Hey Everyone!
Its great to talk to you all again! I hope your holiday period was fantastic, your applications are in and you will hear back from our admissions department soon, if you already haven’t! I’ll bet that in a few months’ time, we will be welcoming you into the Loyola family!
Coming to Loyola, and moving to Chicago, is a big event in your life. I know that I have learned some amazing things. I’ve written before about the many opportunities that are available in a city like Chicago – going out to eat at wonderful restaurants, experiencing nightlife in the Magnificent Mile, or sampling cultural delights, such as the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum of Natural History, or a tour of Chicago’s architecture.
The thing is that sometimes, especially in the unusually cold weather that we have been experiencing recently, you really don’t want to be any further than one mile from your residence hall and the warm, snug confines of your bed. So today, I’d like to give you some ideas of ways you can have a great weekend, and never virtually leave the main Lakeshore campus.
First, take advantage of Loyola’s Halas recreation center. I do my best to go to the gym five times a week, and it definitely pays off. If you head there straight after class, you can work out, have a shower, go and have lunch or dinner, and be awake, alert and enthusiastic for your homework and assignments. Not only does getting regular exercise help to maintain your health, but studies have shown that people who work out at least 3 times a week gain significant advantages in mental acuity and dexterity over those who do not. And the other great thing is that Halas is currently undergoing a massive renovation, which will lead to a more luxurious and spacious recreation center by Fall 2014, including a full Olympic swimming pool. So, when you arrive on campus in August, you will enjoy a fitness center that is better than has ever been seen at Loyola.
Second, there is so much that you can do to entertain yourself on campus. The Department of Programming (DOP) puts on a variety of enjoyable activities throughout each semester. These can be as small as the trivia nights I like to attend, or as big as a 300 person all-day ski-trip that I took in my freshman year! Not only are there individual events, but there are also themed events that take place throughout the semester. Soon, Colossus, DOP’s Spring concert series, will be taking place, with Ke$ha performing – not going to lie, I’m a little bit excited! From different movies screened 4 or 5 times a week for free on campus, to huge events, you should go straight to DOP!
Moreover, don’t forget about Loyola’s Division 1 NCAA sports program! Recently, our Men’s volleyball program gained the top ranking in the country – such a stunning achievement! You can attend almost all games, whether its rugby, basketball, soccer or volleyball, for free as a Loyola student, and also get tons of cool gear for free!
Finally, modern technology has given us the ability to be able to never leave our residence hall on a lazy weekend and still have a great time. Not only can you get basic food delivered, like pizza, but through websites such as grubhub.com, you can get an incredible variety of food delivered. Browsing through hundreds of restaurants representing dozens of different styles of food, you select the individual items off of the menu, pay, and in less than an hour you can enjoy a five-star meal in the comfort of your residence hall. Add in Loyola’s full-service cable system, an HDMI cable to connect to your laptop and a Netflix account, and you’re set for the next six hours. All that remains is to throw some popcorn into your microwave, invite friends over, and you have a party!
Here at Loyola, we do a lot to ensure that you’ll enjoy your experience here. Chicago is fantastic, and you should explore it as much as you possibly can. But in the event that you just want to be a little lazy, and don’t want to go out on a weekend, we’ve got you covered there too.
All the best, and see you soon!
James