Life of a College Freshman

Life has changed dramatically since I arrived to USC in August. I have learned the "in's & out's" of life in the real world, kind of. Although I still look to my mom for money at times, I am still having to provide for myself. I am working and also juggling school work along with a little social life here and there. It's hard to believe that first semester is almost over. After registering for my 2nd semester classes, I can't help but sit here and wonder "where has the time gone?" Finals are approaching and honestly I am scared. I still feel like my study habits are not up to par but I know by next semester I can handle any test thrown my way.
I have truly enjoyed all the different activities I have participated in here at school. Recently I went to see the ballet Dracula with Sally, and I must say, it wasn't that bad. Not saying I would see it again just for the fun of it but still. I will admit though, being here has not only taught me things, but also allowed me to participate in some amazing events.

I love beach music

Yesterday, out of the kindness of my heart, I decided join Bernice and go with her to her Dance Appreciation class. Not that she really needed someone to go with her, but they were learning how to shag dance and Bernice knew I was dying to learn.  So she invited me to come. 

I was big into athletics in high school, but never dance. So learning theses new steps was kind of complicated for me. Bernice laughed at me and helped me through it and I got the hang of it by the end of class.  

Definitely a new experience. Now I'm anxious to get out on the dance floor and shag to some beach music with all the other Southern pros. Except I might need to practice some more first... Yayy for learning new things. College is great. 

No Shave November

Now that it is November, many of the guys on the 9th floor, including myself, have decided to participate in 'No Shave November.' The idea seems simple enough; during the month of November, those of us participating will grow out our facial hair. Once you stop shaving however, it become more complex than it seems. Not looking down on those who display their facial hair year round, but I am personally not a big fan of having facial hair. I can only handle one month out of the year. It comes to a point where it is itchy on your neck, and without trimming the edges of the beard it is messy looking. Not to mention, since I have stopped shaving I have had Emily's hand on my face feeling my facial hair more often than not. Earlier today, some say I 'cracked.' I had to trim the edges of my new grown hair. Though it has only been 10 days, it was starting to look messy. Some say I should be disqualified, but I still have the bulk of the hair growing strong. As November progresses, at least until thanksgiving, I plan to continue to not shave my beard. It should be interesting to how we all look at the end of the month.

Dinner at Dr. Pardun's house

So tonight the Living and Learning Community, along with Stephanie and Lauren, gathered together for dinner at Dr. Pardun's house. It was so much fun! We all got dressed up and helped each other pick out what to wear. When we came downstairs to leave our dorm, our RM Jaime (Nana Shook) wanted to take pictures of us. When we arrived at Dr. Pardun's house, she welcomed us and we all introduced ourselves. She made chicken parmesan as the main entree and it was really good. Oh yeah, this is random, but her house is really pretty. When it came to dessert, we were all like, "OH MY GOSH! THIS IS AMAZING!!" She made a gingerbread cake with homemade whipped cream, it was incredible. We all talked with each other and bonded. We had a really fun time.

Running Club

It took a little bit of time, but I've finally gotten myself involved in a group here at USC. The USC Running Club is a new group that was created this year. I was a runner all throughout high school and really was hoping that there would be a group at USC for me to join. I helped start a small group on campus that met a few times earlier in the year, but it wasn't well known and there was already a larger group being created. But now the two groups have combined and we get together three times a week to go out for runs. I've met some cool people along the way and it will only get better from here. We're going to work on getting some fund raising going so we can enter in races and purchase uniforms. Hopefully it all goes well. 

Journalism Test Take Three.

Tuesday the living and learning community solidered through our third Journalism test. Although this test only covered two chapters, I feared that the details he wanted us to know would be a million times more extensive. One by one we turned in our tests and walked out of the examination room and gathered together waiting for the rest to finish up. After spending a week and a half of hardcore studying, we all were relieved that it was over and we only have one more test to pass until the end of the semester. As each person walked to our living and learning huddle, each face showed some apprehension, but also conveyed smiles. We all feel rather confident. We are finally beginning to perfect our college studying and test taking skills. So what's next? We wait. Tuesday our grades will be posted, but until then....we party.

Journalism Test Take Three.

Birthday cupcakes!

On Monday, I turned 19! I thought it would be weird to celebrate my birthday away from home, but it wasn't too bad. Kristyn surprised me with a crafty collage she made for me and I got a few cards from some of my new friends at school! Unfortunately, I couldn't do too much celebrating because of our Journalism test the next day, but a few of us traveled to Cupcake where I had two amazing cupcakes, Peanut Butter Banana Marshmallow and Cinnamon! I was really happy that my friends could celebrate with me and I appreciated that they still came out, even though most of us had a huge exam the next day. After that, Gabby and I had major crunch time for Wiggins' test and I hope I did well! Getting an A on his exam would be the best birthday present ever!...besides cupcakes, of course.

Lists

After reading "Courage to Lead" I decided to put some of the advice the book offers to work. I figured I would start by writing everything down, just like Charlotte recommends. This seems like a good idea in theory, and could actually be quite helpful... if I only made one list. I currently have twenty running lists scattered everywhere, all with different tasks, assignments, and appointments on them. My desks has sticky notes with lists, my notebooks have lists, the margins of my papers have lists, the back of my hand even has lists on it most days. The lists are overwhelming and more than slightly repetitive. Even though they seem completely unorganized, it still makes me feel better when I cross something off of my many lists.It emphasizes the fact that I have accomplished what needed to get done.

My favorite holiday

Halloween is definitely my favorite holiday and all of my friends know it. At home, I threw a Halloween party every year and it was something we all looked forward to, so it will be a little weird to celebrate in Columbia instead of in Spartanburg. I already started my celebration by attending "Rave to the Grave," a Halloween dance party hosted by the Columbia Hall and Capstone residents hall associations. As our president, Chris Brown was one of the main organizers of the event, so I went to support him and had a blast! I am known for my outrageous Halloween costumes, so this year I decided to dress as one of my favorite pop stars: the off-the-wall Lady GaGa. The majority of my costume came from home (this idea came to me over a month ago after seeing GaGa perform at the MTV Video Music Awards) and the only thing I had to buy was the blonde wig. Dressing up gave me a confidence boost and I was not afraid to bust a move on the dance floor, even though I did not win the costume contest.

Tomorrow night I am going to see "Dracula: Ballet with a Bite" at the Koger Center and hopefully going to see Carolina Productions-sponsored showing of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" on the big screen at the Russell House on midnight on Halloween.

Once Halloween is over, I have another holiday to look forward to: my suitemate Taylor's birthday on Monday!

Second semester Freshmen..

Homecoming week was an absolute blast.  I was involved with a lot of stuff supporting Alpha Chi, helping with canned creations, float building, attending the showcase and step show.. I was glad I got to experience everything for my first homecoming! 

Aside from that, what I really wanted to talk about...

I was walking to advisement today just reflecting on how fast everything has happened for us. We're well underway with classes and have finally learned the ropes.  Campus is no longer a huge mystery and everything seems so much more convenient now that we know where things are. Football season is almost over! I've loved football season, what happened?! Where did all the games go?! We've made friends left and right and now instead of "hey where you from?" our conversations are have become more personal as we develop life long friendships. Now that I'm getting ready to schedule classes for next semester, it kind of scared me how fast the future is going to come.  Sure, it's only second semester freshman year approaching, but next it's sophomore year, and then before you know it we're almost Juniors and I don't want to think about the rest. I really don't know why I'm worried. In my head the idea seemed a lot worse than how I'm portraying it now.

Home Is Where the Heart Is

It is so hard to believe that first semester is almost over. There have been good memories, funny memories, priceless memories, and even some bad ones and through them all the friendships have grown stronger and stronger. There have been challenges thrown at us right and left, and personally I think we have handled them all very well. Classes have been difficult but I am adjusting well I think. I have been talking to a lot of my friends from other colleges and as much fun as they sound, my heart is at Carolina. I originally did not know if this was where I wanted to be after some things happened, but taking a step back and really thinking about it, Carolina is the only place I really want to be. It has become home to me. When I go back and visit my family and friends in North Augusta, it doesn't feel like home...it just feels like a place I once knew. I am on my own now, making my own decisions, figuring out my own life. I love it here. Everything about it is a craving to one's heart. The college atmosphere is amazing, the people are friendly, minus all the car alarms; waking up to students chanting on gamedays is the greatest, and the friendships are ones you cherish forever!

Homecoming Step Show!

On Friday Bernice, Sally, Chris Brown and I all went to the Homecoming Step Show.  It was so much fun!  By the time we got there, it was about 7:50pm and It was packed.  A lot of people were there, but we still got really good seats.  Although the sorority steppers were good, I liked watching the Fraternity steppers more because they were more entertaining.  My favorite group was Alpha Phi Alpha because their routine was just amazing.  They are really talented so I was not surprised when they won the whole competition.  After the step show, Sarah, Pat and Lindsay joined us for dinner at Wild Wings cafe.  We all had a really fun night!

Football with the 9th Floor Family

As I am sure you have gathered from keeping up with our blog, the residents of the 9th floor of Columbia Hall are nothing short of a family. We don’t just walk to class together, we do pretty much everything together in some capacity or another. Football is no exception. We all gather on the 9th floor before every home game to head for Williams Brice. This past week left Cola Hall and drove toward the stadium. Before the game, we stopped by Lindsay’s brother’s apartment, where he parents made us dinner before the game. We walked to the stadium from there, where we cheered on our gamecocks against Vanderbilt. My favorite part of the night however had to be our adventures after the game. Emily, Pat, Kristyn, Taylor, Brooke, Sally and I loaded into my car to head back to campus. However on the way we decided to stop for some food. Waffle House seemed like a logical option, so we went there. The seven of us crowded around a table, meant for only four to enjoy a our waffles and hash-browns. After we had all finished our gourmet meal, it was back to the car. Since we had stumbled upon the Waffle House by accident, getting back to Columbia Hall was an interesting experience. We went on a 45 minute ‘adventure’ (which some may call being lost) around the outskirts of the city, before making it back to the dorm. It was a fun ride though. A great way to end the day of festivities with my 9th floor family.

Cold Shower

For August and September I have had the pleasure of being able to have a hot, (or even room temperature) shower every day, until October came. Once October reared its masked head I have had the misfortune of cold shower. For some unknown reason, the past few weeks I have been shocked to discover that when I step into the shower I am greeted with cold water bearing down on me. I shiver, but knowing I have class in 40 mins, regretfully continue to shower in the cold. I have no idea why my shower is so cold, no one on the opposite side of the hall experiences this.

But on a happier note, me, Sally and Bernice went to a play tonight called "The Book of Liz." It was funny, but weird. It was in the LAB Theater near Blatt, so it was easy to find. Now I'm going to do some work and stop blogging.

I like to edit.

When I first started copy editing, I slightly dreaded going to the newsroom every Tuesday and Thursday because I still hadn't cracked the "newbie" shell that preceded me. I hadn't ever worked with their editing programs and never had to write decent headlines within 10 minutes before so needless to say, I felt pretty overwhelmed. Over the past few weeks though, I've really started to look forward to going and have improved my writing skills. My copy desk chief, Lindsay, has been an awesome teacher for me and I consider her one of my good friends now. I've also made some other friends, Samantha and Murray, who remind me a lot of my friends from high school. Sam and I recently took a spontaneous road trip to Charleston to see Andrew Bird live at the Music Farm, which was absolutely fantastic! It's nice to finally meet people who know the difference between "there" and "their."

Sweet Surprise

I was checking my email the other day and saw that I had a message from one of my cousins. She told me that I should check my university mail box because there might be something waiting for me. So, the next morning, after class, I went down to the mail room with a few of my friends from the floor to see if I had received anything. Sure enough there was a slip in my mailbox that said I had received a package four days ago from my relatives in Maryland. Once I handed in my slip to one of the men at the desk, he went into the back and came out with a large box. I had some ideas of what would be in it, but I would never truly know until I opened it. My friends and I walked back to Columbia Hall and headed into my dorm. From there I took a pair of scissors to the tape and broke the seal of the package to find something I was not expecting. My original thought was cookies and a note. I was almost positive that was it. Well, when I opened it up there was in fact a note, but instead of cookies, the was a plastic halloween pumpkin filled to the brim with assorted candies. Needless to say, I, along with the rest of the people in my room, were ecstatic. What's better for a college student than artificial sweeteners? No sooner than when I opened it, we dove into the treats. As the candy was bombarded, I opened the letter that was inside and read a very sweet, no pun intended, letter from my relatives. They just wanted to make sure all was going well and to know that they were thinking of me. It was really nice of them to let me know that they were supporting me. It definitely brightened my day and the days of my friends.

A strange return home.

As fall break approached, me, Sarah, Emily and Briggs were trying to plan a nice vacation to Sarasota, Florida. But as it turned out, Briggs, whose car we planned on taking, was forced to go home to North Augusta. So our plan fell through. The monday before fall break I called my older brother and he surprisingly, happily agreed to drive the five hundred miles to pick me up.

He came on Wednesday and I drove the entire way back to my favorite city, Pittsburgh, I am more than happy to call home. This is significant because it was the first time I ventured on the high way. As lame as that sounds, it's true. I mean I am a phenomenal driver, even though millions claim that females can't drive, I am definitely an exception to that statement. The only thing is that I'm a speeder. I went well over the speed limit and made the eight hour drive in six. And my brother slept the whole time, so he couldn't reprimand me, which was okay by me.

Being home after such a long absence was strange. And I mean STRANGE. Everything seemed to quaint. So homey. I felt like a visitor in my own bedroom. My dog, Reuben, was angry at me and ignored me for the first 24 hours, but eventually caved. My mom and dad took turns cooking me the most delicious home-made meals and I forced my brothers to hang out with me. It was not the same. I didn't like the extra attention from my parents or the jealousy my brothers felt towards me for living so far away and having the time of my life. Going home was awesome, but something was different, something I just can't figure out.

Journalism Test #2

Our second Journalism test was today, unfortunately. Sometimes I wish we didn't have tests.. just like every other kid in America. Pi Kappa Ninth Floor had a huge cram session all this week, and especially last night. We, and by we I mean Gabby, has a huge dry erase board that we study with. We fill it with all the information that we need to

know for our Journalism tests. Then we all sit in the study room and quiz each other with flash cards, books, noteb

ooks, study guides laying all over the room. Last night Colin came over and spent the night on Pi Kappa Ninth Floor (with Chris Brown) so that he could partake in our study session. This was the first time Colin has come to visit us here in Cola Hall.

About half way through our study session, Genelle and I got really hyper. We decided to take a stretch break. After our stretch break, some how we ended up playing on the furniture while studying. Which usually happens when Genelle and I are studying together in the Study Lounge. The furniture just screams "STAND ON ME..PLEAASEEEE!!!" so what can we do? We have to do as the furniture asks, it would be rude not to. So we play and balance on the chairs while we cram in information about Ben (the hustler) Franklin.

My name is Kristyn...and I'm a (Diet) Coke addict

College has made me realize how dependent I really am on caffeine. It's pretty terrible, actually. Diet Coke is my beverage of choice, but I'm a big fan of coffee, too. Considering the fact that we have our second journalism test on Thursday morning, my caffeine intake is going to increase tonight and tomorrow night!

I really am enjoying my college experience so far and definitely keeping busy. I started doing page design for The Daily Gamecock. I've actually designed a page 3 times. I do the Monday sports page. Check it out. I also joined Off-Off Broadway, an on-campus club dedicated to performing musical theatre songs. We are currently in rehearsals for a revue show that will run the first weekend in November. I have two big solos and am also a part of several group numbers. I have been doing community theatre since the fourth grade, so this group was a good fit for me. I love being on stage and I love singing, which means going to rehearsals is not really a chore for me. If your ear catches someone belting out showtunes on the hall, it's probably coming from my room.

Fall Break - Home Sweet Home

When I first started school, I wasn't supposed to come home until Thanksgiving.  To me, that was hardly a big deal.  But then more I talked to my family over the last month leading up to fall break the more I dropped the "I never want to come home attitude" and hitch a ride back to Ohio for the weekend.  I needed it though.  Coming home hasn't exactly been incredibly thrilling, but more or less incredibly relaxing. It was a little awkward at first, I must admit.  I came home on Wednesday night and my sister had no idea, so when I walked in the door she was overwhelmingly confused and happy at the same time.  Then my parents gave me hugs and welcomed me home, but I couldn't help but feel like a guest in my own house! I hated that feeling. The next morning my parents were waking me up as I was sleeping to say goodbye and when they would be home, leaving me more money than they've ever left me before to go shopping and whatnot. It was all so strange me to.  I'm glad to say things did get better over time.  Aside from being home, I am so sad I am not at school right now.  I miss everything about school! Though I've heard campus is a ghost town and nothing is open, I would still would not have minded being in Columbia.  And I'm missing the football game, which is killing me! Sad day. 

It's Fall!

As I was walking back to Columbia Hall this afternoon I could not help but notice that it is actually becoming fall. It sounds like a simple enough concept to understand, but it did not really hit me until today. The air is getting cooler, the days are getting shorter, and if you look closely enough you can even see the leaves getting brighter. Fall is my favorite time of year, so I have been eagerly awaiting this turning point in the year. It has snuck up on my though. I can not believe that tomorrow I will make the trip back home to Atlanta for fall break, which marks the half way point in the semester. It feels like it was just last week that I moved into Columbia Hall and started my classes. The time really has flown. I was so excited to have Thursday and Friday off from classes so I could go home and have a break from thinking about school, but now I am realizing how good it is going to be to have the break to catch up on my school work. I am very excited for my long weekend trip though. Along with my studying I will spend plenty of time with my family and friends in the autumn weather.

Chris Brown

Visual Communications

Chick-fil-a

On the first day I went to Russel House, I got chick-fil-a. I was so excited as I happily took my tray over to a table to enjoy my chicken goodness. As I ate, I never could have imaged the burden chick-fil-a would eventually be for me. I thought "Wow, I love chick-fil-a and I could eat this every day!" Little did I know how true this statement would eventually be.

Starting at 10:30am every day chick-fil-a opens, and every night around 10 they close (except Sundays). Chick-fil-a is open when pretty much everything else is closed, my blessing and my curse. So many times I have been craving, horseshoe deli, or soup man, or pizza hut, BUT NO! They are closed and the only thing open is chick-fil-a, and its beaming light illuminates off my hopeless eyes. I have eaten enough chick-fil-a to satisfy a small tribe in a third world country for 6 months. It is ridiculous! They take advantage of the fact that they stay open all the time when all the other places close.

Sure, I can appreciate good chicken for a tasty price like most people can, but I am tired of being forced to eat chicken because its the only thing open. I soon fear I will turn into one, giant, chicken nugget and will be eaten by Pi Kappa Ninth Floor.

News Station

On October first, our University 101 class went to the WLTX news station in Columbia.  I was so excited for everything I was about to see.  Since I am going into the Mass Communication/ Journalism field, I wanted to get an inside view on different career possibilities.  I really enjoyed watching the meteorologist go live and give the weather right there in front of us.  It made me consider broadcast journalism for a while because I think being in front of camera is fun.  Going on this tour made me realize that there are a lot of different areas to go into the communications field.  Although I had so much fun at the news station, I still think that I would like to work for a magazine after graduating college.  

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Every Sunday is NFL football day. There are lots of games, starting at 1pm and the last one starting at 8:30pm. Being from Baltimore, it is clear that my favorite team is the Baltimore Ravens. I have been a die-hard fan ever since I was little. When I lived at home, my family and I, along with a big group of our family friends, had season tickets together. I would get to go to almost every home game. Our big group would get to our lot extra early and tailgate. It is always so fun to get together and talk with everyone while enjoying delicious food. Then, we all head in to the game, where we never sit or stop cheering the whole time. This is what I miss most from home.

With not being able to attend any of the home games or see them on local TV, my friends from Maryland and I have had to find some way to stay on top of our true home team. In the Vista, is the Carolina Ale House. In their upstairs room, they have several TVs and the NFL Sunday ticket, which allows them to get every NFL game being played. Every Sunday, my friends and I gather at the Carolina Ale House to watch the Ravens game, along with the others being played. We order food and talk while cheering on our purple and black team. It always makes me feel like I'm at home again, at the tailgate and one of the games. Going to the "Ale House" has also made me realize how many people from Maryland really do attend USC. Almost every Sunday, the upstairs of Carolina Ale House is about 50% Ravens fans. This is so great to see because it is a great way to meet other people from Maryland, and it creates a lot of energy and enthusiasm while watching the game. We also tend to make a lot of noise and have to be told to tone it down, but it is so worth it because of the game day-like atmosphere. This past Sunday, during parents weekend, I was able to include my dad in this tradition. My dad and I and all my friends and some of their parents took over the Ale House this Sunday, and it was twice as fun. I love this tradition and hope it will continue throughout the entire NFL season. So if its a Sunday afternoon and you're trying to find me, just look up what time the Baltimore Ravens is and you'll know that I'm at the Carolina Ale House cheering on the team of purple and black.

Krispy Kreme

Towards the end of her blog, Briggs gave mention to a Krispy Kreme adventure that took place during the early hours of Monday morning. This was not fiction, but truth that could not have been more true. When a bunch of us finished watching the movie, "Donnie Darko", at a little after midnight, Emily and Chris both said that they had to move their cars from the Columbia parking lot to the parking garage, or else they would get a ticket. They wanted some people to go with them because no one wants to have to take that walk back at midnight. Sally quickly volunteered to tag along, and I figured, because I had left my Nalgene, Big Blue, in Emily's car, that I would go along too. The four of us went out to the parking lot and I went with Emily and Sally went with Chris. After we drove over to the garage, the four of us met up outside and began our walk back to the dorm. For the majority of the walk, we kept talking about how we really could go for some Krispy Kreme doughnuts. The only thing was, that the Krispy Kreme in Columbia closes at midnight on Sundays. So we were out of luck. Or were we? The idea hit the group as we were just about to walk in front of the business building(which is roughly two hundred yards from our dorm). "Let's go to the Krispy Kreme in Spartanburg!" Emily had told us before about how there is a twenty-four hour Krispy Kreme in her town and that it was the best one there is. Sally was all for the idea, which only got Emily more excited. Chris and I were a little more apprehensive. I had to get up in eight hours and Chris had to get up not long after. Sally told how she had to get up even earlier. It took a little time, but I eventually bought in and figured if nothing else, it would make for a good story. Chris caved as well and the four of us made our way back to the garage at just about one o'clock. We got in the car and drove a smooth hour or so to to the great city of Spartanburg. It was a little tough to see everything in the dark, but it was calm and very quaint. And even though it was dark out, there was no hiding the giant illuminated Krispy Kreme sign. We went inside the store, that surprisingly had a customer, and ordered our doughnuts. We sat in the store for about twenty minutes, looked around a little bit, talked to one of the workers, took some hats for the road, and went back into the car. We left Spartanburg and got back to Columbia Hall at about four thirty in the morning. We may not have gotten a lot of sleep that night, but we did get a little bit closer.

Will This Ever End?

From recent conversations, I have been told that around this time of the year college life consists of Saturday football games, numerous papers, occasional exams here and there, late nights out with friends, all night study sessions, but noone seemed to mention sickness. I have been doing nothing but feeling more than awful for five days now. Pi Kappa 9th Floor seems to have really been hit hard by this. Everytime I have turned around the past two weeks, someone is either just getting back from being sick or has just been sent home! It's crazy! The floor has not felt the same in many many days. I think everyone is finally getting back today for the start of a long week. Last night, a group of us allowed Emily to pick the movie choice, and it was by far a weird choice. Donnie Draco was not my kind of movie so I ventured back to my room where I found my comfortable bed awaiting me at only 11:45 p.m. But like usual, I walked right passed it, only to plop down on this "comfortable" chair, and chat for hours on Skype. During my Skyping I get a phonecall from Emily saying that her, Chris Brown, Pat, and Sally had voluntarily jumped in Emily's car at 1 a.m to rush to Spartanburg to retrieve the Krispy Kreme cravings. I must say, I was still awake when they finally made it back. Oh how I love my hall!!

Weekend Blues

College is great. I have been enjoying every moment of it. Sarah, my roommate, and I get along perfectly. Lets just say that she is fashionably... inadequate? Yeah that works. So she allows me to dress her up like my own personal life-size doll, which gives me a sense of importance and acceptance because without me she would lost, but to be honest I would be lost without her and the other people on my floor.

During the football game on Thursday I got sick. I called Chris Brown and he, Bernice, Emily and Genelle immediately found me and took me back to the dorm only to sit and watch the remainder of the football game on television with me. The following days were quite similar. I remained sick and Pi Kappa 9th floor took care of me: Jake made me tea and Ramen noodles while Chris Brown fed me medication. I'm grateful to be part of such a caring, close knit community.

Swine Flu!

Swine flu has hit Pi Kappa Ninth Floor! Lindsay and Eric both went home early this week after being diagnosed with the “infamous” swine flu. This motivated me to finally do all my laundry and clean my room.

We have gotten to the point where we are using ridiculous amounts of sanitizer at all times, and spray everything with anti-bacterial before using it. There are signs all over the hall posted on people’s doors warning people who are exhibiting any symptoms to stay away. Jamison’s room even has sanitizer beside his cookie jar, and a note telling people they have to sanitize their hands before they can have one.

Chris Brown had a fever during Journalism, so I made him go to the Health Center. He was given a mask; similar to the one Michael Jackson was seen wearing whenever he was out in public prior to his death. Luckily the people at the health center said he didn’t have swine flue. After he was released and diagnosed with only a cold we allowed him to socialize with all the rest of us on the hall.

Bernice Woodard

Public Relations

Homesick

As exciting as college been the past few weeks with meeting different people, experiencing new things, and getting used to classes, there are still a lot of times when I miss my family. Before I went off to school, I didn't think I would ever feel homesick and I couldn't wait to start life on my own, away from my parents. But sometimes it feels like roles have been reversed, with my parents and friends moving along, and me still wishing it could be the same. Don't get me wrong- I love everything about USC, especially my new friends and writing for the paper- but sometimes I still wish I could go home at the end of the night and talk to my sister without it being through a phone. I know everything going on takes some adjustment and things will work themselves out, but I just hope it happens soon.

Taylor Cheney

Print Journalism

Gamecock football

I attended my first Gamecock home football game on Saturday night. I like watching sports a lot, but I've never been a die-hard fan. I didn't pick the University of South Carolina based on their football team, but it seems that I lucked out in that category. I was proud to sit in the student section and cheer for the mighty garnet and black.

This week's game on Thursday should be extra exciting for me because I am singing the national anthem and the alma mater on the field as a member of the University Chorus. This will probably be the largest audience I will ever perform in front of and I might be on television. Mom and Dad are planning on tuning in!

College

My week in a nut shell- Stressful. Tests, meetings, homework, work, newspaper, sorority stuff... Little tasks felt never ending and priorities seemed higher than ever. I've stayed up late almost every night this week and I still felt like I was not making a dent in my work load. I nap during the day to make up for lack of sleep but that left me more tired. I was waiting to have a solid schedule so I could figure out how to manage my time wisely, but if this is what my weeks are going to look like then I need to make a new system and fast. Not that any of it is particularly overwhelming, but everything just kind of happened so fast when I was still on cloud nine thinking college was going to be a breeze. However, on a more positive note, I did get involved with the newspaper this week, I found a new job to keep my mother happy, and I'm two tests into college and have no reason to be intimated by future tests anymore. I'll chalk this week up to a test run, and prepare myself to dominate the challenging weeks ahead.

Sarah Nelson

Print Journalism

Carolina Football

Saturday was a very exciting day. It was the Carolina/Georgia game and everyone was pumped! Since we do live in the Journalism Living and Learning Community, Lauren allowed us to come to her home and watch the game. We had so much fun there! We devoured a couple of boxes of pizza, cookies, chips, soda, and other delicious foods that are synonymous with football season. Me being a pizza-holic, I was in absolute heaven! Even though we didn't win this game, it was still a pretty good experience. I got to bond with some of my floor mates, teacher, and one of the grad students. Living in this community not only provides for opportunities to advance in my major, but we have a heck of a lot of fun too. It's absolutely amazing!

Genelle Williams
Advertising

Exam #1

There comes a time early in every college student’s career when they have to face their first big exam. For me that time will come tomorrow morning at about 9:30 in my Journalism 201 Survey of Mass Communications class. Luckily I have not been alone as I reviewed my class notes and reread my textbook; I have had the other members of the Learning Community at my side. Since we are all in the same class, we have all been preparing for the big exam together. Last week we started reviewing the material we learned in class. I must say, I was a little apprehensive about studying as a group, but now that we have started helping each other out, I don’t know what I would have done if I had not had my 9th floor neighbors. Last night we had a big study secession to review everything, then this evening we all walked over to the Supplemental Instruction (SI) class together to get some extra help. Now we are quizzing each other and doing some last minute refreshing. Come tomorrow morning, I know I am going to be a little more prepared for our exam than I would have otherwise been, had I not lived on the 9th floor.

Chris Brown
Visual Communications

Post-it-Notes

As I sit in my dorm staring blankly at brightly colored post-it-notes that cover the wall beside me with assignments and deadlines from last week, I wonder, am I prepared for college? Syllabuses clutter my desk and my iPod hangs by the earphones out of the drawer. I reflect that in high school I had a planner with a calendar, stickers and notes section given to every student out of tuition money. By the end of the year this planner would be stuffed into depths of my book bag with every other page filled out up until mid March. I have never been organized but throughout high school if I forgot a homework deadline or a test the next day, I always had a friend to remind me. Now in college I have most of my classes without people I already know. While I am learning to be organized in my own way, it is good to have so many people in the learning community on my hall to go to classes with. Every Tuesday and Thursday we trek out onto campus before 8am to go to our classes we all have together. It is comforting to know that I will not forget an assignment or sleep through class with so many people on my hall all going to the same place. So while my post-it-notes stare back at me in disarray, I am reassured that I will be prepared in my classes with the 9^th floor to support me.

Emily Dassel
Broadcast Journalism

Rush

Tonight is preference night and I’m really anxious to have it be over with! I’ve been rushing for a week now. I want to know where I have been placed. It’s annoying having to go through this whole long process. I mean, I know what I signed up for but I assumed I would hate it and drop out before this point. However, I did buy a dress specifically for this day so I felt obligated to make it to this point. Surprisingly enough I’ve loved rushing and hopefully I’ll get into the sorority I want! Fingers crossed for a good pref night.

Dance party when I get back to the dorm. I can’t wait. Last night we attempted poker, which was sort of fun except I didn’t know how to play. Oh well! I can’t help but journal about the crazy 9th floor. Seriously, so awesome. We even made a Facebook group because we’re that obsessed with just being goofy and crazy around each other. Cookies, music, late night hallway gatherings happen seriously ever night. It’s great.

Sarah Nelson

Print Journalism

Pre-game plan

I joined The Daily Gamecock and I have my first assignment of covering the men’s soccer game in a week. I’m happy because at least as of now I want to be a sports writer. In high school I was a sports writer, then the sports editor, then editor-in-chief of the paper. We produced 20 pages monthly and won the award for the best newspaper in New Jersey from the Garden State Scholastic Press Association. My life revolved around the newspaper. Working for The Daily Gamecock is like nothing I’ve imagined, and so far I like it. The fact that it’s a daily paper completely changes the experience.

I have to watch a soccer game, interview players and coaches, then I have about an hour and a half to write my story. And although I know about the game of soccer because I played in high school, I know nothing about this team. In high school I knew every little thing that went on in school. Whether it was dealing with students, faculty, administrators, parents, it didn’t matter. And now I’m writing about a team that last night I found out wasn’t even in the SEC. I feel almost blind to things I should already know. Hopefully I’ll just be able to pick it up as I go.

Jake Fitzgerald
Print Journalism

Getting involved!

Today was FABULOUS!

My brother called me to tell me that his roommate (who is assistant news editor for The Daily Gamecock) wanted me to come to a meeting for the paper. I dragged Taylor with me and we are so glad we went because we got our first story assignments! I felt very welcomed and cannot wait to be published.

I've been looking forward to being a part of this newspaper staff since the day I received my USC acceptance letter; so this is like a dream come true.

Kristyn Winch
Print Journalism

Reality

Now that I'm here in college, everything seems a little more real to me. Throughout high school I loved reading about different schools and what they had to offer and going around the country visiting different campuses. I knew that what I was looking into was school and that I would have to work hard once I got there, but I couldn't help but get excited over all of the bells and whistles. It was a long process finding a school, but I eventually settled on USC. From a pretty young age I knew I wanted to go to a big school in the south with a lot of people who were different from me, Division 1 athletics, a quality communications program, and of course, warm weather. It was never that I didn't like where I lived, it was just that I wanted something new. I wanted to meet a new kind of people.

I have everything I wanted in a school, but things aren't as easy as I thought. I miss having access to New York City and all of the options that it holds. Although I didn't think I would, I even think that I'm going to miss watching the snow come down for four months. Nevertheless, I am seeing a new part of the country and gaining new experiences. Who knows what the future holds, I'll just have to follow my instincts.

Patrick Ryan
Broadcast Journalism