This semester has seemed to go by very quickly! It is hard to believe we are already taking finals and packing up to leave this weekend. I am not too stressed out at this point, though. I have three more finals and one more test, but I feel sufficiently prepared and a few more hours of studying should be good. I'm glad that all of my papers are finally completed! I finally got my grades back for all of the papers I handed in a few weeks ago, and I was very pleased with how I did on so little sleep!

Thanksgiving provided a much-needed break, though. I had finished all but two shorter papers, so I didn't have to work too hard over break. I went to Bluffton, OH, for Thanksgiving with three other friends to one of their houses, because the rest of us live in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Oregon, and couldn't go home. It was a really fun, relaxing time to eat a lot of good home-made food, go on energizing walks, have good conversations, and generally relax around the house. We also observed some interesting Bluffton traditions, like the Blazing of the Lights on Saturday night, which is a parade through town and afterward all the lights downtown are turned on and everyone goes home to turn on their own Christmas lights. It's a time when pretty much everyone goes downtown to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season. Not having grown up in a "small town," it was cool to experience one for at least a few days!

Last weekend all of the musical groups at GC participated in "A Festival of Carols," an annual Christmas concert with traditional carols interspersed with numbers from the various choirs and orchestra. It is always a lot of fun, but makes for a busy last weekend, as we had three performances (all of which were sold out)!

Enjoy the pictures, and have a wonderful Christmas season!