Mind. Blown.

It has been over a month since my last post. Where did the time go? (I seem to be asking myself that a lot lately.) The past four weeks have been ridiculously hectic; between exams, Easter, and evacuations, I have not had time to sit still until this past week.


Exams. I am officially finished with my freshman year at the University of Pittsburgh! I can't believe how fast the time flew by. I met some of the most amazing people in Pittsburgh and made some great friends that I am sure will last a lifetime. Unfortunately a good portion of the last week was spent studying for microbiology--there was an insane amount of memorization to be done. However, the last weekend was filled with fun celebrations: the last Friday Dollar Dinner, the final FOCUS 101 student leader meeting, another "Babies and Bagels" Mass, and a trip to Razzy Fresh for the end of this year's Catholic Action.
For those of you wondering, "Babies and Bagels" is the 11am Mass on Sundays at the Newman Center. A lot of families--many graduates of Pitt--bring their little ones and there are bagels, donuts, and coffee following the Mass. The families take turns providing the treats; I want to be part of a parish community like that someday! I practically begged to hold a little 3-month old girl named Lucy, and I was graciously provided the opportunity to hold her in my arms for a whole fifteen minutes. Pure bliss. <3


Easter. I planned on spending Easter in Pittsburgh with my friends, and we would all have dinner with my friend Melissa's family. Little did we know that the week prior to Easter, the University of Pittsburgh would receive dozens upon dozens of bomb threats, prompting as many evacuations. Beginning after spring break (one occurred February 13, but the remainder came after our week off), threats were scrawled on bathroom stalls and emailed into various news organizations. At first only the Cathedral of Learning and Chevron Science Center were threatened, but soon buildings all over campus were targeted. In the beginning, it was one building at a time, and then many threats came simultaneously, sometimes in the middle of the night. I resisted going home for Easter at first, but finally, we all just needed a break, and so Christine and I headed west on Good Friday when my mom was amazing and came to pick us up. It was three solid nights of sleep we had not had in a while.
Most nights, even post spring break, I wasn't sleeping in my own dorm room. My roommate had withdrawn for the semester, and I didn't like sleeping alone. I sometimes slept in Valerie's room; other times my friend Laura (aka my "bomb buddy") went to the missionaries Ruth and Gina's apartment. Ruth and Gina graciously housed us many nights--sometimes up to five girls--providing a safe haven only a short walk from campus. Although we would still wake up to the text alerts informing us of evacuations, at least we would not be jolted awake by fire alarms, sending us into Oakland at two a.m, (although it did happen a few times, and luckily we were welcomed into the homes of off-campus friends). It strengthened some friendships, although I know that's not what the threatener intended. In fact, no one really knows what the threatener intended to convey through these 137 threats; he or she stopped after promising to do so if the reward for his/her conviction was removed. What we did learn, however, was how amazing our Pitt Police Officers--and yes, K-9 Officer Riggs--truly are and how much they will do for us. It showed an awesome sense of Pitt Pride!