November 2nd, 2009 by Arianna
There is always a special feeling in the air on campus during the first week of school- a mix of anticipation and nervousness, fear and excitement. The upperclassmen are being reunited with friends that they have not seen for months, while the freshmen are embarking on the adventure of a lifetime.
For me, this year is very bittersweet. In many ways, I feel as though I am being left behind as my friends approach graduation and move on to their “big kid” lives.
First, while I am in my senior year, I will unfortunately be a senior for three semesters due to my inability to choose a major and stick with it. (I believe that I have finally made a decision this week.) I have many friends who will be graduating on time, and while I am happy for them, I cannot help but feel slightly inferior and like they are moving on to bigger and better things without me.
But, I also feel left behind because my very best friends chose to move off campus this year. While students outside of a certain radius of Marshall are only required to live on campus for their freshman and sophomore years, I have chosen to remain on campus again this year. I came to this decision for many reasons, including financial and safety reasons, as well as for convenience. Because of our different decisions, I will not see my friends nearly as often as I did before , and I am finding myself doing so many more things on my own.
Being left behind, however, is not always such a bad thing. In fact, it can be very good for us, and it may even force us to do things we would not otherwise do. For example, freshman year the thought of eating in the cafeteria alone would have caused me to have a heart attack, but I have done this every day this week.
There is more to the story however, and sometimes we are not left behind we are the ones leaving others.
My friends made their decision to move off campus at the end of last semester, so they would have someplace to live all summer here in Huntington. I was not included in the process because my summer plans were already set in stone. See, I attended The Fund for American Studies’ Institute on Political Journalism where I spent my entire summer in Washington, D.C. interning at a highly regarded radio station, while taking classes and participating in many other activities throughout the city.
While I was out touring the big city and having a blast in a dream world, my friends were here going to work. Now, don’t get me wrong, my best friends were more than thrilled for the experience that I was having, but I was the one that was miles ahead.
All of this reflecting has led me to realize that our friends are often going to be in different places in their lives than we are.
I am still on the college track. Everything that I am working towards is furthering my education and experiences. I am not ready to settle down, or grow up, whichever you want to call it. But, for my best friends, that is what they craved.
Yet, the awesome thing about college, and life at Marshall, is that despite our very different paths, we are still great friends. I may not see them as much as I used to, but I may meet up with them for dinner at the student center, where I can use my meal plan. Or, better yet, we can all get our free tickets to next week’s home football game and cheer on the Herd.
As the semester goes on, I am sure that I will make some new friends that do live on campus, but I am equally as sure that I will not lose contact with my old friends either.
November 2nd, 2009 by Arianna
Everyone has their “frienenemies,” right? The person who clearly hates your guts and wants you dead, but on their surface they are extremely nice, almost to the point of fakeness. They ask you how you are doing, but you can tell that a part of them dies when you are happy.
For me, these people always act like my best friend, but yet they never really know anything about me. They think they do. They think they can tell everything about me with just one look. And, I know what they are thinking, “She’s just a pushover. A not very smart nerd. A loser who won’t stand up for herself.”
But, they are very wrong. I may not have the best fashion sense in the world and I maybe a little geeky. (Okay, a lot geeky. But at least I admit it.) I may not have a car and I may worry a lot about my grades. However, this is just what is seen on the surface, and there is so much more to a person than what can be seen. And, let’s be serious. That’s what we all are. We are people.
This week I was put into just this situation. I had been treated badly by a few people for over a year now, but could not stand up for myself. I just kept taking their judgmental glances, the whispers that were loud enough to make sure that I could hear the nasty things they said about me. Usually when faced with this situation, I would run away with my head down thinking that I was the problem. And, trust me; I have done this many times in the past.
This time however, I have a new sense of confidence. I am not the problem. I may not fit societal norms, and I may not speak and act the way they think I should. But, I am real, and I am not going to pretend that I am something that I am not.
There are many ways to judge a person: by how many friends they have, how successful they are, or how powerful they are. But, none of these really makes one person better than another. In fact, nothing does. We are all created equal. We all have our own intrinsic value. We all have something that we are good at.
I feel the need to share my recent revelation because I refuse to let people treat me that I am less than they are any more. I may not be wealthy, powerful, deceitful, or even confident, but I am not someone who is going to treat you with less respect than you deserve. And, I expect respect in return. Because, as a human, you do not earn respect, you should automatically be given it.
In my high school, there were cliques, and each person was neatly placed in one, even if they didn’t really fit. But, I was kind of the exception to that rule. I ran cross country and threw shot put and discus in track, but I was not good at either one. This should have put me in the jock category, but my lack of talent kept me from it. I was also in honors classes. Again, I should have been in the nerd category, but my participation in sports kept me from being geeky enough. I was also active in my church’s youth group putting me in the church kid category, but the church girls didn’t think I was good enough because I was as prissy and preppy as they were. I was never placed in a category and bounced from bad friendship to bad friendship.
As you can see, there were a lot of “buts” in my life. You could be, but… This created a horrible self attitude for me. I began to think that no matter what I did I was always going to be excluded. And, let me tell you, this is an extremely difficult thing to break. In fact, it has taken me over three years to realize that I deserve to be treated with respect.
But, the beauty of college is that it gives you a chance to start over. The cliques disappear, and you get to choose what you want to be. I made the mistake of allowing the past to dictate who I was going to be in the future, but I believe that I have finally broken the mold.
I have a network of extremely close friends, who have been with me since freshman year. I mean if they have stuck with me through the freshmen 15 (or 30) and beyond, then they are the real thing, right?
Most people go to college to get a degree, so they can pursue their dream job. But, I was blessed to be given a bonus on the side as well. It may be cliché, but I think that I have “found myself.” And, maybe, just maybe, in the whole scheme of things, that’s what college is all about.
I mean, why else do people go through so many majors?
November 2nd, 2009 by Arianna
When I was making my college selection, everyone kept telling me that this was one of the most important decisions of my life that I would ever make. Not only did they tell me this, but every person I had ever met had an opinion on where I should go, what I should major in, whether or not I should be in the Honors Program, and so on and so forth. Everything in my future seemed to be up for discussion, and I hated it.
Because of this, I kind of shut down. I didn’t want to talk about it with anyone, and if someone would ask, I would just say I didn’t know. They only people who didn’t have a verbal opinion on what I should do was my immediate family because they believed it was my decision to make. This intense pressure that I felt coupled with my inability to make a decision made me panic, and I would often get extremely sick just thinking about my future. My nerves led me to make some of the worse decisions that I have ever made.
I wouldn’t go on any visits to look at colleges until February of the year I was graduating, and even then I only visited one school. And, that one school that I visited was the only school that I applied to. No back-ups, no other plans. One school and that was it. I knew nothing about what other universities offered, and this one university was six hours away from home. Talk about risky!
I’m sure you can already tell that everything worked out for me. But, I was extremely lucky. College is not one of the most important decisions you will ever make, it is many of the most important decisions of your life. Where will you go? What will you major in? What will your minor be? What groups will you join? None of these are something to be taken lightly, and not something that most can just luck into. Each one will shape your future.
While things have worked out for me, there are many mistakes that I have made because of my lack of preparation before starting college. Unfortunately, I have changed my major three times, and will therefore be in college for an extra semester. Also, I did not join any organizations until I was a sophomore, which deeply hurt me freshman year.
I have recently embarked on the next step of my quest for education. While in high school, I never thought about grad school, but I now feel like this is a natural step for me. But, I find many of those things that haunted me in my college search are haunting me again. Even as I type this my stomach is churning because the future is such a scary thought. Even if I choose to attend Marshall’s graduate school there will be huge changes in my life, and I want to be sure that I do not make a mistake.
Since I have begun my search for my future, I have also been returning to my past. As I have mentioned in past posts, I ran cross country in high school. I may not have been good at it, but it was something that I loved doing because it cleared my head. It was me and my thoughts.
I have been a regular attendee of the rec center since my freshman year, before it was as glamorous and awesome as it is today. But, I was always so overwhelmed that I would take to the elliptical, and while it was a good work out, it just wasn’t the same. Well, this year I made a deal with myself that I would run three days a week to clear my head.
So, three days a week, I run until I can’t run anymore. I listen to my music, I watch the TV, and I just think. Just me, myself, and my thoughts. I don’t notice anything around me. And, in a way, I just feel my stress and worries disappear. If I can run three miles, if I can run for an hour, then I can make any decision that crosses my past. (Yes, even me, the most indecisive person on the planet.)
I know that many of you reading this are future college students who may be overwhelmed with the decisions that lay ahead of you. And, trust me, I have been there; I am there. Please, do not take these choices lightly. Really think about them. Visit as many places as you can. Do as much research as you can.
Then, when it all starts to get too much, do something to clear you mind; run, sing, read, make a pro/con list, whatever it is that makes you happy. Then when you return to you research you mind will be clear. Once you’ve made your decision, you will know it was the right one.
Do I think and hope that every one of you will choose Marshall? Absolutely. But, I want you to know that it is the right fit. No doubts. No worries. No what ifs.
November 2nd, 2009 by Arianna
This week is Homecoming, and all of the festivities are in full effect. All of the offices and buildings are decorated according to the theme “Traditions to Treasure,” and the annual car bash is going on on Buskirk Field as I write this. The homecoming parade, which took place last night, was a hit, and incorporated the entire community, young and old. (My two favorite groups were the tiny gymnasts and the alumni cheerleaders.)
But, homecoming is so much more than just a game surrounded by a bunch of festivities. Now, I’m not going to go into the history of homecoming or something like that, but I am going to share an experience that really makes me appreciate this year’s match-up.
On Saturday, the Thundering Herd football team takes on the Pirates of East Carolina. There is a bit of history between the two conference rivals. As many of you know, the Pirates were the last team to play the Herd in 1970 the night of the deadly plane crash. I never really thought about the effect that this would have on those players of ECU until I overheard something really moving a few years ago.
It was my sophomore year, and I was walking to the Student Center for some reason a few hours before the game. I cannot even remember why I was there because that didn’t even matter. As I walked into the building, I saw a group of older men standing around the memorial fountain dressed head to toe in East Carolina purple. I didn’t think much of it as there are often groups of people standing around the fountain. But, it was when I was leaving that the most touching thing occured.
The large group had dissapated, but there were still two people standing by the fountain. The two were clearly father and son, and the son was clearly intrigued by what the father was saying. I could tell that the father was tearing up as I tried to avoid the feeling of intruding as I quickly walked past. But, they were in their own moment and were completely unaware of what was going on or that I was even there. At the moment that I walked past them, I heard the father say, “Football was never the same. Everytime I played, I would just think of the last person I tackled who never made it home.”
The talk continued, and I was stunned. I was completely oblivious to what was going, but I then put the pieces together. These older men were members of the team who played the Herd that terible night. They had been rivals competing for the win, but in the blink of an eye it had all changed. Now, they had come back to pay their respects to those opponents, and to share that with their children who were most likely following their father’s football dreams.
As a member of the Herd community, I had never really thought about what that night might have meant to that Pirates team. My vision is very short-sided and I only ever thought of the immediate like the university or families, but it suddenly hit me that there was so much more to the situation.
This homecoming is so much more because of the deep connection between the two teams. While they may be conference rivals today, it really shows how in just under 40 years such a feeling of normalcy can be returned.
So, while I will be in the stands cheering on my Herd to beat the Pirates, I will also remember that there was once so much more than football to these two teams.
But, it is like Mathew McConaughey’s Jack Lengyel says in We Are Marshall, “One day we will be like every other team, where winning is everything, and nothing else matters.” And, that day is today.
November 2nd, 2009 by Arianna
Going to college six hours away from home there are many obstacles ranging from homesickness to not knowing anyone. I have certainly have had all of these experiences. But, one thing has jumped out at me today and I felt the need to share it.
There was an editorial in The Parthenon encouraging students to take a weekend and go home. The author talked about her bouts of homesickness and how a recent trip home made her feel much better about her experiences here at Marshall.
I had to immediate reactions to this. First, this may not work for everyone. Sometimes going home all the time or having your family visit you often can actually cause more homesickness. I interned in Washington, D.C. this summer which is less than two hours from my hometown. Because it was summer and I was so close to home, I went home everytime I had the opportunity to. I was more homesick there than I have ever been at Marshall. I have found that fully immersing yourself into the situation you are in is a thousand times better than splitting yourself between two lives.
My second reaction was much more personal. I found myself wanting to scream at the newspaper, “What about those of us who live too far away from home?!” Clearly, living six hours from home it is far less likely that I can go home on a regular basis, if at all. In fact, I do not go home except for on breaks from school and even then it is tough to find a way home. Yes, I knew what I was signing up for when I chose to go to a school six hours from home, but it is extremely difficult sometimes to deal with the lack of understanding of those who go home a lot.
So, here is my advice to you. Whether you are from close or far away, get involved on campus. Find an organization you enjoy and there you will meet people who have similar interests. Quite often these groups are busy on the weekends too, so you have an excuse to not go home. Also, you will be surrounded by others who don’t go home on the weekends either.
Part of growing up, and going away to college, is learning how to be on your own. Once we enter the real world, we will most likely not have the ability to go home to the place we grew up all the time, so we need to learn to be comfortable in this new place.
Yes, this will be extremely hard, especially during your freshman year, but trust me it will be worth it. Not only will you save money on gas and save time on traveling, you will also meet some amazing people you would not otherwise meet.
And, there are loads of things to do here on the weekends, so there is no excuse to be bored!
November 2nd, 2009 by Arianna
This semester has been an extremely unique one for me. In the past, I have had lots of projects, papers, and assignments. There was lots to do and there were lots of due dates. For better or worse, this has not been the case.
Every class that I have has simply a midterm and a final test-wise, and outside of that they have assigned just one or two papers. To make matters worse, two of my papers are due dead week, which is the week ust before finals. Coming from the past classes where I constantly had something due, this has been extremely difficult.
I know that I have all sorts of homework to do, but I cannot motivate myself to do it. In my mind, I am screaming at myself to do the reading or start the research. But, at the same time, my I keep thinking, “That’s not due for another 8 weeks. Why waste my time now?”
For the entire first half of the semester, I have struggled with this. Procrastination has become a huge hinderance in my life. Now, don’t get me wrong, the few things that I have had to do, have gotten finished and turned in on time, but I have found it hard to motivate myself to do things due far in the future.
A few days ago, I sat myself down at the computer and began working on a few things for two of my classes. I told myself that I had to get something done. I ended up working until 1:30 AM doing way more than I planned to do. I felt a sense of accomplishment for the first time all semester. Unfortunately, I woke up the next morning back in the rut I was in beforehand.
Along the same line, I have recently been struggling to find the motivation to go the gym. While I am not the smallest girl in the world, going to the gym has always been a part of my routine. No matter how busy I was I would always take time out of my week 3 days a week to work out. Yet, as I am a little “less busy,” I find it harder to motivate myself.
So, I have really been trying to figure out why with more free time, I am less motivated. As of today, I have yet to figure this out. When I am super busy, it seems as if nothing distracts me, but when I am a little less busy, I am unable to get anything done. It is similar to when you get up early, but still end up late for class. And, for me, there is nothing more irratating than that.
While I still do not have the answers to this extreme motivation conundrum, I have learned a few things. First, this is just another way college is preparing me for the future. In the “real world,” there will be lots of times where things don’t have definite due dates, or need to be finished well into the future, that I am still going to need to motivate myself.
But, I also began to wonder why all this matters. I am been stressing out immensly over stuff that isn’t due until December. Why? I have no idea. As long as I get the project or paper done to the best of my ability, does it really matter if I start 2 months ahead of time? While I am probably going to continue to worry about these projects, I am going to make a conscience effort to not let that stress get the best of me. There is a lot of time between now and then, and as long I as don’t put it off until the night before, I will be fine.
So, with that being said, I think the rec center is calling my name. (Oops, I guess I am still putting off my homework.)
May 5th, 2009 by Jessica
On this cold, dreary, rainy day in Huntington, finals week is underway. I had my first final yesterday at 12:45 in my integrated science course. I believe that I did pretty well on it; thankfully it wasn’t a comprehensive exam and that it just covered what we had discussed in lecture and lab since our midterms in March.
Finals week isn’t too terrible for me. I have my big media law final today at 4:00 p.m. and I won’t lie; I’m nervous. While I have secured a passing grade (for the first time in my college career I am more than happy with accepting a ‘C’ and being pleased with that) it’s still nerve-wracking to into a final, even if you know the outcome won’t affect your overall grade. This final is comprehensive, fill-in-the-blank and essay. Since this pertains to my major, I want to do well on the exam since the information that I have gathered from the class will important for when I head out into the real working world. While media law has been my most difficult course this semester, it’s also been my favorite to participate in. I have learned so much from my professor, Dan Hollis, and he has been completely supportive of me this semester and has been so helpful in covering material that I’ve been having trouble grasping.
Wednesday I have my final in my Film and Fiction course, where I will write essays based on the past movies we’ve watched. I’m not too terribly nervous about that exam. Friday I have a pretty big final in Political Science that I’ve been preparing for at 8:00 a.m. Yuck. I’ve been thankful that my other three finals are later in the day and I have just the one final at 8:00 a.m.
Of course, everyone is on a different finals schedule. If you’re interested, you can take a look at our finals schedule for this semester here. I have a couple of friends who have more than two finals scheduled for today, but they were able to make arrangements with their professors so they wouldn’t have more than three finals in a single day. I did have one friend who opted to take three of her finals today so she would be completely finished for the week. Students have a lot of freedom has far as making arrangements ahead of time when it comes to exam taking, which really works out well for those who have tough schedules or have special circumstances.
Tomorrow is the annual School of Journalism and Mass Communications Awards. I may be up for an award for my work in The Parthenon last semester. It’s a time where the college has the opportunity to award students for their hard work and dedication by presenting awards and scholarships. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that I get an award.
Other than that, the big finale is Saturday when Marshall will have its 172nd Commencement. This will be my second year attending graduation, and it may be my hardest. I have a lot of dear, close friends that are walking across that stage to shake hands with our president, Stephen Kopp, and that means a lot of them will be leaving Marshall and Huntington to pursue law school, graduate school or to head out into the workforce. While it’ll be a sad time, I am also happy and proud of my friends for their accomplishments and know that I will be walking across that stage to receive my diploma this time next year.
May 4th, 2009 by Arianna
There are certain things you never want to happen. Ever.
My weekend started normally enough. My two best friends and I went to the Green and White game Saturday afternoon, and despite my preparation to my already sunburned skin, the sun and heat of the 90 plus degree day got the better of me. Originally, I was going to dedicate this entire blog to that game and the inspirational words spoken by Chad Pennington and the rest of the 1999 undefeated team. I was going to talk about how cool it was to feel like I have come cirlce. (My first Marshall experience was watching this team play at The Joan from the student section with my sister and future brother in law.)
But, then the rest of the week happened and that feels as if it was ten years ago. The events that unfolded on Sunday evening are probably some of every parent’s biggest worries, and are definitely something I never thought would happen.
On Sunday evening, my best friend stumbled into my room exepectedly, crying. It is not uncommon for this particular friend to show up unannounced, or crying for that matter, but my friend is a resident advisor and has a meeting in about 10 minutes. Under normal circumstances, she would never have come to my room with that little amount of time if something was not really wrong.
As she was curled up on my bed, she began telling me what was wrong. “Ari, it hurts here. What’s right here?” she asked while motioning to the lower rightside of her abdomen. At that moment, I knew we were in for a long night, but I wanted to double-check before I told her what it was.
After using WebMD and my parents to check her syptoms and our plan of action, I knew that she needed to go to the ER, but I also knew that my friend was one of the most stubborn people that I have ever met. As I told her that I thought it was appendicitis, she told me I was crazy. After a while of arguing, she told me that she had to go to her meeting and agreed that if she was still feeling bad afterwards that she would go.
Much to her dismay she was still in pain, and walking was becoming more difficult. So, after talking to the Resident Director, my friend’s mother, and making a few other phone calls, we were finally off to the ER about an hour later. At about midnight, after two hours of waiting, my friend was finally called into a room ans was told she was going to be having a CAT scan. So, we waited again. By 3 AM, my friend’s mother and step-father had made it from her hometown just minutes before her CAT scan.
I cannot imagine the fear that her parents were feeling after hearing that their daughter was sitting in the emergency with something that was most likely going to cause her surgery. At 4 AM, just after her stepfather drove me back to my Residence Hall, I got a phone call from her mother telling me that the Doctor had confirmed it as appendicitis.
My best friend had surgery just over two hours later, and is doing fine now, but the fear that comes with seeing you friend have something that wrong is overwhelming. All she really wanted in that moment was for her mother to be there with her, but her mother was 3 hours away and I was the only confort she had in that emergency room.
But, I tell this story not to make people fear for their own lives, or their child’s lives, but to talk of the extreme kindness with which my friend was treated. Everyone that she came into contact with was extremely kind and friendly, and most were even considerate of the fact that she was hours away from home. I know that this is a college town, but I did not expect the people to be so concerned that she was not at home. It was very comforting.
My friend has ben out of class for the entire week, and came back to her room on campus today. She cannot carry more than 5 pounds and it takes her about 30 minutes to walk accross campus. But, when she arrived back, she was greeted with several bouquets of flowers as well as tons of friends who were eager to help. It is comforting to know that even in the most frightening of times people will step up and take care of those they know. It definitely makes me feel so much better about living six hours from home.
April 28th, 2009 by Danielle
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College is so much more dynamic than high school. Not only are there classes and organizations, but also friendships from across the nation and opportunities that you never could have imagined in high school. I have spoken about undergraduate research several times in my blogs. This week is when all of my hard work gives something back to me.
I am currently working on a project about the protein albumin. This week I have to put together two posters to present at research conferences. The first is to present at a national conference in Chicago, IL. What is awesome is the fact that Marshall takes care of the bill. The second will be a combined poster with another student to present at a statewide undergraduate conference.
So why go to these geek conferences? Because it’s cool! I have the opportunity to see the newest innovations in the fields of analytical instruments. I get to meet professionals in my field and get the chance to meet graduate programs that I can apply to attend next year.
Putting together a poster can be very stressful. You have to have all your data from your work and know both the theory and your applications. Then you have to present your work in a manner that is understandable and be prepared for any question under the sun.
April 28th, 2009 by Jessica
In the past four years that I have been here at Marshall, I’ve often wondered why the week before finals is called Dead Week. Some of my friends think that it’s called Dead Week because everyone feels so dead just the week before finals. Some think it’s because you’ll be lucky to be alive by the end of the week because you’ve spent the week working to get everything accomplished before finals. Professors will tell you that this is the week they can’t assign students any additional work that wasn’t already included on their syllabus.
Typically, this week does signal that I’ll be extraordinarly busy with finishing last minute papers and projects. But, for the first time in my undergraduate career, I do not have anything due this Dead Week. Nothing. Not a paper. Not a presentation. Not a random quiz or exam. I am officially three finals away from my summer break which will begin on May 8. For graduating seniors, they are just a little over a week away from graduation which is May 9.
So, what am I doing while all of my friends rush around finishing last minute assignments? I’m laying on my couch and preparing hundreds of note cards for my huge Media Law final next Wednesday. Not to mention that as I lay on my couch, I am also reviewing and revising my notes for my ISC 280 class. And this weekend’s agenda? Reviewing and revising my PSC 105 notes. While I might not be writing papers or giving presentations, I’m still in the middle of trying to make it to May 8.
While I’m blogging, for anyone college student or graduating senior who may be reading this, I want to point out the importantance of not getting stressed out. Being stressed out can leave you feeling sick, something I know quite well. Last week, I began experiencing pain in the center of my spine, followed by a rash. The pain became so severe that I had to stop at Student Health, which is just minutes from our campus, to see a doctor. Her diagnosis? Shingles. Shingles at the age of 22. Thankfully, she prescribed me some antiviral medication that I picked up at a pharmacy nearby and my back is feeling tons better than it was this time last week. She said my shingles outbreak could have been caused by high levels of stress; so, take note: don’t stress out. It’s not worth it.