Tenement Museum, Essays, and Spring Weather

Hi everyone!

We've had some incredible weather this week. Thursday was especially beautiful. Some friends and I went to Central Park after chemistry lab and just hung out for awhile. It was nice to forget about all of the midterms and papers that we have to do. Some of the trees are blooming in Central Park and a couple of us girls took a couple of blossoms from the trees. They were absolutely beautiful.
I wanted to spend the entire week outside just enjoying the gorgeous weather, but alas, this is the time of year where all the professors start giving tests and papers. Studying and writing papers takes a lot of time so I appreciate the time I have with my friends to just hang out.

My Seminar 2 class visited the Lower East Side Tenement Museum this past Sunday. I had a great time. It's incredibly interesting to actually see how these Eastern European Jews lived when they first arrived in New York. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to grow up in one of those tenements and get used to a such a new way of life. These immigrants were truly brave people.

The Eldridge Street Synagogue/Museum

                       

The Forward Building

An Old Movie Theater

I have a busy week ahead of me, but the thought of Spring Break is helping me stay positive. haha
Have a great weekend everyone. =)

Quote of the week:

No man is great enough or wise enough for any of us to surrender our destiny to. The only way in which anyone can lead us is to restore to us the belief in our own guidance.

~Henry Miller

S.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Today's weather was gawwwgeous. Simplyyy beautiful and so comfortable! If this was a preview of all spring days to come ( including how there were no allergies for me) I'm taking it! So long to my dreams for a snow day encore.

Last week, I went and responded to Besty's email about getting a free book. Who can refuse one? I remember watching the author, David Eageleman, on the Colbert Report and reading ( I think halfway) through his first book,Incognito. His smaller, more recent book, Sum: Forty Tales From the Afterlives, truly does give an insight into the many facets of the human mind. One of the vignettes, Metamorphosis, was extremely powerful and actually got me depressed for a second. The first paragraph hit me the most, especially how, of the three deaths Eagleman proposes in this afterlife, the third death, "is that moment, sometime in the future, when your name is spoken for the last time." Totally reminded me of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. A must read for Psych majors!

At the dorms, my floor has been in the midst of redecorating. We finally took down last semester's decorations and cleaned up the white marker boards. Doesn't sound like much, until you realize that the gunked on, stale marker writing from the last semester took about an hour of lysol spraying and vigorous rubbing off. My lungs were definitely upset at me. But finally, my floor is starting to morph into a new character for the semester, thanks to the help of a few residents on the floor and the CA.

Sunday was the first Goldsmith meeting for the year. It was a really great essay workshop, where we discussed the merits of a great essay. And of course, it allowed me to get back to the Macaulay Building, ever more pretty and peaceful on a beautiful Sunday. I didn't expect the meeting to get me so revved up for the semester mid way! Looking forward to our future meetings for sure!

Bio Test, Spring Weather, Brighton Beach

Hello. =)

I hope everyone is having a relaxing Sunday. 

I am not a big fan of losing an hour of sleep starting today. College students need every minute of sleep that we can get. haha

I had a big biology test this past Thursday which I am glad is behind me now. I spent a good part of last week trying to memorize and fully understand all the topics. I hope I did well.

For my Seminar 2 class, we have to create a webpage about a particular theme relating to Jewish and Mexican migration and culture. My professor has started giving us instructions on how to start the research and how to build the website. It's definitely going to be a challenging project and one that will take a lot of time, but I think it'll be a rewarding experience.

We were blessed with some fantastic weather on Thursday and we will have some great weather this whole week as well. I can already smell spring in the air...

Yesterday, I went to Brighton Beach in Brooklyn with a friend. It was cold, but I had a good time. I love the peace that I feel when I go there. The beach seemed endless and I could have walked forever on the sand. It's just a nice break from the hectic lives that we all lead.

 

 

Quote of the Week:

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.

 

~Helen Keller

S. 

My My My My....

This blog entries become progressively shorter and more spread out as the semester continues. Its incredible that we are almost half way done. Its been ridiculously insane these past few weeks as I try to juggle chemistry lab into my already filled schedule. Its incredible how I spend my entire weekend working just on my chemistry lab report. Other that, the rest of my classes are alright. Psychology of human sexuality is still though the top class for amazingly strange revelations and information. I love psychology so much I'm going to declare my major. Over the summer, one of the best things about Macaulay is that we can take summer classes, 8 credits. I want to get rid of my GERs and will be taking US 152/ Civil War to Present. I think its much more relevant than studying about the colonial period. My second choice is Psych Stat, and this is why I'm declaring my major now. Hopefully, I can switch from my current regular STAT course to specifically psychology stat, especially since 258 is a pre requisite for many other higher level psych courses than I'm itching to take. Alrighty......back to Chem Lab!!!! Also looking forward to my seminar's walk to Greenpoint Williamsburg on Sunday.

Musings from a New-found Crayfish Lover

Hello everyone.

I had the pleasure of spending my Sunday finishing up a lab report for tomorrow. Definitely not fun, but at least it's done now. I can take a little break. I have a biology test this Thursday which means I'll be spending all week staring at my biology textbook reviewing plant hormones and the nervous system. It's interesting stuff, but it's just a lot that we have to know.

Speaking of biology, I dissected a starfish and crayfish this past Wednesday. I think I was more comfortable with them than I was with the earthworm. haha. The starfish was really cool on the inside. The crayfish was small, red, and had beady black eyes. It had a tiny heart and a tough exoskeleton. My lab instructor liked the way my partner and I dissected the crayfish and had the class come over and look at it. Proud moment. haha. I have a new found appreciation for crayfish now.

We're officially more than a month into the spring semester. I'm starting to feel the pressure and work build up in all of my classes. The middle of the semester is crucial because this is where you learn the majority of the material and have a majority of the assignments due. I'm going to try my best to replicate and even surpass last semester's success.

Quote of the week:

When the world says, “Give up,” Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.”

~Author Unknown

S.

Hey everybody! Happy March!

February really zoomed by before I could even realize what was happening! I've been busy all week preparing my Opportunities Fund applications. I am applying to Hunter's German Language Program in Kassel, Germany! I'm so excited to continue studying German and hopefully to immerse myself in German culture - and I don't mean just Das Bier!

I am also applying for funds to participate in an underwater archaeological excavation on the island of Menorca, Spain. Menorca is one of the three Balearic Islands (the other two are Mallorca, and the more famous Ibiza.) I would be so thrilled to get fieldwork as an undergraduate but there is no guarantee that Macaulay would fund this type of activity - all I can do is write a brilliant statement of justification and cross my fingers!

The application is due tomorrow, but even after I apply for funding from Macaulay, I have to apply to three other scholarships to make sure I don't run out of money. These next two weeks will be tough. And before I know it, midterms will be coming around....eek!!!

xoxo
Maria