On the Heels of Legends We Rise to Victory

Spring has sprung in South Bend, and I have to say, I think it's my favorite season here. The trees and flowers are blooming in a riot of color, the birds are chirping, and flip flops and shorts are slowly creeping out of closets and drawers. Campus is thawing, and spring fever is in full force.

With the arrival of this green season comes all sorts of outdoor activities that would probably have caused hypothermia and untimely death during the winter.

Two weeks ago, my dad came out to South Bend to visit me for my hall's Father-Daughter Weekend. He took me out for off-campus food (always sought-after when parents come to visit), we go karted, and we even got a tour of Notre Dame Stadium, fulfilling a bucket-list goal for the both of us.

My dad and I with the famous Play Like
a Champion Today sign

Last weekend was the annual Blue Gold Game, in which the football team is divided into (shockingly) a Blue team and a Gold team and plays a spring scrimmage. All sorts of football festivities were on the agenda for the weekend like tailgating, Candlelight Dinner, and the release of the 2013 Shirt (seen below). The Shirt is a yearly tradition - everyone in the student section (and most other Notre Dame fans) wear it to every football game. Planned by a very secretive committee of students, the Shirt is a symbol of Notre Dame football and looks really cool on national TV.

The 2013 Shirt

I went to the game itself, which was played on a chilly but brilliantly sunny afternoon. I am SO EXCITED (!!!) for football season, especially considering Notre Dame's stellar recruiting class and the return of several key contributors from last year's 12-1 squad, including quarterback Everett Golson.

This past weekend was also filled with fun stuff. On Saturday afternoon, students flocked to Saint Mary's Lake to catch the 25th Annual Fisher Regatta. Fisher Hall hosts the annual tradition, in which each dorm builds its own boat out of odds and ends and attempts to sail it across the lake. My dorm's boat, seaworthy though she was, didn't make it too far before the crew had to jump ship and doggy-paddle it across the cold lake. That may have been because it was made out of a wood frame, several sealed buckets, and a piece of lattice fencing.

Spectators await the start of the Fisher Regatta

I only have two days of class left, and then four reading days before final exams start next Monday. It's hard to believe an academic year has already passed! I thought it was hard to study for finals before Christmas break, but attempting to hit the books when the weather is so lovely (today was 75 degrees and full of spring sunshine) is nigh impossible. Of course, I'm sure it will all work out, but that Philosophy paper is calling my name, so I'd better get back to it......

Time Flies

They really mean it when they say "time flies when you're having fun." Seriously. I did a double-take when I looked at my calendar and it said today is April 1. Hold on - where did January, February, and March go? With a sturdy pair of boots and a winter coat that looks like a sleeping bag with arms, I have survived (mostly) the harsh South Bend winter, and am ardently awaiting the first blooms of spring. (Hurry up.)

I've been up to my eyeballs with schoolwork and other fun stuff. Classes are interesting and challenging  as ever, and it's come to be that time of the semester when I have to start thinking about thenext semester's classes. Scary.

I've also done all kinds of fun stuff in the past few weeks. In February, I went to the Bengal Bouts finals, and it was definitely one of the coolest and most inspiring things I've seen all year. Bengal Bouts is the largest amateur boxing tournament in the world. Fighting by the motto "Strong bodies fight, that weak bodies may be nourished," over 200 Notre Dame men train for months leading up to the bouts and raise money for Notre Dame's Holy Cross missions in Bangladesh. (Women box in their own tournament, Baraka Bouts, which takes place in November.)

Bengal Bouts finals in the Purcell Pavilion

While I was home for spring break, my dad and I hopped the train to New York City to see the men's basketball team play in their final Big East tournament. We watched the Irish defeat Marquette (while wearing those...eye-catching...uniforms). We had a great time at Madison Square Garden, even though our boys lost to Louisville the next night.

My dad and I at Madison Square Garden -
note shamrock scarf

I made a quick trip home for Easter - which was lovely - and had the wonderful surprise of catching the Phillies game on Friday night with my brother and our friends. Though the Phils lost to the Blue Jays, we had a blast hanging out in the Diamond Club, eating Chickie's and Pete's crab fries, and generally celebrating the return of baseball season.

My view from the Diamond Club

Like I said, I've been quite the busy bee. With only a little over a month of school to go, I have no doubt that I'll have just as many irons in the fire (if not more). Check back for my progress! And for my daily musings, follow me on Twitter @nicolemcalee!