Welcome to the show

Here we are. 
The year is winding down and soon 2014 will be a thing of the past. 
Let's take a look at my list of to-do's:

-Register for my final semester
-Attend Fall Fest
-Complete assignments in timely manner

Oh...and my personal favorite one,

-Finally wake up on time for my Monday morning class.

I have one more class to register for because quite frankly I would not be an Albertus student if I registered without problems. Today, I have a few errands to run around campus that are residual from Fall Fest this past weekend. 

Most of the clan was here this weekend: Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Mary Anne, Rachel, Warren, Gabrielle, and Jonathan. It was really nice having them here. I took them on a tour of our gorgeous campus and I attempted to show it off to them, but since it was a Saturday, most of the buildings were locked up. Oh well. Next time I guess. 

During Fall Fest, Breakwater was hard-at-work selling coffee, tea and hot chocolate while holding a paint-your-own-pumpkin activity to raise money for the 2015 publication of Breakwater.

On Sunday, Residential Life spent the day at Lyman Orchards in Middlefield, CT. It was a gorgeous day and we got to go through the corn maze as a group, indulge in hot apple crisps and apple cider, and then we spent some time in the apple trees biting into some of the juiciest apples I have had all year. Kim was searching for some Golden Delicious, but instead we ate the Reds. Working through the maze was the best part for me because it required all of our brains to figure out how to read the map and to take risks and try different routes. It was just a nice, family day at the orchards. 

Now, I am not normally an apple crisp kind of girl and quite frankly the apple chunks were too large for me in this particular one, but I am willing to give it a try in the future as long as it is paired with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream melting into it. 

It's time to start the day I suppose. I have so much to do and a 10:45 class to attend in about 2 1/2 hours. Have a great day everyone! 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We are coming into the home stretch now. Soon, the school will be buzzing with talk about classes for next semester, Thanksgiving vacation, the campus tree lighting finally Christmas break. Normally, Christmas is the time that students count down until. 

Not me.

I like the countdown until registration day. My idea of a good time is flipping through the course catalog and arranging different course combinations for upcoming semesters. The saddest moment is when the schedule is finalized and there are no more decisions to be made. On October 22, I will plan my final semester of classes. My final semester here at Albertus Magnus College will be boiled down to 17.5 credits. My role as a n Executive Founding member of the Student Alumni Association will run out in January and I will be reduced to a general member. I have always been an executive member; I just wish it did not have to end. 

Before you know it, May will be upon us and I will be relieved of my Resident Assistant responsibilities. What will I do without them? Well...to be honest, I will probably sleep a lot better at night, but I will miss the job. My purpose is to serve as an RA. How can I just relinquish that job?

Graduation will come and then I will really be lost. Planning for my final semester is a bittersweet moment. I have been waiting and working towards this for four long, hard years, but I just wish it had not come so soon. Everything is here.

I am most upset about graduating this year and not last year because my older sister (who has already done the big ceremony from NYU thing) is basically stealing my Graduation Day from me. No, that was not her intent when she began her Graduate program, but that is how it feels. She went to NYU. My parents watched her walk across the stage of Radio City Music Hall and receive her "diploma". We all watched from the stands of Yankee Stadium as they graduated the different schools. It was impressive and she had most of our family there. We were proud of her; we are still proud of her - but I just wish that I could have that moment to myself this May.

My family now has to split and decide who will see what graduation. The most important people in my family will all be at mine: mommy, daddy, Gabrielle, Jonathan, Aunt Mary Anne. I really want the whole family there: Uncle Michael, Nicole, Aunt Kristine, Angela, Joseph, Poppa, Rachel and Warren.

The list could go on.

Registration is a magically philosophical time for me and I plan to enjoy my last one. 

My impending college graduation is the most important day of my life. I did not plan on going to college, when I was younger and naive. Now, I am preparing to graduate from college and I deserve to have my whole family there. I deserve to have my own graduation day, just for me and me alone, just like Miss NYU had. 

Did I not earn the same respect for my achievements as Rachel did?

Midterms

How did we all do on Midterms?! Yes, some teachers do not have an actual midterm assignment or exam, but we can still have grades that either send us into a flurried panic or calm our souls at this point in the semester. Mine was the latter. I am still a little panicked over my grades, but they are good grades. I think I feel extra pressure because of my impending graduation this May. I really want to graduate from here with honors (Cum Laude or Magna Cum Laude). I have to work really hard, but I know that I can do it. Maybe if I shoot for all A's at the end of this semester?

So far, I have three B+'s for my midterm grades. I do not know if I should be happy or worried about that. I think I should feel a little proud because those grades are in my three most difficult classes. 

Right now, I am balancing so much that I get headaches: sitting on duty at night, working in the Pub, organizing Breakwater, running to meetings and trying to find some down time for myself. It is all very stressful. I don't like it. Stress is not fun. That's why it is so important to manage your time well and not just in college. Now, that midterms are over, I think I feel a bit calmer, but we shall see how that long that keeps up.

To Write...

For me, writing can be as easy as breathing or harder than candy corn after Halloween. I have chosen to embark on this journey that will end with me earning the title Novelist. Writing is so fickle because there will be days where your brain is filled with great ideas and interesting points of dialogue. Then, there are the days where the brain is dried up, tired and void of any creative thoughts. 

October started on a high note for me. I completed my very own short story, shared it in my Composing Process class and received rave reviews with some begging for more to the story. Here is my philosophy; if you are going to write, then do it. Don't hide behind the fear of rejection or the possibility for constructive criticism. Yes, there is such a thing as author's choice, but please be open to the idea of accepting feedback from those who are kind of to read the mutterings of a mad writer. You never know what reactions you will get. 

There are no standards for writers. It is not like writing a term paper where you have to write in MLA, APA, or Chicago formatting. Writers can create their own form, their own set of rules. I went on Tumblr tonight, and this is what I found. It is a quote by W. Somerset Maugham.

No one knows the rules because there truly are no rules. Writing is not something that can be boxed into a structure. So...here are my three rules for all of you future writers that might be reading this:

Be Creative. Be Brave. Be Confident. 

It has taken me years to figure this out, but I am starting to. It is never too late. If you want to make it in the world as literary figures, then remember these three things and you will be fine.

Well Done, Pig

My school years are coming to a close and all of my school gear is falling apart.

These things are aging, just like me. Although, they are aging at a more rapid pace than I am.

The backpack that I have had since the 5th grade has to go in the garbage tonight.

My computer is falling apart and I am seriously considering buying a new one after school ends in May. Of course, I would have to buy it for myself, so saving the money for it will be hard. Maybe it will miraculously be a better laptop when I wake up in the morning?

Wishful thinking...I know.

Not Sorry | #ShineStrong Pantene

I came across this on Facebook. Now, it is a Pantene commercial, but it really does have an important message inside the video. Please watch it!