This weekend I got the chance to go to the University of South Carolina to visit my sister. It was parents' weekend and I was excited for all of the fesitives. I had so much seeing the beautiful city, tailgating, watching the game, and most importantly spending time with my sister, Jules. 

I had not seen my sister in a month after we dropped her off at college so I was so excited to see her. On Saturday morning, my family went to brunch at one of my sister’s favorite restaurant’sThe Grand. It was an old bowling alley that was converted into a restaurant.The  delicious chocolate chip pancakes were fluffy and melted in my mouth. We left the restaurant and headed straight to Soda City. Many vendors come to sell their products on Saturday at Soda City. There were many cool shops,art stands, clothing racks, and food vendors. Live music made the area even more fun.                                             . 

Afterwards, we toured campus to see the historic buildings my sister's get to see everyday. There are palm trees on campus which I loved since we do not have any in New Jersey. Every building was so pretty, and the professor’s buildings were beautiful. Many buildings dated back to the 1800s.  We ended our walk around campus at The Horseshoe. It  is a grassy field that is shaped like a horseshoe in the middle of campus and a place where many students meet up to relax or  study.  Jules and I left our parents and headed back to her dorm to get ready for the game.  The game was going to be the highlight of the weekend. I love Jules’s dorm. She and her roommate coordinated everything and  decorated it with pictures from home. Jules’ suitemates and friends from the dorm came by to meet me. We all were singing and dancing to music while putting our makeup on and doing our hair.   

Our parents picked us up and we went to the tailgate. There were so many people decked out in South Carolina gear. I have never seen so many RVs, cars, and tents used to set up elaborate spreads of food!   It seemed like each group of people wanted to be the best tailgaters!  At the tailgate, I got  a feel for the big school spirit that made me realize I want to visit more big schools for college. You could feel the excitement.  I was so excited for my first college football game as we walked to the William Brice Stadium for the start of the game. 

As we walked closer to the stadium I could hear chants and music. The band was playing.  They moved across the football field in unison, arranging themselves to look like palm trees and a rooster!   As the band played the cheerleaders, and mascot put on a show. Lights were flashing, planes flew overhead, and the crowd was going wild. Everyone was hoping the team would beat The University of Kentucky.  The game itself was just as sexciting.   Music pumped through the stadium as everyone cheered loudly.  The end score was 16 -10, South Carolina lost. Afterwards, I met up with Jules and her roommate took the shuttle back to campus.  We walked through Russell House, a main building on campus where people can eat, meet each other, study, and shop in the  bookstore. From there to my sister's dorm it was a 5 minute walk. 

We were all starving when we got back to the dorm.. So in college fashion, we made mac and cheese. From home, I bought Jules a  new pot just for mac and cheese and we were excited to try it out. Her dorm has a communal kitchen and her friends, her friends Marissa, Danielle, Cade, and Tyler were anxiously waiting for us there.  Jules is a better cook than I thought and the mac and cheese was delicious. Everyone dove in and gobbled it up. It was a lot of fun and I am glad I got to meet more of Jules's friends. All the people from New Jersey were saying how much they missed bagels, pizza, and Taylor Ham. We brought my sister some bagels, she said that even though the bagels were a day old by the time she got them, she has never been happier to eat them. She described the bagels from South Carolina as rock hard and stale. Noone makes bagels like NJ!  I got to know the new people in Jules’s life as we caught up on all of the fun things that had happened in our lives since she went to college. Even though we were both exhausted, neither of us wanted the day to end.

Even though we did and saw many amazing things, my favorite part was spending time with my sister. I missed her so much after not being able to see her for 2 months. We are like two peas in a pod that do everything together. I know that it is sad only seeing my sister through FaceTime and text but seeing how happy she was and the great people surrounding her I feel confident she is doing well. Overall, I had an amazing time at Game Day and can not wait to go back to South Carolina again.