Why my May Term is going to TOTALLY ROCK:

Hi folks!

I’m going to be updating lots in the next couple of days because of my slight slacking. The demands of my Job, school work, and extracurricular activities have weighed on me the past couple of weeks and have prevented me from doing much in the way of blogging. I will always make up for it, though! I swear!

Anyway, I just wanted to share some exciting news with you! If you have read my blog before, you might remember that I took a travel course to China for May Term my freshman year. Guess what? I just found out that I get to go on my second travel course, and this one is pretty much the most exciting I could ever possibly imagine!

The course title is officially, “Race, Identity, and Representation in the Guianas,” a History/Anthropology course that will look at how race and cultural identity and representations of both have changed over time. We will travel to Suriname, French Guyane, and Guyana, trek through the jungle, hang out with natives, and explore cities with two wicked awesome professors. While I could have chosen to go on a biking trip to France, or on a trip to study Dickens and theatre in England, or on any of the other 7 trips, I felt that this would literally be a once in a lifetime kind of experience. I mean, when I get older, I can go to Europe whenever I want, but when am I going to get to actually go hang out with the natives and explore the jungle in three territories in South America that are not tourist areas?

Got this when I image searched "Suriname." This is fully what I expect out of my trip!

I’m slightly nervous, as I’m terrified of certain bugs and I’ve never done anything quite like this before, but I’m so happy that Transy provides these kinds of unique opportunities so I can constantly expand my knowledge of the world and my relationship to it.

Why General Education requirements TOTALLY ROCK

I was just listening to some sound files for my Music Appreciation class, when it dawned on me—those GE requirements that a lot of people complain about at other schools TOTALLY ROCK. Now, it’s no real secret to my friends that my brain is wired for the humanities with a pinch of science. Needless to say, I have next to no artistic abilities whatsoever and have pretty much stayed away from the Fine Arts here at Transy (not that I don’t appreciate them, oh no! I love love love them).

You know that scene in Napoleon Dynamite where Napoleon draws a portrait of his lady—yeah that’s about the extent of my artistic abilities, so when my advisor suggested I take Drawing for my Fine Arts GE, I got really embarrassed and suggested a compromise—music. Now, I sang for nearly all my childhood in various choirs and played trumpet for a couple of years, but it had been a solid 6 years since I had any formal musical training. While I wasn’t completely new to the subject, I came in pretty blind, not knowing what to expect.

My Professor has exposed us to so many various kinds of music and has taught us how to hear all the layers and complexities in music in ways that we musically inexperienced people can understand. One day, when listening to J.S. Bach’s “Ach Golgotha,” we had to get up and take steps to the rhythm of certain layers to create a “dance.” When we did our dance in circles, it created an image kind of like gears, which ended up being vital in understanding the piece of music. The fact that our Professor had come up with a way to illustrate this aspect of the music both visually and interactively TOTALLY ROCKS, and I’m so glad that Transy requires me to take classes outside my comfort zone to get a well-rounded education.

Transy Does Trayless Thursdays!

Hello all!

One of the columns I put together for The Rambler, our student newspaper, is called “Transy Says.” I basically just go out and ask random Transy students to give their brief opinions about certain topics and publish those on my Opinion page. I write another column too, but I’m not allowed to tell you which one. Maybe you can figure it out if you visit campus and take a look at the paper ;)
Anyways. This week’s “Transy Says” focused on a new thing Transy is doing to promote sustainability on campus (WOOHOO!)—Trayless Thursdays! As I was interviewing people, I realized how cool this would be to blog about, since I am so proud of this step that we have taken. Basically, a number of schools across the nation have eliminated trays from their dining halls to find that doing so reduced food, energy AND water waste by a significant amount. When you think about it, it makes sense—sure trays are convenient, but they encourage people to take more than they will eat and they create extra dishes to wash.
In light of these findings, Transy has decided to go trayless one day a week. I know that some people might be thinking, “Man, that must be an inconvenience.” Trust me, it’s not! Transy is so small that you will not have to worry about having to stand in monstrous lines if you have to make a second trip for something that wouldn’t fit on your plate. And you get a little bit of exercise too! Okay, that may be pushing it, but seriously; this is a step in the right direction. It’s a sign that Transy is really answering the call to become more sustainable in a world where environmental crisis doesn’t seem all that distant. While I would love to see Transy eventually go completely trayless, Trayless Thursdays still make me proud that I attend a college that tries to do its best to reduce its environmental impact!

Home

So, I had a bad day today. One of those days that you just don’t know what’s wrong, or rather, you know that’s a complete lie, but you try really really hard to convince yourself it doesn’t bother you. Anyone that knows me can tell you that this is rare for me. I’m pretty upbeat all the time—obnoxiously so if you happen to ask a certain few. Even still, these days happen to everyone. I came home to my apartment after work, hours of studying ahead, and a stressful week looming with papers and tests and lots of reading, not knowing what to do to shake this “blah.”

So I took a walk. I walked down Broadway a little ways, past the loud construction (it’ll be over soon!), past the cars filled with people frustrated with traffic and just wanting to get home. Home. That’s what I was missing. Someone who can tell when I’m wearing myself thin. Someone to tell me, “Amanda. Take a nap. Take an hour to do nothing school related and chill OUT.” Don’t get me wrong. Living by myself has been good; it has already improved my focus, and yet, there I was walking, searching for some solace. I turned by the Beck Center and walked through campus and somehow ended up in Haupt Plaza surrounded by empty buildings, advertisements for clubs flapping away on the bulletin board, and a breeze getting chillier by the minute. Classes had been over for a while, so I just sat there alone for a couple minutes to gather myself. When I got up to leave, I saw someone walking back from the parking lot behind our Fine Arts building. I didn’t know them, but I said “Hi! How are you?” just like most people always do at Transy. That’s when something funny happened. This person that I didn’t know—and still don’t—avoided the obvious response of “good” and gave me an honest answer. The conversation went something like this:

“Overwhelmed. I’m always running. I don’t know how to stop sometimes.”

“I know exactly how you feel.”

“It’s hard when you care so much.”

“Exactly! Good luck with everything.”

“You too.”

It was as simple as that, but as I walked back to my apartment, I thought, “My God! I am home.” I know I’ve said it before in passing, “Transy is my home.” And I know it’s an abstraction—even more so now that I’m about to be leaving in another couple of years. I just can’t help but to feel like I’ve found something more than a college here. I’ve found a community where all members are bound by passion, by involvement, but more importantly by an ability to recognize this connection they have with every other member, and maybe just maybe by the ability to unknowingly reverse a stranger’s bad day by being completely honest and letting her know she is never alone here. Ever.

Hello! It occurred to me that I didn’t share an INCREDIBLE experience with you from a couple of weeks ago! Every year, Transy invites internationally known musicians to perform at our school. Last year, one of those musical groups was Chanticleer (an a capella group that was face-meltingly good!) So of course, when I heard that Transy had landed a performance by another internationally acclaimed group, I knew I would not be disappointed! I managed to get tickets because I’m currently in Music Appreciation (take this class!) and the performance was an option for one of our reports. I would have gone anyways, of course!
Anyways, the band, Barrage, which was composed of mostly sting players (violins, guitar, bass), melded music, dance, and audience participation to create one of the most memorable performances I’ve ever seen! I was so thankful that I was able to attend! About halfway through, I even had to stop taking notes for class because I got so lost in their performance (and their colorful costumes, and maybe a bit in the really cute violin player). At intermission, they even brought up middle school, high school, and college string students to perform with them! They promoted musical education, while putting on an unbelievable show, and because of that, they gained many fans here in Lexington, Kentucky.
Next Friday another fun band is headed Transy’s way—Tiempo Libre! I’m not sure yet if I’ll be able to go to that one, but I’ll keep you posted! There’s certainly no shortage of exposure to incredible artists here—from theatre to instrumental and vocal performance to the visual arts, Transy keeps you well rounded by offering you tons of chances to improve your knowledge and enjoyment of the arts! Until next time, check out one of Barrage’s songs!

Another Year, Another Recruitment

Sorry this post is a few days late! It was that time of year again. This past weekend, the sororities of Transylvania held their recruitment and swept up some wonderful new members! It’s no secret that Transy’s Greek community is prominent on campus—around 60% of students will join a Greek organization. I know it may sound scary with all the typical images of Greek life with which the media bombards us—the toga parties, the drunken debauchery, the drama, the exclusivity and pompousness—but I’m here to tell you that Transylvania is different.

Had I attended any other University, I would have never even considered going Greek. I’m way too concerned about my academic endeavors. At Transy, though, academics come first no matter what Greek organization you join. In fact, one of the most coveted awards at Greek awards every spring is the “highest GPA” award. Sounds different from what you’d expect right? Imagine Greek communities competing over how much service they can complete, how involved on campus they can be, and how high their grades can soar instead of competing over who looks the prettiest or who can party the hardest. That’s Transy’s Greek system. It’s ranked in the top 10 Greek colleges in the nation for a reason, and I am SO proud to be a part of it. It has facilitated so many of my accomplishments these past couple of years, and no doubt will continue to do so!

Here are a couple pictures from the weekend!


Getting our New members

The Sophomore Class

First Night of Recruitment

The Rambler

Hi folks!

I have just successfully completed my first week of my Junior year (that gets scarier every time I say it—junior year—junior year. Ahhh!) While I’m already loaded down with reading and research, Junior year means I’m finally into my upper level classes for my majors; basically, I’m completely overloaded with work, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world because I love the topics so much. But I don’t want to talk about classes just yet. Instead, I want to highlight something I feel like I kind of just left out last year.

Last year, the Opinion/Editorial editor for our school newspaper “The Rambler” decided to quit, and having submitted a couple of articles to the paper as a contributing writer, was approached about the position. Because I knew they were in a bind, I decided to “fill in for a couple weeks” and then I watched that couple weeks turn into a few months and here I am still. It turned out that working for the paper was a blast (not without its ups and downs, of course), and I decided to stay. As Op/Ed editor, I get to collect and read about the student body’s different perspectives on things happening around campus, around the country, and around the world. I get to write editorials representing the collective views of the The Rambler staff, and occasionally I make appearances on other pages.

Me, working on a story for the first issue this year in the student publications office

I have always been a creative writer. I write poems, not news. The Rambler, however, has given me an opportunity to learn about a whole different area of writing and begin developing skills, which I will no doubt be able to put to use across the street on academic side and in my future career, whatever that may be. Our advisor, Terri McLean, a self proclaimed “nerd,” not only oversees our production, but educates us about journalism, professionalism, and time management, and deserves some sort of award for putting up with our hodgepodge of personalities. (One day during workshop this year, we found a nickname generator online while trying to come up with an alias for our advice columnist--chaos (fun) ensued.)

Me and the Sports Editor, Carlos working, and not goofing off AT ALL (for a change).

The Rambler has had a rocky history, but over the past couple years, it has emerged as a professional student publication, and we’re super excited for what this year will bring! Check out The Rambler online! http://transyrambler.wordpress.com/

Until Next Week!