Reds, greens, oranges, and yellows.  The University of Iowa is changing from the greens of summer to the vibrant colors of fall.

Walking around campus last week my friend Eliska Cramer and I couldn’t help but notice how the towering trees in Iowa City were becoming a vast array of bright colors.

With the new colors of fall the crisp air is soon to follow.  In the next weeks students on campus will be busting out their winter coats, hats, gloves, scarves, and boots.

Winter in a college town is less about trying to be cute and more about trying to stay warm.  Iowa City has a reputation of being windy and ruthless to it’s inhabitants.

Being an Iowa native I wanted to take in the fall colors before everything turns brown and it becomes unbearable to be outside.

Check out my fall slideshow.

Big decisions need to be made.  My roommate is graduating this May and I need to figure out where I’m going to be living next fall.  I have two main options; RA somewhere or join a Sorority.

Being an RA has its pros and cons.

Pros

1. Looks great on a resume
2. Free housing and meals
3. Fulfilling

Cons

1. Room by myself
2. Can’t have another job
3. Room by myself

Being in a sorority would be a fabulous experience.  Instant friends, numerous activities, and the houses are really pretty.  I’ve heard from multiple people that going through Rush is stressful but really fun.  Some have said it’s part of the college experience.

Lots of decision….So little time

So it’s the third week of school and I already have a cold.  My nose is stuffy, my throat is sore, I have a headache, and sleep is always calling my name.  I’ve started my new job at CVS this last week and I have noticed that I’m not the only one struggling with a cold this week.  The popular items have been Nyquil, cough drops, and kleenex.  Luckily this is a long weekend so hopefully we can all get to feeling better before Tuesday morning.  Reminder:  Need to buy hand sanitizer.

My coffee luck this semester is sucking so far.  I can’t catch a break

Tuesday- Sorry our espresso machine is broken.

So I decide to get a regular coffee, which I hate.  I decided to fill my glass with mild.  Guess what happens next? ….. It runs out, so I am forced to fill the rest with bold.  I ask for two sugars and two creamers.  Stir and head to class.

Thursday- Sorry our espresso machine still sucks (where does my tuition money go?)

Yet again I ask for a 16 ounce coffee.  Head for mild and it runs out again.  Fill the rest with bold.  By this point a guy has walked up about to order something.  The clerk asks me how many creams I want.  I hesitantly say four, knowing the guy is going to think I’m a freak.  I look over and he can barely keep himself from laughing out loud.  He gives me a “you are so pathetic” smile and proceeds to give his order to the clerk.  I’m rushing by this point to get to class that I forgot the cardboard covering around the cup.  I walk out of the IMU and I realize that my fingers are on fire.  I don’t have time to turn back around so I keep on going.  The entire way to MacBride I’m trying to rearrange my fingers so I can distribute the burning throughout.  By the time I get to my class all ten of my fingers are red and sore.

Next Tuesday- Sorry our espresso is broken still and we are completely out of coffee except decaf.  Yeah that’s what a college kid needs, decaf.  He goes on to say that I could get some coffee in the cafeteria of the IMU.

I head around the hall and get to the cafeteria.  I’m forced to settle for a French Vanilla.  I select my small cup and begin to fill it up.  I try not to fill it all the way up because I have a tendency of spilling things.  Unfortunately the machine decides to overflow my cup with water after I have released the button.  The top of the cup is filled to the rim with coffee and foam.  I then to decide to slurp off the foam so I can put the lid on.  I place my lid to the cup and what I thought was foam, turned out to be steaming hot French Vanilla.  I try not to scream out from the scorching sensation on my tongue and down my throat.  I put the lid on and head to the cash register to pay.  Luckily this time I grabbed a cardboard carrier.

Next Thursday- I decided to switch it up and get my coffee at the Library.  VICTORIOUS!! Best coffee I have ever had on campus

Well, we’re about halfway through summer vacation.  I’ve been spending a lot of time at gym.  Hopefully building up my muscle will help me make the hills of Iowa city easier.  The power of endurance.  My mother and I have been working on countless projects throughout the summer.  We’ve taken a few trips and are heading on another one this week to Kansas City, Missouri.  In August we are heading to St. Louis for a Cardinals game.  We have seats near third base.  Hopefully we can dodge the foul balls.  I’ve loved summer vacation, but I am looking forward to heading back to Iowa City.  My classes are going to be a lot of work but very interesting.  I’ve bought a new planner and have made other arrangements.  It’s good that I can give my mind another month to relax.  That’s the life of a college student.

This semester I made a big decision on my next few years in college.  I changed my major.  I’ll be a senior in the fall and this was a risky choice.  While I already understand that I won’t be graduating for another couple of years, I wanted to really think through about the choices that I had made.  While I enjoy theatre, I felt that it wasn’t the way to go for me.  I was fortunate enough to take classes that would show me the types of things that I would be doing on a regular basis within the field.  I decided that I would like to switch my major to history and journalism.  As soon as I changed my major I felt a release of stress.

So while a person may want to graduate in four years, it’s okay to take your time and really make the right decisions for yourself.  I was told by an advisor that it’s more important to get good grades than graduate in four years.  He pointed out that graduating in four years was the norm a long time ago because the average life span was 45.  With the life span being double that, it’s essential that we take more time in school.  The average now is six or more years to get your bachelor’s degree.  It’s important to use the benefits that the University offers.  Having a degree only will not secure you with a job.  Businesses are looking for internships and a study abroad on your resume.  So take your time and really enjoy the experience.

Well second semester is here and startin’ off with a bang.  This semester I enrolled in Run Crew for my production credit in my Theatre major.  I chose to do the light board for Tattoo Girl.  I was honored to work with David Thayer, who ironically, the auditorium in which the show was being presented in was named after.  That made the entire experience surreal.  He was a very nice man and easy to work with.  He knew I wasn’t very educated in the light board, and he had patience with me.  This made my job a whole lot less stressful.  Tattoo Girl was an amazing experience.  This was the first show that I have worked on at the University of Iowa.  Our actors were fantastic and I loved our Stage Manager.  She was down to earth and had a great sense of humor.  I enjoyed sharing the booth with her and watching her work.  It really got me interested in stage management.  The show had good sized audiences and was successful over it’s two week run.  I have mixed feelings about the show being over.  It was a lot of work and took up a lot of time, but it was really fun and our crew was fantastic.  Being in rehearsals has become one of my favorite places to be.  If you saw Tattoo Girl, I hope you enjoyed it. If not, I hope that you attend one of the shows produced this semester.  Antigone for example is supposed to be a fantastic show.  From what I have heard the staging is fantastic and there are some special graphics.  You’ll have to attend in order to find out what these graphics are.  Tickets are only $5 for students.

This evening I attended Merce Cunningham Dance Company.  It was an interesting show and I can’t quite say how I felt about it.  I’m still running through everything.  The music was a little eerie but the dancing was phenomenal.  The lines and the unison sequences were fantastic.  It looked like a sold out crowd.  The show was sponsored by Hancher Auditorium.  There are multiple shows that I am attending this semester that are through Hancher.  I’ll have photos and maybe videos from the upcoming shows that I am attending.

That’s right, the University offers piano classes.  I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the piano, and I think it’s a good quality to have.  I’m focused on being a director in musical theatre and piano is a good skill to have in that profession.  When I arrived at Iowa I had no idea that they offered classes such as these.  Iowa offers all different types of fun classes a student can take.  They offer classes such as piano classes, voice classes, and ball room dancing classes, along with countless others.  My advice is go to the General Catalog and just look around.  I’m sure you will find tons of classes that you will enjoy.  Most people want to stay focused on their programs and get done as soon as they can.  This is college.  This is the time to find out what really interests you.  Take many different types of classes.  Enjoy your experience!

Wow this semester is flying by.  Thanksgiving break is coming up and then as soon as we get back it’s time for finals week.  First semester at the U of I has been amazing.  I have had such a blast, and I have met some amazing people.

You may not be fully aware, but students can be paid to take part in studies that are conducted by science majors, political science majors, psychology majors etc.  Most likely the department will send you an email and help explain what all this means and how you can get involved.  If you are a current student and have not gotten this email, here is a link.

http://uiowa-soc.sona-systems.com/

It’s not a handful of cash, but it is a quick and easy way to get some spending money in your pocket.  Today I took part in my third study.  I had to go through and distinguish personality traits of political candidates.  It’s really easy and it’s nice knowing that I am helping students out in their research.  Unfortunately it takes about a month for your compensation to be mailed to you.  Don’t let that stop you.  If anything, you can put on your resume that you were a guinea pig for the University of Iowa 🙂