Over those first few months, my RA couldn't stop talking about this thing called Nykerk, a crazy Hope tradition where freshmen and sophomore women compete against each other in the categories of song, play, and oration. The other girls in my cluster were excited about it too. I decided to give it a go. You don't even have to be able to sing to be in song!
It was one of the best decisions I've made in my college career. I love tradition, I love being goofy, I love team spirit, and I love to perform (weird considering I don't have any performance talents, but it's true!) I loved getting to be a part of something, walking to practices across campus en masse in the fall while the sun was setting with my cluster girls. I love silly cheers and I love to sing. This crazy tradition got under my skin. A guy whose identity I wasn't supposed to know brought me candy. Can I get an amen?
I lost some sleep and maybe some points on homework assignments, I gained new friends and became part of a 75+ year tradition at Hope. I made a poster for my Odd Year big sister and practiced motions in my friends' rooms with lots of giggling. I learned to sit pretty and smile big. The day of Nykerk was approaching- we had candlelight with all of Nykerk, made the running/screaming pilgrimage to the Civic Center for practices, and met our morale boys face to face. The motions were crispy, the props were happening.
Nykerk night was surreal. I'm so thankful that my parents got to witness one Nykerk, because I think that's the best way to really understand it. We sang beautifully of course. I think the motions were pretty crispy if I don't say so myself, and as the old TobyMac song goes, "when love is in the house the house is packed."
We won Nykerk that night. I remember holding hands with the girls on either side of me, and trying not to breathe, and hearing our year, and the terrifying way that the bleachers rocked and we jumped and screamed and could barely believe it. It was incredible. It was then that the moment happened. I realized that I was a part of something so much greater than myself. Though Nykerk season is short, I was part of a family for three beautiful and exhausting weeks. I had worked hard and seen that hard work pay off.
Traditionally, there's a Nykerk after party, with lots of dancing and lots of joy. I remember walking back to Dykstra afterwards with some of my friends, and having the thought, "I don't want this night to end." This was huge. I had spent the first two months of school wishing that I could be home instead. I hadn't been that happy in so long. I knew that I was in the right place, that one day Hope would really actually feel like home, and that I was a part of the community that mattered.
People wonder why I'm still so obsessed with Nykerk- because it helped make my Hope experience what it has been. It's a completely unique thing that involves many different people uniting for a common girl and having so much fun in the process. Most of all, I know that there are other girls up there who are finding just as much joy and community in Nykerk as I did, and that's all that I could hope for.
Tonight was probably the last Nykerk that I'll get to watch in person, and it might have been my favorite. Both sides were excellent all around. I have many friends and people that I know who were involved and I know how much love and energy they put into making their performances excellent. I love it when the Hope community comes together like this.
All I wanted freshman year was to go home, yet I found joy. Tonight, the only thing I want is not to leave these people and this place. I can't believe how time flies. I'm nothing near the same wide-eyed girl I was three years ago, and that's both exciting and terrifying, because how much more change can I take, yet how much more will I grow in the future? Nykerk was what set me on a track to step out more in the Hope community, and reminded me that I belong here. Most of all I'm thankful- to have had these joys and to have come to be able to call this crazy place called Hope my home.
We love you Nykerk oh yes we do!
