Hi, everyone-

I originally meant for my previous post (“Farewell for now…”) to be it for the spring 2017 semester, but that all changed after the events of this week.  I am sure you have seen on the news the terrible flooding that has occurred as a result of the torrential rains we’ve been attacked with.  And while I’m sure you are familiar with some of the places affected (I-44 and 141, for example), you may not know Eureka, Pacific, or smaller communities affected as well.  I live in Wildwood, just northwest of the Eureka city limits.  This small town is particularly affected in a specific area of their “old town/Central Avenue” area, and multiple businesses were completely flooded in the December 2015 flood.  Imagine their thoughts when they heard it was going to flood nearly as much…then it was changed to as much…then it was changed to more than the record set just over a year ago.  These are people, down-to-earth, hardworking, and kind, who poured blood, sweat, tears, and more dollars than you could imagine into rebuilding their businesses — and here they were, facing the exact same catastrophe (or worse) again.  The distress, hopelessness, and fear was evident in Facebook posts that flooded my news feed.

But then…that distress, hopelessness, and fear changed to resiliency, hope, and courage.  Those hardworking, down-to-earth people recruited and recruited and recruited some more, desperately calling for all hands on deck to fill sandbags, load trailers, and construct massive sandbag walls around all of the Central Avenue businesses in danger of the impending floodwaters.  People of all ages came together to save their beloved little town.  When the crest predictions kept rising, the wall kept rising along with it.  When the water started coming up faster than expected at the crack of dawn one morning, people filled the scene to one-up the water.  When part of the wall collapsed by a restaurant, every effort was made to quickly reconstruct it and pump water out of the building.  Every time another challenge arose, Eureka residents and non-residents alike were there to meet and exceed the challenge.  And when the waters rose, crested, and then began to recede, and the walls were still holding, there were sighs of relief, tears of joy, and thankfulness for all the people who stepped up to help.  The stories starting to circulate — about the National Guard and first responders working right alongside little kids and middle-aged men, the four young men who drove two hours just to help because they “needed to do something,” the Missouri State Highway Patroller spending hours lifting sandbags while on-duty, the unaffected businesses giving out thousands of free meals to volunteers  — are touching, heart-warming, and utterly inspiring.  It’s amazing how much love and support can come out of such a terrible event.

Amidst all of this, where was I?  I must admit — when I first heard the predictions and knew the normal route I took to Fontbonne would be closing, I was selfish.  I was concerned about myself, about my so-called “inconvenience” at getting to finals.  And then I began to think about what so many other people would be going through, losing their homes, businesses, and livelihoods, and realized I had no right to be so concerned about my situation.  Most of all, I felt guilty…guilty for sitting at home or in a classroom, studying my brains out, taking final exams, wrapping the semester up…while other people were out there taking off work or out of school to help sandbag.  I just didn’t feel right about studying and taking gazillions of finals while all this was going on, even though I knew I absolutely had to; I would be facing horrendous grades and the wrath of Fontbonne if I didn’t show up every day this week.

As I’ve now emerged from my next-to-last final (and my last one is online) and the local businesses and homes are emerging from the flood, I’m having my own flood…a flood of gratitude.  Although I was not personally affected by the flood, I still empathize with those who are, and I send my heartfelt love and prayers to them.  And most of all, I consider the small annoyances of battling traffic, late nights up studying, hard finals, and anything else that I may have deemed negative this semester to be blessings in disguise — at least I have the means to attend college, and I safely (and on time!) got to and from all of the finals this week.  I encourage you all to keep that in mind as well, both in the present as finals wrap up and we anxiously await our grades, and in the future, whatever it may hold.

Blessings,

~Anna

If you need a break from studying or if you are beginning your summer break, here are some movies you can watch while waiting out the rain.  They are some of my favorites (in no particular order)

1. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
2. Gone with the Wind
3. The Goonies
4. Dirty Dancing
5. Breakfast at Tiffany”s
6. Cast Away
7. Singin’ in the Rain
8. Jaws
9. Up
10. Mulan

Are you ready for this rain to stop like I am?  Well, to have some fun while it rains here are some ideas to do around St. Louis to make the rainy day blues to go away!

1. Visit the Art Museum-Free
2. Walk around the History Museum-Free
3. Explore at the Science Center-Free
4. Crawl around at the St. Louis City Museum-$12 for adults
5. Embrace the greenery at the Jewel Box in Forest Park- $1 per person!

If you have not been to any of these places I highly recommend going! So what are you waiting for? Put on some rain boots and check out these fun places!

I feel like I started my summer vacay early. (Well, not really, since I do still have to take finals this week). But, I just got back from a trip to Seattle, and it was amazing! Words cannot describe how much I needed this getaway. My fiancé, Johnny, and I went up there and stayed with my cousin and his wife. They live right in the heart of the city, so it was a great location for tourists like us. We were there for an entire week, so we were able to get a lot accomplished! I made a list of things to do, and crossed almost everything off. The things I crossed off were: Space Needle, Pike Place Market, Museum of Pop Culture, the gum wall (it’s literally an entire alley covered in gum), The Weeknd concert, Sounders soccer game, and visit the grave sights of Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Lee. On top of our list, we went to other museums, several new restaurants, and shopping destinations. My favorite evening was the one spent on the beach along the water of the Puget Sound. It was overlooking Mount Rainier during sunset, and was absolutely breathtaking. We built a bonfire and had campfire treats. Nothing beats it! We also managed to watch three Blues games at a local hockey bar. When you’re a St. Louis fan, the world stops when playoff hockey is on. Although it was wet, a bit chilly, and busy week, I had an amazing trip. Seattle is a beautiful city. My cousin that lives there wants to make this trip an annual tradition. So hopefully next year I’ll be describing another Seattle vacation. ‘Til next time!

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I hope you have a lot of fun summer trips planned and a great relaxing break!  If you need some ideas on what to do here is my summer bucket list!

1. Go to Colorado-my brother will be attending grad school here for mechanical engineering!
2. Go kayaking/paddle boarding
3. Camping! And of course make some s’mores!
4. Take the GRE (super fun I know)
5. Go see a movie at the drive-in
6. Go on a random road trip

That’s all I have on my list for now.  If you have any suggestions please let me know!! Have a great summer!!

Hey everyone!!

Welcome to the end of the year! Finals are less than a week away, and I can’t wait to not be a constant ball of stress that always has some form of homework due every single day. I won’t be finished with finals until next Thursday, so I’ve got a long week ahead of me 

But let’s fast forward real quick and talk about summer!!! I’m not sure if it will be a super exciting summer, but I am excited to go back home to be with my family and to also work at Baskin Robbins! I feel like that may be all that I talk about when I go home, but at least it will be the summer season and I hope to work more…

I’m also excited to go to the beach in July for my family vacation. We are going to DESTIN, FL!!! ️ I get to meet up with part of my family that lives in Alabama, and I only get to see them twice a year and I can’t wait to see them because I feel like I never get to see them (hence the twice a year part)…

But that’s about all I know about my summer so far, but I’ll inform you all we get back to school in August!!

peace out and see you all soon,

Morgan

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Living on campus has been a whole new and great experience for me. I have enjoy living on campus and I can’t believe we all have to leave our dorms and rommies soon. In this post I will share about some members of the 4th floor of Saint Joseph Hall, where I live. This is a tribute of “Humans of New York” by Brandon Stanton, which is a photoblog of people that live in New York City. I really enjoy having this short interesting conversations with each one of them, hope you enjoy their different thoughts too.

Octavia

“I am studying Anatomy right now. The best way to learn is through visual for me, so I write down all the information, charts, and some vocabulary words. This helps me lot to remember.”

Lilian

“I like living on campus because of all friendships you can form with the people of your floor, also it was a great experience sharing the room with my cousin!”

Austin

“I like Fontbonne because everyone is friendly and easy to get along with.”

Sarah

“I am a big fan of the Cardinals because they represent Saint Louis and I think they are part of the culture of this city. I love baseball! Since senior year of high school I became a huge fan. I love going to the games, and have good memories about it, I always try to go to the majority of their games during season.”

Carli

“This semester was fun, stressful, and I got closer with so many people.”

Sanita

“In the moment I came to the US, I realized that I need to start all over again, and I think I did great. I already can say that I have met here friends who will stay in my life forever. I have lived on the dorms just for four months, but I already have memories with people that I will remember for a long time.”

Raven

“I love Basketball because I grew up playing it. Also, it is a sport that bonds myself and my family.”

Cecilia

“I enjoy watching Downtown Abby because it is in a different time period. You kind of connect with each one of the characters because of their stories. The most interesting for me is what the servants had to go through at that time. I could say Downtown Abby is a funny, dramatic, and fancy show.”

Max

“I really like Fontbonne because of all friends I have made.”

Noella

“I like Saint Louis because there are more things to do than where I used to live. My favorites places to go are the Zoo and Art Museum at Forest Park.”

Sarah

“I love interacting with the residents and building a community. The friends made during the first year of college are friends a person will have the rest of their life. I am glad I get to be a part of that.”

Cassie and Hannah

“We have had the best time sharing a room together, we have a lot of fun having roommate nights and we are also best friends.”

Maddie

“My favorite place on campus would have to be the AMC. It is the perfect study spot and also great place to hang out with friends.”

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The end of my freshman year has come. It is such a weird mix of emotions. I feel like it has gone by so quickly, which is what I hear a lot of people say. I have made many new friends, moved forward with my education, and so much more.

Often times, everyone is so ready for summer that they forget to reflect back on the year. While I am also excited for summer, it is a good idea to just take a breath and see what you have learned over the past 9 months. Did you accomplish any goals? Did you learn anything new about yourself? Did you meet any new people? Looking back and asking yourself these questions can develop character and success.

I often forget to look back at accomplishments or goals that I had. I often look forward to the next thing without reflection. It is always good to look back, see what you have done, and keep moving forward.

I hope everyone has a great summer and I look forward to seeing you next year!

All of my work as an art major these past 4 years at Fontbonne have culminated in this final event: the senior thesis art show. Time and time again, I was reminded to start early. If you’re an art major (or will be one soon) I highly recommend setting aside time for your own work. This is incredibly difficult considering you most likely have a job and other classwork. It’s very hard to choose between settling in for another night of Netflix or working on your art.

Even though I thought I had given myself adequate time to prepare, it still wasn’t enough. In the long-run, there are just some things that you can’t plan for. Once senior year hit, it was nearly impossible to balance all the things going on in my life and still have time to commit to making works of art that represented me. Now, that being said, many of my classmates were able to pull off his feat with grace. They preserved and exhibited the most beautiful pieces.

I really hope that everyone had a chance to get out and see the show! This is a reminder that there is another gallery opening this Friday from 6-8pm. It features the brilliant work of the MFA and MA students.

I am so fortunate to have landed in such a great department. And that night is one I won’t forget! S/o to my beautiful friends who came to support me.

If you’re considering going into art, I want to encourage you so hard. You gotta go for it. And Fontbonne is the best place to do it.

Thanks to all my amazing professors and mentors–your guidance has been invaluable to me.

I am graduating.

The day has finally come.

I learned so much from going to Fontbonne. I met the most amazing people and made the most amazing friends. Even now in my senior year I’ve made friends! This might sound strange, but I learned how to be. I had such difficulty being myself in school. Every year, it would get a little better. But I’ve never felt so at home and so outwardly myself than when I’m at Fontbonne. I learned how to talk in front of crowds without melting down, how to tackle challenges instead of run from them, and just how to be silly and have fun!

The real heart of Fontbonne is in its people, and  I don’t think that comes as a surprise to anyone. I learned that people are the best. And for someone with generalized anxiety, interacting with others is not always the easiest thing for me.

I am so excited for the future. The financial aspect scares me a little, but I already have a long list of projects I want to get cracking on as soon as I’m a graduate! (Also, post-graduction includes a dog so…you can imagine the levels of joy I’m experiencing).

I just want to tell younger students or soon-to-be freshmen that you’re in the right place. Don’t stress about being liked! You will find your niche, even if it takes a little time, but the people make it easy.

I’ll never forget staging a play composed of entirely text messages in Flores’ theater class, losing to my sister at Sibling Bingo, dying of laughter with my podcast co-host, and sharing a slice of pizza with MVP Mark Douglas (head of the art department) in Applied Design.

There are so many unforgettable memories. I’ll definitely be back. You haven’t seen the last of me, Fontbonne!