Hello, blog world! I apologize for neglecting you a bit over the past few weeks. I've spent my time working on finals, being really sick for finals (strep throat), coming home, and having some time to unwind and spend with my family. The end of the semester can be a really stressful time, so I am grateful to have a month off to unwind and recharge my batteries before heading back to campus for Spring semester!
But I thought I would spend some time summing up my first semester.
AUGUST
My VERY FIRST DAY- I only look calm!
Move-In Day... things were everywhere!
Mom and I after unpacking everything!
August was the month of move in and Orientation. I had my very first college classes, and spent a lot of time hanging out with the people that live on my floor.
SEPTEMBER
First Year Apple Picking!
My aunt came to visit! Class of 1996.
Colleen's first trip to Panera
September was when I experienced most of my homesickness. But, I got over it as I got more involved in school. I joined most of the clubs I am involved with, through club fairs and the millions of emails everyone sends out. My aunt came and visited me for Alumni weekend, and it was really nice to walk around campus and see what has changed since she's been there. I also became friends with the people I am still friends with in September.
OCTOBER
My little sister slept over!
My stepfather and little sister play checkers in the Word Garden
Me, Colleen, and Ashley at the Drama Club Haunted House
October was a busy month! My family came up and visited me and I got to see them for the first time since August. My little sister and my stepfather had never seen campus, so I showed them around. My little sister got to sleep over, and it was awesome getting her to see what my college life is like. At the end of the month, I experienced my first Halloweekend at SMC! It's a big deal, there's a lot going on and it's a lot of fun to dress up with your friends.
NOVEMBER
Erica, Collen, and I at the Quidditch Cup!
Katie, JLo, and Erica at Thanksgiving Dinner
My Thanksgiving Dinner
The biggest event in November, by far, is Thanksgiving Dinner. Upperclassmen talked about it for weeks, which in turn made everyone excited. And it was really nice to get to enjoy a meal with my friends. Also, in November, I went on a LEAP retreat. Through LEAP, I had a great experience and met a lot of people I wouldn't have otherwise.
DECEMBER
December was a short month, comprised mostly of finals, studying for finals, and in my case, being sick. However, I made my debut on the St. Mike's Stage! For their final, the Directing class has to direct one scene. I auditioned and was cast in Almost, Maine. I had a great time working with Dom, my scene partner, and Craig, our director. Here's the video!
Overall, I had a great first semester. I learned a lot, both inside and outside the classroom. I made friends that I hope I will have for a lifetime. Thanks for following along, I can't wait to see what second semester brings!
The exams are done, the papers have been written, my stuff' has been packed up, and I'm writing this blog post from the comfort of my (at home) bed! I'm still waiting on some grades, so I will wait to declare the semester a success.
But I thought I would take this time to show you how festive campus got before we left. You know it's Christmas time on campus when...
The tree is up in Alliot!
You make Gingerbread houses at Dessert and the Divine!
There are lights on the trees in front of the library!
Your professor brings Christmas cookies and cider to class!
Hello everyone! Guess what? I have officially survived my first semester of classes at Saint Michael's! I still have three finals to take and one to write before I head home to Massachusetts, but classes are over! Yipee!
So I thought I would take a few minutes to talk about my major. I started out this year as a Psychology major, but decided to change in late September. I had an absolutely amazing Psychology class this semester with Professor Adams, and I learned a lot. One of the things I learned was that I did not want to be a Psych major anymore! One of the benefits of the liberal arts curriculum is that we're able to take classes in lots of different areas, and I am glad I got to take my Psych class.
Luckily, I knew exactly where I belonged: Media Studies, Journalism, Digital Arts (aka MJD). I took one MJD class this semester: Media Revolutions, which is the first class you take in the major. Media Revolutions has been a great class. I took it with Professor Griffiths, who has a lot of experience in journalism as she has worked for The Associated Press (Want to learn more about her? Check out her page on the SMC website!). She ran the class in a discussion style, which I really enjoyed. Every week, we tackled a different chapter on some form of media... from newspapers to radio to the internet! It's really important to examine all of the forms of media we consume, especially if we want to work in the media.
Next semester, I will be taking another MJD course, Digital Media: Art, Culture, and Theory. It's about using programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver and the digital revolution. I am really excited about learning the programs.
When I tell people that I am an MJD major, they usually ask me what newspaper or magazine I want to write for, but to be honest, I do not know exactly what I want to do yet- and that's completely okay! MJD is a really broad major because it prepares you for so many things. Some MJD majors I know are interested in public relations, social media marketing, journalism, photojournalism, and making documentaries. These all fall under the umbrella of MJD!
A few weeks ago, I met with someone in the Career Counseling Office to talk about the chance of getting an internship over the summer. While the "big" internships for major news stations are usually reserved for upperclassmen, I will be looking to get some experience this summer at the weekly, local newspapers near my house.
If you would like to read more about the MJD major from someone with a little more experience, check out a sophomore's perspective on Juliana's blog or a senior's perspective on Gabbi's blog!
And if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!
I can't believe it's the last week of the semester! I've almost completed my first semester at St. Mike's!
*cue freak out*
Just kidding. This semester has flown by, and I have a million things to do before I go home (a week from tomorrow!) but I'm not quite freaking out. Here is what is separating me from a complete semester:
-1 Psychology paper (~4 pages)
-1 Psychology quiz
-2 Psychology worksheets
-1 Christianity quiz
-my final paper for The Examined Life (~18 pages, second draft completed)
-my self evaluation paper for The Examined Life (~4 pages, first draft completed)
-1 Psychology exam
-1 Media Revolutions exam
-1 Christianity exam
So as you might see, I've got my work cut out for me over the next week! But look for upcoming blogposts about Christmas on Campus and a trip to Knights at the Round Table! Have a great week!
First off, an apology for not posting for a bit. I decided I would not blog when I was home for Thanksgiving so I could spend all my time with my friends and family :)
Break started for me at 2:50pm on Tuesday, which was really convenient since there is a 4:00pm Megabus from Burlington to Boston! The bus was a little more expensive than usual ($34 instead of ~$20) but it is still a good deal AND I got a whole seat to myself. That never happens!!! So I got to stretch out and enjoy the wifi and the knowledge I had five days off ahead of me. The bus made really good time, going from Burlington to South Station, Boston, in 3 hours and 45 minutes... somehow we managed to avoid all the rush hour traffic. It was so good to finally be home :)
Instead of going through a play by play, let's take a picture tour of what I was up to over break:
I got to spend lots of quality tie with my little sister!
I went back to my high school for "Spirit Day"- this is the class of 2013
Spent time with my friend KJ!
Hung out with my cat!
Ate some DELICIOUS!!! turkey that my aunt Carol made!
The view on the ride back to school... isn't Vermont gorgeous?
Break was busy, but I got to spend it with the people that I love and I ate a lot of delicious homemade food! But I was glad to get back to campus on Sunday night. I really love the life that I have established here at St. Mike's.
Anyways, it's going to be a crazy busy few weeks- just 3 more weeks until break! Hope everyone has a great week!
Hello everyone :) Hope you're having a wonderful week.
Last night was something I had been waiting for awhile... THANKSGIVING IN ALLIOT!!A lot of the upperclassmen had told me how awesome Thanksgiving is so I was really excited to get to experience it for myself. Of course it is no replacement for the Thanksgiving dinner I will eat with my family next week, it was wonderful to get to enjoy a nice meal with my St. Mike's family.
It was a beautiful day yesterday... a little chilly, but really sunny. This is what the sunset looked like... so pretty!
Beautiful sunset over by Pomerleau Alumni Center
My friends and I all had a Founder's Society (this group includes tour guides, bloggers, alumni relations) Meeting so after that was over we all wanted to go to dinner together. I had been told that dinner would be packed since everyone goes to Thanksgiving dinner. We had to hunt around a bit for a table, but we found a nice one in the back and claimed it. The staff in the dining hall do a really nice job on making everything look nice. We even had tablecloths on the tables!
Tablecloths are so fancy!
After we put our stuff on the table to claim it, we went up and got our food. There was everything you could possibly want for Thanksgiving... turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, peas and boiling onions, corn, all sorts of bread and rolls.
My dinner :) Cranberry sauce, turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and a roll!
They even had a vegan option. I'll be honest, I did not stop to see what it was because I was so excited about turkey, but the dining hall does a GREAT job of catering to special diets, even on special days. My friend Colleen is a vegetarian but she opted just to get mashed potatoes, peas, and onions (and dessert of course) and she said it was really good.
Even the vegetarian found stuff to eat!
Dessert was a sight of itself. They had all the classics... apple crisp, pumpkin pie, cheesecake, and more. I went for a piece of cheesecake, which I then covered in caramel and chocolate. My friends got the pumpkin pie and said it was awesome.
Cheesecake!!!!
We spent over an hour in Alliot eating dinner and enjoying each other's company. Thanksgiving break starts on Tuesday and we will all be heading in our separate directions for a few days... but I am really thankful to have these people in my life and it was nice that we got our own Thanksgiving together.
I am so thankful for all the people at St. Mike's. The people here are so friendly. From the people I don't know who hold the door for me going into Alliot to Dave, the guy who swipes cards in Alliot, to my amazing professors... they're all such nice people.
But most of all, I am thankful for my close friends. In the not-quite-three months that I have been here, I have completely found my place in this community. I have the greatest friends here... I know they always have my back. Three months ago we were strangers, but it is amazing how close you can get to people so quickly. From getting each other's silly (and sometimes... cheesy) humor to having the same taste in movies/TV shows/books to doing little things just to brighten each other's days... these people are truly my friends and it's wonderful. I am so, so lucky to be able to be here and be surrounded by such warm and genuine people.
Colleen and Erica!
Katie, JLo, and Erica
I hope everyone's week is going well. I have a busy few days, but I am headed home next Tuesday and I can't wait.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!
This afternoon at St. Mike's was a very cool event... the very first Quidditch Cup!
For those of you unfamiliar, Quidditch is a wizarding sport from the Harry Potter series. I'm a huge fan of the books, so I was really excited to see that they were bringing the sport to St. Mikes!
QUIDDITCH!!
We were really lucky, it was a gorgeous fall day, some people didn't even wear jackets. The days are starting to get chillier and a coat is becoming necessary at all times. It's even snowed a few times (nothing that's stuck though). But for this afternoon's Quidditch, we had warmth and clear blue skies.
Playing Quidditch
Colleen and JLo- we're a silly bunch :)
Erica, Colleen, and Me :)
They had been advertising about the cup and tabling in Alliot for a week, so in the end lots of people were excited and formed teams with their friend. There were about ten teams and they had a tournament. Altogether, it lasted about two hours. It was super entertaining.
Erica being a boss referee!
Colleen, Erica, and Lexi, the refs!
My friends Colleen and Erica signed up to be referees. Neither of them had ever seen a Quidditch match in real life and they were a little nervous, but they did a GREAT job reffing!
Also, for the people who just wanted to watch, the RHA (Residence Hall Association, who ran the Quidditch Cup) provided Harry Potter themed treats. We had cookies and Butterbeer, a drink made from cream soda and butterscotch. It was my first time trying Butterbeer, and it was pretty good.
The winners! Sirius Blacks
Overall, it was a great afternoon and I hope it happens again in the spring. It was a great way to get away from homework and spend some time enjoying this weather before the snow starts really falling.
All my fellow bloggers put memes in their posts so I will too!
Class registrations!! This is how registration works:
1) You meet with your adviser a few weeks before Registration. I recently changed my major (from Psychology to Media Studies, Journalism, Digital Arts) and when you change your major, you usually get a new adviser. Professor Hyde is my new adviser, so we set up an appointment to meet and discuss what would be the best classes for me to take second semester. It's really easy to set up appointments with your adviser sicne they all put sign up sheets outside their office doors.
2) You get an email and a letter in the school mail telling you which group you are registering with. Each class is split in two and given a day. I was given the second day of First Years, the last day to go. I was freaking out yesterday because I was looking at KnightVision (where we register for classes) and saw all the classes I wanted were full so I wondered if they would open up more seats and they did. They reserved some seats in the classes just for the last registration day so it really doesn't matter when you register.
3) Pick your classes. This can be the hardest part. Right now, I am just trying to fulfill my LSCs, mostly, and take a few classes in my MJD major, so I had a lot of options. As of right now, here is my dream schedule:
Mon/Wed 8-935 Intro to Philosophy (PH 103 F)
Tues/Thurs 945-1120 Aftermaths (EN 110 E) 1130-105 Acting Techniques (TH 207 A) 3-435 Digital Media: Art, Culture, Theory (MJD 110 A)
But we shall see what happens. This would be an ideal schedule because Philosophy, Aftermaths (an English class about the literary repurcussions of 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Recession), and Acting Techniques all fulfill an LSC, I need Digital Media for my major, and I would get Fridays off (unnecessary but a nice bonus!). However, it's certainly necessary to have as many backup classes as you can pick because you never know what will happen.
4) Wake up early! Class registration opens at 7am, so your best shots for the classes you wants comes at 7:00:01. I set about 40 alarms and woke up at 6:15 so I could shower before registration, and now I'm writing this blog post while I wait.
5) Register! Select the courses you want, choose register, and wait until exactly 7 to submit. You'll be faced with a little spiny circle that says "LOADING" for awhile.... over two minutes for me (normal since everyone is trying to register at the same time which slows the program) and then it will let you know what you got into... for me:
Why yes, that is in fact ALL of my top choices! I got four out of four! Wooo!
Holidays are a big thing in my family, Halloween especially. So last week, I was wondering, is Halloween at school going to measure up to Halloween at home?
Oh, it did. I had the best weekend so far.
Because it falls on a Wednesday this year, Halloween became Halloweekend and the celebration lasted all weekend long! For me, it began on Friday afternoon with VITA Pumpkin Carving. It was an awesome way to begin the weekend because I got to hang out with some of my favorite people, eat donuts, drink cider, and decorate my pumpkin!
Colleen painting her pumpkin
I decided to go the route of painting mine since I don't love the gooky feeling of pumpkin guts. I went with my friend Colleen
and we are both HUGE Doctor Who fans, so we both decided to decorate
our pumpkins in the spirit of Who! She carved and painted her pumpkin
and both of our pumpkins came out awesome!
Side 1 of Colleen's pumpkin
Side 2 of Colleen's pumpkin, the TARDIS!
My pumpkin!!! (It's a Dalek, a DW thing)
Later Friday night, it was time for the Rocky Horror Concert Show! The Drama Club was putting on a concert of all the songs from Rocky Horror, so Collen, JLo, and I decided to go. JLo and I had never seen it before, but we had a great time. The Concert Show was being held at Turtle Underground, a concert space in the basement of one of the Halls on North Campus. Friday night was my first time taking the shuttle up to North Campus and it was super easy. It didn't take long at all and we were super early. The shuttle was clean, the driver was friendly and even wearing a costume!
Rocky Horror cast doing a lighting check before the crowd arrives!
Quickly, Turtle Underground started filling up. They had a
huge crowd come out to see it! It started a little late, but everyone
had a great time singing and dancing to some music while we waited. Then
the show started and it was awesome. I even got to dance the Time Warp
with my fellow blogger Sarah
who was in the show. It's just a really fun show that
has you up on your feet dancing or participating for most of it. After
we caught the shuttle back, we were pretty exhausted and decided to get
some sleep.
Saturday, Colleen, JLo, and I woke up early because we
wanted to go to Walmart. To get to Walmart, it takes about an hour and
fifteen minutes via free, public transportation, so it's not really
something to do every week. However, it's a really pleasant bus ride on
Saturday because it wasn't very busy. Since I was with my friends, it
went by pretty quick.
We were a little sleepy... JLo rested on the bus ride
Colleen and I on the bus!
Walmart was a little crazy because it was the
Saturday before Halloween and we were expecting a hurricane, but we got
in and out pretty quickly! We stocked up on Halloween stuff, snacks and
food, and they bought some clothes. Then we caught the bus back to
campus.
Me, Colleen, and Ashley zombified/in costume for the Haunted House!
Colleen and I had to be back on campus by 4pm because we wanted to participate in the Haunted House that the Drama Club puts on every year! I was really impressed with how well done it was. They turned the basement of Alumni Hall (a building on the quad) into a 5 room haunted house! The theme of the Haunted House played off the construction that's happening on campus. Colleen and I ended up being zombie construction workers! The Haunted House was open from 7-9 and I think we gave a few people a good scare! Here's the video if you want to see how we did:
After the Haunted House was over, we helped break down the set and went on our way. Most people headed to the Halloween Dance, but I was tired and wanted to sleep! I had a great time this weekend. Saint Mike's has really become my home :)
I hope that everyone is having a great Halloween and has made it through Hurricane Sandy in one piece! Have a great week everyone!
So today, I took my first trip to Health Services!
Don't worry, I am not sick! I just wanted to get my flu shot. For about a month now, they have been offering flu shots. I kept putting it off because I hate shots and needles, but today I finally gave in. One shot would not be as bad as a whole week (or more) with the flu. So after I finished my last class of the day, I decided to head over to Health Services.
Health Services is located in the basement of Alumni Hall, one of the residential buildings on the quad. They are open every day and were super friendly in there. It looks like an actual doctor's office. I filled out a form that asked if I was sick, if I had allergies, if I had a blood transfusion this year, etc, and told them I needed a flu shot. It cost $10, but I just took the money off of my KnightCard (student ID). I only had to wait a minute before one of the nurses called my name and took me back to a room.
My nurse was super friendly. She asked if I was planning to go to the Halloween dance this weekend, and my other weekend plans. One of my favorite things about Saint Mike's is the community-- even the nurses are really nice! She told me it was a great idea to get the flu shot, since it's so easy to catch germs in dorm. Then, she gave me the shot, and it didn't even hurt that much. I was in and out of Health Services in less than ten minutes.
Health Services doesn't just do flu shots- they can see students for a variety of reasons. They are open every day of the week, and have awesome services like Nutrition Counseling and Psychiatric Services. Here is their page on the St. Mike's website. Have a great rest of the week!
