On November 13^th I attended the play “Crumble: Lay Me Down Justin Timberlake” in the Experimental Theater at Richard Stockton College and was thoroughly impressed with the production.  Each character was casted perfectly and portrayed their character perfectly.  It was easy to choose a character to relate to because each was completely different from the next.  The little girl was reckless and misunderstood. She was also hilarious with her childish humor and belief in the make-believe.  Then there was the Cat Lady who had fifty-seven cats.  She used her cats to avoid the truth that she could not have children.  She was constantly looking for something to fill the space she had left that only having her own children would fill. The Mom was constantly trying to force a connection between her and her daughter.  The father’s death was very traumatic for both of them and in it they became very distant from each other.  The House was also dealing with a lot of loss.  He was run down and needed some serious repairs.  He would do anything to feel emotion again from any of the people living in him.

Through this play it became evident to me that everyone copes with loss in their own ways.  Whether it was the loss of a loved one, the loss of what was or the loss of what could be, everyone has their own specific coping mechanism.  Each of the characters were suffering from loses in each area and yet they tried to cope completely separately.   It was not until they all realized that they were all feeling the same during the big event that they saw that each person was suffering from the same thing as each other.  They all needed to be fixed, but they needed each other’s help to become whole again.

I suggest that if anyone gets a chance to see this play again that they purchase tickets immediately.

We had been talking about this night for weeks. We had all of our homework done so that we could completely enjoy the night.  My roommate and I had binge watched almost every episode of Girl and Guy code. On Friday October 10^th, Nicole Byer and Kevin Barnett visited the Stockton College campus to put a show on for the students, and that was just what they did.

Nicole was first to come on and she did not waste a second before dropping her first joke. By the end of her segment, there was not one person who had not hysterically laughed at at least one of her innumerable jokes. She didn’t skip a beat during her performance. Nicole even had her outline for her jokes written on her hand. Kevin Barnett showed up just in time for his segment. He kept the laughter rolling for the next forty-five minutes.  When the show ended the crowd dispersed back to the dorms.

There is nothing quite like laughing your hardest with your closest friends. My roommate and I met up with another group of our friends in the stands. We were not prepared to laugh so hard and spent the rest of the night reliving the hour and a half long show. While forming new friendships at college every opportunity is a chance to make the bonds tighter. The people that I had not had anything in common with prior to the show I was now able to talk about the show with them. Again, the TALONS put on a great show and provided the students with a night of awesome amusement and an opportunity to become closer with our peers.

The Stockton TALONS really know how to make you feel welcomed.  At Welcome Week, which took place from the 29^th of August until the 3^rd of September, I participated in all of the silly games and activities hosted by the TALONS group.  My roommate and I both had our eyes set on the Stockton blanket that was given as a prize for completing the entire passport.  This passport was given to each student at move-in and was stamped at each event attended.

At first, I was timid to participate in some of the activities such as the Think-Fast Game Night or the Dance Party. Each event required you to branch out and introduce yourself to others.  Every new event meant a new introduction of yourself.  However, eventually, each event began to bring more familiar faces and less strangers.  By the movie night the last night, where we watched Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier, I had made so many friends.  While walking across the lot, nearly every person I passed had once been a stranger, but now they were my new friends.

During the events, it seemed so childish to be lead around from place to place by the leaders when we had just gained the freedom of college.  I just wanted to do what I thought all college kids want to do; sleep, eat and nap. (Which I now know is completely false… we study, study and multitask at eating, sleeping and studying.) It took until now for me to realize the reason for Welcome Week.  It was not done to completely tire out the class or to provide entertainment to those observing the obnoxious tasks.  It was created to help break the ice between all of the students.  It gave every person an equal chance to meet their fellow classmates.

Even greater than the blanket I received for attending every passport event, were the friendships I formed at the TALONS hosted Stockton Welcome Week.  It is commonly said that the friends you make at college, are the friends you keep for life.  Welcome Week made this come true for me.  My new best friend was a girl who I had met in one activity and then met up later to attend the next activity with because we had found so many things in common with one another.  I owe the TALONS group a huge thank you for helping me create lasting relationships with people who I may have otherwise never met.