Fall 2009

This semester has been moving along pretty fast. It's always the case that once the semester is ending then you realize how fast time has flew. It's my first and only semester I'll be overloading on courses and I have to say it hasn't been easy. I pretty much dedicate my time to four things: academics, work. sigma, social.

Academics:

This has been a pretty useful semester actually. I tend to like taking courses that'll actually help me in life post-grad--for example I'd rather take a more challenging course such as Finance over something random like Economics in Latin American Societies. Finance is pretty difficult but I definitely learned a lot of life skills that I wouldn't have otherwise so it was definitely worth the work. I'm also taking an interesting course for my HLS major. It's a women studies course called Feminism, Gender, and Health. It's the first course of its kind I've ever taken--we read & discuss on pretty explicit stuff like all kinds of sexualities (transexuals, inter-sexed, orgasms, penis/vaginas, etc.) It's definitely given me a twist on the way I perceive certain things haha.

I can't believe next semester is going to be my last. I've kinda been waiting for this since my freshman year and again,"time has flew by so quickly". I actually only need 2 courses to complete both my majors and graduate. I'm also taking ASL 102 (for fun) and maybe one more course for fun as well. If not, then three courses is good--I could use that extra time for post-grad stuff. Still can't seem to grasp the idea that I'll be starting my "when-I-grow-up" life after graduation.

Work:

I love, love, love my job! Not many people can say that so I hope when I graduate, I'll find something I enjoy just as much. I quit my job at the lab because I simply didn't have time for it or a desire to work there. So now I just work at the Office of Mental Health Promotions at URMC. It's been pretty awesome--they challenge me to do a lot of new things and in turn, I was able to teach myself a whole new set of skills. (I learned how to use Photoshop!) My bosses and secretary are extraordinarily nice and they always remind me how much they appreciate my efforts at the office. I guess it's sort of their job to promote mental health since that's what the office is called, so I work in a really positive environment. I think my favorite part is having my own office and free printing! Oh, and the candy bowl is always filled with goodies!

Also, the dining halls at the medical center are SO much better than the UR campus ones. I usually meet up with Camille on Fridays for lunch. I hope my bosses don't notice I disappear for about an hour =X

Sigma:

I definitely got to know a lot of sisters better this semester--haha I live with three of them. It was a pretty hectic semester because of the many events I had to organize and the other events we had to attend. We did a significant amount of community service so I'm happy :) Domestic Violence Awareness Week was the highlight of my semester and something I consider to be a personal accomplishment. Cheers for front page on Campus Times! We also got to travel a lot this semester--I'm glad that the girls are so willing to attend so many more events away from Rochester! We used to just go to required stuff and bounce when  it was over but now we're staying for the social events and also traveling to support other sisterships. It might have to do with easier transportation this year (more sisters have cars) but I think we should definitely keep up this attitude :)

Social:

So aside from class, work, sigma, and living in the library, somehow I managed to find time to squeeze in a social life haha. Sometimes it sucks to have to prioritize and miss out on fun events but I guess you always have to compromise these kinds of things. Sigma's been doing a lot of events on the weekends such as going to convention at yale and the Buffalo halloween party etc so partying it up with sisters has been pretty awesome. There's also a bunch of senior nights and outings which I'm always down for. Being 21+ is AWESOME! Going out is definitely a stress reliever so I can get right back onto all the nerdy stuff the next day :)

Aside from all of this, I just really miss home. I miss all my friends back in the city & I really want to see them. I miss my family a lot too. I think about how wonderful this summer was and I can't help but want to go back to it! But I'm having a good time in Rochester so I'm content. Can't wait to go home hopefully during Thanksgiving. Oh yea and I lost my iPod which is pretty depressing since it was brand new and all but life goes on. Hopefully I'll be able to get a hold of one sometime next semester. I'm too broke now after the Macbook haha. Crossing my fingers & hoping the rest of the semester will run smoothly!