Hallow-homecoming!

This past weekend JMU celebrated homecoming. All last week there were fun events leading up to the big game day on Saturday such as the annual passing out of the “Purple Out” t-shirts, pimping your ride with JMU spirit, and the pep rally on the Commons.  It was a time when students got to really show their school spirit and love for JMU and see alumni.  It was also Halloween weekend so there were festivities for the holiday as well.  In fact, many people were calling last weekend “Hallow-homecoming.”  There were many activities going on between Halloween and actual homecoming.  It was a fun, yet busy weekend!

Ducks swimming in the arboretum pond

On Friday, my boyfriend (who attends Virginia Tech), came to visit.  The weather was so nice Friday afternoon we decided to go for a walk in the arboretum and enjoy all the pretty fall colors in the trees. After yet another stressful week, it was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of school and enjoy Mother Nature and her beauty.  Hiking and being outside is one of my favorite things to do to de-stress.  While on our walk we were able to see a few different types of animals as well.  We enjoyed feeding the ducks by the pond as well as seeing different types of birds.  We even spotted a ground hog crawling around not too far from us. In my opinion, there is nothing better then being able to listen to the trees rustle in the wind and hear different animals communicate.  Being in epidemiology I have become even more interested in the environment and how diseases can spread within the environment and between animals.  For instance, I did a blog in the beginning of the semester on an outbreak of dolphin deaths in my hometown, which sparked my interest.  I was also interested to hear about the spread of bird diseases in African from one of our guest speakers in class.  Events such as these are interesting to me and are not only important to study for the animal’s health, but even human health. 

Let's go JMU Duuuukes!

Next came Saturday and the homecoming football game! My boyfriend and I not only went to the game, but we also enjoyed tailgating beforehand.  While tailgating I was able spend some time with my older brother, John, who is an alumus of JMU, and also see other fellow alumni that I knew who graduated last year. The actual football game was fun too.  The Dukes won against Villanova and afterwards it was time to celebrate! Overall, the weekend was filled with fun, memorable activities, and a big part of what made the weekend so enjoyable was the beautiful fall weather!