Jetsetting!

Hey everybody :)

Hope you're all enjoying our last few days of summer. If you're a Stonehill student that probably means saying goodbye to friends, beginning to think about packing (because really, no one does that til the last minute anyway!) and starting to get giddy about returning to campus! If you're a returning student, you know EXACTLY how awesome the first few weeks back at school are: seeing your friends (maybe for the first time all summer, if you live across the country like me!), not really having major work in any of your classes yet, and of course, getting reaccquainted with the yummy caf food!

If you're a first-year student, I AM SO JEALOUS OF YOU! You have 4 fabulous years of Stonehill ahead of you, while my Stonehill experience is already 3/4 complete. Not gonna lie, you've all heard the saying "College is the best 4 years of your life" and while you may think that's dumb and clichéd (I may or may not have rolled my eyes excessively at anyone who said that to me during my senior year of high school), it is SO true that college is a unique and unforgettable experience, especially at Stonehill. Like I said above, any returning student (especially us seniors- god, am I really a senior??) will tell you the first weeks back at Stonehill are THE BEST! Welcome Back Weekend is definitely a student favorite, profs know you've just had 3 months of questionable brain activity so they go a little easy on you and best of all, you get to live with all your friends again! Since I spent last fall abroad, I wasn't able to come to campus at all during the fall and I am SO looking forward to this year's move-in weekend and beyond. Bottom line is Stonehill rocks and I can't wait to go back. Just ask my parents-- I think they've heard me complain about missing Stonehill every day since May 7th, when I unhappily left campus for the summer. It's also possible I am still complaining about missing my Parisien life, and when coupled with my prolonged Stonehill separation, I may or may not be easy to live with...

So how have I been dealing with all this? Well back in May I knew I'd need one last summertime hurrah before making my first cross-country drive to school. This is the first year that I'm driving out to school (normally I fly) but since I just got a new car I decided that I would be too sad leaving it behind... now that the 24-hour drive is days away, I seem to be liking THAT idea less and less... expect some hate blogs later this week regarding my extreme dislike for America's large size and low speed limits...

But I digress. My original point was that I needed one last incredibly fun, worry-free weekend before becoming studious for my final year, and for me, that meant booking a flight to Phoenix, AZ to visit my cousin for some quality pool time and family bonding! So that's what I did. I spent Wednesday-Sunday of this past week in Scottsdale with my cousin Sara. We had a really rough itinerary of laying by the pool, swimming in the pool, reading by the pool and going out at night. (Let's just say that as I sit at my desk on Monday morning typing up this blog, my indoor internship is seeming less and less appealing...)

Another great part of my trip was that not only did I get to see my favorite cousin for the first time in a year and a half, I got to visit with another good friend of mine with whom I studied abroad with last fall! It just so happened that my friend Jen is interning in Tucson for the summer, and she graciously offered to drive up to Scottsdale to see me! We went to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with my cousin, her cousin and her friend and then went over to Sprinkles Cupcakes... If any of you are familiar with Sprinkles (which I'm pretty sure is located in Beverly Hills) you know the amazingness that I experienced: rich, creamy frosting on top of a moist cupcake with decadent flavors... ok may need to go back to AZ for seconds. What you may not know is that the wonderful people at Sprinkles recently added another option to their sugary menu: FROSTING SHOTS.

Yes, you read right.

Shots of frosting! Not only is this phenomenon as mouth-watering as it sounds, it's only 75 cents! For less than a dollar you can have a shot of ANY of their delectable flavors, ranging from chocolate and vanilla to pumpkin (my choice) and chai tea (Jen's choice). So needless to say, our visit to Sprinkles was a success!

The rest of the weekend revolved around the pool and pool activities and Sara and her friends showed me a fantastic time in Scottsdale. One bar we went to was called The Sandbar and not only did it have sand sprinkled all across the floor, they had chandeliers made out of Corona bottles! Very cool in my book. I'll put up some pictures soon, as I'm at work right now and my camera's at home but I wanted to give you all an update!

Well my boss just came by and gave me some Monday morning assignments to work on, so I'll wrap this up for now. I truly hope you all have enjoyed your summers and are looking forward to moving in this weekend. For all you returning students, remember to be nice to the freshmen and try not to be too jealous of their situation! And for you first years, you're about to embark on one of the most incredible experiences of your life and I have one thing to say to you: START GETTING EXCITED! And next week, if you happen to see a blonde-haired girl sprinting around the quad with a ridiculous looking grin on her face, don't judge. I love Stonehill and Stonehill loves me. And it'll love you too!