Getting Involved

So since this is my first post I thought I would start by introducing myself. My name is Jake Morakis and I'm a freshman in the school of Arts and Sciences. I'm from Marietta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, so coming up to Boston was definitely a huge change of scenery. As of now I am majoring in Political Science with a minor in Environmental Studies and hope to one day become a lawyer.

Let me start by saying I love BC and I am yet to experience a point when I wasn't having the time of my life, but I have to admit first semester was a little slow. I was so concerned about school work and adapting to college that I decided to put off getting involved until second semester. If anyone reading this is a perspective student worried about the college work load, let me be the first to tell you, you have a TON of free time in college. I had so much free time last semester I didn't know what to do with myself. I must have checked Facebook every 5 minutes out of sheer boredom.

The plus side of my "don't get involved in anything" strategy was that I got really good grades first semester and my parents were really proud, but for some reason that felt way to much like high school. Don't get me wrong, succeeding at a school like BC is a great feeling, but I've come to realized that half the fun of college is getting to do anything you want. Toward the beginning of the year there is Student Activities Day, where every club the school has to offer sets up a table in the dust bowl, which gives students a chance to find clubs they're interested in or never even knew about. I'll be honest, I went crazy on club day. I signed up for every club I was even remotely interested in but, as you already know, I didn't actually get involved in any of them. Instead, I just ended up with an inbox full of email messages I didn't care about reading.

This semester, however, I decided to change things. I got involved in the Student Admissions Program (which would explain this blog) and decided to try something completely new and audition for an a capella group. I never sang in high school or anything but I always enjoyed it and figured it was worth a shot. Somehow I ended up making it and I'm proud to say I am now a member of The Heightsmen, the only and best all male a capella group on campus. It's amazing how getting really involved in just a few activities can fill up all that time I would have otherwise spent on facebook.

But getting involved isn't just about filling time, its also a great way to meet new people (especially upperclassmen) and get invited to sweet parties (it's true). So find something you really like or try something completely new, whatever your choice just get involved. You've only got four years of college so make the most of them.

Second Semester!!

Happy Asian New Year Everyone! Year of the Tiger! Rawr! :D

Since last semester, I've been focusing more time in my clubs: Both VSA & CSA, SAP, and, of course, PARKOUR!

So much fun, but it is a lot of work to get better, more fluid in movement. So far, I've been able to finish vaults across railings and low walls (Ex. pictured left). With all the bruises, scrapes, and sweat, they look pretty good now.


Currently, I am working on my wall run which take a lot of conditioning and strengthening of the lower body since that is where you get your momentum (Ex. on the left). What's the wall I want to climb up? The Higgins/Devlin wall on Million Dollar Stair Case!









It's the second wall behind the first one on the stairwell. I think it would be better if you come to Boston College and see it for yourself. Who knows? Maybe you'll see Boston College Parkour (BCPK) group training!

That's all I've got for now! Peace!

David
nguyenec@bc.edu

February Recap

Hey all!

I've had quite a remarkable past couple weeks, for which I want to briefly share some highlights. Moving from the future, backwards:

Tomorrow: I'm going to see The Lion King at the Boston Opera House!

Yesterday: I went to the ALC Ball (AHANA Leadership Council) at Copley Plaza Hotel. They bused hundreds of students into the city for quite the night of semi-formal dance-floor mayhem (and lots of really good food)! A popular event every year, it certainly lived up to its reputation as being "like Prom, but in college!". Well done once again, ALC!

Last week: Much of my last week of class is a bit fuzzy in my memory, as between my three exams and a paper - analyzing the use of Goethe's Gretchen in Faust in the lieder (songs) of Franz Schubert compared to that of Carl Loewe, in case you were wondering what it was about - all due in the first half of the week, I slept less than any human ever ought to (mostly due, of course, to my own procrastination). Still, I am loving all of my classes this semester, and I'm starting to feel like an actual college student. I'm not sure when this began, or how or why it is the case, but I'm just going to roll with it. And I'm falling in love once again - with Bapst Library.

Last weekend: An incredibly eye-opening experience at a Kairos weekend retreat. I won't get into details, because in case you ever end up going yourself, this retreat simply does not work if you already know anything about it.

Monday, Feb. 8th: Pretty exciting night, started with hundreds of Eagles packing onto a single T line train (MBTA) - which effectively prevented some of our opponents, the BU Terriers who live down the street, from getting on our train. Getting off in downtown Boston, we had to walk a bit to the TD Bank Garden for the BC/BU Beanpot Tournament Championship hockey game. While the game was incredibly close towards the end, BC held on for the 4-3 win! "We are!" - "B-C!"

Well, that's enough for now, I'll be back later in the week!

Joe M.
mahonjc@bc.edu

The Calm Before the Storm

Hey Guys!

Well it's Thursday, which means the end of the week is in sight and some much needed days of relaxation are almost here. This week hasn't been too bad work wise because a lot of professors have chosen to take this time to review what has been covered because it's that time of the year when midterms are just around the corner. I can't believe that we are pretty much half way through the semester, which means I'm only another half a semester away until senior year. It's a crazy thought, and it all feels like it has gone by in the blink of an eye...

Thankfully, there are still a couple of months before I have to actually call myself a senior. What's even better is that this weekend is looking to be a great sports weekend for Boston College to help get my mind off the work that needs to be done. Saturday afternoon is tip off for BC Men's Basketball versus University of North Carolina. Conte Forum is going to be loud and rowdy around 12:00pm in a couple of days with a bunch of screaming Eagles rocking their Superfan shirts and cheering on the basketball team. School spirit is a huge part of being a BC student, and it's actually pretty cool seeing all of your classmates wearing their own custom Superfan shirt (a new slogan is tagged on the back of the Superfan shirts for each new class year; 2011: For Here All Are One) and screaming BC fight songs....and without question will include "Shipping up to Boston" and " For Boston". It's almost entertaining enough to help me forget that I have a mound of work awaiting to be completed before the weekend is up. It's not that bad though, at least when the next week is over it'll be Spring Break!

This Spring Break I've decided to partake in a pretty cool program BC offers called Appalachia Volunteers. Appalachia is a program that is committed to working with the poverty stricken population of the United States. For the entire week an enormous amount of BC students who signed up gets split into smaller groups and are assigned a job sites throughout the US to help out with. It could be a Habitat for Humanity site in North Carolina or Bethlem Farm in West Virginia where I'm off to. I'm probably not doing this program justice so if you want to read up on it just click here!

All right, looks like it's time to get to class.

Till next time,
Juan

Almost Snow Day

Good Evening Blog Enthusiasts!

I am blogging from Bapst Library's Gargan Hall (Boston College's 24 hour study space) during a break from studying for my Intro to African American Society exam that is tomorrow. I believe this is my first blog post from Bapst Library and let me just tell you, it is my favorite place on campus. I LOVE Bapst Library. In fact, I feel kind of funny if I don't get to come here in a 24 hour period (some might call that an addiction, I just call it dedication).

So it is February already! Scary for a second semester senior, especially one with her thesis project looming over her! My adviser was just featured in the Boston Globe in an article talking all about the seismic hazard of New England, which is pretty exciting. I worked on my thesis all yesterday and feel pretty good about where I am, though I will have to do a little more research using Boston College's Weston Observatory and New England Seismic Network. For now I will try to keep my academic life balanced with all the fun I want to be having for my last semester at BC.

And now a brief recap of some of that fun...

These past two Mondays marked the nights of the great Boston tradition of THE BEANPOT! What is the Beanpot? The Beanpot is a hockey tournament between Boston's 4 "hockey schools:" Boston University, Boston College, Harvard University, and Northeastern University. BC played Harvard in the first round last week and played extremely well with a 6-1 finish! We progressed to the Championship Game against our biggest rival, Boston University, last night to make a run for the Beanpot! We played an amazing game; and, even with a 3rd period scare, were able to pull off a huge 4-3 win over the Terriers!

The games are played at TD Banknorth Garden (home of the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins) and is the most insane, energetic, spirited atmosphere I have ever experienced! I have been all four years and it truly does not disappoint. The student sections are always stacked and we all scream cheer after cheer after cheer to motivate our team and drown out the competition! It is a fantastic Boston tradition, and is really one of my favorite parts of being a BC student.

You can read all about it here: http://bceagles.cstv.com/sports/m-hockey/recaps/020910aaa.html

Alright, my break is over and I'm off to a meeting and then a group study session. Everyone have a great evening, and GO EAGLES!

Caroline Wilkinson