2008 Election

OK. So as most of you know, I am from Canada, so I can't vote for the U.S elections anyways. Even though I am temporarily living in the U.S, the elections don't really seem much of a concern to me other than if they decide to deport all green card carriers! Which then I wouldn't be able to come back to Converse.

One issue that does concern me however when hearing about the election is the Iraq situation, or war as some like to call it. This concerns me because if the U.S continues to fight in Iraq, that means that Canadian troops have to as well. Some of my friends are troops in Iraq who have left behind families, and therefore it is important to me that they come home safe. Also, from experience the health care solutions that are being talked about by both candidates makes me tell people around me that the universal health care system works. Trust me, I know this.

My last little rant about the elections is that because I am in school down here, I missed the Canadian election which happened about a week or so ago, and I am very unaware of what is happening back home. So for all I know everything could change when I'm back for Christmas! This year was also my first year being eligible to vote, and it is a little unfortunate that I couldn't be home to do so. Oh well, I suppose there's plenty of time for that later in life!

Midterms!

I have noticed that as I get closer and closer to midterm dates, my room gets cleaner and cleaner. You hear upper class men joke about it, but it really is true. I think that I'm like this because I am so worried that I won't exceed my own expectations, never mind the teachers, which to me is truly a failing mark. I set high standards for myself, so when midterms come closer and closer, and my schedule becomes more and more compact, I find myself needing more sleep!
I think all that is left to do now is re-write everything I have heard in my classes, use flashcards until they are completely warn down, and bug my friends to quiz me everyday until I remember everything! Sounds like fun, I know but hopefully when midterms are over, I'll be giving myself a pat on the back.
I've quickly learned to read my textbook, re-read all notes, and pay attention in class for little hints that the professor may give, intentionally or not. These things that I have so far learnt my freshmen year, hopefully will help me do well in my midterms. After that; sleep!

Building Blocks

So since I am at a university with no one else that I knew coming in, and being so far away from home, I knew making friends fast would be important. However I was a little uneasy with the idea because I', usually not a very outgoing person unless I really get to know someone. Every once in a while I will tell the odd joke, but only my close friends see all sides of me, all 20-odd.

Since I've been at Converse, I have found it pretty easy to make friends and build relationships. Whether it be with fellow classmates, upper class men, professors or campus faculty, everyone is so open and nice enough to wave and smile at you everyday - even if they have no clue who you are. This makes it very comforting while meeting all of these new people.

My other friends in other universities back home keep telling me stories of how their upperclassmen completely ignore them, and they haven't made friends with a lot of the people they've met, and they have never seen half of their hall mates. This makes me appreciate things like Big Sis, Lil Sis week, and hall meetings/parties and the overall commodity around campus.

I have made a lot of new friends and built a lot of relationships since I have been at Converse, without too much of a struggle. I hope to be able to continue this 'talent' throughout the four years that I plan on being here for, and hopefully meet someone new everyday!

Studying Properly

Instead of the library, I chose to do this experiment in the athletic study hall. Like the library, the study hall provides a quiet place where athletes can go to work for 8 mandatory hours a week and complete any academic homework or assignments. Today, I have already been here for an hour and so far I have gotten a lot of work done. Here, there are no distractions and everyone has a common goal - to get things done.

Compared to studying in my room, the study hall gives me a quiet and comfortable place, while still maintaining a professional ambiance. However when I am in my dorm room, I find it very hard to concentrate. For most of the days and nights I have freshmen in my hallways running up and down, yelling out their opera solo's to modern day music of Britney Spears. Not the best way for me to get things done quickly. Also, while I am in my room, I tend to get distracted by my pictures or computer or how soft my bed is looking at that moment. These things are what inhibits my studying the most.

Being Honest For One Day

Even though every day, we were taught to be honest to everyone, some people don't. Sometimes I find myself telling little white lies in order not to hurt some one's feelings, or sometimes I'll have to not say anything about something I have heard.
Being honest for a day was not as hard as I thought it would be however. Usually, I am a blunt person who will always try to tell people exactly how I am feeling, so this came naturally to me. Though I was not caught in the infamous 'Do I look fat in this?' trap, I found it difficult at times to be completely honest with people, even though I did not want to hurt them.

Especially when playing a sport, at half time if someone asks you how you think they did, you always try to pick out the positives to try to lift their spirits, even when there was nothing positive about those forty-five minutes. So when someone asked me this, I felt very guilty in telling them everything they did wrong. This I think might have made them play better though, because in the next half, they corrected their mistakes.

In college, I think it is very important to be honest, as a person and academically. If you take someone else’s idea or even their words, then it is not yours, and therefore unfair to credit it as your own. I do not believe that it is morally right to take someone else’s hard work and pass it off as your own, just because you couldn’t be bothered doing the work yourself.

Joining the Teams

Already, I am a member of ISO. That is an organization for the international students, and it's really making me feel at home! Though it is an unofficial club, I feel like all the athletes are part of a big family, and we all support each other and cheer each other on!

I would like to get involved with a program called WISE. It's an organization that helps the environment and tries to make the women of Converse conscious of what we are doing to it., Lastly, I think that I would be interested in joining the Athletic Association which is a group that promotes the overall health of all women at converse, not just the athletes. I think it would be could to get involved with these groups and really make a difference at Converse.

These groups are somewhat similar to the ones I was involved with in high school, however instead of having an athletic association, people would just recognize me as an athlete. I was also apart of an Eco Friendly club and an AIDs Awareness club. Hopefully if I can't start an AIDs Awareness club, somebody will!

Expectations of the First Semester

Well, obviously college is going to be different than high school. I expect that I will become more independent as well as more efficient with my time and organized with my life. I play soccer, so that as well as classes and homework should keep me busy.

Soccer so far has been awesome, the girls are great and the upper class men are really making the freshmen and transfers feel at home already, especially showing their support during our honor code signing! :)

The teachers all seem really nice and let you do things on your own time, and if you don't, you suffer consequences which I think in itself is a lesson to be learnt. Homework will become a daily, if not hourly thing to be done and eating and sleeping will have to take the back seat sometimes.

The girls around campus are all friendly, and everyone always says hi. They help you find something if you need it and to be honest, i was surprised with the fact that there's virtually no bickering or major fights between people. So much different from high school!

Overall, I plan to get involved, be as socially active as possible and enjoy my first semester. Being so far away from home, it does get hard but new faces and new friends should make it easier for me. Hopefully this first semester is great :)