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.

Remember Annie? Annie is the ray of sunshine that entered my life a few years ago and found her way into my heart. She is beautiful, inside and out, and just as she brings a smile to my face when I see her, so too I wish for her to have a life full of happiness and all the very best. This is for Annie....

In life, you want to have progress. You want to continue to always get better at what you do and work harder and achieve more. But sometimes, no matter how much you want it, it's difficult and you become frustrated because you just don't know what to do. Well, that's how I feel right now about my creativity.

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! :]

It's been a while since I could actually sit down to write a real blog post (apart from the one on Stern College). Well, my only excuse is that this has been one of the busiest months this year for me. It started off with midterms, reached a high point with my best friend's wedding, and is now ending off with even more work and running around to do.

A new exhibit opened at the Yeshiva University Museum recently which celebrates the first ten years in that new building. The exhibit, Zero to Ten, features a lot of awesome pieces from the museum's collection, including the Baal Shem Tov's Torah, a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to a Jew, ancient books, and other pieces of Jewish history. I gave a tour of the museum on Sunday, which was nice and gave me the opportunity to interact with some interesting people who had a lot to add to the conversation. I love hearing everyone's outlook because every individual has his/her own unique perspective based on personal experience. Anyway, I encourage you to check out this new exhibit, as well as the other ones that are up now -- Andi Arnovitz's works and the 16mm Postcards exhibit of pre-war Poland.

In other news, my birthday is later this week -- December 3rd. I've been so wrapped up in day-to-day life that I didn't fully realize how soon it was. Birthday, Chanuka, a truckload of assignments and events at Stern... Yep, life is fun. :]

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.

On a cold day back in January, my friends and I were returning from a fun shopping trip in Manhattan and finding our path through the subway to our train line when we heard music nearby and saw a crowd of people standing, observing something. We came closer and saw a man performing, which is a pretty regular sight for people who are used to the NYC train stations. If you take the train regularly here, you will see a wide variety of performers of all ages, races, and nationalities, playing different genres of music. I usually only stop for a minute or two before going to catch my train, but since we were not yet ready to leave the city and go back to our regular lives, we stayed for a few minutes and watched, all agreeing that he was a great performer. He was dancing and playing on an electric violin, the sound vibrating all throughout the station, and a lot of people stopped to watch. We eventually left and took our train back to Brooklyn, and that was that. More than half a year passed, and I had pretty much forgotten all about it.

Last week, as I was swiping my MetroCard at the 34th Street Herald Square station on my way home after college, I heard the sounds of loud electric music right next to the turnstiles. I looked over and realized that it was the same performer that we had seen in January, so I stopped to watch and to listen. He had a sign with his name and website as well as a poster behind him with the name of his project, and when I came home I decided to take a look at his website.

His name is Michael Shulman, and he is originally from Russia but came to New York to pursue his musical dreams. What's interesting (and he mentions it in the biography on his website) is that the Soviet Union banned rock and metal during the Communist era, and that is precisely the type of music Michael Shulman was inspired by. His project is called Paganini XXI Century, symbolizing the combination of classical elements and modern influences. Check out his biography and music on his website. If you want to see him play, he has a schedule on his website of when he is in different subway stations in NY. It seems he mostly plays at Union Square and Herald Square though.

I realized yesterday that he was playing at 34th yet again (near Stern College), so I stopped by the train station just in time to hear him play the last three songs of the day. I was especially delighted to hear him playing Michael Jackson's songs, including Smooth Criminal, which he did an awesome job on. Here's a video I found on YouTube of him playing Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'.



Apparently, musicians who want to play in a subway system have to go through an audition process with MUNY -- Music Under New York, an MTA program. I learn something new every day...

In other interesting NYC subway news, I have a story for you. I was heading back home from college quite late yesterday (after 9 PM), and there was the usual search for an empty seat. As I was hurrying to a vacant spot, I saw another woman aiming for the same seat, so I stopped and backed away. She had done the same thing, and the two of us stood there asking each other to please sit (no, no, it's ok; no, go ahead; no, it's fine; are you sure?) until she finally sat down. She noticed that I was holding a French language book from college, and she remarked on it, asking me how much I know already. We somehow ended up talking for most of the ride, until she got off at her stop. In those 25 minutes, she told me part of her life's story -- places she's traveled, what she is doing here in New York now, her personal life and her struggles. She also pulled an envelope of photos from her bag and showed them to me proudly; they were of her time in England, her trip to Washington, etc. She is originally from Morocco and is now learning English, so I suppose she took this as an opportunity to practice the language. Either way, it was such an unexpected thing to experience in New York, where you pass by hundreds of people everyday without caring who they are or what they are doing. We wished each other good luck and all the best as she was getting off the train, and that was that. Just another moment in the life of a New Yorker.

Have I ever mentioned that I love New York?