Class of 2014: Freshman Blog

With summer winding down, most of my friends are getting excited about returning to college or going away for the first time. When the inevitable college talk starts, you tend to quickly realize that while the school you go to seems like the absolute most unique and incredible one in the entire world, there are a lot of similarities within the top schools. While they may be called different things, my friend Kelly will be leaving for the Cornell version of Pre-O on Wednesday; Lily’s “core” at Georgetown is eerily similar to our distribution requirements; and Iain has been sending the students in his “Orientation Leader” group emails just like the ones I sent to my “Peer Ambassador” group kids. All this has made me wonder, what does make a college special? Is there anything that is truly unique to Hopkins? Obviously my classmates and faculty are a huge factor in making Hop one of a kind, but that’s true for any university! However, I know there’s a reason I chose Hopkins over every other school in the country. Here are some of the things that make Hopkins absolutely unique:

1. Top graduate and professional schools with full-access for undergrads: I’ve never heard of a medical school with faculty so willing to let undergraduates participate in research, not even to mention that it’s one of the best programs in the country! At Homewood, it seems like the research question for pre-meds is “when” not “where” or “how.” Everyone I know who has wanted to work in a lab has had the opportunity to do so, which is ridiculously impressive! Several of the grad schools, like Bloomberg and SAIS, allow undergrads to take classes with graduate students; the Public Health major even requires it! Nowhere else have I seen such collaboration and continuity between all the schools.
2. Intersession: While most schools go back to school in January, our winter session is totally optional and pass-fail! And not only are these three-week courses much more relaxed, but they’re also about really interesting topics like “The Science of Cooking” or “Inventing Language.” There are also opportunities to go abroad to places like Ghana, Spain, or Italy; and freshmen have their own comprehensive courses (B’More) where they explore Baltimore and combine academic subjects with the city and community. Intersession is totally free as well (including housing and dining), so it’s one of the best orchestrated and most fun programs I’ve ever seen at a college.
3. Covered Grades: The fall of freshman year, all grades are Pass/Fail, although professors still grade you as if your transcript will have a letter grade on it. I could talk for days about how wonderful the covered grades program is, but that wouldn’t make for the most fascinating blog post. All I can say is that there is no further proof that the Hopkins administration cares about its students than covered grades. While critics may say that freshmen goof off as a result of covered grades, I think this claim is immensely unfounded. No one wants to start college getting C’s, even if no one sees them. Instead, it gives freshmen the flexibility to not be cautious in joining clubs and organization, making lots of friends, and exploring Baltimore. It doesn’t give you a “by” on studying; it just means that if it’s a choice between spending all day studying and taking lunch off to eat with that girl from down the hall who complimented your shoes during the RA meeting, you can, since it doesn’t matter if you get a 93 or a 92, like it does during non-covered grades. I learned exactly what study techniques work for me, which rooms and library levels I study best in, and how much time it takes me to do different types of assignments. My grades second semester were better than my first semester ones because I was lucky enough to get a “dress rehearsal.” All my friends from home are so jealous of my covered grades AND all the amazing experiences I was able to have because of them.
4. JHMI Shuttle: This free bus service runs every 5-10 minutes and takes Hopkins students all around Baltimore to each of the Hopkins campuses: Peabody, JHMI, and Bloomberg, as well as Penn Station. There are also shuttles to the different medical campuses associated with JHMI, including Bayview and Mt. Washington, so students can get to their research jobs for free. You can also hop on to go to Mt. Vernon for dinner or in order to get a much cheaper taxi ride to the Inner Harbor for one of the more Southern stops.
5. Seminars: While every school has both lecture and seminar offerings, Johns Hopkins was founded on the seminar style of learning. As a result, every major has its own seminars for every grade level. Last semester I took four seminars and this semester I’m taking two! I love the individual attention and the discussion format. Over 65% of Hopkins classes have under 20 students, so it’s clear that we still place serious value on this form of teaching!

It has been pretty hot in Baltimore this summer. But surely no one has felt the heat more than all the construction workers on campus.

There are a number of major projects underway. Thanks to the generous philanthropy of some of our most successful alumni, there will be four new buildings completed at Homewood in the next 2-3 years.

Perhaps the most eagerly awaited is the Brody Learning Commons, an adjunct to the MSE that will further the Milton S. Eisenhower Library’s role as the intellectual, social, and physical heart of the Homewood campus. The BLC will be a light-filled, four-story hub for collaborative learning, with a robust technology infrastructure, spaces for group and individual study, and will provide more than 500 new seats and add 15 group study rooms—space that will be greeted warmly by the undergraduate population.  Construction has already begun on the building, with a scheduled completion date of July 2012.

Here’s what the architect has to say: “The technology-rich Learning Commons includes group study spaces, seminar rooms, and a state-of-the-art lab designed to integrate the role of scientists into the field of paper and manuscript conservation. The Rare Books and Manuscripts collection is on prominent physical display, supplemented by digital presentation of materials that allows users to compare and contrast different editions of rare documents in virtual and physical form. An atrium, which provides a transition between Brody and the Library allows natural light to reach the lower levels of the Library while providing a civic space for the Learning Commons and the library community. The highly sustainable project is being designed to LEED Silver standards.”

Late last year, John C. Malone, Engr ’64 (MS), ’67 (PhD), donated $30 million to the Whiting School of Engineering for a 56,000-square-foot, four-story building on the Decker Quadrangle. But this isn’t just another brick building; Malone Hall will be specially designed for interdisciplinary work, housing the new Systems Institute as well as Johns Hopkins’ emerging initiative in individualized health.

According to the University, “the initiative in individualized health is expected to bring together engineers, life scientists and medical researchers from across Johns Hopkins. They will focus on bringing information science into the practice of medicine, with an initial emphasis on cancer, in a manner that will allow an unprecedented focus on treatment designed for the individual patient. The approach grows out of the recognition that genetic and epigenetic differences among patients explain, at least in part, why traditionally developed drugs help some people and not others. Instead of a piecemeal, component-by-component approach, the Systems Institute will take a multidisciplinary look at re-engineering entire systems of national importance, including medicine, health care delivery, network-enabled systems, information security, national infrastructure and education. In addition to faculty in the Whiting School, the institute will tap into the expertise of researchers from the university’s three health professions schools, Medicine, Public Health and Nursing; from the schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, and Education; and from the Applied Physics Laboratory, already one of the nation’s leading centers of systems engineering.”

Construction is set to begin next year on the Decker Quad next to Mason Hall, in the footprint outlined by students and faculty in the picture to the right.

The Cordish Lacrosse Center, the first facility of its kind, will house locker rooms and coaches’ offices for the men’s and women’s teams, a 50-person theater, a conference room, an academic center and a training room. A reception area on the second floor will lead to a patio overlooking the field that can be used for receptions and for game day spectators. On the field level, exhibits will chronicle the history of both programs. As the JHU Newsletter puts it, “For more than 100 years, Homewood Field has been the Yankee Stadium of college lacrosse: a comfortable nest for homestanding Blue Jays, a house of horrors for visiting teams. But eventually, even Yankee Stadium needs an upgrade…Completion of the Cordish Center will also benefit other Johns Hopkins athletes. The NCAA Division I lacrosse squads currently share space in the Newton H. White Athletic Center with the university’s 22 other sports programs. When the lacrosse teams move out, space they now occupy will open up to some of Johns Hopkins’ other teams, which compete with great success in NCAA Division III.”

But the upgrades to Homewood Field don’t stop there. The Athletic Department recently announced plans to build a state-of-the-art video display that will measure approximately 14 feet high by 48 feet wide.

The layout of the new scoreboard. It's going to be a lot bigger than this, I promise!

“Featuring 15HD pixel layout, the display will incorporate excellent clarity and contrast of images, multiple levels of protection from the elements and a more robust cabinet design with an improved ventilation system. The display, which will be used for Johns Hopkins football, field hockey, lacrosse and soccer, is capable of showing one large image or being divided into separate windows to show live and recorded video as well as an array of vivid graphics, up-to-the-minute statistics, colorful animations and advertisements with incredible brightness and wide-angle visibility.

Six Blue Jay teams – men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and field hockey – call Homewood Field home. Johns Hopkins is nationally known for its prominent men’s lacrosse team, which has won 44 national championships, including nine NCAA titles. In addition, the football, women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and field hockey teams have combined for 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament since 2005 with football, women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer and women’s soccer all advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals at least once since 2006.

Homewood Field is generally regarded as the most storied facility in college lacrosse. With the installation of the video board this summer and the completion of the Cordish Lacrosse Center next spring, Johns Hopkins has ensured that Homewood Field will continue as the premier venue in the lacrosse world while also providing unmatched facilities for the Blue Jay football, soccer and field hockey programs.”

But despite my excitement as a player on the Men’s Soccer team over having a brand new scoreboard, my excitement as a Molecular & Cellular Biology/Neuroscience double major was piqued even more by the announcement of a massive, state-of-the-art Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory that will be built as an addition to Mudd Hall, the University’s main Biology complex.

“The new Undergraduate Teaching Lab and Biology Research Wing was conceived to complete the existing Mudd Levi complex by closing off the open fourth side of the courtyard and creating a new face to gently embrace Bufano Gardens to the north. The northern façade will be entirely glazed to enhance views of the wooded hillside from the labs and allow maximum northern daylight to enter the labs. At the center of the complex a new student commons with coffee bar will be created on the rooftop of the existing lecture hall to serve as a focal point for interaction and group identity for the natural sciences community. Undergraduate teaching laboratories for Biology, Chemistry, Neuroscience and BioPhysics will take place on the lower three floors of the building with direct student access both from the new Mudd Commons and also from White Walk to the east. The upper floor will be fit out to accommodate Biology department research and have open lab, lab support and procedure space, meeting and seminar rooms and faculty offices for 7 Principal Investigator led research groups.

The 105,000 square foot new building will be a pragmatic and robust tool in the service of research and teaching in the natural sciences, with simple but durable finishes, abundant natural light, and modern equipment and systems. Particular attention has been paid to ensure that the building will be a model for low energy usage with a benchmark target set of using half of the energy of the average of the existing science buildings on campus. These guiding principals will create a building suitable for modern life sciences based research and able to accommodate evolutions in pedagogy and research over time.”

Construction is already underway and the UTL will be completed in the summer of 2013.

So, to sum up my position: NEW BUILDINGS @ HOMEWOOD = GOOD.

GO HOP!

When I was in second grade, I wanted to be a pasta maker. I was over being a teacher or dancer or an engineer; I read a book about making pasta and fell in love with the profession. This may have been a noble profession for me, but I have to let you in on a secret. I am not a skilled cook; unfortunately the skills fairy sprinkled a sixth sense for cookie locations instead of the ability to create them. I’ve kind of been in denial about this for a while, but I finally came to face the facts today when I made some cookies for my lab. What is this mysterious lab? I’ve been working in Dr. Wirtz’s Lab in the Engineering in Oncology Lab. I took a few weeks after my finals to relax, but then I returned to Hopkins, but not to study, but to work.

Very high quality picture of my cookies

Back to one of my favorite topics: cookies. These cookies have a very weird consistency and are oily at the bottom, but gooey at the top. They’re weird tasting and they took me 2 hours to make. This took me back to my FFC days where I ate numerous cookies that were warm and moist and delicious and available whenever I wanted them. I brought them to the lab, but I wasn’t proud of them. (Everyone in the lab said they were good, but that’s one of the things I like about my lab, they are all very nice). One of my projects this summer will be to learn how to make good cookies, now that I’m not living in the dorms.

Since I’m staying here till August, I needed to find housing (since the university only has housing during June and July). I looked at Craig’s List and Padmapper. I also looked at the Hopkins Off-Campus Facebook Page and registry which was really helpful in connecting me with Hopkins students that were willing to sublet for the summer. I contacted a bunch of people, visited, and signed my first sublet/lease papers. I learned the farther in advance you plan, the more options and time you’ll have to figure out the housing situation which will help me when I look for housing next year. It’s different living in an apartment than the dorms. In the dorms, your RA was there to answer questions and unlock your door.

Also, I’ve gone grocery shopping for my parents, but it’s completely different shopping for yourself on your own budget. You cannot shop when you’re hungry or you’ll buy everything that you see. I learned to not buy all carbs or protein or fats because you need a balance of all (my first shopping trip contained the produce section and nothing else). I learned to buy some things that don’t need to be prepared or take little time for those days when I am absolutely exhausted. I also learned that Giant is more expensive than Eddie’s (and yes, I actually went to each store and wrote down the prices to see which was cheaper).

When I think about it, it’s a good transition. After I finished my freshman year, I asked my dad what surprised them about Hopkins. My dad said that he was surprised that Hopkins became my starting point for all my adventures. Hopkins has provided me with many resources to go off and do awesome stuff. However, the thing I like most about these opportunities is that we’re given choices. I am starting to prepare for the real world.

I Can Dress Like A Hon if I Want To, I Can Leave My Cares Behind

Disclaimer: This is not at all representative of the work load at Hopkins. I have never felt overwhelmed in any of my classes before and have received all the help I’ve needed from professors, TA’s, friends, classmates, and tutors in the past. I’m simply taking what is considered the most difficult college class in a condensed form, and I’m still doing fine. Also, I’ve been able to go to pretty much anyone with an Orgo book in front of them in the library to ask a question, so at least there’s a ton of solidarity between all the Orgo sufferers; clearly even we pre-meds aren’t too competitive.

My friend Sasha and I, Champions!

Tomorrow I have what is undoubtedly going to be the hardest exam of my life. So far, I’ve really been enjoying Organic Chemistry. Professor Klein is a delightful lecturer who keeps me interested and energized even at 9 AM. I also love how applicable the subject is to medicine and actually have fun doing problems and reading about different applications. Additionally, I did well on the first two exams and currently have an A in the class, something I’m really proud of. However, I was pretty sick in the middle of this week and lost two days of study time; with less than 24 hours to go, I have to be honest that I’ve never been so stressed in my life. I’ve always been a good test-taker, and memorization is one of my strongest points. However, trying to fit 5 chapters worth of material (i.e. the equivalent of between half a month and a month of work) into less than a week is absolutely ridiculous. I didn’t even study for the SATs and scored in the 99th percentile. I’ve spent every waking hour of the last three weeks studying Orgo (you wish I was exaggerating, but just ask my Big how many times I’ve done something social this summer) and I got below a 60 on my last practice exam. I promise to write a more interesting blog when I’m finally done with the exam! But for now here is the playlist I’ve been using to get through the last few weeks of studying:

1. Set Fire to the Rain-Adele

2. No Cocaine-Slightly Stoopid

3. If I Ever Leave This World Alive-Flogging Molly

4. Wonderwall-Brad Mehldau

5. Apologies-Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

6. Superbass-Nicki Minaj

7. By Your Side-Yves Larock

8. Eyes as Candles-Passion Pit

9. That’s Okay-The Hush Sound

10. Silver Lining- Rilo Kiley

11. Raise Your Weapon-DeadMau5

12. Chariot-Page France

13. All The Things You Are-Keith Jarrett

14. Never Say Never-Armin Van Buren

15. Show Me Love-Swedish House Mafia

And of course a VERY happy Father’s Day to my amazing daddy who was just named head of his department (Applied and Engineering Physics, #1 in the country) at Cornell!

Daddy and I at Hilton Head, cerca 1994

Many SAABers have written a “microblog” of their day and so I decided to give this a try to give you a glimpse into my life!

7:30 AM – Woke up to a vibrating bed. Yep, a vibrating bed. Because I’m deaf, I can’t hear a regular alarm, so my entire bed vibrates. When I have friends over, I like to have them sit on my bed and, without their knowledge, have the alarm go off. Imagine what your reaction would be if an earthquake suddenly happened. It’s like that. Snooze button.

7:45 AM – Really gotta get up.

8:00 AM – Finally got up. Put my hearing aids on. Sounds come to life. Made coffee with my very handy Keurig single cup brewer. You just put in a K-cup and ta-da! Fresh brewed coffee.

My coffee machine and of course, my Hopkins mug!

8:30 AM – Off to class. It takes about 10 minutes to walk to campus from my apartment.

8:45 AM – In Remsen 233. Said hello to my two interpreters who just arrived right before me. Today’s only lecture (I’m taking Chemistry I and lab) so part of the reason why I love Fridays: no lab! Dr. Pasternack teaches for 2 hours (classes in the summer usually last this long because everything is condensed into one month). We focus on thermodynamics and in particular absolute entropy. We also cover Gibbs free energy and its relation to spontaneity. You can imagine how hard it is for the interpreters to sign thermodynamics or stoichiometry or Avogardo…

11:00 AM – Class is finally over and I am starving! Met up with my boyfriend (he’s a tour guide, so maybe you’ve seen him around!) and grabbed lunch at Chipotle. One of many students’ favorite places to frequent. Grabbed a grande latte with soy milk at Starbucks afterwards.

12:00 PM – Off to Mason Hall for work! Admissions_Daniel is my boss. I would say it’s probably the best job I’ve ever had so far. I help out with SAAB and admissions-related stuff.

Where I work

5:00 PM – Done for the day!

5:10 PM – Stopped by the sculpture gardens near the Baltimore Museum of Art (right next to Mason Hall) on my way home. Took some shots. One of the pieces was undergoing renovation and it was really cool to watch the artist do her work on the piece.

Baltimore Museum of Art's sculpture gardens

The newly renovated piece

5:20 PM – Said howdy to my neighbor JHU_Noah!

JHU_Noah!

5:25 PM – Cleaned up the apartment and did the dishes. Living in an apartment for the summer has been so far such a great experience. You become really independent. I used to be a bit wary about living off campus but it’s a thousand times better than I thought. The area is safe, I see people that I know every day (like JHU_Noah!), and the neighborhood is just so charming. The only time I spazzed out a bit (well…a lot) was when I heard very loud knocking on my door. Usually, people text me beforehand so I can keep an eye out for them since doorbells and knocking don’t really work for me. So I had no idea who was at the door… But then I got a text from my brother saying, “Open up!” It turned out to be a surprise visit!

7:00 PM – My boyfriend and I decide to go to the Inner Harbor. Took a cab (just a 5 minute ride away).

Inner Harbor at Sunset

7:15 PM – Got dinner at Edo’s, possibly the best sushi place I’ve ever been to. So good!

Yummy!

8:30 PM – Explored the Inner Harbor!

Aaron and I

11:30 PM – Finally home. Off to bed. Turn hearing aids off. All goes quiet.

When you’re taking summer classes, the work and reading you’ll have to do is concentrated about three-fold compared to the norm. Doing well means spending a fair amount of time in the library. Inevitably though, putting your nose to the grindstone for too many consecutive hours will lose you one perfectly good nose.

Here are a few tips for blowing off steam in the MSE:

The Beach! The Summer! YES!

1. At night, the sprinklers turn on over the Beach. Huge jets of water spray all over the grassy slope, turning it into the perfect slip n’ slide! First, make sure that you’ve brought along a change of clothes and a towel in your backpack. Then, sprint up the stairs to M level, past the security desk, out the door and dive onto the Beach. You’ll go a whole lot farther and faster if you bring your own sled (say, a plastic garbage can lid).

***WARNING: EXPERTS ONLY*** If you want to really take your mind-soothing shenanigans to the next level, bring along some dish-soap and just cover yourself with it. Happy Sliding!

The Keyser Quad is bounded by Gilman to the West, the MSE to the East, Ames and Krieger Halls to the South, and Mergenthaler and Remsen to the North.

2. Have you ever streaked? Yeah, don’t do that. This is a family blog, come on now. Instead, you should just gather your friends and take a group lap around the Keyser Quad. Feel free to chant or sing or quiz each other on the relationship between the axon radius and the space constant. Whatever floats your boat.

There's an alligator in there. Don't believe me? Go see for yourself. Really. I'm not joking.

3. Come to think of it, there’s a pond with a fountain in the President’s Garden. When you just can’t read another page, take your party of study-amigos right on over and lay in the grass underneath the starry, Summer night sky. But be careful, legend has it that there is an alligator in there…Forewarned is forearmed! I mean that literally. Bring a weapon to fend off the carnivorous reptiles.

***DISCLAIMER*** Actually, this is a pretty awful idea. A concurrent legend has it that if one falls asleep by the President’s pond, one turns into a crocodile his/herself, and that in his/her transformation he/she liberates the soul of the last poor student who was trapped in a crocodile’s body. And that’s just embarrassing for everyone.

This is basically what I'm talking about. This picture is from SOHOP, the Spring Open House and Overnight Program, when Milkman came to Homewood.

4. There is nothing wrong with a midnight library rave. Find a study room in some deep corner of either C or D level, close the door, turn up the speakers, hit play on your handy-dandy dubstep playlist and just go nuts.

***ADDENDUM*** Your handy-dandy dubstep playlist is something that I feel should be on the University’s official list of what to bring to college.  But for some reason, my correspondence on the matter goes unanswered, and year after year it is excluded from the suggested packing list! Go figure…

5. Last time I checked, all of the library computers are equipped with the Paleo-Windows game Minesweeper. I think it pretty much goes without saying that you should make use of this often in order to temporarily shirk your academic responsibilities. But remember, library etiquette is key to ensuring that you aren’t reborn as something lame in the next life like a Californian banana slug, a Brazilian banana spider, an Ethiopian banana frog or, God forbid, a banana of any geographical origin.

To conclude, here’s a quick quiz on polite computer use:

Imagine that you’re playing Minesweeper (no, no don’t click that one! It’s a mine for sure!) and no other computers are open. A visibly distressed undergraduate rushes up to you and says, “I have 5 minutes to print my thirty-page thesis and make it all the way across campus for a final! I’m sorry to interrupt your game of Minesweeper–by the way, you should put a flag on that square; it’s a mine for sure–but I’m ever so visibly distressed! May I please use that computer for just a moment? You answer:

A. No.

B. Of course!

C. You have ten seconds! GOOOOOO!!!!

D. Are you kidding??? There’s no way that’s a mine! There’ a “1″ between those two isolated squares and a “1″ just to the right of the other one! Gah! Just for being bad at Minesweeper, heck no!

Obviously, the right answer is B, but if you want to have a high potassium content in your next life, be my guest! Fun fact: The banana is the most radioactive fruit!

Well, that’s all for now, Blue Jay Nation.

As always, Go Hop!

Summer is a time for fun, relaxation, catching up on lost sleep, oh…and job applications.  As much as I don’t want to face the facts, I know that I have reached the time in my life where I should strive for a job or an internship over the summer.  One year ago from today, this was my biggest fear.  I had no idea how to go about applying for a job.  Writing a cover letter or a resume? Forget about it.  I was totally in the dark.

The textbook that I am keeping forever!

During my first semester at Hopkins, I took a course called Professional Communications.  In this class of less than twenty students, I mock applied for a job and was required to write a complete cover letter and to put together my resume.  The course’s textbook, Successful Writing at Work by Philip C. Kolin, is officially the only textbook that I’ve bought at the JHU Barnes and Noble and have decided to keep as opposed to sell back.  I recommended the class to a few of my friends, as well, and I’m a strong advocate that the course should be required for all Hopkins students in general.

Second semester, I took Oral Presentations.  In this course, I learned how to deliver concise yet informational extemporaneous as well as prepared presentations—a skill that I will absolutely need to master before I enter the job scene.  Additionally, the class’ TA conducted mock job interviews with the students.  Each speech and mock interview was followed up with constructive criticism from classmates and a feedback form from the professor.  The course also used an interactive video program to record each of our presentations online so that we could watch them in the privacy of our own rooms and evaluate our performance.

Don't worry...even though I'm applying for internships, I'm still enjoying my summer and seeing my Hopkins friends!

This week, as I prepare for my upcoming interviews, I’ve opened my notebooks from these two courses and have spread my notes all over my bedroom floor.  I went back to my Professional Communications folder on my computer, opened my resume assignment, and pressed print.  In addition, I’ve reviewed my oral presentations that were recorded online.  And now, I am ready.  All I can do is put my newfound skills to the test. Wish me luck!

Who’d have ever thought that I’d take French?

My Chihuahua Pepper was none too thrilled when I informed her of my decision to take French instead of Spanish

Being that I’m from Houston, Texas, I was raised on a hearty diet of Tex-Mex, Spanish and Fútbol from themoment I left the womb. I learned how to count in Spanish long before my first formal math class. I

could order un sandwich de jamón y queso and ask someone, “Cuantos años tienes?” before I could reliably make a ham and cheese sandwich myself or tell someone how old I was without using my fingers! In my high school International Baccalaureate curriculum, I chose to pursue Spanish as part of my diploma, and in doing so wrote papers like La doctrina económica Laissez-faire en América Central y América del Sur for my profesora, Señora Companys.

Why? Because if there were a Harry Potter class, I'd take it. For sure.

But I had had quite enough of language classes by the time I got to Homewood, and hence did not register for any Spanish classes (or English classes, for that matter) during my Freshman year.

Yet, here I am now with a foreign language on my class schedule for the Fall, and it’s French Elements I. How did I

get here? How did I fall so far??? (Jokes)

In fact, the reason I’ve decided to take French has nothing to do with wanting to learn another foreign language (which I do) or strongly identifying for the French, their language and their culture (which I don’t). Instead, the reason I’ve decided to take French is that I couldn’t take a class I wanted to take because its time conflicted with a class that I wanted to take more.

This picture represents an ignorance of all things French only slightly more severe than mine (I mean, please. I know the Louvre when I see it.)

But I’m not worried. I’ve found that some of the classes in which I’ve grown and learned the very most have been those which I never expected to take. For example, Introduction to Bioethics and Foundations of Modern Political Philosophy are two classes that bear little relevance to my chosen academic trajectory but which have significantly deepened my understanding of and improved my ability to analyze the roots and repercussions of world events. So I have a healthy respect for the spontaneous choice of the curriculum broadening class.

Which brings us back to French. Why am I taking it? Because my girlfriend is a French Cultural Studies minor and she told me to? That’s part of it. Because I plan to take my mom to France one day like she’s always wanted? That’s part of it too. But I think the real reason is that I believe college doesn’t have to be a narrowing of general interests to solely professional pre-medical necessities. I want to take a few classes outside of my major, I want to explore the vast catalog of courses that the University offers, I want to continually test my interest in areas other than Molecular & Cellular Biology and Neuroscience if only in the end to have made doubly sure of my desire to pursue them.

So, for this semester semester at least, Nous Allons Hop!!! (Or whatever…)

While many are spending their much needed summers at home, I’ll be spending mine at home too. Home, as in Homewood. I’m taking a couple of classes to knock out some of my course requirements. In the first session, I’ll be taking Chemistry I and also lab. In the second session, I will be taking Macroeconomics. Chemistry is definitely not my forte since I’m not a science or math person…it’ll be hard, but the great thing about the summer programs at Hopkins is that they allow you to take a few courses and complete them in just one month. You’re able to really focus on the certain courses. I thought that was such a beneficial asset because I know that if I took chem and lab in a regular semester, I’d have more difficulty being able to do well while balancing my other courses. The summer hours are longer (for example, I have chem lecture from 9 to 11 and then lab from 12 to 3) but I believe it’ll pay off in the end!

The summer programs at Johns Hopkins are open to pre-college students as well as visiting and Hopkins undergraduates. The first session starts May 31st and ends July 1st. The second session starts July 5th and ends August 5th (so it’s not too late to sign up!!). The courses offered are vast, and SO interesting. Here’s a glimpse of what’s offered:

1. The Cultural Politics of Television – It discusses the political dimension to television and brings into political theory while discussing the pervasiveness and the impact of television on society and individuals.
2. Plagues and Pandemics in Literature – This is bound to spark your imagination. With examples from literature, the class examines pandemics ranging from the Black Death to Influenza to HIV/AIDS and, even better, discusses vampires, zombies, and disastrous lab experiments.
3. Food Politics – If you’ve seen Food Inc. and loved it, then you will definitely love this course. It discusses the political implications of the food industry and goes into depth with policy and the social and environmental ramifications from the industries.
4. Stars and the Universe: Cosmic Evolution – This course looks at the evolution of the universe from its origin in a cosmic explosion to emergence of life on Earth and possibly other planets throughout the universe, drawing upon examples and ideas from physics, chemistry, geology, astronomy, biology, and anthropology. The perfect class for a science junkie!
5. Gender and Society in Early Modern Europe – And this is for the history junkies – this course explores the ways in which gender was experienced, understood, and represented in the history of early modern Europe and furthermore explores the different relationships and ideologies of gender and society.
   

   Charles Village Festival

While I’m not taking a class as exciting as these (sigh) I’m still excited because I hope to come back again for the summer and take fascinating courses like these. Although chem will be a drag for me, summer at Homewood will certainly be filled with fun. There’s outdoor films that begin after sunset in front of the Gilman Quad, where students gather with blankets and lawn chairs and enjoy the movie. Last year, Up! and Star Trek were one of the several films featured. There’s many Baltimore events too – such as the Charles Village Festival that took place this weekend and Artscape. I’ve also been able to visit the local community pool with friends on Memorial Day and it was so refreshing. I’m also living in an apartment this summer and it’s been a great experience. As a matter of fact, JHU_Noah lives right across the street from me! More to come!

The street I live on!

I’m not quite sure how many people out there know this, but I do have one amazing hidden talent.  I can predict the future.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I’m psychic. And incredibly good looking.

Conquering the Hopkins Sign. I did that.

Why do I say that? Well, last August, when I was applying to be a student blogger, one of the prompts on the application was to write a blog reflecting back on our freshman year…before it started.  So, obviously, my blog included several flash backs on the year for events that had yet to happen.  Well, in an epic Nostradamus fashion, pretty much all of my predictions ended up happening.  Some of those predictions included:

-Having great professors

-Enduring a more challenging work load than in high school (writing “I don’t know, Mr. Z” is no longer an acceptable answer on a physics test)

-Running into my friend’s ex (who goes to Towson)….happened twice, actually

-Planning on going to the gym a lot, then not ever actually going

-Getting along great with my roommate

Things that didn’t end up as predicted:

-Gaining the Freshman 15

So, overall, I’m 5/6 with my predictions.  If only I could predict the stock market as well.  The best is being able to predict what people say when I see them for the first time when I’m home.  Literally, the exact same thing every time. “How was school, Nick?” “It was good, had an awesome time, met some great people.” “Oh, that’s good.”  And thats the end of that.  What else is there to say, really? I could go into vastly more detail, but that would take forever.

But so much happened this year that I never, in a million years, could have predicted.  I never would have thought that I’d be a fully certified EMT at all in my lifetime, let alone halfway through Freshman year.  I never would have through that I’d be spending my Sophomore year living with my current roommate again, a guy from Japan and another guy from Miami.  I had never really listened to Dubstep before, and now it is pretty much guaranteed to be played any time I’m in my car.

All that being said, even the best psychics, such as myself, have things happen that they didn’t see coming. The best advice I can pass along is to come in with an open mind, and leave with an even more opened mind.  Don’t be afraid to try something new, and don’t think that because you assume something is going to happen that it will.  Take a risk, take a chance, because this is the time to do so.  Don’t look back, but take the lessons you’ve learned and bring them with you into the future.

I hope you all enjoyed,

Nick

Current track: Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap (Afrojack remix)