Our Hearts Are Restless

Welcome to the New Year!  Hope your 2012 is blessed and grace-filled.  Remember to thank God for everything of the past year - all the blessings and sacrifices, hard times and good times.  All have shaped us into different men and women than we were a year ago.  Let us rejoice in the days that come ahead and thank God for granting us another year!  

Studying during finals is like trying to compete in a triathlon or however you spell it without water.  As soon as one test is over, since there are no classes one immediately has to begin studying for the next exam.  And woe to you if you have two back-to-back finals - those are the worst, since you have to study for both at the same time.  As for sleep, that is a valuable commodity.  As is food.  Half of my friends sequester themselves in the dorm and live off of Ramen and caffeine.  Since I have neither of those staples, I do go to the Commons for meals.  Every now and then, it helps to take a study break.  On Saturday, I spent an hour playing Christmas carols in a raquetball court at the gym with two friends, a violinist and a violist.  Today four of us went on a long walk.  This picture will demonstrate what Finals Week does to the mind!  This is Rosemary; as her mental powers decrease, her physical energy increases.  We have yet to understand the reason for this. At any rate, we ...

The state of one's mind in the final days of the semester somehow leads one to read, or perhaps write, such poems as the following.  I firmly believe that Lewis Carroll wrote this poem during the last days of a college term.  Therefore join me in my current mantal abberrations and read this. "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll   `Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. "Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!" He took his vorpal sword in hand: Long time the manxome foe he sought -- So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought. And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came! One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head ...

Yes, the month is almost over.  But still, a good piece of poetry is never wasted.  This is by J.R.R. Tolkien, and is in The Lord of the Rings.  Since I have been traveling a lot this semester, I find it appropriate.  The formatting is funky on here and I cannot for the life of me figure out why it goes wonky when I try to paste from somewhere else.  Argh.  Tech support!!! Roads go ever ever on,  Over rock and under tree,  By caves where never sun has shone,  By streams that never find the sea;  Over snow by winter sown,  And through the merry flowers of June,  Over grass and over stone,  And under mountains in the moon.   Roads go ever ever on,  Under cloud and under star.  Yet feet that wandering have gone  Turn at last to home afar.  Eyes that fire and sword have seen,  And horror in the halls of stone  Look at last on meadows green,  And trees and hills they long have known.   The Road goes ever on and on  Down from the door where it began.  Now far ahead the Road has gone,  And I ...

It has been rather a while since I posted.  To be honest, I have no excuse other than that I have been busy with school. Took a flight to Florida for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute's Collegiate Network Editor's Conference.  Since I'm the Arts & Culture editor for our newspaper, the Rambler, I was sent along with two other staff members.  It was quite a fascinating experience, spending a day and a half at an Orlando resort with over a hundred conservatively-minded, very intelligent students from colleges and universities across the country.  I learned a lot and was given many ideas by the other papers and magazines and by talking to a number of other writers and editors.  I'm very glad I went, as it was quite a valuable experience. Last week, I had an entirely different and very unique break from school.  I left college a few days early for Thanksgiving break in order to fly out to my elder sister's First Profession.  She's a Carmelite nun, and just to...

Yesterday morning, October 29, we were surprised here in Virginia by an unexpected snowfall.  Rumours had been bandied about that snow was coming, but all expected it to be just a flurry or, at most, a light dusting on the ground.  When I woke up that morning, though, there was a quarter-inch of snow on the ground.  By 8 a.m., there were four inches at least.  It was a wet snow, perfect for packing…and snowballs…and on a campus full of 450 young adults, what do you think will happen? Half of the campus woke up for 7:30 Mass and the trip of prayer to the abortion clinic that was planned afterwards.  However, the weather forced the Shield of Roses committee to cancel the trip.  So, after about a half-hour of prayer in Christ the King Chapel, we began a massive snowball fight! This was not just any snowball fight.  We had up to at least twenty people at one point!  It quickly turned into girls versus boys, of course.  I must commemorate the male army on their ability to organize, a skill ...

This month's poem is a suggestion by a good friend of mine here, rather a foreshadowing of All Hallow's Eve at the end of the month.  The poem rather reminds me of Aragorn's calling of the Dead Army in the Lord of the Rings! Since midterms are coming up this week, I won't be posting again until break, when I hope to post on Spirit Week and homecoming! THE LISTENERS by Walter de la Mare 'IS there anybody there?' said the Traveller, Knocking on the moonlit door; And his horse in the silence champ'd the grasses Of the forest's ferny floor: And a bird flew up out of the turret, Above the Traveller's head: And he smote upon the door again a second time; 'Is there anybody there?' he said. But no one descended to the Traveller; No head from the leaf-fringed sill Lean'd over and look'd into his grey eyes, Where he stood perplex'd and still. But only a host of phantom listeners That dwelt in the lone house then Stood listening in the quiet...

Leaves are just beginning to turn here, although we've had so much rain I hope they will not just be brown and ugly.  I plan on convincing my roommate, who being from a south-western state has never seen autumn's colors in real life, to take a drive in Shenandoah National Park when the leaves are at their peak beauty. It felt like October earlier this week, with temperatures in the mid-50's to low 60's, but now it has warmed up again.  To celebrate this month, the college hosted its annual Oktoberfest, celebrating the German culture with food and music, and of course, a dance.  This is Christendom, after all! The first original Oktoberfest was a celebration in Munich of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig, later King Ludwig I, to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on 12 October 1810.  Christendom has been hosting its own Oktoberfest for over 30 years.  I particularly enjoyed this evening since I have a substantial amount of German and Swiss-German blood in my vei...

I have had very little time to post during these last couple weeks.  Here at Christendom, we don't have internet access in the dorms.  If I want to use the net that involves going to the library, gym or student center.  On top of that, my computer doesn't exactly take kindly to the library modem, which is the closest access from my dorm.  Enough excuses! A friend gave my a number of pictures from this first part of the semester, so I thought I would try to do a bit of a "scrapbook page" post.  Back to the beginning, at orientation, here is a picture of the farm where we had a barn dance.  This is only a little glimpse of the beauty of the mountains here in Virginia.  This is a bit of the lovely scenery I have around me.  Nature!  Yay!  Some of my friends are in charge of the Contra Dance club here at Christendom.  Contra is a Latin word meaning against or opposite; the dances are done with two lines of people, men on one side and women on the other.  If you've eve...

Say some prayers for me!  I am starting my career on my college newspaper this weekend!  I have a 600-800 word article for the Rambler due on Monday, September 19.  I'm begging for St. Michael's intercession for me (it is his feast day on Monday) as I battle writer's block.   Correction: I stupidly forgot to check the calendar...St. Michael is September 29.  Tomorrow is the feast of St. Januarius!  Also a very cool saint.   The article is a profile piece, basically an introduction to the readers of the Rambler of two new employees here on campus.  I'll post my article as soon as it's completely written, but right now I need to lock myself in the library for about three hours.  Luckily all my other homework for the weekend is mostly done, so I can focus on this for now. The weather here has been fluctuating between sunny, clear days just warm enough to negate the need for a sweater, and chilly, damp days when we only want to curl up in a fuzzy blanket with hot chocol...

I just realized the other day that it is now September.  Wait, I thought yesterday it was March still?  At any rate, it is high time to post another poem. In honor of today's anniversary I thought it would be appropriate to post something from an American poet.  This is no obscure piece, but it serves to remind us of our heritage as Americans. The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.  From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame, "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips.  "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift...

[caption id="attachment_25" align="aligncenter" width="373" caption="The stage - yours truly in the center with my roommates.  The Student Activities Council did a lovely job with the set-up in St. Lawrence Commons, where the dance was held.  According to the upper-classmen, though, this is minimal for the SAC. They outdo themselves at the later dances...can't wait to see!"] [/caption] It's a little late to be posting this, but we had our first dance of the season two weeks ago.  Here are pictures of the Luau!  I had loads of fun - it was so nice to have a night just for relaxing and enjoyment.  A couple of friends and I prettied ourselves for the dance an hour and a half before.  We went through our wardrobes and helped each other pick outfits, including sharing clothes and jewelry so we all had something new, just for fun.  One friend does great hair and makeup, so we even did makeovers. I've discovered that dances here aren't j...

The first week of classes is over!  My mind is overwhelmed by the amazing vistas of knowledge which have been opened in front of me.  I've been enjoying the many fruitful and just plain interesting discussions I have had over lunch, in class, and just anywhere.  It has been an amazing week, the first of the semester, so I can look forward to many more.  Stress will come, I am sure, but for now the homework levels are exactly manageable and my schedule is slowly coming together. On a slightly different topic, I read an interesting article on my college's website.  Christendom has been named one of America's top ten colleges by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute!  We are right up there with Princeton, West Point, and other big-name colleges!  Check out the article on the college's website, here , and the actual assesment and rating of the top 10 colleges and the top 10 train-wrecks in America here .  I plan on a post soon here which will defend a liberal arts education...

The first day of the academic calendar started off with a bang! After a fairly full morning of Mass, history and lunch, I returned to my dorm for a brief period of rest before my next class.  I had woken up from a nap and was sitting down to read when the building began to shake.  I assumed, at first, that someone was jumping up and down or otherwise shaking the floor.  As the seconds passed, the shaking became harder and harder until things were rattling on shelves and walls.  There was perhaps thirty seconds of more intense tremors, followed by a longer period of lighter shaking. Indeed, we had an earthquake!  The epicenter was only two hours away from us here in Front Royal, and the quake itself was estimated to be a magnitude of 5.8.  You can see the United States Geological Society's information on the quake here .  Since we are situated in a mountain range, I suppose I should not be surprised that there is a fault line nearby.  However, it was quite a shock!  Feeling an earth...

Poem of the month: If, by Rudyard Kipling Inspiration can always be found in literature, for any time, place, or situation.  One of my favorite poems is this, by Rudyard Kipling.  I have it in front of me on my desktop now, and frequently refer to it when I am feeling stressed or depressed or in need of a mental pick-me-up.  There are so many wonderful gems in this poem!  Enjoy! If by Rudyard Kipling If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too: If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; If you can dream – and not make dreams your master; If you can think –and not make thoughts your aim, If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same: If you can bear to hear the truth you...

Written August 16, 2011 Greetings, salutations, and welcome!  I believe an introduction is in order.  I am Rebecca, a young, homeschooled Roman Catholic from the Midwest.  I come to you from Edmund Campion Hall on the campus of Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia.  My purpose in this blog?  In the first place, to provide an inside view of the life of a student at a liberal arts Catholic college, as I grow in my faith and knowledge and become better prepared for life as the woman God wants me to be.  Secondly, to provide for those who wish to hear it, a unique view of the world, that of a committed, traditional, conservative Catholic young adult.  To those of you, my friends, who have urged me to set up a Facebook page, I offer this alternative.  If it be thy good pleasure, read this humble writing, and find out what I am up to at college!  In addition, I have the practical purpose of practicing the art of writing as I study for a degree in English Literature and prepare for a ...