2007-2008: Holly Black

Regimental Ball

Hi all,

It was a great weekend, but it went by too fast!  Following the parade on Friday afternoon, we had leave until 9:30PM on Sunday.  My roommate and I went into the town center and hung out with some people.  It was pretty relaxing, but ended immediately last night when our cadre decided that we goofed off too much and we now have more rookie tasks to do during the day.  I had a feeling that was going to happen.

Saturday night was Regimental Ball.  It was a pretty good time except that ballroom dancing took up 1/2 of the evening which was way too long.  Putting on a dress, heels, and letting my hair down was really weird.  I looked in the mirror after I got ready and thought to myself, "Wow.  I looked like this before I came here?"  My rook sisters looked totally different too & they all looked beautiful! =)

After a lot of talking, pictures, and dancing, individual companies got together on the dance floor for the song "Goodnight Saigon," a big tradition here at Norwich.  This was an experience I will never forget.  Foxtrot Company freshmen & upperclassmen all together as one unit, chanting, hugging, and sitting on each others shoulders.  Experiences like that make me realize why I'm here.

Anyway, it is New England and it does get cold here.  In fact, we had a couple of snow fluffies mid-afternoon yesterday while I was in town.  It dipped down to 25 degrees this morning and waking up for PT was pretty bitter.  The Naval battalion deemed it too cold to PT outside, so we broke off into squads and PT'd inside Plumley Armory.  It's going to be a long & boring winter if we do that every session.  Oh well.

I have a story from yesterday that was a little funny, I think.  I wanted Subway, so I walked downtown.  The line was out the door because every rook & their prospective Regi Ball dates were there.  Thus, I left and decided to go back an hour later.  An hour later, the lines were gone so I walked inside.  The credit card machine was broken and I didn't have any cash!  My roommate suggested going to the ATM at the gas station, so I did.  I walked across the street and the ATM at Exxon was broken too!  I asked the lady if I could get cash back if I bought something and she said no.  It didn't dawn on me until after I gave up on my Subway desire and got crappy Chinese food that I realized--hey, you should have gone to the ATM at the Northfield Savings Bank 300 feet away.  Thus, my quest for Subway was ruined and I had bad Chinese food.  Chinese food in Vermont is nothing like the Chinese food in Boston.

That's about it for now.  Semester projects and research papers are being assigned and we're all looking forward to Thanksgiving break & the end of the semester.  The game known as Rookdom continues and we hope for its end, but it'll probably be a long, long time before then.

18 days until I go home again.  I can't wait.

Until next time,
Holly

Weekend at home

Hi everyone,

It was a short week at Norwich and as soon as I knew it, it was time to head home.  My last class ends at 10:20 on Thursdays, so I headed home at noon time.  Coming home gave me a weird feeling because I wondered if things had changed.  When my dog saw me, he didn't know what to do.  His jaw dropped and he stared at me as if to say, "What the heck are you doing here?"  My mom said he's been acting more like himself since I've been home.

On Friday I went to go visit my high school.  I saw my old choir director and biology teacher.  It amazed me how much I had forgotten about high school in these few short months.  I forgot about hall passes, raising a hand to go to the bathroom, and bell schedules.  It brought back good memories though.  I don't miss high school, but it's fun to look back on.

The rest of the weekend was catching up with good friends and family.  I spent a lot of time with my friends Melissa and Sean, who I've been friends with since I was 5 years old.  Even though we have been away from each other for a while, we got back into old conversation as if we were never apart.

I will be heading back to Norwich late this afternoon.  It'll be back into the routine for another 25 days until I'm home for Thanksgiving--my favorite holiday.  This year seems to be flashing before my eyes.  A half a semester is already over.  That's insane.

Until next time,
Holly

Navy FEX & "The President's Own"

Hey everyone,

Last week was surely a busy one!  I got through my exams and essays and my mid-semester grades turned out pretty well.  I didn't do as well on my biology lecture exam on Friday as I wanted to, but I will work even harder to get my grade up on the next one.

On Friday night/Saturday we had the Navy ROTC FEX.  Friday night, the battalion went on a ruck march.  It was a little chilly, which made it a comfortable march.  My legs got really tired at one point, but I caught up to my platoon and finished it.  One thing that I love about Vermont is the stars.  Never in my life have I seen as many stars as I did on Friday night.  When I looked up at the sky, it looked like another world.  It was truly beautiful, especially with the mountain tops off in the distance.

Saturday was a long but fun day.  We did swim qualifications at the pool, military arnis, first aid, and sea navigation.  My favorite part was military arnis, which is a martial art that we practice sometimes during mil lab on Tuesdays.  There is an advanced team that practices all the time that I hope to join once I'm eligible (freshmen can't join 1st semester).  Professor McManus is the head of the program and she is truly a remarkable lady.  She is one of those people that you meet and feel honored to be around.  She said she hopes to work with me in the future, which made me feel good.

The FEX also allowed me to get to know the people in my Naval platoon a lot better.  They are hilarious!  As much as I learned on Saturday, I spent a good portion of the day laughing.

Yesterday the freshmen were required to go to the performance of "The President's Own" -- The U.S. Marine Corps Band.  I was happy about it because I wanted to go to the concert whether it was mandatory or not.  I thought it was fantastic!  They played a variety of music and finished with a tribute to America & the armed forces.

The rest of the week shouldn't be too bad.  Today I get off campus for a little while to visit nursing facility in town to interview a patient and what their life is like there.  It's a part of the communication project in my nursing class that we're doing.  It should be interesting.

I have an English essay due tomorrow, as well as a biology lab exam on Wednesday night.  I'm pretty motivated to get everything accomplished though because Thursday after classes--I'm going home for the weekend!!!

Until next time,
Holly

Mid-semester Exams

"Wow" is about the only thing I can say about the last week.  I have been so busy that I didn't even realize how much time had passed.  However, I'm pretty excited because there are only 9 days left until I go home for the weekend.

Mid-semester break means mid-semester exams.  While I'm anticipating these next 9 days to be over and done with--I have 4 exams and 3 essays between now and then.  It seems like just yesterday I was unpacking my belongings, now I'm almost half way through my first semester in college.

Saturday was a very long and boring day because most of my company was gone on the Army FTX and for sports games--including both of my roommates.  Thus, I was alone all day and got a lot of work done, but at times I twiddled my thumbs and got a little frustrated.  As a freshman, trying to find ways to entertain yourself gets a little old sometimes.

I had my first overnight prospective student on Sunday evening.  I think I was just as nervous as she was.  I hope I did a good job telling her everything I wanted to tell her about the school and I think she seemed pretty excited to come here.  Next time I'll know more about what to expect, what information to give, etc.

The next time I write, my trip home will be right around the corner.  I wonder what has changed since I've been gone.  I wonder what I'll want to say when I see people that I haven't seen since I left in August.  I wonder what they'll think about me after being here.  Only time will tell & I'm sure I'll find out.

Until next time,
Holly