Registration, registration.

This week all students came back from fall break to find registration forms in their mail boxes! I know I'm such a dork for saying this...but figuring out which classes I'm going to take next semester is extremely exciting to me. For the past three semesters, I've gotten into my first choice of classes. So here's what I've got so far...

English: Poetry Aloud 4 credits
English: Contemporary Literature 4 credits
Communication: American Public Address 4 credits
Communication: Speech Practicum AKA Speakers Bureau 1 credit
Sociology: Intro to Sociology 4 credits
Education: Business, Education, and Economics in Jamaica 2 credits

The last class that I have listed is actually a "Maymester." Right after commencement, a few different departments offer students (regardless of their major) the opportunity to travel for 2-3 weeks to another country. In order to go, students usually have to take a course during the spring semester to gain knowledge about the place they're going. The cost is really minimal (they reand from $300 to $2800...mine is going to cost $1500), and for those students who aren't going to get the chance to go abroad, it's an excellent opportunity to have an experience in another country. I'm really excited about going! Even though I'm an English major, I'm really interested in educational policy. This will be an awesome chance to see what the educational system is like in Jamaica. Also, I'm going to Chicago in the Spring of 2010 for the Urban Studies Program. There I'll be able to supplement what I've learned in Jamaica by interning for someone who analyzes educational policy for a living. These two experiences will hopefully help me deicde what I want to do after I graduate from Ripon...graduate school for educationl policy? I hope so!

Off to do some work!

FALL BREAK!!!!

One of the many perks of going to Ripon? FALL BREAK! I left on Friday, October 17 and just got back last night. It felt really good to be here again. My best friend Ashlee came home for a weekend, and it was really good to have some "girl time." It's been a while since we were able to do that. This past weekend my brother and his fiance came to my hometown as well as my boyfriend's mom. Lots of visitors, but lots of fun!

What was really good about my break happened during the week on Monday and Friday. When I was a freshmen I took Public Speaking and then Advanced Public Speaking. I was then invited to become a part of an elite group called Speakers Bureau. Speakers Bureau is a hands-on class and requires that I set up my own syllabus. That means that I set up my own speaking engagements in the real world, I decide how much of my grade they will be worth, I decide what the criteria for grading is, and I write my own self-assessments. That may sound like "la-la" land, but it's not at all! I'm really passionate about speaking, so I want to make improvements. I think it goes to show that ultimately you have to improve upon yourself...no one else can do that for you. Anyway, one of the events I set up was to talk to two groups of 8th graders while they were one a field trip to a college. After all, who better to talk about college than a college student? Plus, higher education is something that I really believe in and it's one of my interest areas as I look forward at careers. I went to talk to students and they were so much fun! They had some awesome questions and got really involved in the conversation. It's really great to see young kids really examining the possibility of college and how to get there. That was by far the best part of my break.

This week looks preatty busy, but that's to be expected after a long break. Have a good one!

Forgot to show some homecoming pictures!

Homecoming performance! The theme of this year's homecoming was "Wild, Wild Ripon" so the dance team did a routine to Boot Scootin' Baby. It was a lot of fun!

Some of the dance team standing around at our float decorating contest!

My dance coach, Steph!

It's been a while...

The beginning of last week I was really sick, so I didn't do much except for eat, sleep, and go to class. I went to see the nurse here on campus, but I am allergic to all the meds that could have helped me. In a few days a bunch of sleep and vitiman c did the trick.

Then this weekend hit and I was feeling better. On Friday I went to my friend JoAnn's house to see where she's from. We went on a jeep ride through the corn fields and by the river, and we got stuck in the mud. It's so different than where I'm from, but it was so nice to finally see her house and meet her family.

Today is my brithday...I'M 20! It's so crazy to think about. I still feel like I'm 15, don't know how to drive, and that the world is such a big and scary place. I'm not a teenager anymore :( My roomate has been calling me an old fart all morning...got to love her. The two of us were hoping to go out for a birthday dinner, but today is too busy so that's being pushed back until tomorrow.

Everything else is still the same and even though this week is going to be extremely busy, Friday most of us get to leave for fall break!

I had my mind read!

On Friday night my friend JoAnn and I went to see a hypnotist/mind-reader that S.M.A.C. brought to campus. I was really skeptical at first because I don't believe in that kind of stuff, but he was crazy good! He aked my friend to stand up and look at him from her chair, and then he guessed her phone number (all she gave him was the area code) and called it! WHAT?! He also gave me a deck of cards and had me pick one and think about it. Then he looked at my face and guessed my card in the first try! He did a bunch of other stuff too, like refill a soda can that we watched him drink, but they're just too hard to write down and explain on paper.

Saturday the college had an open house and I gave a tour, and I had a dance performance at the football game. We did really well, and we won! Then my boyfriend Mark and I went to Fat Bruce's...I'm pretty sure that's my new favorite restaurant. If you ever get a chance to come here, make sure you check it out!

We started learning a new routine at dance practice for Homecoming. Our theme this year is Wild, Wild, Ripon, so our dance kind of goes along with that...it's really fast! For Homecoming this year the dance team is hosting a parade where organizations from the college and throughout the community get to enter a float and then the team gets to choose a winner. I'm very excited to get the school spirit flowing!

Other than that, not too much is new, except that I really need to do laundry tonight!

Busy? YES!

In my Organizational and Business Communication class we've been putting together cover letters and resumes since school started. We had to find a job that we're actually qualified to apply for and craft our resums and cover letter around the specific job. Yesterday was sort of the culmination of everything we've done in class so far...our professor brought in people from the community and Ripon alumni who interview for a living and had each of us do a mock interview with them! Even though I was nervous, I can say that I honestly to appreciate the opportunity. The last time I interviewed was to get a job at Starbucks, and that was five years ago. It felt really good to have a practice interview, and to see what I'm doing in class applied to something in the real-world.

I also worked in Admissions, had a meeting to come up with ideas for the Comm. Department Newsletter, and went to my English class. Then I went to an Alumni Seminar. What is that? About three times every semester the Communication Department brings back alumni to talk to the dept. majors and minors about their experiences after college and how their degree at Ripon served them well in the workforce and personally. Seminars are always really relaxed and it's good to hear from someone on the other side of college who's made it through! The majors always have lots of questions! Then I went to dance from 7-9. The last thing I did before bed? Sat on the floor and ate pizza with my friends after a long day. Then to my wonderful bed :)

I couldn't have asked for a more relaxing weekend...

On Friday, my roomate Sara and I went to Culvers for dinner. We ended up staying and talking for two and a half hours! Serious stuff, funny stuff....the whole shebang. Sometimes, time just gets away from us :)

This weekend my boyfriend came up! It was the first time I'd seen him in a couple of weeks, so that was really good. We rented a bunch of movies, went to downtown Ripon to see Septemberfest, went for a walk in the prairie, ate at the Red Apple, and of course got coffee!

I'm so tired this morning...my body feels like it weighs about three times as much as it actually does. Hopefully I'll pick up speed. Today I have work and class, bunches of homework, and a meeting about the Urban Studies semester off campus that I'm planning on doing next year.

More updates later...