It's Like The University Came Back To Life

After spending the whole summer living on campus, when it was all quiet, empty and extremely rare to see more than 4 people in a group around campus... the past week had been very odd; school has started again and there are suddenly people EVERYWHERE.

Gone are the days I rode my longboard freely on the empty roads, empty parking lots and unoccupied campus walkways. It has only been 3 days and there is already a campus-wide uproar about the lack of parking spaces. I now have to dodge frustrated students that can't find a parking spot. (But I guess they have it worse)

On another note, it is so great to see my friends again! As well as all the excited freshmen I met during orientation this summer. To think that I was them just a year ago!

So much catching up to do with my friends and so many new friends to make!

The last week of summer has been the most busy for me. It included transfer orientation, the final orientation session, move-in day, freshmen day of service and casino night. It was all great fun, of course, and to depict it better, here's a photoblog!

New Patriot Orientation- session 1

The first New Patriot Orientation session of the summer was held June 14-15. It was my first time being an Orientation Leader and I have to say, it’s a really great college experience to have and I’m so thrilled to be part of such an exciting team of people and contribute to an important campus-wide event.

If I accounted every single detail on every single event, this blog would go on and on and on… so instead, I’ll just mention the highlights and tidbits that stuck to me.

Day 1

The Orientation Leaders and Orientation Planning Committee had to meet by 8am Thursday morning to get ready and help with last minute preparations. Even though most of us were still groggy and half-asleep (as most college students are at 8am), there was an underlying excitement and anticipation in the air. 

Summer Reading List

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower* by Stephen Chbosky
• Dreaming in Chinese** by Deborah Fallows
• The Hobbit*** by J.R.R. Tolkien
• World War Z by Max Brooks
• Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
• The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
• Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer
• Mission to Paris by Alan Furst

As a self-proclaimed bibliophile, I honestly wish I had more time to read these books. But with college life, I'm lucky if I get enough time to sleep in a night and a weekend not dumped with homework.
With balancing time for classes, homework/study time, work, social life, sleep... I can only hope that I can squeeze in time to just sit, relax and enjoy a good read.

*Re-read. I’ve read it before but since the movie adaptation starring Emma Watson is coming out soon, I just want to read it again. Highly recommended, it’s a great read.

**Incoming freshmen were given this book for their summer read, so Orientation Leaders are also required to read it.

***Re-read but you have to agree... It's a classic and definitely one of my all-time favorites.

You Stay Hydrated, Tyler

I stepped outside of my apartment earlier this week and it dawned upon me. As I wiped the layers of sweat that had already begun to accumulate on my forehead I realized something.... Summer is upon us.

Yes you could argue that it's been summer since the end of May and all and say, "look at me, look at me! I'm right and you're wrong!" but I would end up smacking you in the most humiliating fashion. Well... I may not smack you. Perhaps a good talking to would do the trick. Anyway, you really can't call is summer in Texas (especially East Texas) until the temperature rises to the 90s. When it gets into the triple digits we like to call that Super Summer. Luckily for us Super Summer has yet to hit us. So I have decided to start a blog series on tips for surviving the dreaded SUPER SUMMER!!!

My Summer To-Do List

As you’ll probably begin to notice later on, I like creating lists. A lot of them. For a while I tried writing down my lists in one specific notebook but that never worked because I'd find myself in the middle of lunch with friends, or walking to class making up lists in my mind.

So eventually my lists ended up all over my room, on post-it notes, my calculus notebook, lecture handouts, scribbled haphazardly on my arm and even as text messages sent to myself (and no, this is not some sad act of texting myself; it's my only option when I have no access to pen/paper!).

My most recent big list is my Summer To-Do. I would love to fly back home for summer but I only have about a week of vacation before my summer classes begin and I don't think paying $2000 for air fare only to be home for a week is worth it (home is 8000 miles away, but more on this later).

So if you’re like me; home is not within driving distance and you’re grounded in Tyler for the whole of summer, make a list! Think of anything and everything you want to accomplish this summer. It definitely beats just moping around and whining about how you’re “stuck here with nothing to do” because trust me, if you look hard enough, there are actually lots to do!

Here’s my list.