The autumn is a very festive time in South Asia. This Sunday, members of South Asian Students, Dharmic Students Association, and Muslim Students Association celebrated Diwali and Eid! There was music, dancing, and of course yummy food!

The Eid/Diwali dinner is one of the biggest events of the semester for each club and it is a great way for students who celebrate these holidays to celebrate and wear their fancy clothes. But it is also a really great way for students and friends who don’t celebrate to learn about the culture and to have fun (and did I mention the wonderful food?)

After a stressful few weeks of midterms, lab reports, and readings, tonight was a great way to spend time with friends and kick-off the holiday season.

This weekend was family weekend at Bryn Mawr and it was a great weekend for families and students! Now let’s be real, a few years ago, I’d be so embarrassed for my family to come visit me in school (clarification, high school, not college), but now at Bryn Mawr, it is a weekend that I can’t wait for. It is always so wonderful to see the proud looks on my parents face when they see all that I am doing.

Last night in Thomas Great Hall, there was a concert including the Bi-Co Orchestra, Chorale and many acapella groups. The concert ran for about an hour and a half and was well received by parents (of course parents are going to tell you how good you are though.) The concert ended with the college hymn performed by the orchestra, chorale, and the college’s offical acapella group, the Night Owls.

The orchestra had a very interesting time playing in TGH. We usually rehearse and play our concerts at Marshall Auditorium at Haverford-the acoustics in TGH was very weird. However, our conductor said we did a great job, so I think the orchestra is pretty versatile.

The orchestra will play again next weekend at Haverford’s family weekend, with our full concert on November 21st at Haverford!

Last weekend, I attended and volunteered at the Scleroderma Walk in Philadelphia. I have been going to this walk for twelve plus years to support my aunt.

Our team!

Not many people know about scleroderma, let alone the walk to fight it. “Scleroderma, or systemic sclerosis, is a chronic connective tissue disease generally classified as one of the autoimmune rheumatic diseases.”* This walk raises money to fund research to find a cure for this disease. It is a great event with tons of people and you can really feel the love. It is always so great to see how many family members and friends come to support their loved ones. The Scleroderma walk takes place every year on the first Sunday of October, and I am proud to say that I have been to every walk since our team formed. The walk itself is a total of three miles along the Schuylkill River on Kelly Drive.

Handing out t-shirts.

Volunteering at the walk is always great and makes me feel good. My two friends (who are like my sisters) and I have been labeled the “t-shirt girls” as we are always assigned to the t-shirt table year after year. The last few years, my younger sister and cousin have also joined in on the action.

If you have anytime next October, be sure to check out this amazing event to find a cure for Scleroderma!

*Information was found on the Scleroderma foundation website.

Dancing in the Denbigh Dance Studio

This week, I danced in the Denbigh Dance Studio for the first time this semester. I am choreographing a group dance to Coldplay’s Viva La Vida for the Fall Student Dance Concert. This is my first time choreographing a piece of my own for a real dance show, and I am really excited and a little bit nervous.

We all know just how beautiful Bryn Mawr’s campus is, but picture dancing, any kind of dance, in one of the beautiful studios. With the charming ceilings, big windows, chandeliers, and of course the beautiful pianos. I remember when I was touring Bryn Mawr (for the third time,) my eyes lit up when the tour guide pointed to the top of the Pems and told me that the dance studio is up there, and I gave my mom the look. You know the look? The “OMG this is so exciting, but I’m going to play it cool” look? That one.

Pembroke Dance Studio

Tap Duet “Don’t”-Fall Student Dance Concert (2014). PC to Maria McGurrin

I have been dancing since I was two, and danced all through out high school, competing with my dance school at several dance competitions. Coming to college, I really wanted to keep up with it because dance has always been such a huge part of my life, I didn’t want to lose it. In my short time at Bryn Mawr, I have had the the opportunity to take Ballet in the beautiful Pembroke Dance Studio, with Chandra Moss-Thorne (she is amazing), dancing to live piano music. I also have taken advantage of the Fall Student Dance Concert last year, co-choreographing a tap duet to Ed Sheeran’s Don’t. (We’ll be doing another tap routine to Sing, because Ed Sheeran is amazing, and I am slightly obsessed.) Also, as a potential dance minor or double major, I took a lecture course with Dr. Caruso-Haviland, and learned a ton about dance history.

If you every have a chance, please do take a dance class! Whether it be beginning ballet or beginning hip-hop, take a chance, just to dance in the beautiful dance studios here at Bryn Mawr!