I can hardly believe that we are halfway through August; to me it seems like just yesterday I was packing my car and leaving Newark. And now, I only have two days left until I return to my home at the University of Delaware
I don’t know about you, but my summer (well, at least the first half) was jam-packed with activity. I spent the first six weeks being an Orientation Leader for Delaware’s New Student Orientation. This experience involved 5am wake-up calls, donning an awesome blue and gold polo and countless hours of dancing in public. It was easily the best job that I have ever had. I loved getting to wake up every morning, greet incoming students and welcome them to UD. It was a blast showing them all that campus has to offer and making them fall in love with our university.
After six weeks of laughing, answering questions and orienting, I had the chance to come back to the lovely state of New Jersey for the next four weeks. This was where my real summer began. I enjoyed the lovely, warm weather, spent time with my family and friends, and watched way too much TV. You could say it was major relaxation time before the start of another busy semester.
I was able to continue this major relaxation when I went on my annual family vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. My parents have been traveling to North Carolina for vacation for the last twenty-four years and I have been every year of my life. Every year we stay in the same town (Corolla), on the same street, and in the same house. We also vacation with the same people: my immediate family and three of my dad’s brothers and their families, so it is a full house with twenty-five people and two dogs. Some consider this a lot of repetition for a vacation, but I enjoy it because of all of its time-honed traditions.
We spend almost the entire week on the beach. To be honest, I didn’t even leave the house to go anywhere but the beach. We are one of the first ones set up our tents/volleyball net around 9am and we close down around 7pm. They are long days peppered with a wide variety of sports games (handball is my favorite), kayaking, and reading romance novels with my toes in the ocean. This week is my favorite week of the year and I am grateful for the memories and the time that I get to spend with my siblings and cousins.
Is there a better place for rest and relaxation than the beach?
Although I have enjoyed my summer, I am excited to head back to the great state of Delaware. I may not be ready to get back into taking notes and writing papers, but I am certainly ready to see my friends and to feel that Blue Hen spirit again. I cannot wait to take on UD for Round 3!
~Rebecca Jaeger
