Month: October 2014

Happy Halloween! Boy, this is going to be one crazy weekend!  There is Halloween tonight and the Stanford game tomorrow. Speaking of football games, I managed to get a football ticket again.  This will three times in a row that I have beaten the lottery system, and I don’t know how I do it (I’ve been asked that many times). Anyways, I am very excited for the game tomorrow, as my friends all got tickets too, so we will be able to go together.

After my class today at three, I will officially be halfway done with my first term of my freshman year!  School has actually been going well, I think I am doing better than I thought.  I mean, yes, I do spend a lot of time studying, but I thought I would have a much harder time trying to figure how I need to preform on test to do well, and so far that hasn’t been a problem (which I am very happy about).

I also really like all of my classes.  All but one of them are lecture classes. My first class is my Intro to Ethnic studies class.  I can truly say that I am learning so much in this class.  I always knew that race is a preconceived notion, but now I know so much more than that, with things like multiplicity and intersectionality.  I also just got my first grade on my test back and I got a 90%, which is great because our test was an online one, with short answer questions.  I have never taken a test like that before, so that gives me more confidence when we have another test next week.

My next class is my History 201 class, which is early American history.  I definitely know more of this subject than my Ethnic Studies class as I took it in high school, but I still really like it.  Our lecture on Tuesday was about witchery, specifically what happened in Salem, Massachusetts in the 17th century.  In my opinion, it was the coolest lecture we have had this term.  I have a paper due next Wednesday in this class about freedom, so I will definitely be working on that on Sunday!

Then, I have my Intro to Business class, which I actually had a midterm in yesterday.  I think it went pretty well too.  This is another really interesting class where I am learning a lot.  Every single class I have talked about so far, has been a lecture style class.  Overall, I would say that I don’t dislike lecture style classes as much as I thought I would.  Out of all of them though, I don’t like that the Intro to Business class is a lecture class the most.  I like the professor and everything, but the people in that class don’t seem to care that much, which is weird and ironic, because they are the ones getting the iClicker questions wrong.  To give some examples, there was a couple that kept kissing, and a girl that was looking up European soccer teams.  The class is only two times a week, do they really don’t have the time to pay attention?  On top of that, we always get out early too!(like about 20-30 minutes every time!)

My last class is not a discussion one, but more like a writing workshop type class.  The class is writing 123 and there are only about 15 people in the class, which is great, because it gives me a lot of time to talk and with the professor and ask questions.

My classes this term have made me think more about my classes for next term.  I am happy to know that I can learn and do well in lecture classes, but at the same time,  I really enjoy my writing class where there are not as many people.  When I choose my classes in about two weeks, I will definitely keep that in mind, but I will never not take a class for that reason.  I am meeting with an adviser in about a week so that will help me schedule classes as well!

Well, I am over the word limit and have to leave for class in about twenty minutes, so I should probably finish this week’s post up.  I will post some pictures from Halloween and the game next week.

Happy Halloween, Sco’ Ducks, and until then,

Amanda

Right when school first started, and we began to have homework, my friend joked “college gets in the way of our social lives” which is ironic because, without college we wouldn’t be here, making new friends and having a social life.  With midterms these past two weeks, I have definitely had to spend more time studying, and less time hanging out with friends (getting food, watching movies, etc.) but all in all it has still been a good week, and two midterms are behind me, only one more to go!

I already talked about my first midterm, which was for my history 201 class in last weeks post.  This week however, I got my grade back and it was an A!  I was very excited, I think that I smiled the whole way back to class.  The worst part was, however, that our GTF told us that he would give us our essays at the end of the discussion. I took part in the discussion, but basically the essay was all that was on my mind! History essays are one of my strong points and I guess I expected to do pretty well, but I wasn’t really expecting an A on my first college test ever especially considering the fact that in high school, I never did well on my first test in a class.

The midterm that I had this week was for my Ethnic Studies class.  It was an open note, and we did it from our personal computers in our dorms.  The true/false were a little tricky, but the fill-in-the-blank/guess the author questions were easy, and the short answers weren’t that bad, so I think I did pretty well.

The final midterm that I have next week is for my Intro to Business class.  I don’t expect it to be horrendous because I have been doing well on the quizzes, but I am still going to study for it a lot.  I think my study strategies will  be pretty similar to my previous midterms – I will go over the readings, notes, and for this class particularly, I will do some practice problems.  The study techniques that we practiced in my study sessions for history and ethnic studies (we went over and summarized all of the primary sources and readings) were definitely beneficial and something that I will try to do in the future.

Just because I had to spend time on midterms, they were not the only things that I did this week.  Last Saturday, my friend and I went to the football game!  It was much more fun than the Arizona game, mainly because they won!  The ducks are now ranked 6th again, so that is good news.  I am currently praying that my luck at the lottery system will work one more time so that I can go the game against Stanford.

I also went to the Warsaw Sports Business Club meeting this week.  The speaker was Leigh Steinberg – a very big sports agent.  It was really interesting how he got into the business (he met someone at UC Berkeley- where he attended school and then represented him for the NFL draft).  I think that his speech is a reminder that you have to start somewhere and if you keep working, you can get there.

Wish me luck on my last midterm!

For now,

Amanda

P.S.  I have attached some photos from last week.  The first one is from the game on Saturday.  The second is two of my friends and how we all match.  And finally, the third one is a pizza from Carson late night.   My friend never spends all of her meal points, so on Sunday she bought a whole pizza and we all had that for dinner!  To all the future students that may see this, Carson late night is one of the best places for food on campus and is my favorite!

 

Well, here I am, Friday morning, writing my blog post.  I think I have come to like this.  On Fridays, I don’t have class until three, so usually I wake up and write my blog.  This morning however, I got up earlier and went to the gym.  One of the weirdest adjustments for me is how to fit exercise in.   At home, I was on a year-round competitive swim team, so I was used to swimming over ten hours a week plus whatever other exercise I decided to do, like mountain biking.  I’m still getting exercise here, its just not as much, and I am hoping not to get too out of shape, so I added that in this morning.

Now that things are getting more settled in, I have started to decided on different on campus activities and events to participate in.  But before that, I made it through my first college midterm!  It was in my history 201 class, which is early/colonial American history.  It really wasn’t that bad, and I was in AP US History so the concept of writing an essay was not new to me.  I high school, I only got 35-40 minutes to write an essay, and here I got an hour and twenty, so I loved the extra time and I think it took away all of the pressure.  I also made myself forget that the essay was worth 20% of my grade and that helped a lot too.  In addition to my midterm, I also had a couple other assignments due this week, so yeah, this week was pretty busy.  In addition to this blog, I also have to finish research proposal by my writing class today and do a rehearsal tutorial for business simulation in my intro to business class.  I definitely have my work ahead of me, but I am very excited for this weekend, and the football game!

Speaking of football games, I managed to get a student ticket again!  My friends and I went off campus again, too find wifi.  I think it was a good idea because the system was really crazy.  Once I got my ticket, I even managed to get my friend one too before they were sold out.

I also found my ideal internship, only I am too young.  The internship is for the United States Olympic Committee, specifically under the USA National Swim Team.  The internship involves different aspect of administration and assisting in the team.  It is something that looks really cool and I would love to get into that kind of work.  I have to be a junior or senior in standing, but because of my credits I may be able to try for something like that next year!

I found out about the internship through the Warsaw sports business club.  I get information about internships around two to three times a week and this was one of them.  The Warsaw sports business club is a really great club to join for the connections, and I get to learn some really cool things about different businesses through sports as well.

The biggest on campus event that I did this week was hike to the “O”.  The weather was great and the view was awesome.  My friend , Alyssa, and I even joined with other students to help paint it.  It was really cool, and I am very glad that we decided to go and have that experience.  (Also, I got a great view of Spencer’s Butte and I know that it is something that I need to hike)

This week is also homecoming week.  It has been really interesting to learn all about the different events that are happening.  We also went to the street fair!  It was really crowded, and there were a lot of people speaking different languages, which made me feel like I was in a different country for a little bit.  Before we left, my friend and I split an elephant ear.  It was so good!

That is all for now, I need to finish my other homework, or I will be stuck in my dorm room tonight finishing my business rehearsal tutorial.

For now,

Amanda

P.S.  I attached some pictures of the hike to the “O”.  I probably should have remembered to take some pictures of the street fair, so I may have to go back today to get some!

 

Hello Again!

Well, that week definitely went by quickly! (at least in my opinion).  It was another week filled with a lot of adventure, friends, and the homework wasn’t even too bad.

This week I went to three club meetings! (I’m pretty sure there’s more that I could join too, I will just have to find the time for them). The first one was an informational meeting for swim team/club that starts in January.  At home, I have been on a year-round swim team for more than five years now.  I love to be in the water no matter what temperature, so I am excited to get back in the water next term.  It is definitely something that I miss.  I also went to the International Business and Economics club meeting this week.  This club seems really interesting, does a lot of site visits, and I really think I could learn a lot from it.  Finally, I went to the Warsaw sports club meeting this week.  This meeting was extremely crowded, and a lot of us were standing.  I am excited for this club as I know that it will give me a jump start to internships and a great connection for the future.  I am also really excited about their site visits this year, and I hope that I will be able to go along to one of them.

I have made some really great friends so far.  They are fun, have a lot of energy, and we have already had some great adventures! For me, social life in college is much different than high school.  In high school I hung out with my friends during the school day, and then went to sports practice after school, followed by homework.  Here I hang out with friends much more, especially when we all go to dinner, to the gym, or shopping together.  Making friends really hasn’t been that hard either.  I was a little worried about that before I got here, as I have had the same friends since kindergarten and making friends wasn’t something that I have really had to do.  Just as all friends told me however, it really isn’t a big deal and making friends is rather easy!

I try to balance academics with socializing by trying to get most of my homework done in between classes.  The way my schedule works, I have about a four hour break in the middle of the day everyday.  It allows a lot of homework time and when I sit down to do the work, I really am quite productive. The best part of my schedule however, it the fact that I don’t have a class until three on Friday.  I love the free/homework time it gives me!

Speaking of academics, next week I have my first college test.  I even had to go buy the green examination booklet for 25 cents-it really made me feel like I am in college now!  I am not that worried for the test, as it is for my early U.S. History class and I took AP US History in high school, but it is still something I am going to need to study for next week.

Saturday, the ducks take on UCLA.  I am a little nervous for the game, and I now that we will all be watching anxiously.  Finally, I am looking forward to Sunday, as some of my friends are joining my FIG as we hike to the “O”.  I excited to get out hiking again as it is something I love to do, and seeing another part of University of Oregon life.

Until next week and Go Ducks!

 

Amanda

 

 

Hey everyone!

Well, my first week of college is officially over!  I survived, had fun, and met a lot of great people.  Now, I am settling back into the routine of going to school everyday, having homework to complete, and test to study for.

I don’t truly think that anyone can completely know what to expect when they move into a resident hall or onto campus for the first time.  Sure, I had watched all of my friends go to school in August and had learned about their experiences, but not one experience is the same.  My experience has been great so far, and I’ll start with move-in day.

For the most part, I was excited for move-in day. I drove up from Benicia, CA (a small town near Napa) the day before and like every other duck heading north, stopped at my last In-n-Out Burger in Redding. When I arrived on campus, I checked in and my parents and I moved the car to the unloading zone.  The Unpack the Quack People helped, and I was done in four trips.  Living in Global Scholars hall has been really fun, and I am loving it so far.  Everyone on my floor is really nice,wants to hang out, and we leave our doors open as much as possible.  I think this helps with the fact that our dorm is bigger than other dorms, and gives it a more homey feel.  I would say my favorite part of resident hall life is the friends and going to get food with them.  At the same time however, its also the hardest when you want to socialize, but have to study.

When classes started on Monday, I was excited.  I liked my schedule (I only have a few early classes) and was ready to see what college classes would be like.  It took about a day, however, to remember that we are on the quarter system and that you really hit the ground running.  With that said, I learned quickly that you need to stay ahead of the work, and then you’ll be just fine.  My favorite classes so far would probably be my two FIG classes, Intro to Ethnic Studies, and History 201 (early colonialism).  I think that both professors are interesting.  I love the things that my history professor talks about.  He makes the most interesting connections in history like the consequences on the land bridge and Beringia.  My other classes are writing 123 and intro to business.  Intro to business doesn’t seem like it will be too bad, and the simulation that we are doing seems really interesting.

If I had to think of my biggest challenge for the week, it would probably figuring out a way to balance my life.  In high school, it was always so easy.  I had school everyday until three (the same classes everyday too), then swim practice, and then finally homework until I went to bed.  Now, there are clubs that I want to join, friends that I hang out and eat with every single day, and homework that I need to plan when to do, as I have those classes on some days and not the others.  For example, in my history class, I need to have all of the reading done by Tuesday.  After that, I don’t really have classwork for the rest of the week.

This has definitely been a great week.  The best things were the football game and then trying to get tickets for the football game.  Those two events really made me feel like a duck and part of the school.  Those activities were so full of spirit and energy, and even though we lost the football game against Arizona, all of the students stood by and watched the game until the very end.  That was my favorite part and it makes so so excited to continue to try and go to duck games.

For now,

Amanda

 

P.S.  Here are some photos of sporting events-my favorite! The one on the top left is from the volleyball game, and the other two are from the football game!  Go ducks!