Blog Archives

A Summer of Experiential Education

Posted by | Posted on May 5, 2012
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Classic Experiential Ed-- Pre-O 2011

It was the end of classes yesterday, and in a short week and a half (after finals) my freshman year will be over. I debated for a while whether I should write a sappy reflection on my year, or stay positive and upbeat about what’s to come for me at JHU. I’ve decided to take the middle road by discussing my exciting summer and how what I’ve learned this year will affect it.

Experiential Education. What a strange phrase! Part of me thinks, isn’t all education experiential? But after this summer, I’m pretty sure I won’t be thinking that anymore. In the second round of interviews for a summer counselor position at Genesee Valley, an outdoor learning center 1.5 miles from my house, they asked me what I think experiential education is really about. I said it is learning about yourself in combination with others through group activities and challenges (which are usually outdoors). I’m excited to see whether my opinion of this changes over the next few months.

To start out my summer, I will be going on a ten day backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail for HOLT (Hopkins Outdoor Leadership Training). If you’ve been following my blogs, you know I’m part of Outdoor Pursuits as a hiking leader, and part of being a leader is to go on this trip preferably at the end of your freshman year. I’m not going to lie–  I’m really nervous. I don’t think I’ve ever not showered or not been in contact with my family and friends for ten days in a row, so it will be a challenge. At the same time, something tells me that I will really appreciate this trip for my own personal growth. Ringing any bells? :)

When I get back, I’ll have a few days off before starting my training as a summer camp counselor for Genesee Valley. I’m so psyched to have gotten this position! I used to be a camper at the Valley and always thought the counselors were amazingly cool. It’ll be fun to work with those kids and be outside all day, not to mention I can run or bike to work every morning.

Enjoying the outdoors with a buddy from high school

Finally, I’ll end the summer by leading a pre-orientation trip for the class of 2016! I have no doubt I will love getting to know the incoming freshman while enjoying the last few weeks of summer.

As you can see, I will essentially be outdoors for the next three months! And what does this have to do with my freshman  year at JHU? Well, this past year has opened my eyes to many things that make me happy. For example, I love getting to know new people and pushing my limits (I learned this through the many great students already at JHU, and the fact that I worked really hard in my academics this past semester). I also love training my body by exercising (I learned this from the past few weeks before finals, where my exercise and diet have kept me calm in the face of a heavy academic load). In lieu of this, I have decided to train for the Baltimore Marathon during the summer. (It’s October 13 2012, so come cheer me on!) This summer will be fantastic in so many ways, and I can’t wait to see how far I can push myself and what I will learn.

In conclusion, thanks to JHU for a great freshman year, and thanks to Hopkins Interactive for giving me the opportunity to chronicle it! Be sure to check out my blog next year, where I will talk about my adventures as a sophomore. (Literally meaning, “wise fool.”) I can’t wait to see how wise and foolish I will be! Have a great summer everyone!

 

Winding “Up”

Posted by | Posted on April 25, 2012
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Me and some friends at a party

 

So, we have two more weeks of full classes. Then, two (ish) weeks of review and exams. Then, I have a ten day backpacking excursion on the Appalachian trail, and finally it will be summer. The general feeling around campus is that things are winding down, but for some reason, I can’t make that phrase mesh with where I am. I keep thinking, I’m not winding down, so I must be winding up! But where is this feeling coming from? I guess the past couple of weeks have just instilled some sort of excitement in me.

 

 

So what has been going on? A few things. For once in my blogging career, I will be using a list!

1) Formals and Date Parties. A great thing about Hopkins? Even if you choose not to join a sorority or fraternity,  you can always check out some of the fun parties they throw with your friends! In the past few weeks, I have joined many of my friends at their fraternity and sorority events though I didn’t rush this semester. It’s a great way to get to know new people and relax, and some of the parties are even during the week which is a fun way to break up your routine. I definitely recommend checking out what Greek life has to offer when you get on campus!

Kappa Date Party

Theta Tau Formal

2) Hopkins Lacrosse Games. Two weekends ago, my group of friends and I went to the Hopkins lax game vs. Maryland. Before hand we went to a tailgate sponsored by the university where they had free things like spray tattoos and noisemakers. Though the game was an unfortunate loss for Hopkins, we had a great time!

Hopkins Lax Game!

3) Spring Fair! This three day event is one of Hopkins greatest charms, and this past weekend I got to experience it for the first time! I spent my time tanning on “the beach”, eating chicken on a stick, looking at the many vendors, and hanging out in the kids section doing some arts and crafts! It was a blast and definitely something you should look forward to during your years at Hopkins.

At the kids' section at the fair!

Spring is a very active time at Hopkins! I guess my enthusiasm must come from my fellow students who are also excited for summer and enjoying the many events around campus like I am! Though it is strange to think my freshman year will be over in a few short weeks, at this point I’m thrilled about my time at Hopkins now and the many fun things to look forward to in the future!

 

 

 

Why Hopkins: the Challenge

Posted by | Posted on April 7, 2012
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The challenge of being apart from your family

Because I live so close to home (about 25 minutes away to be exact…), I have the luxury of being home for Easter this weekend. This also means I have the luxury of going grocery shopping, which in my family means aimlessly wandering aisles and stopping at every (I mean every) free sample station. So, whilst I was getting my free lunch today at Sam’s club (composed of a sample of ham, blood-red oranges, and four different assortments of cheesecake) I ran into a familiar face: my high school college counselor. After briefly catching up on my life at Hopkins and how I am now volunteering for admissions, she asked me if I would visit my high school and talk to the current seniors about my experience in college. I have decided to center this post around what I would say to those seniors, and hopefully you will walk away with a firmer grasp of “Why Hopkins?”

The first thing I want to say about college is that it is exactly what you expect and exactly the opposite of what you expect at the same time. Do you plan to stay up late with your friends in your dorm hallway or cafeteria and make inappropriate jokes? Probably. And that will most likely happen. Do you expect to completely change your life and academic plan? Probably not. But, there is a good chance this might happen also. However, in both the expected and the unexpected, Hopkins is the ideal undergraduate institution for your studies.

The challenge of being a nerd

But I guess no matter what I say about college as a broad topic, the question of the hour is why Hopkins? I’ve been struggling with how to answer this question all week (and I promise it’s not cause I secretly hate Hopkins!). Instead, I feel like all the convincing reasons for you prospective students are right there as facts: we are ranked highly, we have many activities on campus, we have the support necessary to succeed… But I guess all of those facts culminate into one essential element I have found students needing as undergraduates: challenge.

I will be honest, when I look back on my past semester and 3/4 of a semester, the biggest theme that sticks out for me is challenge. If you follow my blogs over the past six months, you will see a load of subtle questions that are asking: “what am I supposed to do with my life?” (These questions generally stem from my debate over what to study academically.) You also can see the amount of commitments I have outside of schoolwork, and how I was challenged to balance exercise with everything else I was doing. College brings a waterfall of unexpected challenges, and Hopkins is the best place to provide you with them. But before you freak out, let me tell you this is not a bad thing.

The challenge of having too many new amazing friends to hang out with

When you go to a school like Hopkins, the institution will look you square in the eyes, provide you with many opportunities, and expect the best from you. It is your choice whether to take this sentiment and run with it, or to be overwhelmed or scared of what you can accomplish. I think many philosophers have said something along the lines of “without challenge, there is no true success,” and I completely believe this. If you are looking to find your limits and find out your limits are completely arbitrary, there is no better place to do that than JHU.

My first year in college, I was challenged to spend less time with my family and friends from high school. But I soon become challenged to distribute my time evenly among all of the new students whom I found so fascinating. Because of our diverse student body from different geographical areas and backgrounds, each new person will express a different view of the world to you and push you to grow. You will find many fellow nerds and find yourself making jokes about neurons or syntax. Also, you will find yourself working harder than you ever did in high school and pushing yourself to achieve the grades which used to come easily. No matter what your specific challenge is when you arrive in the fall, just remember two things: 1) there is help for you around every corner if you need it and 2) the struggle is making you a better person.

The challenge of leaving your friends from high school

So, to you seniors at my high school and those all around the country considering Hopkins, I will leave you with an extended metaphor: stroll down the aisles of the grocery store, test out the sample trail mix, and be ready to make some tough choices. But always remember, at some point you will walk out of the store with a new bag of groceries. Just make sure you tried the cheesecake. :)

 

 

 

Wannabe Food Blogger

Posted by | Posted on March 24, 2012
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The most amazing desserts made by my friend's Mom

Sometime in the past six months, I’ve developed a rather unstoppable addiction: taking pictures of food I am about to consume. Be it the cookies my friend’s Mom made over winter break or my ice cream birthday cake from November, I almost have more pictures of food on my iPhone than anything else. People give me stumped looks when I whip out my phone as soon as the waiter brings us our order, to which I’ll respond: “Food is the greatest memory!” This usually prompts more confusion. Finally, after all these months, I will offer up an explanation.

I’ve come to find that the simple things jog your memory the most. When you think back on your life so far, you don’t remember the overpowering feeling of graduating from high school, you remember how your graduation speaker had a runny nose. You don’t remember all of the games you played on the playground in elementary school, but you do remember the feeling of the wood chips under your feet and the monkey bars on your palms. Same goes with food. When I’m able to look at my friend Andrew’s strangely crafted meal at the FFC, it spurs on all the fun memories of joking and hanging out with my friends.

Now that’s the deep psychological reasoning behind my recent addiction, but if you really cut down to it, I just love food! Who wouldn’t want to remember the taste of exquisitely crafted creme brulee oatmeal from a resort in Palm Springs? Or perhaps my mother’s eggs

My boyfriend's cooking!

benedict that she only makes once a year on Christmas? Or my boyfriend’s amazing pasta and broccoli dishes that he only makes for us on special occasions? All of these things not only taste fabulous, but they also connect to great memories in my life.

Whether you are a food lover or not, I urge you  to try being the weird one and take pictures of tiny things that are perfect in your life. You’ll have no idea how fun it is until you’re on a long plane ride, completely disconnected from Facebook or any other people you know, and you’re able to look back through those pictures and relive and appreciate the good details. What have I learned from all this? Maybe being a food blogger is in my future. But for now, I just enjoy taking pictures of the amazing meals that are a huge part of my life.

As per usual, I’ll leave you with a few pictures: some of my favorite foods, most of them from right around the Hopkins campus!

Lots of ice cream! You can get it at CharMar (Charles St. Market)

What is better than a home-cooked eggs benedict?

A honey cappuccino from Carma's

Great sushi from Niwana!

My birthday cake (Happy 19th!)Chicken tikka masala from Tamber's!

My friend Andrew's meal of shrimp and rice- very well balanced!

 

Leading my first trip!

Posted by | Posted on March 13, 2012
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The sculpture garden at 7 (I mean 6!) AM

It was a strange sensation to walk across the Homewood campus at 7 AM on a Sunday morning. Despite the fact that daylight savings time occurred the night prior so it actually felt like 6 AM, I was able to enjoy the sounds of birds chirping in the trees (did you even know birds existed in Baltimore city?!) and the cool morning air. As I traversed the path through the sculpture garden by the Rec Center with a cup of hot coffee in my hand, I reminded myself why I was up so early… the answer? It was my first time ever leading a trip as an Outdoor Pursuits (OP) instructor!

I decided to join OP after my  terrific experience on a pre-orientation trip I went on this past August. I’ve mentioned this trip before in my blogs, but to recap: great friends (still best friends with them today), great outdoors activities, and an overall fantastic time. I decided to apply as a hiking leader in October and was thrilled to be accepted. However, I had to get my WFR training, be van-certified, and attend other training sessions to be a leader. Though it may seem like a lot of training, it has all been extremely worth it.

Though the process officially started in October, I just led my first trip this past Sunday. I had many apprehensions before this first trip: would I avoid crashing the van? (that was the big one…) Would I connect with my participants? Would my co-leader think I was doing at least an okay job? It turns out all of these things worked out, and I had an amazing time!

A map of the Billy Goat Trail

For our trip, we went to the Billy Goat Trail in Western Maryland. We had a full group: seven participants and two leaders. In the beginning it took everyone some time to warm up to each other, but by the time we reached the actual trail (you walk along the C&O canal for a while before reaching Billy Goat) our group had meshed. I should also mention that this wasn’t exactly a hiking trip; a more appropriate name would have been rock scrambling. We lunged and climbed over rocks the size of small houses and definitely got in our work outs for the day!

I wasn’t sure what types of people would sign up for our trip, but I was pleasantly surprised to have meaningful conversations with every participant. I had the opportunity to talk to four graduate students who work in a lab specializing in breast cancer research, and we discussed everything from growing up in the middle East to the current obesity epidemic in the US. I also got to know two cool freshmen who live in the AMRs, and met a sophomore who has gone on every one of OP’s hiking and canoeing trips. Through these conversations, I walked away from the trip learning more than I expected.

Maybe that fact is why OP is worth the extensive training and early mornings: you have the opportunity to meet members of the Hopkins community you would have never seen before and learn from them, whether you are a participant or a leader. If you are considering coming to Hopkins and are looking for ways to get involved, Outdoor Pursuits is a great way to make friends and broaden your horizons. Even if you don’t want to lead, I suggest trying your hand at spelunking (otherwise know as caving…) or white water kayaking and maybe discovering a passion. After all, what’s there to lose?

I’ll leave you with the OP website (http://web.jhu.edu/recreation/experiential_ed/outdoor_pursuits/) and some more pictures from my trip on Sunday. If you still aren’t convinced to try a trip, just look at this gorgeous scenery! :)

A beach we found on our "scramble"

 

Path along the C&O Canal

 

A canal boat! (minus the canal...)

 

Calmer water right before some crazy rapids

 

 

 

Watching TV! (And how it ties into my education…)

Posted by | Posted on February 25, 2012
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What do this show and my academics have in common?

Life here at Hopkins is fast paced. My roommate just ran out of the room to her 3rd extra commitment of the day (after her first priority--her classes) saying, “Well, I just really wanted to sleep tonight. Oh well, I guess it’s college life!” I couldn’t have said it better myself. You will find many students at any college who are just so passionate about what they do outside of the classroom that they barely have time to breathe, and I am no exception either. So how do I find time to watch TV? Well, for once in my life, TV actually helps me do my homework.

If you’ve never seen ABC’s hit show “Shark Tank,” you are truly missing out on a spectacular and fun representation of the financial world. To briefly explain, five self-made entrepreneurs listen to pitches from people whose products/businesses they can invest in, and fight over the amount stake in the company, price,  etc… If you don’t get how I’m describing it, here’s a clip:

The best part about this show? The products and businesses pitched on the program are so diverse. In just the past few episodes I have watched, I have seen a “wine balloon” that inflates inside the bottle to keep your wine fresh for many days, to a special “shelf pillow” so women with very large breasts can lay on the their stomachs. You also get to see every type of deal made with “the sharks.” Sometimes the sharks completely reject the business and the hopeful entrepreneurs leave with nothing, or sometimes (in the case of the wine balloon in particular) a shark will buy out the entire company for $400,000! However, I have yet to say how this has anything to do with my academics…

The "wine balloon" product, as seen on Shark Tank

At Hopkins, we have a very cool opportunity called the Entrepreneurship and Management minor. Though it’s through the School of Engineering, any student in the School of Arts and Sciences can pursue it as well. To earn the minor, you have to take three core classes (Introduction to Business, Financial Accounting, and Principles of Marketing), statistics I and II, and three upper level speciality classes. I knew I have wanted to earn this minor since before coming to Hopkins, and I am currently on track by taking a class called Principles of Marketing.

The sharks watching a pitch (the middle one is Kevin O'Leary!)

You wouldn’t think there’s that much to learn about marketing (it’s only advertising, right?). But in fact, the world of marketing is multi-dimensional and complicated. Do you know what a business portfolio analysis is? That’s where you hear the words “dogs, stars, cash cows and question marks” describing the financial viability of a product now and in the future. Sometimes, you’ll hear the most controversial shark-- Kevin O’Leary-- say, “I’m not investing in it… that product is a dog!” Thanks to understanding what a business portfolio analysis is, I now know what he’s saying.

I’m not sure what career I will eventually pursue, but for right now I know I spend way too much time taking notes on my marketing reading (just from pure interest) and watching shows that nail down what I’ve learned. Shark Tank and my marketing class overlap in many ways, so I’m actually able to study and watch some quality television at the same time. How many college students can say they do that? I highly recommend watching the show and thinking about the minor (additional info on the latter is here: http://eng.jhu.edu/wse/cle/page/em_minor). As always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask! Have a great weekend!

Hopkins, will you be my Valentine?

Posted by | Posted on February 13, 2012
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It is hard to ignore the current atmosphere at Homewood as a result of tomorrow’s holiday. Red and pink posters decorate every hallway, chocolates beg for your attention at every cash register, and furry friends holding hearts saying “I love you” seem to be around every corner. Or perhaps it is just my heightened sense of these things. I love Valentine’s day. Even when I was too preoccupied with sports practice in high school to entertain any serious romantic notions, I enjoyed the time of year when people broke out the doilies and construction paper. Valentine’s day is essentially my Thanksgiving, but instead of saying “I am thankful for…” I get to say “I am IN LOVE with…”

Valentine's Display at Charmar (Charles St. Market)

2012 has given me an amazing gift: two official Valentines! The first is quite the catch: always attractive, very supportive, and constantly challenging me to grow… the one and only Johns Hopkins University! I know that may make you want to gag, but I promise you I am not some super-nerd who truly takes her institution of study as her object of adoration. My second Valentine is my wonderful boyfriend (who I swear is a human being…).

Me and my human Valentine!

Hopkins takes a spot in my realm of love because it has provided me with so much love. Even before I stepped on campus, I experienced immediate affection from my pre-orientation family. Perhaps it was the lack of hygiene or the unexpected lightening drill, but by the end of the first day my other nine comrades (including leaders) and I were bonded. But, the best part is that our circle of love has continued for months afterwards. Just last week my pre-orientation group reunited at Coldstone and reminisced about the parable of the missing shoe. (That, my friends, is a story for another time…) I am always surrounded by the love from those friendships and those unique wilderness experiences.

Pre-orientation reunion!

But Hopkins has not only provided me love in that sense. After all, true love is about the little things; such as, the cottage cheese in the FFC (second time it has made a blog!) or the “today’s announcements” emails. Let us also remember that true love is about appreciating the flaws, like the fact that all campus-walkways create huge puddles when it rains or the failure of the turnstiles in front of the AMRs. Each detail makes Hopkins truly special and memorable, but you’ll have to come experience it yourself to truly find out!

Foam heart in my Latte from Chocolatea

A couple of hours ago, my boyfriend and I returned from a lovely dinner at the Cheesecake Factory where we watched a couple get engaged at the table next to us. I know you may be wondering “who would propose at the Cheesecake Factory?,” but the moment was still unbelievably touching. Valentine’s Day can be looked at as a scam for big businesses to make more money (which it probably is to some extent…), but it can also be looked at as an amazing opportunity to appreciate affection in the air. I believe love is the best thing in life, and I thank my friends, boyfriend, and Hopkins for providing me with an insane amount of love every day. Happy Thanks-Valentine’s Day!

My friend Zoe studying in her Valentine's colors

Some friendly affection around campus

“Keep palpating me!”- Taking a WFR course at JHU

Posted by | Posted on January 27, 2012
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This past Wednesday, days of intense work and little sleep paid off when I was certified as a wilderness first responder (WFR). No, we do not act like dogs… (though you do pronounce the acronym as “woof-er”). Instead, we are lower-level EMTs of the wilderness. That is, if you fall down and fracture your femur on a hike in the woods hours away from any urban medicine, I have the skills to traction splint that sucker until further help arrives. But this certification did not come at an easy cost. For the past ten days, 29 other students and I spent eight to twelve hours a day shoving our noggins full of wilderness medicine. Do you know what a tension pneumothorax is? Well, neither did I…

A demo leg splint done by our instructor, Randy

You’re probably wondering why I even took this course in the first place. As a member of Outdoor Pursuits at Hopkins, I will be leading hiking trips during the spring semester and leading a pre-orientation trip this August. (Incoming freshmen, you will not regret doing a pre-o trip! If you have the chance, I totally recommend it!) Outdoor Pursuits is an on-campus organization that leads trips (i.e. climbing, canoeing, and sailing) during the semester and leads the same opportunities for pre-orientation in late summer. In order to be prepared to take on the wilderness, OP requires its leaders to become WFRs. (Bark! Bark!)

Pelvic splint out of wilderness materials

The first day of class, our instructors showed us how to do a head to toe exam on a patient. My partner for this exercise (and many more…) was my friend Tyler, a white-water kayaking leader who was in my pre-orientation group in August. Tyler has a unique and limitless sense of humor, so it was bound to be an amusing situation. In the head to toe exam, you press on every part of the body including abdomen, shoulders, arms, back, etc… The goal is to check for any other injuries that the patient may not have identified. During Tyler’s practice on me, he made an “mmm” sound every few seconds to the great entertainment of me and other groups around us. Halfway through Tyler spontaneously stopped his exam, which prompted me to exclaim: “Keep palpating me! I might be sick!” Safe to say, our partnership quickly became a source of humor.

However, most of the time wilderness medicine is not exactly a laughing matter. During a very intense scenario one afternoon, my friend Nikki was a patient with an amputated hand that was shockingly lifelike. During this same activity, Tyler and I aided a patient with a protruding angulated fracture in the wrist (illustrated by a broken stick and fake blood) and a missing eyeball (LOTS of fake blood…). We had to mature quickly and learn to keep a head on our shoulders. At the same time, we obtained many skills and had a lot of fun.

Nikki's amputated hand

I also had many personal challenges to tackle. Ten days ago, if you asked me to get a shot my palms would start to sweat and I would mumble something like “Well, if I absolutely must…” Yes, sadly I was one of those kids who had to have the nurses pin me down for an injection until about the age of 13. During WFR, part of the curriculum was to learn how to administer epinephrine… Translation: give an injection. With Tyler by my side, we both successfully gave and received a shot from the other. We left the activity with a hug, a new level of friendship, and a self-imposed nickname: “blood brothers.”

"blood brothers"

If you are looking to get into any of Hopkins outdoors programs, you will most likely have to take a WFR course. I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t nervous at the beginning, a little overwhelmed in the middle, and pretty anxious before final written and practical exam. But I would also be lying if I told you WFR wasn’t one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. To end this entry, I will leave you with a brief description of a tension pneumothorax:

On second thought, have you ever heard of wikipedia? :)

The Big Switch: Biophysics to English

Posted by | Posted on January 6, 2012
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It has been just shy of three weeks since I have felt my feet on the pavement of campus, tasted the cottage cheese in the FFC, or happily joked with my friends in the AMR 2 common room. Skype and mass-text threads have done their duty and I still feel connected to my friends, and today I find myself on a train to Connecticut reflecting on the fall semester. To those of you who keep up with my Hopkins Interactive profile page or my life, I feel that I owe an explanation: changing my major from Biophysics to English? What the heck happened?

My closest friends will tell you that Physics I for Biological Science Majors was the culprit. And they will be mostly correct. Physics was the first class I ever attended in college, and from the moment I sat down in the lecture hall and my professor started talking, I had an ominous feeling wash over me: “…what is going on?” I excelled in Biology and Chemistry in high school (and even tested out of the intro classes with my AP scores), but there was something about Physics that refused to click.

My fall 2011 class schedule

For the first midterm I decided to adopt the handy-dandy “let’s hope osmosis absorbed this information” theory, and I was rewarded with an extremely low grade. It is at that point that I began lugging around the 10-pound Physics textbook and reading it like the Bible. My friends noticed a dramatic shift whenever I had to do my Physics homework: there was the Zoe before confusion and agony, and the Zoe trying to understand anything Newton theorized.

Before your assumptions lead you down this path, I would caution you that it is not the fear of hard work which led me to consider a different major. In fact, all majors at Hopkins are demanding in their own right. I took a Philosophy class in the fall and found myself reading many pages of dense material each night and writing papers every two weeks. I also found myself more inspired to do this kind of work, and even a little gleeful when comparing Descartes to the allegory of the cave. Adults always told me that you can only find what you want to do by finding what you like to do, and I guess that journey has proven more complicated than expected.

When I decided to switch to a humanities-oriented major in November-ish, JHU_Ian posted an interesting article to my Facebook wall explaining how a very high percentage of students in top-tier universities do exactly what I am doing; that is, switch from a science major to a humanities major. At the same time, I don’t really consider it a switch anymore. I think I was always meant to pursue English, and I just got distracted and consequently knocked out some distribution credits. College is an interesting time because you finally get to see your life as YOUR life, and I have learned that a large part of what I am passionate about resides in reading and writing.

A typical day in the lab at Bayview

I have worked in a lab at Hopkins Bayview the past two summers, and one of my colleagues would always tell me the same thing: “Zoe, you’re just too bubbly for science. I see you more as a… party planner!” Though I do plan many events with my group of friends, I do not see that as my eventual career path. But, you get the gist. I have not completely checked off anything having to do with science, in fact I am perusing a Psychology double major at the moment as well. It is just that sometimes you have to learn to trust yourself, and when vectors make you want to stick your head in the toilet, maybe it is time to reconsider.

If you would like to look at the requirements for the different majors and minors at Hopkins, the link is here: http://apply.jhu.edu/academics/majors.html . The academics blog on the Hopkins Interactive site is also very helpful in getting a feel for all of your options. Happy new year everyone!

Spring 2012 class schedule

 

The Benefits of a College Break

Posted by | Posted on December 20, 2011
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So far, this break has been busier than I planned. I have been running around connecting with old friends, shopping for many Christmas presents, decorating a tree, seeing movies in the theatre, eating holiday treats, going to the dentist, finding out I have FOUR! cavities, spending more time at the dentist, learning to floss… The list goes on and on. Though my life has been hectic to say the least, the Christmas spirit is still copious as I reflect on how winter break in college is so much different than winter break was in high school. Though both breaks are busy in their own way, the time off from college is definitely superior. And here’s why:

Decorating our tree with my uncles

My break started prematurely when my friends from the University of Chicago stopped by unexpectedly the day before my last final paper was due. My friend Molly called me and announced that she and Leslie were five minutes away from the Hopkins campus and, in asking to see me, would not take no for an answer. With much effort, I peeled my eyes away from my computer screen and did not regret it. Molly and Leslie gave me silly gifts, and we chatted for a few minutes. When they left, I realized how ready I was to see my high school friends and relax after this semester’s challenging workload.

At a surprise party with high school friends

So far, I have been impressed with the time Hopkins gives us. If you choose to take the full break, you will have about six weeks where you don’t have to worry about any classes. If you decide to take an intersession class, you will have three weeks of break and three weeks of intersession classes. In any case, this amount of time is much greater than the time off I had in high school. Furthermore, I also had exams in January that put pressure on my break.

Visiting with my high school advisor

Now that my finals are over, I have been able to fill my time with many other activities on this break. In the past I have not been able to give my full attention to making Christmas cookies or decorating the tree, but currently my holiday spirit is top notch and focused. I have put more thought into my presents than ever before and more enthusiastically look forward to all our holiday traditions. Without classes to worry about, I also have time to read for pleasure (I just finished The Time Traveler’s Wife, and I definitely recommend it!) and not feel guilty about it. There is a lot to look forward to on a college break, and you will most likely see a big improvement in your holiday spirit!

The nativity scene I set up on my mantle

But my break isn’t over! I have so much more to expect. Tomorrow, my mom, my sister and I are going to New York City to see Hugh Jackman’s one-man show, and the day after Christmas, I am leaving for LA to spend time with my dad. As soon as I get back from visiting my dad, I’m going to Connecticut to visit my boyfriend and then my best friend from Hopkins. I also plan to see my high school friends many more times and to just enjoy what the break has to offer. Though it is busy, this break is, and will continue to be, amazing. I hope your time off is just as fulfilling as you work on your college applications and get ready to go back to school, but if not, your freshman year of college isn’t far off!