Wish You Were Here

The End of the Line

Greetings from my last day of college classes ever! I’ve been preparing for this moment all semester (and preparing you for this moment all semester with my blog entries about it) but, now that it is finally here, I’m surprised to be noticing some strange things.

My last day of school outfit, paying homage to years of elementary school first-day-of-school florals.

1) My melancholy. Ok, I expected this one. The last day of college classes comes with the same relief as every other year – you’re done, you’ve made it, and you did it all without growing (too many) grey hairs over the course of the semester. But this particular year comes also with the realization that all of those things you would normally start to look forward to around the middle of June – coming back in August to your friends, learning in a classroom setting, reading under the trees on the Lower Quad, this gorgeous campus on a late summer day – won’t be part of your life anymore. Come September, I’ll be somewhere new, doing something different, daydreaming about my friends who still get more time here. With any luck, I’ll be doing something so exciting with my life that I won’t even notice…that much, anyway.

2) WHEN DOES LEVERING FOOD COURT CLOSE FOR THE YEAR AND HOW MANY MORE DAYS DO I HAVE TO ENJOY THEIR GLORIOUS CHICKEN FINGERS? (My Levering lunch crew knows I nearly literally get those chicken fingers every single day. I’m not entirely sure what I’ll do without them.)

3) I always thought my biggest pet peeve was people running to class. (If you’re almost late, congrats – you’re not late yet, so just walk faster. If you’re already late, what’s another minute? Slow down, crazy.) But my actual pet peeve? People running to class on the last day of classes. Everyone (besides you) is a big, fuzzy ball of love on the last day of classes. Professors who are normally harsh will come in bearing food, candy, or at the very least a smile. I promise you your professor will not mind if you’re a half minute late today.

Me and Bridget during our Cinco de Mayo/end of semester celebrations last night.

4) This sounds nuts, but I’m actually a little underwhelmed that my last class of my college career will be A) a philosophy section (a.k.a. a class out of neither of my majors), and B) only 50 minutes long. If I had the choice, I’d go for a whopper of a film theory class to finish out with. Although it seems to follow suit: my first class at Hopkins was a 50-minute Occidental Civilization history lecture on the Medieval World. This also belongs to neither of my majors and, honestly, I remember about 4% of the things I learned while in it. But alas, tis the way thy cookie doth crumble.

5) It’s a beautiful, beautiful day. Thanks, Mother Nature, for getting the last day of classes memo and helping a girl out.

—

I’m thinking about a lot of other things too, but they’re mostly just mushy nostalgic tidbits that I will try to push out of my mind until I actually have to deal with them after graduation. (Denial is the first step in any big life change, no?) But until then, I am going to enjoy my last day of school with my friends and my floral dress, with my zealous classmates and my chicken fingers. And it’s going to be great.

although it’s been said many times, many ways

It’s no secret how much I love the holidays. I’m the friend who starts listening to Christmas music at the end of September. I’m the one who had the tree trimmed, the apartment decorated, the cookies baking before Thanksgiving. I’m the one who “Oohs” and “Aahs” over twinkle lights and the one who thinks there can never be too much tinsel on the tree. There’s just something about Nat King Cole’s smooth voice and the biting chill of winter temperatures that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

This year {just like all the others}, I had to balance my overflowing holiday cheer with a few major academic assignments. There were two Italian tests and an oral exam, a final story for Advanced Fiction Workshop, and a lengthy research paper for The Actor in Hollywood that had to be done before December 7. But I considered myself lucky, because that meant that I had no actual final exams and could go home a week before nearly everyone else! I felt mildly concerned about finishing it all but, in reality, I couldn’t complain one bit. In fact, it even added to my Christmas giddiness that I had free time to spend out of the library and on much more important things, like playing lazy Scrabble games and watching Letters to Juliet and attending my favorite a capella concerts.

My "study station" in the living room.

Because really, no matter how much work I have to do, my priority in December is always making sure I rub off on everyone around me that “warm and fuzzy” feeling I’ve got inside. I first started to gear up for Christmas this year by going home for Thanksgiving with my friend Courtney, who lives in Bermuda and couldn’t go home for such a short amount of time. We had dinner with family, reunited with my friends at home, and got much-needed sleep – all very important aspects of the holiday season in my opinion! When we got back to school, we prepared even further by going ice skating off-campus. I  figure skated seriously for a few years when I was younger and it felt amazing to be back on the ice after so long.

Ice skating with Renee, Alison, and Courtney!

The next week was a blur of fun and formals that was spent dancing the night away and pretending I didn’t actually have all that work to do. On Tuesday, Alpha Phi had our annual winter formal called the “Bordeaux Ball.” It was held at Red Maple in Baltimore, a gorgeous venue with great food and all of our favorite music playing. Though it was bittersweet as my last APhi winter formal ever, I had such a great time and can’t imagine a better last one.

Ben and me before Alpha Phi Bordeaux Ball.

Then, that Saturday was my last hoorah before I really had to focus on work: I went to the All Nighters a capella concert, then Sig Ep’s winter formal at their house, then the All Nighters’ after party. I see all of my friends at least once every week {usually more} but, for some reason, these special events make it even more fun to go out and socialize with them all.

The crew at Sig Ep winter formal.

With such a strong build-up, of course I needed something epic to do on the night before I went home for break. So my friends and I threw a big ugly sweater party in my and Maxi’s apartment. We invited all of our friends and bought lots of food and drinks for everyone. We had a Secret Santa organized beforehand and even ordered mistletoe to hang in one of our doorframes. Growing up, I always had this dream of attending swanky holiday parties with jazz playing and red velvet swishing around me. And now I finally was able to make that daydream a reality: I put my huge, charming apartment {if I do say so myself!} to use and sat back to watch my Baltimore loved ones all under one roof having a great time.

The ladies at our ugly sweater party!

And now I’m looking forward to entire month at home before I get back to Baltimore for Intersession. I haven’t had this much time home for winter break in a long time, so I’m making sure to enjoy every second. I’ve already gotten to catch up with family and friends, sleep til early afternoon, and see Santa Claus drive through the neighborhood on a firetruck decorated with Christmas lights. I helped pick out our Christmas tree {it’s a beauty} and we’ll be baking cookies very soon. I’ll have to start thinking about my job hunt and spring semester soon, but for now…wish you were here!

creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. art is knowing which ones to keep.

Although my classes are giving me a lot of work this semester, one of the things that is keeping me going is how much I absolutely love each of them. {Well, except for Bioethics, which I ended up dropping on the last possible day.} My favorite at the moment is Dramatic Writing: Plays, followed by a close second in Dance for the Camera. And so, since I haven’t talked about academics much this semester yet, I figured I would devote a blog to two of my favorite projects so far in each of these classes.

The first, Dramatic Writing: Plays, is entirely new territory for me. Every day I go, I learn something new because I’ve never been remotely well-versed on plays at all. I go to them every once in a while; I see one-acts and other productions on campus; one of my favorite movies is Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, a film adaptation of an Edward Albee play that I’ve never actually seen on stage. But I never knew how to think for the stage, how to format a play, or how to present one in a workshop. It’s exciting, then, to get an assignment and start working those creative gears in a new way. I’m presenting a play next Friday based on the following assignment, which I enjoyed so much: we had to find an old black-and-white postcard that featured some interesting setting or action going on. Then, we had to write a 4-6 page scene based on it, starting with two characters and working in a delayed entrance of a third. And every part of it, from looking for the postcard I was going to use to the writing process (which I’m still in the midst of), has been a total blast. This was one of the reasons why I loved Matt Porterfield’s screenplay class last semester: I love finding inspiration in unexpected places and being encouraged to use such materials as old postcards, photography, and songs to give new life to an idea.

The postcard I chose for my assignment

Dance for the Camera is an entirely different animal. I’m working in a group with one of my fellow film majors and a dance student from Towson, so we have to collaborate on film/video projects that highlight dance movement and show it in a new, interesting way. It’s tough because I have my own creative ideas/values as a film major and Diana has hers: we agree on a lot but it’s also a constant reminder of why art is great, because we see things in such different ways. And of course Rachael sees the project completely differently from both of us because of her perspective as a dancer and choreographer. Still, we get along great and we’ve completed three so far, all of which have been a lot of fun to shoot, edit, and get feedback on from our professors. My favorite was one we did in the elevator/stairwell of my apartment building with a male and female dancer. Diana is one of the full-time bloggers for HopkinsCinemAddicts (I wrote three entries this year, two of which have been posted – here and here) so I’m going to link to an entry in her production journal where she talked about this project. I think she did a great job capturing how we felt about the project!

A still from Dance for the Camera production

Unlike high school, you choose most of the courses you take in college, so each one has its personally fulfilling aspects just based on the fact that you wanted to take it on the first place. But it’s a really special thing when you feel incredibly excited to go to class every day, when you’re constantly jotting down ideas about what to write about/film next, when you’re really inspired and just itching to try new things to see how they work. It’s classes like these that remind me exactly why I chose to be a Writing Seminars/Film and Media Studies double major in the first place. Beyond simply enjoying writing and film (and beyond being better at those things than I ever was at math or science), I do it because it pushes me every day to do something a little different. You can’t write the same story for every assignment, just as you can’t keep filming in the same location for each project. You have to think, adjust, create. It’s a neat feeling to be able to make something out of nothing: we can craft fictional relationships, dramatic problems, or whole universes apart from our own. And when it’s actually entertaining to people other than yourself? Well, then that’s the best part of all.

big, bad senior

As a wide-eyed college student, you hear myths about the elusive “senior year.” It moves too fast. It’s full of fun. It’s to be spent being lazy, waking up late, staying out late, soaking up every last drop of that whole “not being an adult” thing.

For some reason…mine’s not like that so far. I mean, I’m having a great time, going out with friends and enjoying the simplest college things like being at a sweaty frat party or sitting on the Upper Quad reading a book for class. But I’m also slightly overwhelmed and searching for this thing my senior friends call “free time” {they seem to have so much of it!}. The first “crazy senior” thing I’m doing is taking 6 classes – which is usually met with an open-mouthed gasp and a “WHY?!?!?!” from every senior I tell it to. But it’s due, in part, to my panic about college almost being over. I wanted to take advantage of my time left here and didn’t want to graduate feeling like I had missed something {those “somethings” this semester being playwriting and the Italian language}. I can’t really blame myself because all 6 classes are so great although, at times when I have 100 pages of reading due tomorrow, I want to try.

Books from just some of my classes!

I’m also continuing to work regularly in Admissions, the JHU Writing Center, and playing the role of a remote intern for Girls’ Life Magazine by writing pieces for the web and editing behind-the-scenes videos together for them. So far this semester, I’ve left my apartment around 8:30am every morning and usually don’t make it back until at least 10:00pm. And to top it off: I’m studying for the GRE and writing a personal statement in preparation for applying to grad school {more on that later}. I’m still an Alpha Phi sister, still a member of Film Society, still a blogger.

I’m, to put it frankly, a little exhausted.

And here I am, awake at 9:00am after only going to bed at 5:00am, writing this all down. I keep going though – the thing about Hopkins and, I think, college in general is that this all comes in waves. Sure, it’s possible to bite off more than you can chew and have to scale back. I know plenty of people who have dropped classes, quit jobs, or stepped down from leadership positions simply because they challenged themselves to juggle more and weren’t actually able to do it in the end. And I don’t think there is any shame in that whatsoever – part of this whole “college” thing is to learn how much you can handle, how far you can push yourself, and especially when to admit you just aren’t Superman.

But something I tell almost every single prospective student I encounter – because almost every single one asks the question, “Is the workload too much?” – is that rough patches pass. Even though I get a little panicked sometimes because I’m overwhelmed by exams or a busy week, I know it will calm down soon. It always does. I trust myself to have developed good time management skills over my 3  years here. I trust myself to work hard when hard work needs to be done. I trust myself to surround myself with good people to cheer me up, to know when to put the book down to actually sleep, and to not let a string of full, tiring days wear me down.

A blog about my 6 wonderful classes is in store later this week, followed by lots of fun photos from our first date party of the school year, and inevitably more musings about crunchy leaves and how much I adore hot apple cider and mustard yellow scarves on chilly days. I’m making it through by taking each day and class in segments, working as hard as I can and trying not to worry – and by very much looking forward to Thursday morning when I get to sleep in.

tying up loose ends

I was just reading over my blog entries from fall semester and realized something kind of appalling: the only time I mentioned schoolwork was in this post, on September 24.  I know my blog has never been academically-centered by any means but, by not talking about it, I’m not sure if I present myself as someone who has no work to do {wouldn’t that be nice}, someone who doesn’t do the work that she has, or just someone who is really, really enjoying her college career.  Either way, I admit that it doesn’t give you a very well-rounded view of life at college: even though there is plenty of time for fun and friends {which is basically my blog}, there are also times – many times – when you just have to suck it up and work.

This blog will serve as a reminder that those times exist, often under the umbrella {pun intended} of that well-known mantra, “When it rains, it pours.”  I had a relatively slow week before Thanksgiving break – I went to normal classes, did normal assignments, had a quiz in Study of Film, observed some sessions at the Writing Center {where I will officially be a tutor next semester!}, and shot the first reel of film for my project.  In between, I worked in Admissions and still had time for lunches with friends and relaxing time on my own.  But as soon as I got back from Thanksgiving Break, it was “Go” time – I had a film analysis paper, a project for Monuments and Memory, a poetry portfolio, three fiction re-writes, my final Film Production project, and two midterms that I had to prepare for, all within a span of about a week.  I also held the position of Social Chair in Alpha Phi since January, and this month I had to plan my final formal in the job.  This involved finding a venue, signing the contract, paying for it, finding a caterer/bartender who would work with our budget, discussing the menu, signing the contract, paying for it, hiring a DJ, meeting up with him to pay, chartering buses for transportation, signing the contract, paying for it, finding sisters who would agree to be “sober sisters” for the event {in case anyone gets sick, they chaperone them home}… the list of responsibilities goes on.  And of course I’ll be back to my usual self and will blog about formal soon.

Needless to say, this past week got pretty hectic at times.  But as of this very minute, formal, one of those papers, the portfolio, the fiction rewrites, and one midterm have been checked off the list.  This leaves:

• My Monuments and Memory final project, due tomorrow.  We had to choose one of four events and create a monument for that particular event.  My group {myself, Jackie, and Preeya} chose Hurricane Katrina, so we have been busy drawing up designs for the monument, ironing out our concept, etc.  For my contribution, I am arguing about why we chose the location that we did, describing what other monuments influenced our design, and writing on the important history of the event itself.  And I am almost done!
• My final Intro to Film Production project, also due tomorrow.  This is concerning me a little because of some trouble I ran into during the first day of shooting.  Long story short, I had to go out and shoot another roll of film {we have two available} last week at the very last minute and I am still waiting for it to come back to edit.  I will most likely be spending late afternoon today in the office editing my film together, then working out the rest of my Monuments project tonight.  Rumor has it we also have to submit the “Idea Journal” we were supposed to have been keeping all semester, along with our film.  I swear I have been writing down ideas {for film, fiction, poetry, Halloween costumes…I have an active imagination} but they are ALL over the place in different notebooks, on Post-Its, online.  So part 2 of this project is I just need to get them down in one place, just in case.
• My Study of Film midterm, which I am not too concerned about.  It sounds as if it will basically be a review of the film techniques we’ve learned so far {all aspects of cinematography, mise-en-scene, lighting, editing, etc.} and it isn’t until next Wednesday, so I have plenty of time.

And now I know why I never write about academics here: it always ends up sounding like a sad laundry list of things upon things that need to get done.  Here’s a promise to you and a challenge to myself – next semester, I am going to write about my classes more often.  I’ll talk about assignments, lectures, my professors.  And somehow I will make it fun.

taking the bull by the horns

For some reason, I get a second wind every single finals season.  It’s sort of pathetic: all semester, I struggle against procrastination, disinterest, stress, and every other bad quality plaguing students {I swear I have a little bit of them all mixed up inside me}, and yet I’m taken at the very end by this new-found productivity.  I couldn’t seem to muster it up at any point during the entire semester — you know, it might’ve been helpful during midterms, or when I had a big research paper due, or when I just needed a little bit more motivation to get up when my alarm went off at 8:00AM.  But at the end, I get hit with this wave of responsbility and really energetic enthusiasm, and I end up doing fabulously in all of my classes.  I get my homework done IN ADVANCE {that means not rushing around the night before it is due — it is a strange feeling not to be scrambling right now!}, I seem to be able to sort out all of my due dates and schedule certain times to work on each assignment, and I find time to relax.

I can’t say I know why this happens.  Maybe I want to go out on a high note, or I want to leave a good impression on my professors when they go to record those final grades, or maybe I just think that this is my last shot ever to do something meaningful with this particular class … after all, in less than three weeks, I’ll be done with them for good.  It’s sort of sad, in a way, and maybe I just want to try to make up for all of those weeks when I wasn’t giving 100%.

Whatever it is, I can’t say I’m complaining — if there’s a time when a Hopkins student really needs to have a stellar work ethic and to be able to balance duty and their own needs, it’s final exam time.  I’m really thankful that I get overly responsible now, even if I still have to work really hard to be this good during the whole year.  The fact that this feeling is so intense {it’s like I’ve stored up all of my determination and initiative throughout the entire semester, and unleash them on the home stretch} lets me take finals time in stride.  I’ve taken a personal vow to not once let myself get stressed out during exams/final papers this year, something that is admittedly really hard to do.  But I’m going to remember to breathe, to focus, to not take things so seriously.  I’m going to get things done.  I’m going to take control, and not leave things until the last minute.  I’ve got 16 days left here at Hopkins this semester — I’m not going to spend them being miserable.

And, for a change in the spring, as the start of my “New Semester’s Resolutions” {potentially coming in a future blog entry}, I’m going to try to keep this mindset throughout the whole semester.

ho-hum.

Well, well, well.  I haven’t done this in a while!  I should apologize — it really has been FAR too long since I’ve blogged.  I wish I had an exciting reason for my absence, but I don’t have any great excuses … other than the fact that I’m a sophomore at Hopkins.

To be completely honest, I was really looking forward to this semester.  Sure, I needed summer so that I could relax a little, see my family and friends, take a break from deadlines and papers and readings .. but I was so ready to get back to school in the fall and dive right in.  I was going to learn so much about some really interesting topics.  I was going to be organized.  It was going to be a piece of cake.

And I had fun when I got back to campus.  I decorated my room and ate lots of good food and was able to spend time catching up with my friends.  But that was Orientation week: then sophomore year officially began.

I’d be overly dramatic if I said things were horrible right now.  My classes are relatively interesting and the professors are organized; I’m not unhappy, and I’m still dead-set on being English/Writing Sems; I’m even 100% sure I’m not the busiest person on campus.  But so far this semester, even though I hate to admit it, I’m stressing out.  I, like a lot of college students, get overwhelmed way more often than I used to about the amount of work I have to finish on a given day.  I think I had this much work last year too, though … the difference is that the work doesn’t feel worth it like it did in the past.

Maybe that’s just because I’m sort of settling into a sophomore slump.  It’s a fact: I’m not a freshman anymore.  I just don’t have that delicate mix of motivation (to do well, to prove that a spot in your class was wisely given to you, to continue to succeed) and fear (of not being smart enough, of my high school achievements being the “peak” of my academic life, of not being able to handle it) that only comes with being a freshman.  That combination drove me last year to happily work hard to prove myself and to try to find value in every one of my classes.  Last year, even though I had lots of work and crazy due dates to meet, it was ok: I felt like I was getting so much out of the work that I put in.  This year, it’s hard to slip back into that mindset.

But I’d be silly to let the disappointment of one semester turn me off to academia completely.  I still LOVE Hopkins, and am grateful every single day that I can go to school here, work here, have fun with my friends here, and show it off to my family when they come to visit.  I just hosted a prospective student who is applying Early Decision and who is so passionate about coming here that she reminded me of something I think we all tend to forget: we all wanted this.  It’s hard sometimes and it’s a lot of work, but we all were ridiculously excited to be accepted here.  We chose to turn in our deposits and enroll.  And there are thousands of students just like us who wanted it – BAD – who unfortunately didn’t get to do that chance.

So, I’m just looking forward to next semester with the same enthusiasm as I did for this one.  Sure, things might not work out and I may be just as disappointed come February.  But, in my mind, next semester is going to be GREAT.  My classes are going to be enjoyable and I’m going to be on top of my work and I’m not going to stress out.  If I believe it hard enough, I’m going to make it come true.

the light at the end of the tunnel

I am almost done with my first round of final exams ever as a Hopkins
student and, I’m happy to say, things didn’t go so badly.  I’ll know for sure when grades are posted in a couple weeks {you can check them by logging on to the website where you also check your email and register for classes}, but I actually thought my exams were — if I dare even say it — kind of on the easy side. {In this photo: my studying provisions were water, Entenmann’s doughnuts, Pepperidge Farm Pirouette cookies, tissues, my television remote controls, and magazines.  Lots of them.}

My French oral exam went fabulously, especially for being at 10AM on a Monday morning.  I only had to reference my notes a few times and actually sounded fluent every once in a while, so that’s a plus.  My motivation was the croissants and baguettes that my instructor brought in for our end-of-the-year party: I was inspired, what can I say.

Directly after that came Subatomic World, which was probably my toughest of them all so far.  I think I got a pretty decent number of questions correct, but there was one section in particular that I know I totally bombed.  Hopefully there’s a pretty significant curve so that it won’t be a problem.  {In this photo: another thing that got me through studying was my roommate’s stereo, which was fixed on 101.9FM all week – Baltimore’s best radio station for Christmas music!}

Directly after that was Intro. to Fiction and Poetry, which just consisted of six short answer identifications and one long essay.  It went by really fast, and I feel pretty confident.

{Since there was a two day stretch between IFP and my next exam, I figured now would be a good time to pause for the warm, fuzzy, holiday sounds of Nat King Cole:}

Earlier today, I took my History of Occ Civ final.  I stayed up LATE last night
studying my entire semester’s worth of notes, and I sort of wish I hadn’t — it ended up being a very managable exam, with broad questions and topics that we had seen before on our other quizzes.  My essays, on the other hand, that were due today .. they’re another story, as they barely sound coherent.  Hopefully the two sections will balance each other out.  {In this photo: studying for exams is fantastic for getting other things done around the suite.  As an example, I set up my lava lamp.}

And now I just have one more next Thursday for Lit Study!  With a whole week to prepare, there is no reason for me to worry about doing bad.  I’m looking forward to being able to relax, AT HOME, and study at a slower pace.  I’m not guaranteeing that I won’t be scrambling around at the last minute trying to get information together {because I’m fabulous at leaving everything for the night before}, but at least I will try!

{A Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular kick line interruption!}

At times, it definitely felt as if there was not nearly enough time to finish all of the work that had to be done.  I took a lot of breaks {for America’s Next Top Model, doughnuts, and showering}, drank a lot of caffeine {my new Cafe Q signature: tall, wet, double-shot peppermint cappuccino}, and complained to my mom a little more than she probably would have liked .. but I made it through!!  Even when it seems like your most stressful weeks will never end {in that photo: look at all my finals and due dates!}, there is always that light at the end of the tunnel and, even though it’s hard, you do always make it.  Now, there is nothing ahead except an easy-peasy final and an entire six weeks of winter break.  I couldn’t be happier.

So, as I lounge in my pajamas watching the Travel Channel and listening to Christmas music .. wish you were here!  {I’m leaving you with a clip from the movie Holiday Inn, in which Bing Crosby first sang “White Christmas.”  Christmas music, with the exception of Nat King Cole, doesn’t get much better than this.}

working hard for the money

It’s final exam time here at Hopkins.  The library is packed {I wouldn’t know from personal experience, to be honest, but looking in the windows as I walked by, it seemed really nuts in there}, the cafe lines are long {it makes me mad when I want a nice Charles Village Mudslide from Cafe Q just because they’re tasty, and someone in front of me has ordered four double-shot espressoes because they need to stay awake}, and the looks on all the students’ faces are a mixture of fear, stress, and the knowledge that there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done that needs to be finished.  It’s exciting.

I haven’t yet felt the first pang of nervousness that I usually feel during exams.  I feel like I should because my schedule for the next week is absolute insanity, but I’ve been very relaxed, very calm, very “I can do this, just breathe.”  I don’t know if I have a dangerous amount of confidence going into final exams or if I’m honestly just a more secure test-taker than I was in high school, but I’m totally chill right now.  It’s kind of strange, actually.  This is my week ahead:

Monday
10:00 – 10:50 – French oral presentation: This is only worth 6.667% of my grade and, therefore, I have not begun to prepare for it.  It should be fun though, and I doubt it will be too bad.

11:00 – 11:50 - Subatomic World final exam: I have been working on the 10 page paper we have due for this exam for about five days straight right now.  Because of that, I officially hate electricity, magnetism, light, electromagnetism, electrodynamics, and anything else involved.  I don’t care if they make our world happen; they’re awful little things.

12:00-12:50 - Intro. to Fiction and Poetry exam: This exam, like French, is only worth 10% of our grade.  Also, we’re pretty much the only IFP class that I have heard of to actually have a final {and we’ve also had the most work of any other IFP class, by far}, which makes me much more bitter than stressed over it.  Like I needed any more motivation to not study.

Tuesday
1:00-1:50 - Occ Civ Section final exam study session: I need all the help I can get.

2:00 – Photo shoot for all the Bloomberg Scholars: Can’t wait to thank Mayor Bloomberg for basically paying for my life to happen for me.  If he didn’t offer this scholarship to us, I definitely would not be going here.  For that, he’s pretty amazing.

Wednesday
12:00-12:50 - My IFP portfolio {all of our graded assignments thus far, plus revised versions of our short story, memoir, two poems, and one other piece of our choice} is due between these times.

Thursday
2:30? – I’m not really sure what time this starts, but I have my Occ Civ final exam today.  I know we have two essays due for this exam and they won’t be accepted past 4:00pm – I’m aiming to get there to begin the exam at 3:00pm, just in case I need the extra time.  I’m actually feeling a few butterflies in my stomach when I seriously think about this exam … but it’s on Thursday, and I’m just trying to take things one day at a time.

Friday
Freeeeedommmmmm.  I have a Hopkins Interactive-related meeting sometime during the day, then I’m packing for home!

I’ll be going home Saturday morning, then taking the train back here on the 20th for my last final exam in Lit Study.  I also have an essay to prepare for that class, but we won’t be getting the topics until 24 hours before the exam so I can’t worry about that now.  It will probably be on the Nabokov novel Lolita though, since that was pretty much the only prose we read {excluding short stories}, so that shouldn’t be too bad.

So that’s my busy week!  This time next week, I will be watching The Amazing Race and snuggling up on my couch at home, enjoying my family’s Christmas tree, hot chocolate, and the company of the people I love.  It’ll be a lot of work until then .. but it’ll be worth it!  :)  Even though I’m sure you’re all far too busy with your own exams, college applications, and holiday shopping, and even though it is a totally nuts time of year here, it is actually a little thrilling to know that you only have one week left until six weeks of relaxing, then a new semester where you can start fresh .. and I wish you were here to experience it!

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Now we interrupt this blog with a special Hopkins Interactive Advertisement:

The members of Hopkins Interactive recently launched a Facebook group for prospective Johns Hopkins University Students. In the group prospective students can learn even more about Hopkins by looking at pictures, watching movies, accessing quick links to blogs, and more. Members of the group will also get monthly message updates with the newest insider information. To learn about how you can join Facebook and/or become a member of the group, check out this message board thread: click here.

As well, we wanted to remind you that each member of the Hopkins Interactive team has their own personal message board thread. These message boards are meant to be a place for prospective students to ask questions directly to current Hopkins students! These threads are organized by area of study. You can explore these personal message boards here: click here . So, what are you waiting for? Go explore Hopkins…and while you’re at it, send a student a question or even just a friendly hello!

~The Hopkins Interactive Team

Now back to your regularly scheduled blogging …

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the week ahead

Since my last post, things have been crazy and slow at the same time.  I haven’t really had that much work, which has been absolutely fantastic.  By “no work,” I mean I haven’t had exams or anything to study for, with the exception of my most recent French oral presentation {which went extremely well, I think – we got the topic where we had to pretend we had just met a celebrity, and we had to give advice to that celebrity; one girl in my group was Britney Spears, and we were so horrible to her that we had my TA positively giggling by the end!}, but I’ve certainly had papers and creative writing assignments galore.  Those things take up a lot of time because, when I write them, they have to be absolutely perfect {or at least good enough so that I’m not embarassed about turning them in}, but they’re the type of assignments I get nerdy about – I major in English and Writing Seminars, so I enjoy them!  I’ve had a lot of reading assignments too, most of which I haven’t actually gotten around to doing yet.  Shhh … I have Thanksgiving break soon, I’ll catch up.  Maybe.

Still though, even without any pressing academic deadlines {I say “academic” because the deadline for this blog was like five days ago, haha}, I feel like I have been SO busy!  Last weekend was devoted completely to my parents for family weekend, during which we went to so many restaurants {which I will definitely talk about in my next post!}, a football game, a performing arts “medley” {a show of many campus acapella and dance groups in Shriver Hall}, and shared a lot of much-needed quality time.  I slept at their hotel both nights, and we talked and watched television and  played board games {I missed playing Boggle the most!} until pretty late at night.  It was so great to see them because, while I’m having fun here and meeting a lot of great people, nothing can really compare to or replace your family.  To be honest, I don’t know why upperclassmen don’t have their parents come visit for family weekend – it’s true that there may not be very valuable events scheduled by the school for parents who have already done it once, but it is so nice for your parents to be able to come and see the place and the city you’ve been calling your second home for so much time.  I loved being able to see them and explore the city with them!

But, while I enjoyed it immensely, one weekend wasn’t enough, and now I’m counting down the days until I visit home for Thanksgiving.  As of now {about midnight}, it’s six days away!  I will be taking the train again from Penn Station in Baltimore to 30th Street in Philly on Monday {11/19} afternoon, then driving back down on Sunday.  I can’t wait to eat real food {which there is plenty of down here but, when you never go to the cafeteria like me, it can become hard to find} – especially stuffing, cranberry sauce, and green bean casserole – and I can’t wait even more to spend time with my entire family, go out with my best friends, and just be able to breathe that New Jersey air again.  It’ll be so nice, too, to be able to settle into being home instead of only being able to visit for a couple nights {which was the case the past two times I’ve been home}.  I’m dreading packing though – I ALWAYS forget something!  That’s my luggage on the left there that I bought last year for my senior trip and am using now to get me back and forth {usually, I only use that big piece in the back!}.  Isn’t it gorgeous?

Anyway, for lack of a better subject {or the energy to write about one}, this is what the rest of my week looks like.  Since it’s so busy, I’m really hoping it goes by fast!

tuesday
Class straight through from 10:00am to 2:00pm, then SAAB office hours from 2:30pm to 4:30pm {and rudely eating lunch during them probably, as always}, then resting and Facebooking.  Then probably Taco Tuesdays at 6:30pm {fantastic beef tacos at PJs Pub for 50 cents a piece!}, and then passing out from such a long day.  But I have some reading for French and Intro. to Fic. and Poetry, and I really should start my Occ Civ paper, so I might do those things before I crash.  And I might wake up at 10:00pm to watch Boston Legal, because you really shouldn’t ever miss that show.

wednesday
Class from 10:00am to 1:00pm, then lunch, then a meeting at 2:30pm with my IFP TA about our upcoming short story assignment {because I have questions!}, then “Hot Cider and Donuts with Alpha Phi” around 3:30pm {postponed from Tuesday to Wednesday, which is why the picture is up on Tuesday}, and then one lonnnnnnnggg nap until our SAAB meeting from 5:30pm to 7:00pm.  Then LOTS of reading for Lit Study that I always, always, always put off until the last second {I’ll be doing that during America’s Next Top Model/Pushing Daisies and Private Practice, of course – it’s Henry James though and I love him as an author, so it shouldn’t be too painful}.  Then, at 10:00pm, I will be putting all homework away for the PROJECT RUNWAY season premiere!!  {See the pictures to the right of Tyyyyyyra Banks – my hero – and to the left of Tim Gunn, who, I think, bears a striking resemblance to our own Professor Glenn Blake of the Writing Seminars.  Maybe it’s just me, but I’m still excited to have him as my IFP II professor next semester .. and am slightly worried about letting a “Make it work” remark slip out during class discussions.}  I cannot wait for Project Runway 4, but it’s going to be hard balancing that and Dirty Sexy Money without a TiVo.  Sigh — too much good television!  Let’s just hope the writers’ strike, if anything, makes scheduling conflicts easier to handle.

thursday
Class from 11:00pm – 12:00pm, then lunch, then class 1:30pm to 2:50pm,
then giving blood at the Red Cross Blood Drive at 3:00pm in the Levering Glass Pavilion.  Then relaxing until Thursday television {Survivor, Grey’s, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia} and definitely trying to do some of my Occ Civ paper.  DEFINITELY.  I mean .. maybe.

friday
Same class schedule as Thursday, then nap and packing for home!  I’ll probably at least make an appearance at the Hopkins basketball game at 7:00pm {if anyone is planning on going, let me know!}, then either go out for a bit or have a movie night in.  Then sleeeeeeeep.

saturday
From 10:00am to 3:00pm, St. David’s Church down the street from campus {down University Parkway, a little bit past where it changes to Roland Avenue} is having a Christmas Bazaar.  Since I won’t be home to make it to my own parish’s Christmas Bazaar {see the picture for what Holy Saviour looks like!}, I figured I might as well go to this one!  It should be fun.  I can’t decide whether to be lazy and take a cab down there, or try to walk all the way there.  It’s about two miles away I think but, considering how much I walk around campus during a “typical” day {speaking of that, see our message board topic about a typical day for a Hopkins student!}, I think that’s managable.  Besides, it’s a BEAUTIFUL walk!  You should see some of the homes down in that direction – I’d be lucky to be able to afford some of their front doors, let alone the entire mansion.  It’s nuts!

sunday
Lots and lots of homework!  I will be finishing up my Occ Civ paper and my IFP short story, because both of them are due on Tuesday {when I will be in New Jersey, annoying my baby cousin with hugs and eating fast food, which I swore off until Thanksgiving break!} so I have to finish them early.  I’m going to watch The Amazing Race at 8:00pm and then go to bed early because I’m planning on waking up at 6:50am on Monday to register for next semester’s classes {already!}.  I’m crossing my fingers that I get all of the classes I want – the way I have my schedule planned out is absolutely perfect.  I would be in heaven if everything worked out.

So that’s my week ahead!  It sounds like a whirlwind when I’m just typing it out, so hopefully it will go equally as fast.  I love love love Hopkins and Baltimore but, with the promise of home just around the corner, I’m really starting to get impatient!

The next time I post, I’ll talk about my favorite restaurants here so far and my next post after that will be all about my Thanksgiving break.  Can’t wait to write about both … mostly because both will be almost completely about foooooood, =P   But until then, while I’m enjoying this crazy, busy, exciting week .. wish you were here!