1st Week Down!

Warning: This blog may contain information that you do not care about and deem as unimportant and self-absorbed. Please feel free to skim.

1. Classes
2. Write like a Woman
3. Staying Connected with Friends

1. Classes
I feel like the gun has gone off, and I am out of the blocks, sprinting down the track. After my first week of classes, I believe I can say it will be an interesting semester- busy, but a good one as long as I can stay on top of everything. My classes include creative fiction writing: write like a woman, anthropology of Native North Americans, archeology of North America, a BPMI illustration studio, and a 3D modeling studio (clay, wood, glass).

During my freshman year, my classes still had a lot of homework and tests every 2-3 weeks (similar to high school), but now they have transitioned into a more independent approach with more reading and only two to three tests and some papers for the whole semester. Besides classes, I am also staying busy with undergraduate assistant work with the First-year Honors Program and co-leading two leadership classes with faculty members. I am working with two different faculty members, and the first one and I lead the class equally whereas the second faculty member expects me to take the lead while he is more of a soundboard to bounce ideas off of.

2. Write like a Woman
The creative fiction class has been an eye-opening experience already, and although I feel naive sharing this, I never knew there was literature so revealing and liberating for women. Some of the short stories also use very creative styles I have never seen before. Our professor said one of the mistakes beginning writers make is sharing too many details about things that are not important while leaving out things that should be explained more. To work on this, one of our future assignments will be writing a two-page short story with only 3-word sentences or phrases about the past five years of a woman character's life.


3. Staying Connected with Friends
My roommate Julia and I hosted our first Friday Night Dinner with some delicious stir fry. Because most of my friends are scattered around Ames now, I am trying to keep a group of us connected through weekly Friday night dinners/potlucks. I also want to maintain friendships with the now-sophomore Andersians still living in the dorm, and yesterday I attended an Anders house reunion/picnic/crumpets game(similar to field hockey). Last fall I was the social chair which was fun, but it is pretty nice now to be able to attend and enjoy the events without trying to organize them.

I also attended a small birthday party for a fellow BPMI-er, and my friend Audrey and I created a beautiful (well, beautiful in our eyes) princess birthday cake. Our major is so small that we plan on throwing a small birthday bash for all of the juniors this year. Today I will be trying out the Collegiate Presbyterian Church college group for the first time. I still plan on attending Cornerstone Church for The Salt Company, college ministry program on Thursday nights, but I am hoping to be establish a church family in the smaller environment of CPC and its college group.

Have a fantastic rest of the weekend, and shoot me an e-mail about what is going on in your life if you get a chance.

~Rachel

A few more from the Kick-Off

Photos from the FHP Kick-Off

The event went really well, and as one of my friends reminded me, it was my first challenge of the semester. Due to flooding, we were unable to host the Kick-Off at Lied Rec., but luckily there wasn't any rain on the Sunday before classes began, and we held it on Central Campus and the Jischke Honors Building. I have posted a few photos and will give more info. later about my first week of classes and co-teaching two leadership classes.

Life is like a vegetable garden. . .

I know Forest Gump would say, "Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you are going to get." While this can be very true, I think life is a little more like a garden. There will be surprises; there will be outside factors you cannot control. But a lot of it is what you put into it, what you decide to do with the resources you have, and how much time you are willing to invest to see it develop into a good harvest. Each person has his or her preferred vegetables, techniques, and opinions about the best garden, but how can we say what is best, and isn't it a relief to know we do not have to have a perfect, complete garden? We can share tools and produce. We can help make each others' gardens be beautiful and bountiful.

This past week I have been trying to soak up the last bit of summer before the hectic start of school by getting involved in the community and seeing family. While in Spain, I missed feeling like I was a part of something. Sometimes it is great to have a break and feel free from obligations, but now I am ready to come back to them.

To celebrate Barack Obama's 49th birthday and 90-day marker for the 2010 elections, I had cake with the Story County Democrats. It was a nice chance to meet some community members and learn about the importance of this upcoming election. I have also been volunteering at Reiman Gardens. The gardens are so beautiful right now, and they have the world's largest gnome! It is part of its current theme of garden ornaments. Although some people would not view weeding as fun, it has been a nice chance to enjoy the gardens, meet some more people, and get a free treat from the snack stand. It is a pretty good deal, in my opinion.

Mom had her first Ames Symphony performance at the Bandshell near downtime Ames. It was a mix of classic pops, and as the fireflies blinked across the dark blue sky, little girls danced to "The Blue Danube" beside the stage as adults listened from picnic blankets and lawn chairs. The following day, after a quick but great visit with my cousin Holly, I had a sleepover at my grandparents' place. It was so nice to catch up and have a photo exchange, and the next day I was able to see more family and family friends at their 52nd anniversary party.

Thanks to everyone for your love and support and here's to a good week with less humidity!

My Pad (the duplex)

As I write this, I am currently sitting in the living room of my new place of residence. My parents have been incredibly helpful this past week, helping me paint four rooms and a hallway, set up utilities, and move everything over. They have also helped in so many other little ways including sharing their advice about energy efficiency, simple fix-its, etc. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Yesterday I bought my first set of groceries, and although it is a shame that food costs money, I have to admit that I thought it was very exciting buying staples like wheat flour and allspice. In fact, because everything is a new experience, I have been easily entertained. "Oh, that was the first time I slept in my room. Oh, that was the first time I swept the floor. Oh, that was the first time I flushed the toilet. And so on." I know these novelties will soon wear off, but I might as well enjoy this budding experience of adulthood.

After moving in and out of dorm rooms, my parents' move, and temporary summer lodgings the past two years, it is a strange feeling to know that I will not have to pack up my things in a few weeks or lug my dirty clothes home for Thanksgiving. I will be sleeping in my own bedroom, too. I have loved all of my past roommates and would never trade those experiences, but I am looking forward to having one area that is my own space. My roommate Julia moves here in a few weeks so until then, I will be getting everything settled, work on internship applications for next summer, create my Honors Capstone Project proposal with the organization Engineers Without Borders, and begin preparing for incoming freshman for the First-Year Honors Program. But I also want to see family and friends before school starts, too, or hear from you via e-mail or a phone call if you have time.