5 semesters down, 3 to go

Alright, so its been forever since I've blogged. Time certainly flies by when you're bombarded with finals! Luckily I can now say that I am officially done with the Fall 2007 semester! This past week I've had 3 papers due and 4 exams, so needless to say I am so relieved that it's all over and done with. I had my last two finals at 8am and 10:30am yesterday, and wrapped up the semester by totally crashing at around noon. Okay warning: I'm going to be super geeky here for a minute (even more so than I usually am). Its not even all of the work that is the worst part of finals. I mean, yeah, its overwhelming and sometimes you feel like there isn't enough time in the day to get everything done. Really, though, the worst part is the stress of how much finals impact your grades. Theoretically, you can have an A in the class - which you have obviously spent the last 3 months working hard for - and have that ruined in the 2 hours it takes to bomb an exam. Okay so clearly I'm a bit psycho about my grades (I prefer to call it being a perfectionist) but now I'm just anxiously waiting to see how I did. Ughh....

These past few weeks weren't all about finding time to study though. I went to the Winter Ball with some of my fellow Ambassadors last Friday night. I had a pretty good time despite not being much of a dancer. Its always fun to see everyone get all decked out, and everyone looked gorgeous! : ) I unfortunately didn't take any pics myself but once I get some from my lovely dates I will be sure to post them up here.

Also, now that finals are over I can finally enjoy Christmas time in the city! The snow and the cold weather seem so much more harsh when you're battling through them to get to an exam that you've been dreading for the last 3 months. But its funny how that kind of changes when you actually have time to breathe. Sure, its kinda sucky being out in the cold walking everywhere, but that's the only way that you can see how pretty the city looks in the winter! There are Christmas lights up everywhere, and everything looks so nice all lit up with the snow. Being in Boston really gets you in the holiday spirit, and I'm so happy to be done with finals so I can actually enjoy it! : )

HELLLOOOOOO. I AM A CAARRRRRR.

Ugh, I feel like I haven't blogged in forever; there's so much to talk about!

Okay, first of all, Dane Cook was AMAZING! Seriously, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. He did mostly new stuff, but incorporated some fan favorites in there as well. He started off the show coming in wearing a Pats tee shirt, which was under a Celtics jersey, which was under a Red Sox jersey -- definitely showing some love for his hometown teams. I would go into detail of what he joked about, but most of the material is waaay too inappropriate for a college admissions blog... haha. I also don't want to spoil the show for those of you who are going to see him in next few weeks, and who are planning on buying his new cd or dvd "Rough Around the Edges." But I will say that he ended his Boston show with the car alarm bit playing on the big screen as people were filing out of the Garden, hence the obsecure title of this blog entry. If Dane is coming to your area to do a show, I highly suggest that you go, and definitely be sure to pick up the cd. Its well worth the $10. (Thanks for the pic, Carly!!)

We also had our Open House that same day. It was definitely crazy on the Suffolk campus that day, but our event was a huge success. About 1200 people came (insane!!), and we had professors from every department and reps from admission, financial aid, etc. to answer the important questions about Suffolk and the application process. To all of you who came, thank you so much, and we hope that we really helped answer all of your questions about Suffolk despite all of the chaos of having 20 tours running at one time! If you have anymore questions or want to take another tour please don't hesistate to stop by again. : )

After all that craziness that was Open House and Dane Cook, it was so nice to only have one more day of class before Thanksgiving break. Thankfully, I was able to go back home to the Middle-of-Nowhere, MA on Tuesday afternoon, and enjoy 4 days or so with my family. It was the first time that I was able to see my sister since August, so I was definitely glad to be back. I was also able to catch up with some friends from high school, which is always comforting for me because they haven't really changed since we started college. While going off to school is so fun and exciting, it really is great to come back to people who are still so fun to be around and who you are able to reminisce with. It was great because hanging out with my friends from high school was never awkward at all despite hardly seeing or talking to each other throughout the school year; we can just pick up where we left off. Sometimes thats exactly what you need.

I'm sorry about that sappy tangent... I think its the stress from FINALS that is causing me to be so emotional about everything.. haha. Seriously, though, I feel like I have so much stuff to do in the next two weeks that I'm going to sleep from the end of the semester until Christmas morning. I have two huge papers due on Monday, a test and another paper due on Wednesday, then three exams between the following Monday and Tuesday. After that, though, I am free from schoolwork until mid-January, which is going to be amazing. I cant wait!

Also, to alleviate some of the stress from finals week, we have our Winter Ball on next Friday night -- my one weekend night out before buckling down and burying myself in textbooks, flashcards and class notes for about 48 hours straight until my exams start. The tickets for the Ball are $20, and its going to be at the Seaport Hotel. I'm especially excited to go because I'm going with some of my fellow Ambassadors! It should be a good time! : )

Wow, thats definitely enough for now. Hope you enjoy the rambling!

Hey everyone!

So I apologize for my pessimistic rant that I wrote last week, but now I'm in a better mood; last week definitely got a lot better after Monday/Tuesday, and this week has been going well so far. Last week we had class registration for the spring semester- like I had mentioned in my last blog - and it went really well. I got into all of the classes that I wanted to, and my schedule is going to be pretty sweet. I'm taking Sensation & Perception to work towards my Psychology major, Cultural Diversity and Human Need to work towards my Sociology minor, and Bio 102 & American History as my last core requirements. I'm taking Sensation & Perception with a fellow blogger, Cordelia, so that should be fun. : )

Also, this past weekend was a long weekend so that was nice too. I stayed at my best friend Christina's house on Saturday night, which was a lot of fun. We also had a get-together on Sunday night for some of us that work in the Admissions office; it was a good time, and some of us were even lucky enough to get up just to come into work together and give tours early Monday morning. Pretty exciting stuff...

As much fun as last weekend was, this weekend will definitely be a thousand times better. While we do have a Suffolk Open House this weekend - which is always pretty crazy and hectic- it'll be totally worth it because of the awesome night I have planned after the event. I'm going to see Dane Cook at the TDBanknorth Garden on Saturday night, which is going to be soo much fun! I absolutely love him, and my friends and I have pretty good seats so I'm really looking forward to it.

After this weekend, there is only one day of classes for me and then its Thanksgiving break! Wooo... Can't wait! It'll be amazing to take a few days off from the craziness that is college life. I'll definitely be sure to update on how great the Dane Cook show was (and how great the Admissions event was, too.... of course.... haha) next week.

I need a nap...

So today is only Tuesday and I'm already counting down to the weekend. I had three exams yesterday so I am totally drained. Its definitely not a good way to start off the school week, but I kind of expected that this would happen at some point during the semester because I am only taking classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Although I usually love my schedule, the fact that all of my classes are pretty much back to back didn't help my situation yesterday because I didn't have any time to review the exam materials throughout the day.

Because of this I decided that it was in my own best interest to skip my biology class - the only
one I didn't have an exam in - so I would have an extra hour or so to study. This really worked in my favor... at least until I ran into my bio professor after my exams in the lobby on Donahue. Opps... It was kind of awkward and he totally called me on not being in class, but he ended up seeming prety understanding about it and just told me to go home and take a nap. Haha oh well...

We also have registration for spring semester this week. As of now, I still have no idea what I'm going to take and my registration time is 10am tomorrow morning. I guess that's going to be my homework for tonight. I met with my advisor and she suggested some classes that I should be taking but I'm so indecisive that I left this until the absolute last minute. Opps again...

Hopefully the rest of this week won't be as hectic.

Wow, things around here have been really crazy lately! This, of course, is mostly because THE RED SOX WON THE WORLD SERIES!!! As many of you may have seen on TV (or came to see in person) the city went into Red Sox Hysteria on Tuesday during the parade. It was a good time, but not for those who don't like massive crowds. This picture was taken from Boston.com, and its actually right by our 150 Tremont St. dorm, so as you can see, Suffolk kids were right in the heart of it all. My friends and I were standing right across from 73 Tremont St. and got an awesome view of the players as they passed by on the Duck Boats. The energy from the fans was crazy, and the whole experience was definitely one of those things that will stick out the most to me when I think about my college career. Two words: Re-sign Lowell.

Also, the Up 'til Dawn fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Hospital was a great success! We were all so happy with the turnout, and it was great to see so many people working together and having fun at the event you've been working hard to plan for months. Overall, Suffolk students sent out around 2,000 letters to family and friends asking them for donations that go directly to the hospital. One student alone mailed out 473 letters, which was pretty crazy. Last year we raised more than $18,000 and we're really hoping to break that record this year. I'm feeling pretty confident about it though; I'm hoping that Suffolk can make St. Jude's proud! : )

My small town

Hubbardston, Massachusetts - my hometown.

(Yes, it really exists... Here's the proof!)

This is a picture of Comet Pond, which is about 2 minutes from my house.

I love Boston, but nothing compares to the scenery in my

town during the fall.

Hopefully I'll find time to go home soon before I totally miss the whole season!

LET'S GO RED SOX, LET'S GO!!!

Honestly, there is no better place to be than in Boston when the Red Sox are doing well - nevermind when they're gearing up for the WORLD SERIES! As a college student in Boston, you cannot escape the Red Sox Nation epidemic, but then again, why would you want to?!

Normally, the Red Sox are a major headline in the Globe and topic of conversation everywhere you go, but Bostonians take it to a whole other level when the their beloved team is off to prove that they are the best team in baseball. As a resident of the North End - where there are apartments lined up and down every narrow street - you always know how the Sox are doing by the cheers coming from the apartment of seemingly every college student in the city. The energy here is intense, and the World Series has been the cause of many cancellations or postponements of events all around the city; in one of my classes, there has already been talk about cancelling class if the victory parade is on a day that we have class (not that we're getting too ahead of ourselves or anything....). Loyal Sox fans in the Boston area have also made it a habit to congregate after winning games to celebrate for hours all around the city - on Commonwealth Ave., in Faniuel Hall, in Kenmore Square and on Yawkey Way - under the supervision of the Boston Police, of course. The first game of the World Series is tonight in America's Most Beloved Ball Park, so cross your fingers for a win!!

First Blog Ever!

Hey everyone!

This is my first blog ever, so I'm pretty excited about it! I guess I'll start off with telling you a little about me. My name is Whitney, and I'm a Junior here at Suffolk University. I transferred to Suffolk for fall semester my sophomore year, and I've loved it ever since. I'm a psychology major with a minor in sociology, and hope to work with kids as a school psychologist someday. I lived at the 150 Tremont St. dorm last year in a nine-girl suite. As you can imagine, it was pretty chaotic at times, but it was a lot of fun. This year I am commuting to school from the North End of Boston. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Boston area, the North End is Boston's "Little Italy" - the home of the famous Mike's Pastry and numerous other Italian restaurants and shops. I absolutely love living there because of the awesome food, as well as the short commute to campus (about 15 minutes walking) but its also a popular place for Suffolk students to live so its cool to see people you know off-campus all the time.

Although I lived on-campus last year, I've only really begun to get involved with the Suffolk community this year. Most of the other Suffolk bloggers and I give tours around campus so you might run into us or meet us if you come to tour Suffolk. Aside from working in the Undergraduate Admissions Office and giving tours, I also am a teaching assistant for SU101. SU101 is a course for freshmen that focuses on adjusting to college life, learning about the campus/campus life and learning academic skills for success at Suffolk. Its a really interesting class and really builds a community for students; its the type of class that you can walk into and feel free to ask questions about classes, registering, roommates, study groups, or whatever, and not feel like you're the only one who doesn't know. If you decide to come to Suffolk I really suggest that you take it, or at least consider it (its a requirement for the Business school and an optional course for the College of Arts and Sciences).

I also have gotten involved with some community service groups this year, so I will be updating you on those throughout the year. I am a member of Up 'til Dawn, which is a group that organizes and runs fundraisers for St. Jude Children's Hospital. Our first event is on October 30th, and we're really hoping to have a good turn out!

This past weekend I also walked in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. Starting at the Esplanade, we walked 5 miles along the Charles River, walking down through Boston University's campus near Kenmore Square, and walking back up through Cambridge. This year over 40,000 people participated in the walk- raising 3.25 million dollars!!! It was so inspiring to see so many survivors there, too!

I know I've rambled on and on, so I'll wrap this up. I'll be sure to keep you updated on what's going on around campus and around the city... Hopefully I can talk about a Red Sox win the next time I blog! GO SOX!!! : )


Whitney