I am currently enrolled in Approaches to English Literature. The class is devoted to learning about various ways we can study literature, and we're reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Going into the class I knew four things about Frankenstein:

1. I was supposed to read Frankenstein going into my senior year of high school.
2. I did not read Frankenstein then.
3. There is a burning cabin involved.
4. I vaguely recalled the scene from Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein when Frankenstein throws a little girl in a lake, I might be remembering that wrong too.

Last week my Art Criticism professor pointed out in front of the class that I was definitely the left-brainer of our group compared to a group of communications, film, and photography majors. I have always had an interest in art but it was very diffcult for me to shape how I felt about it into words.

I am a very straight-forward, black and white, yes or no kind of person. I knew taking this Art Criticism class would take the knowledge of art I did have to the next level by now having to apply what I knew. Professor Wadsworth [the one who was my professor in Italy as I previously mentioned] picks on me in a fun way since I am way too analytical, but I see it as a challenge to help activate my right brain.

This past Sunday, a small group of my fraternity brothers traveled to Natick, MA to attend the book launch for a charity organization we will be having a fundraiser for called This Star Won't Go Out. They aim to financially assist families who have children and teenagers with cancer. Treatment costs are ridiculously high and bills and needs don't stop because of it. In reality, costs just keep piling up.

That being said, I, as philanthropy chair of my chapter, decided I wanted to help them out with the wonderful work they do by holding a fundraiser.

I overheard a student on campus say that he has changed his major three times and his minor twice, and it is only his second semester as a freshman! That is a lot of majors to go through within your first year of college, but as you can see, it does happen.

Truth is, not very many people know exactly what they want to do when they arrive on campus as freshmen. It's safe to say that most students come to universities and colleges without a major in mind and remain indecisive until they get something that they want to do. At the same time, some also come in knowing what they want to do and where they want to go with their studies, but later on change their major into something they feel would be better for them.

Last week, the Volunteer Center held a fundraiser to raise money for a special little girl named Maddie.

Maddie is a ten year old young lady who lives in our community. She was recently diagnosed with a very rare form of bone cancer called Ewing Sarcoma. Like many ten year olds, Maddie has a number of hobbies, her favorite of all being cheerleading. 

This is the story of how Fitchburg State's students came together for a volunteer fundraiser to help someone in need.

Currently we are experiencing a “polar vortex.”

Calm down, I know it sounds like a more menacing version of “The Polar Express” but it’s not. It’s not even a new flavor at Cold Stones Ice Cream Store (Fun Fact: Every time I ask my friends if they want to go to Cold Stones, I accidently call it Cold Water Creek, which, I believe is a middle aged women’s clothing store). 

But the polar vortex isn't all that. It’s just a fancy way to say that everything is going to be cold for what feels like forever. 

I am of the firm belief that everyone has something to say. Absolutely everyone!

And everyone has a legitimate perspective and view point. This is no truer than on a college campus. Only here do you have the mix of young people coming into their own, guided by professionals at the top of their fields. These opposites interact and co-mingle and learn from each other on a daily basis. Each party recognizes the legitimacy of each other's ideas.

So, I want to start off by saying that this first sentence alone has taken me about half an hour to write. I am not quite sure where my motivation went over break (probably somewhere warm!), but it seriously needs to come back. One of my friends described my current mood as a thing called senioritis.

Senioritis: noun. A crippling disease that strikes high school seniors. Symptoms include: laziness, an over-excessive wearing of track pants, old athletic shirts, sweatpants, athletic shorts, and sweatshirts. Also features a lack of studying, repeated absences, and a generally dismissive attitude. The only known cure is a phenomenon known as Graduation.

This semester is really bringing me back to my childhood. The current rotation that I am in is Pediatrics and the nursing care that applies to them. I can definitely say this is a topic that brings me slight anxiety after being a babysitter for x amount of years and I know the horrors that come with a sick child. I am deeply interested to figure out how children work differently than the adult population, but getting over the screaming/crying children was something I did not feel like dealing with at 7am Tuesdays and Thursdays.

We are all aware of the infamous saying of “seeing the light at the end of the tunnel." After three and a half years of college I am finally seeing some sort of finish line in a year and a half (yes, your math is correct that adds up to five years, as previously discussed in another post).

Right before I moved back for the spring semester a very important email found its way into my inbox; “Housing Selection 2014-2015”. It was exhilarating to see my year of graduation headlining in an email and I finally felt like this journey will actually come to an end one day. Housing selection was moved up to a much earlier date this year so the process could get moving quicker and any kinks in the process could be taken care of sooner rather than later.