I've been meaning to write a blog post for the past several days, but I kept putting it off. I kind of feel like I'm in a rut, which is incredibly weird when I've only been a college student for a week. I'm still kind of homesick, but the strong sense of sadness has pretty much gone away and in its place is just a general feeling of not wanting to be here. I'm trying not to be negative, but it's a little tough sometimes.
It's not that things are going badly. I still haven't really made any friends, but that's to be expected since it takes me a while to get comfortable around people. Learning how to deal with my roommate has been a challenge since we're basically complete opposites in every way possible, but she's a nice person and it hasn't been too bad. Classes have been good for the most part. I'm really excited about all of them but precalculus, which just scares me really. I'm a little scared about the others as well, since I'm still not entirely sure what to expect, but I'm interested in learning more about those subjects, which makes it easier. (Actually, I'm a bit scared about public speaking as well, but not really in the same way I am about precalculus.)
We'll see how things go during the second week and on. I'm not expecting things to get worse or anything, but I do hope I feel better about being here soon.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Second Day of College Classes
Today was our second day of classes, and it went really well. The only problem is that some of my textbooks still haven't come in yet, and they're for classes tomorrow. I'm hoping it won't be too much of a problem that I don't have them yet. I ordered them before classes even started.
I'm a bit nervous about my public speaking class, which is to be expected considering I hate public speaking. The instructor seems like he'll be entertaining though. I just don't want to give the five speeches we'll have. Next class we have to get a partner and interview them. Then, at the class after that, we'll get up and introduce them. I'm pretty worried about it.
My Introduction to Theology class seems like it will be really interesting. One requirement is attending a church service of a Christian religion other than your own and then write a paper on it. It's not due until the end of October, so I'm going to see if I can go home during our October break and do it while home. We also have to interview the pastor or someone there, and I feel weird doing it here in Indianapolis. Plus, I don't have transportation here, and I don't know how to get around the city. Indy isn't a city I want to walk around by myself, at least not the part where my school is. (The campus itself is safe, but it's situated in one of Indy's worst neighborhoods.) Anyway, the class seems like it'll be really interesting, and I'm looking forward to it.
My only other class today was First Year Experience, which is a required class that is supposed to help you get used to campus life. A bunch of us sat around waiting forever before discovering the classroom had been moved, so we walked over to the other classroom as a group. That class seems like it'll be interesting. It's not meant to be difficult or anything. You're just graded on participation and going to campus events that they ask you to. It's also only for half of the semester, which makes me happy because with the way things are now I don't have time to eat lunch.
It's nice not having anymore new classes to attend, but not I have to get used to the monotony of classes and homework.
I'm a bit nervous about my public speaking class, which is to be expected considering I hate public speaking. The instructor seems like he'll be entertaining though. I just don't want to give the five speeches we'll have. Next class we have to get a partner and interview them. Then, at the class after that, we'll get up and introduce them. I'm pretty worried about it.
My Introduction to Theology class seems like it will be really interesting. One requirement is attending a church service of a Christian religion other than your own and then write a paper on it. It's not due until the end of October, so I'm going to see if I can go home during our October break and do it while home. We also have to interview the pastor or someone there, and I feel weird doing it here in Indianapolis. Plus, I don't have transportation here, and I don't know how to get around the city. Indy isn't a city I want to walk around by myself, at least not the part where my school is. (The campus itself is safe, but it's situated in one of Indy's worst neighborhoods.) Anyway, the class seems like it'll be really interesting, and I'm looking forward to it.
My only other class today was First Year Experience, which is a required class that is supposed to help you get used to campus life. A bunch of us sat around waiting forever before discovering the classroom had been moved, so we walked over to the other classroom as a group. That class seems like it'll be interesting. It's not meant to be difficult or anything. You're just graded on participation and going to campus events that they ask you to. It's also only for half of the semester, which makes me happy because with the way things are now I don't have time to eat lunch.
It's nice not having anymore new classes to attend, but not I have to get used to the monotony of classes and homework.
Book Review: The Complete Idiot's Guide to World History by Timothy C. Hall
ISBN: 1592577121Published: March 4th, 2008
Publisher: Alpha
Read from August 8th to 16th, 2012
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Don't know much about history?Review:
Which societies are the most important? Which periods of time saw the most change? How have cultures differed and remained the same across this vast time and space? This guide gives readers the whole world, and then some! Including key ideas as well as lesser- known facts, salient quotes, and crucial terms defined, it prepares readers not only to excel in exams but to become 21st century citizens of the world.
Overall I really liked this book. The problem is I found at least one mistake, and it left me worrying that there were even more that I didn't catch. At one point in the book (I'd give a page number, but I left the book at home when I came to college), the author talks about a French colony on the island of Cuba. He's obviously referring to Haiti and means the island Hispaniola because I think most people could tell you that Cuba was a Spanish colony. And Cuba and Haiti are not on the same island. Haiti and the Dominican Republic (which was a Spanish colony) share the island of Hispaniola. It isn't that big of a deal I guess, but I don't know how that mistake was made... That's not an easy typo to make, and a historian should know the difference between Haiti and Cuba. It's a mistake that definitely should have been caught during editing.
Other than that I didn't see any mistakes though, so I can't tell you if there are more than that in the book. It does provide a good summary of world history if you're looking for that. I can't say I learned anything new, since I'd already learned absolutely everything in the book during AP world history in high school. In fact, this book reminded me of our AP world history textbook except more brief and written in a way that was much easier and less boring to read. I definitely recommend checking it out if you want to read about world history, but I'd be wary of trusting some stuff after I found that one mistake.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Amazing Race
Today has been a lot of fun, but also exhausting. I started off the day waking up early (8:30 in the morning to be exact). It's later than I'll have to wake up for classes, but earlier than I've woken up all summer (aside from waking up at four to drive up to Indy on Friday). Church wasn't for a few hours, so I decided to watch Beauty and the Beast in the dorm (with headphones of course since the roommate was sleeping). I didn't get to finish the movie before mass though, so I had to finish is up after the amazing race (which I'll talk about in a minute).
I was nervous to go to church because I'd never been to a new church all by myself before. In fact, I'd only gone to church alone back home maybe once. Once I got inside and sat down though everything was fine. It's nice how the mass is basically the same wherever you go, so even though there were a few minor differences, I didn't have to worry about looking like an idiot because I had no idea what was going on.
After mass and lunch I headed back to the dorm for a little bit to watch a short bit more of Beauty and the Beast before it was time for the amazing race. If you've ever seen the TV show of the same name, that's what it was based on. We were separated into teams of four (although I was in a team of three), and we had to walk all across campus and get various clues by doing challenges. The two girls I was with were awesome, and I discovered that they're nerdfighters! Although I had a lot of fun we had to walk (and run) all the way across campus five or six times, and I mean a straight shot across campus because the places they kept sending us to were always on the opposite side of the one we were on. (And we had to hike through the Ecolab at one point.) By the time we were halfway though I was dying for a drink of water. It was fun though, so I guess the momentary discomfort was worth it. Our team was in last place until we managed to get a ride with one of the older students who was helping out and driving around on a golf cart. Because of that, we managed to beat the team ahead of us, although I'm not really sure it counts. For me it wasn't even about beating the other team, I just wanted to sit down. I didn't know if I could make it the rest of the way at that point.
Because of our last place, our team got the award for "most lost." We weren't even lost. We just took longer to get everywhere. Either way, we each won a map of Indianapolis, which I guess could come in handy.
After that I went back to my dorm to rest for a while (and finish Beauty and the Beast), and aside from dinner, that's all I've done today. I think we're supposed to have a residence hall meeting later tonight, but other than that, I think I'm done doing things for the day.
Tomorrow's the first day of classes! I'm both excited and nervous. I should have gone around and found the classrooms ahead of time. Technically I still have time to do that, but I feel odd randomly roaming the halls of various buildings, and I don't want to ask someone to go with me to find my classes. I know where all the buildings are, so it should be easy to find the classrooms using their numbers. I'm just paranoid. I also don't have textbooks for two of my classes tomorrow either. I know that I don't necessarily need to, but not being completely prepared is worrying me just a bit. (I left my graphing calculator at home too...) I'm sure everything will be fine though, and hopefully I enjoy my classes. (Precalculus may be a bit hard to enjoy though...)
I was nervous to go to church because I'd never been to a new church all by myself before. In fact, I'd only gone to church alone back home maybe once. Once I got inside and sat down though everything was fine. It's nice how the mass is basically the same wherever you go, so even though there were a few minor differences, I didn't have to worry about looking like an idiot because I had no idea what was going on.
After mass and lunch I headed back to the dorm for a little bit to watch a short bit more of Beauty and the Beast before it was time for the amazing race. If you've ever seen the TV show of the same name, that's what it was based on. We were separated into teams of four (although I was in a team of three), and we had to walk all across campus and get various clues by doing challenges. The two girls I was with were awesome, and I discovered that they're nerdfighters! Although I had a lot of fun we had to walk (and run) all the way across campus five or six times, and I mean a straight shot across campus because the places they kept sending us to were always on the opposite side of the one we were on. (And we had to hike through the Ecolab at one point.) By the time we were halfway though I was dying for a drink of water. It was fun though, so I guess the momentary discomfort was worth it. Our team was in last place until we managed to get a ride with one of the older students who was helping out and driving around on a golf cart. Because of that, we managed to beat the team ahead of us, although I'm not really sure it counts. For me it wasn't even about beating the other team, I just wanted to sit down. I didn't know if I could make it the rest of the way at that point.
Because of our last place, our team got the award for "most lost." We weren't even lost. We just took longer to get everywhere. Either way, we each won a map of Indianapolis, which I guess could come in handy.
After that I went back to my dorm to rest for a while (and finish Beauty and the Beast), and aside from dinner, that's all I've done today. I think we're supposed to have a residence hall meeting later tonight, but other than that, I think I'm done doing things for the day.
Tomorrow's the first day of classes! I'm both excited and nervous. I should have gone around and found the classrooms ahead of time. Technically I still have time to do that, but I feel odd randomly roaming the halls of various buildings, and I don't want to ask someone to go with me to find my classes. I know where all the buildings are, so it should be easy to find the classrooms using their numbers. I'm just paranoid. I also don't have textbooks for two of my classes tomorrow either. I know that I don't necessarily need to, but not being completely prepared is worrying me just a bit. (I left my graphing calculator at home too...) I'm sure everything will be fine though, and hopefully I enjoy my classes. (Precalculus may be a bit hard to enjoy though...)
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Second Day on Campus
It's my second day on campus, and I honestly haven't left the dorm. Today there was a service thing for welcome week that started early this morning. I was so exhausted from yesterday that I ended up sleeping in and missing it. There's also a movie tonight though, and I plan to go watch that. Other than that I'm just sitting around the dorm. The homesickness isn't as bad today, but I'm still adjusting. I feel as if I should get out of the dorm and do something, but I have no idea what to go do. I'll probably go eat dinner later. It'll probably be alone again. (Although yesterday after I ate dinner, I found my roommate, and I ended up going back with her and sitting with her while she ate.) Then, of course, there's the movie later.
I think my roommate has been running around campus meeting people. I feel like I should too, but I'm just so bad about going up to people. I'd just randomly walk around campus alone unless someone approached me first. So I guess I'm just going to stay in my room until dinner and then go eat by myself. (My roommate made some friends and is leaving campus for dinner...) We'll see what happens.
I think my roommate has been running around campus meeting people. I feel like I should too, but I'm just so bad about going up to people. I'd just randomly walk around campus alone unless someone approached me first. So I guess I'm just going to stay in my room until dinner and then go eat by myself. (My roommate made some friends and is leaving campus for dinner...) We'll see what happens.
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