The Great Textbook Sellback

CU Students -- are you dreaming of summer?

In this last month of the semester, perhaps you're already wondering what to do with your textbooks. After all, you probably want to sell them back and get the best price for them, right?

Cue the CU Book Store's Great Textbook Sellback... See the poster to the left or this link for full details!

Starting on April 25th and running through May 11 at a variety of convenient locations including the CU Book Store, Coors Event Center, Sterns Central, and Folsom Field (dates and times for these locations vary, please see poster or website for full details).

You can visit our website, CUBookStore.com, to check what your book is worth. We guarantee that we'll match or beat any competing price!*

We also encourage you to watch the video below for the full scoop on what determines what your book is worth and what it costs!





* For any store physically within a 1mile radius.

Friday Fun

Congratulations, students, you made it to Spring Break! One week of freedom (or time to catch up on homework, depending on how you look at it) and then it's back at it for the final stretch of the school year.

If you're graduating in May, you're almost there! We hope you attended the CU Book Store's Grad Fair and wish you all the best with your final month of college.

Whether you're traveling home or somewhere more exotic -- or staying in Boulder -- we hope you have a safe and fun Spring Break. The oh-so-wonderful Ralphie over at the CU Student Life website has some great tips if you don't know what to do with your time off! Check them out here: http://studentlife.colorado.edu/features/make-it-a-break-tips-to-get-your-break-on/

Because there's been a lot of sad news coming out of Japan, I want to encourage you to help out, if possible, by donating to the Red Cross... if you text "REDCROSS" to 90999, you will donate $10 to affect those dealing with the aftermath of last week's earthquake and tsunami. 

Of course, we want to leave you on a happy note. In honor of the week off, we thought we'd hit you with a little bit of Friday Fun... something to make you laugh! How about a cute baby? Everyone loves those! Here's one who doesn't know what to make of his mom blowing her nose. 

Fall Registration

It's almost time for fall registration for CU students continuing with their studies next year.

Registration dates begin on March 28th for all students -- that's the day we get back from Spring Break -- and continue on from there. When you register typically depends on how many credits you have completed.

Finding your registration date can be a little tricky, but we're here to help! To view your registration date, first sign into MyCUInfo. Navigate to the "Student" tab. One of the first options you see should be "Register for Classes" -- click that. In the right blue column, you'll see something that says "Enrollment Dates" and within that box, an option to click "details." Your summer registration dates will be listed here if you want to enroll in any summer classes. Otherwise, click the green "Change term" button and make it "Fall 2011." When the page reloads, you should see your date under "Appointment Begins."

You probably want to plan ahead what courses you'd like... Course options are now listed on the MyCUInfo portal. You can search based on a department, like ENGL, or also a Core Requirement. Add courses to your shopping cart to have them handy when it comes time to register -- but remember, doing so doesn't actually register you for classes.

If you want to talk to your advisor before your register, don't hesitate to set an appointment at http://aac.colorado.edu. Appointments will disappear before you know it, as this is a busy time of year for all advisors. Their walk-in hours are typically for generic questions -- not something that would require them to be familiar with your specific needs or plans.

Your Degree Audit can also be a great resource to see what unfulfilled requirements you may want to get out of the way this fall. That can be found in MyCUInfo.

Here's a little tip for getting organized... use a calendar software like Google Calendars or Apple's iCal. Enter any and all classes you're considering taking in one week, even if they overlap. Then, on the next week, lay out one possible class schedule. Try a different arrangement in yet another week. See if you can fit all the classes you NEED first, then arrange some electives if applicable. Take into consideration if you'd like a day off, what classes are offered multiple times, when you'd be able to take a break for lunch, if you're an early riser, etc! This can be a great way to start to visualize what your fall semester will be like before your registration slot.

To any students reading this blog post, what's an unusual elective class you'd like to take this fall? How about the film class on "Hollywood Musicals," or the Classics "Greek Mythology" -- What potentially unknown classes have you taken in the past? We'd love to hear about it!

We at the CU Book Store wish everyone the best of luck with fall registration, and hope you'll visit us soon, whether your need textbooks in the fall, a blue book to get you through that midterm this semester, a quick break to snag a magazine or fun book, or anything else!

CU Bookstore: Tradition Starts Here. 

Her Majesty The Queen

Last night, I was able to attend an event at CU with Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan. Queen Noor became the first American-born queen of an Arab country when she married King Hussein in 1978. Last night, she spoke to a full house at Macky Auditorium about tolerance, common humanity, some of the causes she supports (like Global Zero, fighting to rid the world of all nuclear weapons), and her belief that the current generation of students have the ability to change the world. I'll do my best to summarize some of the points I found most interesting.

Queen Noor first detailed how all humans share 99.9% of our DNA, and that all our differences, be it our hair and eye color, or our religious beliefs and culture, arise from that one tenth of one percent. She said that this understanding, that there is more that unites us than what makes us different, is key to our human destiny. She believes that, with all the many conflicts in the world currently, we are failing to engage with each other across our differences.

In a topic that reached my interests particularly, she discussed the biased portrayal of the Muslim world by Hollywood, describing a study that looked at over 900 Arab characters in Hollywood films and found only 12 of them to be portrayed positively. (The rest were categorized as "balanced" or negative portrayals).

Finally, since this was an event organized by students and for students (though a great deal of the Boulder public turned out as well), Queen Noor discussed what amazing technology the world has nowadays, mentioning that she herself often uses Skype to talk with her children across the world. She described a type of "study abroad" program which allows students to interact with students from around the world without the costs of traveling somewhere else (although she also encouraged students to travel and really experience other cultures).

She also described the current moment as one of the most exciting times to be a student, that she believes with every fiber of her being that our generation has the capacity to change the world and find lasting worldwide peace.

Overall, this kind of event made me glad to be in college, and at a large college in particular. Sponsored by the Cultural Events and Distinguished Speaker's Boards, this was one of those "wow, how cool is it that I got to see this person" moments. I found Her Majesty Queen Noor to be remarkably optimistic and a great champion for many worthy causes.

That's it from me for now. Only two weeks left this semester, I can't believe it! Cheers :)

Registration

There's not much going on in my life other than the final haul that comes with the last three weeks of the semester. However, it is course registration time at CU right now, and with my registration time coming up this week, I thought it would be a good time to talk about it. In general, I want to take a lot of course at CU - I mean, sky's the limit... if it looks interesting, I want to try to fit it in. I'm interested in philosophy, psychology, photography and anything from Greek to graphic design.

However, it just so happens that with the fall 2010 semester, I won't really be choosing from that long list of courses that interest me - I'll be sticking to my major, minor, and CU's core requirements. Also, because it turned out two of the course I'll be taking are 4 credits each, it looks like I will only be taking four classes, instead of five, (for a total of 14 credits) which will be an interesting change from this semester, when I had 16.

Overall, assembling my schedule for the fall was really quite easy, more a matter of figuring out which recitation periods would work than which classes to take. I just hope everything I want is still open by the time I actually get to register. Furthermore, CU notably changed the registration system they used this semester, and I'm hoping it functions properly and easily when I get to sign up for classes.

What should be interesting about the fall is that I either have long classes or short classes - I have two 3+ hour film courses in the afternoons, but then I don't have any hour-and-fifteen minute lectures, I ended up all with 50-minute lectures/50-minute recitations. Perhaps this will end up feeling more like high school.

Those are just a few of my musings on registration for the upcoming term. If you have any questions about CU's registration process, feel free to ask. If you're a student, have you registered yet? Did you get the classes you wanted?

Cheers :)

This blog is sponsored by the CU Book Store.

Fun textbooks - not an oxymoron

I count myself lucky this semester to have been assigned more than just the usual type of textbook. Many of my classes have assigned actual books (books which someone might pick up outside of college). I was enjoying reading these today, so I thought I'd tell you a bit about my thoughts on the future of textbooks...

I never pass on an opportunity to recommend a book I've enjoyed, or ask people about opinions on books I want to read. Here's the unorthodox textbooks I've been assigned this semester:

All the Shah's Men by Stephen Kinzer, about the United State's involvement in overthrowing Prime Minister Mossadegh in Iran, and the consequences of this action.

The Fifties by David Halberstam, a rather unique collection of stories about what made the fifties the way they were... From TV to the Beats to Elvis, Halberstam's got it all.

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, not one I've actually read yet (we're doing it in class in a week or so), but I believe it's about how our food is grown, what we choose to eat, etc.

The Looming Tower, by Lawrence Wright, also one I haven't read yet, this is about Al-Qaeda and 9-11.

If you've read any of these, please share you thoughts with me in the comments!

My point in discussing this is that, aside from the usual gigantic, expensive glossy-paged "everything you need to know about Astronomy" (which I do have) -type book, one thing that makes college awesome is the opportunity to study other well-written non-fiction books. Of course, in high school, you'll be bound to get a few books for an English class, but outside of that, it's textbooks and teachers. College steps outside the sphere of the typical textbook.

This brings me to something else I've been thinking about. This Saturday, Apple releases the iPad. I don't know if I've mentioned that I'm an epic Apple fan, but I am very excited to see and use this new technology. Although, I don't currently have any plans to buy one. Perhaps a future model.

I bring this up because I have long wondered when devices like the Kindle and the iPad will start thinking smart and create an e-reader partnership with colleges. It makes so much sense for a college freshman to buy an e-reader device (though they're expensive, the student will use it over all four-years of college, and thus, it's a reasonable purchase), and then each semester, buy reasonably-priced e-copies of their textbooks. No carrying around multiple books, buying and selling used copies, etc. There ya have it, all your books, on one device.

I won't go on and on about the technological aspects of this plan, but I'm sure I'm not the first to think of it. I hope someone out there who holds sway in Apple or Amazon, or some other company, has had the same idea, and is working on it right now. Above all, I hope to benefit from this before I leave college.

That's it from me for now. I can't believe there are only four weeks left in the semester after this week wraps up. Wow, time is flying!

Cheers :)

"Spring" Break in Boulder

Hello CU Buffs, friends, readers, and random individuals who happened to stumble across this blog... I hope you are having a lovely week thus far! If you're on Spring Break, like me, I especially hope you're enjoying the absence of classes and schedules.

Spring Break is kind of a magical time if you stick around Boulder. As students disappear for vacations and trips home, the town really changes. Traffic slows down, businesses are less busy -- everything feels slower, more relaxed somehow. Of course, since the local school district often has Spring Break the same week, this isn't just CU contributing to the change.

However, that brings me to what is on my mind a lot lately, summer. Spring Break will be wrapping up in a few days, and then it's onto that last big haul before we reach the bliss of summer vacation. Of course, the extra blizzards and snow storms this week are hardly even spring weather, and thus are making me particularly eager for some summer sunshine -- and some time to enjoy it.

In summer, in particular, Boulder really changes -- and I think it's safe to say that this is because of a number of CU students going home. I love that Boulder is a college town, and always have, so I wouldn't want it to be so quiet all the time... But then again, I've grown up here. Since many students leave every summer, I think people miss out on the peace and quiet this town experiences during the summer.

So, here's my recommendation: if you come to CU, try to stick around during a Spring Break or summer. Enjoy the weather (whether it's snowy or sunny), and enjoy the calm energy that is oh-so-different from any other time of year.

Cheers :)

Introduction to TAM

Hello! So much for the first day of spring - here in Boulder, we're digging our way out of the rapidly melting snow from winter's last gasp yesterday! :D I hope we've got more warm weather on the way - last week's 60 and 70 degree trend really got me excited for spring and summer!

I've been really busy lately with midterms, plans for the summer, and other things, but I wanted to take a moment to share with you a really cool program I am thrilled to have found at CU.

The Alliance for Technology, Learning, and Society, better known as ATLAS, is more than a building on campus. It's the home to a minor and certificate program called Technology, Arts, and Media (TAM). TAM is an interdisciplinary program open to anyone at CU that teaches "digital media production, design, art criticism, computer programming, information technology, media and societal analysis, and project development." These are all things I've always wanted to learn and am glad to have found at CU - I'm currently planning on pursuing the minor along with my Film Studies degree.

It was rather by luck that I found this program. Word of mouth, combined with a a Google Search, led me to the website, the description, and eventually, a meeting with the adviser. TAM teaches a skill-set that I think is invaluable in this technologically driven age, and I'm glad I found it - because it's actually a bit difficult to get into the first class right away (there were at least 180 students interested in the first 100 person class).

I attended the orientation for this program just this last week, and the whole time I was sitting listening to what it was all about, I was so excited to get started. I can only be thankful I managed to stumble across this opportunity.

I guess what I'm saying is, always keep your eyes open! In college, you never know when you'll find a new program, group, class, person, or experience that will expand your horizons Don't miss these opportunities!

Comment question of this week: Have you ever stumbled across something that ended up changing your life? Any advice on not missing opportunities?

Is there anything you'd like me to talk about, look into, or describe in my last few months as a freshman at CU?

Cheers :)

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.

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.

Hello 2010!

Well, 2009 has drawn to a close. Amidst a lot of chatter with friends about resolutions and reflections, I have found that it's hard for me to comprehend how my life has changed since the beginning of 2009. This year feels long in hindsight... Last January, I was still dealing with college admissions! I think I had all my applications in, but I was getting acceptance letters, filling out scholarship applications, and stressing about where I was going to choose to go to school. That seems so long ago, in many ways. 2009 felt like it was a big deal because it brought the start of college. I've been thinking lately about what that has meant for me. In some ways, college has changed my life a lot. I already feel like I'm thinking about certain subjects differently due to my classes. I feel settled into CU, a part of the whole *collegiate* system. I feel ready to tackle a second semester. Along these lines, though, I admit, January 2009 is going to look a lot like January 2010. I'm still in Boulder. I'll be heading back to classes after a nice relaxing winter break, simultaneously dreading and welcoming the change of pace and reintroduction of a schedule, just as I do every year.

On top of all these similarities and differences, there's the fact that THIS New Year's is a big deal. The end of a decade - only the second decade change I've lived through - is worth noticing. On Twitter, a site I use a lot, people have been making comments with the tag "10 years ago," explaining where they remember being in their lives at the beginning of this millennium. I don't remember very much that specifically. I would have been 8 years old, in fourth grade (if I did my math right), and attempting to understand the whole "Y2K" thing. College was a distant thing - something I knew I'd get to in my life, but never spent any time thinking about. It's funny to think about the passage of so much time. After all, the hours and days slip by easily when we're not looking, but then we hit a landmark like 2010 and notice just how far we've come from the last time we stopped and reflected. I have some new plans for this blog for my second semester that I'll be describing soon, but for now, I wish you a very Happy New Year.

Cheers :)


This blog is sponsored by the CU Book Store.

Counting down!

Hello again! I hope you the mysterious and anonymous reader had a nice Thanksgiving. Get any good Black Friday deals? Poke around online for Cyber Monday? What a crazy time of year!

I'm back at school for the final stretch of this semester. I'm counting it down in as many ways as I can think of... 2 weeks, 4 classes, 14 days (at the time I'm writing this), 4 assignments, 2 portfolios, 3 final exams... whew!

I'll probably get more reflective about what it's like to be done with my first semester of college after I'm done... right now, I'm just focused on staying energized and handling the last round of work with a bit of grace.

I did do a bit of that thinking about what you're grateful for last week -- and among the things that seem actually relevant for this blog was my decision to attend CU. I believe it was this time last year that I was just about done with applications (I got all of mine in for the early action deadlines), and I may have even been into a school or two -- maybe that was a little earlier.

Anyway, suffice it to say, I'm glad I decided to come here (Go Buffs!), and I'm glad I decided to stay in Boulder. I was asked recently if it's weird for me being in my hometown -- not having really gone away to college. Weird? I don't know. It's working for me.

I'm starting to think a lot about everything I want to do in my month of freedom (winter break) and what I want to change for next semester. I won't go into all that now, but is anyone else getting that new year/resolution feeling yet?

Driving around Boulder now is great -- a lot of houses have their lights up, and the big star is lit on the mountain! (Don't know what I'm talking about? Go outside at night and look!) It now feels acceptable to me that stores have holiday music playing -- although it does seem like Christmas came early and quickly this year.

Anyway, I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving, I hope you're hanging in there until your next vacation, and I hope you're getting in the holiday spirit!

Cheers :)

This blog is sponsored by the CU Book Store.

Relatability

More and more since I started college, I've been noticing a really wonderful trend: the topics in my classes have actually been relating to each other and to everyday life.

For example, the discussion of woman's role in religion and how Christianity plays into that, which started in my Ways of Knowing class was continued in the discussion of Paradise Lost in my Masterpieces of British Literature and then showed up in the book I'm reading for fun, Mists of Avalon. There are many other examples crossing across my five classes and many interests.

This may be highly specific to the classes I'm taking this semester -- Biology might not have as many crossovers, for example -- but it's really been adding to the whole college experience. The moment of recognition when you hear something in conversation that you were just talking about yesterday in class, that's a really cool feeling.

Anyway, I don't have much more to say on this topic (or as Forrest Gump would say: "That's all I have to say about that") but I wanted to see if anyone out there in the blogosphere knows what I'm talking about. Feel free to comment as comments are always appreciated.

I'll be writing soon on class registration - right now all I can tell you is that it's coming up and I'm excited! I figured out what my ideal schedule would be, but I'm not sure if it will happen. Fingers crossed, I guess.

Cheers :)

This blog is sponsored by the CU Book Store.

Do We Wanna Grow Up?

Sometimes it's the little things... moments that make you step back and think, quite simply, whoa, college is cool.

These moments have been happening on a weekly basis since my discovery of my dorm's Disney Movie Night. In the past few weeks, I've seen Hercules, The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and now Pocahontas. These are the movie of my generation's childhood, the movies we will never grow out of, even, as it seems, by the time we are in college. And as I'm sitting here, surrounded by students in their PJs, with their homework, semi-sleep deprived -- and yet totally enthralled by animated characters in a story they probably know by heart. They're almost always singing along, completely knowledgeable of every single tune and, well, it's in these moments when I can't help but think that I really do love being at CU.

These weekly movie nights have taught me something: that the most important part of college is shared experiences, both experiences we create while in college, and those from our past, that can bring us together. I feel it's pretty safe to say that most of us saw and loved these films when we were little, and there are clearly many students who feel similar to myself... I think Disney movies are incredibly creative, fun, beautiful works of art, and were great entertainment to grow up with. Now, I could have been feeling stressed one weekend and decided to treat myself to a Lion King night, but it wouldn't have been the same as sitting in this room with a group of students, and doing so on a weekly basis.

As a film student, I can't help but think about these movies in a larger context - as I find my mind working about numerous topics since I've started college. (More on this in a future post.) What is it about these films that is so timeless? I will argue with my last breath that kids who grow up on movies like Shrek are missing out. These films merely make fun of the classic fairy tales, they aren't made of wonder and magic like the older films were. Classic Disney is the way to go, and when you have a room full of 18+ year olds LOUDLY laughing out loud, I think this point is proven beyond doubt.

So, this is totally unrelated to college, but I'm going to ask that timeless question: Favorite Disney movie? Or top three favorites? (I know I can't choose just one).

Anyway, that's it for now... Cheers! :)

This blog is sponsored by the CU Book Store.

Face-off: Biking versus walking

Since coming on campus, I've gone back and forth about the benefits of walking versus biking. As someone who lives in the Kittredge complex, classes aren't exactly right outside my backdoor. The first few weeks of school, I was all about biking absolutely everywhere. Why walk, I figured, when you could easily ride? But biking brings its own problems...

First there's the fact that campus is on a hill. It's gradual, to be sure, but definitely noticeable when going to class at 8AM. Of course, on the flip-side, riding home is a lot of coasting, but in those first few weeks, I was arriving a lot of places sweaty and slightly winded. Wonderful, I know.

Then there's the people. There's definitely an art to riding through crowds, and within a few days, I was already better at the slow, only-pedal-enough-to-stay-upright type movement. It's difficult to say if a bike bell would help with this. Saying "on your right" isn't failproof either - I've found that many people freeze or even move the wrong way when you say this!

For me, one of the final straws was falling off my bike. This may sound wimpy, but when I hit the pavement and slightly messed up my knee, I got a lot less confident in the benefit of having a pair of wheels to get around. This isn't to say I wouldn't do it anymore, but I learned the dangers and the need for an insane amount of care when riding around campus.

Let me just say, to anyone who does ride regularly, please don't let your guard down. You are as responsible for riding carefully around pedestrians as they are, and who wants to deal with an injury in the first few months of campus? I've already heard of several other bike-related accidents (nothing too serious), but let's just say it's embarrassing and painful and something worth avoiding.

But the final nail in the coffin of my bike riding habit was getting sick. Somehow when you're struggling to breathe simply sitting on the couch, pedaling around doesn't sound so great. I rode my bike one day after being sick (and it happened to be a very cold day), and somehow I didn't find it enjoyable anymore - I found it more work than it was worth.

So for about two weeks now, I've been walking everywhere. I've got my set paths, I think I know what time to leave to get to class (although I've cut it close AND been insanely early several times, so I still need to work on the routine). Most importantly, though, I've found that I really enjoy it! I like the time to myself, the slowness of the movement, the simple moments to enjoy the breeze. I'm currently listening to an audiobook of comedian Craig Ferguson's autobiography (read by the author himself) and... it's proven to be a good time all around.

I'm curious, college students (or people who remember college well enough :D) - How do/did you get around? Bike? Car? Bus? Walking?

I'm not sure what I'll do when winter hits and it's cold, snowy, and icy, but for now, I'm happy walking the walk.

Cheers :)

This blog is sponsored by the CU Book Store, who have an exciting new web site - check it out!

Catching up: apologies for disappearing!

It has been quite a while since I've written about my experiences in college, and for that, I apologize. Quite honestly, this is because I have been positively knee-deep in the whole experience. First I was busy adjusting, then I got sick, and then I was recovering sick and feeling the normal college-student business. But I am back now and even more dedicated to updating this site regularly. I've got a bunch of ideas, but if there's anything YOU, the mysterious reader, would like to read, please let me know.

I knew it would happen, the first dreaded immune system failure of the fall. Between the tradition I seem to have of getting sick in the middle of September, and the abundance of nasty little germs flying around campus, I got knocked down by a cold. I was hoping I wouldn't go down quite so hard, but I am glad it wasn't swine flu, although the prevalence of that illness on campus now seems to finally be lessening.

And then there was last week, and whew, what a week it was. Though I didn't have any formally labeled "midterms," I did have two exams and several big assignments. And perhaps it was just the fact that everyone else had a similar burden, but the week seemed exceptionally stressful.

Which leads us to now, the beginning of October. Can you believe it? Not only are we six weeks through the semester (!!) but it is formally the fall season. And, in keeping with the odd weather I've seen all year in Boulder, the fall can't seem to decide how mild to be. There was that one week of cold, days that seemed like they could be a warm version of December rather than a cool anomaly in September. Then there was the wind, the few rainy days, and a few 80 degrees days here and there. It seems the season is keeping with the Boulder tradition: "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes."

There have been moments in the past few weeks when I've wanted to simply stay in my dorm room in PJs (or even more drastic, just go and stay home), and then there were days when the sky was extra blue, classes were extra interesting, and everything seemed fresh and exciting. In a lot of ways, I suppose, college still seems surreal. And yet, at the same time, completely normal, just part of the progression of growing up. Whatever it is, it's part of my life now, which is why I struggle whenever someone says "what do you think of college?" I think it's just like the rest of life: it's got good moments and bad, new experiences and familiarity, fascinating lessons and frustrating homework.

Anyway, now that I have this entry out of the way, I'll be posting again very soon about a variety of topics I've come across recently. Keep checking back!

Cheers :)

This blog is sponsored by the CU Book Store.

Avoiding assumptions

Assumptions are dangerous. While they are a natural part of life - a coping mechanism for new and unknown experiences - you have to be careful not to rely on preconceptions too much. This seemed to be a theme of classes and experiences last week.

Last Wednesday night, my entire dorm emptied out for our first of a series of monthly symposia. The kick-off speaker was Dr. Dennis Van Gerven, an anthropology professor and dynamic speaker. All I knew going into the talk was that it was about mummies. Thus, I was expecting a kind of "how-to mummify" lecture, describing the gruesome details of Egyptians removing brains through belly buttons and so forth. Or a history focused talk on the importance of mummies in Egyptian culture. In short, something I had heard before. Instead, the Dr. Van Gerven explained the history of the region he's interested in, Nubia, and what he sees when he studies a pile of bones: the details of the lives of people who lived thousands of years ago. He showed slides of hips, arms, skulls, telling us of the diseases these individuals may have had, the kinds of lives they probably led. He described how he gets to be a detective, except his clues are all in bones! It was a fascinating snapshot of an interesting profession.

So, lesson learned, right? Not quite. On last Thursday night, I headed to my evening film class, Honors Women in Film, prepared to face a 3 hour documentary on Leni Riefenstahl, a female director who worked under Hitler. Leading up to watching this film, I was prepared to write her off as a misguided Nazi. Even while watching the film, I was conflicted in trying to understand her motives. Again, I had walked into an experience with a specific expectation; what I experienced was extremely different. Riefenstahl is still one of the best known female directors, even if she did direct Triumph of the Will (a film about the Nazi Party Congress). I had to let go of my assumptions in order to try to understand her.

The reason I bring this up is because it's something I want to avoid. It's so very easy to assume I know what something is going to be like, and in doing so, miss out on the actual experience! This doesn't just apply to classes or scholarly talks... it can be equally problematic to assume you know what someone in your class is like -- you may miss out on a friend!

Anyway, I had a very busy weekend - a lot of work seemed to catch up with me all at once. I hope everyone reading this had a lovely and safe Labor Day, and a good weekend (despite CU losing the football game against CSU). I must say, it was extremely entertaining to watch the tailgating festivities kick into gear right outside my dorm - from cowbells to chanting to barbeque smells wafting in, it made for an interesting Sunday afternoon.

Feel free to leave me comments... Do you have any experiences where you caught yourself forming a preconception? Or where an assumption was completely different from the actual experience? Or know anything about Leni Riefenstahl? Or just want to let me know you're reading this? Have at it! Other than that, I'll be back next week.


Cheers :)

This blog is sponsored by the CU Book Store.

T minus 10 and counting...

Well, this is it, the time has come. I move into my dorm tomorrow and can hardly believe it. While it seems like the summer has flown by, that back-to-school feeling is finally in the air. BVSD, the local school district, has started, and some freshman have already moved in to CU dorms. I wanted to tell you all that my excitement for college has been growing lately. I was recently out of town on a family trip, and after being asked a great number of times "So, are you excited for college?" I realized that my answer is a resounding YES.

I had a great experience the other day regarding all of this. I'm a fan of the social networking site Twitter, and not only use it to communicate with friends, follow services (like the CU Book Store - check them out here), but to also follow authors, actors, directors, and other well-known individuals whom I admire. One of these individuals is an author by the name of Sarah MacLean. I discovered MacLean's twitter after greatly enjoying her book The Season, and have found her to be extremely accessible and friendly. I replied to one of her tweets about back to school, asking how she remembers feeling when she was college. I didn't fully expect an answer, but I was wonderfully surprised when I got some great advice. She replied to me that starting college was "terrifying," but that a week in, she loved it. She added that she met her best friend on the first day, and that I should tell her how I end up feeling after a week of school.

This was followed by another conversation that only seemed to reinforce the same message. I was talking with a younger friend who is starting high school, who was also regarding it as scary and even unwelcome. Quite naturally, not wanting him to hate it from the get-go, I gave the advice to remain open to enjoying the new opportunities. It got me thinking... I remember quite distinctly how exciting the beginning of freshman year was, at least in retrospect. Everything was new and big and different. Classes were more interesting. There were countless new people to meet. The school had new traditions to learn. In advising my friend to be optimistic about high school. I realized that I needed to follow my own advice. In many ways, the same message was being thrown at me again and again.

So now I have a philosophy when it comes to moving in to the dorms, going through orientation programs, starting classes. Sure, everything is new and a bit scary, but it's like that for a lot of freshmen. It's okay for it to be "terrifying," as MacLean reminded me; I just need to look for the parts to enjoy, as I reminded myself. Keeping this in mind, I see my whole nervous attitude change to something better: I can't wait to see my room, meet people, experience the line-up of opportunities we have in the first weekend, start classes... all that!

With that said, I hope to blog a lot about this coming weekend. I'll tell you how my move-in goes, what events I attend, and try to share stories of friends as well. I want to ask you how you feel about starting college (or how do you remember feeling)? Did you have an AHA moment like this one I experienced, or were you always looking forward to it? Any advice for move-in day?

Cheers :)

This blog is sponsored by the CU Book Store.

Goodbye high school...

Even though it’s nearly a month since I became a high school graduate, every now and then I get the urge to leap out of my chair and shout ‘SHAZAM - I’M DONE!’ This is largely because the knowledge that I have finished high school keeps hitting me in waves of realization, almost on a daily basis. I keep wondering how I can be done with such a large chunk of school, of time, of life!

More specifically, where did the time go? I keep asking myself whether the time passed quickly or sluggishly… and I’ve found that this question is difficult to answer. I definitely remember the months of class, homework, tests, and lunch periods, and how they would seem to stretch on endlessly. But now, looking back, the past four years are starting to seem like a blur that came and went with a few blinks, some sleep deprivation, and a bit of studying.

On top of all this, the end of my year was particularly crazy, something I know contributes to these feelings. The last few months of school were a mad time of staring longingly through windows at sunny days and crazily cramming several years’ worth of material for exams into my already-filled brain. I’m starting to wonder if this stretch of time simply disappeared into some sort of vacuum… perhaps a black hole? I really have no idea what happened to the entirety of May and most of April.

And then there’s the fact that I did not graduate. I mean, I have a diploma sitting next to my desk and have technically completed high school, but I did not attend my school’s graduation ceremony, did not wear a cap and gown, and did not do the weird little flip-the-tassel exercise. The decision behind missing my graduation is complex and already known by many of my close friends, but in a nutshell, an event that I dearly wanted to attend happened to be scheduled for the same weekend as graduation and I chose a trip to Boston over a walk across a fancy stage.

Having said this, I suppose it’s no wonder that I feel like high school never really ended; there are clearly plenty of reasons. And, yet, at the same time, it seems that the high school part of my schooling actually ended months ago - back when I made my decision to attend CU. As soon as a deposit was mailed off to one school, and letters saying “Will not be attending” were mailed off to others, in all reality, one foot was already out of the high school door.

Going along with this notion, I want to share a fairly interesting phenomenon that I have been a part of recently. In the days when social networking programs were rarely used… or non-existent, I imagine you began your first day of college surrounded by a great number of strangers. Perhaps you had friends who were attending the same school, but it was probably rare that you had very many acquaintances before Day One of the college experience. However, the world being as it is now, this is certainly not the case anymore.

In a moment of procrastination before school ended, I logged on to Facebook and decided to search “CU: Class of 2013” for any group I could find. Let me tell you, I certainly found what I was looking for, a group of hundreds of students-to-be, all excited to meet each other. Since that time, I have founded a group for my dorm and started meeting dozens of people who will be my classmates next year. I’ve spoken with my roommates, people in the same programs as I, and people who have similar interests or hobbies. I’ve already met two wonderful people in person when they happened to be in town, and have plans to meet two more. When I show up at CU on move-in day, or even for orientation, I will already know a fair few of the faces around me. And, with such a BIG step in my life coming up, I’m willing to take any help I can get to make it easier.

In all, I hope I have made two points clear in this amalgamation of thoughts: First off, if you’re a recently-graduated-high-school-student who saw the end coming, mazal tov. If, however, you’re like me, still reeling from the shock of such a huge part of your life suddenly becoming history, you’re not alone. The summer provides a nice adjustment period that I am sure many of us will be using fully. Oh, and second, if you’re about to enter college (at CU or not), try using some of the internet’s lovely tools and start meeting people now. I can’t even begin to explain how it will change your way of thinking about your upcoming future.

Cheers.

:)

P.S. I still love comments! If you have any thoughts on ending high school, starting college, or transitioning into something new, please let me know.

This blog sponsored by the CU Book Store. www.cubookstore.com

Welcome!

Hello, ladies and gents! You are here to witness the beginning of an exciting project that is very close to my heart. Over the next 12 months, I will be giving you a peek into my life as a freshman at the University of Colorado at Boulder (aka CU). You'll have the opportunity to read about my preparations this summer, the difficulties I face and overcome this fall, and the experience I gain during the year. Whether you are a CU alumnus feeling nostalgic, an aspiring or current student looking to learn more, or a parent interested in this fabulous school for your child, I hope I can enlighten and entertain in the months to come.

First thing's first... Who am I? My name is Laura. I have lived in Boulder, Colorado for my entire life to date. In my humble opinion, there really isn't a better place to be. For my time at CU, I plan to study film. I will be participating in the Norlin Scholars and Kittredge Honors Program.

My interests can be seen in my intended courses of study and in this project. I am an avid film aficionado, and am particularly interested in all the people and hours of work that go into a two-hour masterpiece on the silver screen. I also have a deep and long-lasting love for books. For all that the television can enchant, nothing else in my view can match the magic of a well-loved novel. Finally, I am very interested in technological trends. I will defend Apple Computers over PCs to my dying breath and love trying out the latest gadget on the market. I am involved in many of the latest developments online and love getting to know people on social networking sites. In a combination of two of my greatest interests, I am a zealous member of the Harry Potter fandom, particularly centered around my role as a staff member on The Leaky Cauldron (www.the-leaky-cauldron.org), one of the largest and best-known sites for discussion and news about the Harry Potter books and films.

Because short and sweet is always nice, I’ll wrap this up, but I want to spend one moment talking about how I think this project will go. First off, let me say that I absolutely love to know who is reading my work, so please leave comments, specific questions, or any suggestions if you have them. Over the next few months, I hope to give you an explanation of how and why I chose CU, to explain some of the reasons why I love Boulder, to tell you what I'm looking forward to in college, and to outline what I'm nervous about with this big change. I'll also keep you updated on registering for classes, orientation, buying dorm materials, meeting new people, and counting down the days until I move in on August 20th!

I hope you'll follow me throughout this process. College is an exciting time, but it has been made even more so for me by this opportunity to journal about it here, for the world to see. And, with that, I bid you all a happy start to June. Stay cool!

Cheers
:)

This blog sponsored by the CU Book Store. www.cubookstore.com