Christmas Cheer

I had a fabulous Thanksgiving (evidenced by the plate of food below) despite the fact that I spent most of it writing a paper.


I know it's supposed to be crunch time, with just two weeks of classes left, but I can't help but feel really great at the moment. The paper I was working on (the first of three major papers I'm doing this semester) was due today (along with a presentation) and I felt pretty good about my work, and REALLY good about the fact that it's at least DONE! So I decided to celebrate by hanging some Christmas decor in my dorm room:


Hopefully the Christmas cheer will get me through the hard weeks ahead!

ttfn

Kaitlyn
kt.ohagan@gmail.com

Is it two weeks or three...?

It's been a while since I posted last. I am not going to make excuses. I believe this blog has seen them all. (And I spent my Thanksgiving Break relaxing on LI...so its pretty shot on that end.)

But the blog title doesn't refer to my Mac Blog Absence. It might refer to

-the amount of weeks left in the Quidditch season. We are doing a tournament on Sunday. I was told we'd end with the Quidditch Season, but the weathers' been lovely

-the semester. My only paper final during finals week is really early on so if I get papers done

-the amount of time spent procrastinating on those papers
-and the final presentation for seminar
-an HTML project for media
- and my creative writing portfolio

I might stay in the dorms until the 22nd, anyhow. Reading Partners is modeled around an elementary school schedule so the LIRR can get kinda pricey.

(I probably haven't blogged about Reading Partners. Its an Americorps Program through which I work with a Fourth Grader in reading activities at PS 154x in the Bronx. Its rewarding but time consuming. I miss being able to sleep in, but I wouldn't have it anyother way.)

I had Reading Partners this morning. The school I am working at is having a Reading Recital so we've that. Since then, met a friend at SVA for Bubble Tea, started outlining my English paper, read for Religion and wrote this blog entry. I will also be attending tonight's Meet the Scientist Event, although I will have to RUSH to my English class afterward.

Strawberry Cheescake

Hello everybody. =)

Last week was relaxing because we only had three days of school and then Thanksgiving, which is my favorite holiday. Thanksgiving consisted of a nice family dinner and a nap afterwards. I also had a fantastic piece of strawberry cheesecake. Every calorie was delicious. =p
I didn't go shopping on Black Friday because I find that the stores are just way too crowded to shop in peace. I couldn't believe that story about the woman who pepper-sprayed people at that Walmart on Black Friday. I love shopping, but it seems like people are just obsessed with getting the best deal and have forgotten about what the holiday season is about. It's about spending time with your family and appreciating what you have.
I don't know how many of you watched "A Very Gaga Thanksgiving" on channel 7 on Thursday.
Lady Gaga was amazing!!!! She sang a bunch of her songs and she sounded great. She's such an inspiration to all the kids out there who feel like they don't belong anywhere.
The first semester is coming to an end. It's kind of insane that I've survived three months of college without any major crisis. =p
Anyway, have a great week, everyone!!

S.

Too Much Turkey

Sorry for how long it's been since my last post! I've been super busy. Pre-med is a very time consuming (but very rewarding!) track. The good news is that I got a perfect score on my last Biology test essay portion! That really helped me truly be able to relax when I went home for Thanksgiving. Another thing that helped me relax is that I got my giant Bio lab report out of the way a week early. Trust me, if you can ever find the time in college to get something done ahead of time -- do it! It might seem appealing to procrastinate, but then you're in for stressful, anxiety-ridden all-nighters. Trust me, I know. I've learned the hard way that it's better to just get things done. The free time you'll have at the end of it all will feel sooo much better!

Anyway, enough about school. Let's talk about how great it was to be off! My boyfriend was home from Boston (he goes to BU), and some of my other friends from high school were here too. It's not like I have to go far from the dorm to go home (it's just uptown, actually), but there's something about having everyone home and sleeping in my own room for almost a week that makes me feel like I'm really on vacation. It was so relaxing, and filled with so much great food. But I'm actually excited to get back into the swing of things and go back to class.

Oh, and one more thing, if you find yourself at Macaulay Hunter, and you live in the dorms, you should know this: the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park has no line in the winter :D.

I Can't Think of A Fun Title For This Blog

I know everyone's dying to hear about my Thanksgiving break...so here it is! Thanksgiving was loads of fun. Usually I see my extended family all the time, but I've missed them away at college! We ate food and shouted nonsense at each other and made up random games to play when we got bored. If there's one thing I'm thankful for this year, it's family.
But anyway, it's Sunday morning, and I'm kind of dreading going back to school. Not because I'm homesick or will miss the piles of food that currently make up my house, but because I've slacked and haven't..done..anything! Coming home is like going on a vacation...so I never do my work! So Monday, after my full day of class, I need to start my research paper, study for a chem test, do the psychology research requirement (!), and finish the never ending readings for political science. I'd complain some more but I feel like anyone who's not a freshman reading this is probably rolling their eyes at me. One thing I did kind of accomplish this weekend was my schedule for next semester! It's kind of fun to put together! But really stressful! Right now I have Wednesdays off. Which is random, but I'll take it.
To change to a really random, happy topic, (I've really been jumping around on this blog, sorry!) I read three teen fiction books this weekend! None of my textbooks, which I will feel guilty about later, but I totally loved every minute of soaking in the predictable, sometimes silly and dumb writings of teen fiction authors! (And hey, for the haters, some of those books are actually very well written and of good quality, ok?) Also, I watched a bunch of movies - Jumping the Broom (pretty good! It reminded me of Guess Who, which I now want to watch again because it's so brilliant), a really cheesy Disney Channel movie called Geek Charming (it was so bad. But my younger siblings were watching it and I had no other options!), and a part of Rio (such a cute movie! Nigel is so evil!). And right now we're watching White Chicks again. Good stuff!

Ballet, Thanksgiving

I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week. The semester really did fly by.
I'm definitely excited for next week's mini vacation. I think all of us college students need the break.

Sunday, I went to City Center to see a performance by the American Ballet Theatre with my Arts in NYC class. It was absolutely amazing! The dancers were so talented, and the choreography was complex and meaningful. It was interesting to see how a choreographer translates music to movement. Besides seeing The Nutcracker in elementary school, I really haven't seen a professional ballet performance before so it was another new experience for me. This seminar has exposed me to a bunch of cool art forms, and I'm grateful for that.

I had a relatively peaceful week filled with the usual homework, reading, eating, and sleeping. =p
I did have a Poli Sci test on Thursday, but that wasn't as stressful as having those wonderful bio and chem tests.

In honor of Thanksgiving, here is a list of some things that I'm grateful for this year (in no particular order):

-Life (Because being alive is the ultimate gift)
-Family (Because they are my support system)
-Friends (For making me laugh and for their support)
-College (Because it opens my mind to what's out there)
-Macaulay (Because I get to go to college for free and be a part of a really cool community of students and faculty)
-sunsets, full moons, the ocean, music, and laughter

What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?


Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

 S.

Time for Turkey

Well, Thanksgiving is almost here. I'm looking forward to the turkey. Unfortunately I won't be able to be home for Thanksgiving because I have to work the whole day. But my family is arranging a second Thanksgiving that Friday, because, if this year is like any other year, we will probably have plenty of leftovers. My partner and I are also planning to have our own Thanksgiving on the ambulance. We will see how messy that will turn out.

This rapidly approaching holiday is also a reminder of the fact that classes are pretty much starting to wrap up. We will be coming back from our little break with only 3 more weeks of classes to attend, and then some finals to study for. It's weird to think that a whole semester is already almost gone. But, between you and me, I really don't like the fall semesters anyway.

I'm really looking forward to the spring term. It's a bit longer, or at least it feels a bit longer, so I like the pace of the classes better. I'm also looking forward to my course selections and really starting to put work into my psych major. All in all sophomore year seems to be turning into a good start to my major, much of which I will complete junior year.

Also, after much debate I've finally settled on a location to study abroad in. It will be Australia, come junior or senior year. Noice choice eh, mate?

Michael.

SING! SING! SING!

Hi everyone

Long time no post! I've been busy with schoolwork, planning my Spring schedule and gearing up for Macaulay's first ever SING! competition! Some of you may be familiar with SING! because it is done at your HS. For those of you who are not, it's a completely student-run musical theater competition. It's usually done by class, but due to Macaulay's structure, we decided to do it by campus (Brooklyn, Baruch, Queens and Hunter were the campuses that decided to participate). Here's the flier:


Come check it out if you're free tonight, tomorrow or Saturday night at 8PM (it's also a great chance to see the beautiful Macaulay building)!

More later!

ttfn
Kaitlyn
kt.ohagan@gmail.com

Go to the Met!

Hey everyone!


I just came back from a huge dinner at Thai NY, a great restaurant by the dorms (28th and 3rd). I met up with a couple of friends from high school for our annual thai dinner (we're all so busy during the year and they're not studying in new york, so we always set aside a day to do what we do best-eat!) It was so filling that all I want to do right now is pass out on my bed. Unfortunately, I still have a few pages to translate for my Latin class. Mondays are tough. 


This weekend was good, though! I spent most of it sleeping and watching episodes of American Horror Story. On Saturday I went to a karaoke place downtown for a friend's birthday. On Friday I went to the Met to see the new galleries for Islamic art. They are a MUST see! Everything is just beautiful. So many cultures are represented and the galleries cover a large time span. You can really get a sense of how profoundly Islam has shaped the visual traditions of the cultures. Plus, if you go on a Friday night, there is food and wine (for those 21+) as well as music until fairly late at night for a museum (9pm). So I do recommend you stop by the Met soon to check it out. We DO have a cultural passport!


Well, its 10pm right now and I don't really know what time I'll be getting to sleep, but I think its fair to say that I won't be getting much of it for the next few days. I can't wait for Thanksgiving!!!


xoxo

Fruit Snacks Are My Life

This weekend I was self coerced into becoming a hermit, and so I spent my time pent up in a small room, relying solely on tea, nutella and fruit snacks for sustenance. I have learned that Nutella goes with anything and that one should not take the assorted flavors of fruit snacks for granted. I also supposedly should have learned much about International Relations, which we’ll see if that’s true when I get my midterm back. A summary of my weekend: I studied IR, cursed IR, threw up hands at IR, outlined IR, wondered why the readings for IR were so long, considered dropping out and running away to Europe to live in a hovel by the river, and took study breaks by watching old trailers of dumb rom coms that I love and sobbing or laughing quietly to myself (can I just say. Ryan Gosling in The Notebook trailer is very…hyperventilation inducing.) On a related note, The Hunger Games trailer came out today. I am a fan of the books and am glad to say that the trailer did not look dumb, although Jennifer Lawrence doesn’t fit my image of Katniss very well (although, no actor will ever fill the role of a fictional character well). And since we’re on the topics of books, I miss my books!! I am dying to read The Son Of Neptune (what can I say? I LOVE Percy Jackson. He’s my hero. He’s so awesome. Those books are hilarious) and haven’t had a chance yet. Sigh. The fangirl in me has been contained for too long by schoolwork! Anyway, midterm season is almost ending and finals are coming up soon whoo hoo! And I have a lovely paper to write, so I’m going to start on that…but first, I’m going to watch a movie because I’ve been so movie deprived that I started having dreams about watching them. Peace!

And the results are....

After a disastrous last week, I am going to evaluate the success/failure of my plan from my previous blog. I am happy to report that the long hours of studying for bio and attending group tutoring sessions really helped. I felt much more at home with this test, there were of course some pieces of information that I was lacking, but it was quite difficult to remember the minimum number of genes a bacteria can survive with. However, the essays were much more enjoyable since not only had our professor given us possible essay questions, I had set out to write a through answer to each one of them. That said, my changes for bio worked. On the other hand, it was a bit more difficult to feel just as satisfied with chem because of all the time I spent studying bio. I still made sure to attend office hours, do tons of problems and make concise study notes; however, there was still more to be done. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either, so next time, no matter what, chem will be my priority.

On a much more happier note, English 120 is proving to be quite an amazing class. Coming from school where senior year English was comprised of humanities seminar and sometimes tedious books, English 120 is a breath of fresh air that kindled an old love for writing. There is a focus on social issues but it is all still as relevant today as it was during Stevenson's Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde and Shelley's Frankenstein. I also love how our essays are formatted. We spend the semester learning about semiotics. I analyzed an ad for Domino's sugar for its connotations on eating habits and organic foods. I proposed a solution for the growing Achievement gap in education and now I am finishing the semester with an comparison of Frankenstein and Kosinski's Being There. Overall, I think English 120 is a great course to take, writing is so essential in life and English 120 will challenge you to look further into the signs that are found in our society.

Sleepiness, Science, and a Piano

Ahhh...a Saturday autumn morning in NYC. Colorful leaves, crisp air, nice sunshine. =)

This week was definitely one of my toughest because of the bio and chem tests on Thursday and Friday.

All of the pre-med students were having a tough time balancing studying for chem and bio and doing work for our other classes as well. I basically spent the entire week reading my bio textbook and looking at powerpoint slides for chem. I read on the train, in the library, and at home. It was a huge pain, but there is no way to do well on these kinds of tests without reading the text multiple times.
Being a college student is definitely not easy. But in those moments when I'm studying and just want to give up and do something else, I focus on the fact if I put in the work now, I will benefit later. I've learned that focus and determination are the basis of success in college.

An hour after my bio test, I went to my Arts in NYC professor's piano recital at Lang Recital Hall.
After being under such pressure before the bio test, it was nice to just sit and listen to my professor play the piano. He was absolutely amazing. His passion for the piano and for music was palpable in the air. It was so inspiring to watch someone do something they love. I can only hope that I will be half as happy when I'm working in the medical field as he is playing the piano.

Have a great weekend, everyone!!!


S.

What a Day for a Daydream

I think this is the first time in my life that the daylight savings left me as refreshed as possible. Of course, I always feel a tad bit happier and relaxed with one extra hour of sleep, but because I was extremely busy on both Saturday and Sunday, I ended up sleeping a few hours earlier than my normal bedtime, and got about 10hours of sleep.Each day. Yes, its crazy, but wow I feel so good right now! I feel invincible, as if I can solve my many orgo problems with my eyes closed, finish all my assignments for this week tonight ( not really happening, but I am beyond motivated right now to begin tackling them), and most importantly, help achieve world peace (I'm joking, although this is quite a heft goal to achieve all by my lonesome self).

So, with all this extra sleep, I was looking forward to my lectures today, expecting my normally baggy-eyed head to stay up during class sans coffee. Alas, old habits die hard, and I ended up nodding off, as usual, halfway through my lecture ( but instead of for 5 minutes, more like a minute or so), dreaming about I think a chicken burrito bowl (now extremely overpriced) from Chipotle. A bummer to see that the extra sleep I had didn't benefit me immediately, but I'm not going to complain about having such a restive weekend.

Especially considering I just finished all my midterms last week, with barely enough sleep ( I drank so much coffee and water to stay up, that I ended up with multiple stomach aches while taking tests). Sure, that sounds pretty typical from whomever you speak to, but for me, having five extremely important midterms ( each counted for at least 25% of each class's grade), within the span of 8 days ( my organic chem lab test and biochem midterm were a few hours apart, woohoo!), was the biggest challenge in my undergrad career so far, in terms of tackling study material for each test within a manageable time frame. Even finals weeks' in the past were easier to deal with and plan ahead for, as each final was scheduled for a different day. I really do hope Hunter comes up with a solid outline and guideline for midterms' weeks of the future, having (especially) different science classes schedule their exams at different times ,rather than at the same time. Because yes, as students, we should be able to deal with and manage our time efficiently to study for exams at the same time, but on the other hand, there is a limit to the balance between studying/understanding the material, and simply cramming for the test because of the pressure and stress from facing multiple exams for one week. All suggestions aside, it seems I did overcome my challenge quite well, as I did remarkably well on 3 of my midterms so far. Now just for those other two grades ....

Aside from the same old conversation about exams and midterms, I attended the 7th annual Oral and Maxillofacial Symposium at Columbia University on Saturday. I was not exactly looking forward to traveling all the way up to Morningside Heights from Nassau county at 6 in the morning, but I am extremely grateful that I did. I did not fully understand the scope and breadth of the specialty until Saturday, and definitely did not expect to meet as many other driven students as well.The event was an much needed eye-opener, with many of the Columbia doctors and professors discussing their cases with us (accompanied by some very graphic, bloody slides, which I surprisingly was able to stomach). I really cannot wait for future pre-dental events offered by dental schools in the area!

Sleep Habits Die Hard...

So it's a little before 9AM Monday morning, and one of my classes has already finished for the day. Considering that I somehow managed to ignore my alarm (while it was directly under my head) for an hour, I missed the class (and the midterm). Thankfully, this isn't one of those "my life is SO over" moments because the lowest midterm gets dropped, but it would've been nice to know my lowest midterm was, let's say a 90, rather than a 0.

Probably one of the most important things I've learned in college is that if there is a way for me to avoid getting up in the morning, I definitely will. Thankfully, Hunter is usually really good with programming afternoon and evening classes that fit my schedule and sleepiness, but this class would've taken up 5 hours of scheduling time if any later than now, and interfered with classes in which going to lecture was actually important. (This is a BIG hint about college: Plan all classes which require you to go to lecture/labs regularly at times when you will absolutely make it. No one really goes to lectures where you don't need or have to be present.)

Here's to a productive new week (the joy is mostly because midterms are now over for another 3 weeks)!

Two tests, a stuffed pig, and Union Square

Hi, everyone.
It's a Saturday night, and I'm grateful that I don't have to be up early tomorrow. During the weekdays, it's so hard to get up in the mornings so I try to get some extra sleep over the weekend.
Some things from this week:
On Tuesday, I went to Union Square during my break. I just wanted to explore the neighborhood a bit and check out some stores. It's a nice area, but different from the Upper East Side. It's cool how one island can have so many types of places and people in it.
Wednesday was the Majors Fair. I'm glad I went because I got some good brochures and info from the different departments. Each table was offering candy so I probably consumed a lot of sugar that day. But oh well. Chocolate is GOOD. =p
Thursday, I handed in my paper for Poli Sci. I can honestly say that I've learned a lot from Professor Polsky. For most people, politics is a big headache, but college is all about opening your mind. It's important to be aware of what's going on in the world.
Friday is my short day, so I went to chemistry and then got to go home and relax. 
I have two tests next week--chem and bio. Studying is going to be tough, but I'll get through it. (hopefully!)

Just a thought about college friends for prospective students:
I've heard a lot of people say that they found their life friends in college. I've only been in college for just over two months, but I've already met some great people. The important thing is to be open to all kinds of people. A simple "Hello,  My name is _____. What's yours?" can be the start of a great friendship. Friendships are not built overnight. It's important to nurture and put effort into every friendship. Okay, I'm done with my little lecture now. =)

I was in a store with my mom today, when I noticed the cutest stuffed pig. I immediately turned into a five year old and asked my mom if I could buy it. My mom thought I was joking and started to laugh. But when I started to walk towards the cashier, she realized I was serious. =p
She couldn't stop laughing. I realize I'm eighteen years old, but stuffed animals still make my heart melt. So I bought the cute little pig. She's now the love of my life. =p (I think my mom has fallen in love too!)

Talk to you soon!

S. (and my little piggy!)

Internships!

What a crazy month! I can't believe October is already over. Time really flies during the fall semester. All my finals are finally done, but I'm already swamped with work. Halloween weekend was a nice break because most of my friends were also celebrating the end of midterms and we got to spend the weekend together. I'm feeling especially overwhelmed because of my internship. It wasn't so difficult to keep up with school and the internship in the beginning of the semester, but now I have a lot of homework and not enough time to finish it.
I work at VizLingo, LLC, an online social media startup company located in Gramercy (conveniently!) I am a linguistics intern. VizLingo is a website dedicated to creating the first online visual language. As we build our database of video clips, (we have 30,000+) we are able to represent more words and phrases through videos. I am responsible for editing the tags and creating queries of all the words in the database. Most of the internship involves data entry, but interns are also able to contribute ideas as to how to represent obscure words ("as," "for," "from," etc.)
Tomorrow is the Macaulay Internship fair. I'll be returning to let you all know how it goes!

xoxo

Reflections

So here I am, in the middle of the semester. Next week is sure to be fun as there is both a biology and chemistry test on two consecutive days. Last week, I received an abysmal grade in the chem test (reminded me of ap calculus) and although it will most likely be my grade dropped, this made me reflect on the semester overall. Last year, my problems in calculus were quite similar to the ones in chem. I made silly mistakes and sometimes didn't fully understand the concept. I loved the subject but each test left me frustrated since I couldn't figure what was the problem. Eventually, I began spending my time doing nothing but calculus. I spent hours after school with my teacher, and I did countless tests. I resolved to know every shortcut I could use and every trap I could fall into. In the end, the work paid off and I received my 5 even though I had initially started out pretty bad. So looking back at this, and evaluating my current predicament, I realized the situations are the same. So applying what worked last year should work again, right? I certainly feel just as strong about chem as I do for calculus. I'll seek more office hours and spend more time doing chem problems. I'll memorize every formula and try to formulate problems that the professor will give on the test. Hopefully this will work and I can find a balance where focusing on one subject (chem) won't harm another (bio).
So wish me bon chance!!