It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

By Marissa Miles, Class of 2013


Ahh... another semester of college down. I can't decide what about this makes me happier, the thought of finally having time to sleep at night, or the fact that I won't be seeing the inside of the library for at least a solid month. It's refreshing to know that every time coach pulls us into a huddle to talk about increasing our energy, I won't automatically think of the thermodynamics behind it. And when she draws up an inbounds play at a timeout, I won't accidentally mistake the arrows for the movement of electrons across a bond rather than the movement of the ball across the floor. So you caught me, I'm a certified nerd. I guess that’s something that one should expect once they've found friendship with the afterhours security guard at the library and is on first name basis with the Safe Ride driver that brings you home after a long night hidden away in the stacks studying.


Finals week at Case is officially OVER! Now, I don't know if you've ever experienced anything like it before, but finals week here is without a doubt the craziest time of the year. Campus immediately becomes the walking grounds for a few thousand exhausted, zombie-like individuals making the trek to a horrifying 3 hour final, giant cup of coffee in hand. I'm trying to decide what about finals week was more entertaining, witnessing teammate Caitlin Rudge take a 5 Hour Energy and then fall asleep an hour later or watching Chelsea Lasky nap face first into her open Physics book. Despite all the late nights and hard work, all that matters now is that it's over, and somehow we made it out alive.

So now we're on to one of the most fun times of the year, winter break. A few days ago, campus shut down, and the majority of Case Western students made their ways home for the holidays. We however, just relocated to a different part of campus. For a few days now, and then for quite a few more after Christmas, our team all moves in together while we're here for winter practice and a few games. Sure, there's moments when being the only people on campus and spending entirely too much time together makes us want to kill each other, but for the most part we have a ton of fun. Who wouldn't enjoy a day full of basketball, food, movies, and NO class. It's spectacular. Although it's true that some mornings when I wake up in this different living situation I miss the sounds of Erica obnoxiously blowing her nose, I now know that Lauren's right downstairs ready at any moment to spit a rap for us. Living with my other teammates over Winter Break is definitely a bonding experience, and you really get the opportunity to learn more about each other than we already knew. For example, today I saw an old photo of Sarah Milligan dressed as a nun (we'll leave it at that).

I'm excited to beat Wooster on Sunday, head home for a few days with the family, and then get right back here to Cleveland to prepare for our Holiday tournament. A few great basketball games, a team holiday party, and a whole lot of bonding... they don't call it the most wonderful time of the year for nothing. Happy holidays!

Marissa