2nd First Day!

Today overall was fine. I have one professor from new york, one from south Carolina, and one from Hungary. So, I'd say I have a wide variety of accents to work with. Not complaining, just interesting I do suppose. My Individual and Society professor was not my favorite. I loved every single professor last semester, and 2 out of 3 this semester is not too bad I suppose. But so far, my first impressions of this guy are not okay... He swears. Alot. and says "MMMMKAY!" like the teacher on south park. The entire time I was in there I felt like I was in a prison camp! Come to find out, he worked in a prison for 13 years. :( We can't have any electronics. No phones, ipods, laptops, nothing. And if you get caught 3 times, you fail the class. That is some serious business for a gen ed class nobody is suppose to work extensively in. UGH! I am at 18 credits this semester... and after the first day, I would say that this is going to be a LONG semester. I already have hours worth of homework in every single class. But hey, nobody said this was going to be easy. It's going to be difficult, and I will have to work at this every second of every day. In the long run I'll be happy with my career, and my life. So, no complaining, only trying harder to work harder. :) That is all for now. I'm off to start this homework! Thanks for reading.
~stephanie joy.

Part Two: Here we are again...

Today I moved back into my dorm room, and it feels so strange. I finally got use to living here and then i had to move back home. I have been home for over a month and have gotten use to that, but now I must move back again. It is bitter sweet. I miss home. I'm glad I am back here though; there are good and bad things. I have my books all ready to go for tomorrow. My first day of classes include Psychology of the exceptional child, Individual and Society, and Calculus I. Sounds like an exciting first day! Check back tomorrow and I will let you know how the day went. As for now, I am heading to bed. Good night.
~stephanie joy.

The First Year Experience: Half Way Point.

I cannot believe that this year is already winding down! I have 6 more days of classes and then 3 final exams left to go! I am all registered for my second semester of college already! This first semester has been wonderful! I have met so many people and have had so many great experiences here already! Some productions I attended this semester include: NWC, Operatic Gems, Blast!, The Art Institute Chicago, The Contemporary Art Museum Chicago, Macbeth, Guys & Does, Thodos Dance Chicago, and The Edwin Booth Company Presents. I will also be seeing The Nutcracker with my mother and sister in 2 weeks. I will be auditioning for "She Stoops to Concur" next semester and will also be taking Acting I and Intro to Technical Theatre! I cannot wait! I will also be in Calculus I, Individual and Society, and Psychology of the Exceptional Child! I will be at 18 credits, as full as it gets, but it sounds like a blast to me! I am so pleased with my first year here, but I'm ready to be home for awhile now. :) Happy Holidays Everyone!

The First Year Experience: Busy Weekend!

Most eventful weekend in a long time!
Thursday: Frsh/Soph play! and catching up with Mr. Reilly. :)
Friday: Work. Fresh/Soph play again! More catching up with friends! Made Cars Mac and Cheese with my baby brother. Call from Steven to catch up!
Saturday: Sleeping in! Laundry! and then Worked all night long.
Sunday: Work! Then Light the Parks Parade with Zoe and Jason!
Heading back to Whitewater soon! What a wonderful weekend spent with wonderful people. :)

The First Year Experience: Event #2 "NWC"

This evening my New Student Seminar class, also known as my Learning Community, went to dinner at Esker dinning hall. I got mashed potatoes and proceeded to wait in this terribly long line that went around the entire buffet area in order to get pasta, which of course, was the last thing in the line... After waiting about 10 minutes... After my mashed potatoes were cold. I finally got to the pasta and put some on my plate. The group ate in the Whitewater room and I sat with my friends Amanda and Jordan. I began to eat my cold potatoes which were still yummy. However, the pasta was nasty, and not worth the wait. :( Eating with my girls was super fun though! We event got seats next to each other to see the show NWC.
N.W.C. stands for 3 naughty words that we should not ever say. The play had only 3 guys. It was a comedy. There is not an easy way for me to describe this show, it is just something you have to experience. I will only say this, I laughed, and gasped the entire time! Some things were so hilarious. Some things were so sad. And others just down right crazy town, "I can't believe he just said that!" All in all it was a wonderful 2nd experience. Stay tuned for next week! I'll be attending a lecture on H2O and a music show entitled "Opera Gems" Should be fun! :)

~stephanie joy.

The First Year Experience: Home for Homecoming

This previous weekend I went home for my high school homecoming weekend. I attended the Assembly and Football game. I was able to see many of my good friends. My life has been going through many changes lately so it was good to get a little inspiration from the people that love me most. :) Ben had a bon fire at his house, and I was able to spend the entire evening with Holly, Hannah, Kelci, Tyler, Brina, Ben and a few others. It was truly a wonderful evening.

~stephanie joy.

The First Year Experience: "Perspectives"

I would just like to take the time today to share with you a story told to the class by my Global Perspectives professor. This may not be very funny to you all, but I really enjoyed class today and am going to blog this post for my own reading later on in my life. :)
She told us a story about when she took a small group of students to Russia for a tour/visit. The group went to a dinner at a friend of my professors home. She cooked all 15 of them dinner and invited them into their home with open arms. In return the students thought they should do the dishes as a way to say thank you, since she would accept no money. The students, using democratic thinking, organized the dish schedule by days. everyone was assigned a day, and on said day they would do the dishes. The Russian woman thought it was HILARIOUS! And everywhere she went she would explain to her friends that the Americans were going to take turns doing the dishes. Even the guys in the group were going to be assigned a day! They thought it was so unreal. My professor explained to us, that at that time in Russia, they all thought that men couldn't do dishes. Like they CAN'T do them, like the can't have a baby! (My class all busted out in laughter because here we obviously know men can do dishes... they may not be very skilled. but they are capable.) She went on to say that things are beginning to change there. The last time she visited, about four years ago, she said she started to see men grocery shopping! Now, they didn't exactly know all of the rules of grocerying, like staying on the right side and if someone is behind you and you can't find the pickles, you slide your cart over so they can get around you; but either way, they were grocery shopping. Moral of the story, is that not everyone thinks of sharing jobs and sharing dish washing among the guests in an orderly fashion... but getting slightly off topic always makes for an enjoyable class period. :)

~stephanie joy.

The First Year Experience: Art Experience #1!

Today was the grand opening of the first art exhibit in the Crossman Gallery which is located in the Center of the Arts here on campus. The genius behind the idea for the exhibit made an appearance as well as some of the artists. The exhibit was entitled Sobre Vivendo: Manejese con Cuidado, meaning Surviving: Handle with Care. The works were all prints of various endangered species in a city in Mexico. The idea was to make people aware of these endangered species in order to help save them. The art was so magnificent, and the story behind each print was moving. It was a wonderful experience getting to see all of these pieces and the man behind it. At times it was slow moving because he only spoke Spanish and it took double the time to have a translator repeat what he just said. But it was absolutely amazing to hear everything he had to say about the exhibit. That particular exhibit has only been shown in 3 cities in Mexico, and 1 city in America. So to have it shown to us here on campus was so surreal. The art was so enjoyable and i did not even care that I had to write a paper on the exhibit. It was so enjoyable getting to share with my professor my thoughts on the exhibit. :) An experience I will never forget.

~stephanie joy.