"Once" in a Lifetime Experience

One of my favorite things about the Honors College is that students are presented with many opportunities, such as living-learning trips, to explore interests outside their majors. I love my major and really enjoy taking nutrition classes, but I also love attending concerts and plays and visiting art museums in my spare time. On January 25, I got to do both of those things on our first living-learning trip of the semester. Several of my fellow Honors College students and I traveled to Durham, where we were able to see some incredible works of art and an award-winning musical. Despite the cold weather, we all had a great time!

Our first stop was the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, where we were split into groups for guided tours. My favorite exhibition in the museum was called Lines of Control: Partitions as a Productive Space. Most of the pieces in the exhibition were created by South Asian artists and were inspired by the division of India in 1947.

After we left the museum, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Tobacco Road and then headed over to the Durham Performing Arts Center to see a performance of the musical Once. The show won several Tony Awards in 2012, including Best Musical, so I was really excited to be able to see it. I was really impressed by the entire cast, who doubled as an onstage band. Everyone played their own instruments and they even came out before the show and played Irish and Czech folk songs. It was a unique show and I’m so glad I got to see it with some of my friends!

Spending the day in Durham was a great way to take a break from school and catch up with friends while enjoying the arts. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to go on more trips like this one in the future!