We Got Hit, Baby, One More Time

When I wrote my last post, it was raining in the Bronx. That rain turned to snow. Then to sleet, then to hail, and back to snow again. It came down for thirty-six hours straight. Here is the aftermath:

It's Raining in the Bronx Tonight

Let me make a long story short.
When I was in middle and high school, my friends and I used to LOVE listing stuff. Now that I'm older, I realize that humans in general love listing. So, in true pre-teen style, I've made a nifty list.

Things that I've done/learned in the past two weeks:
1. Off-beat museums in NYC are great
The Museum of Sex seemed to be popular for Valentine's Day. Also, check out this list of Niche museums!
2. Fordham does a killer Mardi Gras dessert
Indeed, they must be expecting students (myself included) to fast for forty days. They're right. They're right to serve double chocolate cake AND a cupcake bar. I'll skip the Cajun, thank you.
3. Fordham is a Catholic University (and I like it that way!)
I was invited to Queen's Court for midnight Ash Wednesday mass (that's right, this is after gorging on dessert for dinner- what a day!) I've never been to a Catholic school before, so I've never known the pleasure of gathering with a small group of people to celebrate faith. Even though the start of lent is unavoidably dreadful, I wouldn't have wanted to start it any other way.
4. Going home is so, so nice
Even when college life seems great. There's no place like home, and you never appreciate college more than when you're coming back to it.

I'm taking the rest of the night to catch up on some music reading and to enjoy the sweet sound of Bronx rain. It's still too chilly to leave my window completely open, but I've left it open enough- I'll sleep with a sweatshirt and extra blankets tonight.

Odds and Ends

Back to school today, and guess what greeted us on campus? Lots of igloos, snowmen, etc. I've stolen these pictures from Mike Trerotola's blog (visit him here to see more.)

Also, a quick word about community living at Fordham. There are two options to live in community other than dorms. The first are Integrated Learning Communities, all of which are located on campus and place you with people of common interests: majors, extracirriculars, etc. The second option is an Integrated Service Learning Community, which is where I live. This is the only ILC that is off-campus and the only one that has a service requirement. I also lived in Queen's Court last year, so feel free to email/comment for more info.That's it for now- but, before I end...
How to Love College tidbit #1:
Build igloos. Lots and lots of igloos.

Deliciously Ridiculous

I will start at the beginning. I live in a Fordham-owned, off-campus Integrated Service Learning Community. We call it the Anne Devenney house. There are four of us (all undergrads) plus an AMAZING residential director named Lindy. I came into this community not knowing anyone, as the youngest member, never having done service in the Bronx, and the result couldn't have been better. We ended up being the perfect mix of people who have kicked this community off with a bang.

That being said- today was anything but 'banging.' After a big breakfast, two of us stayed in PJs and proceeded to mope around the house. Kendall actually bothered to change and then moped. Maria gave a spiel about how, at some point, she needs to start her life and get dressed like a normal person. By seven we were all back on the couch, eating and watching Sandra Bullock be clumsy and fight crime. Snow days can rob even the best-intentioned of any and all motivation.

By midnight, Moira was eating tortilla chips out of her robe pocket (Maria didn't hesitate to point out that she looked uncannily like Fran Drescher's mother on The Nanny) and Maria was using nonsensical phrases like flabby-mouthed (she meant loose lips) and deliciously ridiculous (I didn't hesitate to point out that her language was quasi-erotic.) By 1 A.M., we were huddled in our small kitchen in laughing fits, trying to describe each other in three words (a strange task that countless applications require, including that of JVC) and pointing out the ways in which we are "effervescent," "confusing," and just plain nuts. At one point, I was bent over our sink with iced tea spewing out of my mouth and nose. Moira ended the evening with a reflective poem, entitled "Pasta in My Closet and Chips in My Pocket."

I have titled this blog "How to Love College," and I chose this title purposefully. In addition to wittily alluding to the song "I Love College," the title implies that this space is not just for me to ramble, reflect, write meaninglessly. Rather, it is a place for me to describe my entire college experience, both on and off campus. The Anne Devenney house has not just impacted but molded my Fordham education; its people, its mission of service and its integration with the Bronx have made college fulfilling and have exemplified the purpose of Fordham in a way that dorm-life could not. In a bold way, it has held me through my very first steps of learning to love college: embracing new people, embracing everything that is intentional community, embracing the Bronx. Even more important, though, it has taught me to revel in the small moments -college is only four years, so these are frequent, and important!- like when I find myself doubled over the kitchen sink laughing hysterically. And, as a result, I have grown to appreciate the phrase that encapsulates so much of what college is: deliciously ridiculous.