Thinking Back

Wow. Freshman year is OVER. I really find it hard to believe that I finished a whole year of college in what seemed like just a couple of months. Really. It flew flew flew by. First semester was a lot of adjusting, meeting people, settling in. Second semester was a lot of cutting loose, studying, getting close with the friends I made, and more studying.

I had my doubts first semester as to whether I was going to stay all four years. By second semester I had made up my mind that I would. Out of the friends I've made I'd have to say I'm the least satisfied with the school. Granted,  I'm happy there, but they are OBsessEd. That's good though, because when I'm skeptical about something they always give me the bright side. They're always raving about something good the school has to offer.

Being a medium sized school in a medium sized city makes it so that there is something for everyone. I like that about it. But that particular combo isn't right for everyone. Visit colleges. Don't just visit. Stay the night in a dorm and take a class....and go explore the surrounding area. That might be where you end up spending 4 important years of your life! It's worth the time......without a doubt.

Plans

All my friends had really cool summer plans. Two of my friends who are pre-med are going together on a trip to Nicaragua and Costa Rica to learn medicine there. They'll be taking classes during part of the day and seeing local patients for the other part. It's sort of a service learning course.

My other friend is working at a summer day camp in her town for part of the summer and then going to Honduras to work at a children's home like she has every summer for 5 years! One of my other friends is taking classes at her local college to get some credits out of the way now that shes decided on a major.

Me? I'm staying home and working at my parents office until mid-June when i go to Washington D.C. to intern at a small museum of language. Its no Smithsonian but I think it'll be a rewarding experience. I'll be leading children's tour groups and researching for new exhibits. Plus I think I'll be able to shadow some people who work at the state department who also work at the museum. For now chilling sounds like a great idea!

Summer's Here

Hey everyone...its been awhile! Just got out for the summer. Exams finished, said goodbye to my friends and the year ended just like that. I stayed an extra couple of days after exams ended to sell my books, pack up my room and to hang out with my friends so we could de-stress and give proper goodbyes.

Selling books back to the bookstore was a complete ripoff. I got back 2 bucks for a book that cost me 50. I suggest trying to sell online, at Amazon. Packing up my room was pretty sad; I had to throw away a lot of the cool random junk i had collected over the course of the year -- cups, posters, signs, beads, random stuff that wouldn't really fit in my bags.

As far as goodbyes...they were bittersweet. We didn't want to leave each other but we were ready to go home from college. Freshman year was an overload of NEW and EXCITING and we were ready to get back to the usual and the relaxed. Our summers are looking busy too though!

Finals Time...finally

And here come the finals. Surprisingly I have lots of 'take home' finals. I have one 10 page essay for a political theory class, another series of essays for my french class, a composition for my jazz theory class. My other regular finals are for International Relations and psych. Sadly I don't think i did so well on my last psych test today so i will probably need to take the final to bring up my grade. Our professor gives us the option of taking the final and dropping a test grade, OR of just keeping our 4 test grades and not taking the final. I wanted to opt for the latter, but after today I'm feeling like I might be better of sticking out the final. It's hard with take home finals, because you feel like the due date is so far in the future that you don't really have to worry about them, but they are a lot of work and the date will sneak up. I just have to surmount the procrastination temptation and get cracking, if i finish them early and turn them in i will have 2 free days before i go home...and that, my friends, would be awesome.

Broadcasting From Within

I've been so busy lately that the only time I can remember to write these blogs is when I'm in class, right before it starts...so that's what I'm doing today. Not recommended, but....

So I register for classes for the fall this Friday which is a couple of days before most people register on Monday. I'm really excited for my good time ticket because that ensures that there will be more open classes. As far as my living situation next year, I'm going to be living in a single attached to a double suite, meaning I get a room to myself but I'll be attached by a bathroom to a room with two people. Perfect situation. I got 'pulled in' by people with a really good time ticket. Those time tickets are randomly assigned and I got a really bad one, but these people got a really early one...and they 'pulled' me into their suite. AND I'm in the building with the highest demand on campus yay!

And my professor just said that on Thursday we will be holding class at a restaurant off campus as a celebration of one of his articles being published in a political science review...he's excited obviously. I wonder if he'll go through with it. Hope so. And my DJ certification test is tomorrow, I passed the practical but the written is another story. Anyway the end is near and loose ends are being tied up...feels good.

Good Times

The last bit of the semester is filled with good times. The school must feel like they have to overwhelm us with fun activities to remind us to come back next year. Honors weekend was this weekend. I hosted a prospective student, or prospie for short. That was more fun than it sounds because I got to tell her all the awesome things about the school and why I love it. It made me realize how much there is that I like about it. She also asked me to tell her the things I find bothersome, but the only thing I could come up with is the quality of the cafeteria and even that can be remedied by going to the school next door's dining hall or dining at one of the other campus eateries.

It's exciting to host kids who are interested in your college. It makes you feel like you're doing something for the school and for them. Also there was a festival downtown this weekend. And the coming weekend there is a festival on campus with a lot of local artists, food and music. Then two weeks and exams. I'm really excited because this semester I only have one in class exam. The rest are take home. That way I can get started on them early and finish early....yesssssssss. I'm also working on an application for a summer program on Latin America....deets to follow!!!

Back From Break

Hey everyone! I'm back from a lazy spring break! It seems like its all downhill from here, in a good way, of course. I've got to sign up for classes, get my housing assignment and go talk to my advisor about declaring my major this week so it'll pass pretty quickly. Then this weekend I have a Vampire Weekend concert, which needless to say will be awesome, and then in a couple of weeks is a huge yearly festival in the city. Oh yeah, and then finals. So basically I won't have time to even notice the time is passing before I'm out for the summer! Freshman year has passed me by so quickly, its amazing how you feel like your living at a normal pace, but when you look back on the year it seems to have flown by. This week I'll be working on my schedule a lot, trying to see what works for next year. NO 8:00 classes! That's a priority for sure. Ill have to start taking a lot of classes in my major, which i think I've decided is going to be International Relations, but that way ill start focusing. I'm nervous to declare it, though, it seems like such a big step!

Hittin The Road

Only a couple more hours till I hit the road heading east, going home. I'm pretty elated. I need a break more than anything right now. I feel like everyone this week was completely out of it, the only thing they had on their mind was break break break. It didn't help that everyone's friends from out of town were on their spring breaks visiting and looked so carefree and chill while we're scrambling to get the last few tests out of the way, pack and tie up some loose ends before the week ended. I got it all rounded up, except one assignment for my radio apprenticeship that I suppose I'll have to email in...but point is I'm headed home. AND I'm bringing a friend! A girl from El-Salvador who was planning to stay at college over break is coming home with me for a few days. We're gonna go to the beach and think about relaxin'. Only one problem...a research paper due the week when I come back. Why couldn't I be completely free!! Fughettabout-it! Spring break here we come!

City Living

I love living at a college in a city because things like this happen. So I have a test in one of my classes tomorrow, just started studying tonight because it's honors weekend and I'm hosting some kids plus I've been sick, etc. etc. Enough excuses. The point is, I just got an email from my professor saying that the HBO special that he's in is filming tomorrow and it might go over the expected time, so we might not have class.Tell me that's not cool. I know for a fact that something that awesome would be nonexistent in a small town college atmosphere -- at best rare. Here, cool stuff like that is around every corner. My RA is singing with a famous local musician; my professor is in an HBO special; another professor appears regularly on FOX News and CNN as a political analyst. It's really inspiring being in the company of such cool people!

Continuation

I'm still riding on my wonder week high as the school week is coming to a close. Just found out that my Jazz combo will be playing next Thursday at a restaurant on campus with a local jazz singer. I couldn't be more excited, really. The problem is, I'm scared. This lady is a professional and we are students, not even music majors. It should be really interesting and I'm super nervous, so the focus of my coming week will be music and preparing for that gig (and of course attempting to continue the calm relaxation of this week).

But there's a storm brewing on the horizon. Rooming next year! The options are suites of 4, suites of 8, or a single connected to a single. Basically the school randomly assigns each student a lottery number and the higher numbers get a first pick of where they want to live. Also I haven't figured out who I want to room with, friends or acquaintances, should I go random again...it worked out this year, but don't really want to stretch my luck. We shall see my friends...updates soon