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Finishing My First Year of College!!

Hi everyone!

I am sorry I have not written in so long; the end of the semester was extremely busy!! I have been home for two weeks now, and I still cannot believe that I will be home until August!!

The last few weeks of the semester consisted of exams and events like Spring Weekend, when there were fun events-including a concert and a fair- each day for students. Our spring concert featured DNCE and Kranium, and I had so much fun going with my friends!! Spring Concert also happened to be on my birthday, and it was a perfect way to celebrate with friends!!

Me and my friend Liza at Spring Concert!!

I only had final exams for my biology and chemistry classes, so I spent my last week on campus studying for those. My other two classes had final projects or  reflections, which was nice since I had less to worry about during Finals Week!!   After my biology final, I moved out of my room; it felt like just yesterday I was moving in!!

A photo of my door from when I moved out!!

Since being home, I have started making plans for this summer. I got a job working as a camp counselor, which starts in a few weeks. I also got to spend some time with friends from home; a few of my friends and I went to Faneuil Hall in Boston to get dinner and shop!! It was an awesome way for us to catch up after our years at school!!

Shopping with friends at Faneuil Hall in Boston!!

I cannot believe that my first year of college is already over!! While I am excited to have time off from classes, I miss all of the friends I made this year!!

Thanks for reading!!

Rebecca McSweeney
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An Update on Academics

Hi everyone!!

Today was the last day of classes before spring break!! This has been a very busy week in classes at Holy Cross; I have had a major assignment in all of my classes over the past few weeks.

In my Montserrat class this semester, we are reading and analyzing Don Quixote. We are currently giving presentations in pairs on secondary sources related to some aspect of the novel. My article is on the relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, the two protagonists of the novel; the presentation is after break.

Me and my friend Liza, who is my partner for the Montserrat presentation!!

In my biology class, we had an exam on evolution last week, and now we are learning about development. In lab this week, we observed the early stages of sea urchin development, which share similarities to human development. It was cool being able to observe the early stages of development!!

My Organic Chemistry class had an exam this week, so I spent a lot of time studying for that this week. My professor offered a lot of office hours, and sent a lot of problems to help us practice for it!! 

A photo of Fenwick I took last week, when it was nice enough to study outside!!

In my Philosophical Inquiries class, we had a paper due last week on one of The Dialogues of Plato. In that class, we mostly discuss the texts we read; so far we have read works by Plato, Peter Singer, Aristotle, and Boethius. I have never taken philosophy before this class, so it has been a challenge to learn how to analyze the text.

I am really looking forward to relaxing, and getting ahead on some work, over spring break this week!!

Thanks for reading!!

Rebecca McSweeney
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Classes and Theatre for Semester Two

Hi everyone!

I cannot believe I have been back on campus for three weeks! It has been really exciting to start back at Holy Cross for my second semester!! Here are some of the things I have been working on now that I am back on the Hill!!

The Holy Cross campus looks beautiful after snow!!

This semester, I am taking the second semester of my Montserrat (War and Coming of Age), Organic Chemistry, Biology 162, and Philosophical Inquiries. In my Montserrat, we are reading Don Quixote, and in my biology class we are learning about genetics, which is really interesting to me! I have never taken a philosophy class before, so my class is challenging me to think in a way I have not had to before!

The program for “Legally Blonde: The Musical”!!

This past weekend, ACT, the student theatre group on campus, had their production of Legally Blonde: The Musical!! I helped with costumes backstage for some of the performances, and I got to watch the show on Sunday!! Everyone involved in the production did an amazing job performing a really fun and upbeat show!! I had never helped backstage for a show before, so it was a great experience for me to help with a show in a different way than I had before!

The set for the opening number of “Legally Blonde”!!

I was also just cast in the Theatre Department’s production of The Skin of Our Teeth! We had the first few rehearsals this week, and I am so excited to work with so many of my friends on this production!!

Thanks for reading!!

Rebecca McSweeney
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Finals and My Last Few Weeks on Campus

Hi everyone!

I cannot believe my first semester of college is over!! I finished my final exams yesterday, so I am officially on break for the semester!! Even though finals were stressful, I still enjoyed the past few weeks on campus!!

A photo I took when it snowed last week!

Last week was finals week at Holy Cross, which was stressful since students had a lot of work to do before they could go home and enjoy their break. I had exams for Chemistry, Biology and Psychology, so I tried to balance my study time for each. My Chemistry and Biology professors also had review sessions, where students could come and ask questions, so I also took advantage of those.

Other than studying for finals (which I think went well), I spent time attending events like the Christmas Tree Lighting and the Festival of Lessons and Carols. At both of these events, I got to hear Christmas songs and hymns performed by the different music ensembles at Holy Cross. Everyone did an amazing job; I now look forward to attending these events next year!

The Nativity scene on campus!

The performances for the Directing class’ one-act plays were during my last weekend on campus, and both of the pieces I was in went really well! Four of the one-acts were performed each day, and I thought all of them were amazing. I also got to support some of my friends, who were acting in or directing other pieces.

The program for the One-Act Festival!

My first semester at Holy Cross was amazing! While I am excited to relax over winter break, I am looking forward to the rest of my Holy Cross career!

Thanks for reading!

Rebecca McSweeney