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A Penny for my Scattered (Summer) Thoughts

May 2, 2012 in Jeanie's Blog by Jeanie Nguyen | 6 comments

This week’s post is going to be a sampling of a little bit of everything which is representative of my scattered brain as the semester nears to a frightening end and I’m trying to gather up all my loose ends now so that I’ll be able to look back at a skillfully tied bow when I board my plane home back to San Diego in a few weeks (this run on sentence probably represents my zipping mind as well!).

Reading Period (a week without classes right before Final Exam week) officially ends Thursday night (May 3), which means the first official day of Final Exams is May 4, AHHHH! Now this definition of Reading Period, which you’ve probably seen all over this blog, is kind of a misnomer because there are still tons of classes and responsibilities in the form of review sessions, optional (but not really) sections, and the like. For many students (non science kids usually), Reading Period is a time to crank out tons of Final Papers and many classes have Final Presentations and Projects due as well. Language classes also tend to take place during Reading Period but also typically end before the start of Final Exam week.

Although most look forward to Reading Period, it’s still a crazy busy time – but can definitely be well balanced as the weather tends to get better and there are tons of social events like House Spring Formals, and last Sunday DAPA (Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisers) and CEB (College Events Board) held a joint Garden Party where there was free cotton candy, snow cones, and a MOONBOUNCE! One of my absolute favorite facets of Harvard is definitely this beautiful and delicate balance of work and play! The tremendous support also keeps me sane during these potentially stressful times. For example, the Resident Dean of Mather (my upperclassman House/dorm) sent out an email that offered her adorable dogs for stress therapy petting sessions!! If someone had told the high school me that Harvard College would offer such a 360 degree service, I honestly wouldn’t have believed you for a second. In fact, I’m still taking in the fact that there are so many opportunities here for me; most of the time, it just feels unreal that my life has been so blessed and has come to such a good place.

Tangent: After I was accepted into Harvard College and basically committed the next day, I was obsessed with the idea of not dying before college. I remember consciously taking less risks – such as driving safer and not eating unidentified food – because I didn’t feel like it would be a good time to die since I hadn’t experienced my Harvard dream yet. After a few days of screaming “I can’t die before college!” it was bluntly pointed out to me that I shouldn’t want to die…ever. It didn’t seem obvious to me at the time, but I’m glad I had loving company to help me realize I shouldn’t let Harvard wholly define me. Sure, I worked my butt off to get accepted and continue working other body parts off in my endeavors to exploit my undergraduate opportunities, but it really is important to me that I let Harvard verify my diligence and supplement my identity rather than completely define it.

Anyways, you can probably tell that in the midst of Final Exam shenanigans, I’m so freaking happy. This enthusiastic euphoria stems from my summer plans. It’s literally going to be the best summer of my life and I’m still questioning whether I deserve it. Half of my plans are set in stone – I just need to book the other half of my flights! I’ll be going home for 2 weeks, traveling Europe (Paris, Venice, and Barcelona) with two of my sorority sisters for 2 weeks, interning in a clinic in Peru through DRCLAS (David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies) for 8-9 weeks, working with Refresh Bolivia for 3 weeks, and then flying right back to a (hopefully) welcoming Cambridge to move into my new room with my best friends and kick off JUNIOR YEAR.

NOOOOOOOO!!! I’m (just about) half way done with college. Don’t ever tell me or let me realize this again. Although I only look forward to what comes my way in the future, I really hate moments where I can no longer deny the passage of time!

I’ll check back in again next Wednesday (when I’ll be done with 3/4 of my classes!) Wish me luck because oh boy, am I going to need that partnered with caffeine.

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Fools’ Flowers

April 11, 2012 in Jeanie's Blog by Jeanie Nguyen | 6 comments

If I could pick a birthday month, it would be April! What other month kicks off by celebrating tons of pointless jokes?? If we look beyond the infamous April Showers, I’ll personally confirm that we don’t have to wait until May for flowers – especially at Harvard.

April is essentially the last month of school for students since May consists of Reading Period (a week where classes stop existing so we can study, study, study for the upcoming week of finals) and Exam Week. Therefore, it’s absolutely crucial that we celebrate the end of another AWESOME academic year as an undergraduate. For the most part, people can safely assume that Harvard supports students academically as well as financially, but the institution also makes incredible strides to make our smiling muscles sore.

Speaking of sore muscles, Harvard On The Move, a new initiative, publicized as well as funded students to participate in the annual Cambridge City Run. Since the event took place on April 1st, I was hoping the 5 mile course would be a joke. Too bad they were actually serious. However, it was a perfectly breezy morning run around the nearby and scenic Fresh Pond.

Action shot after the 5 mile run!

Stress is a common theme among not only college students, but also humanity; so I always like to applaud Harvard for providing its students with healthy and effective outlets to counter the negative effects of perpetually compounding stress. Although my confession of love for the month of April is pretty serious, April is also the month that the last wave of midterms goes by just as soon as the new wave of final projects and papers begins. It’s an insanely hectic time of year and this can be manifested by my calendar which has reminders to remind my friends of tasks!

Everyone has a different organizational method just like how everyone relieves stress via varying outlets. Let’s say exercising isn’t your thing, but Taylor Swift really pinpoints all your emotions and makes you feel alive. Committed and diligent students on CEB: College Events Board (just look at their link! The first word is ‘fun,’ and URLs don’t lie!) bring live music right to Harvard Yard for FREE. (As you’re reading this, you should feel like you just won free tickets to Coachella).

On a Sunday in April, Yardfest happens and this year, it’ll be this Sunday April 15. As a sophomore, I’ve only been to Yardfest once and it will definitely stand in the top 25 moments of my life. (Last year, Yardfest was the same weekend as prefrosh/Visitas so the lucky class of 2015-ers basically get to go to Yardfest 5 times!!!! Jealous.) The event begins with BBQ and tire swings and lightens with live performers. My friends and I had so much fun at the concert last year that now, we’ll randomly yell “Yardfest!” at irrelevant times to convey the message that we’re having so much fun! If I haven’t successfully hyped up Yardfest yet, let me just say that I wasn’t even angry that my boots were ruined by mud.

But if you’re the kind of person that would rather not risk your cute ankle boots, Harvard also has another event for you! Eleganza is a fashion show put on by Harvard students for Harvard students, using Harvard students as models! I’ve never personally attended, but I only hear of great things – probably one of the reasons tickets sell out pretty quickly. The function also has a VIP section for student groups and these sections may cost a little bit more, but I’ve been told it’s worth it especially with the goodie bags you get!

I could go on and on foreverrrr about not only April events, but events any time during the year. I’ll never be able to do it as well as these sites though: HarvardEvents & EventPlease

So much to do, so little time – at least this is a good problem to have..?

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