Category: Campus Life

about campus

Poop. :/

-sigh-

Boy, was I right when I said this was going to be a busier semester. :/
These past few weeks have been intense and Spring Break sounds pretty good right now. But first I have to face the dreaded MIDTERMS…again! Ugh! I have two exams and three huge projects to get done in three weeks…I would not be surprised if I sleep all through Spring Break after all these all-nighters I’m going to have. >:/ Coffee doesn’t seem to do the trick anymore so I’ve moved up to energy drinks…boy, those can really get your heart pumpin’.

I haven’t been in the greatest moods this week either…first of all, I got sick for the first time since I’ve been in school. I caught a nasty cold! It was sooo bad that I looked like a zombie all week!  But instead of staying in bed now, I have to study for my midterm on Monday. Second of all, I must be some sort of jinx this week because I got on the wrong bus, fell on ice, overslept and missed a lecture, AND forgot to turn in my camera for my Modes class so now I’m going to fined like crazy!  Ahhh!!! This just hasn’t been one of my greatest weeks. 🙁

Hopefully I can get through the next few weeks without losing my mind. 🙁

Finals Week! :-o

Wow! Its now December and finals are already next week! It’s crazy around here right now. Everyone is in like “study mode”! The libraries and lounges are always full, and I’ve never seen so many kids study in my life! Its kind of intimidating, I’m not going to lie. Seeing all these people worrying about finals makes me worry too even though I only have one final. But because I only have one final I definitely want to do well in it, so I’ve been working really REALLY hard lately. The past few weeks have been very stressful and hectic. But I’m glad that classes are now over and that winter break is just around the corner after finals.

I’m looking forward to going back home. Thanksgiving break went well, but it felt really strange to be back home after being gone for three months because everyone felt the need to spoil me. Haha. That was definitely something new, but I enjoyed my time there and I’m glad that I’ll be able to stay a little longer for winter break. In the meantime however, I’m going to study like I’ve never studied before and show that exam who’s boss! >:)

Oh by the way, I’ve been meaning to post the video of my first Iowa football game! It was amazing! Not only did we kill Michigan State, but everyone rushed into the field and celebrated after the win! It was intense! The best part was that I got to touch RICKY STANZI!!! 🙂 <3 What a cutie!!! Hehe

[youtubewd]LC3fdzVND0k[/youtubewd]

Oh and I also had the best Halloween costume ever! Me and my friend Ai-Chi decided to be cheese! Haha. That was my idea by the way. 😉

Our homemade cheese costumes! 🙂

Midterms! >:[

It’s crazy how it’s only been two months since school started, but it feels like we’ve been here soooo much longer!! I think it’s probably all this studying and homework that makes it feel that way. >:/
Well, I’ve only had two midterms so far and my first one didn’t go exactly too well. I did terrible actually. Grrr. But my second midterm however, went pretty well! So I’m pretty stoked about that! 🙂 I have another exam approaching next week, so I have to get my study on…again!!

Other than school work, life here in college is going pretty sweet. I’m excited for Halloween weekend!! I don’t how often you see you a college student trick or treating, but I’m going to do it anyway! Well, I’m going to attempt to do so. Haha.

Just a Brown Dot Part lll

I come from a predominantly Latino community back home and it felt strange coming to an environment that was completely the opposite. At first I felt like I was just a little brown dot in the center of a large white canvas. Everyone shared the same features, but I was the different one. My skin, my eyes, my hair, everything was different and at a certain point I didn’t know whether I was good enough or not. I felt like an outcast, but it didn’t take long to discover that there were many others who were just like me. There were different cultures, different backgrounds, different ethnicities and I felt less alone. The white canvas that I once saw was now filled with all sorts of different colored dots and I was convinced that I no longer needed to worry about being good enough because in the end, every color is beautiful.

I quickly formed a friendship with a girl who I related to a lot, and from then on all my fears and insecurities went away. I was proud of who I was and where I came from; and I wasn’t going to let anyone make me feel inferior anymore. With this new mentality, I actually started to enjoy myself. Welcome week was a blast! I have never been given so much FREE STUFF IN MY LIFE!!! Free food, free T-shirts, free EVERYTHING!!! I literally have enough laundry detergent and  M&Ms to last me all year!! I even got to see a drag queen show that would put a lot of girls to shame (I’m not even kidding! They walk better in heels than I do!). From drag queens dropping it like its hot, to a hypnotist hypnotizing students, and to a comedian singing like a hobo, the shows I saw were great! Welcome week is what made me see that the college life really is as awesome as people say. I just wish that every week was like the first week. I am now into my second week and there is work to be done. Good thing it’s almost the weekend and its not just ANY weekend, its Labor Day weekend! 🙂

I was right when I thought that UI would be the perfect school for me because even though I had a rough start, I absolutely love it now! I came to UI wanting freedom, independence, and of course a good time…that’s exactly what I got. I’m loving it here and I am looking forward to the next four years of the best years of my life. <3

Just a Brown Dot Part ll

I have the tendency of putting everything off to the last minute (which is probably really bad now that I’m in college) so it was no surprise to my parents that I had planned my orientation date to a day before move in day (not the best idea, by the way). It was decided that I was to move in the same day of my orientation so we wouldn’t have to drive back again the next day (we live four hours away and my parents hate wasting gas).

The campus was beautiful; the buildings, the parks, even the people. It was like walking into a movie where the actors and actresses play college students. They walked the streets knowing precisely where they were heading, while my family and I got lost a number of times and had to look in a map. Could we look any less like tourists or what?! Luckily, there were many friendly people who helped us out. “Iowa people are really nice!” I thought.

Soon after a long day of orientation and getting settled into my dorm, it was then that I realized that this was it. As soon as I closed the door on my family to leave, I realized that I was really alone now. No parents. No siblings. No friends. I was alone in a new town where I did not know a single soul (I didn’t even have a roommate). What the heck did I get myself into? All the excitement I once felt was overwhelmed with fear and doubt. I wanted to go back to that “comfort zone” because I knew I would feel safe, but it was too late to turn back now. This was college. This was the real deal. This was how life was going to be for a long, long, LONG time. It hit me so hard that all I wanted to do was cry…

Just a Brown Dot

I came to this school with the intention of breaking free from my hometown, Omaha, NE; where I lived a somewhat sheltered life. Going to an out of state college was the only way out. So I was excited when I got accepted to UI because not only was it my dream school, but it was also away from home. Finally, I thought, I can just get away from everything and everyone! I can live my life the way I want to live it and get out of that “comfort zone”! I’m going to take the world by storm! College was calling my name and I was eager for the Fall to start so I could finally start living the college life. I was ready. I was ready to take it all on. Then finally, move in day came but I was in for a surprise. I wasn’t as ready as I thought I was…