college life updates

Hi from college! I’m happy to be writing on the blog again. Things have been really good on my end. I’ve been enjoying being back in college after a semester of studying abroad in Barcelona, and I wanted to write about what’s been happening in my little corner of the world. It’s good to be back to normal college life after being abroad. I like living in the dorm with other students, eating at dining halls, taking classes (as long as they’re interesting haha), and being involved in clubs on campus. I’m seeing just how unique college life is—never again will I live so close to so many friends and be able to meet up so easily. I really want to appreciate and enjoy it while I have it. 

Here are some of the highlights:

Running Club!!! 

Running club has been absolutely amazing this semester. I feel like the club may be as close as it has ever gotten. For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been a co-leader of my college’s running club for the past 4 years alongside my friends Katia, Vivian, and Manu! I think the club has gotten closer because of a combination of things, such as getting to know each other better and doing a lot of fun things together. We meet 3-4 times throughout the week where we run different routes in Claremont and then eat dinner as a club after the meeting. We’ve also been hanging out outside of club meetings too, where we’ve had game nights, movie nights, and explored new places in SoCal together. We’ve even created our own running club spotify playlist (where I’ve had to promise not to add too much Taylor Swift). It’s become a really fun, positive community.

Recently it’s been REALLY rainy in Claremont (it even snowed the other day which is almost unheard of here). Last Friday, instead of having our usual club meeting, we decided to replace it with a game of indoor basketball (because we Californians don’t know what to do with ourselves in this weather). We had about 16 people show up and played a game of 8 v. 8. One of the running club members was nice enough to teach me how to shoot a basketball properly (thank you 🙏). I was on Team Ehhhhh (Go Canada!) and we were actually unironically good. I definitely dropped the ball many times but I also got two baskets, which surprised me more than anyone else. After a good game, we got dinner together as a club at one of the dining halls, where I was tested on my knowledge of NBA basketball players. Let’s just say I didn’t know many, but now I know that LeBron James is said to be one of the best NBA players of all time. 

After dinner, we met up a bit later for a game night. We played Codenames and Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza. One of my favorite parts of the evening was making a late night run to Canes for some fried chicken and fries. It was my first time going to Canes, and I was there more for the experience than for the actual food (since I don’t eat chicken). We ate at one of the high top counters and chatted while dipping fries into their “special sauce.” I hope that we can make late night fast food runs more of a regular thing.  

Some fun things coming up that we’re planning to do as a club include karaoke night at a karaoke bar and we’re also planning on running in the Orange County Marathon/Half Marathon on May 7th. I signed up for the half marathon and I just know it will be a day to remember!

I’m really proud of the positive, inclusive, fun culture that we have fostered at running club. It has taken time to become what it is, and I’m so grateful for all of the running club leaders and members who have helped shape the club. Shoutout to the current leaders: Katia, Vivian, and Manu! And I owe a big thanks to Manu, Vivian, and Katie for leading the club so well when Katia and I were studying abroad. I’m so excited for what’s to come!

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Malibu Adventure Run 

Recently, the running club did a 7-mile trail run together in the Malibu/Santa Monica area. Twenty-one members signed up to go, so it was a big group. The run was both beautiful and challenging. I had run the route before, but I forgot how many hills there were! After scuttling up the first humongous hill, I was definitely winded, but that didn’t stop us. It was helpful that we had one another to motivate each other and the views were absolutely incredible. The trail winded through open valleys where we could see panoramic views of the lush Santa Monica mountains.

When we all made it to the top, it felt like a real sense of accomplishment. We got a great view of Santa Monica and took lots of group pictures. We also met this really cool guy named Marcus who is part of the Solomon Pro Squad and runs ultra-marathons (100 miles over a span of 24 hours). I could never imagine doing something like that, and the people who can do that are superhumans. On the way back down, I had a good chat with one of the running club members named Erika, and we talked a lot about our shared love for Brooks running shoes. 

After the run, we made our way over to Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades and we spent some time eating lunch and hanging out at the beach together. We were all ravenous and gobbled down our bagels in record time. We played a game of frisbee too, where I proceeded to accidentally hit an innocent bystander who was peacefully watching our game (whoops!) I guess you gotta watch out if you’re playing frisbee with me. 

It was definitely a day to remember. I felt so happy sharing a new experience with the running club. I was also proud of myself and Katia for planning the whole day together. It took a lot of organization and thinking through logistics of how we were going to transport 21 people to the beach, familiarize ourselves with the trail run, figure out what food place to eat at, find a beach to go to, communicate with the people who signed up, and even small things like research whether parking was free or not. The whole day ended up being a huge success and people had a lot of fun! I can’t wait for our next adventure run!

Valentine’s Day 

I had a good Valentine’s day! I spent it appreciating my friends :) Highlights from the day included making a few of my friends some valentines, going on a run and eating dinner with the running club, and ending the night by making brownies and playing games with friends from my Christian fellowship. It was all around a really good day. Oh, and I must’ve eaten more sweets in one day than I usually eat during the whole week. Cookies, chocolate fondue, sundaes, and brownies galore…♥️

first love and Sunday Mornings 

I’m really grateful for the Christian fellowship that I’m part of on campus called first love. It’s a great community of people, and I’m thankful to be able to grow in my faith alongside other college students. I always look forward to Sunday mornings because I get to go to church with some of my friends in the fellowship, and we always get lunch together afterwards too. It helps me start the day off right. My favorite part of the church service is usually singing worship songs because singing is one of the ways I feel most connected to God. I also appreciate the weekly first love Bible studies that I go to. I always learn so much from other people and it’s nice to be able to support and encourage one another through life. 

Well, that pretty much sums up my highlights of the semester so far! Thanks for reading!! 

Some more pictures…