When Dance Moves Go Bad

I recently pulled my hamstring. Now this isn’t breaking news, I know, but bear with me.  As a Bryn Mawr athlete you have two options when you become injured 1) Tell Terry the athletic trainer or 2) wallow in pain until it goes away or gets worse. For the untrained eye the decision is simple, option one obviously. Which is true, unless there is a story behind the injury.

After this weekend I decided to take stock of how my list of pulled muscles have happened and trust me these weren’t my shining moments. Freshman year as we crashed the International Dance I decided to show off my moves and drop it like it was hot. Injury: Pulled Groin. Sophomore year during a dorm room dance party I wanted to wave my luscious locks and whip my hair back and forth. Injury: Whiplash. And last but not least this weekend Lil Jon and the Eastside boys told me to touch my toes so I obliged. Injury: Pulled Hamstring. Other stories of unforeseen tales of other athletes include losing a fight to a vending machine for pretzels-injured knee and kicking a girl in the calf resulting in a broken toe.

Trust me I definitely thought about changing my story, but I couldn’t think of anything…literally. So, with each injury I had trudge down to the training room look Terry in the eye and recount my tragic tales. And every time I received some of the many faces of Terry. First there was the “Seriously” face, which is easy to spot as he says “seriously” with a raised eyebrow. Then the “Again” face- the disapproving head shake with closed eyes. And, my personal favorite, the “I-Can’t-Even-Handle-You-Right-Now” face- hand pressed against the forehead and temples, other arm crossed over torso, and a sigh.

So as a public service announcement to those dancing fiends out there, stretch a little before hitting the dance floor.  It could be the one thing standing between you and many embarrassing “oh remember that time when…” moments.

To be continued

Hell Week Blues

This week I have the Hell Week Blues and by blues I mean so much sister class pride! Today class of 2016 ended the week long journey to becoming official Mawrters! I dusted off my old Hell Week schedule last weekend to pass down some tasks to my grand-hellees and got me reminiscing about my first Hell Week. I have to say the biggest accomplishment was finishing the duck pond run and not getting thrown in.

Soccer Frosh getting their schedules last Wednesday

For some people unfamiliar to it,  the idea of Hell Week can get lost in the throws of musical skits, marriage proposals, and proclamations of crimes against the campus (I loved K-pop too much), and even the title, Hell Week.  For the prospective students, parents, and alumnae that may read this I have found that though the tasks and traditions have evolved with the changing times and student life, the meaning remains the same. There is a moment that some may notice, but other will miss, and it is the quick smile of an alumnae recalling a distant memory of their own Hell Week as if it were yesterday. Whether you are an even or an odd we are all a part of the same family that have passed out tickets to a fake concert, proposed to that one professor, and sang our hearts out to that one song that was popular that one time. If there is ever a time in which love for Bryn Mawr is at its highest I will have to say Hell Week takes the cake.

No matter how much time passes Hell Week will forever remain a week of bonding that connects with past and future Mawrters. The perfect example of this is when I heard a teammate of mine call her alumnae mom and wish her a Happy Hell Week. This week is about a history that we will continue. We will pass down these traditions to keep Bryn Mawr the unique college we know and love.

So, class of 2016 I tip my hat to you. Congratulations, Happy Reconciliation Day, and Welcome Home.

“Remember tonight, for it is the beginning of always.” Dante Algihieri

To be continued…

Change of Plans

In order to spice up our lives my friend Karina and I thought we would have a mid-week adventure courtesy of Campus Philly. Now for those who are unaware of this little gem, Campus Philly is a glorious website that caters to the needs of collegiate students and others  in the Philadelphia area that would like to spice up of their life or get a few discounts on social life necessities. Our social life necessity was an early screening of the box office hit Warm Bodies. (Did I mention it was a FREE early screening? #lovecampusphilly) I was super excited because I had just finished reading the book and ready to see the adaptation.

Zombies need love too <3

So after my class at UPenn (perks of the Bryn Mawr consortium) we decided to have a dining crusade by exploring Rittenhouse Square for a new cuisine, finally deciding on Continental, a restaurant and martini bar. After furiously scouring the 3 block radius for a parking space we were starved and ready to dive into the menu. Served in tapas style the menu ranged in all types of cuisine from asian flare to italian spin offs and lucky for us we stumbled in during restaurant week…hello meal deals!

Mesmerized by the overflowing table of ravioli, salmon platters, hummus dips, and a blonde brownie smothered in chocolate and butterscotch,  we realized the movie was about to start in 20 minutes! We hurriedly paid the check sprinted (well Karina did, me and my recovering knee speed walked) to the theater, thankfully it was only 3 blocks away. Sadly we arrived only to realize our dreams of a free early screening were crushed by the long line of other free ticket holders. We rushed to the back and our wait wasn’t long as less than 5 minutes later we were told the screening was full. So, instead of trudging back to car with sorrow filled sobs we wandered around the city exploring the neighborhood, nightlife, and stalking other theaters for future adventures.

Though it didn’t end up as spicy as we thought it would be, our mid-week adventure ended in twisted turn of events that landed us in the position to notice the quiet beauty of Philly neighborhoods and city streets. Not all adventures need to be adrenaline pumping and luxurious outings. Sometimes the best adventure is a walk in city.

To be continued…