Open Mic Night

Shannon and I, Featured Poets at Open Mic Night

Hey! It’s been a fantastic spring break, but now it’s time to get back to the grind and give you some updates from the past few weeks.

A couple of weeks ago, Transy hosted an open mic night in honor of women’s history month. I was invited by the writing center to be a “featured poet” and read some of my own works.

I was incredibly nervous. Honestly, my life at Transy doesn’t leave too much free time to write creatively anymore, what with the job and clubs and whatnot; I was afraid the quality of my poetry had suffered as a result and I was scared to share it. I, however, was pleasantly surprised as usual.

The crowd was incredible. Not a seat was left empty, and plenty of people stood at the back to watch the performances. Representatives from all the sororities on campus read works by or about women to celebrate their triumphs over struggles. It amazed me to see that kind of support the student body showed for the creative endeavors of their peers!

One of my really good friends, Shannon, another featured poet, and I took the stage only to meet with eager and friendly faces—completely willing to listen what our poetry had to say, willing to feel what it would have them feel. After we had finished our sets, we received warm applause that let us know that we and our words were safe there.

KIPA Conference

I know I talked about my work on Transy’s newspaper a little bit at the beginning of the year. Well, I’m still going steady as Opinions Editor and regular columnist, and while I devote hours a week to the Rambler, this weekend made it all worth it!

This weekend, Transy hosted the annual Kentucky Intercollegiate Press Association (KIPA) conference, where the staff from college newspapers across the state come together to attend discussions and panels to get ideas about how to improve their papers. As I couldn’t miss class on Friday, I could only attend one session, but it was fabulous and I even came away with a story idea or two! A regular and popular columnist from the Lexington Herald Leader emphasized the importance of steeping yourself in your community to produce the best possible stories, and we had a discussion on the best strategies to go about doing it—what a great guy!

Not only did we have these discussions, we also had an awards ceremony on Saturday morning. A couple months ago, we submitted stories, and even entire issues of the Rambler to compete against those from other colleges, and the Rambler CLEANED UP! We even won first place for overall Opinion pages among all the others! It just really reminded me that our paper is truly respected by other campus newspapers across the state, and renewed my love of working with the paper, even though it adds a good deal of stress to my life on occasion. I wouldn’t give it up for the world, and if you’re at all interested in working for the Rambler when you come to Transy, I can hook you up ;)!

Transy Night Out--Gatti Town!

Oh hey!

So we’re right in the middle of midterms. February has been a tough month for me. I’m in the middle of planning a big service project for Psi Chi (national Psychology honorary), which I’ll probably post about closer to its happening, and my workload has been pretty intense. My weekends have been devoted almost entirely to work this month with only small breaks for a conference (see next post), and a sorority informal.

Transy will always provide a way to take a couple hours off on the weekends, though. At least a couple times a semester, the Student Activities Board will host a “Transy Night Out” on a Friday or Saturday night. In the past, they have provided free admission into movies, UK Hockey matches, ice skating, and most recently, last weekend, they provided free entrance into Gatti Town!
I would assume everyone knows what Gatti Town is, but if not, it’s basically a pizza buffet and huge arcade. And we got in completely free! We had to pay for our own games, but we gobbled up as much pizza as we wanted free of charge. It was a great way to hang out with your fellow classmates, even those which you might not normally hang out with. We all piled into the room where they show sports on the big screen to watch the UK vs. Vandy game, chatted away, and stuffed ourselves so full of pizza they had to all but roll us out!

Transy Night Out is reason number 1000028475 that I love Transy—it’s a wonderful program that helps bring our Transy community even closer by providing opportunities for us to hang out with one another off-campus. It also helps us forget about the stress of having to do homework on the weekends if only for a couple hours.

Procrastination Station!

Oh boy. I’m failing at life right now. I owe you two blog posts, don’t I? Well here’s one. One thing you’ll learn to become –fabulous- at in college is procrastination. Chances are you will have already had your run-ins with this disorder, but college has its way of amplifying it to an extreme degree. But you can’t just procrastinate any old way, oh no! There are a few college staple websites with which to procrastinate. If you wish to understand half of your peers, you better get familiar with a few websites if you don’t visit them regularly already:

#5: www.digg.com

Digg basically keeps track of the most popular articles, pictures, videos, etc on the internet. If you’ve ever visited a website and seen a little yellow box with a thumbs up and the word “Digg” underneath, that’s Digg. Basically, when people like a website, video, whatever, or just find it particularly funny or interesting, they can click this little button. The more people that click that button, the higher up that link appears on the Digg.com homepage. Basically it’s a great way to keep up with internet trends, funny memes, or disturbing news stories. Get to know it.

#4: FML/Mylifeisaverage

I grouped these two together because the concept is the same, but the attitude is different. FML stands for fmylife.com (I’ll give you one guess as to what the ‘f’ stands for). It’s a place where people submit their crazy examples of why their life sucks. It’s a good procrastination tool because it allows you to feel a little better about your life on bad days, and also it helps you make sense of all the times you hear people say “eff em ell” on campus. Mylifeisaverage.com is just the opposite—people submit stories from their lives that serve as examples of why their life is completely average. A prime example: “Today, I wore Axe body spray. I wasn't tackled by any women. MLIA.”

#3 Textsfromlastnight.com

This site is a 100% must check every day kind of site if you want to understand why you receive some pretty bizarre texts in college. Most likely, people are trying to get you to send it to this website. It’s pretty funny sometimes; it’s basically people that submit the ridiculous, raunchy or embarrassing texts they receive for your enjoyment. You will get plenty of these in college, so read up.

#2 www.playlist.com

Sorry for all you music pirates out there, but Transylvania’s server blocks Limewire and other downloading clients that allow you to steal music, software, etc. If you still want to create that fabulous party playlist, though, or a study playlist, or any other kind of playlist for that matter, this is the website to do it. It allows you to search for music to add to your playlists for free! No downloading, but you can listen all you want, and their selection is typically fantastic! Sign up today!

#1 Facebook (duh).

We are, afterall, ‘Generation Facebook.’ You probably already have one, but there are some things you’ll need to know before you come to college. Since pretty much everyone is now on facebook, you’ll need to be extra aware of the content that goes on your page. Be classy. Set your facebook to private; make your pictures friends only, and please please please untag pictures where it’s obvious you’ve been up to no good. It’ll make your life a lot easier, I promise.

Now get back to studying!

Living off campus

Hello! When you get to be a junior and senior, many of your friends will start moving off campus. Having your own apartment can be pretty exciting, but there are also some downsides.

Pro: PrivacyOne of the things people are terrified of when they come to college is having a roommate. Especially those of us who grew up used to having our own space that we could escape to when necessary. I'm not going to lie to you, having a roommate isn't easy. My roommate my first two years of college was and is one of my best friends, but living together was hard at times. She had a boyfriend, I kept impossible hours studying all the time, I wanted to nap when she wanted to study, I wanted to study when she wanted to nap--you know how it goes. Living off campus, especially if you opt to live on your own like I did, means no having to work out schedules, no awkward "can my boyfriend stay the night" phone calls, no worrying about waking anyone up if you come home late.
Con: PrivacyAll that said, living off campus, especially at Transy, kinda isolates you. My roommate and I were best friends even though we had hard times living together. On campus, I knew that she would always show up soon if I needed someone to talk to or take a study break with. Now I have to pack up my stuff and haul myself over to campus every night if I want to hang out with my friends that still live there. Also, it distances you some from the social scene. You're not as aware when campus-wide events are going on. Yeah yeah, you can check columns, but sometimes events get lost on there--you don't get to see the posters and advertising tables set up in Forrer Hall, and those are the things that -really- keep you in the know about cool events.
Pro: Having your own kitchen
Having your own kitchen is, in my opinion, probably the best thing about living off campus. Not only have I learned how to cook, I have lost weight and I always know exactly what is going into my food. Now, I'm not dogging on Transy food necessarily, it always tasted good, but the unlimited options in the cafeteria (and that goes for any school) can often lead to over eating and can egg on the freshman 15--I gained it. When I decided to go vegetarian last year, it became harder to find what I was craving in the cafeteria--they always had vegetarian options, but sometimes it just wasn't what I wanted. Having my own kitchen gives me the freedom to control everything about what I put in my body. I know that what I'm eating is going to be healthy, and I have the ability to cook only the exact amount I want to eat. That freshman 15 is gone now!

Con: Having your own kitchen.

Cooking takes a lot of time and planning that most college students don't have to spare. Plus, the cafeteria is hands down the best bonding place on campus, aside from Greek events if you decide to go through recruitment. I made so many of my friends freshman and sophomore year because we just happened to be eating at the same time. The food's nice, but the company is better, if you will. Now, for me, I can't go to dinner. I get off work right when dinner is ending. If you don't have a job, though, and want to make the effort a couple of times a week, I'd recommend eating in the caf every now and again to maintain some of those close friendships and maybe make new ones!

Pro: NO SHOWER SHOES!


Okay, let's face it, having to share a bathroom with an entire hall full of girls can be kinda awkward sometimes. It's weird that you have to wear shoes in the shower, and sometimes you have to wait for an open sink to brush your teeth. This is why having your own bathroom can TOTALLY RULE. No more shower shoes; you know that the hair in the tub is yours, and you know everything is clean because you keep it that way. And hey, if you wanna walk around your place in the buff for a while, no big deal!

Con: Having your own bathroom.

Cleaning the bathroom sucks. Even one as tiny as mine. I hate scrubbing the toilet and cleaning the tub more than any other chore besides dishes. I keep it clean, but it's time out of my day that sometimes I don't have. At Transy, we have an incredible staff that cleans up after us, (don't take advantage, though! Their jobs are hard enough as it is--at least clean up to the best of your ability!) If a toilet is malfunctioning, or a sink drain clogged, no need to wait on your landlord, the transy staff will have it taken care of in no time! Also, awkward run ins in the bathroom in the middle of the night are a great way to make friends with people on your hall you never would have imagined getting along with. I can name off countless people with whom I started a friendship in the bathroom. I know that's a little weird and gross, but you'll see what I mean when you get here!

Of course this isn't every pro and con, but these are the biggies--hope maybe it's helpful if you ever consider moving off campus!

Caffeine Addiction

Hi, my name is Amanda (Hi, Amanda!), and I have a problem…

Friends, it’s time to discuss a palpable problem. It’s one that directly affects me, about a bajillion other college students, and will likely be haunting you shortly. Yes, I’m talking about addiction, caffeine addiction.

In college you’ll be exposed to a lot of things. Alcohol, cigarettes, sex, drugs; I’m not going to lie to you, they’re going to be there no matter where you choose to go to college. But the consequences of the above are easily recognizable, and it’s pretty easy to say no if you make up your mind to avoid them. Other problematic behaviors are not so obvious, though, and often it will completely escape you that you have succumbed to them until you’re lying in bed at 3am wondering why on earth you still can’t get to sleep.

Ah, caffeine addiction. It lurks in dark dorm halls and 24 hour study spaces, in the library and in classrooms all across campus. College students face an incredibly heavy workload in addiction to multiple extra-curriculars and perhaps even an off-campus job. Naturally, if we care about our academic performance and find ourselves strapped for time to complete everything, the first thing to go as a priority is sleep (which is bad, bad, bad!). To compensate, some students’ blood flows with Diet Coke (gotta watch those calories), energy drinks, coffee, or, my personal vice, tea.

My "tea corner" in my kitchen.

Now, I genuinely enjoy the experience of a nice cup of tea—the smell of the leaves, how the green/yellow color slowly overtakes the clear water, the bitter bite of the first sip. I love it. But sometimes, especially during a rough week where assignments are never ending, I rely on it, and this is a very bad thing. I find myself with the classic caffeine headache if I’ve gone too long without it. I find myself unable to get to sleep no matter how late it already is. If I only have time to either make tea or eat in the morning, I’ll almost always choose the tea.

It’s hard to break the habit once you’ve started, because it fulfills its purpose beautifully. I always get my work done, but at the expense of sleep and sometimes even health. It’s not worth it, so just consider this a warning for when you begin your collegiate experience. Don’t even let it start! Order decaf!

Break 2009!

Hi, folks!

Another winter break has come and gone and classes will begin again on Monday. I’m so excited I can hardly stand it! This semester I’ll be in for a double dose of each of my majors with Social Psychology, Statistical Analysis for the Social Sciences, Edith Wharton and the 19th Century British Novel. I could stack my books to the ceiling, but it’s going to be so worth it!

Honestly, break was bitter sweet. I had a lot of bad things happen all at once, none of which I had any control over. I spent a lot of break in tears, but some time with books, friends and family eased the pain. This is part of the reason that I can’t wait for school. School is one place I am completely comfortable. It’s something I can pour myself into. I can disappear into my books for a little while, or into a club or committee, and honestly all that other bad stuff goes away, if only for a few hours. I know I’ll be complaining here in a few posts about all the late nights and tests and papers and projects (oh my!), but at the end of the day, it makes me happy, and I think when you take a walk around Transy’s campus, you’ll see that the majority of students feel the exact same.

The books I read this break: Ender's Game, The Theory of Light and Matter, and The Diary of a Nobody

I cleaned up this Christmas. My biggest surprise was having my Dad pay for my upcoming May Term trip to South America. He had agreed to pay for half the trip if I’d cover the other half, but when I opened an envelope that contained a deposit slip for what I assumed was just his half, he had put the full amount in my bank account. I was extremely grateful, as that’s one less concern off my mind for this semester. I also felt extremely silly and officially grown up when I got a new vacuum cleaner and the spice rack and apron I’ve wanted for my apartment. My inner feminist may have cried a little, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love to cook and keep my apartment clean. I vaguely recall jumping up and down when I opened the vacuum. It was only slightly embarrassing. I also FINALLY got a new digital camera (the flash on my old one bit the dust), so I can stop stealing my blog pictures off the internet or reusing old ones! All in all, a good Christmas!

Some of my gifts! Apron, spice rack, make-up mirror, my favorite bubble bath and lotion, beautiful leather gloves and scarf, camera and vacuum cleaner!

New Years was fun as well! I went to Louisville to bring in 2010 with some old friends I hadn’t seen all semester, and it made my break. Now it’s back to work and back to class! Can’t wait to keep you updated this semester!