What I'll Miss Most About Ithaca

As I continue to wrap up my time in Ithaca, it's gotten me thinking about all of the things I'll miss about this place.

My Graduate Assistantship - I actually don't even know where to start regarding my GA. I had so much fun, learned more than I could have imagined, made great friends and wish I could do it all over again.

Coming in, I looked at my GA as a way to supplement some of my tuition and gain some more experience, but never did I think it would change my career path. I have absolutely fallen in love with college athletics and I attribute a lot of that to my experience at Ithaca. I worked closely with four of the most awesome administrators that took time to teach us, guide us, give us great advice, encourage us, laugh with us and support us in everything we did. It wasn't just the four lead administrators though, their supporting cast is just as great too. In addition to the leadership roles we had in projects and events, we were given a voice in the Athletic Department and treated just like fellow administrators. I never expected that. I owe those former bosses and now colleagues of mine so much and appreciate them more than they will probably ever know. This experience wouldn't have been as awesome without my fellow GAs, event staff and super successful yet very humble student-athletes. I fully understand that my time here was very special and that no matter where I end up, it will never be quite as great as it was here. I now understand why it's always a great day to be a Bomber.

Student-Athletes - My former professor was totally right when she told me that being a graduate student is the best because you can fit in with administration but also with the student-athletes. I didn't think I'd really care to make friends with the undergrad student-athletes but I am so glad I did. Some of my favorite memories from Ithaca were made with them through event staff work, athletic achievement or outside fun.

It's funny to think that a few of the student-athletes I love now didn't like Sam and I after that first weekend of work. These Ithaca student-athletes are a special breed - they have fun, take their academics just as seriously as their athletics, live in the moment and aren't afraid to show their true colors. I learned so much from them and will truly miss our daily interactions.

A Great Group of Friends - Like I've said a million times, I planned to come to Ithaca, get my work done and get out. If someone would have told me I was going to stay an extra month just to spend more time with my friends, I would have called them crazy. That would have also been my response if they had told me I would meet and make some of my best friends here. I honestly didn't think there was time for that. I was so wrong. They are such a huge part of why I had so much fun here. From our first night out to our last, to sitting in class, to hiking and shopping, to birthday celebrations, to traveling and completing our bucket list, I found some of the best bros around.

Not to mention the fact that we are all going to go to our individual locations saying Ithaca things and everyone will think we are crazy. Pretty sure if 'hohohoho' at anyone in Kennebunkport, I will be laughed out of town. While we are all going our separate ways much sooner than we'd like, they will all have such a special place in my heart. Seriously, they are like my brothers and sisters.

Wegmans - If this doesn't make me sound like an old lady, then I don't what does. Not to mention, I had to lighten the mood a bit. Aside from the fact that Wegmans is usually super busy and chaotic, I really didn't mind shopping there. It was like a little adventure every time I went in, especially when Sam and I did our weekly groceries together. Let's not even go into how much I'll miss grocery shopping with someone that eats nearly the exact same way as me and has just as much fun as I do doing it. There are no Wegmans in New England and I'm well aware that I if I find one, it won't be as awesome as the Ithaca one.

Gorges - Like I've mentioned, Ithaca is Gorges, and I did my fair share of exploring them. It really is so pretty here and I'll miss my ability to take in the scenery as easily and quickly as I could. I hiked in and around them, swam and waded in the them, jumped off their surrounding rocks and took millions of pictures of them. Not only are the gorges gorgeous, but Cayuga Lake also provides us with another awesome body of water - a 38.1-mile long and 435-foot deep one (thanks for that, Sam).

The Commons - Such a fun place! So much so that Cornell bros even invade our side of Ithaca every so often. Tons of cute little shops, bars, restaurants and statues that are a must to pose with at least once. I spent a good amount of time and thanks to Ithacafest this past weekend, Sam and I successfully explored all we wanted to in the Commons.

There you have, all the things I'll miss about Ithaca. Some fun, some sentimental and some probably foolish.

Top 10 Ithaca Memories

As my time in Ithaca wraps up, I believe its the perfect time for a top ten list. I love these. I've been in Ithaca since August and have had an absolute blast during these ten months so I have wayyy more than 10 awesome memories. But, for time's sake, here they are, my ten best Ithaca memories, one for every month I've been in this great place (in no particular order)...

Applefest - One of my first memories of Ithaca. After being here for about a month, a bunch of us ventured down to the Commons for three days filled with all things apple - wine, food, jelly, jam, butter, cotton candy. You name it, they had it. Despite dreary weather, we made an appearance at Applefest on each of it's three days.

Vancouver and such - In ten or so days, we went from Ithaca to Syracuse to Detroit to Seattle to Vancouver to Whistler back to Vancouver to Seattle to New York to Rochester to Ithaca. The trip was part of a study abroad on the Olympics, but that doesn't even begin to describe it. We did biathlon, I shot my first gun, we became regulars at Malone's, we laughed, we went curling, we watched junior hockey, we watched pro hockey, we walked all over Vancouver, we took a ton of pictures and did so much more. Although it was long and super busy, we had a ton of fun and it's something I surely will never forget.

Trivia nights - Not having class until 1 p.m. on Wednesday's allowed us to have a lot more fun than one would expect Tuesday nights. We celebrated Tyler's birthday and pretty much everything else we could justify celebrating on a Tuesday. It's the night out that made us realize our program-wide love of gummy worms and frootie tootsie rolls and our inability to subtly use our smart phones. We never won trivia even though we attended nearly every week, but it's safe to assume that Tuesday nights won't be as fun next year.

Gorge jumping/hiking - Before  I even arrived in Ithaca, I knew the area was full of lakes, gorges and waterfalls but I didn't know people actually played in them. Didn't take me long to join once the weather was warm either. I'm from Maine and frequently swim in the ocean, so the chilly water was quite enjoyable compared to the typically frigid Atlantic Ocean. When I first visited Second Dam back in September with Sam, I watched people jump off a 45-foot rock and thought they were crazy. Not more than 8 months later, I, too, made the jump and it was awesome! I mean, I couldn't leave Ithaca without jumping into a gorge and I plan on doing it again before I leave.

Spring break - As I wrote about in a previous post, a few friends and I did a not-so-typical spring break essentially touring the Northeast. First we hit Maine, then Washington D.C., Rochester and Candor. All in a week. I'll let the pictures speak for this post.

Last two weeks before graduation - We legit had no finals to end our spring semester so we used finals week and senior week to celebrate the near completion of our Master's Degrees. And by celebrate, I really mean celebrate. Some of us hung outside of Marshawn,

One of us perfected his fohawk,

And #VancouvIgnorance was rekindled.

All in all a great two weeks.

First swim meet - About six weeks into the year and into my Grad Assistantship, my boss thought it would be a good idea to put me in charge of the first swim meet. I mean, I was quite familiar with how a swim meet works from high school, but I didn't think I was qualified to do so. And to have me announce the thing on top of it! I laugh thinking about it now, but I certainly didn't at the time. Luckily for me I lighed the mood when I flung a certain unmentionable on to the pool deck.

Boss pranks - Back in December we wrapped one of my boss's office in wrapping paper and even before that, we made them mock awards that we so cleverly snuck into the new trophy cases. Sam and I didn't want to leave before successfully executed another and I believe we did just that. This week's Wordless Wednesday post featured all the pictures of the photo hanging we did to Jon, poor guy.

Backyard things - Oh 111 Penn and your phenomenal backyard. We did a lot of fun things in that backyard and despite my spacious plot, we will never be able to replicate the great times had on Penn.

Bro-ing in Rochester - A few of us spent our fair share of time with Tony and his family in Rochester this semester. The fun started spring break and for some reason, his family really liked us and kept inviting us back. It was super nice of them to welcome us like family especially on days like Easter and Mother's Day when home was just too far for some of us. I'll definitely miss DJ-ing the two-hour drive and visiting my second family that so awesomely adopted us this year.

Wordless Wednesday: Leaving our Mark

Last Friday while our bosses were off at the annual golf outing, Sam and I decided to leave our mark in one of their offices. We had already gotten Jeff back in December when we wrapped his office so this time we photocopied six beautiful pictures of ourselves and did a little decorating in Jon's work area. There may or may not have been 250 sheets. He will find them for months to come.

Wordless Wednesday: Adventures with Nina

Crushing my Ithaca bucket list with the help of Nina. This week we jumped off a 45-foot rock, swam in a gorge and she made me my first banana split! Here's our fun in photos: