Almost there!

This week has been all about studying for upcoming exams, working on my science project, and writing my ethics paper. I got my ethics and Bib Trad tests back; even though I had some nervous breakdowns about not doing well, I didn't do too bad. I got C's on both, and while that isn't the greatest grade, it's passing so it's not the end of the world. Honestly, the classes I had tests in have nothing to do with my major or career goals and I doubt I'll remember what grade I got in five years. College is hard, so while C's weren't the greatest in high school, they can be good in college if the classes are hard. I'm not failing any classes, and I'm going in with and expect to come out with good grades. Currently, my lowest grade is a C plus in ethics, but I think that should go up to a B minus or B once I submit my final paper. All this work (and worrying) has made me tired and stressed, but I'm feeling a lot better and was able to have fun hanging out with friends tonight and playing Bible Apples to Apples last night.

Studying aside, I have been enjoying the Christmas festivities. Christmas is my favorite holiday, as I love the music and spirit (and the goodies). Monday night I sang at the Grotto with choir. We sang these wonderful songs: "Nova, Nova,"(literally transleted to "news, news", "Ave Maria," "For Unto Us a Child is Born" (Messiah text), "In the Bleak Midwinter" (Christina Rosetti poem), "One December Bright and Clear," "Lullaby Carol," "Night of Silence," and "Ring the Bells." Despite the cold weather, we had an amazing time. Afterwards, I got my picture taken with Santa (a.k.a. Tommy, the hall director in the boy's dorm next door) in my dorm and attempted to make a gingerbread house. Thursday night was "Bells in the Ballroom" where the chapel and handbell choirs sang Christmas carols. I also went to a Christmas party that night with the English Society, which was fun. Tonight, I got some early Christmas presents from friends; gloves from MacK (much needed as the temperature has been in the 20s!), shower gel from Traci, and a stocking with chocolate and a mini candle from Dana. Unfortunately, fire codes prohibit us from lighting candles in the dorms so I have to wait to light it when I get home.

All I want is for Thursday afternoon to come. Monday I have to present my science project at 8 AM and take my psych test. I don't have finals Tuesday and Wednsday; I have to turn my ethics paper by Wednsday afternoon but I think I'll get that done by Monday. Thursday I have tests in English and Bib Trad, and then I'm done at 12:30. In a little less than three hours, I'll be on my way home for a much needed 3 week break (one of those weeks in HAWAII, where it's warm and sunny unlike here). 5 MORE DAYS!!

Grotto Photos

Enjoy these photos for a closer look at the Grotto!


The goat and I became fast
friends!

Sam (birthday girl)


All of us

Angels surrounding the
cross

Nativity scene


I love Christmas trees!

Lama at the petting zoo

Surviving Tests and Getting into the Christmas Spirit

Having studied my butt off for my ethics and Bib Trad tests, turned in my final Bib Trad paper, and worked on a draft of my final psych project, you would imagine how desparately I needed to get off campus and do something fun. That need was met as my friends and I went on an adventure in honor of our friend Sam's birthday. We went to the Grotto, which is a magical, woodsy place with carolers, concerts, nativity plays, two gift shops, a petting zoo, and of course, lots of Christmas lights. The music and lights are the two major reasons I love Christmas. Our friend Lauren's younger brother was singing there Friday night with his school, so we heard them sing a few numbers. This place is magical, unlike anywhere I've been. After walking around in 30 degree weather and enjoying the magic of the Grotto, we headed to Burgerville, a fast food restaurant similar to CA's In-N-Out. Although I don't enjoy the "burger" aspect of this place as a vegetarian, their shakes are to die for! I had a chocolate hazelnut shake that was thick and delicious, but too rich to finish.

Today my friend Trever went downtown to go Christmas shopping. I did not buy much aside from a few tubes of CG Bigelow lip gloss, which Antonia turned me onto and has the fresh, minty after taste of brushing your teeth. Trever and MacKenzie are in the honors program and hung out with us sometimes. We really enjoyed walking around the mall and chatting. He's a great guy and I'm really glad we've gotten to know each other better this year.

Concerts: Tomorrow at school and then at the Grotto Monday night. I love Christmas music!!

Luckily, this weekend has not been too heavy on homework. I don't have tests until finals week, and I only have 3 of them (the other two classes I have a project and a paper). While studying for my ethics and Bib Trad tests were stressful, I survived them both. I don't think I aced the tests, but I don't think I did horribly either. However, I just want to get them back as waiting makes me anxious. I hate the feeling of studying my butt of and not having my grade reflect my hard work. I know grades aren't always everything, but right now they are because my going to London in the summer depends on them. At least this coming week should be a little less stressful compared to this past week.

11 MORE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Going to post photos from the Grotto and then GLEE TIME!!!

Back From Thanksgiving Break

I have been back in Portland for a few hours now, and even though it is quiet, I am happy to have a full day tomorrow where I can work on homework and get ready for the busy week ahead. Even though my time in Piedmont was short, I enjoyed seeing my family and eating yummy, non-Commons food, both in restaurants and at home. Most of you have either heard me read Thursday night or have read (on this blog or on Facebook) the essay I wrote about the impact Herman has on my life.

Yesterday was just as busy as Thanksgiving day. I met up with Lucy, an old friend from middle school, for lunch. I hadn't seen her in seven years, but we reconnected through Facebook a year and a half ago. We had been trying to get together since, but this break was the first time we've been home at the same time. We went to Zachary's (favorite pizza place in CA!) for lunch and walked around College Ave. Last night, we all went to dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant to celebrate my maternal grandma's birthday. Her birthday isn't until January, but since it's over MLK weekend, getting everyone together then isn't possible as I will have just gotten back to school and my brother and cousin Willie will be busy studying for finals.

Tomorrow is going to be a day of catching up on homework (although I already got a fair amount done), preparing for the week ahead, and grocery shopping. I have a busy two weeks left of classes before finals...and it needs to go by QUICKLY!

Thanksgiving 2009

Some of you may have heard me read this essay that I shared with my family at our Thanksgiving dinner. If I tagged you it's either because I thought you'd like to see it in print or haven't heard it but would enjoy reading it. :)

The Professor Who Cares

Every year at Thanksgiving, I am asked the same question: what am I thankful for? The number of replies I could give is endless. In my 19 years of sharing Thanksgiving with my family, I have heard (and probably given) several common responses: family, friends, and good health. Although I value these things, I am going to take my response tonight a step further. Instead of just responding with the expected answers as to what I am thankful for, I am going to share a story about how I recognize and appreciate the positive impact a recent relationship has had on my life.

As Glinda from the musical Wicked says, “I’ve heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason.” I can relate to the opening line of this song, as I have met a person early this year who has literally changed my life. This person is Herman Asarnow, my English professor this past spring and advisor. The story begins when I went to his office with questions about my paper. He not only tells me that I am a good writer, but that he appreciates and admires how much effort I put into my work. Because I was struggling with my math and science classes at the time, knowing that I have a professor who appreciates my effort and sees what I can do really meant a lot to me. I sent him an email telling him just that, and he told me to work hard, but not to be angry with myself for not being perfect or not reaching every single goal. He shared with me an inspiring quote which was “Everyone gets muddy from falling down, and the thing to do is just get up, brush off the dirt, and keep at it.” This quote and Herman’s encouragement helped me not only get through, but also pass my challenging stats and human bio classes.

Having changed my major to English in September, I met with Herman in October to ask him questions about classes for next semester. Despite my strong writing skills and dedication to my classes, I often struggle with tests. My difficulty with test taking causes my grades to be lower than they could be. I told him that I was worried about not doing well in some of my classes in which I had been struggling with on the tests. Because I met with him at the beginning of midterms week, I had upcoming two tests that were stressing me out. He said, “Look at me. I know these tests can be difficult, but you’re going to get better. You’ll do fine. I know you. You work hard and don’t slack off.” I not only got through, but also did well on both of my tests, partly because I studied hard and partly because I remembered what Herman told me when I took my tests.

When I feel overwhelmed, stressed, or hopeless, Herman always makes me feel good about myself. When I am unsure about my ability to do something, he never wants to hear excuses as to why I can’t do it. He encourages me to keep trying, not give up, and take risks. When I met with him after fall break for advising, he told me that I give him hope, which made me cry. Honestly, just knowing him has made me a completely different person. Before I got to know Herman, I was often frustrated with myself when I did not do well on tests and did not feel confident in my ability to succeed. Although tests can be difficult for me and school can be stressful, I have an easier time coping with these challenges because of Herman’s support and encouragement.

Because I still keep in touch with four of my teachers from high school, having a relationship with a professor is not new to me. However, I did not expect a professor to immensely change my life the way Herman did. This experience has taught me that you should not be afraid to let people into your life. If someone changes your life, let him or her change it. These positive experiences in the short time that I have known Herman have made me appreciate how lucky I am to have this caring and supportive professor, advisor, and friend in my life.

Everything Works Out and I'm Happy

I'm so excited to have finally figured out my schedule! Next semester I'm taking fine arts, group counseling, children's lit (an Ed, not English class), and two English classes (literary studies and Renaissance Brit Lit). Fine arts is my only core class next semester. My group counseling and children's lit classes are one afternoon a week each for three hours. I've never had a three hour class, but my friends who have say it's not as bad as it sounds. Since these classes will be subjects I'm interested in, I'm not too worried. For the first time in my college career, I'm looking forward to all of my classes (yay for only having 4 core classes left!).

Since I couldn't find any classes that interested me that started earlier than 4:10 MWF, I decided to switch from my T/TH multiethnic lit class to an English class that met MWF. My first choice was Contemporary American Lit because am I ilike American Lit, would start earlier, and I'd have the professor I have this semester, whom I really like. Because the class is a 400-level (longer papers and more in-depth research) and my literary studies class will require a fair amount of work, my advisor discouraged me from taking it. On Wednsday, I talked to my current professor and had him tell me about the workload in the class. Even though I would be able to do it if I had to, the workload felt over my head, so I decided that I would wait until after I had taken the literary studies and more 300-level English classes before tackling the challenges of a 400-level class.

I finally settled on Renaissance Brit. Lit (1400-1600). To be honest, I initially wasn't sure how interested I'd be in the class, as I'm more into American Lit. Luckily, I realized that this could be a good class to take before I go to London in the summer, as the readings will relate to a lot of what I'll see/read there. I really love learning about England, and prefer learning about it through literarture rather than a history textbook. I'm required to take three "historical lit classes," with one of them being before 1900, so this class knock one of those three classes out of the way. I start at 11:25 MWF, so I can still sleep in but not feel like I've wasted the whole day. Oh yeah, should I mention that I get to have another class with MY FAVORITE PROFESSOR EVER? That factor alone already makes me excited!

Despite this week being stressful with figuring out classes and having WAY too much to do, I still managed to have fun. Wednsday afternoon I attended a meeting for the Writers journal, a literary magazine that publishes poetry, short stories/essays, and photos, and we may even accept blogs and short plays this year. In Feburary, I'm going to help decide which submissions will go in the magazine. Last night my friends and I went to a "nacho crawl" where we got the different ingredients for nachos from each floor. Tonight was "kiddie night," where we watched Disney movies, played with Play-Doh, fingerpainted, and colored in coloring books. I had a lot of fun, and while I enjoy the freedom of being an adult, I really miss being a kid sometimes, especially when I have so much to do.

Registration Troubles ):

Despite being a sophomore who doesn't need many core classes, I thought registration would be a piece of cake this year. Not necessarily so, as abnormal psych filled up an hour before I could register. I'm not disappointed about not being able to take the class, as it's generally offered at least one semester a year. My problem is that not taking this class messes up my schedule. I had hoped to take musical theater workshop, but the days and times conflict with other psych and upper division electives.

At this point, I will have 3 hour classes Monday and Wednesday afternoons AND I wouldn't start at 4:10. While I dearly value the luxury of being able to sleep in, I'm afraid I won't get anything done. Also, I wouldn't have classes Fridays. This is a mixed blessing, as three day weekends sound awesome, yet am afraid I'll be bored. I guess not sure how I'll be able to handle three hour classes and having them spread out.

I'm also hoping to get into this marriage class, which is a "theological perspectives class." This class is taught by a sociology and theology professor, and I would get credit for both my upper division theology class and upper division class outside my major. Because of this class's popularity, I can't register online because I need a signature from one of the professors. Even though my advisor told me I wouldn't get in because seniors go for it (they register first), there are still 34 spots available. So I may be a lucky one who can get in as a sophomore, having taken world religions in the spring and am currently taking Bib Trad.

So far, I am lucky to be able to get into both of the English classes and fine arts section I wanted. The English classes I'll be taking are literary studies and multi ethnic lit. Despite the fact that I'm going to have to get up at 8:10 and the material won't be the most interesting, the professor is supposed to be VERY energetic, so hopefully his energy will make this class bearable. My multi ethnic lit class should be interesting. I haven't had either of these English professors yet, and I have heard that they're hard graders. This shouldn't kill me--if anything, it should make me a better writer. Fine arts should also be fun. My friend had the professor last fall and really liked him, not to mention an easy class and cool field trips (plays, art museum, concerts anyone?)

On the bright side, I'm meeting with my fantastic advisor tomorrow, and he'll help me figure out what I should do. I feel so lucky to have someone as wonderful as Herman to assure me that everything will be fine and work out.

Now, off too bed as tomorrow will be a new day...(: