Countdown Mode

As July winds down…I’m pretty much on countdown mode. I’m super excited that college is almost a month away. My family is excited for me too. I have relatives that have gone to colleges far out of state, but I think for some reason, my excitement sparks their excitement. My family has been a good support system.

I recently applied for a campus job. I heard back from the cafeteria staff. A job is a job so I’m excited. Plus, I don’t think it will be as painful as my experiences at Giant Eagle. I look forward to the day when I will never have to drive in that direction ever again! ;P

I’m stoked about all the sports events. At first I was a little sad because upon applying, I didn’t know that MVNU didn’t have a football team. I absolutely love college football (Florida Gators is to whom I pledge my allegiance). But then I saw all  those Cougar Crazies pictures and thought, Well there still are plenty of sports to show my Cougar support.

I already have all my things that I’m taking to MVNU packed and stored in boxes. I figured I’d make move-in day a little easier on myself. Plus if I didn’t start early, I knew I’d be stressed out. I went from twelve boxes down to five. I guess at first I was just a tad bit too excited. My dad helped me narrow down my true necessities. I felt like I needed everything in order for my dorm to feel like home.

Since Wal-Mart, or “Wallie World” is such a hot spot in Mount Vernon, I thought I’d get the feel for it and buy all my new dorm stuff from there. I did and found some good, college-budget-friendly stuff. My theme is like Hawaii island colors and flowers. I bought a mini surf board when my friends and I went “thrifting” and it has been my inspiration. Building my room is going to be fun.

Recently, I met my roommate. Thanks to modern technology we were able to communicate. She is going to a different orientation than I did, but it was cool to talk with her and meet a new friend. We have a lot in common already and talked for quite a bit.

With almost a month to go…I can hardly wait. I stare at those stacked boxes in my room, which is completely bare now, and sometimes can’t even believe I’m really going. Time really moves fast, even when you aren’t having fun. So I’m going to value these last days I have as a “kid” and all those extra hours of sleep. In a month’s time, I’ll be out of the nest and ready to fly.
Fellow Classmates: We have 50…40…33! MORE DAYS!!!!! =)

Peace, Faith, Happiness

5 comments July 25, 2009

A Walk in Her Shoes…

August 28th is a very exciting day for upcoming MVNU freshmen. That is the day that we are no longer confined to the yesteryear’s. It’s a new beginning, a new breath of fresh air, and a new home. It’s also move in day. Every freshmen has uncontrollable amounts of emotions; anxious, excited, curious, and that is only the tip of the iceberg. So out of curiosity, I interviewed a sophomore who has experienced what freshmen life is all about. Her name is Lauren Schimmelpfennig. She was gracious enough to give me an exclusive sneak peak into what to expect.

Question 1: What made you choose MVNU?

Lauren: I chose MVNU because I really wanted a christian university. I really knew that I wanted to go to Mount Vernon since my freshman year of high school. My babysitter from when I was little went to Mount Vernon and then became an admissions councilor there so she was my admissions councilor. I am not Nazarene but I had some friends that were and I went to their youth groups and I heard a lot about Mount Vernon there.

Question 2: What have you decided to major in?
Lauren: Early Childhood Education

Question 3: Has that changed since coming to MVNU?
Lauren: Yes it has! All through high school (all 4 years) I wanted to be a Minister/Youth Minister. Then about a month before school started I changed to Psychology. Then at the end of fall semester I changed to Art Education, and then a few weeks later I changed it to Early Childhood Education. And I must say that every single time I said that I was not going to change my major again. But I really think that I am staying with this now lol. I’m just positive this time

Question 4: Describe the classic “first day of school”, feelings, emotions, thoughts etc.
Lauren: The First Day of Classes!!! It was a mix of emotions. A lot of fun. I mean, of course everyone is nervous but there is really no need to be. It was great. I remember talking to friends from high school on the phone, we all felt so “grown-up” haha.

Question 5: What was move in day like?
Lauren: Move in day is also full of mixed emotions. It is great. Students help you carry everything in so that makes it less work but its still a lot of work putting the rooms together. It is really exciting meeting everyone. And its sad to leave your family, but also exciting “being on your own”. That night my roommate and I decided to go on a taco bell run at 11pm and it felt so weird not having to ask our parents or tell anyone that we were leaving. We wanted to ask our RA… I think we might have:)

Question 6: What was the best thing about freshman year?
Lauren: The best thing about freshman year would be all the friends! I loved always having people around. There is never a dull moment in the dorms!

Question 7: What was the least appealing thing about freshman year?
Lauren: The least appealing thing about freshman year… Ummm… I can’t really think of anything. I mean, I guess its not that fun to buy text books and spend all that money but they did help in class haha.

Question 8: Any advice for incoming freshman?
Lauren: Advice: Go to SI!!! SI is the group tutoring that I am sure you have all heard a ton about and you will hear more about. It really helps!
I’m horrible at math and I went and ended up getting A’s on math tests! Which let me just say is way higher then what I got on my high school math tests.
And if you have Music in the Western World… go to Music SI for sure. It is actually fun and it gives you the answers to the tests.
SI cuts your studying time in half! It makes studying so much easier!

And don’t worry about a thing! The Naz is great!

Lauren was big help in giving a little bit of what to expect. She is also a cheerleader and has really helped me find things to get involved in. Everyone’s experience will be different, which is the exciting part. I look forward to meeting everyone and creating our own memories that we can share with the next scared, nervous, unsuspecting class of freshmen. =)

Until next time, Peace Faith & Happiness

1 comment July 17, 2009

“Sunny with a High of 75″!

*This was certainly the weather on July 10th 2009. That day happen to be MVNU orientation, round 2. How exciting it was!! I was privileged enough to be able to attend this orientation. I had so much fun. I felt like I was leaving home to go home. There are soooooo many great people on campus. This time, I got to really meet the staff and people that work behind the scenes of  campus life. I got to meet some really cool people from SGA, which I hope a lot of our freshman class become interested in.

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*There were so many things that I liked about orientation. It’s hard to narrow it down. I was really excited to finally meet a portion of my classmates. I mean, Facebook is convenient but seeing and interacting with people you’re going to see everyday was great. I met tons of people, which of course is making me excited to meet the rest of my class. And surprisingly orientation  didn’t have many  awkward moments. When you’re first meeting a group of people who you barely know on Facebook, awkward moments are guaranteed. But I really didn’t feel like there were many of those. I think the staff did a wonderful job of keeping the students engaged and learning new things about each other. For example, one person had us divide the room with girls on one side and guys on the other. He would ask a series of questions and we would stand if it applied to us. “Have you played a sport in high school?” And then whoever did would stand. We all got to look around and see who we immediately had something in common with. It was one of the great ways the ice stayed broken.

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*Eventually, we broke up into our groups according to our majors. I was in the Theology and Philosophy group. I got to meet one of the professors. It was so cool. After meeting them, I told myself I needed to stop watching  Hollywood infested ideas of  a  philosophy class is  because I was certainly mislead. I was expecting a bland, slow, confusing experience. But I was beyond wrong. I haven’t been more excited about taking on my classes. And I think the professors make the experience lifelong. You can really develop a relationship with them and I felt like no question was a stupid question. On a funny note, one of my professors actually told me he had a Facebook. I thought that was pretty funny. The last thing I expected would be for my philosophy professor to have a Facebook. It was very cool. I also got my schedule and found out  who I’m rooming with.

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*One highlight of orientation that I completely enjoyed was when some of the upperclassmen and RA’s were discussing the social life of MVNU. I thought it was so creative and FUNNY! I was laughing like a goofball the whole time. They did sort of like a mini-skit of two roommates just meeting each other and how they would mesh with campus life. So they showed us a series of movie clips. They did a MTV Cribs spoof. MVNU was the crib and they walked around showing it off. My favorite clip, and I still laugh when I think of it, was the Questions and Answers clip. They had two freshmen asking important questions and a guy answering them. The guy who was answering the questions was soooo funny. His voice was what  made me laugh. Then they did a True Life spoof, “I Have a Bad Roommate.” The ideas were just so creative. I really enjoyed that part of orientation. I couldn’t believe the ideas they were coming up with. They were really good and informative too.

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*So overall I had a blast at MVNU! Another funny thing that people tease me about is not knowing my way around campus, even though I’ve been so many times. My argument is that all the buildings look slightly the same. I insisted that my homework for the next six weeks is to learn campus like the back of my hand, which I will. I think I get so excited that I’m there, that I forget to actually look around and learn things. =) Orientation really did continue fueling my flame of passion for the University. I can wait to dig in. And I want to say to all of my freshmen classmates, Let’s make Class of 2013 have such an impact, that following classes have to live up to we’ve done!!!
Until next time…Faith, Love, and Happiness

2 comments July 11, 2009