so close as to constitute family, especially the men of Homestead House; to all staff: Connie for cleaning Homestead and leaving us spontaneous chocolates and friendly notes, Pat^3 at Atwater dining hall for constantly bringing a smile to my face, Mrs. Ross for running that place like a benevolent drill sergeant; to my faculty this semester: Professor Dry for absolutely destroying my finals week, Professor Schmitt for somehow making multivariable calculus fun, Professor Callanan for sharing with us the birth of his beautiful son, and Professor Viner for introducing me to the insufferably reproachable TruTV program BaitCar; to faculty past, for enriching these four years in a way I never imagined could be possible; to the inspired and hilarious writers and journalists at MiddBeat for creating something simply wonderful; to the hard-working leadership and senators of the SGA; to my fellow admissions-office staff members: my quirky senior fellow colleagues, Barbara and Val, Lori and Nikki and Sara, and everyone that makes that office a delightful place to work; to the Nelson family, my mother, father, and two little brothers away from home; to Scott Barnicle for inviting me to play platform tennis with him and the old-timers; to my parents for putting up with my post finals-week listlessness; to all of the new faces that are going to make 2014 memorable, unique, unpredictable, and rewarding…

A very happy new year.

Although the month of December will bring dropping temperatures and finals (and lets hope not dropping GPAs), Middlebury has a wonderfully cheery way of keeping everyone’s spirits high. This finals week was particularly memorable and cheery for me as I chose to ride out the snow storm crossing the northeast here at school instead of racing home to beat out the storm. While there was a part of me that could not wait to get home, there was a larger part of me that wanted to spend an extra few days here on campus to finish up some final papers slowly, relax with friends, and go romping in the snow for study breaks. Below are a few photos from the week (frosty Middlebury below was from pre-snow…probably won’t see this image again for a few months)

A stop at the Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op will surely delight that finals crazing. My fave? The soups. Any of them. There is nothing like something warm and toasty on those cold winter nights.

And how about some hot cocoa on the way back to campus from the co-op? The Middlebury Hot Chocolate Hut downtown is a perfect stop. For only 25 cents (does anything cost 25 cents anymore??) you can treat yourself (queue best day of the year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsABTmT1_M0). Please note “The Works.”

And no matter what time you are heading home from the library, you are sure to have a smile walking past our gigantic holiday tree.

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful. And since there is no (better) place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let is snow…

It’s that time of year on campus: FINALS WEEK.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that I have a very strong love-hate relationship with this week. Sometimes I think about the structure-less time where I can wake up as early (or late) as I like and study whenever I want. I have the leisure of going anywhere on campus and walking into a classroom to study without running the risk of walking into a 30-person lecture and having to turn right around and go somewhere else to work. I can choose to have a day where I don’t even need to shower or leave my house! I can cook, work, sleep, and procrastinate without stepping into the cold!

And then I start to think about the work: the papers, the exams, the study guides, and I remember the “hate” part of the relationship. It’s the time of year when the library is so crowded you would think it was a (insert name of your favorite band here) concert – except it’s not.

But then you look at the stress-buster posters and go get some snacks with DMC and get a massage by MCAB and the Office of Health and Wellness, and then you play with some therapy puppies, and all the stress temporarily disappears…

Until it’s 10pm and you realize your final tomorrow morning requires you pulling an all-nighter, but no worries. The library is open 24/7 during finals! You can go to midnight breakfast from 11pm-1am and get some grub to help you power through or bond with friends over communal suffering (chocolate chip pancakes can get you through anything!!)

Despite the bad rep finals week gets, we do it pretty darn well at Middlebury, plus it means you’re one week closer to the holidays!