Sydney in New York City

NYU - Freshman - Liberal Studies - Swimmer - Journalism

[sydneyp1234]

Finals

Free donuts, coffee, and hot chocolate from the wonderful people in charge of Rubin for the first day of finals week! I love Rubin.

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It snowed so much today! ❄️⛄️😁

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Violet Games with my girls! All the varsity teams competed against each other in tug of war, dodgeball, volleyball, and basketball. Women's swimming was the tug of war champs!

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Washington Square Christmas tree lighting with some friends last night. Caroling in the freezing cold.. So much holiday spirit this week.

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ECACs swimming champions! I love these girls. What an exhausting but amazing weekend with some fast swimming.

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Pictures from the Christmas tree lighting at the Rockefeller center last week! We went on a last minute whim... I was in sweatpants at dinner and we decided to go. So amazing to go to something so quickly and easily that everyone else in the country is watching on TV.

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Thanksgiving in Jersey

I got to spend Thanksgiving in New Jersey with my friend Lindsey who I swim with! It was such a nice break where we basically just watched movies, slept, and ate. I'm so thankful that I have awesome friends who let me spend Thanksgiving with their families since I didn't make it back home to mine. I haven't seen my parents since August and I'm excited to see them in less than three weeks! It's been a busy, crazy, and exciting semester. I can't believe it's already almost over. Time flies and I'm not sure how I feel about this semester already being over. College is already going by way too quickly!

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Oh yeah, I swim!

Taper. Every swimmers favorite word. The best time of the year. Equal to Christmas (even better since it's near the holiday season). The one time of year we finally get to rest and recover our bodies after months of tough training. Taper starts next week for us! After two weeks of tapering, we swim at a huge meet called ECACs in about two weeks. I'm so ready to race fast. I picked up my kneeskin (the suit swimmers wear at big, important meets) today and it makes me even more excited. I'm psyched for our whole team. It's going to be an awesome meet and there's going to be a lot of fast races!

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My favorite little shortcut whenever I walk home from eating at Weinstein! The ivy on the buildings is beautiful. I think some of the buildings are language buildings for NYU, residences, and a restaurant, but I've never been inside any of them.

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Some pieces of art I found particularly beautiful at the Metropolitan Museum of Art a week or so ago. My Cultural Foundations class in Liberal Studies has surprisingly helped me find an unexpected fascination with ancient art...

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S’mores Concoction from Max Brenner! So delicious. We decided to explore some yummy NY restaurants instead of the dining halls for my friend’s 18th birthday. Sometimes you gotta splurge a little and get out of the dining halls.

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The leaves are changing. Walking to and from class is beautiful in summer and fall so far. I'll let you know about winter and spring when I get there, but I'm sure you all won't be disappointed. :)

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I apologize for the bad quality and that this is the only picture I have for this... It was a busy weekend. These are some posters my friend made me before the meet for some pre-meet motivation. :)

This past weekend was our first travel meet! We rode a bus to Rochester and swam against University of Rochester, Brandeis University, and Canisius College. We won against all teams except Canisius College, but it was close for sure. 

It was so awesome to finally be able to travel away for a college meet. I've been waiting to be a college athlete for so long, and now it is finally happening!

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Hudson Pier, Times Square, the American Museum of Natural History, and gelato with some recruits for the swim team this weekend!

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Today I got out of the city since it's fall break and we have two extra days off this week. My roommate and I took the train up to Hudson Highlands State Park to hike the Breakneck Ridge trail. It was incredible! We rock scrambled up boulders, wandered through the woods, and had to trek to and from the Cold Spring Station an extra two miles each way. We even took naps/tanned for a little while at the peak! Total hike mileage was around 10 miles. Today was the first time I've gotten out of the city since I moved here. I'm absolutely in love with the city, but it was so nice to get back to nature-especially during the fall while the leaves are changing. And, at the end of the hike we treated ourselves to some Go Go Pops from a local ice cream and coffee shop. So delicious!

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Saturday morning sunrise at Washington Square Park

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This is the front of Rubin Hall and a view from my floor-mate's window. Some people may think Rubin can be the worst dorm because its lack of air conditioning and sometimes smaller rooms, but I absolutely love it. We are on Fifth Ave, which is fun to write on postcards to families and friends. Our lobby is beautiful, we have hardwood flooring, everyone in Rubin is so friendly. During Welcome Week we bond over how hot it is, and all the RAs that I know are awesome. I love Rubin Hall. It's definitely the perfect new home for my first year away from my parents.