Verbal Snippets & Snapshots

I found out a little over a week ago that I’ll be working next year as a full-time research technician for my neuroscience lab at the medical school! This means that (1) I no longer need to worry about the job search, and (2) I’ll be in Baltimore for at least one more year. As far as this blog is concerned, it also means that my entry “Just Some Things I’ll Miss About Hopkins” needs to be updated–for I’ll still be at Hopkins, but as a staff member and not an undergraduate student. So, here it goes…”What I’ll Miss About Being a Hopkins Undergraduate”:

Classes: I’ll miss the feeling of attending lectures and reading related textbooks and journal articles at home so that I could understand the lectures, and the feeling of delving into a topic over the course of a few months. I don’t know if I’ll miss the stress of preparing for exams, though–it might have to do with the fact that I know I’ll have plenty more of those when I continue to graduate school and medical school. In fact, I’ll be working on research projects and papers during my job next year, so I won’t need to miss writing papers (for better or for worse)!

Being Based at the Homewood Campus: I’m hoping to live in Charles Village and commute to work in East Baltimore since (a) I’m familiar with Charles Village after having been a Hopkins undergraduate for four years and (b) Charles Village is a much more residential neighborhood compared to East Baltimore. Still, I won’t be at the Homewood Campus nearly as often as I used to be. As I mentioned in my original blog entry, the Homewood Campus is a gorgeous one that’s like an oasis of a park in the middle of a city.

Ease of Interactions with Peers: While I still will be in Baltimore next year, I’ll spend my entire morning and afternoon working, and my evenings will consist primarily of studying for the MCAT and doing outside reading related to my research. Plus, many of my friends from the Classes of 2010 and before will have graduated and moved out of Baltimore–and, while I’ll have friends from the Classes of 2011 and after who will still be students at Hopkins, my schedule will be different enough from the undergraduate lifestyle that it won’t be as easy to meet up with people.

Extracurricular Activities: As the past four years’ worth of blog entries can testify, I’ve been heavily involved with extracurricular activities at Hopkins. While I’m still hoping to spend a little bit of leisure time next year playing the piano and taking ballet (and possibly even Pilates) classes in the area, it still won’t be the same as participating in a student-run organization.

Vibrancy: By “vibrancy,” I mean the energy that emanates from undergraduate students. Even during exam weeks here at Hopkins, there’s a certain degree of youth and energy that I’ve observed from being surrounded by my fellow students that’s not quite there whenever I’m at the medical doing research and surrounded by older adults. I will say that I like the idea of “learning from” older adults whenever I’m in the research lab environment (since I’m among the youngest people–if not the youngest person–in most situations related to research); still, being a young 20-something myself, I do like the higher levels of energy I see in people my age.

Free Membership at the Recreation Center: Even though most of my exercise comes from regular attendance at ballet classes, I still like going to the rec center to take advantage of its indoor track and the rock climbing wall. Membership there is free for undergraduate and graduate students based at the Homewood Campus–but since I’ll be considered a staff member of the medical school, I’ll have to pay dues if I want to continue using the rec center.

Lunch: While the food options at the Homewood Campus and Charles Village aren’t the most diverse, there still are enough that you can vary up your lunch options when you’re too busy to prepare lunch ahead of time and thus must buy food to eat for lunch. There are also a variety of food establishments from which you can buy lunch near the medical school, but they’re more spread out and aren’t as plentiful.

On-Campus Events: I’m pretty sure I’ll still take time to attend major on-campus events such as Culture Show in November, Homecoming Weekend and Spring Fair in April, events for young alumni (such as those during Young Alumni Weekend in November and Homecoming Weekend in April), and performances of friends of mine in performing arts groups; however, since I won’t be an undergraduate anymore, many on-campus events won’t quite be “attendable” (so to speak) because (1) they are targeted towards undergraduates and (2) they fit the schedule of an undergraduate lifestyle better than that of a full-time working employee.

I must say that despite the numerous aspects of being an undergraduate at Hopkins that I’ll miss next year, I’m quite glad that the next year will be a nice transition from the undergraduate life to my life in additional education (since I’m hoping to pursue a master’s degree, and then ultimately an M.D. after my one-year stint in the workforce). I’ll be living a non-undergraduate lifestyle next year, but I’ll still be very well a part of the Hopkins community (not just as an alumna)–I must say that I’m not complaining about my prospects for next year!

Stress. It’s familiar to many of us here, but I’ve found that it’s especially familiar during the last weeks of the semester. Monday, December 11, will be the last day of classes for the first semester, and guess what will start on Friday, December 15? Finals!

With that said, here are some ways to relieve stress at Hopkins, listed in no particular order:

1. MUSIC: Whether you listen to it or play it, music can be a good friend in terms of stress relief. It’s common to see people here listening to their iPods or mp3 players. There’s also the good old standard of listening to music files on a computer, or the even older standard of listening to music from a boom box in your dorm room. As for playing music, there are music practice rooms at the Mattin Center, and some people play their instruments in their rooms–during timely hours of the day, of course. Even with your door closed, if you’re playing your instrument in your dorm room, people can hear you outside. When one of my housemates did that one afternoon last month, a few of my housemates and I stood outside his door and listened. Meanwhile, if you’re part of a musical group–whether it’s the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra, JHU Jazz Ensemble, JHU Wind Ensemble, the flute choir, the pep band, or one of the a cappella groups–then you already even have a scheduled stress outlet.

2. DANCE: If you’re listening to music, how couldn’t you dance to it? There are various dance groups on campus, and if you’re part of one, then you also have a regular outlet of relieving stress. Having spontaneous dance parties in the dorms isn’t unusual, either. For that matter, dancing spontaneously at places besides the dorms isn’t unusual, provided that you do it in a place where noise is tolerated. Don’t attempt to dance while listening to your favorite techno song on your iPod at D-Level of MSE.

3. EXERCISE: Dance is a creative form of exercise, but “regular” exercise is relieving as well. Jogging around campus is certainly an option, but there’s also the O’Connor Recreation Center (usually called the “rec center”). As with music and dance, if you’re part of a sports team or sports club, then you have a regular outlet of relieving stress.

4. SLEEPING: It’s self-explanatory. Sleeping places include dorm room beds, the couches at the main lobby of Gilman Hall, the couches at M-Level of MSE, any place where students study (PSSST, M-LEVEL ISN’T THE ONLY PART OF THE LIBRARY WHERE STUDENTS SLEEP!), and so on. I’m guessing that the only areas on campus that haven’t been inhabited by sleeping members of the subspecies Homo sapiens sapiens are the bathrooms.

5. MASSAGES: Ask a friend to give you one, or use a massaging device. If you’re free on Wednesdays between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m., then head to Q-Level of MSE, where members of the group Stressbusters give free massages.

6. OTHER: Play a video game. Punch a pillow. Talk to a friend. Call home. Squeeze a stress ball. There are many more ways in which students at Hopkins relieve stress. As I’ve said, this blog entry lists only some ways to relieve your stress as a student here.

Well, cheerio! May you all find peace in de-stressing.

P.S. As in my previous blog entry, the photos of campus buildings in this blog entry are from the virtual tour on the admissions website.

I like to study at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library, commonly known as MSE. MSE has six levels–and it’s built underground! First, there’s Q-Level (“Quad Level”), the location of the Upper Quad library entrance and the coffee shop called Café Q. Next, there’s M-Level (“Main Level”), the level closest to the Charles Street library entrance, and the level at which people must swipe their JHU ID cards in order to enter it and access the rest of the library. M-Level’s main features include a computer lab, a printing/copying room, the circulation desk, and several couches and group study tables. Below it is A-Level, which is also filled with group study tables, then B-Level, C-Level, and D-Level, all of which are “quiet study areas” that are filled with cubicles. In general, the farther down one goes in the library, the quieter it is. Also, while the library is built underground, since it’s also built on a hill, there are windows on every level.

After having studied at the various levels of the library during the past three months, I can say that each level has its merits for studying. Go to Q-Level if you want to have a lot of background noise and want to be near a source of caffeine. Go to M-Level if you want to have some background noise–but not as much as at Q-Level–and enjoy studying on a comfortable chair or couch. Go to M-Level or A-Level if you want to study at a large table with a group of friends. Go to B-Level, C-Level, or D-Level if you want to study at a cubicle in a quiet environment. Usually, there’s an even amount of silence at those three levels, but people tend to look for cubicles at B-Level before going to C-Level, then C-Level before going to D-Level. Thus, if you want the most minimal background noise possible in the library, then study at D-Level in order to avoid hearing people walking in search of a cubicle as much as possible.

That’s all for this post–I’m off to do some more studying!

N.B. The photo in this entry is courtesy of the virtual tour on the admissions website.