hola!
hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!
My Christmas was very nice! It was good to be home and have Thursday/Friday off from work. However, it is back to the office tomorrow am! Oh well! I start going on production for my job on Jan. 20th which means I will have a set number of "points" I'll have to earn each day. I am obviously a bit nervous but the stress of school has trained me well so I think I'll be able to perform...i hope, hah.
Next week I will be performing outreach work at one of the area Army bases so I am pretty excited about that opportunity. It should be a great experience and I will defiantly let you guys know how it goes.
My New Years Eve plans are to attend a party at the Westin Hotel with my older sister. It is a young professionals gathering so it should be fun. In my few short years on earth one thing I've certainly realized is that NYE is never as thrilling as one hopes it will be. It is sort of the prom of holidays...you buy the dress, you drink beforehand(depending on your age, kids!), and you hope it all ends with something thrilling yet it rarely does. oh well! at least my dress is fabulous.
My brother and sister are on winter break from school and it makes me sooo jealous!! Don't kid yourself- having vactions throughout the year is truly awesome. I wish I had appreciated it more back in the day.
Anyhoo, I am off to waste this lazy Sunday away. xoxo
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
checking in!
So I know most of you college and high school aged students are done for the semester or at least almost done! Congrats! Let us be honest...vacations are one of the best parts of going to school. I certainly miss them!
Life is going well. This weekend I picked out our Christmas tree and holymoly...it is a bit large and in charge. I probably should have toned it down a notch. haha, oh well. The beautiful scent wafting through the house of pine needles and warm spirits is simply delightful. The holiday season is certainly one of my favorite times of the year. How can you not love it?! No Grinch will steal my holiday cheer.
So I've been thinking about these trying economic times that are defiantly going to play a factor in high school juniors/seniors who are getting serious about pursuing higher education. The one word i would say about Suffolk in terms of affordability is that Suffolk has a spirit of hard work that truly shines through. Almost all of my friends were either paying for school themselves, substantially helping to pay for it, and holding jobs besides being involved in academics and student activities. When you look at the roots of Suffolk University and you trace them back to that faithful day oh say...101 years ago or so...and you think of those six students huddling in a room in Roxbury eager to pursue an education in the law you see the first seed planted of a University that will develop into an institution that supports and appreciates that reality of the world. I've always found during my time at Suffolk that there was an underlying willingness amongst faculty and administrators to understand their students; to sympathize with their roots, their circumstances. So many professors have helped me out throughout my time at Suffolk...ranging from extending a deadline that would have been impossible to meet, to loaning me a textbook for the semester because I couldn't afford to purchase it on my own.
I will not argue that it is expensive for any student looking to pursue his/her education at a private university. However, I would encourage prospective students to consider how invested their school will be in them. I believe the people at Suffolk were invested in my success and for that, I am truly forever thankful. No matter where you go, in college, in career, in love, in life...make sure it is somewhere that will foster the development of YOU.
staystrong.
cord
Life is going well. This weekend I picked out our Christmas tree and holymoly...it is a bit large and in charge. I probably should have toned it down a notch. haha, oh well. The beautiful scent wafting through the house of pine needles and warm spirits is simply delightful. The holiday season is certainly one of my favorite times of the year. How can you not love it?! No Grinch will steal my holiday cheer.
So I've been thinking about these trying economic times that are defiantly going to play a factor in high school juniors/seniors who are getting serious about pursuing higher education. The one word i would say about Suffolk in terms of affordability is that Suffolk has a spirit of hard work that truly shines through. Almost all of my friends were either paying for school themselves, substantially helping to pay for it, and holding jobs besides being involved in academics and student activities. When you look at the roots of Suffolk University and you trace them back to that faithful day oh say...101 years ago or so...and you think of those six students huddling in a room in Roxbury eager to pursue an education in the law you see the first seed planted of a University that will develop into an institution that supports and appreciates that reality of the world. I've always found during my time at Suffolk that there was an underlying willingness amongst faculty and administrators to understand their students; to sympathize with their roots, their circumstances. So many professors have helped me out throughout my time at Suffolk...ranging from extending a deadline that would have been impossible to meet, to loaning me a textbook for the semester because I couldn't afford to purchase it on my own.
I will not argue that it is expensive for any student looking to pursue his/her education at a private university. However, I would encourage prospective students to consider how invested their school will be in them. I believe the people at Suffolk were invested in my success and for that, I am truly forever thankful. No matter where you go, in college, in career, in love, in life...make sure it is somewhere that will foster the development of YOU.
staystrong.
cord
Sunday, November 23, 2008
hi friends
hello, hello!
so thanksgiving is right around the corner and i pass along some very sympathetic feelings to all those students who are painfully aware that they only have a few short weeks until finals! I've been there and it's not a fun realization. however, enjoy your time with family, friends, and food before you have to move into the library to prep for finals.
so i am back in MA after a very long three weeks in Baltimore. in some ways it seemed like i never left so i was so shocked when i realized thanksgiving was right around the corner. i need to start thinking about holiday shopping! yikes.
my aunt and uncle are here visiting from England. I purchased them plus mum tickets for The Nutcracker for next Saturday. One of the best parts of having a job is being able to treat those around you!
I've been thinking about you potential college students out there and I have come to the conclusion that it will be beneficial to do a useful tip at the conclusion of my posts. So let us commence with the first "tip":
The Value of Internships
In my opinion, experience is the cornerstone of development. Without experience we can never truly develop pass our current knowledge, beliefs, values, skill set etc. That being said, I cannot emphasize how important it is for all college students to be involved in internships throughout the course of their college career. I know some people will advise you to wait until at least your sophomore year to begin thinking about internships but i could not disagree more. If I could recommend something to students it would be this: Spend your first semester adapting to your schedule; decide if you are a morning person/night person etc., get involved on campus, get contacted and so forth. Once you begin to plan your schedule for the Spring semester try and block out at least ten hours a week, between the hours of 9-5, that you could potentially have free. That could mean maybe your decide to do classes four days a week instead of five, or maybe your realize you love night classes and are able to free up time during the day...whatever it may be just think about setting aside those ten hours. At that point I would advise spending some time thinking about what is of interest to you; do you have any career plans? do you have a set major? are you totally unsure of what to do? Here are my tips for you depending on what category you fall in to:
1) I know my major, I know my career
Then google companies, non-profits, state/federal agencies that are involved with your career. Talk to your professors- something I loved about Suffolk was that a lot of our professors are heavily involved in the fields they teach on. Some of them are working while they are teaching and their is no harm asking if they may have an opening in their work place. Make a list of ten places that are of interest to you. I'd always recommend that you pick places close to campus/where you reside so you don't feel like interning is adding too much of a burden to your life. This is an area where Suffolk's location is so awesome- we are within walking distance to so many centers of business, government, law and so forth. Once you have the list you must begin calling. I'd recommend doing this in the weeks leading up to finals or immediately after finals are over. Some companies may have highly competitive internships that require you to apply far in advance but in my experience, the Spring semester is usually a good opportunity to get in to a company that may not have that many students applying in late Nov./Dec.
2) I have no idea what I want to study let alone pursue as a career!
DO NOT FEAR! Even if you are unaware of your career aspirations you SHOULD NOT let your resume falter. You can absolutely intern without knowing exactly what you want to study/do. In fact, the best part of interning is that it allows you to see exactly what a career looks like in a particular field. I've known soooooooo many students who have interned in government and/or law and realized from doing this that they don't want ANYTHING to do with pursuing these areas professionally or academically.
These are my recommendations for students unsure of what to pursue:
1) Look for something elite that pays well.
You might think that sounds crazy but let me explain why it is important especially for those who are unsure of career/academic goals: If you have something on your resume that is incredibly credible it will always be significant regardless of what career path you may pursue. Let me give you an example- one summer I was accepted into an internship through the Boston Lawyers Group. The program placed students in competitive internships in Boston's best law firms, many of which where huge nation wide corporate law firms. I was lucky enough to be placed with Bingham McCutchen LLP and I will never forget the Human Resource liaison saying to us: "There are people who would kill to put Bingham McCutchen on their resume". So even though I am not currently pursuing a career in the legal field I was still able to effectively sell my experience at Bingham because it was simply put, an impressive accomplishment. Additionally, usually the elite internships pay very well...not always but usually...so even if you are there a month and realize you don't love it and it is not something you'd like to pursue you've still made money, and built your resume.
Here is another tip:
- look at the government sector. Government internships usually don't pay but the upside is that they are another credible resume builder and provide you with incredibly valuable experience that will make you more employable. Suffolk students, you may have noticed the incredibly large beautiful building on our campus...that is the MA State House which is constantly looking for interns. DO IT! Great experience and one of the most fun experiences I ever had at an internship.
So no matter what category you fall into I cannot stress having multiple internships throughout your college career. Keep in mind Boston in an incredibly competitive college town- when we graduate and especially for those of you who want to start your careers here in Boston, you will be competing with hundreds of thousands of brilliant Boston college graduates. Internships set you apart from the masses- they should a lot of maturity, a strong work ethic, and someone who is serious about accomplishing his/her goals. The reason I think you should start freshman year and certainly intern over the summer is because you don't want to be in the position that senior year rolls around- classes get harder, you are starting a job hunt, you need a more flexible schedule and then all of the sudden now you need to worry about your resume. Intern early on, when you have more free time so if you have a crazy semester you can afford to not have an internship. Don't take your summers off, intern...and if you are like me you do want some "me" time during the summer but most competitive summer internships are usually for ten weeks which gives you plenty of free time as well.
One last final, intern tip: Don't be a hog, and don't screw your friends. Listen, I've been screwed out of jobs/internships by "friends" before and it is horrible thing to do, and completely unnecessary. At the same time, I've had friends get me internships that I would NEVER have known about without them telling me. Be a person who helps those around them. I'm not saying give your internship to someone else but don't deliberately hurt another persons chances of getting something, or hide information. There is so much insanity, competition, back stabbing, and ridiculous behavior out there in the world and the sooner you start buying into this idea of the only way to succeed is to crush others then the sooner you become one more person without honor, integrity, without friendship. The bottom line is we all need help sometimes and you never know...the person you may help today could turn out to be in a position to help you in the future.
And that is that! Quite a long tip but hopefully a good one!
xoxo,
Cordelia
so thanksgiving is right around the corner and i pass along some very sympathetic feelings to all those students who are painfully aware that they only have a few short weeks until finals! I've been there and it's not a fun realization. however, enjoy your time with family, friends, and food before you have to move into the library to prep for finals.
so i am back in MA after a very long three weeks in Baltimore. in some ways it seemed like i never left so i was so shocked when i realized thanksgiving was right around the corner. i need to start thinking about holiday shopping! yikes.
my aunt and uncle are here visiting from England. I purchased them plus mum tickets for The Nutcracker for next Saturday. One of the best parts of having a job is being able to treat those around you!
I've been thinking about you potential college students out there and I have come to the conclusion that it will be beneficial to do a useful tip at the conclusion of my posts. So let us commence with the first "tip":
The Value of Internships
In my opinion, experience is the cornerstone of development. Without experience we can never truly develop pass our current knowledge, beliefs, values, skill set etc. That being said, I cannot emphasize how important it is for all college students to be involved in internships throughout the course of their college career. I know some people will advise you to wait until at least your sophomore year to begin thinking about internships but i could not disagree more. If I could recommend something to students it would be this: Spend your first semester adapting to your schedule; decide if you are a morning person/night person etc., get involved on campus, get contacted and so forth. Once you begin to plan your schedule for the Spring semester try and block out at least ten hours a week, between the hours of 9-5, that you could potentially have free. That could mean maybe your decide to do classes four days a week instead of five, or maybe your realize you love night classes and are able to free up time during the day...whatever it may be just think about setting aside those ten hours. At that point I would advise spending some time thinking about what is of interest to you; do you have any career plans? do you have a set major? are you totally unsure of what to do? Here are my tips for you depending on what category you fall in to:
1) I know my major, I know my career
Then google companies, non-profits, state/federal agencies that are involved with your career. Talk to your professors- something I loved about Suffolk was that a lot of our professors are heavily involved in the fields they teach on. Some of them are working while they are teaching and their is no harm asking if they may have an opening in their work place. Make a list of ten places that are of interest to you. I'd always recommend that you pick places close to campus/where you reside so you don't feel like interning is adding too much of a burden to your life. This is an area where Suffolk's location is so awesome- we are within walking distance to so many centers of business, government, law and so forth. Once you have the list you must begin calling. I'd recommend doing this in the weeks leading up to finals or immediately after finals are over. Some companies may have highly competitive internships that require you to apply far in advance but in my experience, the Spring semester is usually a good opportunity to get in to a company that may not have that many students applying in late Nov./Dec.
2) I have no idea what I want to study let alone pursue as a career!
DO NOT FEAR! Even if you are unaware of your career aspirations you SHOULD NOT let your resume falter. You can absolutely intern without knowing exactly what you want to study/do. In fact, the best part of interning is that it allows you to see exactly what a career looks like in a particular field. I've known soooooooo many students who have interned in government and/or law and realized from doing this that they don't want ANYTHING to do with pursuing these areas professionally or academically.
These are my recommendations for students unsure of what to pursue:
1) Look for something elite that pays well.
You might think that sounds crazy but let me explain why it is important especially for those who are unsure of career/academic goals: If you have something on your resume that is incredibly credible it will always be significant regardless of what career path you may pursue. Let me give you an example- one summer I was accepted into an internship through the Boston Lawyers Group. The program placed students in competitive internships in Boston's best law firms, many of which where huge nation wide corporate law firms. I was lucky enough to be placed with Bingham McCutchen LLP and I will never forget the Human Resource liaison saying to us: "There are people who would kill to put Bingham McCutchen on their resume". So even though I am not currently pursuing a career in the legal field I was still able to effectively sell my experience at Bingham because it was simply put, an impressive accomplishment. Additionally, usually the elite internships pay very well...not always but usually...so even if you are there a month and realize you don't love it and it is not something you'd like to pursue you've still made money, and built your resume.
Here is another tip:
- look at the government sector. Government internships usually don't pay but the upside is that they are another credible resume builder and provide you with incredibly valuable experience that will make you more employable. Suffolk students, you may have noticed the incredibly large beautiful building on our campus...that is the MA State House which is constantly looking for interns. DO IT! Great experience and one of the most fun experiences I ever had at an internship.
So no matter what category you fall into I cannot stress having multiple internships throughout your college career. Keep in mind Boston in an incredibly competitive college town- when we graduate and especially for those of you who want to start your careers here in Boston, you will be competing with hundreds of thousands of brilliant Boston college graduates. Internships set you apart from the masses- they should a lot of maturity, a strong work ethic, and someone who is serious about accomplishing his/her goals. The reason I think you should start freshman year and certainly intern over the summer is because you don't want to be in the position that senior year rolls around- classes get harder, you are starting a job hunt, you need a more flexible schedule and then all of the sudden now you need to worry about your resume. Intern early on, when you have more free time so if you have a crazy semester you can afford to not have an internship. Don't take your summers off, intern...and if you are like me you do want some "me" time during the summer but most competitive summer internships are usually for ten weeks which gives you plenty of free time as well.
One last final, intern tip: Don't be a hog, and don't screw your friends. Listen, I've been screwed out of jobs/internships by "friends" before and it is horrible thing to do, and completely unnecessary. At the same time, I've had friends get me internships that I would NEVER have known about without them telling me. Be a person who helps those around them. I'm not saying give your internship to someone else but don't deliberately hurt another persons chances of getting something, or hide information. There is so much insanity, competition, back stabbing, and ridiculous behavior out there in the world and the sooner you start buying into this idea of the only way to succeed is to crush others then the sooner you become one more person without honor, integrity, without friendship. The bottom line is we all need help sometimes and you never know...the person you may help today could turn out to be in a position to help you in the future.
And that is that! Quite a long tip but hopefully a good one!
xoxo,
Cordelia
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
holy moly
so i think I'm on the slowest computer in the history of all computers. this computer makes me crave for the days of dial up. it's driving me NUTS. Anyways, i guess if computer connection is your own complaint in life then things cannot be that bad.
so since I'm at the hotel with limited channel options I've been watching the news so much more. let me tell ya...it's bloody depressing. i read the paper as much as i can but wow...television news just makes you want to cry. crazy, crazy times.
Training is going well. Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Baltimore! I checked out the Fells Point area which was completely gorgeous and I cannot wait to go back this wknd and shop/take pictures with my sister. Oh yes, I don't know if I've mentioned it yet, but my oldest sister, Catherine, is coming to visit me down here in Balt. She is arriving Thursday evening and staying for a few days. We are going up to DC over the wknd and being complete tourists.
On Friday night I went out with some of the boys to the Power Plant area which is a club/bar area. That was a lot of fun...haha. Saturday was def a day to take it easy and then Sunday I had some bloody mary's, read The New Yorker (great Sedaris article on undecided voters!must link later), and pretended to watch the game with the boys. Then we went for dinner in Fells Point and I ended the night watching Entourage then Frontline, oh boy. haha, really it's the mixture of the life of a 50 and 85 year old. Oh well!
So with the Hudson family tragedy I've been thinking so much about my family, especially since it seems we are all so separated right now. Vincent is in Boston, Eve is in Boston, I'm working. But sometimes when you see something like what has happened to the Hudson family you are reminded of how breakable the most crucial relationships in our lives are; ranging from simply losing touch to the heartbreak of physically losing someone you love. For me, two important things have been recalled due to this recent event; 1) put more effort into contacting my family 2) and I hope this is being felt across our country...but start paying attention to the alarmingly high rise in murder rates occurring in Chicago. There has been around 423 or so murders since the beginning of the year- a higher murder rate than New York and LA. Don't believe me? Then check out any news organization to learn the stats. I'll try to link in something later when I'm not on the slowest computer ever. That's some shocking stuff and unfortunately sometimes it takes a public tragedy of this portion to bring attention to a larger problem. Let's hope our country, and especially the state of Illinois, an come up with a solution for this alarming increase in murder rates.
So on that somber note I'm going to take off! Again, give your family a call whether they are your biological family or those friends you consider blood, just call them and be grateful for the significant and irreplaceable people you have in your life! Hold them close.
much love to you all,
xoxo cord
so since I'm at the hotel with limited channel options I've been watching the news so much more. let me tell ya...it's bloody depressing. i read the paper as much as i can but wow...television news just makes you want to cry. crazy, crazy times.
Training is going well. Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Baltimore! I checked out the Fells Point area which was completely gorgeous and I cannot wait to go back this wknd and shop/take pictures with my sister. Oh yes, I don't know if I've mentioned it yet, but my oldest sister, Catherine, is coming to visit me down here in Balt. She is arriving Thursday evening and staying for a few days. We are going up to DC over the wknd and being complete tourists.
On Friday night I went out with some of the boys to the Power Plant area which is a club/bar area. That was a lot of fun...haha. Saturday was def a day to take it easy and then Sunday I had some bloody mary's, read The New Yorker (great Sedaris article on undecided voters!must link later), and pretended to watch the game with the boys. Then we went for dinner in Fells Point and I ended the night watching Entourage then Frontline, oh boy. haha, really it's the mixture of the life of a 50 and 85 year old. Oh well!
So with the Hudson family tragedy I've been thinking so much about my family, especially since it seems we are all so separated right now. Vincent is in Boston, Eve is in Boston, I'm working. But sometimes when you see something like what has happened to the Hudson family you are reminded of how breakable the most crucial relationships in our lives are; ranging from simply losing touch to the heartbreak of physically losing someone you love. For me, two important things have been recalled due to this recent event; 1) put more effort into contacting my family 2) and I hope this is being felt across our country...but start paying attention to the alarmingly high rise in murder rates occurring in Chicago. There has been around 423 or so murders since the beginning of the year- a higher murder rate than New York and LA. Don't believe me? Then check out any news organization to learn the stats. I'll try to link in something later when I'm not on the slowest computer ever. That's some shocking stuff and unfortunately sometimes it takes a public tragedy of this portion to bring attention to a larger problem. Let's hope our country, and especially the state of Illinois, an come up with a solution for this alarming increase in murder rates.
So on that somber note I'm going to take off! Again, give your family a call whether they are your biological family or those friends you consider blood, just call them and be grateful for the significant and irreplaceable people you have in your life! Hold them close.
much love to you all,
xoxo cord
Thursday, October 23, 2008
One more thing!
For anyone really into the election check on this preview story for one that will be published in The New York Times Sunday Magazine:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/magazine/26mccain-t.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin
It is super interesting, all about the McCain campaign and really campaign strategy in general.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/magazine/26mccain-t.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin
It is super interesting, all about the McCain campaign and really campaign strategy in general.
hi ya'all!
Hi!
Ok, so I promised I'd get you guys even while I'm down here in Baltimore!
So I flew out of Logan on Monday morning and the flight was really smooth. I was, as usual, wayyyyyyy too freakin' early for my flight (2hrs too early) which wasn't that fun for me. So far training has been challenging just because it is soooooo long! we are in class from 8am-12pm then 1pm to 445pm...that might not sound that bad but to listen and have to truly understand information for that extended of a period EVERY DAY is defiantly tough. It is like being in class for wayyyyyyyy too long, haha. However, our instructors are awesome and the people have been super friendly and charming. It is really neat to meet all these people from across the country especially at this time in U.S. History. Listening to their lives, their thoughts, feelings, their successes and their challenges during this undoubtedly tough time is truly teaching me a lot about our country and the people that populate it. I am not talking about profound talks but just picking up on people's basic feelings about their lives is so interesting. I love it. I am so excited about learning more, meeting more people etc.
The excitement of listening to various American/International perspectives from "regular" people is something that I feel most young adults experience for the first time when they enter college. For many of us, it is the first time that our thoughts, our core beliefs are challenged by the experiences of others. That challenge in mentality is both terrifying and exhilarating. To hear from our peers or our teachers that what we belief could be flawed, could be improved, could be totally inaccurate, or completely on the ball is a fundamental cornerstone of our development as human beings. If you have never had something you believe in challenged then I don't think you can really know what you believe in. But above all else, something that I learned in college was to really understand the opposite of your own belief- it is not enough to just believe the opposite is wrong, that it is immoral, stupid, idiotic. To do so is to trivialize not only those who disagree with you but to really do a disservice to yourself. I find often times that people are never willing to consider another side; they are so steadfast in believing ONLY their way of thinking can be "good", "right". But, this is where college is such an incredible experience because you are finally challenged; you are challenged by your professors, by your peers, by the books you read, the theology, ideology, philosophy of men and women smarter than you who want you to hear them. All you have to do is open your ears, open your mind, your heart and be willing to challenge yourself. This is a specific area where I believe being a student at Suffolk University has been incredibly significant to my personal development; I was challenged so many times by those I learned from. By professors in those 8-10people classes who recommended alternative ways to see the world. And I am not just talking about politics...not at all. I am talking about studying new things that I knew nothing about! Economics, Henry James, Edith Wharton, Psychology, Freud, Jung, education, public policy, Malcolm X, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B DuBois, MLK Jr, capitalism, evolution, solutions. Suffolk opened these doors and allowed for what I believe is the most important method to learning- discussion with your peers. When you are in a class of 24 students you are able to really grasp material and fight it, discuss it, pick it apart, embrace it.
It makes me sad when I see people who are never willing to explore views counter to their own because I think of what our country was founded on...on the belief that their is a better way to live, that what we believe in has value and should not be condemned, in the equality of man. We are a country that in many ways, is able to see the flaw and come up with a fresh solution. You have a fundamental disagreement with the rule of a Monarchy so you establish a democracy, you grow to believe that all man truly is created equal so you abolish the terrifying mistakes you've made i.e Jim Crow laws, and eventually you enable all men and women to vote, etc. etc. I mean, this is obviously a HUGE simplification but the point is that to me being American is fundamentally about being able to think of a better way. A better way for us to live, a better way for our children to live.
Ok, enough serious talk! haha. Baltimore looks like a cross between Boston and Buffalo. I have yet to explore but I am excited to head out and spend sometime tomorrow after class and poke around the city. One thing that I am SUPER pumped for is going to DC on election night! I don't think their could be a better place to watch perhaps one of the most important elections of my lifetime. Yay!
Alright, so I've hogged the hotel computer for enough time and plus I want to go watch The Office at 9!
blogyalater! xoxoxo, cord
Ok, so I promised I'd get you guys even while I'm down here in Baltimore!
So I flew out of Logan on Monday morning and the flight was really smooth. I was, as usual, wayyyyyyy too freakin' early for my flight (2hrs too early) which wasn't that fun for me. So far training has been challenging just because it is soooooo long! we are in class from 8am-12pm then 1pm to 445pm...that might not sound that bad but to listen and have to truly understand information for that extended of a period EVERY DAY is defiantly tough. It is like being in class for wayyyyyyyy too long, haha. However, our instructors are awesome and the people have been super friendly and charming. It is really neat to meet all these people from across the country especially at this time in U.S. History. Listening to their lives, their thoughts, feelings, their successes and their challenges during this undoubtedly tough time is truly teaching me a lot about our country and the people that populate it. I am not talking about profound talks but just picking up on people's basic feelings about their lives is so interesting. I love it. I am so excited about learning more, meeting more people etc.
The excitement of listening to various American/International perspectives from "regular" people is something that I feel most young adults experience for the first time when they enter college. For many of us, it is the first time that our thoughts, our core beliefs are challenged by the experiences of others. That challenge in mentality is both terrifying and exhilarating. To hear from our peers or our teachers that what we belief could be flawed, could be improved, could be totally inaccurate, or completely on the ball is a fundamental cornerstone of our development as human beings. If you have never had something you believe in challenged then I don't think you can really know what you believe in. But above all else, something that I learned in college was to really understand the opposite of your own belief- it is not enough to just believe the opposite is wrong, that it is immoral, stupid, idiotic. To do so is to trivialize not only those who disagree with you but to really do a disservice to yourself. I find often times that people are never willing to consider another side; they are so steadfast in believing ONLY their way of thinking can be "good", "right". But, this is where college is such an incredible experience because you are finally challenged; you are challenged by your professors, by your peers, by the books you read, the theology, ideology, philosophy of men and women smarter than you who want you to hear them. All you have to do is open your ears, open your mind, your heart and be willing to challenge yourself. This is a specific area where I believe being a student at Suffolk University has been incredibly significant to my personal development; I was challenged so many times by those I learned from. By professors in those 8-10people classes who recommended alternative ways to see the world. And I am not just talking about politics...not at all. I am talking about studying new things that I knew nothing about! Economics, Henry James, Edith Wharton, Psychology, Freud, Jung, education, public policy, Malcolm X, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B DuBois, MLK Jr, capitalism, evolution, solutions. Suffolk opened these doors and allowed for what I believe is the most important method to learning- discussion with your peers. When you are in a class of 24 students you are able to really grasp material and fight it, discuss it, pick it apart, embrace it.
It makes me sad when I see people who are never willing to explore views counter to their own because I think of what our country was founded on...on the belief that their is a better way to live, that what we believe in has value and should not be condemned, in the equality of man. We are a country that in many ways, is able to see the flaw and come up with a fresh solution. You have a fundamental disagreement with the rule of a Monarchy so you establish a democracy, you grow to believe that all man truly is created equal so you abolish the terrifying mistakes you've made i.e Jim Crow laws, and eventually you enable all men and women to vote, etc. etc. I mean, this is obviously a HUGE simplification but the point is that to me being American is fundamentally about being able to think of a better way. A better way for us to live, a better way for our children to live.
Ok, enough serious talk! haha. Baltimore looks like a cross between Boston and Buffalo. I have yet to explore but I am excited to head out and spend sometime tomorrow after class and poke around the city. One thing that I am SUPER pumped for is going to DC on election night! I don't think their could be a better place to watch perhaps one of the most important elections of my lifetime. Yay!
Alright, so I've hogged the hotel computer for enough time and plus I want to go watch The Office at 9!
blogyalater! xoxoxo, cord
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