Cheers:

Snow. While people don’t seem to enjoy the many blizzards we get on campus, there’s something pleasant about a little white on the ground leading up to Christmas. Though there’s nary a hill to be found on campus for sledding, make sure you bring back your warmest mittens in January, because the snow has just begun!

Rajon Rondo. Many people have yet to realize that in our midst is perhaps the most interesting and unique player in the history of the NBA. He regularly drops triple-doubles, on occasion dishes more than 20 assists in a game, and has a tendency to fake out even the camera-man with his nifty behind-the-back ball fakes. Some people fear Friday the 13th, but Rondo seems not to. Last month, on Friday the 13th, he posted an easy 23 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds.

Yuletide. The end of the semester brings finals (see below under “Jeers”) but thankfully it also brings us closer to Christmas. Many of the cultural accoutrements of the season are nice—warm fires, hot chocolate, some kinds of Christmas music, and Rover parties. But we shouldn’t let these things distract us from the real event of Christmas, which is the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them” (Luke 2:6-7).

Jeers:

Stanford. Nope, it’s still too soon to talk about it.

Finals and such. As dreaded papers and exams stare us in the face, our stress levels are rising, and fun disappears. In spite of this stress, we at Notre Dame do not enjoy failure and strive to excel in all things. If you manage to do so this semester, you may be one of those people that Babe Ruth was talking about when he told Smalls, “Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.”

Darkness. We have reached the time of year when the sun sets beyond the Western horizon and darkness settles in by 5 p.m. each night. This severely hampers outdoor evening activities and forces us indoors, where things are less enjoyable. Some of us would benefit from seeing more of the sun (and I don’t mean just for appearances’ sake!). But the good news is that the shortest day of the year is approaching on December 21, and after the solstice, it’s practically almost summer!

Tim Bradley may or may not be remembered, but he will certainly die. Contact him at tbradle5@nd.edu.