Snow Before Halloween?

I can't think of a time when I've experienced snow before Halloween. I totally was not expecting this yesterday. Normally, one of the first things I do when I wake up in the morning is check the weather. I've adopted this habit since coming to college because unlike high school, I actually have to walk from building to building to get to class, the library, the Dining Center, and so on. However, yesterday I forgot because I was in a hurry to catch the 8:46 SEPTA train.

Thankfully I grabbed my umbrella, but I was in for a bigger surprise than rain. 

I took this picture from my dorm window, as I was unwilling brave the cold after I returned from my adventure.

My group in my Urban Culture and Society class had to go observe Mishkan Shalom, a progressive synagogue downtown. Despite the weather, it was an interesting experience, as I had never been to a synagogue or a Bat Mitzvah before. Also, it was Shabbat Noah, so I got to read the Noah's Ark story from a Jewish perspective. I relished this short experience, and only wish that the rabbi had spent more time on the subject. However, Bat Mitzvah's incorporate many other traditions, so this was only a small portion of the service. I was definitely surprised at the length of the service--the Bat Mitzvah was two and a half hours long!

During the service, the weather took a turn for the worse. The temperature dropped, and it continued to sleet and snow. Luckily we were able to catch the bus, but the SEPTA trains had stopped running by the time we made it to the station! My group members and I waited with frozen toes for about 45 minutes, until an upperclassman friend of theirs from Bryn Mawr came to save us.

It was definitely an exhausting day, but the experience at the synagogue was worth it!

Did it snow where you live this weekend? I'm happy to say the forecast is sunny here for the next few days. I'm not quite ready for winter yet!

Frugality and the Bible: What Do You Have?

This morning I read 2 Kings 4:1-7 during my bible study time. Though I don't share what I read every morning, I found this passage particularly insightful. This is the story of the Widow and the Oil, where a widow cries out to Elisha for help when a debt collector threatens to take her children as slaves unless she pays off her debt--and soon. (I suggest you take a look at it, the verses are much more eloquent than my summary!)

Though I've read the story before, today I read it with a new perspective. As I've gotten older, I've become fascinated with the idea of frugality. I've studied the subject for hours on end, because so much of the ideas behind living frugally, simply, and beneath your means can be applied in living a life pleasing to God. In my case, I'm passionate about serving the poor and meeting needs whenever I see them. A frugal lifestyle is perfect for me, because the more money I save, the more I can spend serving others and God.

Looking at this story again helped me to realize other reasons a frugal lifestyle can be pleasing to God. If you didn't click on the link to read the passage, watch this video. Or do both.

Notice the emphasis Elisha puts on the question, "What do you have?" (Watch closely at 0:45-0:50.) He is surprisingly forceful. But I think he does this to prove a point--we often focus on what we don't have, not on what we do have. I've found that no matter how bad my financial situation, focusing on what I don't have will not get me anywhere. However, when I stop, breathe, and pray to God to help me trust him, I often find peace, if not a simple way to take steps towards solving the issue. He may not give me the entire solution all at once, but he will give me the peace and strength to take action.

Though this story is about much more than frugality, it really reassured me choosing such a lifestyle.

How does this story inspire you? I'd love to hear your input--it's amazing how every person will learn something different from the same story!

(I'm doing a study from the Freestyle Living Blog. That's where I found the video, so I wanted to make sure and give credit! Also, credit is due to Crown Ministries for the video itself!)

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 and a Treat!

Hey everyone!

So I've been extremely busy with midterms, and I am very disappointed that my only posts in 3 weeks have been Food Waste Friday posts. I'm going to try to post more next week, because next week is Fall Break! I'm sad I don't get to come home, but I think relaxing on campus will be pretty fun too!

Anyway, this is what I wasted:

The reason I had to waste these is because they were just bad to begin with. The carrots were dry and they tasted bad and so did the apple. This is probably because the Dining Center was trying to get rid of their last produce before break, so it was borderline-bad anyway. It looks extra disgusting here because I waited until the next morning to take a picture.

But on the bright side, I got a lovely package today! This was extremely exciting for me because I wasn't expecting it. Also, this homemade granola shaped leaf is just super impressive:

I also got a tiny pumpkin, gum, and mini post its. If any of you readers out there know any college students, I think I can safely say that they would love to get a surprise package from you, even if it isn't as fancy as a homemade granola leaf. It's the thought that counts!

Have a lovely weekend!

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!

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!