Wednesday, November 28, 2007

almost done

last week of school.. yay... im so ready for this semester to be over.. im sick of getting up early. i am in desperate need of some sleep. i need to start packing up my room soon. i have to move out of my dorm since i wont be back next semester. i have so much junk in my room too. its goint to take me three days to pach all this up. i hate moving out to. its such a freaking hassel especially when you live where i do and there is no elevator and you live on the top floor.. i have to go down like six flights of stairs. it sucks to say the least. im ready to spend some time at home too and strart working again. i never found a job up here that fit with my schedule but at home i work at banana republic in gulfport and i love it. so i cant wait to go back and have money again. anyway though, thats just my thoughts for this morning.. tootles

Saturday, November 24, 2007

thanksgiving

turkey turkey turkey... pass it over.. i love thanksgiving. its a great time family, friends, and most of all food. i had a good time. all my family of course went to my grandparents house to eat and drink. we had a good time. my friend also came into town to have thanksgiving with my family because his couldnt get together so we got to spent some time together. then i had a GREAT time thanksgiving night.... NOT.. So before i went to school i used to work a banana republic and the outlet mall in gulfport.. well i told them that i work over the holidays and so the schedueled me for friday and saturday. humph.. little did i know that they would schedule me for midnight thurday night when the mall opened for midnight madness on black friday. so i was there from midnight to ten a.m. the next morning. it was insane. when we opened the store it was like opening the flood gates. customers filled the store and with in twenty minutes, there was a line to check out that just about wrapped around the whole store, and i was of course on a register. the bright side of it tho was that i got paid time and a half because it was a holiday, so i really cant complain. i had fun too. everyone that i work with there is great. we all always have a good time working together. always cracking jokes and messing with each other on the walkie talkies keeps the time going bye. ill be back there for christmas break and im excited, i need some money, especially for my trip in the spring..

Study Abroad

As of last week, i officially decided to sutdy abroad next semester at the abbey in france. i had originally planed to go next fall but suddly found out the other day the the program does not run in the fall anymore. well there was still spots open to go this spring to i jumped on it and got my application in. im still a little shocked that i actually did it. im going to be in france for four months in pontlevoy. im so unbelievably excited and nervous at the same time. i've always wanted to travel ever since i was young and herad about people studying abroad. ever since i found out that southern had a study abroad program i was determined to go. then when i found out that i would have had to wait another year i realized that it was now or never and this was one of those things that you just have to take a chance with and go with your gut feeling so i did. i knew that if i waited another year i probably woulndt go and that was just not acceptable for me. so i will be in france in february and i cant wait. my mom is really nervous because i have never been outsitde of the united states and i dont speak french but i plan on learning some before i go. i think its going to be the expierence of a lifetime and it couldnt be passed up.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

rough draft

Freshman year of college requires a considerable amount of adjusting. Of these many adjustments, one in particular that is quite important is living in the dorms on campus. Students have to move out of the comfort of their home and into a small room that has to be shared with a complete stranger. Though this is proven to not be an impossible adjustment there are still issues to consider involving the dorms on campus. Problems such as the visitation hours in the dorm of the opposite sex, the fact that the dorms close for a whole month over the Christmas break, and that the dorms cannot be coed are common grievances of the students. These particular issues are often not considered problems that need to be addressed; but for many students they are, and a possible solution should be fairly heard.
Adjusting to living in the dorms is difficult enough. It’s tough having to compact all of your belongings in to half of a room that is only twelve by ten feet big. Then there is the roommate, who is usually a complete stranger and not always the same personality type. More often than not, these small adjustments work themselves out. On top of these adjustments though, students have to follow the visitation hours rule. Visitation hours are from twelve noon to midnight Sunday through Thursday and twelve noon to one a.m. Friday and Saturday. I don’t think that these are fair hours. We are not children and I don’t think that a guest should have to leave at midnight. Majority of the people that live in the dorms are awake past midnight every night anyway so disturbing people that are sleeping is not really an issue. Also, not being able to check a guest in until noon is absurd as well. Most residents are up and starting their day well before noon. I do not see the reason for mot allowing visitors before noon. I believe there are some simple adjustments that could make visitation hours more accommodating to the residents.
During the week, visitors should be able to check in by ten in the morning. Resident assistants are not on duty until noon but the university could offer the morning shift as a desk job for a student who is not a resident assistant or a resident assistant who wants extra hours. It would open up many job opportunities since the campus has several buildings of dorms. Curfew for visitors during the week should be later as well. Not just for friends to hang out but for students who are maybe studying or working on a project should have until at least one or one thirty. It would only require the office attendant to be on duty for another hour or so and would not cost the university very much. On the weekends, I think that visitors, male or female, should be aloud to sleep overnight in the dorm as long as the resident assistant on that floor knows about the visitor and it does not bother the roommate. Everyone living in the dorm is at least eighteen years of age and should be mature enough to handle that freedom.
Adjusting the visitation hours opens up concern about having coed dorms. Many other colleges have had coed dorms for years and have not seemed to have any major problems with it. Now I don’t thing male and females should live on the same floors but I think that separating it by floors or maybe having half the building boys and half girls would work just fine. Many of the dorms on campus like Scott Hall and Wilbur Hall could easily be split between males and females because they have two separate sides that connect in the middle. Some buildings could be offered as coed and the others and remain separated for those who don’t want to live in a coed dorm. Having coed dorms would give students an easier chance to meet people besides just girls or jut boys.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

yay.. almost done

well this semester has flown by.. we only have like three weeks left and im super excited.. i need a break so bad.. thanksgiving is great becase of the food and family time.. my family is crazy and i love them.. we meet up in the early afternoon at someones house, probably in mandeville, and eat and drink wine all day.. then after dinner we usually either go to the driving range and have a putting contest or stay at the house and play football or baseball or something.. and if we decide to get really crazy we all go swimming that night too, cold or not, (the pool is heated). so thats usually how my thanksgiving goes. its pretty ordinary and i love it. and the food is the best part. i know everyone says this but seriously my grandmother and uncle are the best cooks ever.. no one can beat them. last year was interesting because i had been dating this guy for a long time and i did thanksgiving with his family and mine.. and his family did have some amazing desserts. his family is really big too so they are all kinda crazy too.. there was like a buch of little kids so something was always going. i enjoyed it.. so i am ready for the semester to end.. it cant come soon enough..