Christina's College Survival Guide, vol. 2

Enhancement Fund Craze

The last round of Enhancement Fund applications have been submitted, some in hand, some slipped under the office door after hours, all previously owned by eager and nervous college undergrads hoping to see the world and enhance their academic careers.

You may be asking yourselves, "Self, what exactly is an Enhancement Fund?"  Well have I got the answer for you!  Having just completed mine I am quite the expert on this nugget of gold offered by the Robert E. Cook Honors College.  The Enhancement Fund  was established as a scholarship only for Honors College kids to allow them to gain some real-world experience in their fields and enrich their academics.  There are two rounds for applications, one usually a month or so after we return from winter break, and the second later in the semester.  The only stipulation to this scholarship is that you must attempt to pay it back at some point in your life, even if you can only afford twelve dollars per year.  If you're interested, there is an application that you must fill out.  It takes about a week to complete and includes a personal statement, resume/curriculum vitae, and a breakdown of the expenses of your trip, all skills that you will need for graduate school and job applications.

My roommate and I both applied for a portion of the scholarship.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I will be going to New Zealand this summer and therefore will need some financial assistance to make the month long journey around the world.  Laura got accepted to the prestigious Washington Center D.C.-London Program, as well as a year abroad studying History at the University of London (Hooray Laura!!).  Although this is quite an accomplishment, it is also quite a pretty penny.  Luckily, this opportunity is one within her reach due to the Enhancement Fund.

Survival Tip #583

Television, the root of all evil.

Before attending college I watched a lot of TV.  When I say a lot, I mean close to four hours per day.  My life revolved aroung the tube, and even if I wasn't interested in the show on the screen, I watched anyway.  When I came to college it was like TV withdrawl and rehab.  I brought one with me thinking I would be able to stay tuned to Lost (who will get eaten by the polar bear next?) and Grey's Anatomy (Meredith and McDreamy?), but found that the rigors of a full courseload and Core homework ate up all of my time.  When I was free to watch television I wanted to socialize with friends or sleep or work ahead, and therefore fell behind with my favorite programs.  Do I miss it?  Nope.  Will you miss it?  Probably not.

Thesis Time

Hello all,

Today's topic is the thesis paper.  As a freshman, I was thrown into the wonderful world of Honors Core and all that it had to offer, including the thesis paper.  This took a way a portion of my sanity half way through my first semester of college, and I am not sure it was ever returned.  The thesis paper, at least with regards to the Robert E. Cook Honors College, is a five-paged paper in which you argue a point.  This seems easy enough, considering we all enjoy convincing others of our opinions, except that in this paper you have to back up your claims.

To find ample evidence to support an argument is difficult.  You quickly learn what "trustworthy websites" and "primary sources" are.  You weed through the fluff that most fill their works with to find what the author is really trying to say.  Your time in Core prepares you to dissect, analyze, and synthesize any piece of work, whether it be a newspaper article, novel, letter to the editor, or advertisement.  This skill makes your own argument (the thesis) stronger, but also makes it more difficult to use Wikipedia and "common sense" as resources.

Do not let these difficulties deter you.  At the end of your first thesis paper, after you have been reviewed by your peers and professor, you too could have the immense satisfaction of seeing your work rewarded with a grade written in the top right-hand corner.  While your friends will be worried about their three-paged paper at the conclusion of the semester, you can sit back and relax, knowing that you are ready for anything.

Survival Tip #36:

THESIS SNACKS

Thesis snacks are not only a food, but an event.  Actually, a cultural experience. This lovely festival takes place at midnight on the night before freshman thesis papers are due.  All of the HC kids gather in the Great Hall to celebrate (and often times commiserate) their completion of their papers.  Pancakes are brought out in mounds, and there is syrup, whipped cream, chocolate chips, and a host of other high fructose corn syrup infused condiments to accompany the flapjacks.  We all sit around, attempting to top the other, either in our proactivity or our procrastination.  Here is a typical conversation to be heard:

Girl:  I started my paper at nine, and I am all finished!

Boy:  Oh yeah, well I haven't even started yet, it looks like it will be an all-nighter for me!

Girl:  Well, while you are staring at your computer screen at three in the morning, I wil be having sweet dreams.  P.S.  My thesis is thirteen pages long. As a matter of fact, I had to change my margin size to 0.8"!

(snickering in the background)

This all too often happens.  Our competitive natures make us close friends and bitter enemies, and we are all dorks who compete over paper lengths and margin sizes.

A Triumphant Return

And so we begin the Spring semester of 2008.  What a hectic week this has been!  The first week of each semester is always a scary but unnerving time.  Students are moving onto and returning to campus, frantically searches for the correct books for their classes, bemoaning their depleted bank accounts and trying to make it to class on time.  My week was typical of this time, scattered and disheveled.

In this week alone, I have spoken Chinese, been accepted to a summer program in New Zealand, and memorized a map of southeast Asia.  I've been thrown back into the world of Core after a well-needed semester long sabbatical.  Science Core is unlike my previous Core units.  Instead of predominantly studying the humanities and social sciences, we are delving into the world of biology, and oh what a world it is!  It is exciting to be back in an environment that facilitates debate.

Survival Tip #5

The gym:

Yes, we all promise to go to the gym in the new year, especially those of us who have put on the Freshman fifteen (and then some).  A great tip to success with this resolution on campus:  Do not start in the first week of school.  Nothing is more discouraging than a line of fifteen people waiting for a treadmill.  Have no fear though, my friend, within two weeks the zealous resolution-empowered gym fiends will dwindle, leaving an open, comfortable, state-of-the-art facility ready for your use.

The Final Push to Finals

Hello,

Finals are 1.5 weeks away and I have yet to start studying!  This is a common theme whirling through the Honors College these days.  As of right now, I am feeling remotely confident, but it's only the after-quiz high that I experience every once in a while when I realize a test has not killed me.  Today was hectic because I felt that I had everything to do and no time to do it, but it has turned out to be a fairly relaxed day so far.  I am actually sitting in front of a semi-cleared desk (with my back turned to the pile of homework awaiting me).  The beauty of days like these, is that you reaffirm that college is, in fact, manageable.  Everything gets accomplished in due time.

Next Tidbit:

The Honors College is full of quirks and rituals that students routinely perform.  We are a unique group of people, many of which have routines that they create to help them succeed.  Personally, I push the "H" key on a typewriter in our Philosophy lounge every time I walk past it, and I must be spatially organized if I am to be in any way efficient in my work.  These quirks are just two of many that we have, and we share in each other's eccentricity.  Granted, all of us lead normal lives, we are not OCD or schizophrenic, but we do have our own unique quirks that make us who we are.

Procrastination, the key to success.

Hi all,

Today is Tuesday and I am exhausted.  Although i am a sophomore this year, I seem to have reverted back to my the Freshman mentality in which procrastination and avoidance is key to daily life.  Last night, instead of writing the two papers for my Archaeology class, I decided to burn an ephogy of Guy Fawkes, learn the Crank That (Soulja Boy) dance, and learn how to salsa- badly.  I didn't get to sleep until 4:30 in the morning and was up again at 8:30!  A key piece of advice, never let fun come before schoolwork, your body will hate you the next day.  It was immensely fun though, and I still remember the steps to the dances.  I plan to utilize them in the near future to give the impression that I actually can dance (little do they know). 

Survival Tip #2

Yesterday's events bring me to my next tip: beware, opportunities present themselves at the strangest moments in college.  I would never say that you should always say yes to what is presented to you, but remember that college is about new experiences and having fun, as well as getting an education.  Since I have been in school, I have experienced a plethora of things that I never thought I would.  I've seen snow for the first time, instilled anxiety of winter's approach in my roommate, who knows I will dump her into the snow many times before spring arrives, and learned that Frisbee is really fun, even though it is the quintessential college sport.  Had I been studious and written my papers in a timely fashion, I would have gotten more than four hours of sleep last night, but I wouldn't have become closer to my friend and next door neighbor who learned the dances with me, nor would I have continued the tradition started by my previous roommate of burning Guy Fawkes... you should have seen the flame!  I can't say that I regret my decision to stay up and procrastinate, and that's all that matter.  After all, a life lived without regret is what I aim for.

Christina

Rest and Relaxation

Hi everyone!

Today is a Thursday, which means- easy day of classes!!!!  Although I awoke at the dreadful time of 8:30am to an in-class essay, the day turned out to be a rare oment of relaxation in the hectic world that is college.

An in-class essay in college is nothing like that of the high school timed writings we get used to.  My initial reaction to the 60 point essay was that of extreme fear and dread.  Whatever would I write about?  How much should I write?  Will I even remember the basic principles of archaeology I have become ever familiar with (the class was Basic Archaeology, a writing intensive)?  After the completion of this composition, with half an hour to spare I might add, I returned to Whitmyre where its halls were quiet, the pre-Freshman Core calm that occurs between 10 and 11am Monday through Friday.  This is one of my favorite times of day, when the paintings come alive and you can truly feel at home, dancing to "Sexy Back" in your underwear (highly advisable in private) or reading the paper on the Philosophy couch.  Not having another class until 5 o'clock in the evening, I decided to go home to spend some time with my mom and our cat.

I technically am considered a "townie" now.  This select group of people may or may not attend the RECHC, but they all live in Indiana, PA.  Most were born adn raised here, or at least in the surrounding areas, but having only spent a year here, I am still uncovering the many nuances this small town has to offer.  My house is in the country.  Coming from a fairly large city, to pass sheep, corn, horses, and a big red barn to get home is unexpected at best.  I travel down a winding road, up and down hills, and today was especially beautiful because the leaves are beginning to change.  Autumn, my favorite season, brings vibrant colors in this area, turning the fields into actual "amber waves of grain".

When I returned to school after a few hours of much needed R&R, I went to Cultural Anthropology, and then to dinner with my friends.  The conclusion to my day was the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy!  This show is a phenomenon in the HC.  Once again, the halls become quiet, the muffled sounds of televisions can be heard through doors, and at 10:01pm, cell phones begin ringing in unison with friends and relatives ready to discuss the plot and the possible implications of Meredith's new hair cut.  All in all, a good day, an atypical day that prepared me for the upcoming weekend and week to follow.

Survival Tip #1

The all incredible ziploc bag.  It doesn't matter if you buy brand names or generics, these multipurpose plastic, sealable enitities are bound to prove themselves useful throughout the year.  Whether it is containing the accumulation of hair clips that stray to every crevice of your dorm room, or a sudden craving for macaroni and cheese that resulted in a cup too much and nothing to put it in, these bags have saved me from many tight spots.  For the organizational freak out there (you know you're one, I am one too), you can save sticky putty in them, crayons, candy and other food items, small office supplies, anything you can think of.

Why I mention this is because it is often left out of the "essential college items" list that you receive in the mail before heading off.  So don't forget, it's better to be too prepared than not prepared enough!

A little about me

My favorite book is Desperation by Stephen King, but others that I like are What Dreams May Come (forgot the author,so I'll send that this afternoon as well), The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom, and House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubois III.

Brother in Alpha Phi Omega (co-ed service Fraternity)

My latest interest is in Frisbee