Mac’n’cheese for Dinner

Sammy Luffy, 1st Year Global Health

I have found that my time at Rollins has been characterized by a few recurring themes:
1) Potlucks with some truly inspiring and wonderful friends;
2) Informational (and a bit stressful) meetings with my faculty advisor about future plans;
3) Weekend walks and (sometimes) runs through Lullwater Park;
4) Days that consist of class, then work, then a meeting, another class, another meeting, and then
5) Mac’n’cheese for dinner; and
6) Late nights staying up to do homework.

If you are anything like me, future Rollins student, you tend to get really excited about starting a new chapter in your life (such as graduate school) and decide to throw yourself heavy into everything! (John Mayer reference, anyone?) For me, entering graduate school as a student at Rollins has been a great opportunity for me to get involved in many aspects of student life, as well as gain practical work experience and make great friends!

I have a job through the Rollins Earn and Learn (REAL) Program and find myself balancing a full class schedule with my work schedule. Some days, as I have mentioned above, require me to go to school for class in the morning, then drive to work during the middle of the day, and then head back to school for meetings and classes in the evenings. After the school/work day is over, though, that’s just the beginning!

I oftentimes head home and, to the dismay of my roommates who are wonderful cooks, I make an entire box of mac’n’cheese for dinner. As a public health student, I always balance it out with a salad and some fresh fruits and veggies, but sometimes I just need some classic mac’n’cheese from a box to get me through the long night ahead. As a night owl, I feel that I do my best work in the evenings, so finish homework assignments, like readings and papers, at my desk in my room with a large mug of hot tea.

To balance out some of the stress that comes with a full work and class schedule plus homework, I have been lucky enough to create a truly wonderful and supportive friend group at Rollins. We are in many classes and student organizations together, so spend our lunch hours talking about weekend plans and the theme of our next potluck. We are able to lean on each other during stressful weeks and I truly believe these relationships have been instrumental to making it through my day-to-day life at Rollins. Many of my friends, thankfully, do not get as stressed out as I do, so I find it very helpful and grounding to talk with them about whatever assignment is making me a bit nuts.