The spring semester is beginning, and while not exactly warm and relaxing, it has started with some pretty sweet moments.
First, and most importantly, of course: it is absolutely prime sledding season. Though the weather is WICKED cold, everyone came back from break with nice warm winter gear, which I enjoyed seeing after having waved goodbye to a friend going home to California in flip flops. Seriously, though – it’s winter. It’s supposed to be cold. Good old Mother Nature dropped a foot or so of snow, which I naturally had to shovel, being home for the holidays. Now, many have found hills around campus, especially here on Newton, to get trays and sleds out and fly down in all kinds of creative - and slightly insane - ways.
We started classes a week ago; we have until tomorrow when Add/Drop period ends to finalize our schedules, and I am still moving around in my schedule. So far so good, though – my professors are great and class times are really quite convenient.
I just went to a meeting for College Bowl, similar to Academic Bowl apparently, which I was never part of, but it deals with trivia. Last night was Zombie, Pirate and Ninja themed night. I hope to go to Laser Tag this Saturday at the O’Connell House, the center of freshmen social life on Upper, and maybe back into the city – my friends and I visited the Museum of Fine Arts for free, since we go to BC. Other extracurriculars abound, and I just applied for a job with the IT support staff.
In Organisms and Populations class, we learned that a blue whale’s testicles weigh over a ton, but a fruit fly has the largest sperm, longer in fact than its body… and this actually related to the lesson in evolutionary progress. In chemistry, we passed around blocks of dry ice that could freeze our fingers off if we held them for too long. Cold potato, anyone? In my philosophy/theology class, we discussed the various college-life habitats, the mating and courting patterns of freshmen, and social structure based on a BAC of 16.7 (or something ridiculous) and the goal of college students in general being able to replace their blood entirely with alcohol. Believe me, these classes are not boring – and far from being inapplicable to life. Except maybe the biology facts… but as a lesson, make sure to put plenty of effort into choosing courses at any school. The teacher can make or break your future in that subject.
Anyway, that’s it for now, I am not envying those that have to go through the selection and application process, though I do sympathize. Good night and good luck!
Joe M.
