Hi everyone!
I can’t believe we’re nearing the end of the semester! It feels like I just started my senior year at the University of Iowa and it’s crazy to think that I’m almost halfway done! I’ll admit, the thing that I am looking forward to in the next couple weeks is the month-long break that comes with finishing out the last couple weeks of classes.
For most students, this is the time in the semester when classes really start to drag. Since Thanksgiving break comes late in the year, a lot of students are left feeling burnt out (very much how I’m feeling right now!). Luckily, though, I was able to plan a trip with my parents to San Diego to visit my brother who’s a freshman at UCSD. I couldn’t help but feel that this was the perfect time to take a break from classes and homework, and because we’re a Hawkeye family at heart, my family and I also purchased football tickets for the UCLA vs Iowa game which happened the same weekend that we were in California.
On the day that we were going to the football game, we drove two hours from San Diego to Los Angeles and then spent the afternoon roaming around the city until it was time to head to the stadium. One of my favorite locations in LA is the tourist center, Little Tokyo, which has an entire strip mall of Asian clothing shops, toy stores, restaurants, coffee shops, and video game parlors. Since my brother is a huge fan of Asian media, we spent the entire afternoon getting lunch and dipping in and out of shops for trinkets we could bring home.
After we finished shopping, it was time to head to the famous stadium, the Rose Bowl!
I’d heard about the Rose Bowl (and seen it many times on television), but I was genuinely floored by how cool the walk inside was as we followed the excited crowd into the game. Everything felt so smooth and easy: scanning our tickets, moving through security, and getting some much-needed snacks before we found our seats. My parents don’t mess around with football games, and we lucked out that we were able to get seats so close to the field. It was so much fun being close to the players and seeing the game in real time.
However, the best part of this entire experience were the number of Hawkeyes and Hawkeye families who also made the trip across the country to support the football team. Everywhere you went, someone was saying, “Go Hawks!” or making playful remarks about how “it felt like a home game” because so much of the stadium was filled with people dressed in black and gold. It’s a no brainer that Hawkeyes love their sports and even in Los Angeles, they’re the kind of fans who would fly all the way just to take over their opponent’s field!
Even though the Hawkeyes lost the game, this was still an amazing experience. Not only did I get some quality time with my family, but I was truly amazed by the incredible Hawkeye sports community that continues to find you wherever you go. The community has always been one of my favorite parts of being a Hawkeye and it’s nice to know that they’re truly everywhere.
Wherever you go, you’ll always be able to find a piece of Iowa!
