Hi there š
Despite this past rainy day, I hope you all have been taking advantage of the gorgeous spring weather Scranton has been blessed with in the past week or so. Of course, there are still gray days, but just about anything beats the winter in my opinion!
With three weeks left of the semester, it is go time. Whether I’m writing papers, reading for class, running to a club meeting, singing or working on the paper, it is one of the busiest times of the semester. I know these next few weeks are going to come and go before I know it, but I truly hope it slows down. Despite the stress, the thought of my sophomore year ending surfaces so many emotions I’m not quite ready to accept yet.
But on a happier note…the U’s community has been super active lately. Events on events on events! Friday, the annual Holi Festival took place on the Dionne Green. For the past five years, the Asia club has organizedĀ a celebration for Holi, the festival of colors in the Hindu religion.
The Holi festival! Sadly, I wasn’t wearing a white shirt so I didn’t participate, but a few of my friends did.
Saturday, the English and Theater Ā department hosted a Shakespeare Festival, to celebrateĀ 400 years since the death of the renowned poet and playwright. The Men and Women for Octaves moderator Ā (and active member!) Michael Friedman, who is an English professor here, couldn’t wait for Octaves to perform at the event. We sang the classic Taylor Swift song ” Love Story.”
The singing didn’t stop there! The University’s photography club invited both Royal Harmony and Octaves to perform at their gala. The groups performed “Love Story”, “Like I’m Gonna Lose You”, “What Do You Mean” and “Somewhere Out There”. We’ll be performing very soon once again at one of the biggest events at the U: Relay for Life!
Now, as a follow up since I was unable to post last week, my birthday weekend was amazing! Not only was I able to spend quality time with my family and friends, but the weather was beyond perfect. I definitely think it was the sunniest and warmest weekend at the U thus far (and I promise I’m not just being biased!). I even had a free breakfast Sunday, on my actual birthday, with the Octaves when we sang at the scholarship brunch. Overall, it was a wonderful weekend to ring in the 20th.
My mom and I on our way to Longhorn Steakhouse for my birthday dinner.
To end the day, I plopped myself at one of my favorite spots on campus: the statue across from Redington Hall. I always seem to catch the most beautiful sunsets there.Ā 
In the hour or so that I was peacefully sitting outside, I couldn’t help but feel utterly blessed. It truly is moments like these that kindle feelings of gratitude, content, awe, joy, even a little pensiveness. The last 20 years of my life have gone by just as fast as my first two years of college. And although, yes I am only 20, I still manage to find so much to reflect upon. But, as one of my favorite sayings goes, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
That’s all for now! Have a wonderful day everyone š
-Catie
Catherine E. Bombard
Hi! My name's Catherine, but you can call me Catie and I'm a sophomore from Wayne, NJ here at the University of Scranton. I'm an English major, Communication minor hoping to have a career in publishing one day. I'm a member and the publicist of Octaves, an a cappella group on campus, along with being a writer and editor for The Aquinas, the student newspaper. Thanks for checking out the student blogs and I hope you enjoy hearing about my "Scranton Experience"! :)
