Approaching Senior Year

I recently completed registration for Fall 2013, the first semester of my last year at Susquehanna. Though facing senior year is terrifying and I am not at all ready for my college experience to end, I’m also excited for next year as well.

In the fall, I’ll be taking my Senior Writing Portfolio course, which is a course all Creative Writing majors must take. It’ll be interesting to have the opportunity to look at how I’ve changed as a writer and what I’ve accomplished writing-wise over my college career.  I’ll also be taking an advanced writing course. I was torn between Advanced Poetry in the fall and Advanced Fiction: Novel in the spring, but I’ve ultimately decided on Advanced Poetry. I feel like my poetry has grown much more while at Susquehanna than my fiction and that taking another poetry course will be more fruitful in developing my skills as a writer.

I will also be finishing up my requirements for the Religion major in the fall semester. It’s so strange to think about how this major is not something I had ever intended on pursuing when I entered college, considering how much I’ve enjoyed it and gained from it. My two classes left to take are actually 100-level courses. Because I didn’t plan on taking the major initially, I ended up taking a lot of upper-level classes that interested me before taking introductory courses. The two courses will be Intro to Judaism and Faiths and Values.

Beyond these courses for my majors, I still have some Central Curriculum requirements to complete. The Central Curriculum requires certain classes in different areas to ensure a well-rounded liberal arts education. One of the requirements is “Analytical Thought,” which typically means some sort of math course. I’ll admit that has been something I’ve been delaying purely because I don’t really enjoy math.  I couldn’t run away from it forever, though, so I’ll finally be taking Intro to Statistics.

During the Spring, I’ll be doing a Capstone project (a final project) for my Religion major. Because I’m a double major this isn’t technically required, but I’m really interested in undertaking a Religion project. I’ve already talked to my Religion major advisor who’s agreed to advise my independent project as well. Right now I’m considering doing something on attitudes towards and alternatives to dating in some subsets of Christian culture—specifically the idea of “courtship”—and analyzing how people apply the Bible, which was written in a culture so far off from any of our romantic norms, to present-day relationships. I’m really excited about this project. Over break I already started compiling a reading list for it, even though I have much more immediate work that needs to be done.

I’ll also be finishing off my final Central Curriculum requirement, an “Oral Intensive” course. I thought I was going to have to take Public Speaking, but I found out that Modern Philosophy also counts towards this requirement. I think that should be really interesting since I haven’t taken a philosophy course yet at SU, even though I’m really intrigued by the subject.  

I’ll also be completing some of the requirements for the Honors program, taking an English class called Forms of Writing to fulfill my final Creative Writing requirement, and taking the Religion department’s New Testament class for fun.

Next year is definitely bound to be busy, but I think there will be some interesting academic highlights within all that work!

Another thing I’ve had to arrange for senior year is housing. As I’m writing this, two friends and I are still awaiting word on our application for a a 3-person townhouse in 18^th Street Commons, Susquehanna’s newest housing development. It’s technically on-campus housing but is designed to have a more off-campus feel.  I really hope we get a space at one of these townhouses.

Both my freshman and sophomore years, it felt strange planning for the next year because time had gone so fast. It has definitely felt that way again this year, but now it’s even stranger since I’m entering my final year as a Susquehanna student.  It’s easy to jump ahead of myself and start wailing about how I don’t want to graduate, this is too soon, etc., that I sometimes forget I do have a whole year left here. Maybe it’ll be the best one yet.

Scheduling for Sophomore Year!

Here at SU, we're already gearing up for fall 2011.  Students' mailboxes were recently filled with papers of all the classes offered not only next semester, but spring as well; this way students can plan their entire 2011-2012 academic year.  I've already endeavored to make a tentative schedule. 

Before I register for my classes, I need to get my minor declared, Religion, so I can have a better chance of getting into the religion courses I want.  Declaring a minor basically consists of getting a form and having your advisor and the head of the minor's department sign a piece of paper.

Deciding on courses can be somewhat tricky.  There are a lot of balls up in the air, so to speak. Requirements for one's major.  Requirements for a minor.  Requirements for the Central Curriculum, or what other schools might term general ed. classes.  This is why the degree audit is particularly helpful.  A degree audit basically tells you what requirements you have fulfilled (or are currently working towards fulfilling) and what you still have left to do; it also lists the courses that apply to each requirement.  Many courses knock out multiple requirements so there's a certain amount of strategy involved in planning a schedule that is, in some regards, efficient as well as interesting for yourself. 

For the fall, I plan on taking a course for my Honors program, probably Thought & the Natural Sciences, which explores the history and philosophy of science. This would also take care of my science class.  Each SU student needs to take one science with a lab component; admittedly, this fills with me some dread.  Also for the Honors program, I need to do a Sophomore Essay, which could happen in the fall or spring depending on the availability of faculty sponsors.  I've already talked about my idea--representation of faith in young adult literature and whether it adequately addresses the spiritual needs of teens--and now I just need to find a faculty member who is interested in my idea and has a helpful expertise, as well as the time to work with me. Dr. Winans, who conducts the Sophomore Essay class, has already been great with suggesting some names to me.

In the fall, I also want to take English Writing & Grammar and Intermediate Fiction.  Both of these go towards my Creative Writing major.  I'm especially psyched to get back to fiction. My other course would be The Hebrew Bible, which contributes to more than one Central Curriculum requirement, my Honors minor, and my Religion  minor.  That's getting a lot out of one class so I suppose you could say that's a strategic choice, but I also am very much interested in the subject matter.

It's very strange to me that I already have Spring 2012 planned out as well--though very, very tentatively.  Right now, that schedule would consist of Aesthetics & Interpretation, a course required for Creative Writing majors that I've heard is quite difficult, Introduction to Poetry, Intro to Asian Religions, and...okay, well one other class that is totally slipping my mind right now.   

It feels good to have these ideas of what next year will be like.  I'm sure it'll feel even better once my fall schedule is actually settled!

Collaboration

I will admit that some part of me, a rather dominant part, wished group work would be over by the time I got to college, but I've learned that's not necessarily the case.  I'm not too huge of a fan of group work for a variety of reasons.  I have a very stereotypical writer personality in that I enjoy working independently and am somewhat introverted, and I can also be a bit controlling.  I also tended to be the person who got stuck with most of the work.  It'll be interesting, with group projects coming up this semester, to see how any of that differs in college.     

One requirement of the Central Curriculum is a Team Intensive Course.  I'm happy I fulfilled this in my first semester through Intro to Fiction, which is team intensive due to its workshop focus.  However, that doesn't mean the rest of my classes will suddenly stop using collaboration.

In my Thought & Civilization: Romantic Novels class, I am presenting a project today that we had to do in pairs. Fortunately, I was able to pair up with my friend Lindsey.  It has actually been nice doing this together because we were able to split up the work whereas having this all due myself might have sent me into a state of complete chaos.  I think--or hope--we will be able to complement each other well as we present later today.  

I have two big upcoming group projects as well, one in Principles of Sociology and the other in Applied Biblical Ethics.  Both projects are actually somewhat similar.  In Principles of Sociology, we have to take a look at a social problem--through a sociological lens, of course.  For Applied Biblical Ethics, we'll be examining an ethical issue, um, in light of Biblical Ethics--surprise!  Both of these projects have to culminate in some sort of presentation, creative if possible.  I really hope that these projects go well and that my groups have good dynamics.

Study Abroad--Further Consideration

I spent a previous post considering my options for study abroad, but I’ve felt inclined to come back to the issue.  In one sense,this may be repetitive, but I think it also reflects reality.  It’s an issue that continues to come up in my thoughts and conversation among friends.

Previously, I considered Budapest or Prague, but new options seem to keep presenting themselves for more serious consideration.

For example, I hadn’t really considered the Netherlands, but now I’m looking at it as a very viable option, specifically Leiden.  The Netherlands seems like it would be a place of significantly different culture.   I would have to do some work on learning another language, Dutch.  The program I’m looking at has an intensive, two-week Dutch course upon arrival.  From the sounds of it, however, most people speak English. 

Language barriers have definitely been a consideration of mine.  Out of curiosity, as well hoping to stumble upon inspiration for my own blog, I’ve examined blogs of Susquehanna study away students.  These are linked to from the SU website.  While all the experiences seem positive, I’ll have to admit I was scared off some locations by hearing how overwhelming the language barriers are.  Taking that chance to leave Susquehanna for a whole semester will be overwhelming enough without struggling so much in my interactions.

Even with so many exciting options, there’s this nagging fear of going away for a semester.  It makes me wonder if I really should be looking at short programs more carefully.  I don’t want to miss what’s going on at SU!  Though I guess it’s not really missing as much as it is exchanging.  While I may not get a semester’s worth of Selinsgrove memories with my friends here, I will get a semester of memories elsewhere.

A semester of European memories.  A semester of memories in the Netherlands, perhaps. 

Where to GO? Looking at Study Abroad Options

A unique part of Susquehanna’s Central Curriculum is the Cross-Cultural Experience requirement, which is generally fulfilled through a semester or a few weeks abroad.  In Susquehanna lingo, these are called GO long programs and GO short programs.  GO stands for Global Opportunities.

I thought it might be interesting to record how I might be interested in fulfilling this requirement as a freshman and see if any of these are what I end up doing later on in my SU career.  Right now, I am leaning towards going away for a full semester, though shorter, service-oriented trips have also intrigued me.  One of the things I must keep in mind when choosing a location is affordability.  I should also consider that I might not have the chance—or quite such a convenient chance, at least—to travel in the future as I do now as a college student.   My older brother often cites not doing a semester abroad as one of his college regrets.  Right now, however, the thought of going away for a semester is frightening, especially when I’m still adjusting to life here. 

One program that’s listed as a “low-cost semester program” is in Budapest, Hungary.  I really would like to go someplace in Europe, and the idea of going somewhere in Central Europe, rather than more typical destinations like Paris or London, is intriguing.   What I also like about the possibility of studying abroad in Europe is that you can basically get to anywhere else in Europe once you’re there. 

However, when people ask me where I might want to go, my usual answer is Prague.  The city in the Czech Republic has somehow captured my imagination, though I need to do much more research on it.  I suppose it’s really a superficial fascination—I’m just struck by the beautiful pictures I’ve seen of it.  I also find the course options a bit more intriguing than those in Budapest; they include Script Analysis, Czech Short Stories, East European Cinema, and Contemporary Czech Culture: Alternative Literature, Music, and Lifestyles.  Still, it’s more expensive than Budapest and a bigger program. 

Then I start wondering if it’s a mistake to focus on Europe.  Places like Stellenbosch, South Africa are also plenty intriguing, as are schools in New Zealand. 

A different option altogether would be doing the Washington, D.C. Internship Semester.  It would be affordable and wouldn’t provide much of a culture shock, but it would still provide me with an experience of city living.  It would also provide internship experience.  I would classify it as one of my more practical options.   

Another issue with studying abroad is where I’d like to stay: in a homestay, apartment, or a dormitory.  I have heard homestays provide a more authentic experience, but I’d already be out of my comfort zone enough; immersing myself in a family of another culture might be too immersive.

All in all, there’s an awful lot to consider.  As someone who seems to relish opportunities to stress out, this requirement can be a source of worry.  When I actually get to have this cross cultural experience, though, I think I’ll have a much different perspective. 

   

Catching Up: The Hodgepodge Post

Excuse this post for being a hodgepodge of things, but I wanted to catch this blog up on what’s been happening lately for me at SU.

One of the major things for me and the rest of my freshmen friends right now is registration (which happens to end today).  This was our first time picking our own classes at college and then navigating the registration process online.  I’ll admit to being pretty excited, especially about seeing which classes would be offered next semester.  The classes came out online and in a newspaper supplement students received in their mailboxes. My degree audit in tow (a degree audit shows you what requirements you still have left for your degree, including requirements for your major and Central Curriculum requirements), I began picking out classes.  After some contemplation about how many courses I should take, whether I wanted to take any courses for the Editing & Publishing minor I’m thinking of declaring, how I felt about night classes, etc., I came up with the following courses: Introduction to Creative Nonfiction, Applied Biblical Ethics, Principles of Sociology, and Thought & Civilization.  Two would be on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the other two on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  

Whether I’ll get into those classes will not be discovered until a later date, however.

I also didn’t get to share what my first Halloween at Susquehanna was like.  I had meant to be Wendy, to match a friend dressed as Peter Pan, but I had procrastinated getting a costume.  My friend Lindsey and I walked into town on the Saturday of Halloween weekend, hoping I could buy and piece together something from a thrift store.  Alas, we had slept in too late and the store was closed.  In the end, I simply went as a hippie, wearing a tye-dye T-shirt my parents had bought for me, my somewhat tattered, bell bottom-y jeans, and a scarf from Lindsey as a headband.  That Saturday we went to the TRAX Halloween party and had a lot of fun.  Unfortunately, actual Halloween, which fell on a Sunday, was spent doing schoolwork.  

This past weekend I went on the InterVarsity Fall Conference, which was at Refreshing Mountain Camp near Lancaster.  InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is one of the religious life organizations on campus that I’m really happy to have gotten involved in early during my college career.  Though I love SU, getting off campus for a short period is always great.  I got to spend time with two friends on my floor in Hass and got to know other people from IV a bit better.  Of course, I also got to experience plenty of prayer and worship.

When we got back on Sunday, I hosted an overnight student who’s interested in Creative Writing and Journalism.  I tried to give her the inside scoop on Susquehanna life.  I’m hoping she had a good experience here and that I conveyed all SU has to offer.

As far as academics go, I recently had a workshop in Intro to Fiction that went really well.  I just had my conference with Dr. Bailey today to discuss my story (which is probably going to be one of the longest stories of the bunch for the second time; my inner novelist just isn’t allowing anything under 10 pages).   Soon enough, my dorm room will be turning into Rewrite Central.   In my Thought class, which I take for the Honors Program, I’ll be leading my class in discussion on a section of The Persepolis next Monday, a fascinating memoir told in graphic novel form.  Of course, I’ve also endured exams since last writing, but that’s not nearly as exciting.

All in all, things at Susquehanna are going well, chugging down that track to Thanksgiving break.