A New Year and A New Semester!

I'm excited to finally be falling back into the rhythm of my school life at Haverford. The first few weeks of classes classes were extremely hectic, and here's why:

I pre-registered for these classes. . .

Foundations In Social Theory
Applied Calculus with Modeling
Introduction to the New Testament
Comparative Politics

They all seemed to work out in my schedule, and they were all subjects I hadn't tried before or wanted a better understanding of.

However, these are the classes I registered for and am now taking. . .

The World of Computing
Quaker Social Witness
Critical Issues in Education
Applied Ethics of Peace, Justice, and Human Rights

I shopped eight classes total--I went to four classes a day for the first two days (The first day I went to class for six hours straight so I had to bring my lunch with me!). And slowly narrowed down the list of classes. Amazingly, all of the classes I wanted to take were lottery classes that I hadn't pre-registered for, so I wasn't in the initial lottery. These lottery classes had two lists of students: the students with a spot in the class and the students on the wait list. Because I just showed up the first day I wasn't on any lists--I had the lowest priority.

Luckily though, because so many other students are shopping too, there is a significant amount of movement on the wait lists, and I got into every class that I wanted. I don't know what I would do without shopping week. It's hard to imagine having to sign up for classes and go in blind--I'm obviously not great at predicting the best classes for myself!

I'm really enjoying my classes so far; so I'm sure I will write more about them later. Feel free to ask any specific questions about my classes. I'm happy to answer them!


Oh, and because it's a new semester, I'd like to once again invite any of my readers to subscribe to my blog. This way, you get all of my blog postings automatically sent to your email account. That way, you never miss a post! Just type your email address into the Subscribe By Email Box in the right hand column of the page.

Food Waste Friday: Mushrooms and Positive Change

Happy Friday!

It's been a hectic week for me as I've been catching up on work that I didn't have time to do last weekend on the HCF retreat. It was totally worth it, but it did require exercising my time management skills!

This week I had very little food waste--just a few mushrooms from my pasta sauce last night at dinner. The mushroom pasta sauce looked better than the plain sauce; however, it was really silly for me to get the mushroom sauce, because I don't like mushrooms. I think the sauce just reminded me of my mom's wonderful sausage spaghetti, because mushrooms appear deceptively like meat sometimes. Nevertheless, they didn't taste like meat, and they tasted absolutely nothing like sausage. Oh well.

On the bright side, In about one month I'll get to go home and eat my mom's food. Yay!

On a related note, our Dining Center is creating a new Dining Center Development Committee. Six students will get to be on this committee, and hopefully they will bring some positive change to the food and waste management. Students waste a lot of food at the DC (Dining Center) and it all ends up in the trash. It's a very sad thing to witness, but I have a lot of ideas to rectify some of these waste issues. So I applied to be on the committee. Whether or not I get the position, hopefully I can still present all of my ideas to the committee!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day--I'll be back later today or tomorrow with other news!

What I Learned: About Suffering

Hey everyone!

I know I just posted about the HCF Retreat, but I wanted to share with you a little more specifically what I actually learned.

In an InterVarsity bible study, you look extremely closely at one specific passage.

We had several sessions in which we did this; however, this particular passage, John 11:38-44, we looked at during a personal reflection time.

By breaking this passage down, I was able to truly apply it to my life. Consider the first verse. Jesus was "deeply moved" by the suffering of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. He didn't just pity them or feel sorry for them. Their sorrow deeply moved him. Often times I find myself filled with overwhelming sorrow, and I think to myself, "No one cares that much. Or at least they don't really know or understand what I'm going through." But Jesus is deeply moved by my pain. I can share it with him. How reassuring is that?

And he's not just moved metaphorically. He's moved to act. He goes to Lazarus' tomb. Jesus isn't just emotionally disturbed my pain. He does something about it too.

However, he requires us to accept his aid. Jesus says to the mourners, "Take away the stone." And Martha doubts, "But Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." Though I oftentimes will pray to God for help, sometimes instead of giving me what I think I want or need, God will respond calling me to some sort of action. I'll reject it, saying, "You want me to do what, God? That's impossible! I can't change that."

But God's command is always what I need, and I'll end up doing it eventually anyway. Jesus replied to Martha's doubt, saying, "Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the Glory of God?" Essentially, he's asking, "Why don't you trust me? You know that I know what is best for you." Depending on his command, I may struggle against it for awhile, but I will do it.

And when I follow God's solution to my problem? Everything works out. The mourners rolled away the stone, and Lazarus, once a dead man, was alive once again. Though my life won't be perfect (Lazarus' life wasn't perfect--he's later condemned by an assassination plot), I can find joy in the Lord.

In reading this passage, I found myself asking: "Jesus could have just snapped his fingers and resurrected Lazarus. Why didn't he? Why did Lazarus have to die at all? Jesus could have healed him." Essentially, why let the suffering happen?

Because the mourners eventually did what Jesus asked, "many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him." Lazarus was alive and well, and the mourners had found a new hope in Jesus Christ. Though I don't know the personal stories of these Jews, they probably were struggling with their own issues. However, Jesus used the pain of one family--Mary, Martha, and Lazarus--to transform not only the family, but the lives of many others as well. This is purpose enough for suffering in my book.

The Jews, Mary, Martha, myself. . .We all need time to choose. We need time to believe. We need to learn how to ask for help, be receptive to God's response (even if it requires effort on our part), and work through our sufferings. Because they do have a purpose, even though sometimes we can't always see it.

What are your thoughts on this story? Please post a comment below!

Academic Blessings: Self Scheduled Exams

Hey everyone!

It's a beautiful Thursday here in Haverford. I think this picture captures what the weather is like today, even though I took it a few days ago. It's the Haverford Duckpond!

Anyway, I think the picture pretty much fits my mood. Which is a rarity in my crazy life. Today has been so relaxing for me, even though I had a two hour exam!

How can an exam be even remotely relaxing? At Haverford, the majority of our exams are self scheduled.  This means that the professor gives you the exam a few days a head of time and you complete it on your own time. My Abnormal Psychology professor gave us our exam on Tuesday, told us not to use our book, notes or any other resources, and told us to put it in a box outside her office by 5 pm on Thursday. It's that simple.

Most of the time when I try to explain self scheduled exams to people outside of the Haverford community, they don't understand how it works. "Don't people just cheat?" they ask. No, and that's the crucial point here. When students decide to come to Haverford, we make a commitment to abide by the Honor Code in all of our academic endeavors. The code is not a set of rules and regulations enforced by administrators, but it is a creation of students who are passionate about living and learning in a community of integrity and honesty. The Honor Code was created by students, is ratified by students, and is enforced by students. We govern it ourselves. The student body doesn't want to plagiarize or cheat, because we have created a beautifully self-sustained governing system that is too precious to jeopardize.

For the most part, our system really works, but no one is perfect. This is why we have Honor Council to help sort out disputes.

I'm excited to be living in a community with such strong values. It's refreshing to wake up on a Thursday morning, have a leisurely breakfast, then head off to the library to take an exam. I also allowed myself the time to read the Bible beforehand. I'm so thankful for this opportunity, because God gave me the words in Luke 10:38-42 that I needed to hear. I was anxious about my exam yesterday and early this morning, but Jesus said, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one." These words filled me with peace, and I was ready for my exam.

Had this been a typical, scheduled exam, I probably would have been too rushed to sit down and really absorb this passage. I wouldn't have been ready. With Haverford exams, I am assured that I will be tested on what I know, not how tired, or stressed, or rushed that I am.

Though you might still be skeptical of Haverford's Honor Code, it definitely works for me!

Subscribe by Email!

You can now subscribe to my blog through email! My Aunt Kathy suggested this feature (she has her own wonderful blog called Get a Job!). I'm sorry I didn't enable a subscription feature sooner. I subscribe to my favorite blogs, so it's silly that I haven't made the option available. Also, I know my posts can sometimes get sporadic, so it's hard to know when to check my site for new content. But never fear! You can now get updated on my life through emails.

To do this, go to the right-hand side panel. Underneath the "About Me" section is a "Subscribe via Email"  box. Just type in your email, and hit subscribe! Then you will be sent an email every time I publish a new post.

In addition, I am also going to try and keep my posts more consistent. The reason I write this blog is because I miss you all at home and I want to share my life with you. I think it is all too easy for college students to venture off and let their hometown relationships crumble, but I'd never want to do that--you are much too important to me! So I'm determined to at minimum post once a week, but hopefully twice or three times a week. We'll see where the rest of this semester takes me!

For your viewing pleasure, I found this beautiful tree when I was wandering around on campus yesterday. I hope you all have time to get out and enjoy the fall weather, it's wonderfully refreshing!

Haverford College Campus Tour No.1

Hey everyone!

Yesterday I went out and took some pictures of campus. It was stormy all day yesterday, and I would have taken more pictures had it not started raining. Anyway, I think Haverford's campus is really pretty over all, so it's a shame there are very few pictures of campus available online. But you're in luck--I'm going to give you a series of  insider photo tours! I hope you enjoy these pictures.

This is my dorm, Gummere. It's a strange building. Because it's built on a slope, the floors are staggered in 3 sections. There are three floors in each section, so there are 9 floors total. The floor plan and labeling system are complicated, and most people on campus don't understand it, so I'll save you from a mental headache.

I like this tree. Or is it a really big bush? . . .

Haverford's mascot is the Black Squirrel. This is an awful photo, but those little guys are too fast and too bashful for me to photo up close.

Here is Gummere again. On the right is another dorm, Leeds.

 We also have a nice little playground. What more could college kids want?

A sandbox, of course!

(Actually, the community uses campus as a park, it is that pretty. I always see families with young children wandering around.)

Did I mention Haverford is known for its trees? We're an arboretum. I really like this crazy one.

A lot of the trees have identification tags. Ever since I saw these, I wondered if it would bother the tree to have a plaque drilled into it.

Also on the playground area is this strange sculpture. I love it.

Except this side scares me.

I like it because no matter what side you are on, there is so much to look at.

Apparently kids can crawl through here. I wondered if I could fit, but I wasn't curious enough to get dirty trying.

This is Hall. I'm sure Hall was some Haverford alumnus who donated a lot of money for the building, as this is how most of our buildings are named. But don't quote me on it.

 Everything at Haverford was donated by alumni. Even the stairs.

I'm so excited the trees are beginning to change colors!

This is Founders Hall. This is the original building. Back in 1833, students lived, ate, and took classes here.

 This is Magill Library. It's the biggest library on campus--it's much bigger than it appears.

I'm fond of the windows.

This is Chase Hall. The Office of the Registrar and the Student Activities Offices are here. As you can see, Haverford is extremely fond of stone!

These are all the pictures I have for now. Check back soon for part II in my Haverford College Campus Tour!

Is Ceramics Dying at James House?

It's fall break!

Now that I have a whole week off, I'm planning to get organized and back into my artwork. This weekend I explored James House, a center dedicated to student arts. It's supposed to be a space stocked with art supplies where students can go and create art on their own time.

See the super cool bird on the side?

The inside is also supposed to have "rotating murals." I'm not sure if the walls were always this way, but right now, they aren't exactly my taste.

To my delight, they do have a kiln.

They also have nice Brent Wheels. . .

. . .they are just very dirty.

They have clay too!

We do have some very messy artists here. . .

But apparently there are some clean ones too.

At one point, this was an educational space.

But right now, James House and the ceramics studio seems extremely under used. I'd really like to breath some life back into this space through teaching wheel throwing, but sadly, the wheels are right-handed! They are an old Brent Model B that only go one direction, counter-clockwise. Left-handed people throw clockwise. Most newer wheels have a reverse switch, so they can go both directions. 

I think it'd be a good investment for Haverford to purchase at least one newer wheel that can be used by the left-handed and right-handed students alike. The Brent Wheels they have are good, sturdy wheels, but they are old. Eventually they will need to be replaced anyway, so it would be a good idea to invest in a newer Brent B model. These newer Brents accommodate both the left-handed and right-handed artist and even come with a 10 year warranty. The $985 price tag is small when you consider the decades of use Haverford students would get out of this wheel!

I'd like to write a proposal for funding this wheel. Though I would definitely benefit from its use, I think others would benefit much more from what I can teach them about wheel throwing. It's almost a lost art on this campus--there are no formal ceramics classes, and the ceramics club seems to have disbanded. I'd love to teach classes, and I think there is enough interest in it that it could happen. 

We'll see. I've yet to come in contact with other ceramics artists on campus, and I'm really curious to find out who, if anyone, uses the ceramics equipment.

Food Waste Friday: A Messy Week

Sadly, I have no rotten tomato pictures today. However, I do have a few interesting stories!

The first major thing I wasted this week was a banana. Actually, it was more like second hand waste, because someone else was going to throw it out. Anyway, remember when I visited Logan Square with my friend Tami? Well I visited again on Sunday for my project. They were having a huge benefit race for cancer, and the Four Season's hotel provided mass amounts of breakfast food for both runners and spectators. I didn't have any of their food, but I was given a leftover banana. I put it in my backpack for later, and it fell to the bottom. It got squished so bad it turned to banana liquid! My backpack was disgusting.

Too bad I didn't photograph that.

I also had several spills this week. Half my brownie fell on the floor in the dining center, and I spilled cereal in my room. I freaked out about the cereal incident because I had seen a huge bug in my room that morning. I ran to get the vacuum down the hall, and my door slammed behind me. Unfortunately, the door was locked, and my key was in my room. I waited half an hour to get back in, and then the vacuum didn't even work. But then my friend Matt lent me his super handy hand broom and dustpan, and it worked surprisingly well. In short, it took me an hour to clean a small mess.

Finally, I wasted a bit of asparagus at lunch today. It seems this week that the asparagus was the only food waste that wasn't out to get me.

How did you do on your food waste this week?


(By the way, I'm not sure that I linked to The Frugal Girl's blog last week. Just wanted to make sure I did. She started Food Waste Friday. Definitely check it out!)

First Food Waste Friday!

Hey everyone!

You probably haven't heard of Food Waste Friday, because it's a concept I discovered on another blog, The Frugal Girl. Every friday, her posts tell readers the food she wasted that week and usually she includes a picture (not to gross you out, but because photography is a hobby of hers). These weekly posts serve as a way to be more accountable for her food waste. She has asked others with blogs to join her in practicing Food Waste Friday, and I think it's a great idea!

I think it will help me waste less because I will be more aware of my waste; it's also embarrassing to publicly admit to waste on a blog, which will also help me waste less.

So here is what I wasted this week:

This is the remnant of a once beautiful tomato. I feel awful about wasting it, especially since I got it from the Haverford Garden Club's garden. I just forgot about it.

In addition, I wasted a small portion of vegan baked beans. The Dining Centers at Haverford and Bryn Mawr always have vegan food, and I like to try it sometimes, but these beans just tasted really strange.

Join me in keeping track of your food waste! If you are a college student eating in the dining center on campus, try writing down your waste right after you have your meal. If you are at home, clean out your fridge every friday and see what went bad. I think this will definitely be a helpful practice for me!

Sight Seeing in Philadelphia

Hey everyone!

Yesterday I took the train with my friend Tami to Philadelphia.

What did we see? Well, I actually had to conduct observation research for my Urban Culture and Society class. So we visited The Swan Memorial Fountain in Logan Square.

There are three statues. Each of them represent a different river near Philadelphia: the Schuylkill, Wissahickon, and Delaware rivers. I am not actually sure which one is which; I need to do more research. 

I do know the Delaware River is this man:

But supposedly the Schuylkill is a mature woman, and the Wissahickon is a girl. Before I knew this, I actually had trouble deciding the gender of this statue:

This one is much more obviously a woman:

Besides fountains and statues, I also got to observe interesting people. For my project, I have to talk to people at Logan Square, so I got to chat with an artist painting the fountain, a Haverford School (the Haverford High School, not College) acapella group, and a few friends of a bride (I saw two weddings within about an hour or so of one another!) 

If you ever visit Philly, the fountain is a great sight to see!

Textbook Tips: Creative Book Buying

Textbooks aren’t cheap. All college students know this, yet many of them succumb to purchasing the newest books at full price. As I wandered the book store searching for the books required for my classes, the prices astonished me—my Statistics Book was about $140 new, and a pricy $102 used. My Urban Culture and Society class required 4 books—one main text book for about $100 new, and three smaller books adding up to roughly an additional $100 new. Used, these urban culture books would still cost well over $100 total. For my other classes, the book prices were equally astronomical.

I refused to spend hundreds of dollars on books. The used book prices weren’t too much better. The cost of the books I needed added up to around 400 dollars. So I had to get creative. I’m going to share with you how I spent only $39. No, that was not a typo, and yes, I really did spend only thirty-nine dollars.

Here are a few tips and stories that I hope will save you money next semester.

1. Ask around. Do you know anyone who has taken the class already? Do they have their old book? Though this might have been hard for first semester, next semester you will know more people and more upper classmen. Haverford is unique in that freshmen have a Customs Team. This is essentially a group of upper classmen mentors. I found out one of my mentors had taken Abnormal Psychology and had given her book to a friend. This friend still had the book, so my mentor got it from the friend and gave it to me. I got this book for free. The only thing you have to do is ask.

2. Don’t be afraid of strangers. Sometimes you ask upperclassmen and they don’t have their book anymore or they still need it. Don’t let this stop you from asking more people. I randomly ran into a girl from Bryn Mawr (where I take Urban Culture and Society) while at Haverford. We started talking, and I told her that I was taking Urban Culture. She still had her book, and was offered to sell it to me. I bought the main text book for $39 (all the cash I had on hand), and she let me borrow one of the smaller books for the class. Even though we had no connection with one another, it was not awkward inquiring about her text books or determining a price. She was happy to have the money—the book store doesn’t pay students well for their used books. Be open and willing to meeting new people! You might get a cheap book.

3. Check the library for books on reserve. Because Haverford has Shopping Week and I didn’t know my classes right away, I needed to hold off on buying books. Our library often times has textbooks on reserve. This means you can check the textbook out for two hours so you can do your homework without buying the book right away. I intended to do this until I had confirmation that I got into my Statistics class. In some cases, if you are frugal enough, you can use the book on reserve for the entire semester. I could have done this with Statistics, but I didn’t need to—my fourth tip explains why.

4. Does the library have any old editions? I found that the library had an older edition of the Statistics book for regular checkout. I could keep the Statistics book for a whole month, and even renew it over the course of the semester. The book is essentially the same as the newer edition, though some of the numbers have been updated. For this reason, I compare the numbers in my book’s homework problems with someone who has the new version. Again, you might not be able to find an old math book to check out for the entire semester, but if you’re willing to get creative, you can find free solutions to getting your text books. For Urban Culture, I have ordered two of the smaller books from a library partnered with Haverford. I only need to do a few readings in these books, so there was no sense in buying them!

5. Ask the Professor whether or not you need the newest edition. Buying older editions can be cheaper, but sometimes they are lacking in information. My Urban Culture book is an outdated edition, and doesn’t have every article. However, I don’t need the new version because the professor posts the readings online that aren’t found in the older edition.

6. Does your class really use the book? Find out. I have four classes, the last one being a writing seminar. There are a few books my teacher uses, but I she posts the articles we need to read online (there are few because we mostly write) and I haven’t needed to buy the books yet.

7. Have a friend in your class? You could invest in a book together. This way, each of you pay half the price. This is a great way to develop a new study partner! Just make sure this is someone you can trust and get work done with.

8. Check online postings and compare prices. Though I’ve heard Amazon is sometimes more expensive, it doesn’t hurt to check. You might find a great deal. Look for used versions just like you would at the book store.

9. Check campus postings. At Haverford, we Have the Go! Boards. Here, the have a Classified Section where people post everything they are buying and selling. Though I didn’t find any of the textbooks I needed here, I saw numerous ads for cheap books. This way, you can help other students out too.

10. Do a book trade. On occasion, you may be able to find someone you can swap old textbooks with. Be on the look out for people who have books you want and are taking a class that requires books you have. Both of you will be extremely happy to recycle the books!

I hope you found these tips helpful! Do you have any textbook tips or helpful stories? Post them here. There are many ways to get creative when buying books!

Sunday Adventure

Happy Sunday everyone!

As you can probably tell, weekends and Sundays especially are my least busy days, so I will post more often on these days. However, I have a couple of post ideas floating around in my head, so I'll try to get them up soon. Anyway. . .

Last Thursday I attended Haverford Christian Fellowship (HCF), where I met some new Christian classmates and saw a few familiar faces. We had an ice cream social, and got to know each other. I learned more about the people, the structure of the group, and several options for attending church. I really enjoyed it!

So, today I attended church for the first time since I've been at Haverford! Kaitlyn, one of the HCF leaders, invited us to join her at Covenant Fellowship Church. The service ran from 11:30-1 pm, and two of my freshmen friends also attended. We were a bit late so we missed worship, but I did experience an excellently convicting sermon. The message was based on the "Year of Jubilee" passage in Leviticus 25. It's definitely impressive when a pastor preaches from Leviticus--it's not the most exciting book of the bible. However, the thing about Leviticus is, God lays his commands out plainly and simply. In this passage especially, he tells us how to react in specific situations:

“‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. ³⁶ Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you. ³⁷ You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit. ³⁸ I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God."

I think sometimes Christians make excuses for themselves and say, "I don't know what God wants me to do!" I definitely do this all the time. However, I think God's plan for our lives is not always as ambiguous as we might think. He states his command quite clearly in the above passage, as well as many other places in the bible. But it's up to us to seek out answers in the Word, and to encourage one another to do so. How are you seeking out ways to follow his plan in your life?

After the sermon at Covenant, a man came up and spoke about the ministry of the church--how the church was following God's will. Covenant is partnered with three African churches, through Covenant Mercies. They have a child sponsorship program which they have continued for the past nine years. They focus especially on educating children and sharing the good news with them. They have supported over 900 children, who otherwise would have been forced to drop out of school. This was a testimony to me that this church just doesn't talk about their faith, they live it out.

I had a great experience this week; hopefully next week will go just as well!

Side note: Comments are always welcome and greatly appreciated! I love hearing other people's thoughts!

My First Haverford Experience

Hello St. Louis folks!

It’s hard to believe that today I have ended my first experience at Haverford: Multicultural Leadership Institute. Before I left, I shared with some of you at home that I would be attending this program. I received some skeptical comments, along the lines of “Be careful, just because this claims to be a diverse program does not mean they will take kindly to Christians.” I also received encouraging advice to attend the program if this was really something interesting to me. Now that I’ve done it, I’d like to clarify the question: What does the Multicultural Leadership Institute actually entail?

About 70 freshmen applied for the program, but only 30 had the privilege of attending. I was definitely surprised to be chosen. Not because I didn’t think I was capable, but because I know that everyone in the class of 2015 is equally, if not more gifted and talented than I am. They had exceptional grades in high school, have traveled across the world, and were leaders in a wide range of activities. Nevertheless, I received a spot in the program.

This honor filled me with joy and exceeded my expectations. I have always been extremely interested in topics concerning diversity. I also really enjoy discussing taboo topics—politics, religion, etc. and we dug into these ideas every day as whole group and also in smaller groups with a Student Resource Person (SRP) leader. We had about 3 workshops per day, and our topics included Socioeconomic Class, Privilege, Race, Gender & Sexuality, Spirituality & Religion, and Leadership. As we delved into these topics, we really got to know one another on a concrete and fundamental level within only a few days—something I had not experienced with previous classmates I had known for years. It was freeing to be able to speak honestly with each other, without the fear of becoming an outcast or being labeled in a negative way.

To those who may have been skeptical concerning the tolerance of Christians in this type of secular program, I can tell you that it surprised me how openly we shared our differences in religion. There were students who had grown up in one denomination or religion but had switched to another, those that were unsure about the religion that they had grown up with, and those who had followed the same religion their entire lives. As this was one of our final workshops, we had gotten to know each other well beforehand and were comfortable enough to go around the circle and share a statement about our religious background. Even being in a room of friends, sharing my Christian identity was still scary. However, openly discussing our faiths ended up being an empowering experience. I hugged an atheist and had meaningful conversations with other Christians. I am less afraid of rejection. I know that if I share my faith with others who are close minded or rude, I won’t take it as personally now because their intolerance is their problem, not mine. With this confidence, I can continue to love those who reject my beliefs without feeling insecure.

The religion workshop was definitely one of the best parts of my experience, and it’s amazing to think the program almost dropped it due to time constraints (according to my SRP leader). I suggested that it be left in, and even be extended, because it was one of the shorter workshops.

 For now, I’m just grateful to have met all of these other wonderful, passionate students from the class of 2015. It’s comforting to know I have a group of friends before orientation even starts!