It has started to get much cooler outside. I guess I have to officially accept that it is mid-September and the summer is basically over. Sigh, it was nice while it lasted. I cannot believe that we are three weeks into the semester. It feels like yesterday that everything just started. Though three weeks doesn’t sound that long in the scheme of things, it means we are almost half way through September.

Last night kicked off the guest speakers series with Kofi Annan. He spoke about human rights and global equality among the citizens of the world.  The focus of his speech was on international relations- something which I am extremely interested in.  He was a great public speaker and really kept me engaged in what he was saying.  I really love that UB has such interesting and important speakers. It also makes me feel like UB has more focus on the global world rather then focusing only on the small University community.

Like I said earlier, I am going home this weekend for the Rosh Hashanna. I am really excited to see my family and have some great home cooked food.

Which three little letters am I talking about? The GRE’s! Also known as the Graduate Record Examination. It has been hanging over my head since the beginning of August when I took my prep course for the GRE’s. Now the date of my test is right around the corner and causing me to wake up in cold sweats and have dreams about forgetting how to do simple math. This little stupid test is haunting me!! For the past few days I have been dedicating myself to getting some final practice tests done but I don’t seem to be improving my scores…at all….scary stuff to think about!I am still not completely positive if I am even going straight to grad school after I graduate from UB but I want to keep all of my possibilities open.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. Kofi Annan will be here to speak about for the distinguished speakers series. I cannot express how excited I am to hear him speak. I have also had an interest in the United Nations (international politics major, hello?) and it will be a really cool opportunity to hear someone who was so influential in improving the United Nations to become the powerful body it is today. He also focused greatly on improving international human rights which is the field I want to concentrate once I am working in the international relations field. Let me just say that it is amazing to go to a university where we get speakers like Mr. Annan to come and speak to our students. (Just my own little plug for why UB is awesome!!)

All subliminal plugs aside, I finally feel like I am back into the swing of school. I have been working hard to stay on track with all of my homework and balance studying for the GRE’s. (just typing that word is making me sweat)

After the other days’ post about my senioritis I got myself into gear. I think writing everything out that  I had to do really got a fire under my behind.

The next two weeks are going to be pretty busy. This upcoming weekend I am going home for Rosh Hashanah.  My family is coming in from all over to celebrate the holiday together at my parents house in Cleveland. Then the week after that is my when I will be taking my GRE which I am totally nervous for. I took a prep class and everything but I am still having trouble getting into the mode of the test. I am not a great standardized test taker so it takes a lot of work for me to do well as tests like the GRE.  Studying for my GRE’s has taken up a lot of my  time  so I have been trying to catch up with all of my homework for my classes. My classes are still going really well and there has not been that much homework yet so I am not worried that I am going to fall behind. The next two weeks are going to be spent doing as much GRE prep as possible so I feel ready for my test.

Like I said in my last blog, I am really excited for the guest speaker Kofi Annan to kick of the distinguised speakers series this week. I know a lot of my friends will be attending so it should be an interesting experience.

This is a warning to all of my professors that might read my blog…I have severe senioritis. Symptoms include,  a disinterest in school work, a steady loss of concentration and an extreme urge to just hang out with your friends and not accomplish anything on your “to do” list. I had it when I was a senior in high school and now I have it even worse. Don’t get me wrong, I have no interest in graduating quite yet. If I could I would remain a professional student for four more years. But unfortunately, that is not a realistic goal.  I just have to get myself back into the swing of things. Keep in mind that I was abroad last semester working a 9-5 job so I am not used to the school schedule even though it is already the second week of school.

Other than my complete lack of motivation, things are going really well. I am really excited for next Wednesday because it is the first distinguished speaker lecture of the year. To kick off the distinguished speakers series this year is Kofi Annan. Mr. Annan is the former secretary general of the United Nations. As an international politics student, I could not have chosen a better speaker.  Hearing him speak is an amazing opportunity!! Not to mention it was free for me to get in! (Love those UB cards). Last night I went to a program with my fellow blogger Lynlee. The program was called “To Write Love on Her Arms” and it is part of the Suicide Prevention Week series that is happening this week. It was a really amazing program and if you have a chance you should check out their website for more information. (www.twloha.com)

So far this three day weekend has been really amazing. Friday evening was the first training for UB STARS. It was a great opportunity to meet the new STARS as well as reconnect with the people I haven’t seen all summer. If I haven’t mentioned it before, UB STARS is the student recruiter unit of the office of admissions. It is our job to go back to our high school and explain our experiences at UB to prospective students. We also work at Fall Open House (which is October 17th) and Discovery Days.

Saturday was a very busy day. Saturday morning, like I said in my earlier blog, I helped with Saturday morning VUB (visit UB). Saturday is one of our most popular days to come for a tour. I think it is the best time because campus is pretty quiet (obviously because no college student wakes up before 10 o’clock on Saturday morning!). The Saturday tours are the same as the weekday tours which includes a tour of the entire academic spine and a sample dorm room along with a presentation about UB by one of the admissions advisors.

After tour check in it was necessary for me to take a nice long nap to prepare for Fall Fest. There was a carnival before Fall Fest but my nap was very important and unfortunately we missed the carnival which I heard was a ton of fun. Fall Fest was AWESOME! If you don’t know what Fall Fest is, it is a big concert that happens every Fall outside (as long as it doesn’t rain) at Baird Point. It is free for undergrad students with your UB Card. This year’s line up was Common, Lupe Fiasco, Jadakiss and Busta Rhymes. I went to the concert with one of my roommates and a few other friends. There was a pretty big line once we got there and we missed both Jadakiss and Busta Rhymes but we got into the concert just in time for Common’s performance. Common was amazing! He kept the crowd hyped up as he preformed and everyone I was with was dancing during the entire set. It was a ton of fun! After Common, Lupe Fiasco performed and was just as amazing.

I can’t write this blog without mentioning the amazing game that the UB football team played yesterday (Saturday) against UTEP. They did an amazing job and won the game 23-17. Good job guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our first home game is coming up next Saturday against Pitt—GO BULLS!!!!

As crazy as it seems…yesterday was the first day of classes. It felt like summer didn’t even happen that’s how quickly it flew by. It is a little strange to be back in class after spending a semester working a 9-5 internship. It is really nice though to be back at UB and I’m sure within the next two weeks I’ll get back into the routine of going to class everyday. It’s really sad though because it is my last first day of school. I will never again get the nervous/excited feeling that I get right before the first day of school after summer break.

The month of September is going to be super busy. I have lots of personal and school things going on. This Friday is the first SRU (student recruiter unit) training. I also had the first Leadership House peer mentor meeting and we have been planning for the leadership retreat that is coming up. I also have a lot of busy weekends that I am very excited about. This upcoming weekend it the first weekend for Saturday morning tours of the University. All of the student assistant help with morning check in and this Saturday is my day to do the check in.

It is also the Chicken Wing Festival this weekend!!! Obviously as someone who loves to eat (especially chicken wings) I am really excited for it! The Chicken Wing Festival happens in downtown Buffalo in Coca Cola Field (which is the Bison Stadium (our baseball team)). A ton of different local Buffalo vendors sell samples of their finest (spiciest) wings along with crazy concoctions likes Buffalo Wing Mac and Cheese. It is a lot of fun and a lot of eating.

My class schedule seems very doable this year and I am exciting for all of my classes. We’ll see how the second day goes…so far so good.