It Was Valentine’s Day, I Guess.
I know it’s a cliché to say that I don’t like Valentine’s Day, so I won’t say that. Instead, I’ll tell you something even cheesier: this Valentine’s Day was the best Valentine’s Day of my life.
Wow, okay, that made me cringe a little. Moving on.
The day started early – too early, almost. I woke up at 5:50 AM, got dressed, and headed off to the NASHVILLE HOT CHOCOLATE RUN, a super popular 5k/15k.
Wait, Sami, you run? No. But a bunch of the girls in my sorority decided to sign up together, and I heard they were giving away hot chocolate and fondue at the end, so I figured I would try it.
Naturally, it was way too cold (Nashville weather decided to go crazy this week), and I couldn’t feel my legs for the first half of the race, but I did finish, and I did scarf down my entire finisher’s mug, complete with bananas, cookies, and marshmallows to dip in the deliciously gooey chocolate. Time will tell if this semblance of exercise will actually continue on through the rest of the semester.
When I returned to campus at 8:30 AM, most of my friends were still sleeping, and likely wouldn’t wake up for another two hours. And I had already run a 5k. Yay for accomplishing things in the morning. So, like the stereotypical college student that I am, I took a nap until like 11.
Valentine’s Day 2015 continued at around 1:00, when I headed to the grocery store to pick up food for the dinner I planned to make for all of my friends. Wait, Sami, you cook? Also no. I guess it was just a day for trying new things. After having my food made for me at Commons for basically this entire year, grocery shopping proved to be a challenging, yet exhilarating experience that made me feel kind of like an adult. I found myself asking the tough questions, like what the difference between zucchini and yellow squash is, and how many jars of pasta sauce I would need for three boxes of spaghetti.
When I got back home, aka Memorial House, I enlisted a couple friends to help cook, and another to make decorations for our dinner. Luckily for us, a kitchen is located conveniently on the second floor of our house, and is free for anyone to use. We were also able to borrow some pots and knives from our awesome Faculty Head of House, who is basically a professor who lives with us (every house on Commons has one!).
The cooking progressed with as few mishaps as possible considering the fact that we rarely cooked, and food was on the table by 7:30. The menu consisted of two kinds of salad, spaghetti, chicken apple sausages, fried squash, bread, and brownies.
Notice the classy plastic plates, cups, and utensils, all purchased at the distinguished silverware store, Munchie Mart. Adult life requires so many things I never thought I needed. Even so, my master decorator friend made the table look pretty amazing. She even made the cutest place setting cards, and used different fonts to match all of our personalities. I just about screamed when I saw that.
It was a lot of work, but it was a good night. We ate. We laughed. The boys passed out cards and bags of candy they had put together the night before (I am not joking this is a real thing that happened).
This post started off pretty cheesy, so I guess it’s going to end cheesy too. I am about ¾ of the way through my first year here at Vanderbilt, and I have enjoyed my time here more than I ever thought possible. I have taken the coolest classes, tried new things that I ended up loving, and experienced the beauty of campus as it changes each season. The part of Vanderbilt that brings me the most joy, though, is the friends I have been able to make here. Vanderbilt is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me, and these people are why.
Them, and maybe also the back-to-back snow days we had this week.
