This past weekend my game plan was to celebrate Cortaca! You could say my overall experience felt as if I scored a touchdown.
Alright, I am getting a little too cheesy.
Anyways, I chose to stay in Ithaca for the game because of ride situations to and from Cortland. Although I was not at the game, I had a day that was definitely one for the books. Here is what my Saturday looked like:
9:47 a.m.
Oops! I set my alarm to wake me up at 9 a.m., but I overslept. I quickly grabbed my white Ithaca sweatshirt, yellow vest and of course an IC sticker to put on my face.
10:30 a.m.
“Ready for CC?” my friend texted me.
“Yasss! I’m omw,” I responded while quickly touching up my makeup.
My friend and I made our way to Campus Center for a quick bite before our long day began. Campus Center had the most spirited set-up for breakfast. The tables were covered in blue and yellow tablecloth, and they even had blue IC cookies and red Cortland cookies. They were serving tailgate food such as hamburgers, hot dogs and even fried pickles the whole day! Maurice, one of the Sodexo employees, told me earlier that week how much effort went into preparing for the tailgate-themed meals. Their hard work certainly paid off, because I was full by the time we left.
11:15 a.m.
My group of friends and I gathered in East Tower to take pictures (we had to get some for the ‘gram!) and hang out before we took the 12:06 p.m. TCat downtown. My friend that hosted our pre-Cortaca celebration laid out snacks and beverages for us; she definitely knows how to host a get-together.
12:45 p.m.
We finally made it downtown! We got off at Pleasant St. which is where most of the festivities occurred. We followed the sound of the music that led us into a backyard full of hundreds of IC students. All we could see was a sea of blue and yellow! Everyone was socializing and enjoying each other’s company in spirit.
1 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Basically, this day was great for interacting with people you don’t get to see too often during the week. I got to meet up with a lot of my friends, and of course take plenty of pictures!
What I found interesting was that I was living in the moment throughout the celebration. I always worry about what’s next and what boxes I have to check off on my to-do list, but Cortaca was the perfect day to let loose and focus on the present. It was certainly a worry-free day.
At some point in the early afternoon, someone must have ordered over three dozen sheets of pizza. Of course, as any girl would, I captured this whole day on my Snapchat story. I decided to “interview” Chris, the pizza delivery man, for my fellow snapchatters to see how much pizza was actually delivered. He said how it took two car loads to deliver the pizza! Chris and his co-worker were handing out sheets of pizza to any IC students in need of food, and he even handed me a box! I ended up standing off to the side with my closest friends and offered pizza to anyone that walked by. Free pizza! What else could be better?
My friends and I left where we spent most of our day to attend another house’s get-together nearby. There was a playground next to the house, so you know my friends and I ran over to it as soon as we saw it. You could say we embraced our inner child!
Because the house was halfway to campus, my friends and I decided to walk back. It was a hike for sure, but at least I got my steps in!
4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
I napped, and I napped hard. It was definitely a necessity to keep pushing through the rest of the evening.
7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
I went through the typical routine with my roomie as if it were any Saturday night. My friends and I grabbed dinner, dispersed, got ourselves ready and congregated in East Tower. Despite our loss, it was a night dedicated to celebrating our amazing school spirit.
The rest of the night was full of fun, dancing and, wait for it, more pizza! I definitely enjoyed my first Cortaca, and I cannot wait for next year when the game happens on our home field! Until next year…