This time of year always means two things: my birthday and Independence Day. This year, there was a third event to add to the mix — Tri Games.

Student Council officers at the beginning of Tri Games.

Every trimester, Student Council hosts an event called Tri Games, which is an athletic opportunity for students across all trimesters to socialize and participate. We played ultimate Frisbee, corn hole, and ladder ball while listening to music and eating hamburgers and hot dogs fresh off the grill. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and the weather was perfect for this outdoor event.

The first of my two birthday parties.

The cook-out theme continued the next day for my birthday. We live in the campus apartments, and there are several stationary grills for students to use, making it easy to throw a party. Luis and I had some of our non-NUHS friends over to celebrate. I was excited yet a little nervous to share my first batch of kombucha (from last week’s post) at my party because none of those friends have ever tried kombucha before. All empty bottles at the end of the night was a good indication that it was a hit!

Fireworks at Madison Meadows Park in Lombard.

Last night was the 4th of July and a large group from NUHS watched the fireworks together in Madison Meadows Park, a pleasant 20-minute walk from campus. This doubled up as another party for me; having a birthday around a holiday always provides ample opportunity to have several birthday celebrations! People started arriving around 7pm to chat, play games, and eat. The fireworks show lasted 30 minutes long, which is impressive for a small Chicago suburb.