Showing posts with label college. Show all posts

Choices are not easy to begin with; you have to live with your choice and it can completely change the direction of your life, whether for good or bad. But at some point you feel ready to make that choice, because after much deliberation you have reached the conclusion that it is what is best for you. You've agonized, spent sleepless nights thinking, scrutinized all the choices before you, spoken to people who would understand where you're coming from. And you're ready. You're ready for yourself.

The current issue of the Observer (March 2011) has an article about Stern College students who commute, titled Under Your Parents' Roof. I was interviewed and quoted throughout the article, so check it out. :]

I was browsing a Jewish classifieds website today, looking for a possible part-time job opportunity. Truthfully, I don't have that much time in my schedule right now, especially with midterms coming up this week and all the other work that has been piled on, but my usual reaction to discovering that I don't have the money to permit myself even a cheap shopping trip is to start looking for sources of income. As I was looking at the different ads, once caught my eye. The title was "Writers needed." Perfect, I thought. I'm a writer, and writing gigs are generally short and sweet and convenient. So I read on. This is what the ad said:

The Jewish Press recently published a piece I wrote, which was inspired by my transition from a high school student to a college student studying in the heart of Manhattan.

Read it here.

Since I started the spring semester I haven't had much time to blog, since I was kept quite busy by a heavy load of classes and a liberal amount of extracurricular activities. Barely having a moment to breathe has its advantages though, and I think I like it, despite the sleep deprivation and all. When there is so much to do and so little time, you don't stop to think and you don't have time to waste on complaining and feeling down. You just have to jump straight into it and work, work, work, juggling multiple projects and assignments and trying to accomplish everything in the short amount of time given. Sometimes I wonder why I take on so many things at once if my free time is almost inexistent as it is, but I think I know the answer.... It makes me feel like I am accomplishing something, and that gives me encouragement and motivates me to do more and to achieve more. All of the experiences are rewarding, and I want to make the most of my four years in Stern.

I took my last final of the semester on Tuesday and submitted my last philosophy paper (which was very interesting to write even though I was rather short on time), and that means that I am now done with my first semester at college. Yay! :] This calls for a celebration! My first semester at Stern flew by pretty quickly, and those few months were some of the best in my life. I took fascinating new subjects, met interesting people and made amazing friends, got involved with a number of clubs, and got barely any sleep during the week because there was always just so much to do! And now I get nearly three weeks to take a few deep breaths and rest before jumping into my second semester.

I just read an interesting article in the Jewish Press by Blimi Westreich on sleep deprivation and whether or not waking up early makes one more productive. You can read the full article online. Basically, she uses surveys, expert sources (such as researchers and neurosurgeons) to say that teenagers are less likely to do well in school early in the mornings and cannot reach their potential in morning classes because "teens don't reach their full level of alertness until the afternoon." There has been a movement to make school begin later in the day and the schools that have implemented this have announced good results, including higher attendance, better grades, lower drop-out rates, and fewer cases of depression. Students were happy that they did not have to wake up as early, parents were happy that their teenagers became at least slightly less irritable, and teachers were happy because students were no longer as likely to fall asleep in their classes and showed up alert to first-period classes.

While I cannot verify this information and don't know if it is fully accurate or not, it does make a lot of sense. I used to have to wake up at 7:30 AM every morning to go to school. That actually isn't so bad compared to what some of my friends had to do in order to commute to school, but for me it was very unpleasant nevertheless. I am the type of person who enjoys learning and therefore doesn't mind spending long hours in school (my high school hours were from 8:30 AM to 5:05 PM), but I must admit that waking up early made me pretty miserable and irritable.

When I got to college and had the ability to set my own hours and decide when I want to start classes every day, you can be sure that I opted for the later classes. During my first semester, I started classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 AM (waking up at 8:15) and on Mondays and Wednesdays at 11:55 AM (waking up at 9:45). Although I was not waking up that much later than I had in high school, it did make somewhat of a difference, as did starting classes later. Once I wake up I have more time to orient myself and get myself together. I have time for tea and breakfast and I can have a nice morning chat with my mom before going off to college. I then have a 40-minute ride on the train during which I can either nap or do whatever work I had not yet finished (usually reading assignments). I also take a 15-minute walk from the train to college, and by the time that is all over, I am pretty awake and alert and able to learn during my first class. Contrast that to high school, when I would pull myself out of bed, rush through my morning routine, skip breakfast, and hurry out of the house so I could be in school by 8:30. Sure, I could have woken up earlier for high school to give myself time for breakfast and everything else, but it just didn't seem worth it.

I am not getting more sleep now that I am in college than when I was in high school. If anything, I am getting less. But I feel more energetic overall and am more alert in class, so I definitely think there is something to the idea. Anyway, it was just something interesting I read that I wanted to share with others. :]

...when the whole day all you hear is girls talking about the Maccabeats' new video, singing the song, or singing 'One Day.' Sitting on a couch in the lobby, I hear someone passing by singing 'One Day' aloud and then returning a few minutes later and still singing. I come into class only to find that the Maccabeats are being discussed there too. The same thing occurs in the elevator... and in the hallways... and just about everywhere else, until at some point it seems to me as if Stern students cannot talk about much else. So, I figured, what kind of Stern student would I be if I didn't even mention their latest hit on my blog?

For the few people who have not yet seen the Maccabeats' newest video and need to get into the holiday spirit, here it is! It's quite catchy and has some really funny moments. Enjoy! :]



Happy Chanuka! :]

STERN COLLEGE is having an open house on November 14th (from 9:15 AM to 2 PM), and I highly encourage anyone in the process of choosing a college to stop by and check it out! It's actually a bit strange thinking about college applications for the next year now because it feels as if I was just there myself. Let's just say that I don't miss the application days and the whole process of planning out the next four years of my life. Now that they're already planned out though, I could not be happier with where I am right now.

There are some girls who know from the beginning which college they want to go to. There are also girls who apply to many different colleges and don't know for sure which one they would prefer. And then, there are girls who know from the very beginning where they want to go and then find their plans crumbling beneath their feet in the face of a new idea. I belong to the third category. For years, I knew that I would be going to Brooklyn College to pursue my English degree. All those plans were overturned in November of 12th grade, when I suddenly decided that I would rather go to Stern and take advantage of its dual curriculum. So whichever category you fall into, I strongly encourage you to visit Stern on the 14th and see if it might be the right place for you. There are opportunities for everyone there, both socially and academically.

First and foremost, I would like to refer you to a comprehensive guide to Stern by a recent alumnus, Chana at The Curious Jew. This is required reading for anyone applying to college, and especially for those who are already considering Stern. I read that post over a couple of times before applying, and I found that it explained so much about all the different aspects of Stern College. Chana also has many posts about the different happenings and classes in Stern, as well as notes from her classes and transcripts of lectures and events.

There are a few things I want to add to Chana's guide.

• Chana mentioned "the seminary issue" -- she had not spent a year in seminary before going to Stern and others found that surprising and questioned her about it. What I've found is that with each year there is an increase in the number of "true freshmen" such as Chana, who come to Stern immediately after high school. At this point, it is so normal that nobody blinks an eye. Plenty of people have asked me where I was last year, but none of them really reacted when I said that I was in high school. In fact, I was surprised. I had already been expecting the questions and was fully prepared with the answers, but everyone else seemed to accept it and didn't ask any questions. As far as I can recall, only one person actually asked why I chose not to go to seminary. If you wish to come to Stern directly from high school as I did, you do not have to worry about not 'fitting in' or not finding your group. What I've heard from some girls is that they prefer to go to seminary first and find their group there so that they are prepared for the Stern social scene. None of my high school classmates are currently in Stern, and I actually think it's great because it pushes me to go out and meet new friends instead of sticking to my comfort zone. In the course of two months, I've already made many friends and had so much fun with them. So it doesn't matter whether or not you go to seminary; Stern students won't judge you for that. There was just an article in the Observer (Stern's official student newsspaper) on "The Seminary Effect," which is worth a read.

• Another point I want to bring up is level of religious observance and knowledge. You do not need a strong background in Judaic Studies in order to succeed at Stern. All new students take a written placement exam in Hebrew that determines their level and places them into classes accordingly. During orientation there are also oral placement tests for Torah and Jewish law, where they basically want to see if you can read a verse from the Torah and understand Rashi's question on it and his explanation, and if you can read from a sefer on Jewish law and understand it. No matter what your level, there are amazing classes that are geared toward you. There is the Mechinah/Basic Jewish Studies program for those with a limited background in Judaic Studies. I don't know much about it, but I have a few friends who are part of it, so I can definitely find out more for those who are interested. So whether you come from a Bais Yaakov-type school or a public school or anything in between, there's a place in Stern just for you!

• There is such a variety of academic programs being offered in Stern. I was surprised to find that Stern apparently has an engineering department, but it just goes to show that there are a lot of different options for students here. If you would like to find out more about the academic departments in Stern, visit the website for a full list of programs and come to the open house, where you can meet professors from different departments and have your questions answered.

• Another aspect of Stern that I love is the mass of opportunities to get involved on campus. You can start as soon as you begin your college journey, and the sooner you get involved, the more you will enjoy your years at Stern! Getting involved in clubs and events is a great way to meet new people and form everlasting friendships. You can be sure of finding a club that appeals to your interests, whether it is the Creative Writing and Poetry Club (I am also biased because I am a board member :]), the Biology Club, Chemistry Club, Environmental Club, History Club, the Stern College Dramatics Society (which puts on each year a musical in the fall and a play in the spring), Russian Club, Quidditch Club, etc.

• All of this sounds great, right? But then there is the financial issue.... For some, this ends up being the deciding factor between Stern and a more affordable college. Yes, the tuition at Yeshiva University is high, but there are numerous academic scholarships being offered as well as financial aid. Fill out a FAFSA even if you know you are not eligible for financial aid from the government. YU has a different system of determining who is eligible, so even if you would not get a penny from the government, you could get a considerable scholarship from YU. Also, if your high school average is above 90 and you have SAT scores of at least 1300, you are eligible to be considered for a Dean's Scholarship. You do not have to complete a separate application for it; your marks will automatically put you on the list for a potential Dean's Scholarship. If your SAT scores are 1400 or above, you can apply to be an Honors student and can also get an academic-based scholarship. There are various other scholarships available based on the field you are going into. If you are interested in going into Jewish Education, there is the Legacy Heritage Fund Scholars Program which offers full scholarship support. I have a friend who is in that program, so if you are interested in that and need more information, drop me a line. To find out more information on how to apply for financial aid, click here.

• One of the amazing things about Stern is that it is located in the heart of Manhattan, providing many cultural and recreational opportunities for students. Theater, music, entertainment, shopping, countless kosher restaurants within a 10-minute radius, and Starbucks on almost every block. There is one particularly lovely one on 34th Street and Park Avenue, where I love to just sit down and write or study or do my work. It is quiet and pleasant and affords chances for people-watching. :] If you are in Stern, take advantage of the location!

People ask me what I'm doing and how I'm doing in Stern, and my first reply is always in the form of a huge smile -- because I'm doing great. Since classes started again after Sukkot, there has been so much going on that I barely have time to breathe. In addition to the six classes I am taking this semester, I signed up for a whole load of clubs and events and activities, filling up almost every free minute of every day. It only caught up to me now during midterms, when I have a few subjects to study for and a couple of papers to write (one of which will be six pages long) and 100-page readings on topics such as "Time, Work Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism" and "The World the Slaves Made." Those long readings will eventually translate into long papers to write. But despite the length of my to-do list, I am having the time of my life right now.

Juniors and seniors always seem surprised when, in reply to their questions, I say that my freshman year is going great so far and I'm loving it. They also seem surprised that I actually know what I'm going for -- English major, art history minor. I, on the other hand, am always surprised to hear that many students don't yet know what they would like to major in. I would have thought that the direction you want to take career-wise would influence which college you choose, since different colleges have different strengths and weaknesses, but oh well. I suppose they will eventually know what they're doing. (But there are always those people who never really know and end up going back and forth between different fields.)

Apart from academics, I have been having a lot of fun in Stern getting involved in all these amazing clubs and going to various events. I just became a board member of the Creative Writing and Poetry Club, which had its first event of the year earlier this month -- a discussion on Shakespeare and Milton as dissidents. Future events might include readings, workshops, and poetry slams, so it's going to be absolutely awesome! I am also involved in the Stern College Dramatics Society's production of Pirates of Penzance, which is going to be a blast. The result is that I often come home late, since I commute. The benefit of commuting is that I have 40 uninterrupted minutes each way in which to do homework, reading assignments, and studying for exams.

Aside from that, I am going to start writing for Stern's official student paper, The Observer. Actually, there is a deadline coming up right after midterms so I might want to start writing. And speaking of The Observer, I was mentioned on the front page of the October issue since I was one of the Dean's Scholars who received a free laptop at orientation.

Just in case everything else I'm doing now is not enough, I am also in the process of becoming a docent at the Yeshiva University Museum on West 16th, so I hope to see some of you. I went to the YU Museum this past summer to see the Braginsky collection, which was on display for a limited time and is unfortunately no longer there. It was kind of surreal and so incredibly meaningful. One of the manuscripts on display was a handwritten one by the Vilna Gaon, and I could not tear myself away from it. The exhibits at the YU Museum change all the time, so there is always something new to see. As a docent, every time there is a new exhibit I will have to attend a training and get to learn all about it, so that should be fun!

Yesterday, the art club had a scavenger hunt at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Although I had been there many times over the past few years, this was a completely different experience because instead of focusing on one gallery at a time and examining each piece of art separately or lingering by the ones I found the most interesting, we were hurrying through all the galleries and covering most of the museum. We were going back and forth between the modern art, European art, Egyptian, and Greek and Roman and trying to find the answers to all the scavenger hunt clues in our booklets. That definitely gave me a new perspective on the Met, so it was fun.

Oh, and YU has a Russian club! I was actually pretty surprised at how many Russian students there are in Stern. I absolutely love those "whoa-are-you-Russian-too?" moments that I've been experiencing a lot lately. Even one of the ladies working in the caf is Russian! She actually complimented me on my Russian.

By the way, Stern is having an open house on November 14th, so anyone applying to college for next year should definitely come! I want to write up a post about Stern and my experiences here so far for prospective students, so look out for that. :] And meanwhile, if you have any questions you can feel free to comment below or to send me an email at myinkstainedhands [AT] gmail [DOT] com.

Hello friends, readers, and random people who stumble upon my blog! It has been too long since my last post, and I can only attribute my silence to the busy schedule I've had the past couple of weeks at Stern College. Honestly, I have been meaning to write this post back in August and share my experiences from my first few days of college, but then life caught up with me and there was just too much going on for me to be able to sit down and sort out my thoughts properly.

So! I'm a full-time college student now. I had counted down to the start of college the entire summer, ever since I graduated from high school in June, and to say that I was looking forward to it was an understatement. I thought that after so much anticipation, the reality could hardly live up to my expectations and once I was weighed down by assignments I would be less enthusiastic about this new adventure, but surprisingly, I have managed to retain that happy and upbeat mood that seems to get on some people's nerves when liberally applied. In other words, being at Stern is all that I expected and more. I love it.

Orientation began on August 22nd, and Stern and its students and committees used every opportunity to make us feel welcome and comfortable in what will quickly become like our second home. And since there's nothing like a fun concert to help bring new students together and kick off a great year, YU invited Gad Elbaz to perform for us at the Schottenstein Cultural Center. I had, of course, heard some of his songs before, but hearing them live and feeling the energy in the audience transformed the music into a completely different and uplifting experience.

Classes began on the 25th, and I am taking some really interesting classes this semester, so I am very excited about that! I love learning, and what I appreciate about Stern is that I have the chance to take classes that challenge me and push me to think deeper and explore subjects I never thought of before. I had the brilliant idea of taking a few advanced-level classes during my first year in college, so I ended up being the only freshman in a couple of them, but I'm having a blast.

And of course, college would not be college without the social aspect, which brings me to the awesome new friends I have made over the past few weeks. I spent fourteen years of my life in the same school with the same people, so coming to college and seeing hundreds of new faces was somewhat intimidating. Although I don't dorm, I stayed on campus at my awesome peer mentor's apartment for Orientation Shabbat, where I met so many girls that I hope to become closer friends with over the course of my next few years here. Orientation Shabbat was absolutely beautiful, and just for the record, I have never yet experienced such an uplifting and spiritual Kabbalat Shabbat as I did that Friday in Stern's Beit Midrash. There were only girls present, so we sang and celebrated the day together, closely united even though many of us were there for the first time.

There is an emphasis in Stern on getting involved on campus and being a part of the YU community. There are clubs, societies, committees, and activities with a wide range of focuses, so each student is able to find something interesting to get involved in. I want to really take advantage of that and be a part of all that is going on so I can appreciate Stern to the fullest. I just have a really good feeling about this year... about finding my place in Stern and contributing my piece.

Another thing that delights me about Stern is that it gives me the opportunity to spend more time in the city, observing New York and its inhabitants. It seems that New Yorkers often get a bad reputation and are stereotyped as being cold, uncaring, selfish, pushy, rude, and generally nasty. (I admit that I, too, am guilty of occasionally making jokes about it, despite the fact that I was born and raised here.) Well, commuting and walking through the streets of the city affords me a better glimpse at these infamous New Yorkers. Like the one time the MTA machines weren't working in the 34th Street subway. Half of them were broken, and the other half refused to take dollar bills or credit cards, insisting on coins. I stood there, together with a Muslim woman, unsure of what to do since there was no other way for us to refill our empty Metro cards. A man, noticing our distress, approached us and offered to swipe his card for us at the turnstile for $2 -- less than what a ride actually costs, so we shouldn't have to fumble around with change and miss our trains. Then there was the time a woman forgot a shopping bag on the train, and one man noticed it, yelled for her to come back, and held the doors of the train open while she ran back, grabbed the bag, and ran back out. Another instance happened on Shabbat, which my friend pointed out to me. A homeless man was crossing the street, and one of the taxi drivers honked at him and motioned for him to come over. When the man approached the taxi, the driver handed him some money. It all happened in just a few seconds, and nobody really would have noticed it. But it's those small private deeds that matter. If you keep your eyes open, you will see them and you will recognize the human being inside each New Yorker. But if you refuse to see, you are only left with the stereotype in your head.

And of course, New York wouldn't be New York without the tourists. Throngs of them fill up the street at all times of the day, obstructing or slowing movement as they pause every few seconds and come to a stop to take pictures. Every single day, without fail, as I walk from the train station to Stern College, I see at least a few people standing on street corners, all pointing upwards with their cameras and furiously snapping pictures and pointing something out with deep interest. Human nature is curious and therefore dictates that if you see someone is giving something much attention and acting fascinated, you must look over as well to see what it is. So I looked up to see what they were all photographing. "Oh, the Empire State Building. Yeah, that's the place where I eat lunch.... No big deal." And I moved on, laughing to myself. So that is the sight that greets me every morning -- tourists aiming cameras at the Empire State Building. It's cute when I have plenty of time before class and am in no hurry, but when I am running late, the fact that they are obstructing the sidewalks and slowing me down gets a bit annoying.

So overall, it has been a crazy, amazing couple of weeks here at Stern, and I am so excited for the year ahead of me -- the classes, the events, the friends, and the growth I hope to achieve. So yay for Stern!! :]

Shana tova, dear readers!

It is hard for me to believe that I am graduating on the 22nd of June. When people told me that 12th grade would fly by, I did not realize it would be this quick. It is as if I just yesterday stepped into the school again after the summer, prepared to settle in for another whole year. Ten months seemed like such a long time, and even now when I say it, I think, "It could not possibly have been ten months!" Well, I'm done. I still have Regents examinations next week, but otherwise, I am done. I finished classes last week, finished my finals this week, and I need only to wait a couple of weeks to graduate.

When I was a little first grader, I looked up with awe at the 3rd and 4th graders. And then when I was in their place, I proceeded to look up with awe at the junior high students. It was hard to wrap my little mind around the fact that they were so high up that they were almost graduating elementary school. And as for high school students -- they were just marvelous creatures. They had their own building that we were not allowed into, and they had different uniforms, and they were so.. well.. old. I could not imagine being in high school. And now that I am graduating high school, I look back at the little kid version of me with amusement. I have been waiting for this moment for years, and now it is almost here.

The past four years were so important in forming who I am today, and as I look back on them, I see how far I have come and how much I have changed and grown. It has been at times a rough and bumpy road, but it was the right one, as I feel that I have arrived at the right destination. And soon, I will be embarking on another road, and I feel it is the right one, too.

And that brings me to my plans for next year. As you might recall, I had asked for Brooklyn seminary suggestions back in October, but I did not mention anything after that. Well, that is because I ended up choosing not to go to seminary. I thought I would go to seminary in the mornings and then attend Brooklyn College in the afternoons, but I decided to do college full time instead... and I chose to go to a different college as well... which is why, as of fall 2010, I am going to be a full-time Stern College (YU) student! A year ago, I would not have believed it. It was not an easy choice to make, but once I made up my mind and realized that this is what is right for me, I was pretty excited about it. In fact, now that I got the schedule for orientation in August, I am downright psyched! I cannot put into words how much I am looking forward to it.

I probably will not know anyone there, since most of my friends are going off to seminary or to different colleges, so if anyone here knows someone who's going to Stern next year (or is going herself), say hi!