Winding Down

Classes are winding down now. I had my last Travel Writing course yesterday. Today is the last meeting of Tuesday/Thursday courses, and on Monday and Tuesday of next week, there will be two more days of Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes. After that, there’s a reading day on Wednesday, which is a day between classes and finals for studying, then finals.

I’ve been fortunate to have some really great courses this semester. I’m really happy creatively with the work I’ve been doing in Intermediate Poetry. I’ve absolutely loved my Women in Biblical Tradition class, which has been consistently engaging and has challenged my own views. My Fiction of C.S. Lewis class has also been filled with interesting conversations, and I’m so glad I’ve finally read these books that I kept meaning to read. Music in Christian Rituals has been good as well, and, again, gave me a lot to mull over.  What’s neat for me about my religion classes is that they’re not simply subjects I pick up in the classroom and forget about later. They bleed into the rest of my life. Often our conversations in classes intersect with things I’m working through in my own head or the conversations I’m having with friends and people in my community.

Despite having a nice schedule this semester, I have to admit that I’m excited for it to end. I’ve been pretty stressed the past few weeks. While I’ve been doing well in my classes, I have felt overwhelmed a lot this semester. Thankfully, a blissful, homework-free state is visible in the horizon, though I have to tackle end-of-the-year assignments before I can get there.

Tomorrow my friend Karen and I are presenting a hymn that we wrote for our Music in Christian Rituals class. It was an overwhelming assignment to receive, but I’m excited about what we’ve accomplished. She composed it, and I wrote the lyrics. After the presentation is out of the way, we have to write a joint paper on the project.

I also have to write a final paper for Women in Biblical Tradition, revise my Travel Writing essay and do a self-critique on it, take a final for Fiction of C.S. Lewis, and turn in a chapbook of poetry for Intermediate Poetry.

Once these are done, I’ll be spending a relaxing week on campus before heading to a week of camp in New York with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship chapters from around Pennsylvania. Those weeks will be a great break between my schoolwork this semester and my 40-hour work week here in Selinsgrove this summer.

Before I close out what is probably final blog entry for the school year, I should probably reflect on the year as a whole, but right now, the task seems too difficult. This year has been strange, with ups and downs, split between two continents.  One semester was filled with exciting firsts and the challenges of adjusting to a new place, but also happened at a more relaxed pace.  This semester has been cozier and homier but also much more stressful.  Perhaps it will be easier to look back at this year after I’ve gotten a little more distance from it.

For now, I’m excited for this academic year to draw to a close—even if it brings me closer to the terrifying reality of being a college senior.

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.

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!

Scholar's House: Plans for Next Year

After much thinking and analyzing and generally freaking out, I have landed upon a tentative plan for my living arrangements this year.  Ideally, I’d like to live in the Scholar's House.  The Scholar's House is a small living environment that houses about 23 people.  To live at the Scholars House, you have to be embarking on a personal project, somewhat academic in nature.  Getting into the Scholar's House is not based solely on lottery numbers, like it is for groups to get a place together or for two roommates to find a double.  Rather, there’s an application process to get into the house, and your project idea is reviewed. 

A few posts back, I talked about how I want to do my sophomore essay about representation of faith in Young Adult literature.  My project idea goes hand-in-hand with this.  Ultimately what I want to do as a writer is write novels, and in fact, those were the type of things I worked on before I came to Susquehanna.  This year I think I’ve made strides in my writing, but my only significant completed pieces have been for my Creative Writing classes.  Next year I really need to be working on a novel, and making it my project would ensure that I’d set aside that time for writing.  Also, I would like to start up another blog about Faith and Fiction that would provide reviews of novels that include or speak to faith, particularly those involving teenagers.

I am very excited about this idea and also about the environment of the Scholar's House.  Two of my friends are also applying, but I would still have a chance to meet new people.  Also, I love Hassinger which is a small environment (though not nearly as small as the Scholars House) so hopefully I would enjoy a small environment again.  Additionally, I’m actually looking forward to the idea of a single.  At first this wasn’t all that appealing to me, but I’m beginning to realize the benefits—one being that at the Scholar's House, I can try the single experience and it doesn’t cost me an extra $1000 like the rest of the singles on campus.

The applications are due March 18th, and I should find out if I get in the following week.  Depending on the result of who does or does not get into the Scholar's House, back-up plans might mean I'll end up in a triple, which is a room that is bigger than average and specifically designed for 3 people (Hopefully, this would be in West Hall.) or in a double.   Hopefully whatever happens will work out for the best!  

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!

Stress!

The life of a college student can get pretty hectic. I knew that was true before, but it's really sinking in now.  Last semester I set a goal of becoming more involved in the Spring--and you could say I'm attaining it.  I'm a pledge of Alpha Phi Omega and am now a reading board member for SU's literary magazine RiverCraft.  Additionally, I still want to stay involved with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, which, for me, might mean attending prayer group on Monday, "life group" or Bible study on Wednesday, and a large worship gathering on Thursday.  Oh yeah, and there's also schoolwork.  And work work.  And friendship.  And life. 

I'm already beginning to worry that I've put a bit too much on my plate, even if I'm not completely consumed by stress just yet.  Rather, I have that weighty sort of sensing-impending-doom type of stress.  I'm not immersed in all these activities yet and am very much at the beginning of some processes, but there's still a worry that I can't juggle everything and I'll have to drop a ball--and if I have to drop a ball, which one?

This all sounds a little dramatic, I'm sure.

And to be fair, I am a bit of a dramatic being.

The truth is, all my issues are typical.  My friends are dealing with similar stress right now and wondering how they'll make things work.  The thing is, a lot of people have made it work before us.  They've done as much, if not more, and made it to the other side.  And some did more than make it.  Some have heaped many things on their plate and excelled.  And sure, others may have been juggling too much and had to set some things aside, but you know what?  They made it too, in their own way.  They did what they needed to do to continue.

It'll be alright.

Being busy, after all, isn't the same as being important.  High GPAs and impressive resumes are nice, but they don't equate to fulfillment or meaning or happiness.  And failing in any aspect that I hope to juggle could be dissapointing, but it wouldn't be earth-shattering. Unless I let it be.     

This upcoming weekend, the Religious Life Council is hosting a Spring Retreat, which means escaping off-campus.  The more stressed I get, the more I am looking forward to this weekend as an opportunity to relax, get away, and be with God and people.  Hopefully it will reinforce the prior paragraph in my mind and heart, and I can carry some calm back with me to SU.

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.