Class of 2013: Freshman Blog

The summer after freshman year. It’s a transition period. It’s a chance to have a fun summer job or a chance to try and prove ourselves in the adult world. It’s a chance to reconnect with old friends after a year filled with changes. It’s a summer of memories and fun. The past fourteen weeks (and two days -- totally one hundred days!) have been a wonderful experience for me…here are the highlights, in no particular order.

1. Mudfight/mudsliding – Many of you have probably read in novels or seen in movies about people having mudfights but never thought they actually happen. That was pretty much my thought at the beginning of the summer. Whatever appeal they may have had as a four year old mud pie connosieur was certainly practically all lost by the time I was eighteen – I liked to think of myself as having slightly more refined taste. It wasn’t really supposed to become a mudfight either. What began as two friends playing in the sprinklers and trying to persuade JHU_Keith that we could slide down the beach on cardboard boxes turned into a full-on mudfight complete with over half the RAs and about fifty residents on the freshman quad, complete with rain and sprinklers. At some point, it turned into sliding down the minor incline on the quad, and it ended up with us covered in mud and grass running around the beach and on top of the Hopkins sign. It was amazing -- I’d have never expected myself to do that, or to have fifty others convinced it was fun, either, but it was one of my best experiences at Hopkins!

2. Exploring Baltimore more – Before I came to Hopkins, I’d heard a lot about what Baltimore had to offer, and I was excited to take advantage of that. I don’t think I did very well with that during the school year. I did get out and explore some, but I found that I was often just doing things on campus. This summer, I really explored Baltimore more, thanks in part to the Inner Harbor and Beyond Scavenger Hunt with PreCollege, as well as just exploring with friends and by myself. Baltimore’s got some great neighborhoods, and I’m eager to explore more during the year.

3. Polo games/Connecticut Mondays – For one of our programs with Pre-College, we went to a polo game in Monkton, Maryland. We dressed to impress, learned all about polo, and had a blast. We decided we couldn’t go every weekend, but we wanted to keep that same enthusiasm alive, and so for part of Spirit Week we started Country Club/Connecticut Mondays. Here’s a picture from one of the first Mondays!

Some of us dressed to impress...

4. Music video – What can I say? I don’t think most people had a summer job quite this awesome. As the JHU homepage put it, we turned Homewood “Upside Down!”

5. New York adventure – Something I love about the east coast is how easy it is to travel between places. In June, I had a weekend-and-then-some adventure to the New York area, staying with friends in the city, Long Island, and Connecticut. It was my first time being in Connecticut when I wasn’t on a Bolt Bus, and my first real chance to explore the City and Long Island. It was great to see friends I hadn’t seen since school ended, as well as go to the beach, see the sights in New York, and learn what a forest really was!

6. Summer jobs – I had two jobs this summer. I was working in the Admissions Office as a tour guide and a general student worker (with JHU_Brian and JHU_Mandy!), and as an RA for the JHU Pre-College program. Both were good learning experiences, and I’ve gained quite a few skills, from all the interesting facts about this school to creative impromptu programming to walking backwards to keeping track of forty kids at an Orioles game!

7. Summer class – As one of my earlier posts this summer detailed, I had an absolutely fabulous summer class (Applied Forensic Psychology). It was the sort of class I imagined when first thinking of college – subject matter that really interested me, reading in an amount that covered the topic but wasn’t overwhelming, classmates who cared about the topic, lots of classroom discussion, and an engaging professor. Sounds cliché, but it was what I dreamed of, and this class fit all of that.

8. Appreciating California – As my parents (and most people who’ve spent any amount of time with me) can attest to, I love living on the east coast, and often speak pretty negatively of Los Angeles as a result. Still, on my last two visits to LA I’ve been trying to look at the place much more positively (not just because I don’t have to live in it anymore – which would be my normal cynical attitude – but because I’ve been finding much more about it to appreciate this year. Here’s a snapshot of why California should be appreciated.

Beautiful California...

9. All the meals in the FFC  - This post isn’t a shout-out to the food in the FFC. It’s a shout-out to all the hours I spent there this summer (usually somewhere between 3-5 hours a day). I’m not sure how we managed to spend so long there, or how we avoided the Summer 15, but every meal seemed to turn into one big conversation, and we knew that there were always other RAs in the FFC to go eat with!

10. All the new friends – At the beginning of the summer, I could probably count on both hands the number of people I knew who were in Baltimore for this summer. I made an amazing group of friends this summer – people who I’ll be friends with for a long, long time even though I only met them weeks ago. It’s true during the normal school year as well as the summer, but college brings people together. And that’s why I love it so much!

Summer nights in Fell's Point

When people ask me about my favorite things in college, one of the first that comes to mind is the residential experience. College dorm life is really unlike any other living situation. You’re living surrounded by your peers, in a very unnatural setting, with everyone (for the most part) having the same first focus (school). Last year, I was trying to explain to my second graders where I’d be living. After trying to explain it in simple terms, I finally decided on the sleepover analogy. It sounds silly, but there’s definitely truth to it. I mentioned this story briefly in my summer blog entry, but seeing as it’s that time of year again for blog entries/being an RA has made me appreciate more of ResLife, I figured I’d address the topic some more!

Here are some defining features of sleepovers.

1. Friends – people don’t bother to have sleepovers with others unless they’re good friends or have something in common. In college, many times your closest friends are the ones you live with (either because you’ve chosen to live with them or because Housing made some awesome decisions for you!)
2. Food – Sleepovers are often full of food and other snacks/delicious foods, without regards to the health content. As many college students can attest to, college food life isn’t always the healthiest, especially when you’re having fun/studying for a test. It’s funny how eating habits can be similar during the worst of times and the best of times!
3. Fun – A good sleepover is full of fun. Similarly, college life is also full of fun times, regardless of your take on what fun involves. If you love to game, and can’t think of a better Friday night than one in front of a screen, that’s fine. If you’d like to go out and party, that’s fine. If you want to watch a movie with friends. If you want to go play Truth or Dare in the President’s Garden, as the RAs have taken to doing, that’s fine too. There’s fun to be had, regardless of your definition.
4. You don’t want them to end. I know when I was younger, we always wanted to stretch sleepovers way into the next day, sometimes even into another night. Freshman year lasts for nine months, but it’s still hard to get used to the fact that it’s over. The last few nights in the dorms were bittersweet – we knew we were almost done with finals, but we also knew that we were ending the freshman year sleepover.
5. You recommend them to friends. From elementary school onwards, sleepovers were the rage, and a way that you knew you’d have fun. You’d tell your friends about all the fun you were having, and let them know how much they were missing out. Similarly, when most of us talk about college, the majority of the stories are about times in the dorm or with friends. When people ask about living in the dorms, we immediately respond with “So much fun! You should live in the AMRs/A and B/Wolman because it’s the best!”
6. Silliness. No one ever characterizes sleepovers as prim and proper. There are late nights, bonding sessions, and girltalk (and perhaps bro-talk?). Funny things happen, and often create the best memories. Same with college – the nights I remember the best are the ones filled with craziness and silliness.

When you ask someone what they like to do in their free time, one of the most common answers is “hanging out with friends.” College students are no exception to that answer, and dorm life is definitely one way to enjoy that!

Since I had so much work during my last semester, and most of the time I spent at home during my 3 week long summer break was me being out of the house, I forgot what its like to just have free time where you can sit around and do nothing. Since I’ve been working so much as part of the Orientation Executive Staff on campus this summer, I also forgot what it was like. This week has been the first week where I’ve actually had time to just sit around and watch TV or play video games. So this week I’m going to talk about all the cool things you can do at Hopkins when you have free time.

1. If you’re a gamer, the DMC is definitely going to be one of your favorite places. Each computer at the DMC has Steam loaded onto it, and aside from that they actually have steam accounts with games pre-loaded on there. Simple translation: you can play lots of amazing games for free on some of the best computers on campus. If you’re a console gamer they actually have an entire gaming lounge that you can set up with any of the consoles they have available (which is basically every console you can think of, even the older ones!)
2. If you’re an athlete, or you just love exercise, then the rec center is the place for you. Our rec center is complete with an entire 2 story tall rock wall, 3 basketball courts, 4 racquetball/squash courts, and an Olympic size swimming pool. The awesome thing about the rec center is that you don’t need any of the equipment necessary to play the games, you can rent everything from a basketball to everything needed to play indoor volleyball. Personally I love going to the rec center when I’m bored to play racquetball or squash (if you don’t know what these games are you should definitely try them out).
3. If you like smaller games like pool and ping pong, then you can actually check out all the game rooms in the dorms. Each game room is complete with a pool table, a ping pong table, and a foosball table. Again you don’t need any of the equipment, all of the staff in the game rooms provides you with all the equipment, all you have to do is give them your JCard.
4. If you prefer something even more casual, each Friday the HOP (Hopkins Organization for Programming) runs a program called Friday Night Films. Each Friday they get the license to show a film that is no longer in theaters, but isn’t out on DVD yet. During my Fall semester I saw Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Star Trek, and Terminator Salvation. Its really great cause all you need to do is go to Mudd with your friends. The movie starts around 9 and your out by 11 so you have plenty of time to do whatever else you want.
5. Finally if you want to catch up on your studying or reading, each dorm has some really cool study rooms where you can sit back, relax, and not have to worry about being bothered by anyone. Aside from that there’s always the library which is open until 4AM every night. Remember that there are 3 different silent study levels, and they get increasingly quieter as you move down to D-Level.

I’ve basically just listed the main categories of activities I can think of that you can do in your free time, there’s much much more you could do. For example, you could also participate in club/intramural sports, or explore Baltimore, Towson, or even head to D.C. So no matter what you love to do in your spare time there’s something for you here at Hopkins. I’ve heard a lot of people say that you could leave your dorm every night of your Freshman year and end up doing something completely new. What’s interesting is that some of the best nights I’ve had during my Freshman year weren’t doing something crazy or new, it was spent sitting in the FFC with a bunch of my friends or one of my friends common rooms. It really depends on your personality, but no matter what I’m sure you’ll have lots of fun here at Hopkins.

Hey, guys. It’s Greco again.

So the last photo on my previous blog entry is a photo of Imogen Heap trying on our a cappella group’s t-shirt. In case u missed it, i’ll post it here again.

Yes, the Vocal Chords went to Imogen Heap’s concert in Washington DC. THAT’S NOT ALL! We opened her concert! THAT’S STILL NOT ALL! We sang one of her songs with her soloing our arrangement! The experience was totally surreal, and is one of the best moments of my entire 19 years of life.

So this is how all this thing happened. Imogen Heap tweeted on twitter, announcing video auditions to sing one of her songs “Earth” with her at her concert. She also said the winning group would also get a chance to open her show. Luckily, we had already arranged the song for our concerts last year, and all we had to do was post our video from the concert on Youtube! A week later, we got an email from Imogen’s tour coordinator asking us if we can perform at her concert at DC! That was SUCH an ecstatic moment. I was in Korea with my family when one of our members sent out a mass email about this. My dad told me I screamed like a girl.

Even more luckily, the concert was on the 29th of May which is exactly the day I was going to arrived at IAD!!! So on May 29th, after 14 hours of flight, I arrived in DC airport. I was DEAD exhausted, but my day had only just begun. My friend picked me up from the airport and I went straight to her house where all the members gathered to practice.

Our sound check was at 6, and we went to the venue a little earlier. As we walked to our designated room, I heard a familiar voice from the other side of the wall. It was IMOGEN HEAP! She was rehearsing and doing soundcheck on stage! The whole time we were waiting, we creeped on her in the backstage haha. And finally when it was our time, we ran to the stage to greet Imogen. She was so chill. You imagine a popular musician like her to be like cocky and stuff, but Imogen was so chill. She thanked us for coming and shook EACH of our hands! and her hand was so nice and warm………………………. oh wow this sounds a bit creepy haha but OMG Imogen..

Oh were we sooooo nervous! We had never sang in front of such a big audience in such a big venue. I was even more nervous because one of the songs that we were going to sing was Rehab which is the song I do the solo.

It was 8pm and the crowd was keep getting bigger and bigger. The lights on stage darkened and Imogen Heap came out on stage. Her hair was not even done but she insisted on introducing us herself. It was so kind of her to even speak of our group’s name! “And here they are, The JOHN HOPKINS VOCAL CHORDS!” (btw, our school should officially change its name to John Hopins cuz Imogen said so.)

We sang 4 songs and my solo was the last. People loved my solo! Some even started clapping in the middle of the song along the rhythm and I was so excited as an entertainer. And later I heard that Imogen was behind the stage the WHOLE time we were singing though her hair needed to be ready like ASAP. I mean, what kind of awesome fan-loving, famous-but-approachable-at-the-same-time musicians would do that!

After we opened our show, we went to our seats to watch the rest of the show. It was the first time I went to a legit concert, and it really set a high standard for me! I think she is so talented, and truly an artist. She makes all her songs by herself, and a lot of the sounds in her songs were inspired by the sounds around our lives (dripping water, rubbing wine glass rims, people talking at parties, burning fire, etc), so her songs often gives this organic feeling. But at the same time, she also uses electric synthetic sounds, and the harmony of those two kinds of sounds is truly synergetic.

It was time for us to sing Earth with her. We went back on stage and sang the a cappella background of the song while she sang the verses. The moment was so surreal and crazy I made mistakes in a couple of parts! But at the end, the audience LOVED it and the whole thing just worth every hour of my flight time back to the US.

I think joining the Vocal Chords was the best decision I have ever made. I had just a tough freshman year, both physically and academically, but being a part of the community really helped me appreciate my college life and endure the hardships. I also love how Hopkins is really close to major cities. If it were located in the middle of nowhere, a rando place that Imogen wouldn’t have her concert in, we wouldn’t have been able to get such an opportunity.

Anyways, I have school tomorrow, so I should really try to go to sleep now. Bye!

-Greco

(Last two photos were taken by Geoffrey Franz)

Things that make me cry: ASPCA commercials with Sarah McLachlan crooning in the background, awkward maid of honor speeches at weddings, and FASHION FAUX PAS’s.  It is well known that my craziness is oft-reflected through my wardrobe, however, there are a few staples that every college freshman needs/unfortunately insists on wearing.  In the name of Anna Wintour, I hope all you incoming freshman can learn from my mistakes and make the fashion scene at JHU a much more visually pleasing place.

1. The “Overdressed” Look

Yeah, it is bound to happen. With the first few weeks of school come college parties.  Beforehand, as you are getting dressed, put down that pretty silk blouse you purchased on sale at Anthropologie. Baltimore in the summer is hot, parties are crowded, and it is not worth sacrificing your wardrobe’s best to a clumsy party-goers rogue soda.

2. The “Eau de Sweatpants” Look

Personally, I have been waging a vendetta against the sweatpant for the past year (excluding, of course Alexander Wang’s Fall 2010 Collection. But I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t wear sweatpants to the cafeteria, to late night Uni Mini runs, and even to class (never in front of my cute Econ TA, however!). Anyway, try to control yourself, please. I understand the occasional sweatpant, but elastic is not your friend (especially around the dessert table in the FFC).

3. The “Macbook” Look

Our generation’s grandchildren are going to think we were all a bunch of weirdly augmented super-freaks (and not in the good Rick James way) when they see all of the Mac “Photo Booth” pictures we all take. Every single college freshman on the planet has a picture of them with their face all wonked out. Guaranteed. I”m talking to you, students at “University of Somalia.” Please, just stop the cycle!

4. The “Nerd Bird” Look

Face it, you are a freshman. You are bound to have that moment where security guards chase you down in the library, you make enemies with the workers at Uni Mini, and you make a total goon of yourself in front of a professor (um, none of these things have happened to me haha). The campus forgives you and understands your plight.  The plight of the freshman is comparable to lots of biblical references that I can’t think of right now. So, submit your stories to “Texts From Last Night” and cleanse yourself. You will one day be a cool, stately sophomore like myself. I’m sure you can’t wait!

5. The “Baltimore Just Went Through A Record Breaking Snow Storm, Where the Heck are my Gloves?!” Look

I am convinced that after the wild snow storm of 2010, I will never get another snow day for the rest of my life. But props to you, El Nino, you really got ‘er done. I’m pretty sure the last remnants of snow just melted off of the MSE library in May. Anywho, try to prepare your wardrobe for winter weatha. I assumed since I was moving south, that the weather would automatically be warmer. Um, no.

6. The “Alter Ego” Look

There are no words to describe my love of Michelle Obama. I scour the racks at J. Crew trying to find a perfect sweater set a la my idol. Michelle Obama out-fabulousizes the Elton John in me and out smarts the Doogie Howser one-liners I have memorized by heart. Anystalker, find someone you emulate and let them inspire you-that’s what college is all about! And looking fierce.

7.The “Action Shot Let’s Pretend I’m Athletic” Look

My fifth grade soccer coach knew that I wasn’t athletic.  My parents (after years of buying lots of sports equipment) now know that I am not athletic. However, the whole JHU campus has not become privy to my secret yet.  So, I’ll continue to walk around in shorts when I haven’t been to the gym, hold a water bottle that hasn’t been touched, and work up a little sweat (living on the third floor this year was rough).  This is all part of my athletic illusion. For you actual athletes out there, DEAL WITH IT.  You were not traumatized as I was by dodge balls in gym class.

8. The “My Legs are so Pale from the Winter” Look

Remember, when packing for spring, the CROPPED PANT/CAPRI.  The transition from snowpants to shorts is never good. Pasty legs are not conducive to spring flings.  Take your time and discreetly bronze your legs post-winter thaw. Otherwise, you run the rise of blinding poor bystanders on campus with your “P.Diddy White Party”-esqu leg color.

9. The “I’mma Pretend My Life is Like ‘Animal House’ and Wear a Toga” Look

What do your parents spend $50,000 a year for? So you can learn how to make a toga! It is a marketable skill, fo’ sure. Actually, it is the only skill on my resume (is that bad?).  Ovid said: “Learn the art of the toga, and you will go far.” Live these words, freshman.  Live these words.

10. The “Finals Just Ended and Now I have to Pack all My Stuff?” Look

So when I woke up move out date to 10 missed calls from my father, things were a little rough. My lovely daddy then preceded to yell my name throughout the courtyard of AMR II, impelling me to wake up. Needless to say, my outfit was not up to par. However, my RA insisted upon a photo.  So, prepare yourselves. Pictures will be taken at all moments, no matter how inopportune. As evidenced by the photo below, I am always “voguing” it.

*All Photo Credits to Mario Testino

Hey, everyone!

It’s the end of the school year – some real exicting stuff, eh?!  I’m writing final papers right now and am studying for a final, too.  Summer’s nearly here.  For me, that means I’m about to board a flight for three months in London.  I’m really stoked about this, though I’m worried, because I don’t have my visa here and because it doesn’t look like I’ll get it in time.  Oh, and by the way, if anyone has any connects at the British Consulate in LA, now’d be a great time to hook me up! =]

To be honest, I’ve been hit with a tidal wave of nostalgia in the past few days.  I mean, my freshman year of college is pretty much over – I’m out of here this week, and my finals are right around the corner.  I know this sounds cliché, and I apologize, but I just can’t come to accept that it was in August that I first came to Hopkins.  I mean, seriously, if you would ask me, I would probably say that it feels like just a few weeks ago I got my keys and J-Card after driving from Little Rock.  A lot’s changed, and I’ve met a lot of great, new people, and, to tell the truth, I’m really quite grateful.  It’s been one amazing year, and I can only begin to anticipate what next year will bring.  But let’s hope I don’t get in a rush right now: I’m having so much fun, and I just want the recess to continue.  (That said, I’m in the libs, writing this, inter alia.)

There was a mech. bull on the beach Saturday. I lasted 6 seconds. This is JHU_Cate trying to beat me at it...

In high school, I lived by a single rule: ‘In every school, there must be recess.’  When I came to Hopkins, I sort of lost track of that idea and became consumed with school work, and, to tell you the truth, that really bummed me out.  I made a goal to ensure that I fit some fun, memorable times in my days here at Hopkins, and I’ve really been successful thus far.  I had a great weekend that was as impromptu as possible: I spent 72 hours with people I didn’t really ever know, and we all had the times of our lives.  We had a dance party at night, went all night long, and cooked some amazing food in the process.  It was a lot of fun, and it was a spectacular way to put an end to classes, which ended on Thursday for me.  I have another friend coming in on Thursday, my last night in Baltimore before London (assuming some reader of this post makes some calls for me =]…sorry for the shameless plug!), and I’m looking to some memorable times before heading off for the summer.  It’ll be great, and I’m really excited to see what the night will bring.

Congrats to all the high schoolers on finishing your AP/IB exams, if you’ve done so already.  They were a massive bummer last year, but those AP credits are oh-so-valuable here – it’s a really nice thing to get credit for some classes (puts you further ahead, so recess can come, too!).  Have a great end of the year, seniors, and enjoy your last day with people you probably won’t see for a long time, if ever.  And have a great graduation, and make some memories!

Until next time and hopefully from London,

Daniel

Hi, this is Greco.

First of all, it was great to see you all at the open houses. I especially appreciate those who came to me and said hi personally! I’m really glad a lot of you are reading my blogs! Really, this really motivates me to be a better person haha. Thanks for recognizing me! :)

Anyways, last two weeks has been very hectic. Last Saturday, my a cappella group, The Vocal Chords, put on our 15^th anniversary concert and basically, we had rehearsal everyday from 6pm to 12am. Plus I had a few midterms and papers due during those two weeks, so they were literally, Hell Weeks.

Being a chemical engineering major and trying to involve in extracurricular activities, to be honest, is very hard. The workload isusually a lot, and during the last two weeks, I had no time to study before the rehearsals, so I often went to bed really late. It was really challenging time for me, both academically and physically, and I was actually seriously considering quitting a cappella next year—I felt like everything was falling apart.

But I feel like the concert really paid off everything. All the hard times and sleepless nights paid off with one of our most amazing concerts. Throughout the songs, we were dead on with rhythms, pitches and everything! Oh, and at the end, we had our Vocal Chords alumni come on stage and sing with us some of the songs from the past. WE SOUNDED AMAZING. It was totally a historic moment for us, having alumni from recent years to the very beginning, and we were all on stage, singing in harmony. I’ve never met them before, but it didn’t matter—we were already connected to each other, and we were a family.

And did I tell you it was a full house? I really didn’t expect this, since we had some empty seats last concert. I actually wasn’t nervous at all before the concert, but when I actually saw that large of a crowd, my heart started pumping freakin fast. Oh, and my solo was really good as well, according to my friends and other strangers I met at the end of the concert! I actually felt the same way—last time, I went a bit sharp during the song, and we also sped up, but this time, we were dead on. We’re still working on our videos, and I’ll let you all know when we post them on Youtube!

And after each concert always follows totally uber awesome after-party! I was actually thinking about not going since I was really really behind in academics and had a midterm on Monday, but I was like f- it—I deserved this party, yo :)

Anyways.. Imma peace off now.. I need to read some poems for my IFP II class tomorrow. Bye!

-Grecs

oh oh oh oh oh and look at this AWESOME poster! I designed it, and, not trying to boast about it, but I think it’s pretty baller hehe

Looking back over my recent blog entries it still looks like winter! However, that’s definitely not the case anymore! Baltimore’s been having a beautiful spring, full of flowers and 90 degree days. A lot’s happened since the snow, so here’s a recap of the last month or so!

Me with Maddie (right) and her roommate Nusrath (left)

1)   Spring break! I knew that I’d be spending a fair amount of break focusing on mock trial in Baltimore, so I decided I still wanted to have a “real” break. One my best friends goes to school in Boston, so I ended up leaving the Wednesday before break and heading up to Boston to visit her.  She was the only person from LA I’d seen all spring, so it was great to see her, meet all her friends, and see an entirely different college campus! Saturday I left, with the intention of eventually ending up in Connecticut, via 3 subway rides, 2 commuter rails, and 1 bus, but the weather had other plans. Connecticut was hit with huge storms, and I ended up staying in NYC for the night and heading back to Baltimore Sunday night.

2)   Mock Trial! Monday was the beginning of the mock trial adventure. There were six of us staying in one apartment, with two others showing up during the day. We actually ended up having a lot of fun over these days of practice, including cupcakes for St Patrick’s Day! Thursday began the adventure in Ohio – we ended up finishing 3-5 at Opening Round Championships. Here’s a sampling of our time there.

Green cupcakes!

Most of the team at dinner

The freshmen girls!

Our Law and Order picture!

At seder

Post-Passover chametz party!

3)   Passover! I ended up going with friends to the seder at Hillel. It was really different from my family’s seder, but still a lot of fun.  Over the next week, we got really creative with matzah (including matzah taco salad, matzah pizza, several varieties of matzah brei, and matzah meal apple pie cupcakes!).

4)   Baking! I’ve been taking more advantage of the common kitchen!

Apple pie cupcakes!

Matzah brei party #1

Matzah brei party #2

Cupcakes galore

5)   Fun with tutorial! This semester, my tutee and I have bonded a lot more, and as a result have been even more productive. She’s a lot of fun to spend time with, and has been making a lot of progress. Last week right after the open house ended we had Reverse Tutorial, where we go to our tutee’s house and work with them there. My tutee’s sister and cousins are also in the program, and we all ended up having a mini dance party at their house!

6)   Homecoming weekend! The whole weekend ended up being a lot of fun – I went to an Indian buffet Saturday morning in Mount Vernon, the game Saturday afternoon, hung out with friends Saturday night, and did poster painting/coach-hosted party with mock trial on Sunday.

Fun with eyeliner tattoos...

Most of the team

A Team reflecting on Hamilton Ohio

7)   Admitted Students everywhere! This week my roommate and I hosted two great prefrosh, and I spent most of my Thursday helping out with Open House. It was a great program, and I hope that more of you are coming this week!

Today’s April 18. In a month, I’ll be done with freshman year. That thought is so strange – second semester hasn’t even been going on for three months, and it seems like I was just moving in. I know I’ll definitely miss being a freshman – it’s been a wonderful year! Still, here are three things I’m looking forward to!

1)   Summer job! This summer, I’m going to be a Summer RA for the pre-college program, along with JHU_Keith and my current roommate! It sounds like it’ll be a lot of fun, and they also pay for a …

2)   Summer class! I’m taking Applied Forensic Psychology. I saw the class listing, and figured I’d look into it. Last week, I sat in on a class that the professor is currently teaching, and decided that I definitely wanted to take the class. It should be very interesting, not to mention useful for mock trial.

3)   The beach! I’m going to LA for about two weeks before my summer class starts, and I’ll definitely be spending time at a real beach!

If you’re checking the weather in Baltimore today, you’ll probably see that we’re having beautiful weather. If you visit campus, you’ll see that students are out on the beach, enjoying the weather. With all of the blue skies and flip flops, it’s hard to believe that just a month ago, we had one of the biggest blizzards in Baltimore’s recorded history, and that Johns Hopkins, infamous for always trying to keep things open, actually closed the University for a week. As in, we had a Snow Week.

I’d never had a snow day before, let alone a snow week, so having all this time off from school because of the weather was pretty amazing! The snow started falling on a Friday afternoon, and continued falling until Saturday afternoon. My friends I wandered around campus Friday afternoon – here’s a picture of us in front of Admissions.

Jumping in the snow outside Admissions

Friday Night Films (a program run through The HOP – they show a movie every Friday night) was showing Precious, and when we went outside, there was already about 8 inches of snow for us to start playing in. When I woke up on Saturday morning, this was what I saw:

The view from my window - Snowmageddon Saturday

The view from my window - September

With all of this snow, much of Baltimore (and Hopkins) had shut down, but luckily the FFC remained open, albeit with slightly reduced food options and shortened hours. Hopkins actually paid for hotels near campus for the people who work at the FFC and various maintenance staff in order to help life at snow covered Hopkins remain as normal as possible.

We went out to explore the campus without staying on the paths…

Me in over 2.5 feet of snow!

We avoided the icicles – these ones were only about a foot or two feet, but we actually saw one that was over five feet long on the way to The Book Thing!

Icicles on Remsen

The snow makes everything look beautiful and magical – even normal things like lampposts.

(lamppost picture)

Hopkins = Narnia?!

We were also snowed out of the library! Some days, the library was closed, but they still had some online services like “Ask a Libarian.”

(library closed picture)

The library closed?!?!

Here’s the engineering quad:

The engineering quad before the snow

The engineering quad after the snow

We also went to the President’s house and the garden in front of it. During nicer weather, this area is one of my favorite places to study. Although beautiful, it’s not exactly an ideal study spot right now!

The President's House and Garden

Here’s my dorm with paths carved out to get to the doors – only one person can be in the path at once, so it’s like having one way streets everywhere! Some doors were also blocked off because of the icicles above.

The walkway up to Sylvester House

However, it’s not like the only fun thigns to do were outside! We took advantage of the snow to make soft pretzels and take advantage of our common kitchen.

(pretzels) (us in the kitchen)

Pretzels!

Part of the pretzel making party!

At the end of the week, it was Valentine’s Day weekend. My friends and I ended up having a busy weekend involving seeing Valentine’s Day the movie, exploring Little Italy, eating dinner out, making cookie, eating Sterling Brunch at the FFC, going to The Book Thing, and making cake and icing!

Making icing!

Our three cakes!

Over winter break, my friends and I were comparing spring breaks. Most of us had the standard week in March. One of my friends, however, got two weeks of break, one in February and one in April. We were all jealous of her, and never thought we’d end up in the same situation. Yet, here we are, starting our second break of the semester (and it’s not even spring yet)!

Disclaimer about the weather – I wrote this last Friday. For those of you who were in the Northeast this weekend, you’ll have known that there were huge storms and power outages, and the site was down. The weather isn’t so wonderful today, but the site’s back up!

I cannot believe that spring break is less than two weeks away.  Truthfully, it seems like yesterday walked into the first day of spring semester classes, yet the opposite is apparently true.  However much time had elapsed, though, it has certainly been a busy, busy time for me, and in this blog I would like to provide a short brief of what has been keeping me uber busy.

For me, as I mentioned above, the semester thus far has been a busy one indeed.  I spent the beginning of it working on applications for either summer employment or study, and when those were out of the way, I began working on grant proposals to help fund the programs to which I applied.  If you have not yet applied for an internship in government and intend to, you will soon find that a majority do not pay – at all.  Frankly, that sort of sucks – hence the grants proposals

One of the grants to which I applied is actually funded by the Second Decade Society of the Alumni Association here at Hopkins.  I think the willingness of Hopkins alumni to financially support the endeavors of the University’s undergraduates testifies to the dedication of Hopkins alumni.  When I applied to Hopkins, I did not know of such programs, and I must admit it is rather comforting to potentially have the costs associated with one’s unpaid work experience underwritten by a University-affiliated group.  Just something to consider.

Thankfully, I was accepted to work in the House of Commons in London while doing a little bit of independent research and coursework at the London School of Economics via the Hansard Scholars Programme.  I will be living in London for most of the summer, working and studying for eleven weeks of it.  I hope, after my program’s completion, to travel a bit through Europe, but we will see how that goes.  Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled about my acceptance, and I have already completed most of the necessary visa paperwork, if that gives you an indication of sorts (note: this is an awesome excuse to delay real homework, but more on that later).

Charles Commons -- This is where I want to live next year!

The spring semester of freshman year, I am finding, is a busy time indeed.  Most notably, registration for sophomore housing opens soon, and I will know where I am living next year within the month.  Unlike freshman year, when an overwhelming majority of roommates are randomly assigned (well, there is a short questionnaire to be taken that gets a few of the basics out of the way: ambient noise preference, sleep schedule, etc.), we choose the people with whom we will live next year.   Actually, I will be suitemates with Greco (the other blogger on here) next year.

Academically, this semester is far different than last.  For instance, I am taking fewer credit hours at present (12), but my classes are much more involved.  I plan to discuss my current coursework in greater detail in another blog post at a later day, but I am in two history seminars this semester.  Both of these seminars require an average of 200 pages of reading per week.  Needless to say, I am reading quite a lot, but I enjoy the subject matter at least.  The thing about these seminars I most enjoy, however, is that they are capped at fifteen students each and that both are taught by a full professor, which I really do appreciate.  Funnily enough, I had to read a published article last semester for another class by one of my current professors, Dr. Morgan.

Before I totally bore you with this update, I’ll try to stop while I’m ahead.  Thanks for reading!

Until next time,

Daniel