A Free Weekend
The first weekend of the semester will always be open. In the first three days of class, one of which is dedicated to the syllabus, it is nearly impossible to have any form of assignments due the following Monday. You might learn about upcoming projects and papers, but there’s usually nothing too immediate. Not even an accelerated class could steal that first weekend from you. Moving back to campus after a lazy winter break takes some adjustment time, which is exactly what this weekend is all about. You still feel the freedom of no immediate homework, except now in the learning environment that drove you mad studying for finals only a month ago. As the memories of notebooks and procrastination slowly prepare you for another semester of college, this first weekend is saved for those who want to start things right.
And when I say start things right, I mean do a bunch of fun things with your friends. I knew that next weekend even I would be filling out student leadership applications and writing up lab reports, so this was it. I knew I wanted to do something outdoors to enjoy the warm Saturday afternoon and be active. The best and only choice then would have to be volleyball. Freshman year, volleyball was our go-to sport since I couldn’t convince enough people to play soccer, and anyone can easily jump in. This time there were about eight of us passing the ball around and laughing every time the ball would fly in the wrong direction. With the sun just right, I could have stayed there for hours if my arms weren’t so raw. When you can’t use your arms, however, you move on to whatever is left. Biking was the next logical step. I’d been meaning to check out the Riverside area and actually use my bike for cruising. Rushing to the engineering building does not count. I rode by ripe orange groves and winding neighborhoods which made me curious to explore even more. I had no idea that all of these interesting places even existed so close to CBU. Saturday bike rides are definitely happening again soon.
After an adventurous and strenuous Saturday, I decided to take Sunday a little slower. By slower I mean playing hours of Risk with some bros. There is definitely a lack of interest for board games among college-aged males, so when four of my friends asked if I wanted to conquer the known world by rolling dice and moving plastic soldiers, I was all in. We set up the board and organized the pieces, and before long we realized that none of us even knew where to start. All I could see was that no one had claimed Peru yet, so it was my first pick. After a few dice rolls and rule revisions, my South American armies were trained and ready to wipe out North America and beyond. At least that was my vision, which became more of a hopeful idea, and then an impossible dream. Mike, who rightfully earned the title of “The Conqueror,” played just a little more strategically and developed a joint African/European Empire. He could have annihilated me before we even took a dinner break, but he decided on the slow bleed tactic instead of a quick finish. I didn’t know I could shout so much over a board game, but my allegiance to the Peruvian Republic was too great. My heart fell when that green plastic cannon finally knocked out my last blue soldier. I’m still a little distraught but I will manage.
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