Dairy Bar Daydream

After spending almost my entire day reading articles, textbooks, and websites regarding educational topics, I never want to see, hear, or identify another acronym again! I understand there are multiple reasons we use acronyms: sometimes it is to save time and space while other times we use them to help us remember a topic, act, or disorder easier.  Today alone, these are all the acronyms I encountered:

That’s 20 acronyms; and I’m sure when I resume my reading tomorrow I will encounter even more! But for now, I’m heading off to bed and hoping that my fifteen point lead will hold and secure me a win in my fantasy football league (or should I say FFL?)!

I was fortunate enough to get involved with the CALS Ambassador program during my sophomore year.  The CALS Ambassadors are students (in CALS) who participate in prospective student panels, help with information sessions, and welcome accepted freshmen during Cornell Days in the spring.  This has been one of the most rewarding experiences during my time at Cornell!  I love sharing my experiences with students who are trying to decide which path they want for their future.

Today, I participated in one of these panels and was able to meet a really interesting prospective student who was interested in Entomology.  While I’m not an Entomology major, I enjoyed our discussion regarding research and beekeeping immensely.  The best part was that this student was from Long Island; I love meeting and hearing about students who are from more urban areas who are interested in pursuing agricultural majors and careers!

Another reason why I love panels is that it is a great time to reflect on my own experiences at Cornell as well as my experience applying to colleges.  What better way to identify your favorite or best memories about Cornell than to reminisce about going to the one and only class on Magical Molds and Mischievous Mushrooms with a room full of parents and potential future Cornellians?

Each one of the undergraduate schools at Cornell has their own set of ambassadors.  If you’re interested in learning more about the program or meeting with a CALS Ambassador while you visit our campus, check out this website for more information: http://cals.cornell.edu/cals/prospective/admissions/student-ambassadors/index.cfm

Between reading hundreds of pages on pedagogical practices and working many hours teaching kids how to swim, I have been trying to master the art of fantasy football.  Now, I have to confess; I have never really been a football fan.  Soccer, basketball, and softball/baseball I get-I’ve been watching/playing them since I started walking.  But watching a guy try to run through five 300 pound guys so he can score? It seems so fruitless.  However, this year, my boyfriend asked if I would be in his fantasy football league.  Having no experience with football, I agreed and began attacking my draft strategy like a pre-lim: I studied.  I studied last years stats and this year’s projections.  I studied bye weeks and depth of teams, and combinations of which players would ultimately do well together (and not make me the laughing stock of the league).

Unfortunately most of my preparation collapsed when we drafted our team and I was stuck with many players I had overlooked and had no faith in.  To top it off, I had to face the 2nd place team from last year in Week 1 of the season…talk about bad luck in the “luck of the draw!”  Fortunately, after a stressful Sunday of yelling at the TV, complaining about players not knowing what they were doing, I pulled out my first fantasy football win!

However, the tide is changing: I’m currently losing quite a bit! It’s interesting how when things are going good for us we are all smiles and it’s easy to be positive.  This week, I have already been guilty of saying two of these phrases…and I’m sure there are more to come! I’ll keep you updated as the season goes on! I’m off to do more reading and more homework!

Up until last fall, I was under the impression as a registered student in Cornell University’s class of 2012 I would just show up on graduation day, some important person would tell me where they needed me, and then I’d walk up, get my diploma and celebrate for successfully graduating from college! Unfortunately, a good friend of mine was a senior last year and informed me that she was filling out her application to graduate.  My idyllic dream bubble was shattered: “wait a second, I have to apply to graduate?”

Yes, my friends, any senior at Cornell must fill out the 2-part application to graduate.  Part 1 entails submitting a form online which shows your general distribution requirements.  By submitting this form, you agree to successfully complete all general distribution requirements before you are allowed to graduate.  Part 2 of the form requires your advisor(s)’s signature saying you have successfully completed all of your major requirements! I am meeting with one of my advisors today so I can finish my application to graduate! After this semester I will have completed all requirements necessary for both my distribution requirements and my major requirements! I guess that’s the point when I will begin truly dwelling on the bigger question: Now what?

From the day I landed on the runway of JFK airport to the day I started classes again, it was 81 days.  Those 81 days represent that time most college students relish in: summer vacation.  While most of my summer consisted of working at my internship and my job at the local YMCA, there were a few highlights that I enjoyed immensely.

June 29th: I celebrated my 21st birthday in a unique way…I worked 10 hours! Unfortunately my birthday fell on the last day of an important horticultural industry conference that was being hosted by the professor I worked for! However I did get to complete one of the things on the “Big Red Ambition” list.  This list is comprised of 161 things every cornellian should do before they graduate! My dad and my brother also came to visit and my father bought me my first drink in the United States while my boyfriend bought me a wonderful new camera!

July 4th: A very happy independence day that presented me with my first opportunity to try out my new camera! What do you think? Not too bad for my first few pictures huh?

July 16th: I traveled home my family’s annual Jamboree (which is still affectionately called the “Weanie Roast”)! My mother and her five sisters drag their children (and this year their grandchildren even) to my grandmother’s backyard where we all pitch tents, tell stories, and swim in the lake at all hours of the night! The Weanie Roast always concludes with us traveling to our favorite campground for one last day of BBQs and outdoor fun! Beaverkill Campgrounds provides a great place to disconnect from technology and re-connect with the great outdoors! The Beaverkill River is fed from underground springs in the Catskill Mountains; the water is often so cold that my younger cousins can only stand it for about 20 minutes at a time!

August 13th: Another family reunion that was even larger than the last! This reunion is for my paternal grandmother’s side of the family: the Higgins clan.  My grandmother was one of thirteen brothers and sisters; all of whom have had children and grandchildren of their own! At every of these biannual reunions I meet more and more distant relatives! Although now, there seems to be quite a generation gap; see the second photo below for proof!

My Great-Aunts and Uncles at the Family Reunion.

My generation at the family reunion.

August 19th: Russ and I attended my cousin’s wedding together! I was one of her Bridesmaids and I was extremely happy to watch her marry her high school boyfriend of seven years! It was a beautiful small ceremony held outside and we were fortunate enough that the thunderstorms held off until about ten minutes after the reception was over! It also provided a great opportunity to get a picture with my whole family dressed up (an occurrence that has never happened before!).

My brother, dad, me, and Russ!

While my summer wasn’t one that consisted of traveling across the globe or community service trips, it was a perfect summer to get re-acclimated to living in Ithaca and preparing the difficult semester I have ahead of me!