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."