All That Jazz (A re-post from my early ODU blog)

August 31, 2010

Hello again readers!  Welcome to my second blog post!  I apologize if this is kind of boring, but I am still kind of getting in the swing of things at school and figuring out what to blog about, so please bear with me.

This week has been much less chaotic than last week.  I feel like things are settling down a lot and I am starting to get back into school mode.  I kind of forgot about the whole homework thing though, so I ended up staying up way too late the past two nights working on homework at the last minute, so I highly recommend doing homework ahead of time and trying not to procrastinate which is something almost everyone I know struggles with, but that’s going to be one of my scholastic goals this year- to stop procrastinating, so wish me luck with that! 

Yesterday was a pretty good day.  I finished a paper two hours before it was due (I’m terrible.. I know) and I got to hang out with my friend Brittney for a little while between classes and we had subs and coffee (both were delicious by the way!) at the SubConnection/CyberCafe in the Student Center.  It was nice to just kind of catch each other up on our summers and boy problems and how our classes are going and everything.  It was really great :)  I’ve missed her a lot.  She lived on my floor in Fitzpatrick Hall my Freshman year and we were friends immediately after meeting in the first month of school during a black out, but she started commuting last year, so I don’t get to see her as much as I’d like.  I definitely think living on campus is very important to getting the full college experience and make a lot of great friends.  I really loved living in Fitzpatrick since it is an all Freshmen dormitory and my floor was all girls, so I got the chance to meet so many other Freshman girls who also probably didn’t know anyone at the school yet.  This year, I am living in Siena which is amazing so far.  I have some really wonderful roommates and there are a lot of really sweet people who live in this building that I am really happy to be friends with.

In my American Literature class, we started reading The Great Gatsby last week which is one of my favorite books and it’s a fairly easy read, so if you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend that you do!  I was really surprised by some of the insights the teacher and my classmates brought up about the book too.  This is probably the third class I have been in where we’ve studied The Great Gatsby, and it astonishes me that I haven’t gotten sick of it yet, but it seems like there is always something new to learn every time I read or discuss it and I notice something I never really recognized before. 

I actually really like all of my classes so far this semester.  I am really excited for all of the things I am going to learn!  My schedule is a really well-rounded mix too I think.  I am taking an English class, Art History, Philosophy of Good and Evil, Early Christian Writings, and I start a Women in Crime class in October that I am really interested in seeing what that is like, because I haven’t taken any kind of Criminal Justice class.  I am just kind of trying everything right now though and hoping something just clicks, so I can pick a major since everyone always tells me how ridiculous I am for not having one yet haha.

Today was a pretty good day as well except I was exhausted from staying up late which is my own fault I know… I had classes from 8am until 2pm and probably had three coffees total in that time and I will probably get more coffee at dinner tonight too or maybe treat myself to a yummy white mocha latte later in the Griff if I’m feeling some serious self love tonight :-) There were some really interesting discussions in all of my classes today though which is very surprising especially for me since I generally prefer lecture classes, because I do not like to talk much in class and I love taking notes more than I probably should, but we learned some really interesting things about art and tools in the stone age in Art History today and we even got to look at and hold some of the actual tools used by cave men.  It was very fascinating.  And I was really excited for our discussion in Theology class, because we were talking about the earliest Christian writers which includes Saint Ignatius of Antioch who happens to be the patron of the church I grew up in, so I felt a really personal connection with the topic and was simply thrilled to be learning about his life and his teachings and writings.  After my classes, I ordered some text books off Ohio Link which is a really neat program where we are able to check out books from other libraries in Ohio and they are sent to our school for free.  I was really happy I was able to find most of mine on there, so I don’t have to buy all my books this semester which makes my bank account very happy :-D

I also took some time today just to walk around and enjoy the sunshine and the campus.  And I highly recommend that anyone on campus does the same, because it is such a lovely and peaceful little campus to stroll about on :-)

Buddhism

So today in my World Religions class, we are learning about Buddhism.  Since my friend is holding my textbook captive, I have been using the internet to aid me in our class discussion.  In my impromptu research, I stumbled upon a quote which I really liked.  I think it goes along very well with the Dominican motto "To contemplate truth and to share with others the fruit of that contemplation", so here it is for all of you to read and enjoy as well!  Happy contemplating!

Quotation by Siddhãrtha Gautama (Buddha):

"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions simply because they have been handed down for many generations.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."

Is Sansbury Hall Haunted?

I'd have to say 'yes' and I believe that most people who have spent an extended amount of time in here would agree.

I actually have lived in Sansbury for 2-3 years of my time at ODU and have personally witnessed some unexplained ghost-like activity similar to other stories I've heard and read.  While living in the doubles wing above the chapel my sophomore year, I often used to hear my doorknob being turned after I had locked it as if someone was either trying to get in or just making sure it was locked.  I got the nerve to get out of bed once or twice and check, but heard no footsteps and saw no one in the halls when I looked. 

I was the RA in that same Doubles hall last year.  One of my residents told me she felt someone holding her hand once in the middle of the night after the power went out, but she looked and no one was there except her roommate who was fast asleep in her bed.

http://www.forgottenoh.com/Counties/Franklin/dominican.html

http://thecollegejuice.com/tag/ohio-dominican-university-ghost/

Warped Tour 2012

Well, I went to my second Warped Tour ever! A group of my ODU friends invited me to go to the Cincinnati Warped Tour yesterday. It was really fun!  A few of them had gone to the Cleveland one a week or two earlier and decided to go again so that my friend Eric and I could go.  It was very different than the Cleveland Warped Tour I attended in high school.  But it's been about 6 years, so I guess I should've expected change.  It was still a lot of fun though.  We left a night earlier so that we didn't have to drive 2 hours early in the morning and one of my friends lives in Cincinnati, so her family was kind enough to let us stay with them and we stayed up late playing board games and fooseball and just talking and enjoying each others' company.  It was a blast.  It was just like taking a small piece of ODU to Cincinnati since that's exactly what it's like hanging out at school too.  I really like our positive energy.  So many people at ODU are just friends with everyone! It's fantastic!  I am not even very good friends with half the people we went with, but they all still included me in conversations and looked out for me during our two days together and we all hugged each other goodbye.  Heck, one of the guys I went with pretty much saved my life several times while we were in the pit watching Yellowcard (a fantastic set and performance by the way!). 

It's amazing how open and friendly people can be!  I've met so many people like this at ODU and they've really inspired me to try to be more friendly and to make more sincere efforts to get to know as many people as possible.  I am actually a little overwhelmed when I think about how many people at ODU I have come to consider my good friends!  I have more friends now than I think I've had combined in the first 17 years of my life.  Basically, ODU is awesome and everyone can be friends with you if you put yourself out there and give people the chance to get to know you and vice versa :) 

52 Things to do at ODU

So my friend Rufio recently received an ODU deck of playing cards of which I a extremely jealous, because I have been searching for these cards for forever.  Some upperclassmen had decks of the ODU playing cards back when I was a freshman here, but I guess they stopped producing them sadly.  This is something I would love to see ODU bring back though.  They were really cool (in my own humble opinion at least).  These cards were a regular deck of playing cards,but they had a panther on them (our mascot) and each card had a different thing to do at ODU for a total of 52 things to do at ODU.  Basically, they are super awesome and Rufio better appreciate the rare treasure he has just been gifted.

Many of the things listed on these cards can't be done anymore based on changes in the university, so I would like to make my very own list here for all who are interested :).

1. Visit every building on campus (even Guzman, Las Casas, and the Public Safety house)
2. Visit the sisters at Saint Mary of the Springs
3. Go on a walk near the baseball fields
4. Ride the elevator in Wehrle
5. Try on costumes in the theater
6. Take a Sister Fatula class
7. Read a book from the library for leisure
8. Buy yourself an item of clothing from the Bookstore
9. Go to Mass in Christ the King Chapel
10. Play a game of pool in the Student Center
11. Play sand volleyball
12. Take a picture with Saint Dominick
13. Jump around on the cushioned stairs in Panther Plaza
14. Go on a retreat with Campus Ministry
15. Have a dance party in the Dance and Fitness Room
16. Play the arcade video games in the Griff
17. Run up the baseball stairs as fast as you can without taking a break
18. Make sweet videos to show people how awesome ODU is :)
19. Have lunch or coffee with a staff or faculty member
20. Go to sporting events on campus
21. Lay on the oval and look at the clouds with a friend
22. Do your homework outside
23. Have breakfast in Hamilton Hall
24. Have lunch at Zest
25. Shower in one of the community showers (Sansbury or Fitzpatrick)
26. Watch a movie on a projection screen in the Student Center
27. Play basketball (outdoor court or in the gym)
28. Have a game night (there are board games in most of the residence halls and the student center)
29. Pull an all-nighter with a good friend
30. Go on a moonlit walk around campus with a friend and have a deep conversation
31. Go to a free fitness class
32. Travel with ODU (mission trip, study abroad, sports trips, etc.)
33. Join a club
34. Join a sports team
35. Dress Up on Wednesdays!
36. Start your own ODU tradition
37. Workout in the fitness center
38. Try out for a play or musical
39. Get an on-campus job
40. If you are 21 or older, buy an alcoholic beverage from the Panther Grill
41. Help out at Panther Pride Pitch-In (and clean up the campus whenever else you can as well)
42. Attend ODU Day
43. Go to Homecoming events (pep rally, football game, parade, dance, tail gating)
44. Submit something to Gesture (essays, poems, stories, pictures, etc.)
45. Enjoy the unlimited yogurt and granola in Hamilton Hall.. yum :)
46. Have a coffee date in the student center (the fireside lounge is a fantastic place for this!)
47. Bring your little siblings to Little Sibs Weekend
48. Make a sincere effort to get to know as many people as possible
49. Walk to Dairy Queen for 15% off a cold treat :)
50. Take the shuttle to Easton (go grab food, shop, go ice skating, see a movie, wander around, etc.!)
51. Start your own club
52. Attend ODU events and programs on campus (there's usually free food and ODU stuff and new people to meet)

Mkay, coming up with 52 things was a little harder than I imagined it would be.  Kudos to the people who made those playing cards!  I realize some of these are kind of lame, but it's hard to think up 52 things on the spot!  I will add/remove things if I come up with some better ideas.  Basically, ODU is really awesome though and has a lot to offer, so check out MyODU and find events and programs that interest you.  Make your four years here really count.  They can be really amazing if you let them be :)

It's Summertime at ODU

I feel so bad for being so neglectful with this blog.  I just have so many blogs and journals right now that it's hard to keep on task with all of them.  Darn me and my need for creative writing outlets haha. 

It is summer break for ODU students now except for the few who have opted to take summer courses of course.  I contemplated taking a summer course myself, but decided I'd rather focus on work and friends this summer.  I am already limited in my free time as it is. 

So I decided not to graduate in May.  I still needed 2 classes to graduate, but I already had 5 first semester which was exhausting on top of Track and Student Senate and ResLife duties not to mention having a good relationship with family and friends and an active social life.  One of the classes I needed to graduate is being offered in the Fall with one of my favorite professors, Sister Fatula, so I decided to just stay the extra semester and take it with her rather than go through the hassle of finding a subsititute class and getting it approved and all. 

This has actually turned out to be a very nice blessing in a very obvious disguise since I was not at all ready to leave ODU yet.  It's not just that it's my home now and I can't bear to leave it for sentimental reasons though that is true too.  I am also just not ready to go out into the real world and be a grown up.  This gives me a little time to postpone figuring out whether or not I want to do grad school or travel or work to pay off student loans or beginning a "big girl" career.  The extra semester also gives me more time to build lasting friendships and leave the campus with a good lasting impression of myself.  And of course, I will increase my knowledge and Dominican thinking skills through the additional classes I will be taking.

If I hadn't decided to stay the extra semester, I would not have lucked out with the awesome job opportunities I have this summer.  At the very end of Spring semester, there was an opening for a position with ResLife and Student Development as a summer RA and an Orientation leader with food and housing provided for me on campus.  I also got offered a position working as a studen ambassador over the summer, so I am basically getting paid to live on campus and do various tasks around the school which is awesome since my family moved recently so I would have had a hard time getting just for a month or so over the summer.  It's also great to spend more time on campus before I graduate in December.  There's quite a few of my friends from ODU living nearby and visiting from around Ohio, so I am able to see a lot more people this summer than I got to in the past due to my lack of car and being one of very few Panthers from the Cleveland area.

It has been a lot of work at some points, but for the most part, this summer at ODU has been surprisingly awesome!  I feel I made the right decision taking these positions.  It's very beneficial for me emotionally, financially, physically, and socially.  I miss my family a lot, but I know I'd be bored, poor, and lonely if I had moved back home for the summer.  And it would have been very hard for me to motivate myself to find a job and really get on my feet especially if I had graduated in May like I was originally supposed to.

Basically, my point here is that ODU has really given me a lot- jobs, education, amazing friends, faith, and fantastic life experiences.  When I do finally graduate, I know I will be leaving here with great stories, awesome relationships, and the skills I need to survive in the real world and be the person I want to be.  I am not sure that any other school could have done for me what ODU is doing.  I am just so much better now than I was when I first entered Ohio Dominican in May 2008 for my Orientation.  I only hope that all of ODU's students can see and appreciate this amazing place and take full advantage of all it has to offer.  My biggest regret is not realizing this sooner.  My last 4 years could have been even more amazing had I taken the time to really explore and get to know the campus and get involved and build even more and better relationships.  So my advice to every college student is make the most of these 4 years, because you aren't going to get them back and they are over before you know it.  Every day can be an amazing day if you let it, so let your college years be amazing.  There's a lot your school can do for you.