I'm Reaching My Boiling Point

Hello Everyone!
It's been a very tough last couple weeks at the Hurst. My grandma unfortunately passed away last Saturday and I was home all of this past week with my family at the family time and the funeral. It's never fun to have to go home for something like that, but it was of course great to see my family. I'm very used to attending funerals and such, because that is what my dad does for a living; he is a funeral director. So growing up all around death I'm very used to, but when it's a family member it's so much different and of course you feel differently about things. For everyone that has ever wondered how you can manage to miss a week of class when a family death occurs and you're still at school, I can explain. It is not as bad as some may think it is, but it also depends on your professors. I actually have some really great professors that understood my situation completely. I was able to make up the test that I missed on Monday and hand in a paper late. The make up work is never the good part, because I'm flailing around like a chicken with my head cut off all around campus now. But it is also the last week of classes and I have to start getting ready for finals and write my huge literature review paper (which is 20 pages long). I'm very ready to just go home and not do anything, except work and make some hard earned money which I'm really needing right about now. So there is only 1 quiz, a literature review paper, and 3 finals that is stopping me from starting my spring break right now.
So this will probably be my last post until Spring term finally is upon us here at the Hurst. So I hope everyone is excited for it to start as well, there are many many amazing things that are going to be happening here and I will share every single little detail.
CARPE DIEM!

Snow Day!...Well, not quite.

Today my only class of the day was canceled, which wasn't even due to the weather that seems to be creeping up on Erie, PA again, my professor was ill.  What's new? We'll be seeing snow until the beginning of April. I was very happy about having class canceled, because it's giving me a chance to finally catch up on things I've had no time for lately. And I also missed out on a quiz that I was studying really hard for last night. Now I have an extra day or so to nail it. So even though I'd LOVE to hang around in my apartment and sleep all day, like so many are probably doing right now, I'm catching up on getting in touch with internship facilities and putting my research proposal together. Oh the joys of being a college student!

I've recently picked up spinning, I'd love to go today, but I'm not quite sure I'll be able to make it with my busy schedule. Studies come before the gym for me. If you've never spinned before, it is an AWESOME way to get rid of stress, not to mention the sweat pouring out of you. I highly recommend it. If you decide to come to the hurst, we have a great gym and awesome classes that are free, yes i said it, FREE to students. All you have to do is show your one card and bring an extra pair of shoes you do not wear outdoors. It'll definitely be a change when I no longer get free gym membership after graduation. That's one perk I'll definitely miss.

Is anyone into Pretty Little Liars? That is my all time favorite TV show, it is a must see! My roommates and I have a little party every Monday night and we get together to watch it. It's getting very mysterious again, I suggest it to everyone! Even my boyfriend who is not into shows like this watches it, so don't doubt me when I say it's really really good!

Update!

It's been awhile since I've written, and I apologize. I have gone through 2 weeks of craziness and finally I can relax. This is what I like to call my hell week, that happens at least once a term. This time it continually went right into another week. But now that this week is over I can blog about all the crazy things in my life!
Midterms are finished (in my words, I'm saying thank the lord!) and I'm overjoyed. I only had two this term, but they were so in depth and took up a lot of time. My research methods midterm took me 2 hours and 40 minutes to complete and the class was only 2 hours long, which means yes, I was the last one to finish. I haven't gotten the verdict back on it yet so hopefully it works out the best. The second was my english class and the verdict on this was.....an A! Yay! I wasn't feeling so hot about this one either and by the time I finished the 2 page essay I forgot what I was writing about.

I was greeted with a long weekend after my last midterm and got to go home to visit my family, but it wasn't a very welcoming visit because my grandma was very ill. She was discharged from the hospital on Monday, the day I went back to school, but wasn't doing much better. We're hoping for the best! My sister's birthday was Sunday, so I was at least happy I could be with her on her special day.

Research is slowly, but surely getting a little more complicated and a little bit more specific. I am in the middle of writing my methods proposal. This describes exactly how I'm going to administer my research study and it's very hard to be very specific. I'm really looking forward to finishing!

Spring term's schedule is going to be the following: Psychological Assessment held MWF 2-3:20pm, Research Methods II held TTH 12:10-2:05pm and Asian Cultures which will be a night class from 6:10-8:05pm.

This weekend is our very first wine tasting! And even though I won't be attending because I'm not 21, I think it's great to be bringing to campus! Chef Dominica is also going to be speaking in Taylor Little Theatre and afterwards there is a pizza contest held by students in Egan! It should be a great and very fun weekend!

Starting Off Fresh

Happy 2011! Hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and New Years. I know that I did. Over my break I worked for most of it to make up the debt on all the Christmas gifts I bought my family. I am a waitress at my local Denny's, and even though I was not very happy about working Christmas Eve and Christmas, I came out with $165 in tips just those 2 days! It's definitely nice to make some extra cash. I always have one favorite Christmas gift each year. Last year it was a trip to New York City to see the musical The Phantom of the Opera (my favorite musical). This year it was a very unexpected gift from my wonderful boyfriend, which was a ring and the most amazing gift I've ever received from someone. I don't get to see him that much, especially during the winter season and it definitely means a lot to me.

For New Years Eve I spent my time with Evan's family. He unfortunately had to work, but managed to get home at 11:45pm! It was a lot of fun, especially playing Mario Kart, Just Dance and Mario Bros. with Evan's sister Emily, and his two little cousins.

This was taken right before we rang in 2011!

So now that break is over I'm back into school mode and working on getting my research all in line. Yesterday we all presented our topics and everyone definitely has some great ideas! I'm looking forward to getting past the difficult parts and getting to actually research my hypothesis. My professor had told me that I had struck her as very professional and I had sounded very much like a graduate student! This really meant a lot to me especially since I'm planning on attending grad school after graduation next year.    

Tomorrow is Psych Day and the entire Psychology Club/Psi Chi has put together activities for elementary kids to have some fun with! If you live where snow has graced your presence, stay warm! I'm definitely trying!

Tis The Season!

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"...especially at Mercyhurst! Today we held our annual Christmas on Campus event that we put on every year for children groups and organizations such as the YMCA, John F. Kennedy Center and Mercy Center for Women. About 150 children come to have a Christmas celebration in our Student Union where we put on different arts and crafts and games. These are all run by our many RSCO's and the kids also get to eat some pizza and can get a picture with Santa. Afterwards, Santa will pass out all the gifts to each and every child and there is a reading of The Night Before Christmas. It really shows how important community service is to our campus and we get great turn outs every year! Sometimes children look forward to it so much that they can't wait to come and spend some time with the Mercyhurst students!
Tonight's agenda involves sweats and cuddling up in my pink blanket and watching The Santa Clause marathon on ABC Family. I just love the 25 Days of Christmas! It'll be so nice to get to go home at the end of the week! The most thing that I'm looking forward to this week is my new books that I ordered, Kardashian Konfidential and Sliding Into Home, Kendra Wilkinson's first book. I know that sounds a little dumb, but I LOVE watching their shows on E!, I'm a huge fan.
It's unbelievable how fast this year is going! I'm still in disbelief that I'm a junior and I have one year left here! I don't know how to wrap my head around this! My goal for the new year is to go to pilates and yoga at least once a week each and the gym 2 times a week as well. My goal when I get home is to just relax and enjoy time with my family and boyfriend make some good earned money!

I will keep everyone updated as the week goes on!
Carpe Diem!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

So we've made it to the end of the first week of classes! Sigh...only 9 more to go. I just was visiting Winterfest in the Union and there was definitely a lot of Christmas cheer. SAC (Student Activities Council) put together a number of events for us to have fun at and to catch a break from studying. Here's what SAC had planned for this snowy Saturday afternoon and evening. 

Unfortunately, I had other things going on in the afternoon and was not able to attend the hockey game or take a ride on the carriages, but I was able to get a FREE Chic-Fil-A sandwich (key word=FREE) and vote for my favorite decorated RSCO tree (Recognized Student Club and Organization). Here's some pictures that I took of the Ambassador Tree and the Leadership Student Certification Program Tree. 

 Here is the Ambassador Club Christmas Tree decked out in a green jacket design that the Ambassadors got to cut out create themselves. It's a great tree and I hope that students' voted! I certainly did:)

And here we have our LCP Christmas Tree that the 

Executive Board named "The Leaders of Christmas".We cut out drawings of Frosty the Snowman, Santa & Mrs. Clause, The Grinch and many others. 

I also voted for this tree as well!

Snow has certainly made it's way to Erie, Pennsylvania. Our first small snowfall was on November 27th, but it melted away in a few hours. Our first real snowfall was December 1st, and it definitely stuck. It hasn't really stopped snowing since then and I busted out my winter coat and boots. Here's a picture that I took while taking a walk from the Union to class the other day. It was beautiful and the snow was coming down so perfectly as if it was from a movie right before I took it. 

So as we've said goodbye to the sun, which we won't be seeing much of until at least March or April roles around, we welcome snow and hope that Winter term moves by just as fast as Fall term did. It's crazy to think after just one more term I will be a senior. I can't seem to wrap my head around that yet, and I don't think I'm just about ready to do that yet. I'm enjoying my college experience as best as I can, because my time left here is limited. 

Mixed Feelings

As Winter Term begins a lot of things have not changed at all. Classes are still the same and you see the same people everyday, but what has changed is the Mercyhurst atmosphere. I came back to school with mixed feelings about how I was feeling. As most of you viewers might have heard, one of our own students, Jenni-Lyn Watson, unfortunately did not come back to school with us as planned. After she was missing for a week, her body was found in a marsh. It was a complete shock to everyone that someone would do such a thing to a girl that didn't deserve that at all. Jenni-Lyn was the first person that I met when I came to Mercyhurst at our Laker Live-In that we do every year for accepted students that have decided to come to Mercyhurst. She was really really nice and I remember her telling me that she was a dancer and she was definitely excited about her future here. Even though we did not remain close friends I always did see her around campus and in the dance space and I always thought that she was amazing at what she did. A vigil was held for her last night and it was truly outstanding to see the crowd that came to pay their respects. We really are a family here at Mercyhurst and it really goes to show how far students can go to support their fellow students. Jenni-Lyn will surely not ever be forgotten and will remain in the hearts of many.

On a brighter note, classes had gone quite well today and I'm excited about Behavior Modification! I love behavior and I'm really looking forward to learning more about it and being more hands on. There are so many things going on in the next few weeks. A couple of them are Christmas On Campus and Winter Fest. Every year we hold a Christmas event for the clubs and organizations that children are involved in all over Erie, such as the YMCA, and students volunteer as buddies to these children and walk around the Union playing games and making crafts that they can bring home. We also give them a gift and Santa and Mrs. Clause comes to read the Night Before Christmas to them. Everything is run by the students and is sponsored by the Leadership Development and Engagement Office. It's a great opportunity and so much fun! This year I'm Gifts Co-Chair and I'm in charge of wrapping all the gifts and giving them to the kids. It's also a lot of hard work, but it pays off definitely in the end.
Winterfest also is an event that goes on for students as well. SAC and MSG combine to give students a great winter experience with things like horse drawn carriage rides, snowmen building contests and lots and lots of free food!

I'm looking forward to a great term, but definitely not the snow. It actually snowed last Friday night and I woke up Saturday appalled. It's not that I hate snow, but I've been around it my entire life and it's nothing too exciting to me anymore. But I love Christmas!! And I love the holiday season!