I have really noticed this year how certain activities that I always affiliate with fall are really such midwestern icons; hay rides, going to cider mills, corn mazes, etc. In movies you always see people carving pumpkins in their kitchen but you never see the group of students heading out to a cider mill/haunted corn maze. At least I never have. And I have seen a lot of movies.
Around here there are a ton of Midwestern Aumtun activities to participate in. Kalamazoo and Portage were originally farming areas (celery farms, acutally…) so there is a still a good amount of rural space around us if you drive a few miles away from downtown. These activities seem to be really popular among WMU students this year. Most likely because they are inexpensive, and because most of these places can cater to large groups like Registered Student Organizations, Fraternities, Sororities, etc. The fraternity that I am a part of, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, go to a corn maze every year and it is always a blast. We also always sing for the people working at the front desk, attempting to get a reduced admission price. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
Aside from those activites everyone is talking about Halloween. It seems every organization and business is offering something for students to do this weekend. WMU even puts on it’s own “Haunted Hall” every year. This year the Haunted Hall is in Eldridge-Fox, and for $5, or two canned goods (going towards the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission and Big Brothers Big Sisters), students can go through the Hall.
As for my Halloween activities, I am hanging out with the family. My family is having a party for my grandpa, who just turned 80. So I decided to go back to Lansing to be with them. My grandpa is a pretty amazing person. This week I called him to wish him a happy birthday and he gave me an inspirational speech about how I should never give up in my musical studies. It is always good to hear that.
Alright, everyone. Have a nice, safe Halloween! By the time I post my next entry it will already be November…I can not believe how quickly this year has gone by!
Zechariah
