Summer in May, You Say?

Unlike most college students, we at UP are done the end of April. Aside from the fact that my non-UP friends are still in school, I am enjoying NOT doing school work and doing everything I don't have time to do at school.

Here's what makes my break great
1. First semester in my college career with no C's. My lowest grade is a B minus in Brit lit.
2. Reading for fun. I have read The Time Traveler's Wife and The Namesake, both excellent books.
3. Watching TV: Glee, House, Parenthood, Modern Family, Jeopardy, and Family Guy. However, I do miss watching Glee every Tuesday night with my UP girls
4. Cooking: I have not done as much as I would like, but I've been going through Cooking Light magazines I have not had a chance to go through and find recipes. However, I've enjoyed eating at places other than the Commons and Cove.
5. Possible trips to Chicago and Eugene
6. Sleeping in, especially with my beloved Lily
7. Not having to read books for school, write papers, or study for tests (although I should get a head start on my Shakespeare reading for London)

DONE DONE DONE!!!

It's official. I am DONE with my sophomore year of college! I never thought the last day would come, but it finally came. I am blogging from the Portland Airport waiting to board the plane home. I am exhausted as I have been up since 7 AM both for an 8 AM final and to get a jump start on packing and cleaning. After writing two essays for both my English finals, my hand hurt like crazy. After my finals, I had lunch with Sara, and continued to pack, clean, and move boxes to Fields (my new dorm). Thank you SO MUCH Megan and Traci for your help and for taking me to the airport! I won't find out about my grades until Monday, but think I did well. Brit Lit was probably my hardest final, but it is such a small part of my grade that even if I do horribly, I will still pass the class (and yes, this class WAS my hardest this semester). I turned in a reflection paper for psych on Monday, and am not worried about my Fine Arts or Lit Studies finals. Choir is an easy A that always helps my GPA. Going abroad this summer means that I have been working very hard to maintain my grades, and despite my freaking out about not getting good grades, it has been my experience that things usually turn out better than I think they will be. Regardless, I'm thrilled to be done and very excited for a break! HELLO FREEDOM!

Summer, Why Can't You Come Any Faster?

Four days. I know it seems like a short time, but to me, it seems like forever. At least I survived Dead Week! I got an A minus on my speech for fine arts and turned in two major papers which I'll get back tomorrow. I have been studying and packing like crazy. I am one reflection paper and three exams away from summer and London. Even when I have those stressed out, anxiety-provoking moments, I remind myself that I have worked so hard and that I have made it this far. Wait, does that really I am almost halfway done with college? It's exciting to think about my future, but also scary at the same time. I used to think I would never make it out of high school, but here I am, happy in college. I literally just want to sleep and chill the first few days I am home, as I have had a busy semester. I will be home for six weeks before I jet off to London, and home again for three weeks in August before I head off to Portland for orientation assistant training.

I am really excited for next year. New dorm and roomie. Interesting classes, including three with professors I have had before (all three of them being favorites, including two three-timers). Starting week 5? WRITING ASSISTANT!! English Society President. At the same time, this means I should get some idea of, as Mary Oliver says, "what I plan to do with my one wild and precious life?" Hmmm...I don't have to think too hard, but I have some ideas.

Thank you so much for following my blog! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

After All My Hard Work, I Think I Deserve A Fun Weekend

I can't believe I'm almost done. Not just done with the year, but almost halfway done with SCHOOL! Wait, what do you mean I only have two years left of college??

This week has been pretty relaxing. I turned in my Brit Lit paper on Monday and did my lit studies presentation on Thursday. I'm 2 papers, one presentation, a reflection paper, and three exams away from summer.

On Thursday my friend Christina came for a visit, and we (her, me, and 2 of our friends) went to Tea Zone (a tea bar) where I got a strawberry bubble tea. Then, we drove back to UP where we saw Urinetown, the musical that was playing here these past few weeks. Friday night I went out with some friends to McMeniman's, a restaurant in the St. John's area (few minutes from UP).

Arielle spent the weekend with me. After I picked her up, we went to Mio Sushi, one of my new favorite places in Portland. When we got back to campus, I gave her the grand tour. I ended the tour by taking her to visit my friend Sara in Fields, the dorm she currently lives in and the dorm I'm going to be living in next year. That night we had pizza and looked and magazines with my UP girls. Yesterday we just relaxed and chatted, and I practiced my fine arts speech for her. Because I got a lot of work done over Easter break and this past week, practicing my fine arts speech was the only school-related activity I did. It felt great not having to do much academically related, as that's how I felt most of my weekends have been.

I woke up this morning realizing how stressful this week will be, both with school and trying to get my stuff organized to move to Fields. On the plus side, I just found out that my Brit Lit class is canceled Friday. As that class is my only class on Fridays, I plan to spend the day sleeping and organizing my stuff (with some studying on the side). Luckily, I have awesome friends with cars who can help me drive my stuff over and possibly take me to the airport.

10 more days until summer. Can I make it? I think I can, I think I can....

A Less Stressful Week

This weekend was better than the previous few weekends because I did not feel as stressed. Staying on campus for Easter may have been quiet, but at least I got time to work on my insanely heavy workload. Both Easter break and having classes canceled (two of those days being my 8:10 lit studies class) allowed me to catch up on sleep. My Brit Lit paper is due tomorrow, and I am glad that I finished it with out the extension I thought I would need. I had a conference with my lit studies prof about my research paper, which went well and am well into making the revisions based on his comments.

Friday night I did not get a lot done as my friends and I played games and hung out. We played Banana (which is similar to Scrabble, but with no board) and Loaded Questions. Saturday was Weekend on the Bluff, which is where prospective freshman who are going or strongly considering going to UP spend the weekend exploring the campus and spend the night with current students. My roommate and I, along with some of our friends, hosted prospective students. We had fun showing them around campus, hanging out in our rooms, and attending "The Price is Right" (students play games trying to guess the price of a particular item, similar to the show).

These next few weeks will be busy, but at least I'm 2 papers, one speech, three tests, and 18 days away from being DONE!

Easter Weekend

Unlike many of my friends, I stayed on campus for Easter break. Why, you might ask, would I want to be here in cold, rainy Portland, when I could be somewhere sunny? Unfortunately, this decision and nothing to do with what I wanted to do, but with the fact that I have 3 papers and a speech before finals week...which isn't that far away. Since I came back from spring break, my workload has not gotten lighter. Even though I didn't go home, my decision to stay worked out for the best, as I made progress on my work that I would have had a harder time accomplishing at home (or on vacation).

I mostly stayed on campus except for yesterday and today. Yesterday I went to the grocery store, which included a trip to Starbucks, courtesy of my Christmas gift card. Today I spent most of the day with my friend Kelly and her family. Kelly and I are going to London (and hopefully Paris!) this summer, and I really enjoyed spending time with her and her family. Her family is huge compared to mine--eight siblings plus her aunt's children and grandchildren. Still, we had fun!

Tomorrow I have the day off and I'm going to sleep and work on homework. This week I am blessed with not having to get up for my 8:10 class, thanks to my professor canceling class and instead having conferences with us about our research papers. I also don't have Brit Lit on Friday, but am meeting with my lit studies prof to talk about my research paper...so we'll see how that goes. Hopefully, it will be good. :)

4 More Weeks...Please Fly By

I have a month left of school. 3 big papers, all of them in the double digits. Should I mention I have a speech as well? Why must these weeks be so cruel to me? I'm almost halfway done with college, and I just want these weeks to fly by smoothly.

Despite my busy workload, I had some fun. I got some free coupon from Nicola's (my favorite local pizza place) a while ago from Admissions for showing my room to prospective visitors. I used one of those and ordered in pizza, which is a nice change from eating at the Common's. After doing some homework, I went to an Easter egg hunt where I met up with a friend and her roommate and friend from her dorm. We colored Easter-themed pictures, participated in an egg hunt and an egg toss. I also won a chocolate peanut butter Easter bunny at the door, and one of the hall directors (Residence Life sponsored this event as part of a program called "Pilots After Dark") gave me a bowl of jellybeans, as she didn't want to toss them.

Thursday afternoon begins a 4 day break for Easter. While it would be nice to get off campus (more specifically, sunny Palm Springs, which is where my family will be), I am relieved that I will be staying on campus. This will give me plenty of time to get my homework done without the distraction of people and sun. Luckily, many people I know, including two of my neighbors, stay on campus during this short break, so I won't be too lonely. At least I'll come home in May and can give my family (and friends) my full attention without worrying about the demands of school.

I can't believe I'll be halfway done. Never thought I'd make it this far...

Don't Worry, I'm here!

Hello Faithful Readers!

Sorry I have not written for a while. I have been insanely busy, as the week after spring break awaits me with midterms, papers, and other projects I don't want to deal with, as I want the last six weeks to fly by so it can be summer and I can go to London.

I had a good spring break, but I could have used a few more days. I spent the weekend in Eugene with Antonia, which was fun. We went shopping and I spent most of my Forever 21 gift cards on much needed clothes. I spent a week at home, mostly hanging out with friends, old teachers, and my mom. I also caught up on sleep and enjoyed home-cooked meals and my favorite restaurants. Last Friday I got to talk to the seniors in Paula's psych class, and they were wonderful.

While this week has been stressful, at least I survived my Brit Lit midterm and turned in my art project. I still have two 10 page English papers and a 12 page psych paper awaiting me, but I know I will be done with them before I know it. In fact, I have already written 4 out of the 10 pages needed for my Lit Studies paper. I also have a fine arts midterm, oral critique, and presentation on the horizon. But summer will be here in six weeks!

Unfortunately, I did not get the workshop leader position. On the bright side, this means I'm going to be an Orientation Assistant! I'm excited to help out with Orientation, especially since I get to move in the week before school starts for training.

Tomorrow is NUCL, or Northwest Undergraduate Conference on Literature. Sadly, my paper was not chosen for presentation, but I am a chair for a panel for papers having to do with "deconstructing the female narrative". All the papers are about the role of women in novels such as Jane Eyre, Villette, among others. I didn't go last year, so I'm excited.

That's all for now, folks!

Laura

Focus on the Good

Despite having a paper and an annotated bibliography due next week, let me count the positive things that have happened to me recently

1)Playing with clay and paint in fine arts. My fine arts professor likes to say, "I'm sure you don't get to do this in theology."
2)Being chosen to be an Orientation Assistant and having my workshop leader interview on Monday. I really want to be a workshop leader more,not just for getting paid, but also being able to connect with the same 25 students for 10 weeks. Experience planning lessons and leading a class is great for a future teacher! Unfortunately, I can't hold both positions as the training dates conflict.
3)Getting papers for my panel in NUCL--I'm going to be chairing a panel on female conflicts
4)Stress Reduction night (loved painting and getting a massage!)
5)Visit to the Portland Art Museum
6)Getting a B+ on my final short argument paper for lit studies
7)Living in Fields next year with my new roomie
8)Workshop leader interview (I'll know after Spring break if I got the position)
9)London study abroad meeting, and the possibility of going to Scotland, Ireland, and/or Paris
10)Meeting with THE best advisor ever, who tells me that I remind him of the importance of doing our best and hanging in there.

Well, off to dinner and then more reading. 2 more days!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Sorry my blogs have not been the most exciting lately. Like most (if not all) college students, I have been extremely busy with the demands of classes. As an English major taking two English classes this semester, I have a TON of reading and writing. This weekend, I spent a good amount of time (2 hours tonight, and an hour yesterday) doing research in the library. For Brit Lit, I have to write a paper comparing and summarizing three critical articles about a piece of work we have read or are going to read (I'm doing Ben Jonson's poem "To Penshurst", which is the estate of another great Renaissance poet I have read, Sir Philip Sidney). I also have to do an annotated bibliography for my lit studies research paper. So far, I have found four out of at least eight sources I need, which is pretty good. Research can be tiring, but now that I know how and where to find sources, it's not too bad.

Despite it being February, the weather has been sunny. Yesterday four of my friends and I went downtown to the Waterfront (grassy area looking over the river not far from Pioneer Square) and had a picnic. Yesterday was quite windy, so we had hoped to fly a kite, but were unable find one. Today I had my choir concert, and we had a good turnout as this weekend was Junior Parent's Weekend. It was fun, but I was pretty exhausted as I had a lot to do. At least we have a week and a half until Spring Break!!

What's in a Name?

A few entries back, I wrote about my aspiration to be a high school English teacher. As someone considering this profession as a possible career, an issue I've pondered with is how I want my students to address me. Contrary to how most students (myself included) address (or have) their teachers, I really want my students to call me by my first name. Many of my friends respond with "I could never address a teacher by his/her first name." I plan to tell my students: "I really like going by my first name, but you can call me "Miss" with my last/first name. Don't call me anything rude, but I'm not going to force you guys to call me by my last name."

I think addressing teachers by their last names is necessary for elementary (and maybe, middle school) students who need to know that the teacher is in charge and don't yet know how to be "friends" while still respecting his/her authority. However, I believe that high school is a different story. High school students are old enough to get to know their teachers on a personal level while still respecting his/her authority. In my opinion, students often disrespect teachers not for a lack of understanding authority, but that they don't feel respected by them or know how to take advantage of the teacher. That said, I feel that at this stage, the teacher can (and should) chose how s/he wants to be be addressed. In fact, you can still be "friends" with your students while maintaining order in the classroom. Also, in college, professors choose how they want to be addressed. As students who are preparing for college, they should slowly understand the dynamics of academic life in college.

With the exception of my freshman year, I have always addressed my teachers by their last names. I am friends with four of my high school teachers, and have been on a first-name basis with them ever since I graduated almost two years ago. As a student at a small, private college where professors teach all classes, it has been my experience that majority of my professors go by their first names. Being able to call my professors by their first names makes me feel treated like an adult or colleague as opposed to a kid. In many cases, I feel comfortable talking to my professors more when I'm on a first-name basis with them (although I really liked two of my profs who went by their last names).

Yes, I know that the majority of my professors hold Ph.D's in their field and have worked incredibly hard for them. Many people think that the way to show respect for them is by addressing them as "Dr." I disagree with this. First of all, they are teaching at a college, so students know that they are accomplished in their fields. Second, I don't think they need to "hide behind some status" (in the words of Herman) to earn respect from their students. While professors (and everyone) deserve respect, calling them "Dr." is not neccesarily the way to do so. For example, I do not feel that calling Herman "Dr. Asarnow" is going to make me respect him any more than I already do. In fact, I feel strongly that I respect Herman more by being on a first name basis with him because he respects me not just as a student, but also as a person.

By allowing my students to address my by my first name, I feel that they will have more respect for me and feel comfortable coming to me for help. High school is a hard time for most, if not all, teenagers. That said, they need a supportive, caring adult (not a parent) who understands the struggles they face. What person would be more suitable to help teenagers than a high school teacher? It is my hope that my students will see me as a teacher who cares about them not just as students, but also as people.

An Afternoon at the Opera

Sunday afternoon I attended my first opera. Despite having an aunt who is wild about this type of performance, I have never been wild about seeing an opera. As part of my fine arts class, I am required to go to three events: an opera, the art museum, and a play in addition to two on campus events (music and drama). Although the music event in the past has been the symphony, people were apparently getting bored so the fine arts profs decided to have us attend an opera. When I found out that I would be going, I was actually kind of excited to go, just because I had never been to one.

The opera I saw this afternoon was Mozart's "Cosi Fan Tutte," which is about two sisters engage to two young men. The young men have an older friend, Don Alfonso, who makes a bet to see if they can fall in love with someone else. The men then disguise themselves as Albanians, trying to "court" the each other's fiancees.

While the show was 3 hours long (with a 20 minute intermission), my experience was better than my preconceptions as a young teenager that opera was people screaming at the top of their lungs. The beginning of both acts dragged, but the action came more toward the end. I also liked the costumes and sets, as they were very modern and colorful. Although musical theater is my performance of choice, I will say that my experience at the opera was not as bad as I expected.

Sorry for the late reply. This week has been very busy with papers and reading.

Wait, What Do You Mean I'm Really Twenty?

As most of you know, I turned 20 on Friday. While I have always made a big deal about celebrating my birthday, this year I was a little more quiet about it. The fact that I have left my teens behind and am slowly starting to enter the "adult world" is exciting, yet overwhelming at the same time. Just because I'm not into making a huge deal about my birthday does not mean that I did not have fun. Friday night my girlfriends and I went out for Thai food at a yummy restaurant called Thai Ginger, which is about 5 minutes from UP. After dinner, we came back to campus and had cake and played Apples to Apples, which was a lot of fun. Saturday night my friend Trever and I went to Mio Sushi, another excellent restaurant not far from campus. Not only did I not have to wait until I got back to CA to satisfy my sushi craving, but I got to enjoy eating non-Commons and non-Cove food. Also, both places were inexpensive! (a major plus for us college students)


The girls and I at dinner (Dana, me, Kenz, Megan, Traci, Cady, Kaelyn, and Sam)


Birthday girl!

I got some nice presents for my birthday, as well as flowers, which are a nice addition to my room. Like everything, all good things must come to an end. I had a few short papers I had to work on this weekend and a TON of reading. Like usual, I expect this week to be reading heavy. On Sunday I am going to the opera for fine arts. I have never been to one, so it should be an interesting experience. Until then.

Thoughts from a Future English Teacher

Three years old. According to my mom, that was the age I learned to read. I have always loved to read and write. I enjoyed writing in my journal or making up stories during writer's workshop in grade school, and was a frequent reader as I was not the most social person growing up. Despite my life long love for reading and writing, my positive experiences in English classes did not begin until my junior year of high school. I was bored to tears in my middle school English classes because they moved too slowly for me. I did not have good English teachers my first two years of high school, as they never challenged me or helped me become a better writer. I got A's easily without putting a lot of effort into my work.

However, that all changed when I took Dana's class. Dana had a reputation for being incredibly strict so I was nervous that I would have a hard time in her class. However, my fear was gone the first day of class when I realized that as long as I followed her rules and did my homework, I would be fine. Not only did I not have any trouble in class or with her, but I quickly learned that she was funny, nice, and helped me become a better writer. She helped me improve my writing by putting comments on my papers that showed me what I needed to work on and what I did well, rather than just saying "that was good" or "you need to be more clear." While my sophomore English teacher did not think I could handle honors English my junior year despite maintaining a straight A, Dana thought I was more than ready for the challenge of AP Lit, and I worked really hard to prepare myself for that class. Although AP Lit was my only high school English class that I did not get an A in, I felt that the class really prepared me for the writing I'd have to do in college.

My positive experiences in Dana's class my junior and senior years really made me want to be a high school English teacher. My friends and boyfriend think I would be good at it because I work well with others, have a friendly personality, and am excited about English. However, when I talk to family friends or my parents, they always ask, "what about elementary or special ed?" My first reaction is, "Why? What's wrong with teaching high school English?" I think people are wary of high school teaching because adolescents can be rude and self-centered at times. I'm not saying that teaching adolescents is easy or not frustrating. However, every grade and age has its pluses and minuses, so it's not like teaching with younger kids would be easier than teaching high schoolers.

The choice as to what subject or grade to teach is a personal preference of the teacher. For me, I would rather teach one subject about which I am truly passionate than of focusing on a whole bunch of subjects just to meet the state standards. Okay, so maybe adolescents can be self-centered and rude, but I feel that they act the way they do because sometimes teachers talk down to them and treat them like kids. As a teacher, I would really try to treat my students as adults and take interest in both their academic and personal lives.

When I think about both high school and college, I think about the teachers and professors I really liked or disliked, why I liked or didn't like them and how they taught. Then, I think about how I would either adopt, modify, or disregard that teacher or professor's method to my teaching someday. Because of what I admire or think could be better in classes I've been in, I want to give teaching a try, even if it's just for a short time. I am a huge believer that a teacher can make or break a class. In fact, most of the classes I enjoyed in high school and college were heavily influenced by the teacher or professor.

English Major Reflections

As you can expect from someone taking two English classes in one semester for the first time, I have become exhausted from my heavy reading load. This weekend I have to write two response papers, followed by more response papers (2-3 pages), short papers (4-6 pages), and two 10 page papers over the course of the semester. But as the Chinese symbol indicates, the yin (white) and yang (black) balance each other out. Writing is very time consuming, but I do well when I start early and spend a lot of time editing, which results in the satisfaction when I get a good grade on my paper.

Although I sometimes wonder what I've gotten myself into when I'm faced with a heavy reading load, I honestly feel that English is the best major for me and could not see myself in any other. For the first time in my life, I'm in love with what I'm studying, mainly because I want, not have to study my subject. I look back and wonder why I was a psych major for as long as I was, as I really struggled with my intro psych class and would have had to take classes I did not enjoy . I fell in love with English from day one of my intro to lit class, and now wonder why I didn't make the change sooner. However, I'm glad I made the change before I got too far into psych classes, and as a psych minor, I can take any psych classes I want.

Back in September, I wrote about how I was worried I would make the wrong choice when I was thinking about changing my major. Four months later, I'm a happy gal with classes I enjoy, interactions with like-minded literary peeps, fabulous professors (including an advisor I love), and amazing opportunities outside of the classroom (NUCL, Writer's magazine, English Society, and possibly being a writing assistant next year!). I feel so alive when I'm in my classes, thanks to great discussions, crazy but amazing professors, and being able to enjoy what I study. When I feel overwhelmed, I immediately think about everything I love about English.

"I think I can, I think I can" will turn into "I knew I could, I knew I could" come April (The Little Engine that could)"

Right now, everything feels so fast paced. Exciting and scary. One moment I'm loving English, having an awesome time with my friends or BF, and enjoying being on my own. The next moment, things feel scary because I'm going to be 20 in a little less than a week, and it's starting to it me that I'm almost halfway done with college. Geez...it seemed like just yesterday I arriving on campus for Orientation. I feel like I'm running away from everything that I knew and toward the feeling of being on my own and being able to decide for myself what I want to do. At the same time, everything feels scary, and am afraid that I won't be able to make it.

"Seems like nothing is black and white anymore. Shades of gray and I feel the weight over my shoulder. Kind of tough getting older. Always thought that I knew where I want to go. Now I'm here and I find that I'm still getting colder. It's tough getting older" (Older, Colbie Callait)

"I can almost see it. That dream I'm dreaming. There's a voice inside my head, saying 'you'll never reach it.' Every step I'm taking. Every move I'm make feels lost with no direction. My faith is shaking. But I--I gotta keep trying. Got to keep my head held high. There's always gonna be another mountain. I'm always gonna make it move. Always gonna be an uphill battle. Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose. Ain't about how fast I get there. Ain't about what's waiting on the other side. It's the climb." (The Climb, Miley Cyrus)

Anyways, sorry to bore y'all. Just had a lot to say.

Made it Through Week One!

Week one is over. I made it. It's hard getting back to studying after three weeks of being on break. Because I took most of my core classes last year and three last semester, I'm taking classes I actually like.

Brit Lit: This class is definitely my "yin yang" class. The "yins" of this class are having our midterm the Monday after spring break and having to write a 10 page paper. I know I can do it, but the idea feels overwhelming at the moment. The "yangs" are the plays, books, and poems we'll read (Hamlet, The Duchess of Malfi, Dr. Faustus, Paradise Lost, to name a few), new friend/study buddy Annie, and my amazing professor. Because this is an upper division class with mostly English majors/minors, I think we'll have more in-depth discussions than in ENG 112

Group Counseling: My first three hour class ever, and it was not as bad as I thought. There's no tests and only four assignments, most of them being journals/reflection papers. For four weeks in March, we break up into groups and practice having a group therapy session. Kristine (the prof) not only teaches but is also a hospice director at Kaiser. That said, I think it's cool learning from someone who pracitices what she does as opposed to just doing research.

Literary Studies: I hate waking up for an 8:10 class, but I have a feeling that a)I'll never have to take an 8:10 after this class and b)this will probably be the best 8:10 class I've had. Why? Unlike human bio (I had it at 8:10 last spring), the class is in my major and I have an awesome professor! My professor has A TON of energy and is very fidgety. He's also really nice and knows how daunting research can be, as this clas is a "research methods" class for English. Oh yeah, I should mention that he has a great southern accent (he's from Texas). The class will be a fair amount of work, especially when I have to write a 10 page research paper.

Fine Arts: My only core class this semester, and I expect it to be fairly easy. We just have two tests, a speech, and have to answer questions for the events we go to and the in class activities we do. On Thursday, the professor brought in construction paper and crayons and we got to make pictures with cut out shapes. Besides two on campus events, I'll be going to the art museum, opera (my first!), and a play (39 Steps). I'm glad to have a low stress class.

Because my two English classes are going to be a lot of work (including 10 page papers in both), I dropped my children's lit class. This was not an easy decision, as I love children's lit. Since this class is an ed. class, I don't need it for my major, minor, or degree. While I liked the books we would be reading and thought the professor was very knowledgeable, the class required a lot of reading and projects. While I would have been able to do it if I had to, I decided to drop the class so I could devote time to my English classes.

I had a pretty fun weekend. I went to a bingo event Friday night, and while I didn't win anything, I still had fun. One of my friends was there, and afterwards, we saw Where the Wild Things Are, which was playing on campus. While I wouldn't see it more than once, it was cute for what it was. Yesterday, some friends and I went to get cupcakes downtown at Cupcake Jones. Today...BRYCE IS COMING!! I'm going to pick him up at the airport (courtesy of Zipcar) and then we're going to go out for dinner.

Portland Bound

Greetings from the Oakland Airport! I am waiting to board my flight back to Portland, and am very excited to get back. While I enjoyed not dealing with the demands and stresses of studying and paper writing, I am more than ready to go back. I can't wait to see my friends, get back to my everyday life, and start my day tomorrow with BRIT LIT!!! I did enjoy spending time with friends, old teachers, family, and family friends. I finally got my glasses yesterday, and am LOVING them! The words on the computer/paper don't look fuzzy and I think they will reduce the number of headaches I've had.

The big news with me, however, is that....I FINALLY HAVE A BOYFRIEND!! A few nights ago, Bryce and I were chatting on Skype and I was typing romantic lyrics and he said that he's been thinking about me a lot. I asked "do you know why I'm writing these lyrics?" and then I told him that I liked him as more than a friend. He told me that he had feelings for me too these last few weeks. Although he is concerned about the distance (he goes to UC Davis), I think the relationship will work out because we've been friends for eight years and keep in touch regularly. He's coming to visit me next week, and I'm excited to show him around campus and have him meet my friends (and Herman, of course).

More on classes next week--one core class, two English classes, one minor class, and one elective. BEST SCHEDULE YET!!

Almost Done with Break

I have three and a half days left so...

1)I'm ready to go back to Portland ASAP as I miss my college girls
2)I have new clothes, thanks to my mum
3)I'm getting glasses for reading and wish my optometrist's office would call soon to tell me that they're ready
4)I've had a cold these past few days...not fun but am slowly getting over it
5)I have a lunch date with one of my favorite high school teachers and am hopefully having dinner Saturday night with some friends
6)I'm actually EXCITED about my classes next semester for several reasons: only one core class (Fine Arts, but that should be EASY and interesting), classes in subjects I'm interested in and STARTING MY SEMESTER OFF ON MONDAY MORNING WITH MY FAVORITE PROFESSOR EVER!! First thought Monday? "Yay! I get to go to HERMAN'S class!!"
7)Break is nice, but I'm always ready to go back after a week. While seeing friends, family, and the like is nice, Portland feels more like "home" to me as I spend most of the year there.
8)He loves me, he loves me not? Hmmmm......he's coming to visit me over MLK weekend!

Okay, so Monday needs to come. 4 days. 5 and a half months....LONDON!!!