Getting Back into the Swing of Things!

It's already been a week into the second semester! I'm happy to be back into the swing of things. It was really nice to reunite with my roommates and all of my friends that live in my resident hall as well as finding some familiar faces in my classes.
After having a little trouble the first week with classes, I have finally gotten in all of the classes that I like and I think it's going to be a great semester. In a couple days, I have to start deciding who I want to room with next year or if I want to apply to become a Resident Assistant.
The weather is really cold and my friends and I have been cautious of slipping and falling on the way to the dining hall and classes.
Next week is the recruitment meeting for The Stylus so a couple friends and I will be attending and continue writing articles again. On top of that, I'm helping Amanda Seef, the Editor-in-Chief of The Stylus and the rest of the members of the Society of Professional Journalists plan a journalism conference scheduled to be held in March!
Now that I'm all stocked up on food, settled into my classes and work and eager to go to the gym daily (in the frigid weather) - I think I'm definitely ready for the second semester to be in full swing.

Second Semester

So it begins again! Second semester is officially here and I have currently survived 2 days worth of brand new classes. So far so good. Honestly I'm just really psyched to be back. You wouldn't think that 6 weeks worth of vacation was really long, but honestly, I never thought it would end! It's so nice to finally be back here. I'm excited to start classes again and very excited to see all of my friends. With all of my Brockport friends living all over the state I very much appreciated my unlimited texting. My classes this semester seem pretty cool so far. I have a couple Gen-Eds but the courses that are for my major seem really interesting. I'm really excited for Media Writing being that I'd love to do magazine journalism so hopefully, that class is somewhat helpful. One thing I'm really suprised about, the amount of work I have after only 2 days...

Made it Through Finals!

Ahhh so first semester is officially over!! My last final was on Wednesday, I'm so glad to be done with tests. This semester flew by so fast though! So many things go on here, you just lose track of time. But I had a really great semester and a lot of fun. Studying for finals was pretty stressful, the hardest part was just staying focused. Going to the library really helps! With everyone leaving at different times depending on when their finals are over, it is really hard to focus in the dorms with people moving all their stuff for break. Although I am sad that the first semester is already over, I'm really glad to be done with tests for a while! Next semester doesn't start until the end of January, but I will be going back Jan. third for inter-session to start practicing again. Our season starts really soon, I cant wait! Well I wish everyone the best of holidays! :) See you next semester.

Brockport Times

It's been a while since my last post, so I decided to put up some assorted pictures that show what I've been up to at Brockport.

These are my two roommates playing video games in the dorm. In case you've forgotten, I'm living in a triple, which is why I have two roommates. Darrel is the one on the left and Tyler is the one to the right.

This is some of my friends skating at the ice rink in Tuttle. We often go on Wednesdays, and though most of us are rather poor skaters, it's always a fun time.

These pictures are from one of our late night Walmart runs, at around two or three in the morning. If you're ever bored, a late night Walmart trip always has potential for entertainment.

Here's some pics of our Broomball team, the Hard Bananas. We had a very unsuccessful first season; we didn't win any games. In our second season, however, we were undefeated in the regular season. We failed to win it all though, as we lost in the semifinals in the playoffs.

Logan Marks

Home stretch of the first semester!

My roommates and I were commenting the other day about how fast this semester has gone. We have two more weeks of classes and then finals week. Thanksgiving break was a nice break from all the hectic tests my professors decided to give me right before break. It was nice to see family after a month or two of not being home.

So much has happened over the semester though. The Keith Anderson and Kellie Pickler concert was very memorable. Working for The Stylus paid off because I got the opportunity to interview them! Halloween was a blast - I dressed up like a cowgirl all weekend long! Time definitely flies in college. I'm meeting with a group of students in one of my classes for a presentation soon, so until then - hope the college search is going well!

Back From Thanksgiving

So we had our first day of classes since returning from Thanksgiving break. Now it is time to refocus on school and crack down for finals. Finals are in two weeks, so school is still a bit stressful. But the good news is... my roommates and I won a gingerbread house making contest a few weeks ago! It was a lot of fun building our own house while eating all the candy. But I can't wait for winter break to start so this semester is over and I can begin my new set of classes in January. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

-Natalie

The Freshman Nerves

On move-in day, I was very surprised to see how small my suite room was, but the move-in crew was very accommodating and once I finally organized everything, I quickly adjusted and it started feeling like home. My suitemates and other freshman in my hall made me feel very welcome and made the goodbye to my grandma and mom so much easier.
Before I came to college, I was also very worried about gaining the "freshman 15" (which I refuse to do), but there is a gym open to all students free of charge and the food in the dining halls has been rated number one in the SUNY system for the past five years. the food staff is very friendly and the popular dining hall, Harrison features many healthy foods.
In addition, before I started my classes I was a little nervous because my course load included Human Evolution, Intro to Philosophy, Movement and Self Awareness (I didn't realize this was a dance class until the first day of classes!), Protest and Public Opinion, Fundamentals of Media and Academic Planning Seminar. In my Human Evolution class, there is a woman who is deaf and Brockport is very accommodating for people with any kind of learning disability. Most of my classes are general education classes, but I am getting a taste of journalism through my Fundamentals of Media and Protest and Public Opinion classes. In addition, the Academic Planning Seminar is very important for freshmen because it's a class that gets students acclimated to the college. The class has students in it with similar majors to mine and if I ever need help with any of my journalism classes, I have a whole class of students to get help from. Also, my advisor of the class is the chair of the communications department, which is good if I ever need help with anything journalism related and I will eventually turn to her for recommendations when I am job hunting or applying for a scholarship.
There are many opportunities to get involved with activities on campus. Although I didn't know it before I came here, Brockport is known, especially by the students and professors, for advertising campus activities all over campus including on sidewalks (with chalk, of course). As I walk out of my residence hall, I look down to see a plethora of different groups promoting meetings to join clubs, advertising sororities and fraternities or selling tickets for the upcoming concert.
The local movie theater hosts midnight movies (that Brockport students get into for $1!) and Zonies, a restaurant on Main Street has the best (and most fattening!) calzones. Although I don't participate in any of the Division 3 sports teams, club sports or intramural sports, they are fun to watch (and Brockport students get in free).
Although the Brockport Web site is very easy to navigate, you can't tell by looking at a website where the best place for you to attend college would be. I believe its crucial to attend an open house to experience the campus. During my college search, I knew I wanted to wake up every morning and walk to my classes on a beautiful, welcoming campus (and I do!). Take a campus visit, try the food, introduce yourself to as many people as you can, check out the dorms and clean out your mom's wallet at the college book store. Try not to get too overwhelmed with the college search - you WILL find the perfect college for you!