Reflect

It is the end of another year and I'm taking plenty of time to reflect.

I am now halfway through my junior year at Hunter College. So much time has passed and so much has been accomplished. I've experienced many things in the last two and a half years. 

I think from time to time all of us get a little wrapped up in our "paths." What do we envision ourselves to be working towards, to be doing in our daily lives? Are the futures we may be creating the ones we want for ourselves? Now is the perfect opportunity to question yourself "Am I working towards what I really want?" "Does my life, in all of its facets, reflect who I am on the inside and who I want to become?" "Am I enjoying my life as much right now as I plan to in the near and far future?" Clear goals aren't so necessary sometimes. It is more important to know you are happy than to know you will be a doctor.

All are great things to think about. The journey should be as sustaining and rich as the destination. With all of that, I hope the whole Macaulay Hunter community (and everyone else in the world) will ring in the new year on a good note. 

Michael. 

A reason to drink...lattes

Being on a student board of a club is not only aggravating, but a reason to drink more lattes than one needs. But, who cares? hahahahaha!!

All you coffee-drinking Macaulay-ians out there, find your next latte at Gregory's Coffee =)

Happy Christmas from Westchester!

Just checking in to say Happy Christmas to those of you who celebrate! To those who don't, happy holidays! I'm currently just relaxing in my living room with my family, presents, Christmas tree, and dead fire. It's been a pretty good Christmas, and I'm really glad that the semester was able to end on a high note (back in the dorms, finals went pretty well, finished all my work before leaving for home) followed by such a nice, relaxing few days up until now.

I've gotten two grades back already and I'm really happy with myself. It was actually quite a nice little present to wake up to this morning to my grade for my MHC seminar class. I know everyone's been working really hard this past semester, and I hope it pays off for everyone else as well.

Later this week I'm heading back into the city, to stay at the dorms for a night, and then it's off to Maine for a trip with some of the friends I've made so far at Hunter! I'm so excited for the trip and I know everyone else who is going is too. We're staying with one friend who is from Maine, and going up by Megabus so hopefully the snow won't stop us! We'll be up there for New Years, which is pretty fun because I've never done anything other than stay at home or go to a friend's house for New Years. I'm sure it'll give me lots to talk about too.

Right now, anyway, I'm just looking forward to going to see Les Mis tomorrow with my parents and then going to Maine. These days of relaxation are really needed since I'll have to be going back to school the first week in January for tutoring in Chinese. That won't be too fun, but at least it's only in the mornings so I'll be able to see my friends who are still home from uni before the next semester starts up.

With everything said, I'll leave you with well wishes for the new year and a (pretty bad) picture of my Christmas tree! So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Birthday Lights

Well, this is a bit overdue since my birthday was about a week or two ago but it's one surprise I'd like to share :)

I wasn't planning on having my birthday known to just about the world, or even friends. It's just I don't like to make a big deal about it. Of course, one of my friends would've busted out the secret but I love her anyways. At the end of the day (it was one of my long days), I walked went back to the dorms alone, which I thought strange because I usually travel as a group with friends. I had a feeling something was up.

We had a feast for dinner, everyone pitching in a little something. My friends didn't think they were making it obvious, but it was hard not to tell with a friend just randomly petting my head so I would stay put. They bought me two cakes both very chocolaty. That was "surprise" number 1. After we stuffed our faces with cake, one of my friends asked to see my room key. When she didn't give it back right away and was sort of jingling it under the table, I knew again that they were going to do something to my room. She returned them without my room key.

They insisted on going to my room, even the ones who've never been to my room. When I opened the door a little, I saw a light glow. I was pretty sure I had turned off all the lights. I opened the door all the way and found Christmas lights hanging over my bed! My room was alive now!

No ones ever given me a surprise before because I always insisted on not making my birthday a big thing. This was the first time and I will never forget it.

Wonderful End

The finals are finally over! We can all breathe a sigh of relief once and for all...until spring semester starts. Well for me, I have winter class so one week of vacation yay!

This was a great first semester and there's no better way to end it than walking the Williamsburg Bridge at 10PM with a friend. It was a breathtaking sight, the city skyline and Brooklyn lights. This was a perfect bonding moment; we talked about personal things: love life, family, anything that girls would talk about. We ended up in Green Point, Brooklyn. I've never walked in Brooklyn before so I was a little cautious. But as we walked to the subway, all the small boutiques and cafes melted that feeling away. It was like another mini Manhattan!

Anyways, this was a perfect ending to the year, with a closer friend and a discovering a new place to explore :)

Sunday Mornings, Gossip Girl, Maus

It's a Sunday morning in NYC, and it feels good to just relax and not think about school for a bit.

Sunday mornings always make me think of the song "Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5. haha. I think I've expressed my love for Adam Levine on this blog before, but man, he's awesome and that's an awesome song.

So it's officially winter now, and it's cold!! Everyone is finding pretty ways to stay warm and fashionable. The city is filled with people with cute down jackets, wool coats, classic berets, and cashmere gloves. I love walking down the sidewalk and seeing people just be together. Everyone is smiling, carrying a bunch of shopping bags, coffee cups, and of course their cell phones. haha. The city is all shiny and glittery and just beautiful.
Speaking of shiny, glittery things, does anybody else out there watch Gossip Girl? I've been watching it since it first began in 2007 when I was a freshmen in high school. This past Monday was the last episode. I remember when I first started watching the show, I was so enthralled by the Upper East Side world. I wasn't enthralled by the lying, cheating, and jealousy (haha), but by the New York City that the show glamorized. The restaurants, the stores, the expensive apartments. The characters got to shop in all of these cool designer stores, wear beautiful clothing, and go to these exclusive parties and yet they still managed to do well in school. It all seemed a bit unrealistic, but it was fun to watch. It allowed me to see a world that I had never been exposed to. It's interesting that I ended up going to school on the Upper East Side. I got to walk on Park Avenue and imagine what it'd be like to live there. haha. So anyway, the show ended this week, and it was like saying good-bye to a part of my childhood. I'll definitely miss all of the glitz and glamour and the complex lives of Serena, Blair, Chuck, Dan, and Nate.
I have a book recommendation for all of you. In my English class this semester, we read an excerpt from the graphic novel Maus. I really liked the excerpt and decided to go out and get the full graphic novel. I went to the library and got myself a copy and fell in love with the story and the characters. I also read Maus II. Both books are really great, but incredibly sad. They're written by Art Spiegelman. The author's father is a Polish Jew who was a prisoner in Auschwitz during WWII. The books chronicle how the author attempts to reconnect with his father by learning about his father's difficult past. They're hard to put down and leave the audience with a lot of of interesting thoughts.

Enjoy the break, everyone!!

Sleep, read, daydream, eat, laugh, and whatever else you like. =)

S.

Quote of the Week:

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” 
~ Edith Sitwell

G U Y S WE'RE ALMOST FREEEEE

GUYS

GUYS

G U Y S

ITS POST-FINALS-PRE-CHRISTMAS-AKA THE MAGICAL TIME IN BETWEEN TO RELAX AND CATCH UP ON FUN THINGS!!!!!! (For me at least.)

I am currently at my brother's apartment in the Bronx. I just spent a fun (...not even being sarcastic here though, that's what's funny...or sad, depending on how you look at it) coupla hours vacuuming, laundering, folding, bed making, and dish washing! And let me tell you. It was INVIGORATING, people. Invigorating. I got to blast Kelly Clarkson and the bee gees and whatever random upbeat tunes I had in my head and dance like a maniac (said brother is not home currently MWAHAH while basically gives me a permit to dance wildly in the entire apartment). 

Other Things This Week:

-Best times to sing loudly/passionately: 

1. When the train is leaving the station, it's pretty loud, so no one can hear you too well if you sing at a normal level. Everytime I do this (every day..) I do a mini-evil laugh inside at my cleverness. 

2. When you are vacuuming, because the overall noise just makes you sound awesomer than you actually are.

3. When in the shower. Of course. But seriously, the sound in there is amazing. The water practically adds a magical overtune to your voice. Even if you have a terrible, scratchy, loud voice, the shower's *magic powers~~** will make it all go away. In other news, my debut album will be recorded in the shower.

4. Just kidding. I will likely never release a debut album.

5. Anyway, shower, songs, obviously our next topic here should be about what songs are best to sing in the shower. Personally, I like me some power-house diva kind of tunes. "Listen" is a good one...these days I've been singing "Faithfully" and "I dreamed a dream". The latter is very hard to sing...not that I have been practicing faithfully. (Ha-ha. That sentence can be accurately interpreted literally and figuratively. God, this is what my blog is about, my life is sad, ok, moving on)

Once you get over your perhaps initial shock that it's finals week and I'm sitting here calmly discussing my shower-singing, continue reading on!

-Finals Week:

Will people hate me if I say there are parts of finals week I secretly love? When else can you see EVERYONE bedraggled, generally fitting the description of GROSS, and overall hassled, ugly, mean, cold, sleep-deprived...?! Never! Except for finals week!

I don't enjoy that haha, seeing as I am one of dem uglies (if you ever spot me during finals week...just don't talk to me. Or talk to me, but be warned that I'll look hideous, and I'll likely spout random things at you, or yell them), but it brings a sense of..unity..that you don't get elsewhere, because ERRYONES CRAZYYY during finals week.

But back to what I love about it- I just love that everyone is sleep-deprived and acting somewhat crazy. We use caps lock incessantly on facebook statuses (and in this post, it appears), freak out, meltdown, cry, yell, sleep, sob, collapse...and say or do crazy people things. It's hilarious. Every year so far, I've only eaten some random bit of food on the day of all my exams. Last year it was a handful of cheerios, and a clementine. This year it was a bag of cheetos. The adrenaline gets me through the day, I guess? Luckily though, my anatomy finals this year were not cumulative...they were on neurons!! And neurons are awesome!! And supa-interesting!! The rest of my classes weren't bad either. 

And now, I'm making to-do lists, making people CDs, trying to buy things on amazon, wrapping gifts, planning out my shopping, procrastinating on applying for something life changing that I'm going to procrastinate further about by not even discussing what it is (yes...I am sooo mysterious aren't I), making playlists, figuring out what I have to do to travel to India...focusing on everything but important things, basically.

-Random Other Stuff:  (does anyone read this, for that is the question! I think I subconsciously assume that no one does, and therefore feel free to write nonsense as usual)

-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8BpcO4K9ao : I hate studying, but I look forward to studying and listening to music!! Of course, during finals week I had to actually buckle down and therefore could not listen to my usual songs, but allowed myself to listen to instrumental/classical music!! ....And then got incredibly distracted due to a disease I like to call Excessive Youtube Syndrome. However, I now have an updated list of movies I'd like to watch (I like to listen to movie soundtracks...and therefore ended up clicking on a lot of movie-related links)!! 

The link is just some soundtracks from a few movies. 

-What do I pack to go to India arghhh. My mother is a little worried about me going...especially since this week I took a bus in the wrong direction and had to walk a good mile and a half to civilization in a dead end area, and took the wrong route (walking) to my dad's workplace that I go to every two weeks...?!?!?!! Is that possible?!!??! How will I survive in a foreign country?!

Alright this post has gone on long enough and the rambling must end. 

Everyone have a great winter break, sleep after finals, and appreciate your loved ones.

Happy Holidays.

Amirah

Mild Mental Exhaustion.

Alright, the honest opinion of a college freshman on her first final exam.

Thank god I only have one.

I took my final exam today - Introduction to Logic, a philosophy course that studies how people are supposed to reason and argue - logically, not based in rhetoric.  But it. Was. ROUGH.

It wasn't "ohmygodI'mgoingtofailanddropoutandlivelikeahippyfortherestofmylife" bad, it was just... Sit on my bed for an hour and stare at the crack in the ceiling bad.

To be quite frank though. I am lucky. My finals are all final "assignments" - papers that have to be submitted electronically. I only had one formal exam; I'm now done going into Hunter for the semester, unless I want to. My friends though, my poor, poor friends, they have papers and finals!

Finals week is rough. But take solace, Hunter does do whatever they can to make this as easy as they can. The other week they had a de-stress zone, with coloring books and crayons and massages and PlayDoh and cookies and tea and a nap-zone. And tonight we had breakfast for dinner provided by Macaulay and the USG and Hunter. So guess who didn't have to worry about feeding herself?

Plus, the really nice Macaulay Building near Lincoln Center is open 24 hours from December 12 to December 21. So, should you actually need to focus, there is a quiet, comfortable space that will let you relax and concentrate.

And, its very cute and festive over there. Which I appreciate, because the closest thing I've had to Christmas is the pine branch that I got whacked in the face with the other night, walking home. Yeah, people in Manhattan are... pushy.

To bridge over to Christmas (My apologies and best wishes to people who celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanza or Yule or anything else, I just like Christmas so this is what I'm focusing on.) My parents are coming in on Saturday to pick me up! We're going to do all the cute touristy things that everyone here secretly wants to do but will never admit to it because they're touristy and we're not supposed to behave like tourists.

So, family To-See list:
The Tree in Bryant Park ( Much cuter than Rockefeller Plaza)
Time Square
Ellen's Stardust Diner
Yaffa
St.Mark's Place
Some strange Disney Lightshow on Madison and 61st?
Hunter College! (I'm not certain my little brother has seen it yet)
The miracle that is the Subway (My parents have never used it)
The Shops at Bryant Park
Grand Central (I like the architecture)
And whatever we stumble upon in between.

And then I go home that night! And I get to spend Christmas with my family, and New Years with my high school friends!
I'm actually really excited - they all have so many great adventures to tell me about. (One of my friends got a boyfriend and he might come up to NYC during the break. I've been put in charge of finding cute, not-touristy things for them to do). I have a really tight group of friends from back home, and we're going to spend most of the time we're not working together. Four months is a long time to go without seeing people you're used to seeing every day.

But I live on Long Island - just like many kids who go to Hunter. So it will be nice to be able to still see my college friends - after all, I've been living with them for four months.

That's my life in a nutshell, folks. Finals, papers, friends, food, Christmas, and a vacation that I cannot wait for. And I couldn't ask for more.

FINALS ERMAHGERD

How I feel at the moment:

What I saw that made me regret doing this:

Thank you, condescending Willy Wonka, for reminding me that I am graded on my papers and exams, not my clever blog posts that aren't really that clever.

But I love Gene Wilder so much, I don't really mind him being so condescending. I mean, he was Willy Wonka, Dr. Frankenstein, Leo Bloom, and The Fox. I'm sorry, this man is AMAZING. He deserves to look down upon all of us.

Ugh

Finals, papers, finals,papers....

Still dormless, I finally got emergency housing a few days ago to alleviate my transit time from home. But, with rumors swirling around that the East building might open soon, my time there might be really short lived. But knowing I now have the entire island of Manhattan and its endless libraries and Starbucks and campuses to work on, I am really really happy.

I have two papers and two finals for this week, so I hope they go well. But what's the deal with putting the teacher evals online? The only reason I might fill them out is because I want to win an iPad or a metrocard (or anything for that matter!). But this just makes a normally ignored step of the ending of a semester to a whole new level of disappearance.  Whatever happens, December 21 will be a nice day, because not only is it the first day of winter, but also the last day of my last fall semester ever. Talk about bittersweet.

FINALS WEEK!

Oh my, finals week, how you have beaten me down.
For most pre-med kids, Monday and Tuesday can literally make or break our grades right now. I'm kind of freaking out (my chem grade is literally riding on this final) (and so is my bio grade oh god)

I've been studying so hard, I really hope it works out.

This is such a short post, I'm so sorry :( But my final question: who thought it was a good idea to put a chem final on Monday and a bio final on Tuesday?!

Pre-med drama </3

:)Lauren

Tragedy, O, Winter Plans

Hello everyone.

- I can't believe what happened today in Connecticut. This is insanity. These kinds of shootings have happened too often in the last few years. It's not right. 20 kids died for no reason. My thoughts and prayers are with those families in Connecticut who lost so much today. May they find peace.
- I took my first final this week. It was an in-class essay for English 220. It went well. Now I have four more finals to take. Sigh. This is probably the last English class that I'll take in college. It was a fantastic class, and I highly recommend Professor Brown. On the last day of the class, we watched part of the movie O. It's a modern adaptation of Othello. It's definitely a slightly cheesy movie, but it was nice to just take a break from worrying about finals.
- In exactly one week, I will be done with finals, and I'll be able to have a little break from all of this stress. I'm planning on taking a winter class called "History of Broadcasting". It's going to be my first time taking a media class. I'm looking forward to it. It should be a nice break from all of the science stuff.
- I've also been planning what I'm going to do over winter break. I'm looking forward to going out a bit and enjoying the city. I also can't wait to read books again! haha. I feel like there's never time to read for pleasure during the semester.

Good luck to you all! We can do this.

S.

Quote of the week:
“There is a saying in Tibetan, 'Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.'
No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that's our real disaster.” ― Dalai Lama XIV

the Opera!

Hey everyone, 

Guess where I went this weekend?  to the Opera!

The Met at Night

My Thomas Hunter Seminar next semester is on Don Juan in literature, so the professor recommended we go to the opera.  I didn' t think it would be possible, but I ended up going to see Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera!   And it was amazingggg. The music was beautiful, and the show is not only intriguing, but funny. 

Chandeliers inside the Met

The Met, and Lincoln Center, are just beautiful.  I went there for the first time, ever, for my first Macaulay Seminar.  We went to a few really great events, not only the Opera at the Met, but the Threepenny Opera at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), a Fall for Dance production in Midtown, and even a small-scale production in Washington Heights.  They each had their merits; for instance, Fall for Dance made me realize that watching others dance could be interesting (I never really thought of dance as something you could watch); and my professor knew the writer of the small (it was maybe 40 seats!) production in Washington Heights, so she came to our class to talk with us!  

But the operas really had an impact on me.  I had watched an opera, La Bohéme, in my high school music history class, and to be honest, I wasn't crazy about it.  It was a tragic love story, and it wasn't really something I could relate to.  When my class went to the Threepenny Opera, I was expecting more of the same.  I was pleasantly surprised!  The Threepenny Opera is written by Bertholdt Brecht, who made drastic changes to the experience of going to a show.  Up until his time, shows had to completely draw you in and make you forget that they were a show, that they weren't real.  However, Brecht did something different--his characters would make comments to remind you that you were watching a show (if you want an example, look up the Muppets.  I'm not kidding, we even watched some clips in class to understand what this effect is!).  The show was great.  I can't describe the whole show here; I would take forever!  But I encourage you to watch it or, if you ever get the chance, to go see it.  It will change how you look at operas, and shows in general. 

The next opera we went to, Faust, at the Metropolitan Opera, was different.  If you've ever heard of the expression "he/she sold their soul to the devil" ("O Brother, Where Art Thou", anyone?), you've heard of Faust's plot--Faust sells his soul to Mephistopheles in order to gain immortal life.  It's a tragic story with a much more serious and reverent tone than the Threepenny Opera, but its definitely a good one.  It brings up many questions of good and evil, and of humanity trying to conquer things we can't control.  I even wrote my final paper on different interpretations of the Faust story (he was actually a real person). 

Don Giovanni was about a womanizing noble, Don Giovanni (or Don Juan), who is pursuing a young, just married woman, while being chased by a woman he has just deserted.  He is always accompanied by Leporello, who always runs interference for Don Giovanni to distract the young woman's husband or his angry ex-lover.  The play begins with Don Giovanni killing Donna Anna's father in a duel, after which, Donna Anna and her fiancé, Don Ottavio, vow to avenge his death.  I won't give away the end, but I will mention that there is a scene in which hell opens up, and you can feel the flames (even from the furthest ones, in the Family circle, where we were!).  I just can't stop saying this, but it was amazing.  The singing was beautiful, and the characters were engaging.  They weren't just angry or sad, but they were funny and relatable too.  If you do have the opportunity to go, you should (you can even get tickets for $15!).

Oh, and the people sitting behind us were speaking German.  And I could understand them--that made me so happy!!!  Just figured I'd add that, even though it's totally irrelevant.  It just made my night even greater, because all that practice has finally been paying off!  I've always felt like no matter how much I read or practiced, I wouldn't be able to understand a native speaker.  But I did!  Even though I didn't talk to them--still not ready for that.

Anyways, best of luck on your finals!  Just one more week =]

G.

One Down

Finals are upon us! Most of my friends seem to have their English final at some point this week, and I had mine yesterday. It was an in-class essay, on 2 texts (one of our choice, one not of our choice) that had to do with challenging conventional ways of thinking about gender and/or marriage. I'm not quite sure how I did, but I hope that I got my thesis across and that I do well. I've been doing quite well in that class all semester, and it would be a shame to not do as well on the final. It is English 220, and I'm so happy that I placed out of 120 and into this class because it was definitely one of my favourite classes this semester.

However, I still have two finals and one final paper for my other three classes. The two finals are in Econ 100 and Chinese 301, and the paper is for my MHC 100 class. I'm a little nervous about my Econ final since I've mostly been teaching myself in that class, however I did pretty well on the two midterms and on the homework assignments during the semester, so I'm hoping for the best. For Chinese, I just really need to study well and since we're using all the rest of our classes, tutoring, and extra sessions to review I think I'll be alright. For MHC 100 my final 10 page research paper I am writing on the musical Wicked which I am really excited about, I just need to sit down and finish the paper so that I can get the rough draft in this week, and the final paper in on time next week.

I've actually really enjoyed this semester's classes, looking back now. Although each class has had its struggles and negative aspects, in the end, even Econ was not too awful. Now I'm just looking forward to getting through these next two weeks, and then enjoying the December part of winter break. In January I have to attend about 50 hours of Chinese tutoring, so that'll be... fun. I'm also quite looking forward to next semester's schedule which includes MHC Seminar the Peopling of NY, Chinese (oh my gosh, Geography of China taught in all Chinese, I might die), Classical Mythology, Political Science (finally; this semester I wasn't even taking any poli-sci which I should have since that's what I want to second major in), and Spanish. I'm starting a new language next semester, and hope to start Arabic next fall, so wish me good luck!

And best of luck to everyone who has finals and final projects/papers!

Finally!

Wow... I haven't posted here in a longggggg time. I guess I just want to say that I'm really glad to be back at Brookdale again. I've really missed living with my friends and even coming home to no food, being too tired to cook, and too poor to buy food... but that's besides the point. I've grown a new appreciation for this place, and I can put aside any complaints I've had in the past just because I really miss the family that I've made here. 

Unfortunately (or forunately for a lot of people), we came back just in time for finals week and it's no fun at all. I've always read about and heard my older friends complain about how stressful finals week can be, but I didn't think it could be that bad until I actually got to college. It's stressful. Beyond belief. Even when I don't put off my work to the last minute, there's just so much of it to do that it feels like I never get a break anyway. I can't wait for this semester to be over so I can stop doing this every morning. 

On the bright side, I've had some pretty tasty food since we moved back in to Brookdale! (Well before I spent too much money that is....)

Dorm Sweet Dorm

As most of you already know, the dorms are open! I can't wait to see the lounge parties, the late-night dinner feasts, and, of course, the overnight study groups. Let the Macaulay community be reunited!

Even though I'm ecstatic about the opening of the dorms, I am sad to depart from the apartment I shared with a few friends of Macaulay. Yes, I can see them at the dorms, but it's not the same as going home and having people there and maybe even dinner. I miss you guys already.

No Place Like Home for the Holidays?

I'm still pretty sad that the dorms are not back yet for the East Building residents. I'm happy that progress has been made of course for the North and West buildings, but its a huge bummer to be commuting from home during my senior year. And its already so close to finals week I am getting pretty anxious about how my studying will work out at home (which is not especially conducive for learning because of all the distractions).

Anywhoo, scheduled for the last time EVER. Kinda sad and bittersweet, but it was awesome not having any glitches or issues that hindered me from getting my classes. I'll be taking Physics, Ubiquitin/Proteasome ( a 400 level Bio class), Christian Theology, Weather and Climate, and Greek and Latin Roots. Hopefully it will be a great semester!

Lights, Carbon, VS, Presentation

Hi everyone. =)

Some things:
- It's a rainy Friday night in NYC, and I'm just taking some time to enjoy a bit of freedom before finals. (ugh...that word).
- I had an orgo exam today, which as you can all imagine was a ton of fun. I have respect for orgo. The reactions can be really cool, but the tests are tough.
- I had my last bio 200 lab today. I have to do one more lab report and then no more until next semester! yay.
- My friend and I took a walk in the rain today because the 6 train was running with delays. NYC is so pretty at night and especially during this time of the year. Bloomingdale's is covered in lights and there are stars hanging up on lamp posts. I didn't even mind getting a bit wet from the rain. I would actually love to just spend an entire night walking through Manhattan with a friend or a group of friends. I know it sounds insane, but I bet a lot of interesting things go on at night.
- The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was on this week. I know all the guys watch the show just to see chicks in their underwear, but I actually like seeing the really cool designs. haha. The designers are super creative with how they transform underwear into art.
- I have to do a group presentation during the Seminar 3 Common Event on Sunday. Should be interesting. Presentations always make me a bit nervous though. Wish me luck.

Much luck to you all during finals!

S.

Quote of the Week:

“We read to know that we are not alone.” 

~ William Nicholson

we're almost there!

Hey everyone,

So I registered last week and it went pretty well, I registered for all the classes that I wanted.  I'm taking the 4th Macaulay Seminar, a Thomas Hunter Honors Seminar, Advanced German Conversation, Music Theory 2 and Musicianship 2, and Jerusalem in the 20th Century.  I'm so happy about my classes--I don't love how they had to be scheduled, but whatever.  The past three registrations, I've ended up changing most of my classes last minute!

As for my current classes, they're going pretty well also, as we wind down towards finals!  My group gave our presentation, on ecological gap analysis, for our Seminar at the Macaulay building last night.  It was pretty cool!  Presentations can be nerve-wracking, but I love that I'm able to get some practice now.  I'm okay with speaking, but I really want to get comfortable with presenting information, in front of a group.

I also had to visit the Museum of the American Indian for my Tribal Religions class.  The assignment was to find an object and write about its significance, in relation to what we've learned in class.  The Museum is really cool--they have an exhibit right now about American Indians in popular music, from 1920s' jazz to 1960s' rock and folk and today's pop.  You can sit and listen to the music while you read, or watch a video of performances.  They also have their permanent exhibits, which is where I found this drum:

I wrote about how it might effect the player's sense of togetherness and the groups' sense of community and worship.  I also wrote about the significance of the lines and circles.  This may or may not be true, but what matters in the paper is the depth of thinking.  We're supposed to look at the objects, not with our prior knowledge in mind, but with an open mind, so that we can understand what we see, instead of what we know.  It's so difficult to do at first, but I think I've been getting the hang of it!  I'm looking forward to taking another religion class, and to going to another museum, sometime soon. 

Happy St. Nicholas Day everyone!  Keep working hard and preparing for finals; before you know it, we'll be on break!  We're almost there!  Talk to you soon =] 

G. 

Thoughts, Registration, and Schoolwork

Hey, everyone!!

I can't believe it's already the last day of November. Time is just passing by so quickly (and yet not quickly enough because I want finals to be over and done with. haha)
This week, we all had to register for next semester 's classes. That's always a fun process. NOT. It's uber-stressful, but this semester it went pretty well.

I finished reading Othello this week. Such a sad story. I feel like it's still relevant today. Unfortunately, jealousy, insecurity, and accusations of cheating are still parts of many modern-day relationships.
I have a final paper about the play due next week. Hopefully, I'll be able to write something coherent while simultaneously studying for orgo.

I had a nice convo with a friend today and she helped turn my semi-crappy day into a relatively good one. What are we without our friends?

Also, between thinking about organic molecules and jealous men, I've been thinking about life in general. How difficult it all seems sometimes. How the dream seems so far away and impossible. How oftentimes we get in the way of our own success. How we question the very essence of what is right, who is good, and why things happen the way they do.
Sometimes, it's so easy to get lost in the everyday madness of things, but you can't let your dreams die. Life is worth the effort, the bleary eyes, the worry, the confusion. Just for those single moments of clarity.

Peace.

S.

Quote of the week:

"For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson