As the semester comes to a close, I took the time this weekend to spend some time with friends because in 3 short weeks, I’m going back home for the summer. While I’m excited to see my family again, I’m going to miss the friends I have made here at Iowa.

On Friday night, the Salt Company hosted their yearly Film Fest event, where everyone dresses up and gets to watch homemade videos that people made. There were 10 films in total, and they were all well-made and fun to watch. The judges had some great commentary regarding the films, some of which caused some laughter in the crowd.

Saturday, I spent the morning at a work meeting, and later in the day, I went outside to play sand volleyball with some friends. It was such a nice day outside, so I’m glad I got some fresh air, yet I wasn’t outside long enough to get a tan like other students did. The lawn outside the west residence halls was filled with students tanning, which is a nice sight to see. With the weather getting warmer, more people are outside, and it’s amazing to see our campus so alive and full of people.

Last, but not least, on Sunday, I went to church in the morning, did some homework, and ate lunch before heading to the Coralville mall with a friend. While at the mall, I bought some summer clothes for the upcoming warm weather and left Barnes & Noble with two more books to add to my collection.

Overall, my weekend was great. It was the perfect balance between hanging with friends and having time for myself to do homework and relax. It’s moments like these that I’m going to treasure over the summer as I wait for the fall semester.