I've been having a really interesting week and have learned so many things I'd like to share with anyone reading this blog.
I watched Food, Inc at a meeting of the CU Going Local club and for my Nutrition, Health, and Performance class. I thought it was a really well-made documentary about the food industry and really has me thinking about the food I and others around me choose to consume. I recommend it if you haven't seen it.
I started reading David Halberstam's The Fifties, a really comprehensive book about the entire decade, for my Film of the 40s and 50s class. The book covers so much ground - in just the few chapters I read so far, I learned about Levittowns, GM, Eisenhower, McCarthyism, The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, and on and on.
And then today, in my Astronomy lab, I took measurements which allowed me to calculate the circumference of the Earth - all without traveling past Baseline (a road on the edge of campus). I learned that Baseline used to run directly along the 40th Parallel (Boulder's latitude), something I didn't know, even though I've lived in Boulder for so long. I say used to because it has since been reconstructed to curve a bit away from that line, but parts of it are still exact. It's confusing to get into all the details of our lab experiment, but if you Google Eratosthenes Challenge, you'll get a good sense of what we were doing.
Pretty cool! It still amazes me the kind of ground we cover in all my classes week by week. Having a class last only 15 or 16 weeks is so different from having full-year courses like in high school. And learning about things like astronomy, history, health, film - all at a college level? Well, that's why I'm here!
If you're a student (or even if you're not), what's something you learned about this week that really struck you as interesting? I'd love to hear in the comments!
It's almost Friday. The Boulder International Film Festival is happening here this weekend. I plan to at least go to one of the short film events, which I really enjoyed last year. I encourage you to check it out if you're at all interested in film, particularly the independent or international type.
Cheers! :)
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Counting credits
On a whim last night, I was poking around CUConnect, our university portal for grade information, news, financial updates, etc, and I decided to look at my degree audit. Back when I was registering for classes, my major adviser told us about the great system CU has to help you keep track of your the credits you've taken and those you still have to take. However, film was one of the departments that hadn't been upgraded to this new system, so I never got to see what the degree audit was really like.
It seems film has now been added to the degree audit program for Arts and Sciences students, and what a cool website I stumbled onto last night. Beautiful pie charts and other graphs show you what your credits look like so far, and everything is easy to navigate and follow. You can look at a full list of all the core credit areas, for example, and see which you've fulfilled, which you're taking right now, and a listing of possible classes for those you still have to take.
Anyway, all this got me thinking about when I could graduate (potentially early, thanks to IB and AP credits) - which in turn got me thinking about the cool things I could do other than classes: study abroad, internships, maybe a BAMA (something CU's film department offers). It's overwhelming and at the same time extremely exciting to think of all the potential paths I might take over the next few years.
Mostly, I feel the need to have a sense of all my options now so I don't miss out on anything. I overheard my roommate having a similar conversation the other day - about summer classes or travel plans or internships... so it seems this may be on the minds of other students as well. I'm guessing now that we freshmen have settled into CU, more and more of us may be starting to think about plans for the future.
I'm sure that any plans that are made now may change - after all, I just added a minor and switched my focus from a BFA to a BA in the last few weeks, so clearly, goals can change with little notice, but it feels important to keep the future in mind. If you're a CU student and you haven't looked at your degree audit, I suggest you do - it's really quite interesting.
That's it from me for now. I hope anyone who's reading this is having a nice weekend. Seems Boulder may be in for some snow!
Cheers :)
This blog is sponsored by the CU Book Store.
It seems film has now been added to the degree audit program for Arts and Sciences students, and what a cool website I stumbled onto last night. Beautiful pie charts and other graphs show you what your credits look like so far, and everything is easy to navigate and follow. You can look at a full list of all the core credit areas, for example, and see which you've fulfilled, which you're taking right now, and a listing of possible classes for those you still have to take.
Anyway, all this got me thinking about when I could graduate (potentially early, thanks to IB and AP credits) - which in turn got me thinking about the cool things I could do other than classes: study abroad, internships, maybe a BAMA (something CU's film department offers). It's overwhelming and at the same time extremely exciting to think of all the potential paths I might take over the next few years.
Mostly, I feel the need to have a sense of all my options now so I don't miss out on anything. I overheard my roommate having a similar conversation the other day - about summer classes or travel plans or internships... so it seems this may be on the minds of other students as well. I'm guessing now that we freshmen have settled into CU, more and more of us may be starting to think about plans for the future.
I'm sure that any plans that are made now may change - after all, I just added a minor and switched my focus from a BFA to a BA in the last few weeks, so clearly, goals can change with little notice, but it feels important to keep the future in mind. If you're a CU student and you haven't looked at your degree audit, I suggest you do - it's really quite interesting.
That's it from me for now. I hope anyone who's reading this is having a nice weekend. Seems Boulder may be in for some snow!
Cheers :)
This blog is sponsored by the CU Book Store.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Catch-Up, Changes, and Plans
Hello, fellow visitors to the Internet. This is another one of those "sorry I haven't written in a bit of time, life got the better of me" posts. Here's what happened, long story short. After the first week of the semester, I wasn't feeling too sure about one of my classes. I kept thinking that I could make it work, that it wasn't a big deal, that I was nervous about it for nothing. But then we got the syllabus (3 classes into the course) and I saw what I was facing and I realized it just wasn't for me... So, on the final day of the Add deadline, I switched classes.
In doing so, I created a lot of work for myself. I was three classes behind in my new class (Astronomy), had extra textbooks to buy and read, classes to make-up, material to understand. Now, three weeks into the semester, I feel settled into my new class, and I'm glad I made the switch. However, if you've been following my blog, you'll know that this is a bit of a déjà vu experience, as I did this same thing last semester. I thought I had a good schedule and class load figured out, until I realized one of my classes wasn't my cup of tea, switched to something else, and had to face all the catch-up work that came along with it.
This semester's course swap was a bit more complicated for me, as it involved my major. I don't want to get into it too much, but let's just say I finally had a heaping dose of those typical collegiate "I don't know what I want to do with my life" thoughts. I'm still re-evaluating my goals and plans for the rest of college and beyond, so I do think this experience was good for me, but as far as switching courses two or three classes into the semester, that's something I'd like to avoid in the future. I don't know if I need to just plan my schedule more carefully... or if I need to sign up for more courses than I'm going to take with the option to drop one that doesn't feel right (something that was suggested to me by a CU alum). I'm sure I'll figure out a strategy - and a schedule - when the time comes for course registration in the Spring.
Overall, this little absence from blogging represents quite the learning opportunity for me. I do plan on writing on here more, as there's lots to talk about with the semester in full swing, the summer drawing ever closer, and the general experience of life here in beautiful Boulder.
Cheers :)
This blog is sponsored by the CU Book Store.
In doing so, I created a lot of work for myself. I was three classes behind in my new class (Astronomy), had extra textbooks to buy and read, classes to make-up, material to understand. Now, three weeks into the semester, I feel settled into my new class, and I'm glad I made the switch. However, if you've been following my blog, you'll know that this is a bit of a déjà vu experience, as I did this same thing last semester. I thought I had a good schedule and class load figured out, until I realized one of my classes wasn't my cup of tea, switched to something else, and had to face all the catch-up work that came along with it.
This semester's course swap was a bit more complicated for me, as it involved my major. I don't want to get into it too much, but let's just say I finally had a heaping dose of those typical collegiate "I don't know what I want to do with my life" thoughts. I'm still re-evaluating my goals and plans for the rest of college and beyond, so I do think this experience was good for me, but as far as switching courses two or three classes into the semester, that's something I'd like to avoid in the future. I don't know if I need to just plan my schedule more carefully... or if I need to sign up for more courses than I'm going to take with the option to drop one that doesn't feel right (something that was suggested to me by a CU alum). I'm sure I'll figure out a strategy - and a schedule - when the time comes for course registration in the Spring.
Overall, this little absence from blogging represents quite the learning opportunity for me. I do plan on writing on here more, as there's lots to talk about with the semester in full swing, the summer drawing ever closer, and the general experience of life here in beautiful Boulder.
Cheers :)
This blog is sponsored by the CU Book Store.
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