Spring Open House was yesterday on campus and I couldn’t have had more fun with it. Like I said before yes it’s a very long day and yes it’s exhausting but I just love it! It’s really impressive to see the amount of students that had come out to not only see the campus but who also sat down and listened to the presentations that were being put on all day by staff and faculty. It was a long day, starting at 7:30 and ending about 3, and the nap that followed it was quite appreciated but it was just awesome to see all those prospective students! So if you were here, you rock!

I’m really pumped about this week. The last month or so my calendar has looked like a huge blob of black and blue ink with all of the activities, meetings and programs. But this upcoming week is the emptiest that it has been in a while!! I’m waiting for that to change but hey I can hope right? If it does stay pretty empty I’m looking forward to getting some of my life back in order. I hate having to do things right before their due so I’d love some time to get ahead in some of my readings and maybe start getting back on a normal sleeping pattern.

Also, last week I had an interview for a UB 101 Peer Mentor position. UB 101 is a class that most incoming freshman take. It’s a one credit class and it meets once a week. Basically it’s a class to help new students become acquainted with the college, things like registering for classes and utilizing all of the resources on campus. I’ll find out on Tuesday if I got that position. I also handed in my application for a research assistant position in a Psychology lab with my Social Psychology professor so let’s keep our fingers crossed on that one too!! Now on to a Hall Council meeting where we have elections for next years Executive Board…

So in a similar fashion that my fellow blogger, Aaron, once put a disclaimer on his stomach-turning blog I am going to put a *disclaimer* on this blog as well. However, I promise this blog will have nothing to do with nor mention the bathroom. The disclaimer is a simple warning that this blog is more an insight into my mind for a brief moment, which in at least my Mom’s opinion, can be a scary place sometimes.

There has been a lot of talk around me lately about the evil question that is always lingering in a college student’s mind, “What am I going to do with my life?” and it’s made me think. We only have four protected years here in college, five if we can squeeze a few more pennies out of Mom and Dad. But after that, what’s next? Grad school? A job? Sometimes even as stressful as our classes can get it’s at least better than having to deal with co-workers and bosses.

Well, the other day in my Sociology of the Family class we watched a documentary called “The Broken Child”. Anyone who knows me will be able to tell you I’m obsessed with documentaries and so this one was no different. I had already seen this film multiple times on HBO and although I knew exactly what scene would flash on the screen next, this particular time I watched it, however, it was invoking very different feelings and thoughts from my mind. As you may have been able to guess from the title, this documentary is all about different situations where children were abused and the repercussions that it has had on their lives. The movie completely absorbed me for an hour and a half and I walked out of class that day, being reminded, if only for a moment, where I wanted my life to go. I was reminded what all my hard work would eventually be going for and as cheesy as it may sound, I was inspired.

So while some of you may still be trying to find your path, rest assured that there is a large number of students here doing so as well. Me? I have no idea how yet, but I’m going to make a difference. And if that difference is only visible in the eyes of one small child, then my work would have been done, my life worth something.

Now I’m sure if you have made it to the end of this ranting post your completely understanding the disclaimer that was inserted in the beginning ((and I’m sure your wishing you had chosen to hit the back button on your tool bar)). Well, all I’ll say is I warned you…

Sleep? What’s that? I think that we are coming up on what is, in my opinion, one of the busiest times of the school year. The end of March and most of April are when both this semester and next semester start to overlap and that just means more things on the “To do” list.

I just finished my RA homework for class in an hour ((hey, at least I got it done)) and as much as I was dreading it I actually enjoyed running around Ellicott. Our homework involved getting signatures from various staff members of URH&A (University Resident Halls & Apartments). And although I know a lot about the positions from being involved in Hall Council, I decided I wasn’t going to rest in my comfort zone and just use people that I was familiar with. I went to different halls in Ellicott to meet their Hall Directors and Assistant Hall Directors and ended up having several really interesting conversations that only make me more excited for next year.

Speaking of being excited, today I also handed in my contract for the Orientation Aide position so I can officially call myself a 2008 Orientation Aide. There was a little bump in the road when I found out one of the mandatory training days fell on my sister’s graduation from high school but in working with the New Student Programs department and my bosses it looks like everything is going to work out and I’ll still be able to be at graduation!! I really can’t explain how pumped I am for this summer! It’s really going to be an awesome experience!!

Well, I’m going to go put my head down for 15 minutes before class since I was still reading my Sociology book at 4:15 this morning and then was up yelling at my alarm clock at 7:45…

Ps. Happy ((late)) Easter to all of you who celebrate it!! I hope the Easter bunny was good to you!!!

This has been a crazy week and it’s not over yet. On Monday Hall Council threw a St. Patrick’s Day program and we had a great turnout! We were giving away three Buffalo Sabers tickets to the person who dressed in the most green and we had some outrageous outfits! Below is a picture of the winner of the prize and she totally deserved it! We also had representatives from the University Police Department come and talk about being responsible while at college and different ways to handle different situations. The presentation was quite interesting and very informative, they even talked me into putting on a pair of “Beer Goggles” (goggles that simulate what someone who is under the influence of alcohol would be seeing)!!

Other than that this week has just kind of been spent putting back my life together since Spring Break. I have a test tomorrow that I haven’t prepared nearly enough for so the rest of the day/night is going to have to be cuddled up in a corner of the library somewhere. Also, this weekend is Easter which I’m excited about!! Maybe it’s just all the pastel colors that appear around Easter but I always find it a very happy day! I’m going to miss not being able to be at home though, that’s for sure. My family and I, for as long as I can remember, always travel to Boston on Easter weekend and spend it with my Mom’s side of the family. There is a huge Easter egg hunt ((which always served as the source of a lot of my income as a kid, you’d be surprised if you collect enough eggs with quarters in them, they start to add up)) and a ton of people come over to my grandmother’s house for dinner. My aunt started a tradition several years ago of what she calls the “Easter Hat Parade”. That’s where all of us are instructed to make some sort of crazy hat, with a theme and all, and we all parade around my grandparent’s house with our hats on. It sounds like a crazy idea but it has always been quite an entertaining time. So I will definitely miss being there this year, it’s just too hard to try and get to Boston from Buffalo in such a short weekend, since we don’t have any days off for Easter weekend. Guess I’ll just have to settle for reminiscing about it while staring at my Personality Psych book…

I think there is a point in everyone’s life where they sit back and kind of just smile because in that moment, everything seems like it’s working out. Now I know there is that saying “when it rains, it pours” but what I wonder is why isn’t there a saying for the opposite time? A saying like, “when the sun shines, it’s gorgeous” or something. Because in this moment that is where my life seems to be, basking in the sunlight.

In case you were wondering, my spring break was absolutely amazing. The beaches of the Dominican Republic couldn’t have been more perfect. With white sand and crystal blue oceans, it was like walking around in a post card everyday. I cherished every moment that I got to spend with my aunt and my grandfather, and I think that they had an equally as good of a time as I did. Coming back to the two feet of snow and 20 degrees weather was NOT as exciting but I’m slowly adjusting. Here are just a few pictures of where I got to spend my week ((DISCLAIMER: These pictures will, without a doubt, make you look out your window and wonder why everyday can’t be like the ones seen here. It’s okay, springs coming *hopefully*))

In other news, I found out today that I got the Orientation Aide position that I have been waiting to hear about!!!!! I was so ecstatic when I found out!! It’s something that I have been wanting to do for a while and a job that I think will fit my personality perfectly! I’m really, really excited and it’s another huge load off my shoulders about what to do for this summer. Everything seems to be falling into place and I’m really happy about it. But now onto a St. Patrick’s Day program that Hall Council is throwing, yay for the Irish!!

And a few more things fall off the “To Do List, for my life”. Yesterday during my two hour break in between classes I went running around campus and one of the places that I stopped off in Clements Hall and applied for my Social Work major (which is technically a Social Science Interdisciplinary degree with a concentration in Community Mental Health). And I got accepted, which means that I am now officially a Social Work major. The way that it works here at UB is that there are only specific majors that you can be accepted in from the start of freshman year, those majors being things like Architecture and Engineering. All other majors you are just “intended” until you reach the specified requirements that usually include things like taking a specific number of classes and having a certain GPA. If I have time today I’m going to head over to the Psychology department and hand in my application for that major as well!

With one test behind me and one huge one tomorrow things are very quickly winding down. You can always tell when Spring Break is coming up because 1. a lot of the girls are suddenly looking a little bit tanner to get ready for wherever they’re vacationing to and 2. the campus starts thinning out around Wednesday. It’s becoming slowly but surely easier to find a parking spot closer to the dorms and even just walking around the spine, there’s a definite difference with how many people are on in the hallways and lecture halls. Me, well we’ve already established that I’ll be here until Friday at the last possible moment. Once my exam is over on Friday I’m home free but as I have already been reminded multiple times by the two people I’m riding home with, they were ready/able to leave this morning, and I am the one holding the car up. Oh well, they’ll get over it.

Until then I’m going to be hidden away in my secret spot in the library getting ready for my Social Psychology test tomorrow, it’s not going to be a fun one. I’m not sure why Social is getting to me since psych classes usually come quite easy to me but for whatever reason the last test kicked my butt (it could be the fact that that week was the week I died and came back to life) so I’m really hoping to do well on this one. However, this will probably be my last blog before I head out and since I will literally be away from a computer from Sunday to Sunday, I’ll have to sign off wishing that everyone has a fabulous week!!!! (And it’s okay to be a little, heck, a lot, jealous of the fact that I’ll be in 83 degree weather for the week. It’s understandable!)

I had the most amazing day yesterday! First, like Andrew mentioned the weather in Buffalo was hovering around a nice 60 degrees, it was awesome! I wore a sweater and finally was able to leave my annoyingly-huge winter coat in the closet. ((Even though now there is a winter weather advisory out for tonight and all day tomorrow, we’ll choose to ignore that fact for now.)) It certainly made me anxious for more spring weather like that. I feel like the majority of us on campus are getting ready to be done with the cold, winter weather; it certainly has been quite a long one this year.

My day started off earlier than it normally does. Monday mornings are nice, I’m able to ease myself back into the week by sleeping until about 9:30 since I don’t have class until 11. But yesterday I shot right up at 7 o’clock (I didn’t need to be up for another hour but that’s beside the fact), before I was even really aware of the fact that I was awake I had already opened my window up to let the breeze in from outside. I guess it was just a sixth sense about the weather outside. But anyways, the reason I was up early was because I had an advising meeting in order to figure out classes for next semester and get some other things figured out. Well, the meeting couldn’t have gone better! Unknown to me, I have apparently taken enough of the appropriate classes that I could graduate next year if I wanted! I probably won’t only because it would be nice to do some other things while I here, such as be a Teaching Assistant for some classes, but it’s nice to think that I have that option if I wanted to. I’m sure my parents aren’t too excited to hear that I am probably going to opt out of the graduating early thing since that would cut down on a year of tuition but I know my Mom would rather me spread things out, do well, and enjoy my time here rather then be on the phone with her every night stressing about something.

The rest of the day was full with classes and my STARS office hour but then I had a great dinner at a little Chinese restaurant across the street from our South Campus called Ming. I should really start investigating all of the little shops on Main Street more since that’s where I’ll be living next year, maybe after Spring Break I’ll go adventuring. Until then I’ll be hidden in the library getting ready for the first of my two exams this week which takes place tomorrow. But yesterday was just such a mood lifter that it was a great way to start off the week…it’s a wonder what a little warmth and sunshine can do to a mood.

Tonight the Student Recruitment Unit (which includes us STARS and Tour Guides) had a training to talk about and start getting ready for our Spring Open House for accepted students. I don’t know how everyone else feels about Open House’s but I love them! I know it’s a long day (our day usually starts about 7 am and doesn’t usually end till at least 3 pm) but there’s something energizing about seeing all the prospective students on campus. Maybe it’s a mix of that and the endless Starbucks coffee’s I have in my hand on that day but whatever the reason I always find Open House to be a good time!

Other than that these next couple of days are just going to be focused on getting through the week. I don’t have it so bad before I leave but I do have a decent amount to get done. I spent today hidden away in the library filling out review sheets and making outlines of my psych chapters to get ready for my tests this week. I have a Civ exam on Wednesday and a Social Psych exam on Friday (which stinks-RIGHT before I leave) but hopefully this week will go by fast enough. I also have a meeting with my advisor’s tomorrow to talk about classes for next semester. With three majors there’s no way that I could get through college without someone by my side making sure that I’m on the right path, making sure that I’m fulfilling all the requirements. Besides I love playing with what classes I’ll be taking so it’s nice to be able to have some choice in the matter, unlike high school.

And another BONUS I was procrastinating this afternoon and happen to stumble onto weather.com, the place that I am going for Spring Break is suppose to be 81 & 83 degrees on the first two days that we are there!!! I seriously can not wait to feel the warm sun on my skin…*please let this week go by fast*