2 MORE FINALS!

One more day left....WHAT?!? I can't believe that tomorrow is already the end of the first semester! It's crazy how fast it all went, I feel like we haven't even been here that long,  not long enough to be already done with a semester  haha. It goes so much faster than high school, it's so weird.   All I have left is  two exams tomorrow and I'm headed home, back to the good ole' 616! I can't wait to just relax for 3 weeks and not have to stress about homework or anything. It's a good feeling! I hope everyone has a good break! 

Formal 2012 :D

On Friday night, Alpha xi delta had their formal! It was my first one so I didn't really know how this all worked, but it was SOO much fun! We were all ready by 5, went over to the house, took pictures, and around 6:45 we all got on the bus. Our formal was at the Holiday Inn, it was a great spot. Not only was the set up great, but the food was great. Once we got their I had so much fun, we sat down, ate dinner, and then we all got out on the dance floor and danced for a few hours. We were their until 10 o'clock and then we all loaded the buses again and headed back to the house. Overall I had a great night with my sisters, even thought I was dateless..haha. I cannot wait for next year!

What I learned and more.

I can't believe we are done with English! It's so crazy how time flies  I really really liked the class though, and I feel like I learned a lot from it. I learned how to write in numerous different genres that I NEVER got to do is high school. I feel like this class was one of my favorites because or writing assignments were fun, they weren't just a boring research paper, they were fun. Like analyzing a song, creating a magazine/other genre, and more! I'm going to take a lot away from this class. Even on the last day I learned how to do  footnotes. I have never heard of footnotes before so this was all brand new to me. But they weren't really that hard to understand,  Overall, English 1050 was a great class and I would totally recommend my professor to others.

Hockey Hockey Hockey

On Saturday I went to the Hockey game with some of my friends, and it as a lot of fun. We played against Northern Michigan University, and of course we won! (: It wasn't a big game or anything the score was 1-0, haha. But it doesn't matter, as long as we won. I love the hockey games so much more than the football games. It's nice to not have to worry about freezing to death or getting rained on. Not only that but the student section at the hockey games is so much more fun, everyone gets much more into it  Sadly though, we got their late so we didn't get a spot in the student section :( but we still made the best of it, and even joined in on some of the chants. This was my second game this year, and I definitively know I want to be going to more of them before the season is over.

Final Project

In class this week when we heard about our final project, I thought it was going to be pretty fun, but now i'm stressed out. I think it's a cool idea, but there is so much to get done is such little time.When I heard it was a group project I got excited...but this project really isn't much of a group project as I thought, I guess I had a different idea haha. For my project our group picked Pearl Harbor, which seems like it would be a good one to do because there is a lot of research on it and it is interesting. I just wish it wasn't so much to do because I have other exams to study for so it's really hard to try to balance that and having to write a 5-7 page paper, and make a creative aspect with it. I'm scared it's not going to turn out well enough, but hopefully when I really start getting into the project it will change, but right now i'm so stressed out about. 

RUINED

On Friday, November 16th I went to go see the play Ruined with my roommate, Miranda. We both didn't really know what to expect from it. At first I didn't think I was going to really like the play because of what everyone was saying. Everyone was saying it was really graphic and at point hard to watch. But I ended up really liking it. I thought it was put on so well and was really really good. So much better than your typical high school play. I thought the acting was really good, at points I almost forgot I was watching a play an that I was watching something on TV. I don't normally go to plays, but I'm glad I saw this one, it was pretty interesting. 

Teen Magazine.

In class on Monday we got introduced to project 3. At first when she started talking about it last week...it seemed so overwhelming. But the more she explained it, the more I feel like I can do well on this project. For my piece of literature, I picked teen magazines. I LOVE reading teen magazines, I have loved reading them since I was in Middle School. So picking this as my topic seemed perfect, it was going to be something I actually enjoy. They are my favorite because I love that only do they have gossip, but they have tips on fashion, make-up, relationships, quizzes, horoscopes, and embarrassing stories. I'm excited to see what I can come up with for my own magazine pages.

Initiation ♥

This weekend was amazing. It was the weekend of Initiation. I am finally an official member of Alpha Xi Delta ♥ I couldn't be happier. I CAN FINALLY WEAR LETTERS! haha. Being an official member feels great, when I first came to Western I felt lost and didn't really know anybody on campus. But now I have 70 wonderful sisters who I know will be there for me to talk to, to listen, and to just hang out with. It feels great. Over this weekend I've gotten so much closer to my pledge class and can't wait to see what memories will be made. Being an official member feels awesome, I love feeling part of something as amazing as AZD. I know this sisters will be there for me from now and forever, I love that. I can't wait to see what these next 4 years has in store for me.

Fairy-Tale

Having to read those fairy-tales brought back a lot of memories for my childhood. I loved fairy-tales and all the stories about princesses. What I've found out is that I loved reading them, not writing them. I'm not the most creative person so trying to write my own fairy-tale is so hard. All the ideas I try to come up with have already been done, haha. I'ts going to be a rough day trying to get this done, for some reason papers take me so long to write. I've been thinking of a few ideas and think one of them is going to work, I hope it's good! Wish me luck!

Meme.

http://qkme.me/3rnhaa

Home Sweet Home ♥

Instead of going to the CMU vs WMU game this weekend, I went home. Which by the way, we won. Go Broncos! haha. But anyways I'm so happy that I came home. It's been a looooonngg time since I've been home for a whole weekend.  I love seeing all my friends from high school that I don't get to see every day now, we all had so much to catch up on. It's been a good weekend so far. I spent Friday with some of my old friends from Byron and Grandville. Then today I went out to eat with my mom and we went out to eat at Panera bread, which was delicious. Now i'm going out to see the movie Silent hill with some friend, which i'm  so excited about. I love scary movies, so this is a perfect ending to my night. 

Rough Draft

I started my rough draft on Sunday, and it was going really well. I feel like I found sources that really supported my thesis!  I know we only needed to have 2 pages done by tomorrow, but I just wrote my whole paper. It's 3 pages, ending a little on the 4th page. Even though i hate when other people read my papers out loud, I'm hoping we have people peer edit our papers again. I really like it because it helped me realize not only what I did wrong, but reading others helped e see how I could also take my paper in a certain direction.  It definitely going to be weird going to class tomorrow, i'm so used to only have only class in the morning now. haha. I'm just glad that I'm finished up with my rough draft, I hope everyone likes it! 

Sick

I was so excited for this weekend! There was so much going on for Halloween it was going to be a fun-filled weekend. But of course, by body decides it wants to get sick.  I was all achy, had  sore throat, and a headache....totally not fun. So for the past two nights I've been lounging around in sweats, no makeup, and wrapped up in a million blankets. I was feeling so bad that my mom came and picked me up for the night and let me stay home. It was nice to have my mom around to really take care of me because in the dorm I had no medicine or anything to help me feel better. Going home was the best idea ever, I got a really good nights sleep in my big bed and took so cold medicine to help. Now I feel 100% better and am so excited to head back to Kalamazoo later on tonight! My friend Emily and I are going to be twitter birds, can't wait to show it off!

Conference Time.

I'm kind of looking forward to having class cancelled the next class periods, and having a conference to review our paper. Yeah, it's cool to not have class, but that's not the main reason why i'm excited about this set up. I'm really excited because I think this will be really helpful for me because I get one on one with the teacher to really tell me what I'm doing good, and what I need to fix. Because before, we would write the paper on our own, and do separate activities in class so there really wasn't much time to get help from the teacher unless we went to her office hours.  I'm really excited that she decided to do this especially for this paper because it can get a little confusing on what research we need to do, and how we need to style our paper. Even though this writing is a bit tougher, i'm excited for it. I'm excited because I'm analyzing one of my favorite bands, all time low and one of my favorite songs, therapy. It's a lot easier to write about something when i'm passionate about it, so I hope this paper turns out great!

Pretty Lake

Well, this Saturday all the new members in my pledge class went out to this place called Pretty Lake. All new members go here to bond and really get to know each other.....and of course it down pours. It was freezing cold, and after 5 hours of being in the rain all our layers were soaked through. Because of this, we had to leave early and we didn't even get to go on the high ropes course, which is everyone's favorite part :( Thankfully thought we will be rescheduling it and going back in December! Regardless of the horrible weather, it was still a lot of fun and we definitely boned as new members. I love my pledge class ♥

Revised Thesis

1. Therapy by All Time Low 

In this song I think this person is trying to say how they are different, and nobody understands them and how everyone tells them they need "Therapy". Society for the most part don't accept people who are different, and I think that's what this person is trying to convey.  It's trying to say that "Therapy" isn't for people who are different  don't try to conform them to be like everybody else. Trying to do so can cause more harm than good and can lead to suicide. In a sense, society is asking for this person to get psychotherapy, but to this person, they are tired of being told they are cray/weird. The "therapy" they want is to be accepted and loved for who they are because they hate being told that they needs psychotherapy  they aren't mentally insane, they are just different. 

Thesis

For our upcoming analysis I have narrowed it down to a few ideas for songs of my favorite band. Lets me tell the thesis's I have created and let me know which one would be the best to work with!

1. Therapy by All Time Low
I'm asking what is Therapy?
In this song I think this person is trying to say how they are different, and nobody understands them and how everyone tells them they need "Therapy". Society for the most part don't accept people who are different, and I think that's what this person is trying to convey.  It's trying to say that "Therapy" isn't for people who are different  don't try to conform them to be like everybody else. Trying to do so can cause more harm than good and can lead to suicide.
2. Time-Bomb by All Time Low
What is the time-bomb in his hands?
This song is talking about a relationship between two people.It's about how two people are almost in a relationship that the rest of the world, or there family and friends don't agree with. This relationship is destructive. They know it's something that won't last, or shouldn't last but they both love each other so much that they just can't let each other go. They are trying to fight the "bomb" and pull together.
3. Lullabies by All Time Low
What is the candle?
This candle is supposed to be the symbolism of life. This is about a brother who is very angry that he committed suicide, he feels lost, angry, and upset. He feels kind of at blame for what happened to him, and just wishes he could see him again.

Soony's Blue's

At first when I opened up this reading, I was like are you kidding me?! It was so long! But as I started gaining more understanding of the writing, I began to like it. I never would have thought that a writing like this could have such underlying meaning. For example the use of darkness in the story, and the repeated phrase of "I didn't know why". Once you realized all this underlying meanings everything becomes more clear, and you can almost see a theme or a reason behind every phrase and the piece of writing overall. Analyzing Soony's Blues I thought was very beneficial. It's a great example of what we are going to be having to do for our next  paper, so now I feel a lot more confident about what i'm going to do and how i'm going to do. What I've learned for this assignment is, professors don't give you busy work anymore. When they want you to read something, do it because it will be beneficial in the end.

The Monster

In class on Thursday we were split into groups and support who was the monster in the movie Carrie. Group one had Carrie's mom as the monster, group two had the popular kids at school as the monster, and then group three had Carrie has the monster.  Looking at all these groups I think all of them are monsters, there is just not one person who is really the main monster in this movie. I mean look at Carries mom she abuses her daughter daily, that's monstrous. The look at group two, the kids at school, they mock her and bully her all the time, which is also monstrous. Last look at group three, Carrie. She is clearly a monster too, she has telekinesis powers that allowed her to kill her whole senior class at prom, and her mother. I guess when you really look at, groups one and two really made Carrie into the monster she is.

Study Hours

Starting this week all the girls at Alpha Xi Delta were required to go to 4 hours of studying. We could go on the any two days between Monday-Wednesday from 8-10 pm. I'm here now, and it's really helping me get a lot done. When I first got here I opened up my Henrietta Lacks book and got so many chapters done, back at my dorm it was a struggle to even read two pages. Now i'm on chapter 34 and almost completed with the book. I'm so relieved and happy! This may sound nerdy but i'm really excited for these required study hours because I feel like it will really benefit me as a student. It will force me to sit down, in a quiet room to get my work done.  It's always so hard for me to get homework done in my dorm because i'm always getting distracted by my TV, music, Facebook or just talking to my roommate. I really think the library is a great place for me to study and get all my homework done. So if you're looking for me from now on, i'll probably be in the library.

Parent/Alumni Day

This weekend was great, not only was it homecoming but I got to see my family ♥. At my sorority it was parent/alumni day so I had my family come down and they got to see the house and meet some of my sisters. It was a great day, we all tailgated together and had a lot of fun. It was way too cold out though so after we tailgated for a while my family and I went out to eat at smash burger...which I found out is delicious by the way. Then we went to the Spirit shop and I got a new sweatshirt and and AZD lanyard.  And to top off this great weekend I went to the pre-season hockey game. Overall I had a great weekend because I got to spend with my family, my sisters, and my friends.

Read my paper out loud? Rather not.

I've always hated peers reading my papers beside the teacher of course. I always  feel embarrassed and awkward when I hear my words vocalized. So it didn't really help when in class Monday we were instructed to have someone else not only just read our paper silently but read it OUT LOUD in a small group.  When my paper was read I got all nervous and red, but by the end it really wasn't all that bad. The group had good things to say about my paper so that made me gain more confidence about my writing skills.  Sadly thought even thought I was comfortable with that, it wasn't the end of it. Two people then had to read your paper silently to criticize and analyze it.  Both techniques I realized turned out to be really beneficial. Hearing it out loud helped me see where certain phrases made no sense, or were complicated to read. I also gained a benefit from two people analyzing and criticizing it, it really helped me see the deep down issues and things that I could do to improve my paper, like grammatical errors. Overall thought I left class that day with a better understanding of what my paper should look like. I fixed up certain parts and it it already sounds SOO much better.

Literary Narrative

When we first got handed this assignment, I had no idea what I was going to write about, I didn't really think I had any examples in my life that would work. To be honest I really didn't even know until last week Thursday. I started off with the topic of a horrible teacher I had Senior year, and as I was thinking about the class I realized a lot of things that I could write about. In this class we read a lot of Greek mythology and Shakespeare which I totally forgot about! These readings were very confusing to me because of the literary language. Soon the paper I thought was going to take me all weekend to write only took me a few hours in two days. I couldn't be happier with my narrative and am ready to turn the rough draft in on Monday.

Don't Panic

This is my first post, and trust me it won't be my last. My favorite band is All Time Low, so prepare to hear EVERY detail about them..haha.  For those of you who have never head of them...look them up now! I've seen these boys perform live five times and counting...they are AMAZING live, seriously they are. All time low is a pop punk band from Baltimore, Maryland. They have been a band together since they were in High School. They have come out  with  four albums and one EP, which brings me to the point of this whole post...their new album will be out on October 9th called "Don't Panic"...but I pre-ordered  it of course and will be getting it October 2nd (:! Words cannot describe how excited I am for the package to come, it has not only the CD but a t-shirt and a poster!

Short Stories

Our homework for the weekend was to read two short stories, one was called "Why My Mom Can't Speak English" and "Me Talk Pretty One Day". I actually didn't mind reading these, one of the readings really stood out to me though. The reading that stood out to me what the first short story. From this story I found it so weird that his mom lived in Canada for 30 years and never learned the language, or got her citizenship. If I was in her shoes that would have been something I would have done right away, not 30 years later. living somewhere and not knowing how to talk to anybody, but watching my family do it would be REALLY frustrating to me, I'd feel almost stupid.  I couldn't even image what that would be like, I would be so lost. I wouldn't like to have to depend on my husband to take me everywhere and talk/translate for me, I would feel more like a burden, and would hate having to always need him fro EVERYTHING.  The ending of the story was really cute though because she finally got her citizenship and could understand some English, it was bittersweet.

My new home; Alpha Xi Delta ♥

This weekend was a long and stressful but was totally worth it! This weekend I participated in formal recruitment, and it went from bad to good in a matter of days.  At first I thought that I wasn't going into the sorority I wanted because my Rho Gamma told me that only one party wanted to see me...and that was the party I dropped. I was really sad on Sunday because I was really looking forward to joining a sorority, it has always been a dream of mine. But that all changed yesterday afternoon! I got an email from the President of Alpha Xi Delta (AZD) and she told me that she didn't understand why I dropped about because the girls loved me, I was shocked when I read this because I thought all along they didn't want me. Nobody will even know what happened and why they didn't show up as one of my parties but i'm so happy that she emailed me! (: Last night I went over to the house and we had our pinning ceremony and that will be the start to the new membership, I couldn't be happier. I can't wait to see what the next four years has in store from me as a sister of Alpha Xi Delta ♥

Poems, Poems, Poems.

This past Thursday, September 14tth 2012 we read two poems in class. They were titled "Where I'm From", and "Courageous Dream's Concern". I actually didn't mind reading these poems, especially the poem about Detroit, Michigan because I'm from Michigan. I really like how these poems did not just describe where they are from in a boring way, they tried to get your senses involved, they tried to bring about certain smells, sounds, tastes, and sights. You could really get an image in your head of the place, it was almost like you were there.  Another reason I really liked reading these poems is because it made me think of where I'm from and all the things that I would associate with my hometown. So when we got the assignment to go along with this I was excited, and in a way sad because having to think all about my hometown makes me miss it even more!

Hometown Tragedy

Today I'm going to post about something that has really affected my hometown, Byron Center, MI. About two weeks ago on Labor day morning five people from my High School got in a very serious car accident. Three of them were left with some cuts and bruises but the other two were left in critical condition.  One of the two people left in critical condition had slight bleeding of the brain, and had broken or fractured every bone in his face. Thankfully, with surgery he has been released from the hospital this past Saturday and is recovering. But unfortunately that was not the same for the other person left in critical condition, she had serious brain damage and wasn't likely to recover. Last week there was signs of hope, she started moving her feet, clenching her fits, and even making some sounds.. But sadly MRI results told us that her brain was deteriorating and wasn't likely to recover any further than she had already.  This was all hard for us to hear because this girl was loved by SO many people, nobody ever had bad things to say about her. And as of yesterday I got news from a friend that she had passed away last night. I would have never thought that this would ever happen, that someone so young who I went to high school with would be gone. If your reading this, please pray for her family and her friends for the strength to get through this hard time, they all need it. R.I.P Caitlin ♥

A little about the blogger.

Hiii everyone, welcome to my beautiful blog! My name is Nicole and I'm 18 years old and from a small town Byron Center, MI. I'm a freshman at Western Michigan University and I'm majoring in Nursing. A few of my favorite things are cheerleading, the band all time low, the color purple, nutella and concerts. ENJOY (: