Another post about the beginning of a new semester

Today is special, because today marks the first weekend in several months that comes after a school week. OK, so it was really just two days of school but the effect is roughly the same. One of the nice things about the CUNY schedule, in which we start the semester in late August, is that we really get eased into it: two day, weekend, full week, long weekend, etc. Which is to say, starting school when almost everyone else is still on vacation isn't all bad.

So far this semester seems quite promising. I had a pretty rough Sophomore year for all kinds of reasons, but in these past couple days I've found that being an upperclassmen is pretty neat. As a psychology major doing (well, probably doing) a concentration in behavioral neuroscience, I spent much of last year taking introductory science classes that I'd skipped as a Freshman. That was fine, but it feels good to be actually getting to the meat of my major. This semester is a nice balance of necessary classes and fun classes, and conveniently enough my fun classes also fulfill some GERs (General Education Requirements). My schedule includes Calculus, which I'm rather excited to finally be taking after putting off for way too long; Social Psychology, which is great because despite being a Psych major I haven't taken and Psych classes in over a year, and my professor, an 80-something year old German psychologist, seems to be a really good teacher; German Radio Plays, which is a bit intimidating right now, but I'm very happy that I'm getting to continue studying German, which I used as my foreign language requirement and have take every semester so far - Hunter's German department is great, by the way; Statistical Methods in Psychology, a somewhat dull but informative required class for my major; and Introduction to Ethics, my very first philosophy class.

And now on the normal Saturday routine which I've, well actually I have kind of missed: breakfast, then hitting the books.

Hey, Fall 2010

And a big hello to anyone reading this (I'm looking at you, prospective students.) Since it's a new year, I'll briefly reintroduce myself:

My name is Katharine, and I've just begun my Junior year here at Hunter. I'm an English Creative Writing and German double major, and I'm interested in music, film, photography, fiber arts (specifically knitting), fashion, and cooking. Fellow Macaulay students can attest to the quality of my cookies! If you're interested in any of these things, I'm your person! I also spent the past summer in Germany - if you have any questions regarding study abroad or Germany specifically, you can ask me. You can also read the blog I kept during those 6 weeks here.

This semester is jam packed for me, luckily with things I enjoy. I scored an editorial internship with the publishing firm W.W. Norton and Company, which is going pretty well so far. I got to read and write a report on a manuscript yesterday, and an ongoing project is collecting praise from reviews to appear as blurbs in upcoming paperbacks. Aside from this, I'm taking African American Narratives, Workshop in Poetry 1, Hörspiel (German Radio Plays), German Childrens and Adolescent Literature and, since I hope to open a bakery or at least sell cookies online someday, Microeconomics. Nothing yet to report on that front, since today was basically syllabus reading day, but I'm sure Monday will be exciting - all 5 of my classes on one day. Yum.

In any case, I'm excited for my poetry workshop. My professor is sweet, but she takes creative writing very seriously, and is holding her students to a very high standard. This should hopefully weed out anyone looking for an easy A - anyone who thinks creative writing is just fun and touchy-feely and thinks that they won't need to actually work. I haven't written much as of late, so I'm hoping this class really sparks up my desire again.

Anyway, time to cook dinner and get some reading done - homework already!

Bis bald,

Katharine

Start!

It's the first day of the new semester, and I have half unpacked cartons and clothes lying haphazardly in my room. It seems almost surreal that one year has passed since I was a freshman. However, being back in school is an odd feeling- the dorms are still too quiet and lonely and besides the clustering of old friends, we all tend to shy away from the new faces on our floor. The social dynamic would be laughable if not for the freshman themselves clustering together in an attempt to ward of solitude. It reminds of last year of how we all became fast friends and realized later, after we had found other friends, that we couldn't stand the shallowness of our friendships.

Being a sophomore let's me see all of that, but it doesn't stop me from feeling the same nervousness or anxiety about new classes and new situations. I think this term, full of humanities classes, will be a blessing after an year of biology and chem together. Hope all of you feel the same way about your schedules.

Best at the start of a new term!
-Kunwal