One Last Day to Dream

Belmont University’s A Day to Dream

Every year my university has an event called Hope Summit: A Day to Dream. It usually takes place during a week in October, Monday-Wednesday, Wednesday being A Day to Dream. This past week was Hope Summit: A Day to Dream, and it was my last one!

This event started during my freshman year as a celebration of our new University President’s, Greg Jones, inauguration and his vision for Belmont, to let hope abound. Students loved it so much that the university made it a reoccurring event.

Monday and Tuesday is the Hope Summit, and according to Belmont’s website, it is an “Interactive, two day gathering that connects agents of hope from various industries-change-makers, thinkers and leaders committed to shaping a more hopeful world.”

Wednesday is the Day to Dream, and the university cancels classes for the day so students can have the day off. Not only do they cancel classes, but they bring in carnival rides, bouncy houses, and a fall fest for students to enjoy. It is a day full of celebration and joy!

This Day to Dream, I went around and interviewed some students and campus organizations to hear some of their thoughts on what this event means to them. I’ll share more about this later, but for now, here is what my day looked like on Day to Dream!

My Last Day to Dream

I have attended Day to Dream since my freshman year, and have always had the most fun. Being that it is my senior year, this was my last Day to Dream at Belmont. Because this is a specific day out of the semester that we are given off, it always feels like a holiday. It is a day full of possibilities!

This Day to Dream, my friends and I decided to get up early and drive to a coffee shop in Franklin to get some work done before the afternoon festivities. If you are in the Nashville area then I am sure you have heard of Hank’s Coffee Station. It has recently blown up on social media, so it is a very popular spot. Since we went early we basically had the place to ourselves and it was so nice!

We spent about 5 hours getting work done, which was much needed. Around 1pm we made our way back home and ate some lunch. At 2pm, we decided it was time to dream. We arrived to campus and it was filled with people! People talking with each other, riding carnival rides, listening to live music, and racing at the bouncy houses.

We walked around and ran into friends we see often and some that we haven’t seen all semester. It was so fun to see these people and not have to cut the conversation short by saying, “Sorry, I have to run to class!”

I separated from my friends for a bit to interview people. It was fun to hear students and campus organizations thoughts and opinions on Day to Dream. I’ll share more about this in the next section.

After these interviews, I met up with my friends again and we did an activity to win a free hat. We had to participate in four events at Day to Dream and take a picture of each one. We played connect four, painted our dreams on a big canvas, slid down a slide, and raced in a bouncy house. Afterwards, we reported back to the workers and each got a free hat.

At this time, it was almost 4pm. We went back home and got some more work done for a few hours and then to end the night we had a game night at a friend’s house. This last Day to Dream was one to remember and was a day full of fun and joy!

Students on Day to Dream

People watching is one of my favorite things to do. To watch the beauty and joy of others living is an art to behold. A Day to Dream is a great day to sit back and watch everyone enjoy what is right in front of them, whether it is their friends, s’mores, music, or a bouncy house race.

AdriAnne Sternberg, associate dean of students for leadership and engagement said, “To me, when I look around and I see students relaxed and at ease because the university of higher education decided to invest into their lives by saying, ‘Hold on, let’s pause for a second. Y’all good?’ makes this day so much more meaningful.” She spent her Day to Dream outside near the pumpkin palooza area handing out s’mores supplies for students.

Ryan Cooper, a senior at Belmont said, “One of my professors was like, ‘No one is going to show up to this,’ not realizing that it is a very popular event.” He said that, for him, A Day to Dream came at the perfect time with it following midterms and is a nice day to reset before finals.

Heather Daugherty, the university minister said, “Students can do homework if they need to, sleep in, or come outside and hang out with friends. A Day to Dream just gives students a chance to kind of reset in the middle of the semester and have fun.” She said that she loves seeing students and getting the chance to connect with them on this day.

“Students are about to approach the summit of this mountain they’ve been climbing all semester. Before they do, we want to give students the joy, support, encouragement, love, and resources they need before going all the way up,” said Sternberg.

I personally am very thankful for Day to Dream and how it allows us students to take time to breathe and do what is necessary for our own well-being.

Thank you for reading this post about my last Day to Dream! I hope you enjoyed. If you haven’t read my last post, then please check it out here if you have some time!

I appreciate you and your support more than you know! I hope to see you in my next post.

Cheers,

Lilly!