Saturday, September 27, 2014

Study Abroad At Last! (And All At Once)

Hey everyone!

It's that time of year again. With fall and PSLs (Pumpkin Spice Lattes) comes.....Opp Fund application time! For those of you wondering what the Opp Fund is, it's short for the Opportunities Fund. Basically, as a Macaulay student, you are endowed $7500 to use for study abroad, unpaid internships, educational conferences, grad school applications, honors projects, and tons of other opportunities that you would otherwise be paying for out of pocket. Macaulay believes that you should not have to do so, therefore the endowment of $7500 per student.

However! You have to apply for this money, justify its use, and fills out all sorts of paperwork before you go gallivanting off to Europe. Which is what I'm currently doing at home on this beautiful Saturday. I'm applying for a winter study abroad program/class in Florence, Italy about the Italian Renaissance. I've never been out of the country (Canada doesn't count), and I'm super excited to go to Europe.

Now a lot of people I know use their money for all sorts of things (as listed above). I plan to use all of my money for studying abroad. I just find that to be the most valuable experience I could possibly have with that money. I want to stretch my $7500 as far as it will go, and then make up the difference. I really wanted to do a semester abroad, but I found that I didn't have the time due to a double major and other concerns. Therefore, I plan on applying for another study abroad program in Paris for next summer. This program is on the literature written about Paris. Having taken 12 years of French, being an English major, and basically loving French culture and food, I am ridiculously excited to go there.

Despite the fact that I will have to pay for some of the trip, I'm incredibly lucky that Macaulay will pay for one and a half trips! There's so many options for trips, from CUNY, SUNY, and even other programs. You can even propose one from outside their database. And Macaulay will pay for your tuition there if it's CUNY-equivalent (which most universities in Europe are).

Right now I'm just trying to deal with the financial ins-and-outs of this process, documenting my costs and such so Macaulay can appropriately fund me. I keep telling myself this will all be worth it when I'm in Italy. Just four months and I'll be looking at this everyday:

(Credit: http://spanishworksinc.com/images/cities/Florence.jpg)

After years of dreaming about going to Europe, all of my dreams are coming true (and all at once)!

Erica

Friday, September 26, 2014

What will your verse be?

Hi, everyone!

It's late on a Friday night, and we're nearing the end of the third day of this mini-break. I'm going to be honest with you all. I have felt somewhat unmotivated and disillusioned for the last couple of days and am only now getting back to my happy self. I think September is just not a good month for me. Or maybe I just need to regroup and refocus on what's important: doing amazing on the MCAT and in my classes so that I can have some peace of mind next semester.

Anyway, sorry to start off in such a somber way, but I think it's important for me to tell you guys when I'm not feeling all that great in addition to "the good stuff" like amazing classes and good laughs. You need to know that this whole "college thing" can be challenging. And let's not get started on this whole "life thing." haha.

I'm feeling better about things in part because I just finished watching Dead Poets Society, which was amazing because Robin Williams can literally play any role and because of the main message: "Carpe diem." I think we (especially we, millennials) waste too much time doubting ourselves and being afraid of being proactive in life. What are we waiting for? We won't be this young forever. We won't have all of these opportunities forever. We have to take advantage of every experience and "contribute our own verse." (I love you, Walt Whitman.)

In less serious news, fall TV is off to a great start! I loved the first episode of Gotham and am looking forward to seeing how it develops in the coming weeks. And Parenthood is back for its last season! I love this show to pieces because of how honest it is. It portrays a beautifully complicated family in all of their glories and defeats. The Big Bang Theory is back too, and I'm loving the nerdy humor as always!

One quick tip for you guys: Clean out your closet at least twice a year so that you can get rid of clothes that you don't wear anymore, and make room for some new ones! I've been good about doing this during the past few months, and I've gotten rid of a bunch of clothes that I just don't wear anymore. But don't throw them in the garage. Donate them to a charity that collects them, or drop them off at an H&M location and get a 15% coupon for every bag of clothes that you donate!

We're supposed to have some fabulous weather this weekend so go soak up some sun!

S.

Quote of the Week

"All things are difficult before they are easy."

~ Thomas Fuller

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

An Amazing View

The view from the 16th floor of the North Building.


Greetings everyone!

     My name is Anniesa. I am a freshman at Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College. This past month has been a great adjustment from high school. I went to a small high school that was a 25-30 minute drive from my house. Now I live in the Brookdale dorms and I commute to Hunter everyday. The timing from the dorms to Hunter is pretty much the same as the time from my home to my high school. But that's probably the only similarity! I was so used to having that time in the car to relax, enjoy my neighborhood, or study for the test I was having that day. Now, there is a lot more responsibility involved. I can still enjoy the neighborhood. I mean we're in Manhattan! But I had to get used to taking the "ride" to school with hundreds of other people. I've learned so far to always be aware of your surroundings. Also, don't be afraid to say, "Getting off! This is my stop!" You definitely do not want to miss your stop and be late to class because of it. I like taking the 6 train but there are many ways of getting to Hunter. Find the one that works best for you and use that one. Give yourself extra time and always have a back-up plan just in case there are any delays.
     As for classes, I am still learning how to get the professors to know me. I have, however, found it really helpful to make friends with your classmates. Even if you like working by yourself, as I often like to, your classmates offer reassurance, something we all innately look for. They will help guide you in the right direction and help you when you're unsure or stuck.
     For workload, I have found it helpful to plan out your days with the assignments you have to do, those you need to work on, and those that are long-term projects. I usually try to do a minimum of a three-day plan so I can rearrange if the professor assigns something that is not on the syllabus.
The gaps between classes are great for doing homework! I recommend that you always bring an assignment to work on. If you don't, you end up wasting time doing a whole lot of nothing.
     Finally, I have learned that you have to take the challenges one day at a time in adjusting to college life. You begin to treasure all the little things you enjoy so much more and learn how to rationalize through any struggles. There is a lot of time where you just have to breathe and remind yourself of your goals, both short-term and long-term.

An Artistic Weekend

Hello all!

This past weekend has been a whirlwind of art and activity! As much fun as it has been, I've been extremely busy and am very excited to have three days off this week! I'm especially looking forward to my days off as it means my mom and my grandma will be visiting me. Although a month is not a long time, it is the longest amount of time I've ever gone without seeing my mom before, so I miss her of course and I'm very excited to have the opportunity to show her and my grandma around my new home and my new city!

But, to get back to my weekend, it all began on Friday night when I got all dressed up and headed to the Frick Collection for their third annual Teen Night, an event co-hosted by Museum Teen Summit. A girl I'm friends with is an active member of MTS and a very avid museum-goer and curator whose life revolves around art so she invited me to go and was thrilled when I showed up. I will admit that the event was mostly high school students, but it was still nice to get to explore the galleries and the opulent rooms when they're less crowded and wonderful gallery talks were provided that were insightful and very fascinating. Additionally, a string quartet played music throughout the evening and a dinner was served by Le Pain Quotdien, making for a classy and stimulating evening.

This theme carried through to my Saturday, when i attended a lecture at the Baryshnikov Arts Center. This gorgeous building was conceived and constructed by the preeminent ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. The building contains performance and display spaces for all kinds of performance art, as well as studios on the upper floors for artists-in-residence to develop new and original works. The lecture was a fascinating question and answer format talk with Mr. Baryshnikov himself, one of his employees, and a major philanthropist of the center. They spoke at length about the center, its goals, and the purpose of art in our society and the way the government's policies regarding funding shape the way art is taught and formed in our country. I found the lecture to be very interesting and learned quite a bit. Exactly what I would expect from a master of his craft and such a prominent figure in the art world! After, we all had an opportunity to meet Mikhail, who told us to call him Misha, and take photos with him. He was very nice and extremely funny! It was certainly an unforgettable experience.

All things considered, it was an excellent weekend and it was full of artistic enrichment and fun times. It seems like there is never a shortage of fascinating and unique things to do courtesy of Macaulay and/or the people I've met and connections I've made. Once again, another excellent week. Today marks exactly one month since I've moved to the city, which is extremely surreal because it simultaneously feels like I've been here for much longer and much shorter! But anyway, I've loved practically every minute of it and can't imagine living out my college career anywhere else! Well, I should probably get some sleep, but I love you all, my beautiful readers, and have wonderful days and weeks until you hear from me again! Goodnight!

~ Adam Hobbins '18

Monday, September 22, 2014

I Took A Walk

Hey all,

It’s my third year of college! I’m now closer to the end than beginning. That’s a weird feeling. So freshman (and everyone else), I know you’ve heard this already, but your time here goes fast, so make of it what you want.

Anyway, the other day I was walking home (to the Brookdale dorm) from school and I thought about who else might take this walk. Most dorm residents take the train or a bus to school and from school, and on most days I’m doing the same. However, every now and then I like to walk home. Some people think it’s a waste of time or too long of a walk, but I disagree. At a leisurely pace, you can get from Hunter to Brookdale in an hour or less. Moreover, it can be a rather enjoyable walk. Typically, I take the walk downtown on Park Avenue. Although this isn’t the most direct route, I find it to be most pleasant. From 68th Street to 46th Street, you can watch the upscale life of Park Avenue. Also, car traffic is divided on Park Avenue by strips of green in the middle of the street. This space provides a place for temporary sculptures and other works of art that change throughout the year. While I’ve not always enjoyed the art chosen to decorate Park Avenue, I always look forward to see what is currently there. 

One of the sculptures currently on display are part of Ewerdt
Hilgemann's series of stainless steel "Implosion" sculptures. 

The Helmsley Building as seen from Park Avenue
(photo courtesy of nyc-architecture.com)

Then, on 46th Street stands the impressive Helmsley Building, which looms over the the middle of Park Avenue. Short tunnels run through the building, routing both pedestrian and automobile traffic through the building.


Once you walk through the Helmsley Building, you are met with Grand Central, another fun building to walk through rather than around. After exiting Grand Central, you’re left around 42nd with only 17 more streets and a few avenues to travel before you’re back at the Brookdale Campus. I encourage everyone to try walking home from school on day when you have time and the weather is nice. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Trial and Error

Hey everyone! If you've been reading the MacBlog for awhile (the last two years or so), you'll recognize this common sentiment of mine, namely: sorry it's taken me so long to get around to writing a post, I apologize profusely, I've been meaning to do it for awhile, etc.

Apologies aside, here I am, back on the MacBlog for my fifth semester at Macaulay. Things have been kind of slow and simultaneously hectic for me lately. After much bureaucratic runaround, I was denied from taking a grad level journalism class at CUNY's J-School because (and this is serious) I filed the e-permit too late. In fact, the filing date was exactly two days after I had heard about this opportunity from the Macaulay Monday newsletter. In anticipation of this class, I had amended my schedule to four classes (a measly 12 credits), and had turned down an editorial internship I had been offered. So what was supposed to be a stimulating and productive semester turned into a very slow and kind of dull one, as I am taking only four classes and am frustratingly bored.

Needless to say, I am very disappointed not only in the system that failed to notify me (and the person who posted the opportunity) of this deadline, but the bureaucracy that couldn't find a way around this. The only lesson to be gleaned of my experience is this: anticipate that things will go wrong, and always have a backup plan.

This experience has left me open to other opportunities, some of which I have yet to take advantage of (something which I chide myself about nearly hourly). I want to join some type of newspaper/editorial newsletter/writing group that would develop my writing/editing/op-ed skills. I want to get involved in clubs and submit my poetry to different competitions and magazines. And yet I find myself absorbed in Descartes' Meditations. I find myself doubting even the simplest of my poems, my writing, my opinions. I make excuses for not joining clubs.

And so the resolution for this semester (and if not this semester, this year), is to join a club, get an internship, or otherwise get some type of writing/editing experience under my belt. Last week I went to a joint presentation by Columbia, Berkeley, and CUNY's J-Schools, and as I listened to the speakers discuss the profession of journalism and all that it entails, I started to panic. I looked around at each and every student in that room (who, of course, all seemed 150% more prepared for this than me), and wondered why I was even bothering with this. I wondered if I was cut out for it. I questioned myself and my career choices. Halfway through my college career, I changed my mind about being a college professor, instead thinking about a career in journalism. The more I think about these two professions, however, the less certain I am about either of them.

This is immensely frustrating for me. I am not a person who lives well with indecision, yet I am terrible at making decisions (especially really big ones about my career, future, and where to invest a whopping $80K on grad school, or if I should even do this). When you come to college, they give you that worn out line about how "it's ok to be undecided, we want you to explore lots of different options!" That sentiment never changes, you just get more panicky as you go along and move closer to being in the real world. I know it's totally normal to be undecided at the beginning of your junior year. I know someone who just recently switched majors. She's starting from the ground up. On the other hand, I know lots of people who knew what they wanted to do when they got to college, and immediately set out to get there. I thought I was one of those people, but now I'm not so sure.

I only know one thing for certain: the only way to find out how I feel about a profession is to plunge into it headfirst. I need the experience to let me know how I will feel about being a journalist. I know a lot of people will say an internship is just a stepping stone to getting a job in the field you want. But I think it's better to look at an internship as a trial run for a job. You really have no idea what's it's going to be like to be a dentist, doctor, teacher, or journalist until you try it out. There's a trial-and-error feeling to internships. You may end up doing something you vehemently hate, but at least you did it and found out what you don't like.

And so I'll end it with this anecdote. This summer, I stayed home and helped my dad clean out the basement of our house in preparation for our move (we have about 40 years of stuff down there, collected throughout my parents' lives). In cleaning out our file cabinets, we came across a poster my father had made at one point in his job search. It listed his different jobs, his time as a student, and different hobbies and clubs he was in. Under each experience, he had written what he liked and disliked about it and what he learned from it. At the end, he wrote a list of his skills, as well as things he was looking for in a job based on what he liked and disliked about the experiences he had had so far in his life.

I encourage everyone to do this. Think about an experience you had, as a student, in a club, at a job. Think about what you liked and what you disliked about that experience. Think about what you're good at, what you're mediocre at, what you despise entirely. Mapping out these aspects of your experience might get you one step closer to understanding what type of person you are, what you're good at, and what you value. These are the things that will help you decide what career you want.

And of course, your life may take you down many roads (as my father's did) and you may have a change in talents, loves, and desires (as most of us do). But as you move into the workforce, really think about what you're passionate about and follow it. At least dip your foot into a career and see what it has to offer. Trial and error is everything.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Food and Books

Hey, everyone!

It's a Friday night, and you guys are getting a post from me! Yay! haha.

I went home straight after class this time and then went grocery shopping with my mom. I still ended up feeling exhausted so I took a nap. Now, I'm feeling much more refreshed so here I go with this post!

I don't know how I ever managed to have afternoon bio lab on Fridays for 2 years and still write a post here. I think my easier schedule this semester (see next paragraph) is babying me. But this MCAT cloud over my head is definitely an extra stressor in the picture for this semester that was not there in previous years.

I had a relatively quiet week, which is great. Actually, all of my weeks have been quiet thus far because it's still the beginning of the semester and because I'm only taking 3 classes (since I'm preparing for my January MCAT). I never complain about quiet weeks because I know the pain of crazy, "I'm going to pull my hair out" weeks so I'm just keeping up with homework and thanking the powers that be that things haven't gotten too rocky yet.

I have a lunch recommendation for you guys! Getting a healthy and delicious lunch for a decent price in the Upper East Side is definitely a challenge because the area is so wealthy, and the restaurants don't necessarily cater to us Hunter students but to the UES community at large. But there are definitely a few places that I've found over the years that have good food, and don't leave me feeling broke. I like bringing food with me from home so I don't have as much experience with the food scene here as some other students, but I do have a few places that I consistently go to.

This past Tuesday, I added to that list of places when I visited Ginza, which is a Japanese fusion restaurant. My friends have been going here for years and have always liked it, but for some reason, it took me till senior year to get myself over there. haha. I have a long day on Tuesdays (my last class ends at 7:20 PM) so I wanted something that would fill me up. My friend said that they have great bento boxes with a ton of food so I decided to get a chicken teriyaki one. Not only was everything yummy, but I was full for hours afterwards. In the box itself, there were 6 pieces of California rolls, chicken teriyaki with veggies, rice, and shumai. There was also miso soup and a green salad on the side. All for $13.05. Great deal for when you're having a long day, and a sandwich just won't do.

Wednesday was stressful/relieving because I gave in my Opp Fund application to my Macaulay advisor. Since my summer internship was unpaid, I wanted to use some of the money from my Opp Fund to "pay myself". The Opp Fund is one of the best parts about Macaulay. There a few components to the application, but it's nothing crazy complicated. But of course, I always stress about having everything in place before I give it in. But now, it's done, and I wait for the decision!

I'll be heading over to the Brooklyn Book Festival on Sunday. If you live in the city and love books, you should definitely check it out! I went last year, and it was great! I think writers are such inspirational people, and you feel good about things when you hear them talk.

S.

Quote of the Week

“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.” 

~ Leonardo da Vinci

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Falling Into a Regular Routine

Hello all!

I'm back again for my second post ever! Last week I posted on Sunday night, but today I'm posting on Monday night instead because I was trying to get ahead on some math homework last night. However, in the future I'd like to post on Sunday nights as often as possible since that's a night when I'm sure I'll be home each week, and I can look back at my whole week in review and write a post about the highlights! That being said, let's move on to the week I've just had!

So, most of all this week was defined by the fact that I'm starting to fall into a routine. I have my schedule memorized now and am getting used to things like the weekly homework assignments, my walk to the subway each morning, and doing my laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, etc. Although there was something nice about the whirlwind quality of the first few weeks, it definitely feels good and comforting to be fitting into a regular routine now. It makes me feel much more at home, not only in the dorm, but just at Hunter in general.

On the other hand, there are definitely still interesting things happening in my life! For example, I went to Governor's Island on Saturday to see a play called "Trade Practices" for my Macaulay seminar. I had never been to Governor's Island before and was very excited to see what it was like! Unfortunately, the weather turned out to be rather chilly and wet and it poured rain for a good portion of the day, but it was still a good day overall. The island was lovely and very historic with gorgeous views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. The play turned out to be extremely unique as it was a type of play called 'site-specific' theater, meaning it can only be performed in that particular location. This is because audience members had to walk from room to room during the course of the play, and the audience members had to actively decide which scenes to watch and which storyline to follow. It was very interactive, very unique, and very immersive. All in all, it was quite the experience! Later this week the director is coming in to speak to my seminar class and I can't wait to hear what she has to say.

The following day, Sunday, was another exciting day for me! On the second day of Macaulay orientation, I signed up for the PIED Filmmakers Collective, originally intending to be an actor. While I was placed in their permanent cast, they don't use all cast members for all films. Yesterday they filmed and produced their first film of the year and, not having been cast, I volunteered to be a production assistant for the shoot. I had never in my life been on a film set before, let alone worked in producing a movie! It was all very professional and very exciting! The job they assigned to me was to hold the sheets of storyboard and the book outlining which shots would be captured from which camera positions. Therefore, I ended up being responsible for keeping track of which shots had already been filmed, which camera angles we had to switch to next, and which actors we still needed to use and which could go home. It felt great to be trusted with so much responsibility and I think the directors were very impressed with how organized I was! All in all, it was an interesting new experience and I can't wait to get more involved!

And on that note, I should probably take my leave! I look forward to writing to you all again next week and hope everyone has a wonderful week! Take care and be well!

~ Adam Hobbins '18

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Any fool can know...

Hey, everyone!

Here's another Saturday post for you guys. I keep finding myself exhausted on Friday evenings with no energy to write anything. haha. And then I have somewhere to be on Saturday mornings until the middle of October so this post gets pushed to Saturday nights. But I'll try to stay with my regular Friday posts for next week since I know how eagerly you guys look forward to my weekly posts. haha.

Sometimes, I can't believe I have less than 2 semesters left writing for this blog. Yikes. I'm going to miss it.

But for now, you guys get to hear all about my adventures. :p

Like the one from yesterday! After my class was over, I headed over to the Brooklyn Bridge with a friend. I had been planning to go home early that day, but because it was such a beautiful day, I wanted to enjoy the sun for awhile. We ended up taking some gorgeous pictures, which is not hard to do when you have the Brooklyn Bridge as your background. :p

Me!
Photo courtesy of JLM.
Let's backtrack a bit. I had an amazing Tuesday night. And no, I didn't go to a party or meet the love of my life or stumble across the Holy Grail that night. I sat in my Gene Regulation class for 1 hour and 50 minutes and felt incredible because I was able to follow along with the journal article we were reading. And you might wonder, what's the big deal about that? Well, I had a semi crappy Monday evening and things slowly got better as Tuesday went on culminating with that bio class from 5:30 PM to 7:20 PM. But also because I had a whole lot of nerves surrounding this class because it's an advanced bio seminar. We have to read a good amount of journal articles, which aren't easy to read and which I don't usually enjoy reading unless I happen to like the topic. But I read this article, understood what was being said, and participated a lot in class that night. It just felt so good to know that this class is not something that would give me a lot of worry. Of course, it's still a hard class, but I just feel a lot better about everything. It's funny the kinds of things that can turn your day around.

Continuing with the great vibes of Tuesday night, I had an awesome Wednesday. I went to my last club fair as a Hunter student. The club fair is supposed to showcase all of the clubs so people can sign up for whatever they're interested in. It's held outside, and there's music and food. I went with a couple of friends and just passed through to see what was going on. I thought back to three years ago when I was a freshman at the club fair and how everything seemed so new and exciting. The newness has faded away, but I like to think that I still have some of that excitement.

Afterwards, we headed to Central Park and enjoyed some late summer sun. =)

Oh, I almost forgot! The blog is now called The MacBlog as opposed to just MacBlog. I noticed that I kept putting "the" there when I referred to it so I figured I would just incorporate it into the official name.

S.

The quotes from the last two posts have accidentally had to do with students and learning so I figure I'll continue with that theme for the rest of the semester.

Quote of the Week 

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” 

~ Albert Einstein

Monday, September 8, 2014

MY FIRST EVER MACBLOG POST!

Hello all!

My name is Adam, and I'm a freshman here at Macaulay Hunter! I just joined the MacBlog a few days ago, and this is my first ever post. Let me first say that I'm super excited to be writing for the blog because, when I was in your shoes as a prospective student, I loved reading the MacBlog and seeing what life here is like. It's like it's all come full circle, isn't it?

Anyway, let me start off by giving a bit of background about me. I am not from NYC! I was born and raised in the suburbs of Rochester, NY, and up until two weeks ago when I moved here, that was the only place I'd ever lived. For those of you who don't know, Rochester is a small city in Upstate New York. It's an hour east of Buffalo and the Canadian border, an hour east of Syracuse, and right on the shore of Lake Ontario. It's about a six and a half hour drive to get to NYC from there, so I've been displaced quite a bit! So, now that we all know where I'm from, let me just throw out some random facts: I love pumpkin pie (A LOT), I'm quite addicted to coffee and proud of it, I love to travel and have been to 10 countries, I'm very impatient and don't care who knows it, and finally, I always speak my mind and never hold back at anything.

So, on to the good stuff! I'm sure you're all eager to hear what life is like in the beginning of your first ever semester of college, right?! OKAY! Well then here we go!

I live in the Brookdale Residence Hall, which is where all Macaulay Hunter students usually live if they choose to take the dorm scholarship. All the rooms are singles and they're very spacious and comfortable. At first, I was nervous about having to share a bathroom with 20 other people and a kitchen with 40 other people, but as it turns out, I feel very comfortable living here and I like it a lot. Despite what people tell you, and despite how it may seem at first, the dorm is actually a pretty nice building, all things considered, and I have more space and privacy here than I do in my room back home, so that's awesome.

That covers the residential experience, but the even bigger part of it all is, of course, the academics. I'm taking 5 classes this semester, as I'm sure most of you will your first semester, and the main one I want to comment on is the Arts in NYC seminar that all Macaulay students take their first semester. I chose to talk about this one because it's the only one of my classes that I'm sure the rest of you will also take! Personally, I've been enjoying the seminar immensely. The assignments are interesting, and often involve engaging with the city. For example, I went to a photography exhibit at the Met this morning, and wrote a journal entry about it for homework. Later this semester we're going to a play on Governor's Island, an opera at Lincoln Center, and an orchestra at Carnegie Hall. All for free! Pardon my French, but that kicks serious ass.

Now on to my last point of discussion for my first post on the MacBlog! And that would be, of course, Macaulay itself! Hunter is an amazing school without Macaulay improving your experience. But with Macaulay, it's unbeatable. I have absolutely loved everything having to do with Macaulay. Even the orientations were pretty fun and interesting, and they're notorious for normally being the opposite! The best part about Macaulay is the community. Hunter is a huge school, but within it you get to know the other Macaulay students in your year very well and very quickly. This is nice because you end up spending a lot of time with them at events like the Macaulay Night at the Museum earlier this week. There are also a lot of extracurriculars that are available to you as a Macaulay student! For example, I've been here for two weeks and I've already joined this blog, the Macaulay Creative Writing Club, and auditioned for the Pied Filmmaker Club movies. Getting involved was super easy due to the activity fair at orientation.

Well, I should probably stop droning on since it is almost 1:30 AM! Hope you enjoyed this post, and you'll be hearing from me again within the next week. Keep it classy people.

~ Adam Hobbins
Class of 2018

Saturday, September 6, 2014

The robin is the one...

Hey, everyone!

I'm posting on a Saturday night because I got home late yesterday and had to do some work earlier today. Yes, it was as tiring as it sounds. :p

I've been trying to get myself organized in terms of when to do which work and when to have social time and when to have "me" time and when to sleep. I've been keeping up with everything so far, but time will tell if I can continue to be consistent with time management and reviewing my notes on a regular basis. The semester always starts off with a lot of motivation, but somewhere in the middle, things get overwhelming, and it becomes easy to fall behind. That's why I like to stay ahead of schedule and have a plan for what I'll be doing each day. It saves me a lot of headaches.

And I push away the little voice in my head that says, "Go on Facebook for an hour instead of doing these practice problems." haha.

I have an English class this semester, which I already love. It's actually my first English class in two years. It focuses on the work of Emily Dickinson, Marianne Moore, and Gertrude Stein. During our first class session, we did a dictation, which was a lot of fun because afterwards, we talked about the differences in how we interpreted what we heard. We also wrote an in class diagnostic essay, which was my first one since my English 220 final during my sophomore year!

We're starting with Dickinson's work. I've read some of her poems before, and this a great chance for me to understand her work more deeply.

This is a good one:

The robin is the one
That interrupts the morn
With hurried, few, express reports
When March is scarcely on.

The robin is the one
That overflows the noon
With her cherubic quantity,
An April but begun.

The robin is the one
That speechless from her nest
Submits that home and certainty
And sanctity are best.


On Thursday, I didn't have class, but I just came in to see a friend who I haven't seen since July. We caught up on each other's lives, and he let me know that he was no longer pre-med. He decided on doing nursing instead. Whenever I hear about people changing their minds about their careers, I always applaud them for their foresight in seeing that a particular career is not right for them. It would be terrible to get your degree(s) and then realize that you are not happy with your career. It happens to people all the time, and they are able to successfully start a new career, but it's better to realize and change your path early on in life. It will just save you a lot of worry, money, and time. 

But saying all that, sometimes these "mistakes" need to happen in order for you to understand what you really want. I'm the kind of person who believes that "everything happens for a reason", and I think that going down the "wrong" path is sometimes necessary in order for you to see the right one. 

Later that day, I also spoke to friends who are worried about taking the DAT and the MCAT. I'm in that boat myself, and those exams really begin to weigh on your mind as you get closer to applying to dental/med school. I keep telling myself that all I can do is give it my all and be efficient in my studying. Great scores are achieved with effort. 

I also met a Macaulay Hunter student in her sophomore year who had some worries about the pre-med track. She seemed like she was on top of everything but was having some trouble making choices about which major(s) she would most be happy with. I sat down with her for a few minutes and listened to her worries, and tried to give her some advice about what I knew. I shared some personal experiences about my past struggles with classes or "the pre-med life", and I was honest about anything that I couldn't help her with. I think sometimes all that people need is someone to listen to them and to make them feel like they're not alone in their struggles. It's the worst feeling when you're grappling with problems, and you're alone in trying to solve them. 

I was able to recruit some new MacBloggers from the freshman class, and I'm looking forward to hearing about their experiences so far! A few of them told me that the MacBlog helped them in the college decision process, and I was happy to hear that. 

S.

Quote of the Week

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” 

~ Socrates