Happy Holidays

I am sorry that I have not written yet! To be perfectly honest I feel that my break has yet to begin. I have been home for a little over a week now, but my life has been a whirlwind of activity. I'll start where I left off last time--finals week!

Naturally, finals were the last week of school. I had my Paideia final on Tuesday, and chemistry and calculus II on Wednesday. Monday and most of Tuesday I literally studied all day. I think on Monday I spent ten or eleven hours, and on Tuesday I spent close to twelve with my head in a book or a notebook. I went a little crazy studying, but I didn't want to underprepare for my very first college finals. I'm sure I sound like a dork, and looking back, I probably didn't need to spend quite so much time at the library, but for the first time all semester I felt confident going into all of my tests. In fact, I started freaking out before my chemistry test because I wasn't at all nervous about it. I had to call my mom at the last minute to calm me down. Needless to say, my finals were difficult, but nothing I couldn't handle because of my obsessive-compulsive studying. Will I study as much for my spring finals? I am not sure. Depends how hard my classes are. I tend to be a type A person and a little bit of a perfectionist, so I probably will study obsessively for my spring finals, then freak out at the last minute, then call home to freak out, then survive once again. Even though I might have gone a little overboard studying, all of my finals went really well, so it definitely payed off. I left for home and the holidays right after I finished my last final on Wednesday.

On Thursday, after Emily and Caitlin finished their finals, the girls drove up to St. Paul to spend a few days at my house. We decided we didn't want to end our first semester together all stressed out and crazed because of finals. We wanted to have fun, especially since we wouldn't see each other for almost three weeks! So Megan, Courtney, Caitlin, Emily, and I hung out in the cities until Saturday morning. Thursday night we went to the theater near my house and saw Enchanted! I love that movie, it is a hilarious spoof on fairy tale Disney movies. Friday we slept until 12:30!!! My little brother came home from school at 3, and was surprised that we were just getting ready for the day, oops! We spent the afternoon at the mall shopping, then went to St. Paul's historic yet trendy Grand Avenue for dinner and more shopping! Since I'm the city kid, I took the girls on a tour of the lights on Summit Avenue (and Governor's mansion) the sites of downtown St. Paul with Rice Park lit up for the season. Emily, Courtney, Caitlin, and I took a picture on some of the fake presents in the park. We had so much fun!! I loved showing them around the cities, especially Saint Paul because it is my favorite out of the two. I was sad to see them leave on Saturday, but I can't wait to see them after break!!!

On Sunday my boyfriend Chris came up to the cities to stay with me for a day. Chris is from a really small town in Iowa just a little south of Decorah. He was lucky enough to come up for the annual Forsberg family cookie bake. So for part of Sunday he made cookies with my extended family(lots of little cousins and even a few Hawkeye fans). I enjoyed it and I think he did too. On Monday Chris and I went to Block E in downtown Minneapolis, and he experienced a little bit of the big city. He left later that day and went to the Vikings-Bears game with some of his friends from Luther. I had so much fun with Chris and the girls, and I am really glad that they came to visit and could meet my parents, sis and cute little brother!! Their visit made the start of my break a lot more exciting. (It'll end with me getting my wisdom teeth out so that'll make for pretty dull material for blogging--or maybe not, we'll see.)


Last week, my parents decided we needed to squeeze a little more family time into my break, so on Wednesday we left for the UP--the Upper Peninsula in Michigan for a few days of downhill skiing. It was really fun, and the view from on top of the ski hill (not quite a mountain) was incredible. I felt a little slackerish because I was a Nordic skier in high school (or cross country skiing), so only skiing down the hill was a little bit of a change for me. It seemed too easy, but was fun nonetheless. The rest of my break has been spent preparing for Christmas, driving my little brother and sister everywhere, and running errands for my parents. All the driving and "to do" lists make me miss the simpler life at Luther, but I'm really excited for Christmas and spending time with our big, crazy extended family! I hope you all have a safe and fun holiday season, especially this weekend!-Leah

A Winter Wonderland

So my crazy week is finally over. Yesterday I had two tests, and yes finals are next week. Today my research project was due. Tuesday night, Sam and I spent almost six hours writing our lab report and making our research poster. This morning we presented our research at the research symposium, but now I am finally done!!! Unfortunately, I am only done for a little bit, because I should start studying for finals either today or tomorrow. I can't wait to be done with school!!

Last night I couldn't study because my brain was so fried from the difficult academic day. The girls and I went to Christmas in the Union to get in the holiday spirit. We listened to Undeclared sing some Christmas songs, ate Christmas cookies, and took pictures with Santa. Caitlin, Emily, Courtney, and I all dressed matching and took a picture with Santa. We were in a goofy mood, and the picture almost captures our sillyness. It was really fun. The Union was all decorated for Christmas with trees, lights, garlands, and other decorations. I love Christmas, and being in the Union yesterday made me really excited for the holidays. Plus with all the snow outside it is really starting to feel like Christmas.

This weekend we played in the snow. The girls and I had a snow ball fight against Ross and Chris. It was really fun. Ross is from Oregon so he had never seen snow. The girls won, of course. After we had had enough of our fight we decided to go sledding. We picked one of the many hills on campus and took turns sledding down in our one sled. It was a little cold waiting for all of us to take turns going down. Next time we go sledding it is rumored that we will use lunch trays, but we'll see what happens. The rest of the weekend, I did my mounds of homework, drank hot chocolate, and watched Christmas movies. Last Thursday night when it snowed for the first time, we were watching The Holiday, but once we realized that it was snowing, we all ran outside. It was almost midnight, but we still ran around out in the snow. My roommates and I were taking a picture together, but then we decided that our surrogate roommate, Caitlin, needed to be in our picture. It was so much fun. I love snow, plus, the campus looks so beautiful. The trees all have snow on them. This weekend I will be studying for finals, which will be finished by next Wednesday. After I am finished Wednesday afternoon I get to go home. I can't wait to be done!! This semester has flown by. I am off to finish a paper for class tomorrow. I hope you have a great week!-Leah

Happy to be Back!

I made it back to campus safely and happily. It is really nice to be back. In general I enjoyed my time at home, but I missed Luther. More importantly I missed my friends. It was so weird not seeing them and being with them at all hours of the day.

When I was at home I realized how much freedom I really have in college. At home I had a curfew and I had to tell my mom where I was going and who I was with. I missed college life; staying up all night, hanging out with who ever I wanted, and not having to tell someone who I am with. College is definitely different than high school. I love having the freedom to make my own choices. I was slightly taken aback when my mom told me to be home by midnight on Friday night, or to call and get an extension.

The only problem with having new freedom in college is making myself go to bed at a decent hour. I am still struggling with getting enough sleep, even though I have learned to survive with only six or seven hours of sleep a night. I know that six or seven is a lot for some people, especially college kids, but I am the type of person who needs a lot of sleep to function normally. I have problems pulling myself away from my friends so I can go to sleep or finish my homework. Even though it is difficult to be disciplined at times, I am slowly learning. This week I have made a greater effort to go to bed before midnight because finals are coming up and I can feel myself getting sick. Well, I felt sick at the beginning of the week,but now I am feeling better-- most likely because I have been getting good sleep.

Tonight I went to see Christmas at Luther with my roommate Emily. It was so much fun! We decided to get all dressed up to go. I am pretty sure we got the, "Oh look at those freshmen," look, but I enjoyed wearing a dress. I have to admit it was freezing and I could hear my father's voice in my head telling me how silly I was for wearing a dress in this weather, but I did not care. Anyways, the performance was fabulous. I definitely got the chills from some of the songs. I am one of those weird music people who tends to get emotional about music,every now and then, but the resonance in the CFL was incredible. Oh yeah, and the singers and orchestra members were quite phenomenal. I loved the show, and it was not too long so that I had time to do all of the homework that I did not do yesterday! One of my favorite parts of the show was when everyone one in the choirs had a lit candle--it was so beautiful. Plus with the music, I just felt extreme happiness. I do not think I have stopped smiling all night now!

This week has been rather slow for me. I have not had a ton of school work, which is a relief. Tuesdays I have chemistry lab for three hours. I am in advanced intro to chemistry here at Luther, and part of that is a five week research project the second half of the semester. So needless to say my lab partner, Sam, and I are deeply engrossed in our research project. Initially we were measuring the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air and then comparing it to the concentration of carbon dioxide in our breath. However some of the equipment we were using to obtain our data was too restrictive so now we are just comparing the concentration of carbon dioxide in our breath. We will compare male verses female. Anyway, this is the first week that it actually really worked. The first week or two we spent setting up and determining the concentration of some of the chemicals we were working with. It was a huge relief Tuesday when our lab finally was producing the data that we wanted and needed. We are almost done, so we will finish in time without having to put in extra lab time. We have to write lab reports and create a poster that displays our procedure and our findings. Sam and I will present the poster a week from today, Thursday, at a research convention thing. I am not really sure what it is other than everyone on campus who has done some sort of research this semester will be presenting. I think people on campus come and look at our projects and can ask questions if they want to. I am not entirely sure. I will figure it out soon enough, I hope!!! That is about all I have been up to. I am very happy to be back at Luther with all of my friends and I am sad that I have to leave again in two weeks!!! The semester has flow by! Have a great rest of the week.-Leah

Home Sweet Home?

So I am waiting for my ride home to get to campus so I can go back to the Twin Cities. Honestly I am not that excited to go home. Don't get me wrong, I miss my family and good food, but I love Luther. I am really going to miss Luther, I find myself calling my dorm room home. It is weird how all of a sudden a small room is now my home. Although I am not really excited to go home, I know that once I get there I will be happy. I will be glad to be with my family on Thanksgiving. Plus I will get to see all of my high school friends, which will be fun. I have only been back once since school started and that was for fall break. It was really strange being in a house, it seemed small. I guess I had quickly grown accustomed to the large dorms and having a lot of different places to go all while staying in the same building. Anyways, I am really really excited for a break from classes. Luckily the break is not that long so I will be back on campus before I know it!!

This past weekend my high school friend Jesse came to visit. He is a freshman at St.Olaf. It was sooo much fun to see him. We were always together in high school, so I missed him. He liked Luther a lot. In the picture from left to right is Caitlin, me, Jesse, Beth, and Emily. The photo was taken Saturday night. We went to the pool house, which is the cross country house, to celebrate the guys eighth place finish at nationals and the girls ninth place finish at nationals. At least I am pretty sure that is how they ended up doing. We had a good time, and Jesse enjoyed it because I introduced him to all the girls on the floor! I am not sure why his tongue is sticking out, he claims it is because every picture he has taken in college he has had his tongue out. For some reason I am not sure if I believe him. I was really glad that he came to visit because we had a fabulous time.

Yesterday's band auditions went really well. I was satisfied with how I played. I found out this morning that I am in Wind and Percussion ensemble again, but this time I am first chair. Naturally I am excited and honored, but right now I am nervous. Since I am first chair I am in charge of the section and I have to do the solos, which is really nerve wrecking. My friends Beth (she is in the picture above) and Tracy are both in Wind and Percussion Ensemble again, so I am happy. I love having them in band, even though we sometimes talk too much because we sit close to one another!! Not talking for me tends to be a little difficult! I hope that we will sit close again next semester. Well my ride is almost here so I have to run. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!!-Leah

Music to My Ears

So last night was my first band concert in college!! Well we had a concert over Parents Weekend in September, but this was the first real concert that was just us. The concert was almost an hour and a half!! My mouth was sooo tired from playing my flute! In general the concert went really well, which was a relief for me because I was so nervous. The repertoire was more difficult than anything I played in high school, plus we had nine songs! Although the music was hard, it all sounded really cool and beautiful. I have always loved playing music, but last night was really fun. In high school my band concerts consisted of four or five songs, and usually one of the songs I wasn’t crazy about. However I liked every piece we played last night. I also really like my conductor, Mr. Nyline. He tends to tell funny stories randomly in the middle of rehearsal. In the beginning of the school year it was sometimes difficult to follow his conducting, but only because he conducts differently than my directors in high school. I am used to it now, and I find it hard to remember how my directors in high school conducted. Anyways, the sense of satisfaction I felt after the concert was over made my aching mouth worth it. The only downside of last night was that my family did not make it. I guess it was weirder than anything else simply because my parents have always been at my concerts. My awesome friends Courtney, Caitlin, Mara, Emily and Chris did make it, however. They were my stand-in family.

This past weekend was really fun and relaxing. Friday night I went out to dinner with my boyfriend Chris. We went to Alberts, which had amazing food! Then Saturday night, I borrowed Chris's car and the girls and I went out in downtown Decorah. Downtown Decorah is nothing like the Twin Cities. It’s got stoplights, but no traffic jams, good restaurants and free parking! The girls and I went to Mabes for pizza and then went to Wal-Mart. I hate to admit it, but Wal-Mart is growing on me. After our Wal-Mart run we came back and watched movies and colored. We had a really good time. It was relaxing, which was exactly what I needed after a long stressful week.

Tomorrow I have to register for classes!! I am one of the last freshmen to register so I hope that the classes I want to take are still open. I am only really worried about the class that I want to take for J-term. Hopefully I will be able to get into the Philosophy course that is being offered. The rest of the week I will be busy practicing for my Concert Band flute audition. Concert Band is the top band at Luther. At the end of every semester anyone in band who wants to be in Concert Band or Wind and Percussion Ensemble (the band I am in) has to audition. I am rather worried. I am glad that it is already Wednesday night; the weekend will be here before I know it!!

The First One!!!!

Hi!
My name is Leah. I am a chemistry major, with a possible minor in Spanish. This week has been and will be one of my craziest weeks on campus so far. TodayI had a paideia paper due and I have a huge chemistry test on Friday!! Plus my lab report that was due Tuesday is still not done because my data was screwed up. Needless to say, I am a little stressed out.

So far college hasn't been anything I can't handle, but it is definitely much different from high school. I get a lot more homework. The hard part is making myself do the homework. I have so much free time now that I am in college that I tend to just say, "Oh I will do that later today or tonight." I always get my homework done, but I tend to do it late at night so I don't get as much sleep as I should. Another reason why it is difficult for me to get my homework done is because there are always people to hang out with and fun activities to do around campus. My dorm room is the hangout. People are constantly coming in and out. My roommates and I call Caitlin our psuedo roommate because she is in our room more than her own, and some weekends she sleeps on our futon. Caitlin lives the floor above us in Olson, my dorm. My roommates, Emily and Courtney, and I get along really well. We are always together! Most people I have talked to like their roommates for the most part, they at least get along. I have not heard any horror stories about roommates. Here is a picture of me and my roomies!!! (from left to right: me, Emily, and Courtney).

Caitlin, Courtney, Emily and I just got back from a meeting about a possible spring break mission trip. The trip is to Mexico, which would be super cool!!! I hope that we can all go. I am off to the library to try and get some of my pounds of homework done! Tomorrow will be my crazy study/cram day so that I can do well on my chemistry test. Every test in college is huge because instead of covering one chapter in a text book, the tests tend to cover four or five. The hard part is learning all of the information. I have found that if I keep up on my reading, studying for the test is not so bad. I am only two chapters behind, so I won't have too much extra studying to do. Wish me luck!!! Have a great rest of the week!-Leah