Hey all! Well, here I sit in my dorm room in Iowa City. I've had an amazing, frightening, interesting, exhausting, and exhilarating few days since moving in four short days ago.
Let's start with the basics:
1. My dorm room is awesome. We essentially have a triple for only two people, meaning we have three closets. For those of you who know me well, you can only imagine how excited this makes me. My roommate and I were going to share the extra closet of course, but she didn't have anything to put in it so I sure as heck was able to fill it up! (My roommate is also great!)
2. I've already been to class! Yes, that's right. The same day I moved in I was sitting in class that afternoon for Honor's Primetime. I earned one semester hour of honors credit by participating in a three day intensive workshop. My unit was "Destination Midwest: Immigration and Migration"and it was fascinating. I'm so glad I already have had such a positive in-class experience! I even met a good friend, Emily.
3. I've already completed a presentation! (IN FRONT OF 300+ people) Yay Global Ed! Thanks to you GE, I had no problem speaking in front of the entire group of Honors students on behalf of the "Destination Midwest" group. I comfortably represented my group of 25 students during our presentation with 3 of my new peers :)
4. Tomorrow is the first Service Saturday! I can't wait to get involved with outreach on campus. Tomorrow morning we will make cards for the children's hospital in Iowa City. Thanks to a rather harsh quote I recently found, I'm more motivated to help others than ever. "Children die every day because millions of us tell ourselves that caring is just as good as doing. It's an internal mechanism controlled by the lazy part of your brain to keep you from actually doing work." Challenge yourself to get out there and do some good for those of us we "care" so much about.
5. Tonight I went inside Kinnick Stadium for the first time. Not only did I go inside, but I stood on the field to form the giant block "I" with my peers for the next four years. I also hugged our adorable mascot Hurkey and got my first picture with him. I already feel the Hawkeye pride growing inside me :)
6. I've rode the buses enough that I'm starting to feel comfortable with them. With my sense of direction, this is a HUGE accomplishment.
Clearly it has been an outstanding, memorable few days. I'm so happy with my school decision, and am eager to really begin my life as an Iowa Hawkeye. Many of my doubts have drifted away over the past few days, but some still remain. My first ounce of homesickness kicked in today. Mainly because back home Jackie, my life long dance teacher got married. I'm so excited for her and would have loved to be there to celebrate the momentous occasion. I also have a sense of loneliness as I am surrounded by 5,000 other students and have yet to make many friends that I have really connected with. I have undeniably met lots of awesome people and made some friends, but not many that I can foresee myself being friends with for a long time. I'm sure I will make lots of friends down the road, but for now I'm missing my friends and family back home. Hopefully when classes start I will meet some awesome people who share my driven priorities.
Let's all hope the unfamiliar faces turn into the faces of new friends in the next few weeks for me. For now it's time to embrace everything Freshman year has to offer. Keep following my journey here :) Until next time, goodnight Iowa City!
Friday, August 23, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
They say it doesn't hit you on your last day of high school. They say it doesn't hit you during your commencement ceremony. They say it doesn't hit you at your graduation party. They say it doesn't hit you on your drive to school. Well, so far they are right.
They say it finally hits you when you're sitting in your dorm your first night, realizing that this is your new life. Let's see if they are right. It's move-in day!!!
And for me it's the first day of classes eeekk.
Can't wait to see how my room comes together and meet my roommate! 😁
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Friday, August 16, 2013
Why am I not nervous?
You would think I would be crying under my covers by now. I leave for college tomorrow...
I am moving to a new state, going to school without knowing ANYONE, and leaving my family and friends. Yet here I am a little un-phased. It seems I can't wrap my mind around the changes coming my way
The many things I'm going to miss
I undoubtedly will miss my family, friends, and dance studio oodles when I am in college. There are also a few things of less significance that I am very sad to be leaving. The many luxuries of home that I will miss include:
1. Showering without flip flops
2. My big, comfy, full sized bed
3. Having privacy
4. My two, spacious closets
5. My KITTY <33
6. An easily accessible iron
7. Driving (yes, I will really miss the van)
8. A dishwasher
9. Reliable wifi
10. McDonald's coffee
11. Not having to wait for a washing machine
12. The Costco snacks in my basement
13. Coming home from school & having dinner prepared for me, sitting on the table
14. An endless supply of cold medicine when I get sick
15. Having a Michigan address :(
16. Sharing clothes with my mom and stealing Nickie's camis
17. Protein shakes
Maybe it's just me but doesn't it sound like I'm traveling back in time to the Stone Age?! Wish me luck!
Sunday, August 11, 2013
I'm Baaaaaaccckkkk
Hey Blogger! Long time no see. Well I'm back and we will see how long this lasts. This is a very exciting time in my life so why not blog about it? Even if no one else reads my blogs, I will appreciate these a few years down the road. Reading about my apprehension for college, having a roommate, and living away from home should be fun. Eeeek...
I write this posts from a stool in my kitchen. Scary enough, ONE WEEK from today I will not be living at home any longer. In fact, I will be living in a residence hall at the University of Iowa. For the first time in my life I will be out in the world on my own. I have my concerns, but it's time to put on my big girl panties and get ready for all that the world has to throw at me. I will stand with my catcher's mitt ready to grasp the challenges and ready to grow from the new experiences.
I've often found myself wondering if going out of state for college was a good decision. After all, I love the great state of Michigan so why was I so anxious to leave? I guess my point still stands that if I don't leave now, I never will. That doesn't mean I will never return to Michigan. In fact, I have full intentions of moving back to Michigan after school, but college is the time to live with no restrictions, to explore, and to be free so I am going to take full advantage of it. The great state of Iowa has no idea who is coming for it. Look out Iowa City... You have met your match!
Well those are all of my late-night thoughts for now. You can count on the next few posts being related to college as well! Bear with me, this is a lot of change for me. Until then, go Hawks!
I write this posts from a stool in my kitchen. Scary enough, ONE WEEK from today I will not be living at home any longer. In fact, I will be living in a residence hall at the University of Iowa. For the first time in my life I will be out in the world on my own. I have my concerns, but it's time to put on my big girl panties and get ready for all that the world has to throw at me. I will stand with my catcher's mitt ready to grasp the challenges and ready to grow from the new experiences.
I've often found myself wondering if going out of state for college was a good decision. After all, I love the great state of Michigan so why was I so anxious to leave? I guess my point still stands that if I don't leave now, I never will. That doesn't mean I will never return to Michigan. In fact, I have full intentions of moving back to Michigan after school, but college is the time to live with no restrictions, to explore, and to be free so I am going to take full advantage of it. The great state of Iowa has no idea who is coming for it. Look out Iowa City... You have met your match!
Well those are all of my late-night thoughts for now. You can count on the next few posts being related to college as well! Bear with me, this is a lot of change for me. Until then, go Hawks!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Semester Numero Uno
One thing I’ve learned this semester is how to improve my thesis statement. You have taught us that removing clutter makes the statement straight forward and easier to comprehend. I’ve learned that the whole paper flows better when your opinion is clearly stated from the beginning and the reader knows what side of the argument you’re on. Take for example the paper we wrote about American culture. My thesis statement was, “No, America’s culture is not declining.” It is straight to the point and you know exactly how I feel about the topic. Another thesis I wrote that I think has improved this semester is from the paper we wrote about nuclear weapons. According to your comments you also liked this thesis. I wrote, “The United States needs to use a “hands-off” policy when it comes to dealing with other countries, specifically Iran, and their nuclear weapons.” I liked this one because it shared enough information with the reader so they knew what to expect in the paper including the country and weapons, but it also was not cluttered and didn’t give away more than it should have, as to what to expect in the article.
I have learned that Q.C.V.I.’s are a system of very helpful strategies that can help you break down complex literature. Q.C.V.I’s, also known as questions, connections, vocabulary, and important/interesting facts help you to understand what the writer is actually saying instead of just reading through the piece and not paying attention to detail or other small parts of the story. Now when I have to read something that is above my reading level and difficult for me I use these strategies. Questions help you to put yourself in the place of the characters from the story so you better understand what they’re going through. Connections help clear up situations because when you relate them to yourself it is easier to be familiar with what is going on in the story. Vocabulary, especially when they use huge words that I’ve never heard of before, forces me to get a dictionary and actually look up the word. When there are many difficult words in a piece and you just skip them, you often end up losing the overall meaning of the piece. And finally, important/interesting facts really engage you in the piece so you are actually looking through to find things that you like about the authors writing and appeal to your interests.
The three cultural events I have done so far this year have already led me to learn about three new cultures I was unfamiliar with. Not only have I learned about Mexican mummies, an Italian wedding, and people from the Middle Ages at the Renaissance festival, I have also learned how to improve my writing and public speaking skills. When I gave my speech this semester I really talked through it a lot with my dad. Together we thought of way to eliminate nervous habits such as saying, “uhm” and playing with my hair. Instead I focused on enunciating my words and looking at my audience instead of reading straight from my note cards.
Blogging has taught me a new form of writing that is a little more laid-back and casual compared to our usual formal papers we write. Blogging has allowed me to expand on my creative, poetic side when we write free blogs. Such as when I wrote a free blog about dance, “There is nothing like the feeling of being on stage. You're announced, you walk on, you pose, and then the lights come on and you simply lose yourself in the dance. The stage is the one place where I feel safe. Although I'm being judged it just feels so natural. I get in the zone and not a problem in the world could affect me. I forget about past problems, I don’t think about what could go wrong; I just dance from the bottom of my soul and leave my heart on the stage.” In this blog I really let out my feelings and expressed how strong of a passion I have for being on stage and I hope that came across to the reader.
Finally I have learned how to use pathos and ethos in my writing. Before this year I had never even heard of either of these things and now I try to incorporate them into all my writing. Pathos and ethos both help to establish trust, especially when trying to convince someone that what you are saying is valuable information. For example our letter to the United Nations as Paul Rusesabagina; we wanted to establish ethos so the letter would be more personal and not just another complaint. In my letter I wrote, “I am Paul Rusesabagina, the manager of a 4 star hotel, the Mille Collines which is currently housing over 1,000 refugees suffering from the Rwandan genocide.” In that opening sentence I included being the manager of a 4 star hotel so I would sound qualified, professional and trustworthy, along with housing over 1,000 refugees because that shows just how bad the situation really was for the people of Rwanda.
I have learned that Q.C.V.I.’s are a system of very helpful strategies that can help you break down complex literature. Q.C.V.I’s, also known as questions, connections, vocabulary, and important/interesting facts help you to understand what the writer is actually saying instead of just reading through the piece and not paying attention to detail or other small parts of the story. Now when I have to read something that is above my reading level and difficult for me I use these strategies. Questions help you to put yourself in the place of the characters from the story so you better understand what they’re going through. Connections help clear up situations because when you relate them to yourself it is easier to be familiar with what is going on in the story. Vocabulary, especially when they use huge words that I’ve never heard of before, forces me to get a dictionary and actually look up the word. When there are many difficult words in a piece and you just skip them, you often end up losing the overall meaning of the piece. And finally, important/interesting facts really engage you in the piece so you are actually looking through to find things that you like about the authors writing and appeal to your interests.
The three cultural events I have done so far this year have already led me to learn about three new cultures I was unfamiliar with. Not only have I learned about Mexican mummies, an Italian wedding, and people from the Middle Ages at the Renaissance festival, I have also learned how to improve my writing and public speaking skills. When I gave my speech this semester I really talked through it a lot with my dad. Together we thought of way to eliminate nervous habits such as saying, “uhm” and playing with my hair. Instead I focused on enunciating my words and looking at my audience instead of reading straight from my note cards.
Blogging has taught me a new form of writing that is a little more laid-back and casual compared to our usual formal papers we write. Blogging has allowed me to expand on my creative, poetic side when we write free blogs. Such as when I wrote a free blog about dance, “There is nothing like the feeling of being on stage. You're announced, you walk on, you pose, and then the lights come on and you simply lose yourself in the dance. The stage is the one place where I feel safe. Although I'm being judged it just feels so natural. I get in the zone and not a problem in the world could affect me. I forget about past problems, I don’t think about what could go wrong; I just dance from the bottom of my soul and leave my heart on the stage.” In this blog I really let out my feelings and expressed how strong of a passion I have for being on stage and I hope that came across to the reader.
Finally I have learned how to use pathos and ethos in my writing. Before this year I had never even heard of either of these things and now I try to incorporate them into all my writing. Pathos and ethos both help to establish trust, especially when trying to convince someone that what you are saying is valuable information. For example our letter to the United Nations as Paul Rusesabagina; we wanted to establish ethos so the letter would be more personal and not just another complaint. In my letter I wrote, “I am Paul Rusesabagina, the manager of a 4 star hotel, the Mille Collines which is currently housing over 1,000 refugees suffering from the Rwandan genocide.” In that opening sentence I included being the manager of a 4 star hotel so I would sound qualified, professional and trustworthy, along with housing over 1,000 refugees because that shows just how bad the situation really was for the people of Rwanda.
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