I’ll admit it: Kuvia was slightly more difficult than I expected. I first heard of the festival last year while sifting through oodles of UChicago reading material as a Prospie – somewhere in between “Where fun comes to die” and $1 milkshake Wednesdays, I learned of this interesting, intriguing, and entirely UChicago experience. I filed the idea away under Something to Maybe Try Someday.
Upon returning to school for winter quarter last week and seeing the plethora of Kuvia posters that greeted me almost everywhere I turned, my first thought was, “Waking up at 5:45 a.m. for a week and working out? Great!” I set out attempting to attend all five days of the famed winter festival.
Unfortunately, my mantra did not echo through my head all week. Between 4 hour bio and chem labs and a bug circling around Pierce that left me with a sore throat and a stuffy nose, it was definitely hard to get out there every day. However, I am thankful to have had the experience I did this past week, and can’t wait to try again next year. (Plus, the Einstein’s Bagels were amazing. COUP, I may have taken more than just a half.) Kuvia brings out a unique sort of individual and it was amazing to spend time with other students grueling it out at 6 am. Events like these are truly what make our college unique and are why, when I was reading that Prospie material almost a year ago, I said, “That’s where I’m going.”
Here’s how it went down:
Monday
The night before Kuvia started, I came back to my room from my Her Campus meeting and broached the subject with my roommate. “Hey, V? You know this Kuvia thing we’ve seen around campus? Want to go with me tomorrow? I just said I would write a blog about it this week.”
Silence. My heart beat fast as I awaited her answer. Surprisingly, she was game. Phew. That quelled my ridiculous worries, like stubbing my toe in the dark, calling out, and waking her up. (I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a Pierce dorm room, but any sound in the middle of the night is like a train rumbling by. The 9×10 space is not condusive to impromptu pre-dawn wakeups.) It just left the larger question in my mind: how would I get out of bed? Spoiler alert: I am not a morning person.
Luckily, another girl on my floor, my roommate and I, all committed to Kuvia that fateful first Monday morning, and with the help of my pals I was able to start walking to Henry Crown at a timely 6:15 a.m. “Oh my god,” I thought. “First day and, of course, I’m already late.”
Imagine my look when I stumbled upon a line of people snaking around the corner onto 56th Street. All of these people waking up this early to…work out? I was dumbfounded.
We entered the building, and after a lovely calisthenics workout, my friends and I decided to participate in the UChicago Crew Team’s workshop. Oh man, was I not prepared for this. Never in my life has it been more apparent to me than when I was attempting side planks at 7am after 5 hours of sleep that my New Year’s Resolution…of roughly 2008…to become more in shape was definitely not fulfilled at all. Oops. To give me credit, though, the intense ab workout was quite a shock. I was able to take home a lot of the exercise ideas, though, for future usage. Next time I see someone wearing a maroon Crew jacket on campus, I will instantly respect them. Good job, guys.
Tuesday
I’m sorry, Kuvia gods…simply put, my Tuesday was a fail. I won’t lie: after an incredibly difficult night of homework, I just could not force myself to get out of bed. That’s the thing about UChicago students – you can convince them to do ridiculous, zany, things, but you have to make sure it’s on a day they have only a little work so they can handle it. Oh, well. Maybe next year.
Wednesday
After my embarrassment of Tuesday, I woke up Wednesday morning determined to right my wrongdoings, and maybe snag another Einstein’s bagel in the process. (Note to Einstein’s: the majority of my Flex Dollars are headed your way this quarter. Get prepared.) Even though my roommate and other friend had dropped out by this point (amateurs! Wait…who said that?) several others in my house and another one of my close friends were determined to Kuvia it out, and even vied for the front row during calisthenics. Apparently this is a Shorey House tradition. We may not have much else (like a confirmed place to live next year…), but we have front row during Kuvia. Yay!
Actually, before Wednesday, my RA sent out a message saying that Wednesday was traditionally Shorey House pajama day and that Kuvia participants should wear their pajamas to Henry Crown. So, I showed up in exactly what I wore to bed – grey sweatpants and my Class of 2016 t-shirt.
Some of my housemates were not pleased with this. “Where are your pajamas?!” they asked. Shorey, I’m sorry! I don’t really wear any embarrassing cartoon character pajama pants! I thought I should throw those out before college! (I should have remembered I was going to UChicago, and kept them. Whoops.)
Anyway, on Wednesday, I got my first taste of sun saltuations. It was actually nice, because my senior year of high school, my gym class was yoga and we practiced sun salutations every day. Woo hoo, SENIO12 memories!
Thursday
I really enjoyed Thursday. My hum professor, Ted O’Neill, led the morning calisthenics, and called up several of my fellow students and I to lead the exercises. Never before would I have expected to perform the Hokey Pokey in front of 300 people at 6 am with one of my professors. I loved his “texting exercise” – encouraging the room to move their thumbs, a skill clearly necessary in today’s day and age – and “socializing,” something that UChicago students might not know too much about. It was funny and not too strenuous, something I was very grateful for.
After calisthenics, I went to PhiNix’s dance workshop, and loved it. I got to channel my inner dancing-on-the-table-at-Psi U goddess and work it before classes even started. How often does that happen?
Friday
In exchange for my Friday commentary, I have written a letter.
Dear Individuals Associated with the University of Chicago,
Thank you for coughing, sneezing, and acting altogether sickly in my general area. Thank you for allowing me to wake up with a sore throat on this glorious Friday morning and miss the salute to the sun at the Point. I sincerely appreciate your kind actions, and hope to see you again in the future.
Sincerely, Me
Seriously, though, Kuvia was cool, and I would definitely recommend it next year to all who can come out and try it. Even if you can’t make it all of the days, it’s a lovely experience. I will be back, as I am determined to watch that sunrise over the Lake. (If you haven’t seen it, go Facebook stalk someone a little bit. It’s BEAUTIFUL.)