Over the weekend Luis, Jade, and I enjoyed going to Lilacia Park Lighting Ceremony and Jingle Bell Jubilee event in downtown Lombard.

Lilacia Park is located about 2 miles from campus, right next to the Metra train station and Helen Plum Public Library. It’s beautiful and peaceful year-round with flowers blooming in the spring and summer, leaves changing colors in the fall, and the massive display of holiday lights in the winter. 

The park was packed with families admiring the lights, seeing Santa, Rudolph the reindeer, elves and more characters dressed up for photos, and enjoying hot chocolate and other beverages. Surrounding churches, the library, and the Lombard Historical Society also participated in the celebration by hosting free events. We listened to the Glenbard East High School Honors Strings perform in the Lombard Bible Church. They were very talented, and it brought back a lot of memories from my violin-playing years!

I like supporting Lombard events and feeling part of a larger community; it was a great opportunity to get off campus and have some non-school-related fun. Now that I’m fully in the holiday spirit, I’m trying to power through the next week and a half of classes and clinic before winter break! 

This is my final blog post of 2017… Check back “next year” as I continue blogging the rest of my journey through naturopathic medical school.