Stephanie Katherine Fidis: Cum Laude

That's what they will call me at graduation in May. This semester was one of my hardest ever during my time here at Albertus Magnus, and I am positive that my final semester will be its equal; it was, however, an incredibly fruitful semester. 

I received all of my final marks this morning and I have earned my Christmas vacation with a 3.9 GPA (for this semester) and all A's. I was flabbergasted...still am. If someone presented me with this report card in high school, I would have thought that someone higher up was bribed. 

All A's...
Can you believe it?!

I really want to earn Magna Cum Laude status for graduation, but my overall GPA is only a 3.5 (Cum Laude). To be a Magna I would need to have a GPA of 3.7 by graduation time. Is that even possible? Maybe I could just convince Dean O'Connell to read the Cum Laude part as he calls my name?

When I look back on my earlier school years, I realize how far I have come and how much hard work has been applied to my academics. I work harder in school than my other siblings. Homework and tests comes so easily for them. I feel much better about myself now that I am on their level a little more than I used to be. 

A little R and R

Tomorrow is the day i have been waiting for, dreaming about, drooling over, etc. You get the picture. I finally get to go hone for Christmas vacation! I anticipate this being very short but fulfilling break from school. I have wild dreams of being able to read novels and work on parts of my own whilst sitting in my bed with a hot cup of tea. Mmm...

I have such a crazy, busy schedule from now until Christmas Day. This week i will decorate two trees and go to work for two days. Before you know it, it's Christmas Eve morning and we are heading out the door to make strouffoli. "Soon it will be Christmas day" (Bing Crosby).

Winter Break is Here

It's finally time for me to kick back, relax, and watch as the rest of the campus suffers through finals time. All of my finals were last week and are therefore completed! Now, I plan to spend my days napping in bed, reading novels, working out, and just detoxing from this semester. Of course, there will be the days spent in the Writing Center, the nights in the Pub, and those spent sitting on duty, but I will have to persevere. 

December 15 at 5 p.m. - that's the last day I will be on campus until the new year.
8 more days to go. 

Last night was the Winter Formal. Everything looked so magical! It was Mardi Gras themed. They decorated the BCR with fancy Mardi Gras archways, trees completed with strands of lights, and snow to complete the image. There were also walls covered in sheets of white lights to give it a snowy look. There was a photo booth there and my friends and I took advantage of it. Sometimes it can be really fun to just accessorize and take funny photos. The best photos are the ones with errors because only you know about them. It's the blemishes that make them beautiful. My whole group looked quite glamorous. 


The Wolcott boys had lovely suits on and masquerade masks that completed the outfits. 
Erika's purple dress, beautifully accented with a glittery silver pin, accentuated her natural features nicely. 
Emili and I matched: my dress was blue with black lace sleeves and she wore a black dress with blue tights the color of my dress. 
Meaghan's purple dress was so cute and sparkled when you looked at it in the right light; her silvery headband really completed the outfit.
Caroline had on this red dress that made her look completely comfortable with herself. 

I wish that we had stayed longer at the dance, but, alas alack, the group wanted to go out to Miya's for sushi at 10:30. It was a fun night because we were all together.

My plans for break include spending massive amounts of time with my family, hanging out with new friends, and working on my book. If I want to succeed as a serious writer, I have to work on pieces to submit to different magazines and contests, both online and in print. I have ten pages of my novel, but I am not sure that I am in love with the story. I have a couple of short stories in the works as well. I have one that I really want to submit somewhere. I am very proud of that piece. Maybe I will do a little career research too. I don't really know what I want to do after Graduation. Do I really want to work for a publishing house? Maybe I want to try the Script Supervisor job? Anything I do apply for will be an entry-level position, but I just need to be sure. I also need to study these companies I am thinking of applying to. 

Thanksgiving is here again...

I am trying so hard to restrain myself and not freak out about waiting on campus for residents to leave and fighting against this potential snow mess that could happen. I would hate to have to take a train home to New York in messy weather, but I am just doing the best I can to distract myself. I have started work on my novel again and I just cranked out one of my final papers. Luckily, I took a rough draft to the Writing Center, so finishing it up was a cinch. I do not have much to say tonight, but I did want to re-introduce myself to you because I have been missing in action around here. November was just about the craziest month ever for me. I cannot wait to go home and see my family!

This past weekend, I finished a book! I was so jazzed because I have not had time for pleasure reading in four weeks. I completed Stewart O' Nan's Last Night at the Lobster in one afternoon. It is a pretty short book, but it took the longest time for me to just sit down and finish it. The novel itself was pretty interesting to read because the author did so much research about the terms used in a restaurant and really made me feel like I was spending a snowy day inside a Red Lobster. It was exciting for me to read this because I have lived in New Haven now for four years and he would mention road signs or different cities in Connecticut that I could not help but crack the widest smile as if to say "Oh my gosh! I know where that is!"

Well, I have a hot cup of tea and one more assignment calling my name before I crash land under my comforter. I will definitely be back very soon with more exciting updates!

Feeling Good

The best feeling is when a student I tutored in the writing center receives a kick ass grade on a paper: a 99! Wow! Although, it's bothering me what the one point reduction was for. I really appreciate academic success and his paper was really awesome. I have been a Writing Associate for so long that sometimes I feel like my eyes just don't catch all the things we are supposed to. All it takes is one success to know that after 3 1/2 years, I can still do my job effectively.

So, this month is a big one for writer's across the globe. It's National November Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). This is the first year that I am participating in such an event. The goal is start and finish a 50,000 word novel or more in the month of November. 

50,000 words in 30 days; quite the endeavor. 

Luckily, I am working on this challenge with my best friend Carlo. He and I are cheerleaders for one another. We read whatever the other has written and offer comments and feedback. As aspiring writers, we depend on the constructive criticism offered by those closest to us. 

So far I have a little over 2,000 words. I have a long way to go.

November is Here

According to the calculations of my countdown app, I have 195 days until graduation. Does anyone understand how amazing that feels? I have one semester left as an RA, as a WA, as a member of SAA, as the co-editor of Breakwater and as a student. I registered for my last 15 credits, I am working on the first chapter of my first novel and I am having fun going to the gym three days a week. 

I have a plan. 

It's pretty well thought out, if you ask me.

I created a workout schedule for the semester based on my class times, work study, duty nights and desk hours. I workout for at least 30 minutes three times a week. I am off to a pretty excellent start. Last week, I went to the gym on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Meaghan and I went today, but I did not do thirty minutes. It's okay though because I am going tomorrow and Tuesday. Maybe I will have enough energy by Thursday afternoon to workout after class. 

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!

Use Your Skills

As October slowly walks into our lives, I need to reflect on how productive my September was. I wrote a short story and I cracked down and began to write my very first novel. I do have a working title and I would share a sample here, but I cannot risk someone stealing my work. Trust no one; question everything - that's my motto.

Carlo has started working on his novel too. He has a full first chapter. I am really proud of the two of us. It is an exciting time for writers and I cannot wait for the day that he and I both have a finished product in our hands. 

I think I want to try and publish my short story somewhere. It still needs some tweaking, but I will work on it until I am ready for it to go somewhere. 

My goals for October:

• Write 2 chapters of my novel
• Finish and submit my short story somewhere
• Lose two pounds
• Go to the gym two days a week for 30 minutes.
• Catch up on all my school work

Cheers to a successful October!

I need a stress ball...

These past couple of weeks have been stressful ones. The work load is insane this year. Duty nights feel longer and the repetition of my schedule is driving me a little insane. Why did no one stop me from scheduling a class at 10:45 on Monday and Wednesday mornings??? It is so boring, but it is part of my minor so I need to get through it with my head held high. 

I am kind of behind in some of my classes because of all the online components they have. Why do schools have to use online assignments? What ever happened to the good old fashioned hand graded, hard copy, put it on the teacher's desk at the start of class assignments? That's what I grew up with. If I am being completely honest, I would have to say that my favorite class this semester is The Composing Process with Dr. Cole because she makes us hand our work right to her. She brings in her manila file folder and we place our weekly writing in there. 

So many of my classes have online forums and readings. You know what? I cannot read school work on a screen so I then have to find a printer and get the reading, take notes and somehow remember to answer a forum online. It's just not worth it. 

My RA stuff is getting to be too much as well. I am finding that I am exceedingly more ornery this year than I was last year. Sitting on duty from 8-12 or 8-1 is getting harder and harder. Hosting floor functions, constantly redecorating bulletin boards, and acting as a disciplinary are no longer my ideas of a good time. I have zero free time. My free time is the occasional night I am neither at work nor am I on duty. Those nights I will often do homework though. 

At this point, I can only hope that things will get better soon. It is so important to feel well rested and energized for your week. I try to soothe myself by reading for a few minutes, but it is never pleasure reading...it's more school work. 

Saturday Night's Alright for Duty

Tonight I am on duty in Sansbury Hall and it is definitely a dead zone here. The place is so incredibly silent. I find myself missing McAuliffe Hall because it is a 24 hour quiet dorm, but Sansbury is practically the same.

My night consists of sitting at the front table, smiling when appropriate, and watching my way through my "Must Watch" list on Netflix because apparently there are only 500 slots in which to mark things as a must-watch. There is one hour left and I have just started viewing the first season of ABC's Lipstick Jungle. It had all of, like, two seasons when it was on television, but it is actually kind of good to me. The women in this show have cell phones that could rival the dinosaurs at this point: a pink Motorola Razr, a flip cell and a blackberry (series 1). The show is good, the writing could use a little work, in my opinion, and the characters are these chic New York City not quite socialite corporate women. They lead such scandalous and fast paced lives, but there is just something about them that makes my mind soar.
I love them!
Watching them makes me want to write my book and read the novel Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell. I may have to make a trip to Barnes & Noble to acquire said novel.

This weekend, I got to hang out with my best friend, Courtney Pray. It was amazing! For one full afternoon, her attention was all mine and we just fell back into place as if she never graduated and moved to Albany. We had lunch and then hung out in Downtown New Haven as we made our way through College Night. Together, we picked out the perfect gift for my boss, Justin. I just hope he does not already own the gift I am giving him.

As a non-sequitur, I want to bring up the fact that I have been giving serious thought to a new life plan. I have actually considered looking into Grad School...particularly MFA programs. Right now, I am considering Albertus, College of St. Rose in Albany NY, Adelphi University and some places out in LA. Now...let me clarify something about the Los Angeles plan. The only way I could do grad school in Los Angeles is if I have a job out there and I can find an awesome apartment. Los Angeles might be on the back burner for a bit longer. I am serious about applying though. Anything that I can do to further my writing experience, the better it will be for me. I know that as a writer it might not be super important, but as a future Editor, it could very well be the difference between Penguin-Random House and unemployed. My plan is to apply for graduate school and if I get in, I will look for a job at the same time. Potentially I will work and go to school and maybe during that time, I will find an apartment. I guess it depends where the job is. This is an exciting time for me...even though transitions are always tough for me. As my mother pointed out, the yearly move from home into the dorms is enough to shock my system. I cannot imagine what finding a job and moving to my own place will do to me.

I have to start doing some research because applications are probably due soon.
Back to the Lipstick Jungle marathon.

Today Was a...

Today was the day that I looked at the sprawling greenish-brown hills, the gorgeous sun set on the horizon and the tall buildings of the Albertus Magnus campus and asked myself, "Am I ready to graduate?" Yes I know that I am getting way ahead of myself by thinking about graduation in May in September, but you have to talk to yourself sometimes; or, at least I do.

I look around this campus now and I reflect on how I felt about being on this campus for the very first time. I recall telling myself that I would never live in one of the dorms up the hill and how I was not going to join any clubs or hold any major roles on campus.
I live in Sansbury.
I am an RA, WA, Breakwater Co-Editor, SAA VP of Philanthropy and Fundraising and a Dean's List student.

Looking around the cafeteria is like admiring a train station in a foreign country; I do not speak the language, it is over crowded and I feel lost once again. There are so many new faces. None of them know how things were at Albertus when I was a freshman. The old cafeteria, prior to the re-model, cannot even exist as a fond memory for them because they did not live through it.

Today was an interesting experience for me because I went downtown with my friend and fellow RA, Matt, and we had such a good time. It was strange though. I am so used to having my best friend Carlo as my travel companion that it feels weird going there without him. While we were there today, Matt and I were walking past this man who was asking for quarters...to park his car. I recently emptied all of my quarters into the bank in exchange for cash. I felt terrible for him.

I glanced in his direction, muttered some semblance of the response to the question and kept walking and it was not until way after the fact that I thought to myself. "Maybe I should go back and offer to pay the money for his parking," but it was too late. By that time, Matt and I were crossing the street to continue our journey downtown to Rite Aid. I feel terrible. This will most likely be one of those haunting memories every time I go downtown.

What is Creativity?

I am taking this course called The Creative Mind taught by Professor Dell. It counts for either a Communications or Drama C-Level, 3 credit course. I seriously recommend it. We were discussing today what we thought our definitions of the word achievement were and we think that links to how curious people can be. I thought this was interesting because is it not true that every person on this planet has their own standards for what they believe to be achievements in life? Some people consider making a certain salary, owning a fancy car or buying a house to be an achievement. Other people might consider something you imagined and made come to fruition to be an achievement.

Professor Dell gave us this quote by Ken Robinson. It says, "Curiosity is the engine of achievement."
If curiosity is the engine of achievement, then it is those curiosities that cause people to ask the questions that will help them work towards achievements. In some ways, for me at least, the realization that you can ask questions is an achievement on its own. Achievements are whatever we want and need them to be just so long as they are special to us.

We also touched upon the idea behind Humor and creativity.
Are they linked?
Are they distinctly good or bad when put together?
Is too much creativity a bad thing?
Is too much humor a bad thing?

These are some of the questions I have been assigned to answer. I'll let you know what I come up with.

Senior Year is Here!!!!

Yes, you read the title correctly. I am finally a senior at Albertus Magnus. The long road to Graduation day has begun and I am happy to be a part of it. All of my classes have been pretty interesting so far. They involve lots of critical thinking and creativity, which happens to be my department.

As if starting my senior year was not enough, I also started a new job. I can now call myself a Work Study student because I work in the House of Bollstadt Pub. I am very excited to begin my career as a Pub Worker, but I am a little nervous. After all, what would a new job be without nerves? I will be working the Welcome Back Dance Wednesday, September 9 so if you are 21+ and you come into the Pub for a drink, please...be kind to the new employee. I am still learning. It is glow in the dark themed so it should be super fun!

I want to talk to you briefly about this English seminar I am taking with Dr. Cole this semester. It is called The Composing Process and I highly recommend it to all my future Creative Writing concentrators. I submitted my first poem in the class on Wednesday and it is a completed poem...besides the title. May the spirits bless the soul of whomever my future book publisher will be because I am awful at creating titles for my work. Literally, I think I have submitted 20 pieces to Dr. Cole that have been called "Untitled" until portfolio presentation day. So, I am going to share with you my poem that has been granted Final Portfolio status on the first try.

Untitled

I sit down at my computer
to try and figure out the words
to write,

but the words do not come
and instead
I begin to read.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed that. Please feel free to offer any opinions on the piece you may have as long as you are respectful while critiquing. Bullying is not taken kindly by me.

And the Winner is.....

Yes...that's right. I am now the new RA of Sansbury! I am very excited for this opportunity because unbeknownst to anyone else, I have always dreamed of living in Sansbury. It has the perfect reading and writing atmosphere, the common room is so very cozy and it looks like a house straight from an Austen novel. I will be very happy there. The way in which we found out our assignments was so cute. The Student Services and Residential Life staff members bought us a delicious Italian dinner and for dessert, we had Insomnia Cookies. Then, it was time. Justin and Kim handed out the gift bags that literally held our futures inside. On the count of 3, we all dug to the bottom of the bag and pulled the color coded t-shirts out onto the tables. On the back of each shirt was the name of your dorm assignment, and whoever had a corresponding colored shirt is your Co-RA. Sansbury has pink tshirts, which may seem a little biased because it is an all female dorm, but I love pink so I have no qualms with the color choice. I will start thinking about my theme for Sansbury because I want to have all that work done before I move in for training week. That is going to be the most intense two weeks of my life. I learned the hard way that sleep is essential to training week and the more decorating that is done, the more sleep you will get. Maybe a New Orleans theme would work? That is something for me to think about.

It's a Good Week to Grow Up a Little

I cannot go into all the details of this week, but I just want to be clear about something; it's okay to grow up a little too fast sometimes. It can only be a learning experience and that is very important. We learn millions of lessons through the people and places we meet and the interactions we have with the two. You will probably find yourself in a situation where you find yourself saying, "Well that was really stupid of me", but it is not true. No idea is stupid and even if it does not go according to plan, that's okay. People will understand and help you get back on the track you were starting on. Hopefully, this continues to mold you into the intelligent person that you are destined to be rather than hold you back. I know that this past week has definitely taught me more about myself than I ever thought I could learn at the ripe old age of 21. This week has given me just the confidence boost that I needed that will probably last me over a lifetime. As I make my way through these last two weeks of the semester and my school years, I learn that I am ready to take on the world and encounter situations I did not think I would ever find myself in.

This summer, I have my internship to look forward to, visiting Brussels for the first time and spending gorgeous summer days with Rob. Some people have their doubts about him and that is okay. So did I, but he and I worked them out.
That's another thing. 
You need to trust that people really do have your best interests at heart. Be patient. Be understanding. Prepare yourself for anything and everything and accept it with wide open arms and minds. I went into this "relationship" with doubt and hesitancy, and it almost cost me...big time. I learned that conversation is key. If you cannot communicate your feelings or whatever has been weighing you down, then you can never move forward.

I know this is a piece that is more intense than any of my other posts, but I don't know who is reading this blog and I wanted to speak to the masses on something I saw as important. I have always felt that I was a little bit behind everyone else in this game called life, but I think we all just have to remember that everyone moves at their own pace. 

So...take chances!
Live life!
Be happy!

I am trying so hard to be more positive in my life and accept my experiences and the person I have become.

Don't worry...a much lighter topic will come soon. I promise. Spring Jam this weekend!!!!!

The Beginning of the End

Today, Monday, marks the three weeks I have left with my best senior pals. Whenever I think about them not being here next year, my glasses fog, my throat closes up and I lose my footing just a whole lot. This campus will be so different without them. When they graduate, I will once again be a member of the senior class. I do not think I am ready for that kind of responsibility all over again. Carlo and I have big plans to visit some of the spots neither of us has ever gone to. Who better to go on this journey with than Carlo?

Working as an RA next year will be totally different without him sitting right next to me on duty. Who will explore downtown New Haven with me? Will someone else watch Ownage Prank videos with me? Is there anyone else who can come up with 10,000 different reasons for why we could not attend that program last night? (Inside joke...you had to be there.) Carlo and I have planned to start a book club together though. He does not live that far from me and we both have iPhones sooo...skype or facetime or whatever these crazy kids are using today. We are going to start with the Game of Thrones book series I believe. It will be fine. I will get past it and move forward into my senior year of college. I cannot even believe that I am finishing up college next Spring. That just seems crazy to me. 

Finishing college next Spring means that I am done with school...FOREVER! I cannot wait to be done learning in stuffy classrooms, writing boring papers and taking useless notes. I mean, hello! Creative Writing major here! I don't mean to be rude, but I really do not need the notes that I took on Ethics or Sociology. I can't tell which I am more terrified of; entering the real world or living back at home? As much as I love being at home, I do enjoy the convenience of the Yale Shuttle and the close proximities to Downtown New Haven. West Hempstead, NY...not so close to New Haven. 

I will use the next three weeks to send my friends off into the real world and back home, or to London in some cases.

I will miss them, but it's for the best. Everyone has to graduate sometime...you know?

Room Draw...You mean the Hunger Games

Wow! If you are reading this, then that means you survived the Albertus Magnus Room Draw session for the 2014-2015 school year. There were tears, stern words and spilled juice. Room Draw is so intense that every year the same thing happens: we start with group 1 (seniors/super seniors) who takes all the singles in the residence halls and we end with the current freshman who get the scraps of whatever is left. It often reminds me of the trading floor on Wall Street; residents are screaming over one another as they try to make trades for rooms and attempt a negotiation with head game-maker...I mean...Justin Cirisoli, the Director of Residential Life. How is it that after three hours of listening and waiting as people pick rooms people are still left unsatisfied? I am so glad that my room is hand-picked for me. All I can do now is hope and pray that I do not end up as the RA of the 4th floor in Dominican Hall. I just could not do it. If that is where Justin assigns me, I will take the spot proudly, but I would prefer not to be there. 

The last time I had to pick a room in this war-room was my freshman year. I was supposed to room with my friend Kelly. By September, I had a double room all to myself as a single. Sweet deal, right? After that, I slipped my foot through the first rung of the hierarchical ladder: Resident Assistant Status. 

I should know my placement for next year by midday today. I have my fingers crossed that I get something super amazing. As with the Hunger Games tradition, "May the odds be ever in your favor." 

Easter Weekend

This past Saturday, I was in New York City with my family. We went to see the fancy Fabergé eggs that had been hidden all around the five boroughs.  There were 22 dozen eggs scattered and you could go around to their different locations by using the Easter Egg Hunt app to find them. You would scan the barcode and check that egg off your list.
This weekend, a good amount of the eggs were on display in Rockefeller Center. I was definitely glad we did not have to go all over to find them. I was able to get a picture of just about all of the eggs that we saw minus the ones that I was not impressed with. This is a major tourist area in New York so it was so crowded. I felt like I could not breathe in some spots. If you were not careful, you might get knocked down, camera in hand.

It was a fun time, but I probably would not have done it by myself. I would have taken one look at the crowd, turned around and spent the day in the bookstore.

Before we got back on the train to go home, we went to pub called The Shakespeare. Actually, the upper half, which is a fancier restaurant is called The William and the lower pub half is The Shakespeare. They have some traditional, English dishes on the menu and a whole selection of ales and ciders. I did not know what to order and I was not even hungry at that moment.

I went home and had a bowl of delicious pea soup.
It was much better than anything else I ate that day.

Good Friday

"Oh I could write a sonnet, about my easter bonnet...", but I won't because I do not have one. This past weekend, I was at home to celebrate Easter with my family.

It started with the long journey back home. On Good Friday, Carlo and I caught the Yale shuttle at 8am and we were back in New York by 10:30 after a lengthy and over-crowded train ride. We opted to stand because there were no seats together and honestly, someone else in more need of a seat than us was bound to show up.

No one understands how to board a train. They step onto the platform and walk through the first open door they see. It seems that all the passengers were in our car because the conductor joked with us saying that we could walk forward about two cars and there are plenty of empty seats. We turned him down and we stood. It was better that we did because we played table top Monopoly on his iPad. I had not played this game in years and that is simply because I do not actually know how to play. Awkwardly enough, I won.

Our game ended when Carlo ran out of money and we arrived at Grand Central Station.
We parted ways at the Subway and I finished my journey home.

While I was waiting at Penn Station, Rob texted me to find out what I was doing and he said something that I laughed so hard at...out loud! I probably seemed crazier than the man standing next to me that was talking to himself. Oh well,  if you cannot be a little crazy in New York City, then where can you be crazy?

That night we dyed Easter eggs! I think I made the cutest eggs this year, including my "Canada 2014 ?" easter egg.

Spring Time in NYC

Spring has most definitely sprung and the weather has gone from ice cold to boiling hot. It's crazy!
On Saturday April 12, I traveled to NYC with about 20 others. It was a really great day; the sun was out, there was a nice breeze and I spent the day with family. The bus driver dropped us off at Bryant Park, right behind the New York Public Library. My mom met me inside the park, we hopped the D train and met up with Rachel and Warren in the Village at Fiddlesticks for lunch. Fiddlesticks is an Irish Pub that, from the outside, appears to be older than man because its sign is completely scratched away. It is impossible to read the sign from afar.

We enjoyed a delicious brunch that afternoon, complete with a complimentary beverage. I had my first mimosa there. I am 21, and I do like to get the occasional drink, but I feel strange ordering a drink in the presence of friends and family. I am such an old lady that my Drivers Permit, my only state ID, has expired which adds to the whole "not ordering drinks" thing. It would be extremely awkward if the waiter or bartender did not believe my ID was real all because of a little technicality.

So, we walked to Chelsea Pier and explored the Highline, which is an old freight train track that closed years ago. Instead of tearing it down, it became a park that you can explore. It was so incredibly busy up there on Saturday that the hordes of people reminded me of the Ten Commandments movie. You know that scene; when the people are proceeding through the Red Sea, but at an extremely slow pace because it is so crowded, but they march on?

What I discovered, on this walking tour, is that New York City is full of know-nothing know-it-alls. A man called Bryant Park Washington Square Park as confidently as John Travolta introduced Adelle Dazeem. My mom corrected this one guy that was walking behind us on the Highline because he was telling his friends that the tracks were built especially for this purpose and that they were raised off the ground.

Maybe it wasn't exactly that, but the point is that he was giving his friends the wrong information about it.

I had never been up there before Saturday, but it was a nice walk and there was a gorgeous breeze. There would be no struggle in persuading me to go back up there.

After enjoying ice cream sundaes and Starbucks iced coffees, my mom walked me back to Bryant Park and the bus that would bring me back to Albertus.

Stress Test

Just when I did not think that any more stress could come my way I find out just how wrong I can be. Where to begin...from the beginning, I guess.

So the Residential Life staff is hosting their Albertus @ nite event this Saturday: Medieval Times. There will be tons of food, games and prizes and it will definitely be an awesome time. The only thing is that I volunteered to spearhead the event. Luckily, I have the help of my amazing friend and Co-RA, Carlo, to help me run and plan this event. Without him, it would not have been as much fun. There are still so many things to get done in regards to preparations and I have no idea where to begin.

Yesterday, I had written about how my dad was helping me with computer troubles. Well, those problems were pretty serious. My computer was not cooperating. It took from 12am until 6pm yesterday to fix everything that was going on with the computer. I was ready to have a melt down. The worst part of the day was when I found out that the power went out again in three of my residents' rooms...including my own! My refrigerator is constantly being turned on and off because of power issues. It is so stressful to have to worry about the fridge developing a smell because of things like this.

I was ready to just curl into a ball on the floor and sit that way for the next week or so. On top of all this, there is school work that needs to be completed, trip fees that need to be paid and so many other things. I just have to remember that nothing is too much to handle if I just sit back and breathe for a while. I did that by going downtown for some coffee before duty tonight. It always feels so good to just leave campus, even if it is only for an hour.

Now, I will try to sleep because it just might help. Goodnight!

Life Gets in the Way

I was having some technical difficulties with my laptop, so I put in a call to my IT guy back in New York. I figured, what better time to write in my blog than while I am on the phone with my father. He has everything under control anyway. I do not speak computer that well. I know enough to get by.

School is crazy, but someone...please, answer me this. How is it that I just handed in my first paper last Thursday? I have been in school since January 6th and I just wrote a paper. I do not really count the two papers I wrote for my winter session War Films class because that was before the semester started. Last Thursday, I handed in a paper on the relationship between action and desire within T.S. Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." I actually think I did really well on that paper because it is one of my favorite poems. It is about this middle-aged man wandering the streets as he contemplates whether or not he should make a move on the woman he is attracted to. It is a very sad, but equally beautiful piece because it speaks so well to the human mentality and our ability to make decisions for ourselves. We spend so much time questioning our actions and whether or not we should make a move or surrender to the game, but it teaches us that we should not be afraid to take risks and put ourselves out there.

As you can see, I have a lot to say on this poem. My paper had to be five pages long. It was five with a couple of lines on the sixth page and the seventh as the works cited. I am pretty proud of the work I did on it.

I am actually thinking of starting to work on all the assignments that I will have due at the end of year now so that I can just kick back, relax and read something fun while all the other students are busy playing the end of the year game.

I cannot believe that the year is just about over. My junior year of college is gone. Senior year is about to go equally as fast. It is very scary to me that next May I will be graduating from Albertus. I won't be back in the fall of 2015.
Before I get too chilly from all this deep thought, I am going to jump into bed. It's about that time. As soon as I get the okay from the IT tech on my phone, it will be lights out for me.

Spring Break is Over

I don't know about any of you, but returning to my higher education after a week of doing absolutely nothing has been and will continue to be a major struggle. There is so much work to complete: tests, poems, Breakwater final copy, events, and essays. I feel like I am drowning in the work pile. Does anyone else feel that way? The only way to alleviate all this stress is to just cut loose and do something relaxing, fun and mindless. Tomorrow, Courtney and I are going to see the highly anticipated film adaptation of the Veronica Roth novel, Divergent. I have been waiting for this since November! I read Divergent, which is the first in the series, and I have to say...I was a little confused at times. It is much longer than Hunger Games by and I was also reading it while I was taking classes so that may have added to my confusion. The movie tomorrow will definitely clarify things for me.

I am mainly excited for tomorrow because I am spending the day with my best friend, Courtney. She and I are nearly inseparable. Spring Break was like hell being away from one another for so long; withdrawal symptoms were already in full swing and the cold sweats were going to begin. That's how much we need each other. 

Right now, I am on duty. Duty means that tons of homework will hopefully get accomplished. So I will try and get back to it. 

21 Means Legal and Legal = St. Patty's Dance Fun

So, last night SGA hosted the St. Patrick's Day Dance here on campus! It was fun...up until the dance floor got so crowded that I was repeatedly stepped on by super tall guys. Ah...the pains of being only 5'3". This was a milestone dance for me because over the break, I turned 21 years old. I can drink in the pub on campus and it is completely legal. I feel like there are millions of new responsibilities sitting on my shoulders. I suppose that that is truly what becoming an adult is all about. It is about being able to do all these things and then testing the waters in our habitats. It is trial and error, really.

My ego was bouncing off the walls of the House of Bollstadt because I was able to walk up to the dance sign in table and receive my yellow bracelet that marks my age for the bartender of the night. Since the most I have really had to drink is a glass of wine with my family, I started off easy last night: Bud Light with Lime. It was super delicious and I felt so self-important drinking it.

DJ Bry was in charge...like normal, except this time I actually enjoyed the music he chose to play. One of my friends requested the "Selfie" song and that was fun to dance to. Of course, everyone in the room took tons of selfies during it. I prefer to listen to the song with the music video because at least that way you can distract yourself by searching for your favorite celebs' #selfie. If you have never heard this song or seen this music video, now is your chance! Believe me...it is sooooooo worth the views!

Selfie by The Chainsmokers

Happy Birthday Part 1

Okay, so let me just start by saying that today was my birthday party, not my actual birthday. I am not officially 21 until 7:11pm on Tuesday March 11. I had an amazing birthday dinner. My mom did an awesome job with all the food and my cake. My cake was adorable! It was vanilla cake with chocolate mousse filling and vanilla buttercream frosting. Yum!

Dinner was like a traditional Italian dinner, as if we were eating at. King Umberto's or someplace fancy like that. Mommy prepared spaghetti, chicken parmigiana, broccoli, roasted cauliflower and salad with a homemade dressing. The only downside is that my new vegetarian diet does not allow for consumption of left over meat products. Oh well.

I got some really nice gifts tonight too. Rachel and Warren bought me this beautiful green goblet as the special birthday girl glass. I used it during dinner and it is very cool! It reminds me of a goblet you would use at Medieval Times. My cousins got me wine, chocolate and a book about wines. The book has a whole scratch and sniff part that is so cool! My aunt got me this gorgeous birthstone bracelet. It's so sparkly! My uncle bought me season 3 of The Hills. I am very excited to pop that into my DVD player. Last year, I watched that while I did homework, but Netflix removed it. Now, I own it! Lastly, my parents and grandparents bought me a Nexus 7 Tablet. Now, I don't always have to bring my laptop to class if I need to type something or send some emails. My laptop is so heavy some days. This is very convenient for me to have this and it is perfect timing too.

Overall, this was an awesome birthday! It will continue to be awesome when we get to Tuesday. For now, I must sleep because it is 4:30am and I have a 10am dentist appointment.

Happy Birthday...now, go get your mouth cleaned!

Vacation Time

My spring break commenced on Friday and I was not ready to go.  There were so many things that needed to get done. I have just embarked on this journey of a meatless Lent and already I face controversy in the cafeteria. There were three different macaroni & cheese choices: spicy buffalo chicken, plain with sausage in it it and one other kind. Either way, all the options had meat. I could have gotten a grilled cheese or something, but where would the challenge have been in that? I went for the mac & cheese with sausage and I did not have a single bite of meat! I am going to pat myself on the back for that.

Thursday, was a different kind of lunch day. Chef was making his own smoothies! He had blueberries, bananas, strawberries, orange juice and what I believe was pineapple juice. He added a dab of honey and cream and for my first time having a smoothie, it was a delicious experience. I had a strawberry banana smoothie. I might start making those at home!

My friends kind of giggled because I told them I had never had a smoothie before. Why? Because I am afraid of lumps! I admit it. I am afraid of a lumpy smoothie. I am the same way with applesauce when my mom makes it. If the sauce has even one lump, I most likely will not come back for seconds. Maybe I will go to the library or the bookstore and get a book of smoothies I can make and start making them over the break. That would solve my no meat dilemma while I am living at home for the next week.

Carlo and I had to wait for all of our residents to take off for break before we could depart for the week. I was actually having a lot of fun closing up with him. He makes me laugh so hard that I feel like my stomach will explode and I love that feeling!

After packing and repacking several times, I was finally prepared for a long week in New York.

You Know You love Me

Yesterday, was a long day. Granted, it was only Sunday night, but I stayed up until 12am watching the Oscars. The stars all looked fabulous and bejeweled, of course, and with Ellen as the host; it was hilarious. She bought pizza at one point and then proceeded to take up a collection of money with Pharrell's hat that looks vaguely like Smokey the Bear's hat.

Before that, Courtney and I went to Little Ceaser's to get her some dinner. As we were getting into the car to leave, we saw a few of our friends walking up the hill. Sidenote: I love hanging out with Courtney simply because we make each other laugh. She has been sort of hiding out in her room and trying not to be seen by other people on campus. 

Anyway, so we get in the car and she screams "I'm hibernating!!!! We have to get out of here!" She reverses from the spot in the parking lot and we tear out of there. It was hilarious. We are both huge fans of the television and book series, Gossip Girl, and the two of us start to recite what could be the opening of our own Gossip Girl blog post. It would go a little something like this:

Hey Upper East Siders, Gossip Girl here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite. What's making the headlines on my homepage? Courtney Pray.

It seems that C was last heard from fleeing McAuliffe. Got something to hide C? What we really want to know is who was riding shotgun. 

That's a secret I'll never tell. 

XOXO Gossip Girl

Just Shootin' the Breeze

It’s only Wednesday night and I feel very stressed already. Last night was my weekly RA staff meeting and my boss, Justin, handed out our Intent to Return forms and projects. I am so scared to complete this. I know that I am a great RA, but now I am being asked to recap my year, my strengths, and weaknesses and essentially tell my bosses why I should be rehired. The project itself is not the scary part, but the idea of giving an oral presentation makes me sick to my stomach. Just thinking about it makes me want to heave. It’s like all the blood rushes out of my body and I go cold. I want to pack my bags and head for someplace far away from this presentation. Yes, because that is the easier solution than facing my fears and just doing it.

On the plus side, I will only have to go through this once because after next year, I will be graduating from Albertus. I will start working on it this weekend so I can be well rehearsed when the week of March 17^th comes. For now, I will just focus on spring break and the relief I will feel as I enter my relaxing/working vacation.

Lately, I find myself venturing back into the old Gilmore Girls routine from years ago. When I feel down, I turn on an episode and everything feels okay again. There is so much drama with friends that I feel like the Gilmore Girls are a couple of good friends that will never cause drama that I want to escape. They are purely the entertainment.

Sometimes I find that that show glorifies and simplifies family problems that are not that simple: teen pregnancy, run-aways, and ugly parent/child relationships. I love the show so much that sometimes I forget how best-case-scenario it can be. A 16 year old girl, from a wealthy family, gets pregnant, runs away, builds her life from the ground up (with an infant by her side), starts her own business and her child actually gets to go to an amazing high school on to a prominent Ivy League college? These are the things that novels are made of, but often I forget that is fiction and I catch myself saying, “I want to be just like Rory!”

No, I don’t. Rory, a perfect, fictional character, is someone I truly wish to emulate in her reading and musical tastes; but I could never trade the family I have for the one she lacks.

Even though my family fights (whose family does not) I would not trade them for anyone else’s family. That’s why I am so excited for this break. I miss my family. We tease each other until there is nothing left to tease and someone wants the other person to disappear

Changing My Ways

There is this super awesome, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity staring me in the face. The only problem is...I am broke. No, wait, let me re-phrase that. I am so broke that charities are going to start raising money for me. It's my own fault though. I have the disgusting, spend-thrift gene in me. I buy everything that I see and more often than not I feel guilty for it afterwards. Sometimes I wish I could just return everything I ever bought and get all my money back. 

For $6,000 dollars, I have the opportunity to go to South Africa in another year. I was on the phone with my mom today and she was telling me that I would need to cover at least $1,000 -$ 2,000 of the trip costs. Wow.

It seems fair to me. My parents sent my sister and I to France and Spain a few years ago and that was for the two of us. I think that if I cut myself off today from spending extra money then I can maybe go. It will be very hard for me because my friends want to do stuff. I can't just become a shut in, but at the same time...I don't make enough money to keep up with them. I have big plans for myself, but for those big plans to actually happen, I have to have money.

I want to move to California. According to my cousin, it would not cost me too much.
I have to buy a car to get to California with and use while I live there. 
I want to go to South Africa. I want to buy an apartment. I want to adopt pets.

All of these things require money and until I catch my first big break and write that novel, I need to save all of my pennies. My two compromises for myself; I will not surrender Netflix and I will not give up Spotify. That is not happening. I tried that free version of Spotify for the mobile device, but it was terrible. It was probably one of the worst experiences of my life. Pardon my dramatics, but my music is important. So, you figure $18 a month for my free movie/music access and that's it. I am not renewing my Amazon Prime because it costs a lot of money. I had a one year free trial that ended January 22, 2014. Bummer. My second tattoo will have to wait a while longer. Maybe in the summer? Maybe next Fall. I don't know. We will have to see.

Who knows? Maybe the book I am working on will actually pan out. Maybe I can get something published. That's the dream. It would be nice to come into some money. I am so tired of being poor while other people just get money handed to them everyday. I either need an excellent get-rich-quick scheme or I need to marry rich. maybe a combination of both.

Fingers crossed.

The Job of an Editor

On Friday, I was able to really put my editor and publisher skills to the test. I am the Co-Editor of Breakwater, the literary magazine here at school. We have been accepting submissions of artwork, poetry and prose since September and on Wednesday February 19th we finished the collection process and moved on to the very difficult selection process.

Getting published is not an easy task. 

Selecting which pieces to publish is a job even more difficult than writing. 

The fate of someone's personal thoughts and hard-work is clutched in your fist and is subject the marks of your pen. Wouldn't it be so much easier to just form yes piles and no piles, grab some coffee and call it a day? It would, but then again...that would be too real world for a college magazine. 

At 11:30 on a rainy, foggy Friday morning, the Breakwater Committee convened. We sat at a long table, with sort of comfy chairs, with water and our pens ready to go. We started with the prose. I am so impressed with the creative minds that this school is unknowingly fostering. Next, we looked at the art submissions: photographs, sketches, and paintings. There are so many beautiful shots of flowers, and there is this one of a lighthouse as it reflects on the water that we may consider as a cover. It is gorgeous. I was in love. Photography is something I love and sometimes I wish I had one of those fancy cameras because I would definitely take more photos with it. I have one of those Kodak touch screen things. I won it a few years ago. It is a good camera, but it could never capture some of natures' most beautiful moments the way that other cameras do.

We took a break and ordered lunch. It was very much like a buffet with all the different places we ordered from: Chinese, Indian and your traditional pizza. 

We resumed our afternoon with the big kahuna of Breakwater submissions: poetry. Annemarie, my Co-Editor, made packets of all the submissions for us to use to go through. There were 40 pages of poetry submissions. I wish we could have published it all, but unfortunately cuts had to be made. All the submissions were completely anonymous to the committee. 

We did one read through of everything, and in our second read through we looked for grammatical errors in only the pieces we intended to publish. It was an extremely long and tiring process, but now I feel like I have an inside look at the publishing business. 

I am so excited to be published in Breakwater this year! I mean, I won't be the Co-Editor forever and being published is such an honor...especially as an editor. 

Weekend Update

Thursday, we had a snow day at school. It was the best! I woke up early, even though I did not have to. I took an amazing warm shower and my hair feels awesome now! I made the long journey down from McAuliffe Hall to the dining hall so I could have some breakfast. After brunch, I took a nap. I had been dying for a nap all week. You would think that after the age of 5 that naps would not be so important to your daily functions, but in college it of the utmost importance that you fit a nap into the schedule. The rest of Thursday was spent with the Gilmore Girls as I held a marathon for myself. I also read a little bit. Thursday night was an impromptu duty night. I was not on the schedule, but going with the flow and spontaneous schedule changes are all a part of the job; plus, I got to watch more Gilmore Girls.

Friday was Valentine’s Day…the most dreaded day of the year for me. I have never had a Valentine on that day and I know it is not mandatory that you have a significant other to celebrate the day, but it might help improve its reputation in my eyes. I was on duty on Friday and Saturday night so I continued my Gilmore Girls marathon.

Last night, Sunday night, was the best night of the whole week! All my friends were hanging out in my dorm room all night. You never realize how small a room is until you have all your friends laying around and sitting in every corner of it. As an RA, I have a huge room and it has never seen that many people before. It was crazy…nice, but crazy. Thank goodness I have a double bed so people could lie up there and save some floor space for the rest of us. We all ordered Chinese food because we were starving, and then we watched Silent Hill. Whoever tries to tell you that movie is not scary is right…it’s not scary, but it does mess with your head. After everyone left, I had to check in the closets and under the bed.

Today was and still is President’s Day! School was closed and I did nothing but lie around in bed until about 4pm. This is most definitely the life to live. It is unfortunate there is so much snow out because I would have gone to do something if there wasn’t. I might have gone for a run or gone downtown, but not with all this snow. Can you spell dangerous?!

Now, there is talk of snow tomorrow into Wednesday and I cannot think of anything worse than another snow day! This is crazy!

Who needs a decorator?

Okay! You caught me red handed! Yes, I did have class today and instead of going I re-arranged my dorm room. How can I be expected to sit still in a classroom and listen to a lecture about Daisy Miller when I have had snow days every other day? You can't! I read some of the story and I participated in the online discussion. That was my educational contribution for today.

I took it upon myself to move my entire room all around today: beds, dresser and desk. They are not even remotely anywhere near where they used to be. I am excited for this change because I get extremely bored with the same set-up for too long. I wish my room at home were this easy to move around. I am really proud that I moved all of this heavy furniture by myself. It tells me that I am not as weak as I thought and that I do have some muscles left from my old box lifting days...but that is another story for another time. Not to sound like I am quoting Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly in Stepbrothers...but I am! "There is so much more room for activities!" Now, I can set up my yoga mat a good distance from the television and I can actually practice Yoga like I have been planning since August. I wish I had a personal trainer here at Albertus that I could utilize.

Anyway...

So, I moved the desk to the wall where my beds used to be and I love this location. Before, my desk was hanging off of this awkward half wall in the window area and it was incredibly un-inspiring. Now, I have an entire wall to post my to-do lists on and I will actually see them! It's perfect! I am a little nervous about where my bed is only because of the dog house shape to the window area. I have two beds and the one I sleep on is right where the wall slopes back down. I am scared that one night I will jump up and hit my head because I will forget it is there. Let's hope for the best.

Right next to my desk, I have my rolling set of drawers fully stocked with art supplies and notebooks and with my lamp on top I can do homework no problem! I am going back home this weekend, so I will not be able to test out the new layout fully until Sunday night when I return. Now...even though it is almost 4 AM, I am determined to read this chapter of my Criminal Procedures textbook before I have to get up and go home.

Arts & Crafts

Being an RA is by no means an easy position. There are not crazy, wild parties every night, but it is a demanding job and you have many responsibilities. My favorite part of the job is holding floor functions in the residence halls. Sometimes you have a function that really draws in a huge crowd; sometimes it is a smaller, simpler function and you have a few people.

On January 29th, I held a "Make a Dreamboard" function. It was very female oriented, but I had a few of my male residents in attendance. It was just a great way for us to bond more, explore one another's interests, and I was able to look through magazines that I have had sitting in my room for months. Thank goodness those are taken care of. In all seriousness though, the dream boards are meant to inspire and get the creative juices flowing. I think that mine speaks to what I want in life. I want to be healthier; both in body and in hair. I want to lead a greener, more environmentally friendly life.

Snow Bound...No, literally

This has been an interesting week as we segued from January into February. We had a snow day on Monday. I could not have been happier! Monday is my longest day of classes and work so I was happy to be able to stay in bed. I was able to play Uncharted 2: Drake's Deception on my PS3 for the first time since getting back from winter break. I have almost beaten the game, but sadly I am stuck on this one level. Sigh...I will just have to ask someone to help me. Wednesday, we had another snow day. I went to brunch, enjoyed a delicious cheese omelette, shopped til' I dropped in the mall and finished my night with RA duty in McAuliffe. 

The snow is very pretty, but there is just too much of it. This is not even the good kind of snow. It has completely iced over itself so it actually hurts to step into it. You can feel the ice surrounding your fresh footprints as you fall through the cracked snow bank. It scraped against the side of my snow boot and I thought it would carve it open. Some of the pathways are not clear, so navigating the campus can be dangerous. Thankfully, it will be sunny skies for the next two days which should help melt some of the snow. I hope I can get in a couple of pictures before then.

My mall trip was really and truly the highlight of my week. I spent money that I really do not have and I now have no idea how I will make up for the money spent. There were some really good deals going on, but one purchase was un-necessary and I should probably return the item. I bought this really cute dress in Torrid. It has a striped top, with a rose patterned bottom half and it is cotton. I love the dress! Unfortunately, it cost me nearly $60. I guess now I will have to make an adult decision. Keep it, or be $60 poorer?

A Night on the Town

As any good college student living in New Haven knows, utilizing the Yale Shuttle as your transportation device is often an adventure. You may feel inconvenienced and annoyed by these sudden changes in your plans, but this is part of what makes you a college student; adaptability to sudden changes. So last night, Carlo and I go downtown. It was after 6 so the shuttle was not running on a regular schedule. We walk about 10 minutes down Prospect heading for Downtown New Haven. Lo and behold, a Blue Line Yale Shuttle comes rolling down the street. To save us from walking, and the frigid air, we get onto this shuttle and ride the rest of the way.

Everything goes along according to plan: Citibank, Rite Aid, Noodle House, and Starbucks. We pick up the Yale Shuttle right where we left it. It was even the same exact bus number, but a different driver; a new driver in training. The ride took an hour longer since it was the Blue nighttime route in the wrong direction, but we were just happy to be on a warm bus rather than standing at a cold bus stop with all of our purchases. We made so many loops around the same block that we felt like we were stuck in the twilight zone; seeing the same houses over and over again. Finally, we made it to the top of the hill on the corner of Highland and Prospect. Unfortunately, the driver turned right instead of continuing back to Albertus on prospect. Carlo and I looked and each other and knew we would be heading back downtown if we did not get off that shuttle ride. We pull the stop rope and we proceed off the shuttle and start slowly walking back to Albertus from Whitney and Highland. I called Courtney and told her about how we were walking back and she told me she would come pick us up. We were lucky she did because it was freezing out.

I concluded my night with a hot shower, indulging in delicious s'mores and leftover Chinese food from snowy nights past.

Sunday S'mores

Today, I made a s'more in my dorm room. How did I do this, you may ask. Well, it is quite simple really. You just take a piece of a Hershey bar, place it on the plate. Put a marshmallow right on top of the chocolate. Place the plate in the microwave and turn it on for 10-20 seconds. Watch as your marshmallow puffs up into a giant. Take it out of the microwave and bite into a gooey, delicious treat! It did wonders for my energy level today. It was the perfect snack break that cleaning my room required. I mean, do you honestly need the graham cracker? My friends say yes, but I never was a fan of the graham cracker portion of the s'mores delicacy. I wish I had more chocolate bars because I am a chocolate addict. Once I get a taste of it into my system, I cannot stop eating chocolate. It's happiness in a rectangle!

How about a little history lesson about my favorite candy on the planet? 
We have Milton S. Hershey to thank for this heavenly bar. "The captivating story of Hershey's spans nearly a century and a half of industrial and social change. It was in the year 1894 that candy manufacturer Milton Hershey made the decision to try adding chocolate coating to his caramels. Calling this new enterprise the Hershey Chocolate Company, he located it near the area he had been born, amid the rolling farmland of Derry Township, PA. By the summer of 1905, with the milk from nearby dairy farms and the spirit of hard-working local people, his new factory started turning out delicious milk chocolate." (http://www.hersheys.com/our-story) 

Thanks to this amazing man and his passion for chocolates and people, we are forever united by one thing; the Hershey bar!

Book Review: The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

I just finished Jodi Picoult's novel, The Storyteller. It was heartbreaking and an extremely difficult read because it was about the Holocaust. I never liked learning about that in history class. It always makes me sick to my stomach to think about how humans treated another group of humans. Her novels have a way of forcing you to rethink yourself, your outlook on the world and what you contribute to it. I definitely recommend this novel! Her next book comes out in October 2014 and I will definitely be attending that book signing as I have in the past!

Every time I read one of Jodi Picoult's novels, I feel like I walk away knowing so much more about a subject than I ever did. I mean this in a good way. The only problem with this situation was that it is about my most hated part of history because it just raises such anger inside me. I was reading this book at dinner and I got to Minka's section and towards the end of it, I wanted to puke because of what I was reading and eating. The two did not mix. The story of Minka is so strong and so enraging. Jodi really makes you feel like you are facing these horrible men yourself. 

I am not sure how a big a fan I am of Sage as a character for a couple of reasons. 1) She complains about the scars on her face and how she cannot be out in public, and yet, she has a job at a town favorite bakery. 2) She was practically breaking up a marriage and that is something I morally cannot get behind. Even though, yes, Adam was cheating right along with her; he was not the main character of the story. 

The ending was a typical major twist, except I did not see this one coming at all. I was totally shocked.

I love Leo's character. I am a criminal justice minor and so in some of the legal parts of the book, I was nodding and I responded to some of Sage's questions before poor Leo could. Sorry man. ;) 

Over all, I loved this book. Although, I do think Minka's section was a little long, I do not feel it would have been wise to shorten it. She was the key to the whole story and so all of her section was necessary.