Dancing & basketball

As a student at UConn, it's natural to be a sports fan, especially when it comes to basketball. I mostly go to the Women's games and the past few have been really exciting. At the XL Center in Hartford, there was a pink game for breast cancer awareness. Although we lost to Baylor, it was still an awesome atmosphere. 

 

My sister and I went to the game together. Above is a panorama of the XL Center- there were pink shirts on every seat for the fans to wear. 

It's almost March, which means it's almost St. Patrick's Day! This is huge for me because I am in UConn Irish, an Irish step dancing club on campus. We have many performances coming up, so I've been getting ready! We recently performed at HuskyTHON on campus, which is an 18-hour dance marathon to benefit Connecticut Children's Medical Center. It's always fun to teach people to Irish dance!

Above is a group shot of all of us who danced at HuskyTHON. 

Below are me and Rose, who's our president and a great friend of mine. 

I love our group of girls- everyone is exceptional.

As if I needed another reason to want summer to come sooner... I just booked my flight to Germany! I am going in August and staying for 2 weeks. My friend Johanna lives in Berlin and I can't wait to visit her! She was an exchange student to my high school my senior year (3 years ago) and we've kept in contact ever since then. This will be my first time travelling outside North America and my first time travelling solo. It should be quite the adventure!

First time going to Europe! TXL is Tegel airport in Berlin. 

Just last night, my friends from UConn and I went to Willimantic Brewing Co. (Willibrew) for Stein night! You can bring in any kind of "drinking vessel" to fill with their signature beers. Luckily, I am from an Irish family, so of course we had a stein in our house.

On top are my friends Sam, Alex, Jared, and Mike. 

My friend Kerri and I are below. 

It was a great night!

Aside from fun social events, my life has had some great moments recently. I saw my first births a couple weeks ago- one a natural birth and one a c-section. In both situations, it was incredible!!! I am so fascinated by the birthing process and the wondrous joy it brings. Being in my maternity rotation has certainly been enticing me to become a midwife so I can be surrounded by this life-changing experience for my whole life. The ability to be both a nurse and a teacher for women and families who are having a baby is so special and I am lucky to be part of this journey. 

In other exciting news, I am still going strong with my research on women's experiences of home birth. I will be filling out the IRB paperwork soon and finishing up my literature review. Hopefully I can find time to balance it all! I always make time for things that are important to me, so I think it will turn out just fine. :)

Thanks for reading!

-H