As I inch further and further away from my own college years, I sometimes wish I could go back and experience some of the fun again. Recently, my boyfriend’s sister invited us to visit her at her university for the weekend. She planned a packed schedule for us and we were excited to partake in everything.
We arrived early on a Friday evening. First, we had a quick dinner in her dorm’s dining hall. I was reminded of the slightly sub-par quality, but enjoyable quantity of college food! Then, we joined her for a LARP event. LARP stands for live action role play, and her school has an active club dedicated to the pursuit. The theme of the week was vampires in 19th century Boston and we all chose a character to embody as we worked and fought with each other while solving a mystery. Appropriately enough, right before we started the game, we found a bat in the classroom building! Once we moved it outside, the game began. It was a spirited and entertaining night.
On Saturday morning, she took us sailing on a nearby lake in her sail boat. The weather cooperated fairly admirably, and it didn’t rain, which we greatly appreciated. The highlight of the day, though, was a weekly fondue party in her dorm. Many students gather in the common rooms of the residence hall to play board games, sing karaoke, and share in a pot or two of fondue made by a very talented food science student. Some students brought musical instruments as well, so music flowed throughout the evening. Since many of the students were also involved in the LARP the night before, and since I am an amateur balloon artist, I brought some balloons and made many balloon swords for them to engage in a little play fighting. With everyone sharing their talents, the atmosphere was very warm and intellectually satisfying. It was great fun, and I hope that we’re able to visit again before her graduation at the end of the semester!
This jaunt down memory lane, however, was on a weekend immediately before a Monday exam. It was a calculated risk on my part, taking a large time away from my studies in such close proximity to an exam. In preparation, I had deliberately stayed more on top of my work than I ever had before, pre-studying all the lectures and having my notes completely up to date before the trip. Still though, a weekend was a major sacrifice of time, and I began to feel the increasing pressure of the impending exam on Sunday morning before our departure. Fortunately, with some very intense study upon my return to Albany on Sunday afternoon, I managed to pass my exam. It was far from my best grade, but it was sufficient, so the verdict on the weekend was no harm, no foul. It was relaxing to get away, and good for the soul to relive the relatively carefree days of college and to enjoy the company of new friends.
