A Boardwalk, A Band, And More

This weekend--my first full weekend back at school--was filled with a lot of fun activity with friends. I'll admit that the beginning of my Saturday was quite lazy, but hey, it's nice to sleep in after the first week of classes!

The day picked up when I went to the opening of the art exhibit Up Routed For with two of my friends. First, we heard the artist talk about her work. Then we were able to look at it all in the gallery. I'm far from an art expert, but the exhibit seemed fun and unique to me. It featured video scuplture, a medium that I wasn't very used to seeing. One of my favorite things, at least in terms of experience, was the boardwalk that we were encouraged to walk on. It incorporated a video of the word "foreigner" being written in sand. Another fun video sculpture was called "Jacob's Ladder;" it was a tower of televisions playing video of escalators going up. There was also some really great photography that included houses and bridges made of postcards set against architectural backdrops.

Later that night, I met with those same friends to head over to TRAX, where the band Kingsfoil played a show. They had performed as an opening act at the fall semester's Neon Trees concert which I hadn't been able to attend, so this was my first time seeing them. They were good and super nice when we met them. Overall, it was a lot of fun! After they finished playing, TRAX kept playing music so we stuck around to dance.

Sunday was also a busy day. It started out with a chapel service honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. The music was especially great. Some of his favorite hymns had been chosen for the service. Afterwards, I had a long brunch with friends; Sunday brunch is one of my favorite meals of the week. Later that day, I helped my friend Karen cook dinner for a young adult service we go to at the Selinsgrove Church of the Nazarene. I am not much of a cook, but I was happy to help; the meal ended up being delicous. That night, friends and I met in the student center lobby to have a homework party.

Now the school week has started, and I am still feeling really great about my classes! My religion classes, I think, are going to be the most interesting this semester. I feel as if I'm learning a ton in Intro to Asian Religions. Right now we're learning about Hinduism, which I knew a bit about from World History classes; however, this class is totally expanding my understanding. I am also completely interested in my Luther: Life and Thought course.

So far, this semester has been off to a great start, and I'm hoping things continue that way!

The Happy Kind

It’s the second day of classes, and I still feel quite optimistic about this semester. This schedule is more tailored to my interests than any other semester. All four of my courses apply to my two majors. Aesthetics and Interpretation and Intro to Poetry go toward Creative Writing, while Intro to Asian Religions and Luther: Life and Thought obviously go toward Religion.

So far, I’ve liked all the classes I’ve had. The only thing left to experience is my Intro to Poetry class. That class is as night class, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I haven’t had any night classes yet so it’ll be interesting to see how I like that. I’m guessing it’ll be good that, out of all classes to have at night, I have poetry—something creative that I’m interested in, and something that will often be interactive because it’s a workshop course. One of the big problems I’ve heard from those who have taken night classes is that it’s difficult to pay attention, especially towards the end of class and especially if the subject matter doesn’t interest you.

Other than that, I’m still in that period of adjusting back to school life. I think I’ll feel like things are back to normal once the activities I’m involved in restart. Beyond changing classes, there are a few other differences between this semester and the last. Some people I know have gone abroad this semester, while other people have returned. Our dorm got new mattresses which I’m still getting used to as I fall asleep, though when I wake up it feels perfectly comfortable (though, then, getting up and going to class is the alternative). Speaking of my room, it’s, as always, in a bit of disarray—this time from half-unpacked bags strewn all over my floor; I mean, I’ll get to them eventually. I’m also still working out a lunch routine since last semester I had pretty standard days of who I ate with and when.

Mostly, though, being back at school requires a completely different mindset from over winter break. I spent 30 plus hours at work each week at home, hanging up clothing at a thrift store—hard work, but not mentally challenging. The rest of my time I spent relaxing and watching a lot of television—some Parks and Recreation on DVD with my brother, and some Friday Night Lights, one of my new favorite shows, on Netflix on my own.  Though I saw my friends a few times over break, generally it was a break from a lot of social activity—and I’m definitely ready for that break to be over!

Overall, this week is a week of adjusting, but so far, it’s proving to be the happy kind.

And We're Back!

I am ecstatic to be back on SU's campus for the latter half of my sophomore year. All I seem to do on this blog is marvel at the passage of time, but it really is so hard for me to believe that it's my fourth semester here. Winter break, about a month long, gave me plenty of time to miss school and my friends here--especially since I spent most of it working.

This semester I am looking forward to continuing activities with coed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. For Alpha Phi Omega this semester, I will be having a "Little," which is a pledge who you mentor through the pledging process. I have no idea who my "Little" will be, but I am excited to have one! I'll also be getting to work on my Scholar's House project--a novel and a blog. The blog, about faith and writing, can now be found here, if you're interested. I really need to buckle down, in terms of the novel draft, and get things done.

I'm  rather optimistic about my classes this semester, as well. I'll be taking Intro to Asian Religions, Aesthetics & Interpretation, Luther: Life & Thought, and Intro to Poetry. I am most excited for Intro to Poetry since I've been in somewhat of a poetry phase lately. So far, I've already had Intro to Asian Religions and Aesthetics & Interpretation. Both of the classes left great impressions.

All in all, I'm excited for what this semester has in store. Hopefully, I'll keep a great record of it here!

Group Projects

In my Intermediate Fiction class, I just completed something I haven't done in any of my other writing courses--a group project. Like the rest of my writing courses, Intermediate Fiction is divided between workshopping people in the class and reading published works. Each group in our class is leading the discussion on two authors. Today, my group had to lead conversation and activity around two David Foster Wallace short stories. I was a little bit worried that I wouldn't contribute enough, because I wasn't leading a section on my own, but I think I was able to ask some interesting questions as well as respond to some of the questions my other group members raised. What I liked about this group project was that it was not nearly as stressful as many I've done!

My Thought & The Natural Sciences course also relies on group projects. For tomorrow, we need to turni n the next stage of our end-of-unit group project. Our professor gave us a lot of freedom as to the topic and medium of our projects. My team ended up choosing to do vlogs, or video blogs, of different scientists involved in aviation, in order to convey biographical information about these scientists as well as scientific concepts. I am playing Daniel Bernoulli. Aviation was before his time, but the Bernoulli principle became very important in flight. Our last due date we all turned in outlines of our research. Tonight I need to write my video script so I can hand that in. The next stage will be actually filming my video, which will be interesting--I feel like I need to find a good costume!

For Friday we also have to come up with an idea for an experiment we could conduct as a team. We're still in the brainstorming stage, but we are leaning towards something to do with psychology.

Usually, I'm very wary of group projects, but for both these classes, I've had good group members. I have yet to really feel my normal group project stress. I hope that I can continue warding that off as our group begins a new project in science.

Short Shorts--Being Challenged As A Writer

When it comes to writing, I would identify myself as a novelist. I love to write longer pieces and can find the idea of writing fewer pages to be stifling. I tend to turn in lengthier pieces than many of my classmates--and those pieces still often beg for more pages. This has been a challenge since both Intro to Fiction and Intermediate Fiction courses are focused on short stories.

In Intermediate Fiction, my tendencies are challenged even more by "short short" assignments. Short shorts can be no more than four, double-spaced pages long. And yet they have to contain so much--or at least, contain very little done very well. Rather than having full-scale workshops, where the entire classes discusses the piece, we break into groups of four people and go over each person's work more informally.

I used my first short short as a chance to experiment. The experiment failed--at least judging by the feedback I received.

Today I have to e-mail out my newest short short to a different small group of students. This piece is a bit more conventional--also, I'm hoping, a bit better. I am both excited and nervous about hearing their feedback. I feel as if I understood short shorts more when writing this one. In my previous short short, I crammed in a lot of different scenes but this piece is more focused on a particular moment.

While I don't see myself abandoning my novelist aspirations to crank out short short anthologies, I definitely see that I'm being stretched as a writer by these activities--and surprisingly enough, I've actually enjoyed writing these short shorts, even if they may not be my best work.

Class Overview

Since I’m now about three weeks through this first semester, I figure I’ve had enough time in my classes to give an overview of them and my thoughts on them so far. 

Sophomore Essay does not meet every week, though we’ll start getting together frequently later in the semester to do practice presentations. Right now, everyone is working on their sophomore essays independently and meeting with their advisers as needed. As a part of the Sophomore Essay class, each student has a meeting with university librarian Kathleen Dalton. Mine was this Monday. She definitely helped me find databases and some articles to use in my essay. I desperately need to carve out a chunk of time this weekend to dive into my research and map out my first draft which is due in the beginning of October.

English Writing & Grammar is a course I have on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. So far it seems to be a lot that I know already. We have a paper coming up soon, and we have some freedom to choose our focus. In mine, I want to analyze a Skype chatroom I have with some of my friends at Susquehanna.

My other Monday/Wednesday/Friday course is Thought & the Natural Sciences, which includes a lab. I’ll admit that this course makes me the most nervous. I am not the best at hands-on learning or even understanding scientific concepts. Thankfully, this course fulfills the scientific requirement in the Central Curriculum once and for all. A lab we just completed was designing and shooting off a rocket. My lab team, the Chinchillas, had two successful launches. Unfortunately, this success was accompanied with sunburn. 

Tuesday and Thursday mornings I have Intermediate Fiction. I’ve already had my first short story workshopped, and yesterday in class we got into small groups to discuss each other’s short-short (4 pages or less) fiction. This is one of my favorite courses, and it’s got me back to that mindset where I just want to write all the time—rather than do other, more unpleasant homework.

In the afternoons I have The Hebrew Bible, which is very interesting and will go towards my Religion and  Honors Program minors. So far we’ve learned about the geography, storyline, translation issues, and reading methods of the Hebrew Bible, and we’ve started a unit on identity, looking at the ambiguity of Moses and the makeup of the biblical family. As someone who is involved in religious life, it is interesting and enriching to look at religion and a part of the Bible from an academic perspective. I had Dr. Bohmbach, the professor of this course, for another class last year, Applied Biblical Ethics, which I really enjoyed. 

Mostly these courses just mean a lot of reading. Some of it is very interesting. Some of it...not so much. But I suppose that's college!   

The Comfort Zone

During my first week back, I discovered that starting freshman year and starting sophomore year are two very different beasts.

One of the main differences is workload. During the beginning of my first semester last year, I remember not having that much work to do; intentional or not, it felt as if I was being eased into the academic experience of college. This gave me a lot of free time in the evenings to spend with friends.  So far I’ve managed to spend a lot of time with my friends, but to do so, at least on week nights, I’m usually putting off homework.

It’s also quite different to come in already involved. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship was a constant of my freshman year. Our first large-group meeting was on Thursday. Last year, I probably had some trepidation as I attended the first meeting of the year—being somewhat socially awkward and nervous about finding my place in that group of people, or more likely, just surviving the night.  As a sophomore I returned to something familiar and was able to catch up with friends.

My attitude in general is very different this year. As a freshman, things are completely new. The start of the year is very much about making friends and meeting new people. In a way, everything is in flux—to be determined. As a sophomore I may have power to change my course, but I also have established friendships. Making new friends is still a goal, but it’s certainly not as desperate of one as it was last year. Therefore, things don’t seem as high stakes, and I’m free from those freshman year jitters.

Another difference: one of my friends has a car this year, and we can finally go off-campus without limiting ourselves to the free shuttle schedule. We’ve already made a few trips. Last Sunday we went to Target, Saturday we went to the mall, and this Sunday we headed to Wal-Mart and Weis.  The chance to get off-campus is always helpful. Last year, campus could feel a bit suffocating after long stretches without leaving. However, chances to get off campus also equal chances to lighten the wallet.

All in all, there’s been some more work and some big changes, but I also have a nice comfort zone. “Comfort zone” usually has a negative connotation. Throughout the year I’ll definitely need to go beyond this zone, breaking its boundaries, but I also think a comfort zone can be a nice haven and a good starting point.

Why I'm Here In The First Place

Already I have a feeling that this year is going to be a busy one.

After completing my Grammar and Science homework last night, I really felt the urge to begin writing my short story for Intermediate Fiction before I went to bed. I have to send out my story Friday so it was important to start on it. I was adapting an idea from something I had written a few pages of over the summer, but I didn’t use any of those pages. Instead I took inspiration from there, but started fresh. Though perhaps it was the looming deadline that motivated me initially, I think it was the writing that kept me staying up. The words were just flowing; whether or not they are any good, I will leave to be determined later.

Finally, homework complete and story started, I was ready to go to bed.

Once I was wrapped up in my blanket, my mind started racing. I had so many ideas for how I wanted the story to play out, and I could’ve cranked out many pages more—even finished a rough, rough draft of the story, if I had the time. Unfortunately I had reached my tired, loopy stage, and I had to wake up fairly early today. Some of those wispy ideas are surely lost, but I did manage to turn on the light, stumble over to my desk, and scribble out some prose. In the end, I didn’t get to bed until 2, which was later than I had anticipated.

Moments like those are a good reminder of why I’m studying at Susquehanna in the first place. While my schedule is going to be kept full with all of my classes, with my Sophomore Essay, with organizations and chapel services and friends, I came to college as writer. I came to college to study my passion. I came to college to hone my skills so I can better write stories that I love, stories that are in me, stories that I think should be told. It’s easy to forget about that when I’m caught up in other stresses.

Obviously I can’t neglect everything else to sit around my dorm room and pound the keys on my laptop all day. Nightly writing sessions at such a late hour, for the sake of my health and sanity, have to be a no-go.  Even if I don’t have all the time in the world, though, I do have to make the time, sometime—not only because my classes require it, but because I love it.

Starting Sophomore Year

After a summer of watching Doctor Who on Netflix, messaging college friends on Skype, and hanging up clothing for minimum wage at my local Salvation Army, I am back in Selinsgrove for my sophomore year.

And believe me, I’m excited about it.

I will definitely miss my family and friends from home, but while at home, I definitely missed Susquehanna.

Today marks my second day of classes. So far I’ve gone to Intermediate Fiction and a little later in the day will have Hebrew Bible. I’m very excited about Intermediate Fiction—so excited that I may have, a bit foolishly, chosen the first date for workshops. I need to have a 6 to 25 page story read to send out to my classmates by September 2^nd! Thankfully, I have a lot of ideas for it, and I have some things already written that I could use.

Yesterday I attended English Grammar and the Writing Process, Thought & The Natural Sciences, and Sophomore Essay. My sophomore essay is going to be something about the portrayal of faith and religion in YA novels. Over the summer I read about six books to give me some background on it. I think I am going to focus my idea by specifically examining how YA novels represent religious doubt and its consequences and analyzing the accuracy or the helpfulness of such representations. This essay needs to be 15-20 pages long, and the first draft is, I believe, due in October. I definitely need to get to work on it. 

Probably one of the biggest differences so far is living in a different dorm. My dorm this year is smaller and a bit quieter. I have a single, a room to myself, instead of sharing a double. It’s nice to have my own space, but it’s also a bit strange since, so far, I’ve associated college with having a roommate. Some of my friends from my freshman dorm, Hassinger, are living with me in this new dorm, the Scholar’s House, so that definitely helps with the transition.

I am excited about what this year has in store! I hope to grow as a person and a writer, form new friendships, and just have a lot of fun along the way. It’s strange no longer being a freshman and seeing all these new faces on campus that are—gasp—actually younger than me, but it’s also nice to return to a familiar place.

Even if I have to get used to walking everywhere from a whole different side of campus.  

Wrapping Up

Including today, I have 11 days left on campus. I have often pontificated on this blog about how fast everything seems and how the year is practically over already, probably in an exaggerated fashion. Now it’s a reality. The year is almost over, and these next 11 days are a matter of wrapping things up.

Tonight I’ll be completing my last paper assignments for two of my courses, Sociology and Applied Biblical Ethics. For Sociology, I am writing an ethnography, basically a study on a society, based off the movie Shawshank Redemption. For Applied Biblical Ethics, I have to write a reflection on our final action assignment, which was to take a 24-hour period to live more deliberately—to live “unplugged” from media technology. I failed pretty miserably at it.  After these are turned in, I’ll only have exams left for these two classes.

I have one 5 page paper left for my Romantic Novels course which I have until May 7^th to write.  The biggest thing left to do is my portfolio for Intro to Nonfiction. Last semester I was very intense about my fiction portfolio. I did lengthy rewrites in a very short span of time (gah procrastination!).  Basically, by the end of it, I was a creatively drained portfolio zombie. I hope that prepping my nonfiction portfolio is not as huge of an undertaking.

One way I want to wrap up the year is with a final excursion to the used bookstore downtown. Yesterday, during my attempted 24-hour sans media, friends and I took a walk downtown. 3 of us were wearing jeans. A mistake since it was really, really hot during our walk. Unfortunately the bookstore was closed by that time, but we were able to stop in at The Kind Café and pick up drinks. I got a delicious strawberry-banana smoothie which I enjoyed as we sat outside. Friday the bookstore is opened later, so we’ll probably go then.

I’m looking forward to this upcoming weekend.  It’s basically our final weekend and is Spring Weekend here at SU. There are going to be different events, like a carnival and a circus party at TRAX. I’m not sure which events I’ll actually be attending, but I do know that I want to have a fun weekend with my friends before summer, even if we just end up staying inside and watching movies!

Speaking of summer, a part of wrapping up the school year is prepping for break.  For me and a lot of people, one aspect of prepping is finding a job.  I filled out lots of applications over Easter Break.  I haven’t been hired yet, but I am hoping something will pop up.  I also plan to do lots of writing this summer—finally, not for class!—as well as reading. And of course, hanging out a ton with my friends from home.

Oh yeah, and missing SU.     

Yesterday vs. Today vs. Tomorrow

Yesterday was a day of group presentations.I presented in Applied Biblical Ethics and Sociology, on female genital cutting and underage drinking respectively. It was very stressful leading up to Tuesday, but it’s a relief to have both group projects out of the way. The rest of the work left for this year is all individual. Of course, there’s still stress involved with that (Yes, I’m talking about you, nonfiction portfolio) but none of the chaos of trying to coordinate with others. Anyway, I thought the presentations went fairly well. Both involved PowerPoint and incorporated class involvement and video clips.

The work didn’t stop once my classes were done yesterday. I still had to finish my 8 page essay for Romantic Novels. Fortunately, I was able to finish it much sooner than I finished my first paper. It’s due today at 4 p.m., and I get out of class at 2:50 p.m. I will probably look it over at least one more time and do some minor edits before sending it in.

Yesterday was also a big day for a lot of my friends—the doubles housing lottery! This is students’ last chance to choose housing. I was fortunate enough to already know where I’m living next year. Having that knowledge certainly was a huge weight off my shoulders, so I hope everybody else is relieved now that everything is settled.

Today, in comparison, is decidedly less stressful. Romantic Novels is cancelled so my academic day ends sooner. I only have one class tomorrow and barely any homework. Even our chapter meeting for Alpha Phi Omega and the weekly Hippo Family dinner is cancelled! Hopefully my InterVarsity Life Group isn’t cancelled as well because I haven’t had as many chances to go this past semester and my schedule is completely free tonight.

Because of this freeness, I should probably spend some time getting ahead on my portfolio or ethnography for Sociology but it will probably just mean a lot of relaxing, watching TV and talking too much and spending lots of time on the internet. My roommate and I have definitely been indulging in more television this semester. A recent guilty pleasure was the Prince William and Kate Middleton Lifetime movie, complete with atrocious British accents.

Though today is great, especially compared to yesterday, I’m eagerly anticipating tomorrow because tomorrow means going home!

Almost at Easter Break

Friday I had a workshop for my literary journalism piece in Intro to Creative Nonfiction, which was about me going to a dog expo where they had Dog Olympic Games and pet contests. I wasn’t feeling too great about the piece, but the workshop went a lot better than I thought; in the grand scheme of things, this piece might be the one that needs the least amount of revision, in comparison to my personal essay and memoir. Like Intro to Fiction, Intro to Creative Nonfiction ends with the turning in of a final portfolio. Whenever I try to think of all the assignments left before the year's end, I keep forgetting about it. Hopefully this doesn't continue. 

Relay Team in our super cool tent

Also on Friday, a group of friends from my floor in Hass headed off to Relay for Life, an event that lasted from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next morning; it raises money for cancer research. It was held in the Field House part of the fitness center. They had activities and tables selling things to raise more money. The most touching aspect was the Luminara Lap, during which the lights went off and attendees lit bags around the track in remembrance of those who fought against cancer.  It was impacting to see just how many people have lost love ones due to cancer, and I felt very blessed and privileged that I have not yet undergone such a loss. I did a lot of walking. Seriously, that was probably more exercise than I’ve done all year. By the end of the night (or morning, I suppose), my feet were in terrible pain, and of course I was exhausted. I climbed into my bed and woke up around 2 p.m. that day. Basically, it threw off my sleeping schedule for the entire weekend. (Can I still blame it for my late start this morning?)

The rain and wind were very intense Saturday. My friend Lindsey and I ventured outside, in hopes of making it to Deg for dinner, but made it about five steps before retreating back indoors. We ended up ordering Domino’s. Sunday was a day for getting work done. I also went to the Bible Study at Dr. Martin and Dr. Bohmbach’s house, which was awesome as usual. Also exciting was my roommate coming back, who'd been home sick for a few days.

This weekend I was slightly stressed out because I have a lot of work coming up in these few days before Easter Break. I have two group presentations tomorrow, one for Applied Biblical Ethics on Female Genital Mutilation and one in Sociology on Underage Drinking, and an 8 page paper on the influence of narrative technique in Daisy Miller and The French Lieutenant’s Woman for Romantic Novels. I really am looking forward to break, though it would be smart for me to spend it working on other upcoming assignments. I have two final exams, a final portfolio, and two more papers due before the end of the year. Another source of stress is finding a job for the summer!  I've felt so busy and haven't set aside enough time to apply to jobs.  I really need to get on it this week, especially over break.

If only break could actually mean a break!

Tales of Tomorrow (and a bit of today...)

Again, another busy weekend is in the works.  Tomorrow is Lutheran Youth Day, a day in which middle and high school students come to Susquehanna's campus to worship, study the Bible, and this year, hear a concert from musician Rachel Kurtz.  I've volunteered to be a small group leader for that day.  SU students comprise the majority of the small group leaders (though I think some alumni are coming to help), and the event itself is organized by SU's Deacon of Service, who's a senior here.  I am really pumped for this experience, even if it means waking up early on a Saturday, because it'll be so new to me.  The last time I led a Bible study on a semi-regular basis was middle school!  And I've never really been in this position of guiding a group of people who are younger than I am.  While this adds to the excitement, it's also a relief that this new experience is not something I'm doing alone; each person has a co-leader working with them.

Also on Saturday is Air Band, which is one of the culminating events of Greek Week, during which the Greek organizations compete against each other.  In Air Band, each fraternity or sorority has members perform to a song.  This involves lip-syncing, dancing, costumes, and sets.  As a pledge (and a soon-to-be brother!), I'll be there to support Alpha Phi Omega.  Watching Greek Week thus far has been a somewhat strange experience.  It is very intense and competitive.  I will admit to not understanding Greek Week as clearly as I should--like, um, what does the winner get again?--but I do understand that I am very excited to be a part of Alpha Phi Omega.  It will be great if, during this week, at least a few more people gained respect for or even knowledge of this awesome service fraternity.

I've been focused so much on weekends on this blog--that's where the excitement's at!--but as for today, I'm very excited to only have one class at 3 p.m.  My Intro to Nonfiction course isn't meeting today because the professor is having conferences with students about their literary journalism pieces.  Speaking of which, I've already had my conference and blech, I have so much to rewrite!  Later on I have a meeting about my group project for Applied Biblical Ethics, which will end in a 25-30 minute presentation on an ethical dilemma.  Our ethical dilemma regards female circumcision and how we as Americans, as Christians, etc., should involve ourselves (or not involve ourselves) in changing or ending this practice.  Usually I'm hesitant about group projects, but my group is really great, and I think our presentation has the potential to be really informative.     

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.

Spring Break--An Overview

It seems to happen whenever I set out to write a blog post, but again, I am impressed and slightly terrified at how fast this year is flying.  Today is my first day of classes post-Spring Break—the last quarter of the year!  I’ll admit, I was wishing for a few more days of break. 

I was lucky enough to have classes cancelled on Friday so I went home Thursday night.  When I got home, however, I still had to work on an essay for Romantic Novels that was due Friday at 4:00.  I, being me, had procrastinated.  The essay was about Wuthering Heights and Emma and how they portray intelligence in their female heroines.  This got sent in at 3:51 p.m., exactly 9 minutes before it was due.

Backstage during my last HS musical

Friday I did get to have some fun, though.  That evening I saw my high school’s musical.  My high school had a complete renovation since I’ve graduated.  It was very strange to be there—and it was especially strange to be viewing the musical, rather than being in it.  They performed The Wizard of Oz, and it was spectacular and adorable.  The effects, sets, and costumes were particularly great.  After the Friday show, the cast traditionally goes out to eat, and I suppose you could say I crashed.  It was nice to be able to spend time with friends in the show who I hadn’t seen in a while.

I also got to hang out with my friends Robert, Bev, and Kimber that weekend.  We went to Friendly’s for lunch and then headed back to Bev’s house to play a Wii game Just Dance.  My performance was horrifying—I think I lost every round I played—but it was still fun. 

Over break, I also had to go on a quest to find a paddle.  For Alpha Phi Omega, I have to decorate a paddle to present to my Big.  I’m worried about this since I lack all crafty skill.  At least I have a paddle and supplies, though.  When I went to Michael’s, there was only one paddle and it was cracked.  Then I went to A.C. Moore’s and they only had oak paddles that were very costly!  Fortunately, my dad was able to find a paddle for me at a different Michael’s.

A lot of my break was, admittedly, spent being lazy, sleeping in, watching television, going online, hanging out with my brother, etc.  The only schoolwork I really did was read Daisy Miller for Romantic Novels, not all that impressive since it’s a mere 81 pages, revise my personal essay a little for Intro to Creative Nonfiction (speaking of which, I have my conference about it today; I’m less nervous than last time, but not what I’d call excited) and go to PawsAbilities, a dog expo, for the experience component of my literary journalism piece. 

Maybe that laziness is why I’m missing it! 

Spring Break

In the world of television and movies, Spring Break equals hitting the beach with friends and going to wild parties and getting up to all sorts of college-aged shenanigans. In my world (and it seems like the world of most I’ve spoken to), Spring Break means getting to go home! It means relaxation and much watching of the television. It means getting together with friends. It means doing laundry because a massive amount of dirty clothing has accumulated in my dorm room closet. It means getting in a few volunteer hours towards my total for Alpha Phi Omega by going to the library where I volunteered all four years of high school. It means hopefully getting to go see my high school’s production of The Wizard of Oz. It means working on my literary journalism piece for Intro to Creative Nonfiction. It means sending in my application for housing next year. Two friends and I are both aiming for the Scholar’s House.

It also means I am halfway through my second semester of my freshman year of college, which I talked about in my previous post. It just sounds so kooky to me! I can’t believe I only have a quarter of the year left.

Even if I’m a bit freaked out by the quickness of this year, I have to admit how excited I am to go home. I’m very fortunate in that, unlike a lot of my friends, I can leave Thursday instead of Friday. My classes end at 4:05 Thursday, and both of my classes are cancelled the next day. It will also be awesome because my older brother will be picking me up and this is the first time he will get to see my dorm room in person. Also, I will be making him take me to Red Robin after he picks me up, which I’m currently craving as I type.

More so, I think this is a point in the semester where a lot of people, at least among my friends, are ready to escape from campus life for a bit. With midterms coming up, the task of figuring out rooming arrangements for next year, and a bunch of activities in full swing, the past few weeks have gotten a little rough. And though I love SU and am not and will never be the go-home-every-weekend kind of kid, I’m definitely ready, and definitely in need of, a stretch of time at home.

I only have to get through two more days, write a 6 to 8 page essay on 19th century romances (I have about 2 pages...procrastination!), and take a midterm in Applied Biblical Ethics tomorrow.  Not so bad in comparison to the schedules of many.  I'm almost free!

The Sophomore Essay

As a member of the Honors Program at Susquehanna, I must fulfill certain requirements. For instance, I must take certain classes. This semester my honors class is Thought & Civilization. The section in which I'm enrolled is based on the concept of Romantic Novels and exploring why we read them and what they can tell us about civilization. I'm loving this class--except for the fact that we're on Wuthering Heights right now, and I hate it with every fiber of my being. The first book we tackled, Emma by Jane Austen, was much more enjoyable. I will also be required to complete a sophomore essay.    

Recently, everybody I know has been looking forward to next year, mostly in the flurry of determining who’s living with who and where, but this has also made me reflect on the matter of my sophomore essay.

Each Honors student enrolls in a 2 credit class where he or she works on the sophomore essay, which is a research-based project of their choice.  I must decide whether to take it in the fall or spring.  I also must decide on my topic.

I would really like to look at representations of faith in young adult novels.  I think the topic would keep my interest and be very reflective of my own curiosities.  In case it hasn’t been mentioned enough on this blog, I’m a Creative Writing major.  I love writing, and I love books, and I really do love the genre of YA.  My faith is also very important to me, and I hope to declare a Religion minor either before the end of this year or at the beginning of next year.  This research would combine all these different aspects of who I am.

Also, I am very interested in writing a YA novel that has a complex, respectful, real, and maybe even inspiring portrayal of the Christian faith. Whether that novel ends up in the Christian genre or is “mainstream” enough for secular shelves, I want to write about a character whose faith is important to him or her because, as someone who finds that’s the case in her own life, I don’t see that nearly enough in books.  Doing this research could definitely inspire me in this creative aspect.

One difficulty is that the essay has to be a “position paper”—something one can argue, and I don’t know exactly what angle I would take on that front.  Perhaps that the downplaying of faith in YA novels is a minimization of the actual role it—or at least questions about it—play in the lives of teenagers.  Maybe the argument will formulate when I’m in the throes of my research.  I’m also not sure who I’d get my faculty sponsor to be! 

Hopefully, these things will be clear in time, but I am very excited by the inkling of an idea I have right now. 

Megan Tackles Memoir

Generally, all Creative Writing majors are supposed to take Intro to Creative Nonfiction their freshman year.   It’s been very interesting to see how some of my friends and I are taking to this genre with which we are not necessarily experienced.  Some are quite enjoying it and thinking that this may be the genre they’ll concentrate on in upcoming years.  Some—ahem, me—are struggling with it.                                                            

I posted earlier about writing my memoir piece and the vulnerability it entailed.  Pouring my soul onto the paper—that was hard.  And now, the prospect of rewriting it so it’s suitable to be workshopped next week—that’s even harder.   I feel as if I’ve already offered up so much of myself on paper already, and I have this kind of reluctance to give up any more.

Obviously, memoir writing involves a lot of self reflection.  I think of myself as a very reflective person, but I’m finding it difficult to pinpoints moments, or scenes, that will showcase how I’ve become the way I am, at least in certain regards.   I feel as if some of it I can’t explain; such-and-such trait is just in my nature.          

Memoir writing also involves more than reflecting; it requires reimagining.  All memoirs take a certain amount of liberty.  For instance, few people remember dialogue word-for-word from ten years ago, but dialogue is sometimes necessary in a memoir.  I am having trouble giving myself that sort of leeway.  I am a perfectionist, and I suppose that translates into an unreasonable desire for authenticity.                                      

The other issue for me is that I’m not a very visual person.   Important memories I don’t remember in a sensory way, but an emotional way.  I can easily access what I was feeling and what that moment meant to me, but I need more than that.  I need to paint pictures in the minds of my readers.   Struggles like this have made it difficult for me to write a memoir that reads like a story, rather than just my ramblings on life.

Something I’m worried about is that people in my class will judge my creative nonfiction as being representative of my writing skill.  I think that my fiction is a lot better, and I am pretty certain it is the genre I will pursue during my SU education.                                                                                     

There must be some benefit, though, from all of this.  Being able to confront my weaknesses through an unfamiliar genre will have to strengthen me in a way that can hopefully translate to my fiction.  In a way, it’s humbling.  And it also confirms my passion for fiction.  Plus, who knows?  I could have fallen in love with creative nonfiction.  Theoretically, I still can.

Theoretically, I might even fall in love with Poetry whenever it comes time to take that intro course.  I could end up saying goodbye to novels and fiction and dedicate myself solely to an art which, previously, I saved only for dabbling. 

I must admit, though, I'm not seeing this as likely. 

An Assorted Kind of Post

Right now I am on the first day of a 3-day Action Assignment for my Applied Biblical Ethics class, which is requiring us to make strides to be more environmentally friendly.  One of my plans is to use my laptop only when absolutely necessary, and in those cases, only run on battery.  As of now, it is shut down and unplugged.  If I do really crave or need computer use, I am trying to rely on the library computer lab.  This will be challenging to me--a verifiable internet addict. A few minutes after midnight, I was thinking, Oh no, what am I going to do?!  My plan is to treat this as a (not very restrictive) electronic fast.  Hopefully I'll be able to make use of that time I'd normally be wasting away online.  Other ideas I have is to limit myself to one plate at the caf (to save water/energy used in cleaning, as well as to prevent food waste) and to one napkin during meals.  I've also unplugged my cell phone charger and clock--after all, I have a cell phone!  It'll be interesting to see what challenges, as well as blessings, arise during this 3-day assignment.

In other news, I'm looking forward to SU's upcoming Undergraduate Literature and Creative Writing Conference.  For my Intro to Fiction class last semester, we were required to submit a proposal to the conference. I sent one for one of my short stories "Routine," which I described in that proposal as: "told through various Halloweens, [it] reveals the love and lack of love between Belinda, a repressed librarian and bookstore worker, and Cyrus, a photographer with wanderlust and big aspirations. As their married life progresses, it becomes clear that he prioritizes creativity over her."  I've been placed into the Literature & Gender panel.  When it's my turn, I'll read a portion of my story and audience members will be able to ask me questions.  This has definitely made me a bit nervous.  As I do some further editing of the piece, both for the conference and so I can submit to SU's literary magazine RiverCraft, I'll definitely be thinking about what it might have to say about gender.  Speaking of which, I also plan to submit an application to the magazine's reading board!

I have a lot of other things going on as well.  A friend from home is visiting me tonight.  I'm going to the InterVarsity Superbowl party on Sunday.  This weekend I need to work on my memoir so I can send it to Dr. Retief for my conference on Monday.  Also coming up, I plan to rush Alpha Phi Omega, the service fraternity on campus.  There are also a lot of events I'll be attending soon, like InterVarsity's Dig-In which is like a mini-retreat, hosted this year by SU, and Religious Life Council's Retreat.

Surely all of this will add up to good blogging inspiration!