‘Twas the night before winter break when all through DU, students were ready to leave as finals were over and through. Some packed up their bags and headed for DIA for a nice, relaxing six weeks away. Others stayed on campus in their small squeaky beds, while nightmares of the semester system danced in their heads. 

Willow Corvus stayed on campus and became the plant parent for floor two of Dimond. She explained, “I made a little indoor garden area in the C Pod since I stayed over break. People gave me all their plants so I decided to make a little setup.” 

While there may have been no mistletoe among the plants of Dimond, love was sure in the air for others. Heading right down Santa Claus lane, Mel Erftmier proudly “drove a Benz as my go-to car while I was at home.” 

All Erftmier wanted for Christmas was to turn heads at all the stoplights, but some other students got some gifts they did not ask for. Over in Tampa Bay, Lindsey Maronn got to experience her first White Christmas—something she was not dreaming of. 

“I didn’t think I would ever experience snow in Florida, and I wish I hadn’t. I went home to avoid the snow, not be a part of it,” Maronn recalled. 

Speaking of firsts, Sonya Haber-Levin had a Feliz Navidad as she “started a Duolingo streak over break to hopefully get better at Spanish.” 

As Haber-Levin was showing off her Spanish skills underneath the tree, Owen Charles was running around it. “I ran the Honolulu Marathon on December 10,” he said. 

Charles had been training with the DU Running Club during the Fall Quarter and all the effort helped him complete his first marathon in 3 hours, 50 minutes.

“When I first completed the marathon, I was totally exhausted. I couldn’t really process what I had done, but I knew I was really happy I had finished. The sense of self-fulfillment stayed with me over all of Winter Break,” Charles recalled.

Malayna Betz also stayed active over break in her one winter wonderland by “skiing in Winter Park almost every day.” 

While Betz was becoming a professional, it seemed like another was getting replaced. Rudolph formed a new rivalry with freshman Nic Lambert. “I got my ears pierced at Claire’s,” Lambert said, explaining how he got his newly bedazzled red ears. 

A lot can happen in the course of six weeks, from marathons to plant moms to frosty pink cheeks. Now it is time for the next 10 weeks of class, so good luck to everyone in hopes that all classes they shall pass.