Winter Break // by Kaitlyn

My New Years Resolutions for 2012:

Every year I write my new years resolutions down in my private journal, stashed away in a secret hiding spot for most of the year I hardly glance at them and pretty much every year forget about them until it is two days before New Years and I realize I haven't accomplished anything on my list. So this year I am trying something new, I am posting my New Years Resolutions for all of you to see making them more public in hopes that I might actually finish some if not most of them.

- Get good grades
- Win NCAAs
- Get a paying summer job
- Learn how to golf
- Read all of Chelsea Handler's books
- Start photography again
- Go to a concert
- Do 8 minute abs 4 times a week (click here for the video!)
- Keep my room clean
- travel to a new state
- learn how to cook
- visit the beach more often
- Go to a Giants game
- Visit more museums
- Keep in better touch with high school friends
- Get more sleep

Winter Break // by Kelsey

Coming back to SoCal for winter break is probably one of my favorite parts of the holidays. I get to spend time with everyone in my family, something that only happens this time of year. AND I get to go to my favorite Mexican places: Don Gustavo's, El Adobe, and of course Pedro's Tacos.

This year, after spending time at home I traveled to Arizona for New Year's Eve with some girls in my sorority, and we stayed for the Fiesta Bowl. Even though the seating in the student section was random, a bunch of us polo girls ended up sitting together which was SO much fun!

The game was a heartbreaker, but the experience as a whole was definitely a positive one. Here's a video that I think sums it all up the best. My favorite quote is towards end when the commentator talks about how far the team has come. An 11-2 record used to be unattainable for Stanford Football, and now it is a "disappointment." Regardless of the outcome of that game, I know I speak for EVERY Stanford Football fan in saying that we are so proud of this team!!

Now that I'm a few weeks into Winter Quarter and football season is officially over, we are just about to start playing OUR games. I could not be more excited. We are all chomping at the bit to get some real competition going and begin what is going to be an EPIC season. Here we go girls!

Winter Break // by Alyssa

This past winter break was filled with a bunch of new experiences and lots of travel. Right after training camp I went to Tahoe with my family. My grandparents own a house at Northstar on the North Shore and we just recently renovated the house. Because we added on to the house we were able to fit the ENTIRE family into the house….. 15 people! Needless to say I got absolutely no alone time and was constantly interrupted during the skype sessions I tried to have. At one point I was talking to my boyfriend Tommy and my grandmother (Nonnie) came downstairs, stole my computer and proceeded to talk and introduce Tommy to the cousins. Luckily he was a good sport and totally went along with it, and it ended up being an amazing Christmas. Unfortunately there was no snow but it made it a lot easier to swim in the outside pool.

After Christmas, we headed back down the mountain to Marin. Kaitlyn and I spent all of the gift cards we had and a little bit of our own hard-earned money within a two-day shopping spree. Once I had spent all of my money it was time for me to head south to the land of the sun (Orange County). Tommy is from Mission Viejo and I was able to spend New Years with him and his family. I am proud to say that I learned how to play Hearts over Christmas and challenged Tommy, his brother, and Tommy’s roommate Mickey to a match…. And I won!!!!The next stop on my winter break journey was to Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl. It was my first time driving to Arizona and it was my first Bowl Game ever! On the day of the game, Stanford hosted a free concert for Stanford Students and Alumni. It was the first concert I have ever been to! I was able to be first row for Brett Michaels, LMFAO and Kesha. It was an amazing experience and I really look forward to going to more concerts in the future.

 

The game itself was exciting and the atmosphere was electric. I don’t think I have ever been in an indoor area with that many people. On the way back to socal from Arizona, Tommy and I stopped at
a small town at the edge of Arizona called Quartzsite. Amazingly we ran into Kelsey, Cassie and Ashley (literally in the middle of nowhere). What are the chances of that??? Then it was time to head back up to Stanford for training camp.

For training camp, Kelsey and I both stayed at a club family house in Los Altos. The Richards family was extremely kind and generous. Kelsey and I fully enjoyed the monster TV they had set up in the room we were staying in and we had an epic TV night where we watched the newest episode of Revenge. Other than that I just moved back into my sorority and I am excited to start winter quarter and to finally start our season!

Studying Hot Spots // by Monica

In the spirit of dead week and finals, I thought it may be helpful to share my top 5 study places on campus…

5. Your room

Pro: No planning ahead or moving your laptop, notes, or 20 lb. books required, and comes complete with desk.

Con: My bed, which is only 2 feet away, looks more and more comfortable with every page I study… Studying here is really only good for an hour at a time before napping kicks in.

4. A friend/teammate’s room

This year, I tend to venture to Cassie’s room (i.e. upstairs) for a change of scenery. Studying with someone definitely cuts out the naptime, and can help you focus

Con: Our study breaks occur every 5 minutes, and often last longer that the studying themselves. What can I say, YouTube videos + Cassie = way more fun than studying

3. An off campus study spot, such as a coffee shop

Pro: One word- caffeine. No problem focusing here

Con: One word-caffeine. Good luck getting sleep tonight

2. The library of whatever subject you’re studying (ex: for chemistry, try venturing to Swain Chem Library… Have a public policy paper to finish? Head over to the Law Library!)

Pro: If you were ever that kid who thought sleeping with your history book under your pillow somehow caused osmosis to move all the info from the book into your head for an upcoming exam, think of this study place as an updated version of that.

Con: Getting a table at any library on campus during dead/finals week is a near impossible feat.

1. The Mausoleum!!!

Pro: What better way to get the thinking flowing that spending some quality time with our school’s founders? I mean, it is “dead” week, isn’t it?

Con: Zombies, everywhere.

Go Big or Go Home! // by Kelsey

The final week before Thanksgiving break was SO epic! On campus, we call it Big Game week and that’s because on that Saturday we play Cal in football as well as some other sports, like Men’s Polo. The entire campus is flooded with spirit. Here are some photos showing how we get ourselves pumped up!

Here's a shot of the fountain in Old Union. All of the fountains on campus get dyed red for the entire week.

There's also the tradition of the "Bearial" where we "sacrifice" a stuffed bear at the top of the Claw sculpture in White Plaza

 

And then there is the LARGEST sign I have ever seen. It covers the entire face of Meyer Library!

As you can see, we get REALLY into this rivalry. There's also the fight over "The Axe." Whoever wins Big Game gets to keep The Axe until the two teams meet again. There’s a story behind the Axe and our rivalry with Cal—click here to check it out!

This year at Big Game, all the returners on our team were presented with NCAA rings that we earned last spring. We had been waiting for this day for what seemed like FOREVER! As you can see, the wait was well worth it…

We got to go down on the field, and at half time all of our names were announced and we saw some bling for the first time! Melissa and Annika, who are currently taking the year off to train for the 2012 Olympics, and one of our graduated seniors Amber were able to make it and go through the ceremony with the rest of the team. I loved having all of them there! Of course our other seniors and captains from last year, Kim and Kimbo, were there in spirit. The freshmen were able to go down to the sideline and watch us, but hopefully next year they will be out on the field getting a ring of their own! Fingers crossed (: Click here to watch the whole thing! (Can you tell we were just a tiny bit excited?!)

Rewind about 2 hours from the time us returners got our rings, and the freshman were involved in a presentation as well… only this time WE were presenting THEM to the rest of the Stanford students! Every year, the freshman class puts together a half time show for one of the Men’s Water Polo games. This year, the upperclassmen chose Big Splash (Stanford vs. Cal). There was a huge crowd of rowdy Cal fans, and although our boys couldn’t quite pull out a win, the freshman still got our own Stanford fans pumped! Me and Cassie choreographed the land part of the dance to Dirty Pop by N’Sync and were SO proud of how they did! I hope they had as much fun with it as I did when I was a freshman (: Watch them do their thaaang – Class of ’15 Synchro Routine.

Big Game week never fails to be even better than the year before. Can’t wait to see what Stanford has in store for us in 2012!