Today is the first day of Spring, and coincidentally happens to be the first day of my Spring break! I will be leaving for New York soon, and am so anxious to finally be in the city. I’ve been counting down the days and planning nonstop over the last couple weeks, so I can’t wait to do all I have planned! More blogging to come about New York City after I get back.

Once I get back from my trip I still have a handful of days left of Fontbonne’s spring break. I am looking forward to spending that time relaxing. These last 3 weeks have been immensely exhausting, both physically and mentally. I cannot wait to have some spare time to just relax and “catch up” on some sleep. I love college life, but it sure can be tiring sometimes. I won’t get a complete break from academics however, because I have two papers due when school resumes and other assignments to be working on throughout my break.

Even with items on my to-do list, it will still be nice to be at home. I plan on attending a lot of my younger brother’s baseball games next week. I am a huge fan of baseball, especially my brother’s teams and the St. Louis Cardinals. Opening day is fast approaching and Fontbonne did sell us discounted tickets for April 9th, but I’m too excited about New York right now to think about that!

Until next week..

As we all know, there were a couple snow days recently. I have never met a student or teacher that does not like snow days. For one, that means a day off. And secondly, snow is just so gorgeous to look at. (At least it is until it gets plowed to the sides of roads in massive, dirty piles.) When I was younger, in elementary and middle school, of course my snow days were spent outside. My brother and I would walk past only a few houses up the street to a church with a giant hill that we would sleigh-ride on (sadly, the hill has now been taken over by the church expansion). It was convenient because we could get there all by ourselves. Eventually, we would come back home and watch the movie Snow Day. You may not be familiar with it, but to me and my brother, it’s a classic (a very corny Nickelodeon movie, but classic).

However, my ways have changed since those days. Now, I prefer to use snow days as a catch-up day. I like to wrap myself in a cozy blanket and get ahead on some school work. This makes me feel so accomplished and ready to conquer the upcoming school days. Don’t worry, I do take breaks in between subjects and watch an episode of The Big Bang Theory, Project Runway, or American Idol (I’m not 100% a book worm). As you can see, my inner hermit characteristics come out during my most recent snow days.

Good day, gentle reader! I’m afraid I’ve been away from my weekly blogs here for almost an entire semester. I’m sure I left you in a real state – I can just imagine you checking my page week after week, only to be disappointed month after month, wondering desperately about what kinds of adventures I’ve been having since last I wrote.

Unfortunately, if you ask me about my adventures, the stories I’ll tell won’t involve my coloring book hobby (which I’ve since given up), or my biking excursions, or any of the other adventurous things I enjoy (And maybe “adventure” is a strong term for coloring. I don’t know.). I was “off the grid” last semester because…(wait for it)…I was on a long climb to the top of a mountain. A mountain of homework, that is. (I’ll admit, that kind of mountain a little less exciting than Kilimanjaro.)

This semester, though, while not really being any lighter in courses and extracurriculars than last semester, I’m vowing to be more disciplined and keep on chronicling my week-to-week experiences at Fontbonne University. Hopefully, reading about the life of an average computer science/applied math major (the faithful reader will be interested to know I’ve decided to double-major) will help you prospective students out there to get a feel for college and the rigors of academia. (I’ll be honest: I really just threw in the latter because it sounds pretentious.) It’s good to be back. Have a good week, everyone!

“How do you study?”

I’ve been asked this question a few times over the course of my higher learning journey. The answer is always, “It depends.” On what? you might ask. Well, for me, the way I study depends on the class, my mood and surroundings.

The one thing that is constant, however, is my need for silence and order. So, I don’t study well in groups. The only exception to the silence rule is music. And, like I said, depending on my mood, my studying soundtrack could vary a great deal. You might find me listening to anything from the Beastie Boys to Beethoven or Mozart to Israel Houghton.

I’m kind of all over the place, to be perfectly honest. I don’t know if that’s such a great thing. Hmm …

Don’t get me wrong! I do take homework and studying seriously. I just don’t have a specific studying style. I could probably stand to be a little more grounded when it comes to that but, what matters most is that I understand the subject matter. Excellent grades are important to me as they provide a visual representation of my effort. Studying plays a huge role in getting acceptable grades.

I wonder how my fellow Fontbonne students get their study on?

Good day, Fontbonne!

This week I wish to discuss how I study for exams. For me, the best way to study for an exam is paying attention in class. If you are unable to understand your teacher, then I would suggest dropping the class and getting into a new one. (There are some classes taught at Fontbonne with different teachers teaching the courses. Find one that works in your schedule.) Since I fortunately am able to understand my professors, I can usually give my undivided attention. What teachers say in class is very important. You can read the book all you want, but most likely what you will be tested mostly on is the information that the teacher has presented in class. There is a chance that you will have a class that does not use the book in class. It is always good to read the book regardless if the teacher does not review from it in class. For example, in my Western Civilization Pre-Historty to 1700 CE course with Mr. McCabe, Mr. McCabe tests his students on both the material that was given in class, and what was not touched upon from the chapters in our book. He will often say in class: “Make sure you read the chapter!”.

I have to admit, I do not always read everything for my classes. It is really only when it is mentioned in class that I read outside of class and homework. What has been working for me lately is studying my notes thoroughly, then skim the book for any information that I might have missed. Once I come across something that I realize that I need to know for the test, I read the section over maybe once or twice up to an hour.I feel that paying attention in class and taking good notes are the best ways for studying for a test. Good luck to all of you, and I hope that you have found my tips useful!

Thursday (9/27) was my 21st birthday! My mom traveled all the way from Plainfield, IL to surprise me. It was a huge surprise because everyone knew, even my roommate. So I was able to go home for the weekend and my roommate came with. It was so much fun, I showed her around my neck of the woods and some of my family. I didn’t do much school work over the weekend, so now I’m paying for it.

This week I have 2 tests and a paper due. Talk about a lot of studying! One thing that helps me study is repetition. I usually write down everything I need to know onto new paper. It’s easier than flipping through all of my notes and it helps me remember the material also. To study, I also quiz myself a lot on definitions or people I have to know.

It is crazy to think that it is pretty much midterm time. Where did this semester go? I’m so glad that I am at Fontbonne. Good luck Griffins that have midterms, I wish you the best of luck!

Until next time.

In the beginning of the school year, myself and five friends decided every Tuesday night we would have “Family” dinners because all of us lowered our meal plans this year. Each week one of us prepares dinner and dessert for everyone, and we rotate turns. We do this up in the Griffins Nest on the 4th floor of Medaille. So far it has been a lot of fun, and we have had some really good meals. Family dinners are just about the only time during the week all six of us can get together and hang out. It’s a good way for all of us to catch up and while whoever is making dinner the rest of us are all working on homework up in the kitchen with them.

I am really glad we decided to have home made dinners once a week because it is a good way to try each other’s favorite foods and mix up our meals.

Tonight, my suitemate is making dinner and she is making a lot of little appetizers. There are mini pizzas, toasted raviolis, meatballs, crab-ragoon, and some chips and dip as well. All of it sounds really good, but I am mostly excited for the dessert! She is making a jello cake, it’s hard to explain just how delicious it is, but I love it!

Before I start my studies, I make a list of everything that I need to do for the next three days of school work. Doing this makes sure that I don’t miss anything. It is also a nice feeling to see what I have accomplished. I normally do this on a Monday and I try to get most of it done that day or Tuesday so the rest of the week is clear to work at The Shack, and to socialize. When I study and do homework I have to be secluded. I concentrate and comprehend better that way. It seems to be working out to my benefit. I am making great grades while juggling work and basketball and also a social life. I also find it best when I take about 20 minutes to review something that I learned after class that day. So when it comes to test day, I wont have to cram.

Can you believe it? It’s already the end of the spring 2012 semester! Wow, my freshman year of college has flown by so fast. And I’ll tell ya, I’ve had great experiences with the campus, organizations, and friends!

For the 2012-2013 year, I have a goal of focusing 90% of my time into my schoolwork. I get distracted easily, so I have a hard time doing some of my homework. Aside from my academic life, I’m also a part of some of Fontbonne’s organizations. I will be the marketing officer for FISA (Fontbonne International Students Alliance) and the special events chair person for FISH (Fontbonne  in Service and Humility). I will also be joining Students for Life, SAA (Student Alumni Association), Campus Ministry, and FLARE (Fontbonne LGBT Alliance for Respect and Equality). Last but not least, I will continue to work hard on my artwork to improve my skills.

Overall, I will definitely put forth great, great, great effort into the next school year and gain even more experiences!

After agreeing to work with fellow blogger Courtney on our online Organic homework that’s due tomorrow night (which I still have to finish, unfortunately), I made my way to the library computer lab where we had decided to meet. When I arrived, Courtney was nowhere in sight (she was hiding in the back corner), but blogger Elizabeth was in plain view. So I took a seat next to Elizabeth and waited for Courtney, who decided to join us at the front of the lab. Once we were all together (which doesn’t happen as often as it should, I must say!), I felt this really big rush of appreciation for my two closest friends as they began to get in a good-natured, geeky argument about what’s wrong with my left ear, which I haven’t been able to hear out of for the past week and a half. (Seriously.)

When I came to Fontbonne as a scared little freshman last year, I doubted that I would ever have any friends as close as my best friend in high school. But now that I’m finally comfortable with being in college, I’ve come to realize that I was totally irrational in thinking that way. I mean, if I tried to crack a lame chemistry joke to my old high school (excuse my term here) bestie, I’m not really sure how she would respond. So I guess what I’m getting at here is that I’m super grateful to have two really amazing best friends here at Fontbonne who laugh at my lame jokes and try to help solve any weird problems I may be having, like the insanely annoying ringing in my ear that’s causing me to toss around phrases such as, “What? You’re going to have to speak into my good ear!” with the finesse of a 90-year-old man.

Seriously, you guys are the best! And if you ever need help with a problem, know that I’m always here to lend you an ear, provided that it’s my good one, of course (another lame joke that hopefully you’re grinning from ear to ear about, right?) Okay, I’ll stop now. I have Organic homework calling my name!

Have a wonderful rest of the week, everyone!

-Carly

“Friends of Friends” by Hospitality