Meeting a Hero, Football Frenzy, and Peter Pan

The Wednesday before last, I was presented with an amazing opportunity. I, along with a few girls from my dorm, had the opportunity to meet and pray the Rosary with Father Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C. Father Hesburgh is the President Emeritus of Notre Dame and was responsible for admitting women to the University. This year is the 40th year of women's education at Notre Dame, so meeting the man responsible for that was extra special.

Father Hesburgh is an incredibly accomplished person: He was chairman of the Civil Rights Commission, chairman of the Rockefeller Foundation, and a founder of the People for the American Way. He won the Presidential Medal of Freedom (which was on display in his office) and holds the Guinness World Record for the most honorary degrees (150).

We traveled up to Father Hesburgh's 13th floor office in the eponymous Hesburgh Library (with the famous "Touchdown Jesus" mural on the south-facing wall) and were allowed to look around his meeting room while we waited for him. There were all kinds of things on display - awards, tribal art, model spacecraft, photographs, and letters from all sorts of notable people. We peeked in his tiny private chapel before we gathered to pray the Rosary. 

When we finished, he told us, "When you die, and you all reach the pearly gates, and you are asked what you have done with your lives, you can say, I am a daughter of Our Lady, and I went to Our Lady's University. And I'm pretty sure they have to let you in after that." It was awesome.

After that, Father Hesburgh allowed us to poke around his office (filled with even more cool stuff and boasting an incredible view of campus) and he answered a few of our questions, such as, "What was Martin Luther King like?" 

The magnificent view of campus from Father
Hesburgh's office window

Meeting Father Hesburgh - one of my personal heroes - was a dream come true, a definite check off my "Notre Dame Bucket List," and something I would love to do again. 

In other news, you might have possibly heard this, but NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL IS GOING TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! They crushed the Trojans of USC on Saturday night, but unfortunately there were no nearby fountains for me to jump in, so I had to settle for doing a happy dance around my living room. 

Last bit of business: While I was home for Thanksgiving, I had the pleasure of seeing my alma mater, Cardinal O'Hara's, production of Peter Pan. Check this out, folks! It's a wonderfully fun show and great for families (plus my brother is in it and he wears a fake beard). 

Cheer, Cheer for Old Notre Dame

Again, I'm terrible update-wise. I'm sorry. Being a college student is a full-time job!

I had a really nice fall break and hit the ground running as soon as I got back to campus. Here's some stuff that I've been up to lately: going to football games, studying, writing papers, reading about football, exploring campus, picking courses for next semester, watching movies (Skyfall was awesome), tweeting about football, sleeping in, playing in charity ping pong tournaments, and generally thinking about football. Did I mention football?

So. Notre Dame's football team is 10-0. IT'S AWESOME. This fantastic undefeated season hasn't been without a few bumps (namely a nailbiter against Pittsburgh last weekend that involved three overtimes). But all is well! We are protecting that zero from Wake Forest this weekend, and USC the weekend after!

My dad and I on the field of Notre Dame Stadium
before the Irish win against Pittsburgh

By the way, shout-out to Texas A&M for beating Alabama! Gig 'em, Aggies! (Insert thumbs-up here.)

Anyway, I'm getting close to the mad dash to Christmas! Next Tuesday starts my Thanksgiving break, and after that I officially register for next semester's courses in the thrilling/dreaded process known as DART, hand in two big papers, and then prepare for finals! (Imagine my excitement.)

GO IRISH! BEAT DEACONS!