10 Inches and My Head is Lighter!

I've been growing my hair out since I was a First Year in high school.  I generally kept it tamed and trimmed but I basically let it go.  I never really had any idea what kind of hairstyle I wanted and I never thought I'd cut it (at least at this point in my life).  But I finally decided to!  At the beginning of the semester I made this decision because I kept getting my hair caught in everything:  people, backpacks, zippers, etc.  It was almost down to my waist.  Well I was going to wait until Christmas to cut my hair but everyone at St. Mike's was upset because then they wouldn't see it for awhile since I'll be abroad next semester.  I decided then to make them happy to get it cut over Thanksgiving break.  Well here it is:

                 

Look at how much hair is gone!!

Seriously?

Yep, that's 10 inches!

I do miss it but I LOVE my new hairstyle.  If anyone is on the edge about doing something like this I highly recommend it.  I also haven't stopped getting complements which always make my day!! 

Now onto the sprint to the finish of the semester with one less distraction on my mind (literally!).  Time to focus and write my papers.  Here I go...

Traveling

So, I think I've recovered from my nightmare-ish of ride home from school on Tuesday/Wedensday to talk about it.  This wasn't even the worst trip I had home but I was a bit cranky when I got home at 2am on Wednesday.  Yes it was 2am.  When traveling home from college for a holiday it is always nice to carpool.  I  normally enjoy the drive up and down from school with friends but lately I've been using public transportation.  It's not that I'm sick of friends but I've been commuting closer to the night so I either sleep or try to get some homework done but on Tuesday I couldn't do either!!

Last winter I tried Greyhound from Burlington, VT to NYC but I had to go up through Montreal or through Boston.  I thought Boston would be the better choice for various reasons:  1-lay-over vs. 2-lay-overs/crossing the border twice.  It was going to be an all nighter and I thought I could handle it.  But because it was after finals in December all I wanted to do was sleep which I did but then I didn't want to wake up.  Then I had to take the 5:30am train out of Penn Station to NJ which also wasn't the best because their I couldn't sleep at all.

This year I decided to try the Megabus and it would have been better if there wasn't stupid construction on the interstate!!  We were rolling along just fine and I was reading and playing some games.  I couldn't sleep that well because I had a seat mate and I was petrified I was going to bump her.  I decided not to attempt homework because I had research to do and I didn't want to pull out all my papers.  Just before the NJ/NYC border we hit bumper to bumper traffic and weren't moving for about 20 minutes at one point!!  Well we finally made it into the city and it was about 12:30am, the bus was supposed to get in at 11pm.  So I jumped off the bus, managed to get my bag, and run 2 blocks through the city to make sure I wouldn't miss the last train out!  Well I missed the train I was aiming for at that point by 2 minutes and had to wait about 20 for the next train.  It came and I had no delays which I was happy about because my dad told me the trains hadn't fully been restored and were delayed since Sandy.  I made it home finally at about 2am and basically went straight to bed!

My suggestion for traveling if you yourself are not driving, is to do what you're comfortable with.  I normally don't mind buses and I prefer to have the 7 hours to sleep after a long week.  I have a friend who prefers to fly and she has a plane buddy she normally coordinates with.  If you want to ride with someone, you generally can find a ride.  In fact I found about 3 or 4 the week before that I hadn't even thought of.  It isn't hard but you may feel more comfortable with another mode of transportation.  But if you take the bus, I suggest Megabus.  Other than construction, it wasn't bad at all.

Weekend Events

My weekend flew by!  I can't believe it is already Sunday night!!  Oh well, it was a busy weekend, filled with good memories.

Friday:

• I got out of both of my classes early this day!  Yeah!!
• I went on a mini scavenger hunt to find some supplies hidden away for an event coming up and I found them all!!
• I went to a campus ministry lunch where they served delicious food and I got to learn about St. Edmund.
• I got to see my friends at mass that afternoon (it was the Feast of St. Edmund).
• I got to go to dinner with some amazing friends whom I haven't seen in awhile.
• I went over to my friend's room and had a catch up with some more friends!!
• I got to hang out for a bit with a dear friend and watch some crazy cop show.
• I went to another friend's town-house and had another catch up with some friends!!
• We then went to the grill and had a chicken sandwhich...yum!!

Saturday:

• I got up early and went into Burlington to run some errands.
• I came back to campus and attempted to get some work done.
• I met up with my friend to sort all the supplies I found the day before.
• I went back to my room and took a nap.
• I got up and did some homework and cleaned my room.
• I went to see a jazz band play in Burlington for a little while with friend (the guitarist is the director of the choir at St. Mike's)
• I came back and did some more work.

Sunday:

• I got up early again (I'm a morning person)
• I did some more work (I have 3 papers due the week after Thanksgiving so I'm doing a lot of reading lately)
• I went to my Family and Faiths house to hang out this afternoon.
• I went to the crafts fair in Burlington with them.
• I helped them start to decorate their house for Christmas.
• We had a delicious meal (where I'm learning a bit about cooking from them!) and some yummy dessert.
• I'm now back on campus and will be attending the 7pm mass.
• After my friends and I are going to have another catch up session since I haven't seen them since Friday.

p.s. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ST. MIKE'S WOMEN RUGBY TEAM ON WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!

International Festival

Saturday night, the Diversity Coalition and MLK Society at St. Mike's hosted their annual International Festival.  This has to be one of my top 10...wait no...top 5 events St. Michael's has to offer each year.  I attended my first year because my RA dragged me and friend on my floor along to do a project for a class.  She didn't really drag us but she wanted someone to go with so we agreed.  It was a blast!!  The following year I had joined the Celtic Knights and had my first performance with them.  Again, it was a blast!!  This being my third year attending, second year performing, I was excited for it to role around again.  Once again, it was a blast!!

So, what is this amazing event?  It is an event where the surrounding community combines with the St. Mike's Community to bond and celebrate the different cultures.  There are a ton of performances from Irish Step Dancing (me!) to Salsa Dancing to African drumming.  There are also people who sell some items from their culture.  About half way through the night, some cultures serve food.  It is so delicious being able to try new food!! I have always loved learning about other cultures and this is a great way for students to experience them!!

Here are some of Celtic Knights' videos:

Networking and Career Symposium

Last Friday the St. Mike's Alumni and Parent Relations Office along with Career Services hosted a Career Symposium for students.  The Career Symposium kicked off with a guest speaker who motivated us to be the best that we can be.  He focused on how our fears affect our choices and what makes us who we are.  This really helped me think about what I really want to do with my life and where I see myself in ten years.  I always hated that interview question, "Where do you see yourself in ten years?"  I never knew what to say.  I couldn't see myself next year, let alone in ten years!!  Now I may not know what I want I am beginning to figure out what I may want to do.

After the guest speaker finished up, Alumni filled in and introduced themselves to us.  We then proceeded to divide into different classrooms based on interests where Alumni were set up as panelist to answer questions and share experiences.  There were panelist for Technologists, Healthcare, Nonprofit, Finance, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, and the Government.  Each student had the opportunity to attend to panels.  I  enjoyed the technology and marketing panels I attended.  The alumni also helped me to realized where I could be in ten years and how to market myself to get there.

The last event of the evening was a networking session.  We had the opportunity to mingle with all the alumni present and ask questions and hand out resumes.  Each alumni was very helpful in answering questions about whatever I had and sharing some stories about their experiences.  I handed out a couple of resumes and got a couple ideas on where to apply for an internship next summer.  I feel more prepared this week then I did last week.

I thank both the St. Mike's Alumni and Parent Relations Office and the Career Services Office for putting on this amazing event.  It was helpful and I got a lot of advice which will help me in the long run, Thank You.

A Trip Down Memory Lane...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

As I mentioned my friend was getting married soon.  The soon happened and the wedding was this past weekend.  It was a perfect day.  The sun was shinning, it wasn't too cold, and the wedding and reception were a blast!!  I want to dedicate this post to her because she has been an amazing friend, keeping me sane through my college life.  A trip down memory lane...

So, how did I meet the wonderful Amanda?  Well, she doesn't go to St. Mike's but she does come to mass at the Chapel.  During my first semester at college I attended the Emmaus Retreat.  This retreat is run through the Campus Ministry department and is a nice way to focus on where you are in your spiritual journey.  It was an amazing weekend away from campus and where I met my wonderful friend.

Part of the Emmaus Group

Throughout the rest of the year we attended events together both on and off campus.  She was someone who I could just call up and be like "Hey want to hang out?"  Her family was also warm and welcoming.  I felt like I fit in perfectly.  We kept in touch over the summer and sophomore year went by in almost a blur.  We hung out more and more.  I even got to see her on Easter when I was here.  We became really close last year.

Us at the VITA Semi Formal in 2010

At the end of this summer she got engaged to a wonderful guy and I was a bit jealous at first.  I haven't got to see her this semester that much due to wedding plans but I still know she is there for me.  When she asked me to be a bridesmaid I was super ecstatic and so happy to be able to spend her special day with her.  It was nice change of the day when I would get off campus and do something non-school related.

Me and a few of the bridesmaids (there was 7 of us)

The day of the wedding was perfect and I couldn't ask for a better man for her.  I also know this isn't the end of our friendship but just a slight change in the name.

The happy couple :-)

Buses, Walking, and an Adventure

So, my friend is getting married soon and her bridal shower is today.  My friends and I made a small collage of pictures for her.  I ordered them and it was supposed to come in today but when I went to confirm where to pick them up, it was in a completely different location then I thought it would be.  This led to my adventure today.

Being a St. Mike's student you get free busing on the the CCTA (Chittenden County Transportation Authority) buses.  It is really nice because that way I can run into Burlington for a couple of things and not have to make the most (even though I normally do) out of paying for a bus fair.  So, I took a look at the different bus maps to find the easiest way to get to my new destination.

I took the bus down to Burlington this morning and found my connection to head down North Ave.  It is very easy because Cherry St. is a major bus stop where just about every bus stops at for connections.  I knew the street name of the stop I was looking for and I lucked out because someone else was getting off there so they knew when to pull the "Request Stop" bar.

From the stop it was only supposed to be a straight shot for about a 20 minute walk but low and behold I was enjoying the scenery too much that I walked straight past the store and down to Lake Champlain.  My 45 minute round trip walk turned into 2 and a half hours!!  Oh well at least with all the pretty colors and warm weather it wasn't that bad of a walk.

Getting back to the bus stop I hit no problems.  It was the simple 20 minute walk I was expecting.  All I can say is if you're not sure where exactly you're going take good directions and have a place that if you get to you know you've gone too far.   Even though my trip turned out to be longer than expected it was a great adventure to find out a new location of Vermont that I probably would never have known existed otherwise.