boost of confidence.

The good news is that next week is Spring Break! Unfortunately, that also means that this week is midterms week. As of this afternoon, I have written a paper in French, turned in a philosophy paper, written a 9 page midterm on the Civil War, and taken a French exam ... almost done. 4 down, 2 to go - social problems project and a midterm on the Vietnam War. Needless to say, this week has been pretty crazy. I am running very low on sleep. I am living off of coffee. BUT the weather is beautiful and I recieved this much needed boost today...

Dear RikkiLynn:

I just wanted to touch base to let you know I sent your recommendation out. I put a little note on it saying that, although the option did not exist, I thought you were in the top 1% of all students I've ever taught! Good luck! Keep me posted!

All the Best and Be Blessed,
Erin

I am in the process of applying for an internship with the ACE program (Alliance for Catholic Education) for next year. The application asked for four letters of recommendation - two from professors, one from a peer, and one from a rector. The email I recieved today is from a professor I had last year for a class on Manliness, Gender, and Race in the Antebellum South. This class was by far the BEST class I have taken at Notre Dame. I learned so much! Anyways, this email provided a much needed boost during this seemingly endless week! 4 down, 2 to go.

lovely tuesday.

I still vividly remember coming to campus for Spring Visitation during my senior year. It was such a surreal experience. I had always dreamed of going to Notre Dame and I was one step closer to making that happen. I remember stepping off the bus, looking at the golden dome, and instantly knowing that I had found my new home.
I remember walking into main building to register and seeing Rudy playing on a big screen. I remember walking onto South Quad with my host and her saying to me "It is such a great day! God must have known you guys were coming." The quad was covered with students playing frisbee, cornhole, football, doing anything and everything to enjoy the beautiful day. Little did I know how rare these beautiful days would be during the horrible South Bend winters.

Anyways, the point of this story is that today was one of these RARE beautiful days. When I came to campus on that April afternoon I didn't understand why everyone was so excited. Well, as each winter comes and starts to fade, I am beginning to appreciate these days more and more.

Today was a beautiful day. Sunny, (semi) warm, and not too windy. Despite my lack of sleep in the midst of midterms, today was a lovely Tuesday.

fighting irish.

Last night I went to the Bengal Bouts Championships at the JACC ... I think the story of Bengal Bouts gives a whole new meaning to the term "Fighting Irish."

Then:

Organized boxing was started in 1920 by football coach Knute Rockne, but the event did not become known as Bengal Bouts in 1931 when it took on the purpose of raising funds for the Holy Cross Missions in Bangladesh. Coach Dominic "Nappy" Napolitano served as coach and director of Bengal Bouts for nearly 50 years and his words became the motto for the bouts:

"Strong bodies fight, that weak bodies may be nourished"

The Congregation of Holy Cross began its missions to East Bengal, India in 1853 under the invitation of Pope Pius IX. Beginning in 1931, the money raised has supported these missions to India. They have established and supported medical facilities, as well as elementary and secondary schools. These missions also include extensive outreach programs that assist the poor throughout the country. This includes everything from literacy training to medical care to occupational instruction. Needless to say, the money raised from Bengal Bouts is truly making a difference.

Now:

After attending the championships last night, I was very intrigued as to where the money they earned actually went. During my search, I crossed paths with the blog of a fellow domer. He was a Bengal Bouts competetor who is currently in Bangladesh, trying to learn more about where the money they raised goes. I read this post and was absolutely fascinated at the amount of good that a boxing tournament is doing:

"Today, on campus at Notre Dame, is the start of the 78th annual Bengal Bouts tournament. Even though I’m thousands of miles away from the ring, I’m as close to the action as you can get.


The Bengal Bouts are a series of charity boxing matches where the proceeds from those matches come right here to Bangladesh. Ever since I’ve landed in Bangladesh, nine months ago, I’ve been trying to find out where that money goes. It’s been a long journey - literally and figuratively, I feel like I’ve gone through hell and high water to get to this point. Floods, riots, curfews, Cyclone, Sidr, food poisoning, hospitalization of a family member, dealing with corrupt officials, dealing with a water crisis - jeez, it feels like the list never ends. Each time some new problem came up, my Bengal Bouts journey took a back seat.


I guess it’s just sheer luck that, when I was finally able to embark upon my journey to see where some of the Bengal Bouts money is being spent, it happened to coincide with the beginning of this school year’s tournament. My trip to Jalchatra (where I got to meet the tribal people known as The Garo) is but one of seven locations in this country that receive funding from the Bengal Bouts. It really seems like Bengal Bouts money goes to every corner of this country. I’d love to track it all and show what happens at each of the seven locations. Unfortunately, my outside-of-Dhaka travel resources are fairly limited (especially since I carry around all this camera and computer equipment wherever I go). For now, it’s my hope the few days I spent in Jalchatra can help shed a light for my friends back home about the good they are doing in this country.


It’s a good feeling to know that, while I am here trying to fight poverty on the ground, there are 185 of my fellow Irishmen back at Notre Dame fighting alongside with me. Fortunately, for me, my way doesn’t involve that many bruises."

Again, I am truly amazed at the people I am surrounded by. They take part in this tournament for something bigger than themselves. This inspires me to do more, to make a difference, and to remember what it means to be part of the Fighting Irish community.

one of those moments.

After nearly three years at Notre Dame, I have experienced a lot of new things ... some good, some not so good. I have met 7 amazing girls that are now my Notre Dame Family. I have met more people from all over the world than I ever thought was possible. I never cease to be amazed at the caliber of people that I am surrounded by on a daily basis. I have taken 30 courses, some of which I absolutely loved and some that were a true struggle to pay attention in. I have spent countless hours in the library, pulled many all-nighters, drank too many cups of coffee, and read dozens of new books. I have cried too many times to count, spent too much time stressed, but all the while, I have loved every minute of my time at Notre Dame.

It is kind of funny because it is so easy to get caught up in the day to day hustle and bustle of college life, that I forget how truly blessed I am to be here. I can remember telling mom and dad that I was going to go to Notre Dame someday when I was ten years old. I vividly remember the first time we drove up Notre Dame Ave and saw the golden dome (which is still one of my favorite views on campus). But of all the things I have learned while being here, the most important is that I absolutely love to LEARN.

It sounds a little funny to say that I love to learn, but I get so much enjoyment out of learning something new. As a history major, I am so intrigued by people and places. On a daily basis, I am in absolute awe of my professors. I am amazed at how much they know, how much they enjoy what they do, and how they are always striving to learn more.

Today, I had one of those "wow, I love this place" moments. Instead of the usual fascination with the beauty of campus, however, this moment was more in fascination of the aura of the university. I feel so at home going to class everyday, learning new things, talking with professors, and discussing interesting facts with my friends. I adore the educational atmosphere and cannot wait to learn new things again tomorrow.

Parlez-vous Francais?

I am currently in my third semester of French here at Notre Dame. It's kind of funny because I took Spanish all through high school, but decided to fulfill my language credit at ND by taking French. While the language is quite difficult and the pronunciation is even harder, I really enjoy it. I think that it is an absolutely beautiful language and am very happy that I decided to try something new.

For class, we were told to watch the movie Monsieur Ibriahim. The film was in French, but we were able to have English subtitles. (To anyone learning a new language: Watching a movie in the language you are learning while using the English subtitles is the BEST way to learn better comprehension skills ... well, it has been working for me at least! haha)

To make a long story short, I was very unsure about this film before I watched it. I have seen several French films and have only liked a few, so I was not sure what to expect. To my surprise, however, this movie was fabulous. It is a story about a young Parisian boy named Momo, his relationship with Ibrahim, and the lessons they learn about life. Seriously, I LOVED it! So if you have a little extra time and want to try something new, then give this movie a shot. I think it has some pretty great lessons!

"Smiling is what makes you happy."

"You can find beauty wherever you look."

"If God wants to reveal life to you, he won't need a book."

"You only have one pair of feet. Look after them. If your shoes hurt you,you change them. You can't change your feet."

"When you want to learn,you don't pick up a book. You talk to someone."

"Your love for her is yours.It belongs to you. She rejects it,but she can't destroy it. She's just missing out on it. What you give, Momo,is yours for good. What you keep is lost forever."

"You can't understand everything with your mind."

"You have to look at them as if to say: "I've never seen such beauty before." For men like you and me... not Alain Delon or Marlon Brando...you're beautiful through women."

junior parents weekend.

This past weekend, my parents came to visit for Junior Parents Weekend!



Over the past three years, I have always heard people talk about how great JPW was, but it definitely surpassed all of my expectations. It was so amazing to be able to meet everyone's parents and to show our parents what it is like to be a part of the ND Fam.



The weekend began on Friday with dinner at one of our favorite hang outs: Main Street Pub.

It was great to go to dinner with Casey's family, Erica, and our friend Dex's parents. My friend David, who I met on my trip to New Orleans was also able to come with us!


The food and Main Street Pub is great and it is always a fun and relaxing place to go. They were getting geared up for St. Patrick's Day, so they had a very entertaining array of shirts for sale ... of course, my roommate Casey had to get one! haha.















Next was the Opening Gala on Friday night. This was such a great experience! They had the gala in the Joyce Center (the basketball arena and the fieldhouse). The night was filled with good food (especially the desserts!), great friends, and dancing! The dress code was semi formal and everyone looked absolutely fabulous all dressed up!

Here we are with some of our guy friends ... we were all on the dance floor and mom wanted a picture of everyone! (Thanks for all the pictures mom!)













Claire, Brianna, Casey, and I were waiting for the other girls to come ... it is always so much fun to get all dressed up!

Here is part of the group ... Claire and her parents, Casey and her parents, Joe and his family, and of course, me and mom and dad!

Dad and me.

I can't even begin to explain what an amazing experience Friday night was. It was so great to see everyone having such a great time with their parents. There was no awkwardness, no embarassment, but just everyone getting to know each other and experiencing life at ND.

On Saturday, we had a luncheon in our dorm, Lyons Hall. We had lunch in the chapel in the basement and ate Bruno's pizza! (My favorite) It was nice to just hang out.

On Saturday afternoon, we went to my absolute favorite bar ... THE BACKER!

The "Linebacker Inn" is a small bar right off campus, but I absolutely adore the atmosphere of the place. It was really fun to be able to take my parents there because I am pretty sure I was able to convert them to be backer lovers.

On Saturday night we all went to dinner at a restaurant downtown called the Vine. My friend Brianna organized the dinner and we had a room downstairs all to ourselves. We went to dinner with all of the girls, two of our guy friends from Fisher Hall, and all of our parents! Dinner was so delicious.

After dinner at the Vine, we headed to the College Football Hall of Fame, where one of our friends rented out the building for the night. It was all of our friends from the other dorms around campus. They had a DJ, dancing, desserts, and then had the entire Hall of Fame open for us to tour.

It was such a great night!

Finally, the weekend concluded on Sunday morning with brunch. Once again, the food was great and we got to sit with my friend Justine and her parents.


















Lou Holtz was the guest speaker ... he never ceases to amaze me. He spoke about his love for Notre Dame, his experiences at Junior Parents Weekend, and just about life.

Of all the things he said, I had two favorites:

1. He started talking about what made Notre Dame so special ... he said:

If you are a part of the Notre Dame Family, there is no explanation needed ... and if you are not a part of the Notre Dame Family, no explanation will ever suffice.

I thought this was so amazing ... and so true. Even as I am trying to write about this weekend in this blog, I am having a very difficult time finding the words to describe the experience. My time at Notre Dame has been filled with so many magical moments and I can't even explain how fabulous it has been. As my dad put it, "great people at a great place." so true.

2: Lou Holtz said that there are 4 things that you need in life:

1. Something that makes you happy.

2. Something to get up for everyday.

3. Someone to Love.

4. Something to believe in.

Thanks for a great weekend mom and dad!

I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'm so glad I got to show you what it is like to be a part of the ND Fam!

future president?

My brother Tyrel was awarded President Obama's Volunteer Service Award at the Blue Ridge Board Meeting this month.

http://www.wmicentral.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20258637&BRD=2264&PAG=461&dept_id=506173&rfi=6

He logged over 50 hours of community service ...

Tyrel and Taylor Rock were the only two to recieve the award!
(omg ... they look SO old!)

Tyrel never ceases to amaze me in his genuine care for others. He is such a driven kid and truly amazes me.

With all the things he does, it makes me wonder what is capable of ... who knows, maybe
future president?