In just a few short weeks, many of you will leave your high schools to embark on a new journey.  I cannot describe for you what an amazing adventure it will be (yes, even the dorm rooms).  However, as with any journey, there are some bits of advice from those who have gone before you that you will want to take along.  

Among the many changes of colleges, one of the most drastic will probably be learning to live in a 10×15 (this is an estimate…haha) room with another person that you may not even know yet.  If you want a good roommate, then be a good roommate.  Be a good roommate by being considerate.  If your roommate is trying to study, put in headphones or leave the room to talk on your cell phone. It’s simple, but it goes a long way.  One other bit of advice: don’t do everything together.  No matter how well you think you two get along, if you are living together and doing everything together, you will drive one another nuts by about week three. 

Since we’re on the subject of dorm rooms, here are a few items to have in your room that will make your life much easier: boots (snow and rain), a fan, 3M hooks (stick-on, pull-off hooks used to hang towels, backpacks, bulletin boards, etc.), and bed risers.  These are lifesavers; just trust me. 

Clearly, your whole college experience won’t be in your dorm room; you will need to get out and get involved.  As I have mentioned before, during the first week of classes, we have Festival ISU in which all of the clubs set up booths and give you information about their organizations.  You will have so many adjustments that first semester; don’t overwhelm yourself by getting involved in too much.  However, whether it is Greek life, a sports club, a campus ministry, or a club for your major, I would suggest finding one or two to get involved in.  These clubs will help you find like-minded friends and will make your transition to college much easier. 

Finally, I do have some advice for your scholastic endeavors as well (since that is why you are going to college in the first place).  First and foremost, don’t feel bad about being undecided in your major or about changing your major.  You are not alone.  Take your time; find your passion.  You will be far more likely to get a job and succeed in an area that you are passionate about rather than something that you merely have a degree in.  Here’s an invaluable fact for you: your first semester GPA will affect you four years from now.  When you are a senior (it’s not that far way, trust me), and you are looking for a job, you will regret it if you were even slightly irresponsible your first semester of college.  It is much easier to keep a good GPA than to try to dig yourself out of a bad one.  One way to help yourself is to talk with your professors.  Go to their office hours; most of the time, they sit there by themselves.  They would really appreciate meeting a student who wants to do well in their classes.  

As I enter my junior year (ridiculous!!!), I can without a doubt tell you that college is amazing.  You will make lasting friendships that you’ll wonder how you ever lived without. You will discover so much about who you are as an individual.  And, through that, you will learn to appreciate your parents and the many sacrifices they made in raising you.  Whenever you realize that, give them a call.  Tell them thanks. (Parents just love that, you know).  Enjoy every moment of the next four years.  I can guarantee that they will go by faster than you want them to.  Although it is sad to finish this chapter; a new chapter of your life is just beginning.  Write it well. 

I have officially been back from spring break for 8 days now, and I am just now writing a new blog!  I can hear some of you readers out there wondering, “Aren’t you embarrassed?”  I am.

It is certainly is not that I haven’t been writing because my spring break wasn’t eventful or exciting because by all means, it was!  It all began on Friday, March 6, when 4 of us ISU students and 2 adults piled into a 15-passenger van ready for the long haul down to Matamoros, Mexico.  Yes, long drive.  Thankfully we did make several stops along the way.  One of which included picking up 5 students and 1 adult from SIU (yes…the home of the Suzukis…er…I mean…Salukis!).  We spent the night in a couple of churches, so as to give our drivers a good night’s rest which is always good.  I’m much more inclined to have them set a real alarm clock than use the “trucker’s alarm clocks” along the side of the road (a.k.a. rumble strips)!  After 3 days filled with 24 hours of driving, we finally arrived in Mexico.  Hooray! 

Once we arrived and had gone through our orientation, we settled in to our hotel in Mexico.  Not too shabby.  We had running water which was definitely a plus!  The toilets didn’t always function properly, but hey, they don’t always do that in the States either.  Merely to have a toilet was an unbelievable luxury compared to the conditions that the people were living in where we worked every day.  We were working with the poorest of the poor.  Many of the people were living in a squatter’s camp which means that they didn’t even have enough money to put a down payment on land let alone money to buy supplies to build a house.  Most of the houses in the area were no bigger than a king size bed and were made mainly constructed of cardboard and plywood.  Although the house we built for Maria del Carmen and Jose and their two children Luis Angel and Mauricio was nothing more than a glorified shed by our American standards, it was mansion in their eyes. 

 This trip was life-changing.  I know that sounds cliche.  But, honestly, I am changed.  I am changed on the surface-level in that I have new friends!  I can’t tell you how much serving with others builds strong relationships.  When you work together on something like building a house, you have to become one body functioning in harmony in order to function at your highest potential and be successful.  In the next couple of weeks, all nine of us are going to be getting together for a little reunion.  I can’t wait!  But, deeper than that, my perspective on why I serve others has changed.  Ultimately, it is more than just doing something nice for someone else because it makes me feel good or feel like I have accomplished something great.  I am realizing now that as a Christian I cannot truly claim to love God and love people unless my heart breaks for them and I give up my own life in service to them.  Powerful! 

Basically, college is amazing!  It really is an awesome time of life where you can discover so much about who you are as a person.  And, of course, the breaks are great too!  My dad always jokes about how he doesn’t understand how he can be paying this much money for college when it is rarely in session!  Believe me, I feel like I am in school enough!  But, that makes the 10-day Thanksgiving break, month-long Christmas break, and 10-day spring break that much sweeter. :)  I guess this blog is an encouragement for you guys to strongly consider spending at least one of your breaks to serve somewhere whether it is with the Alternative Breaks program, Students Today Leaders Forever’s Pay It Forward Tour, or with a campus ministry.  I couldn’t imagine a better way to have spent my spring break or my life!

I have attached a link for 2 pictures.  One of their original house, and one of us finishing putting the roof on the their new house!

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Coming from a small town I am used to having only one town library, one fire station, and one high school.   I am used to having a town square with a courthouse in the middle.  I am used to walking into Walmart or any restaurant in town and knowing at least 15 people in there.  I am used to being able to look at anyone’s license plate and know who it is and their family’s history.  I am used to having farms everywhere and even having a “truck farm “with trucks literally coming out of the ground.  I have grown accustomed to this place.  

However, this weekend all of that changed for me.  I took four of my friends who are from the suburbs down to my hometown.  My friends could not believe it when we walked in to the restaurant for lunch on Sunday, and I said hello to almost everyone in the restaurant.  They didn’t realize that it was possible for family names to be so ingrained in a small town society.  They were flabbergasted as we drove in town past the car dealership that there were trucks “growing” out of the ground; we even had to get out and take pictures with them!  They had never seen a town library, courthouse, firehouse, etc. 

I loved giving them the tour of my town.  A certain pride filled my bones as they oohed and ahhed over things that I had long forgotten or not appreciated.  In fact, I remember so many of my friends in high school just begging to get out of our little town because “there’s nothing to do.”  But, I just wonder if perhaps they’d grown too accustomed to the place.  Sorry for all of the mushy, small town talk. :)  I guess I am just feeling a little sentimental.  Anyway, just appreciate where you are now.  Don’t overlook the good things you have, and don’t wish them away too quickly.  You just might miss them.

I frequently have students ask me on tours what the best residence hall to live in is.  I always tell them that there really isn’t one that is better than others because they all have some pros and cons.  So here is my quick list for each of the halls. 

Our 10 residence halls are separated into 4 different neighborhoods: East Campus, West Campus (Tri-Towers), South Campus, and Watterson.

East Campus (Hewett and Manchester)

Hewett just opened this fall after renovations and is brand new.  Manchester is currently under a year long renovation process and will also be new this coming fall of 2009.  However, this neighborhood does not have its own dining center.  Instead, you walk a block to Watterson’s dining center.

West Campus (Tri-Towers: Wilkins, Haynie, and Wright)

These residence halls were just renovated within the last 5 years, so they are still very new.  West Campus also has my favorite dining center called Linkins (it’s our newest dining center).  However, these three are about a 7-minute walk farther away from campus than the others.  Many athletes live here because it is near all of the athletic facilities; however, it is not exclusive to athletes.

Watterson

The rooms in Watterson are definitely bigger than those in any of the other residence halls.  But, the way the floors are designed closes off the floors a bit more than other halls which makes it more difficult to get to know people.  There are only about 12 people on your floor instead of 30-45.

South Campus (Atkin, Colby, Hamilton, and Whitten)

These residence halls are some of the closest to the quad (basically right across the street) and are the only halls to have laundry machines on each floor instead of on the top floor or in the basement.  This is also the home to the Honors Hosue (Atkin-Colby 5, 6, 7).  However, these halls are older than some of the others, and the furniture is the desks in the rooms are not mobile.

I hope this gives you some extra information to make your housing decisions.  Basically, it just comes down to weighing the pros and cons and figuring out which ones matter to you the most.  Let me know if you have any other questions.  Also, on our housing website, we have 360-degree room views and floor plans for each of the residence halls. 

I would strongly suggest that you make a visit to campus and check them out for yourself though as well.  If you come on a campus information session or open house, you will have the opportunity to see a residence hall.  But, if you don’t get to see the one you are interested in, you can always go to the front desk of any of the halls and ask to see a room.  They will have a Resident Assistant (RA) come down and show you a room.

With the recent information that has been sent out about housing contracts and enrollment deposits, the Admissions Office has been flooded with calls about the process and what needs to be done first.  Here is a quick list of some terms you might want to know as well as some answers to questions we have been getting.  Sorry, yes, it is set up like a textbook.  What can I say?  I am in college…I read these things everyday.

Enrollment Deposit - the NON-REFUNDABLE $150 that you pay in order to secure your spot in the freshman class and confirm your attendance to ISU.  Due by MAY 1.

Housing Contract - an online contract through which you agree to the terms and conditions of the residence halls and choose your meal plan.  A $300 payment is due with this contract, but $250 is refundable.  You do not choose your room when you fill this out. 

webdate - the date usually between May and July when you are assigned to get online and choose your room.

Fill out the housing contract as soon as possible.  Housing is first come first serve.  So, the sooner you turn that contract in, the earlier your webdate will be, and the better your chances will be of getting your first pick residence hall or room. 

You do NOT have to pay the enrollment deposit in order to get your housing contract.  You can fill the contract out now and get a webdate before paying, but you can’t actually choose your room until you pay the deposit. 

If you aren’t sure you are coming to ISU, you can fill out the housing contract but wait to pay the enrollment deposit.  That way, you will still get a good chance at room selection if you come here, but your $250 can be refunded if you decide not to come here. 

Also, if you aren’t sure about what meal plan you will want, just go ahead and pick one for the sake of getting the contract turned in early.  You can change your selection all the way until August 7. 

Hope this helps you all!  Feel free to ask any questions in a comment on here.Â

So, Friday was probably the best day of my life (well, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but still) only because of the way it began.  On that beautiful 45 degree day (I definitely believe nice weather makes everything better by the way) I was just hastily making my way over to the Admissions Office for work when I suddenly heard these clodhopper footsteps approaching me at a rapid pace from behind.  All I could think was perhaps that some large man was going for a jog; however, just as the thought crossed my mind this ‘jogger’ called out to me, ‘Miss!  Miss!’  ‘Whatever in the world could this giant jogger want with me?’ I thought to myself.  ‘Miss!  You dropped this.  And did you know your backpack is unzipped?’ ‘Thank you so much! Could you zip it for me?’ ‘No problem!’ 

What a nice guy!  He came running from many yards away just to hand me a paper that I dropped and zip my bag up!  Needless to say, Friday was a good day.  I tell ya, aside from Dan Abdalla, only nice people go to Illinois State! 

P.S.-Just go read Dan’s blog about the dining center drama before you think I am not  being nice !

Over Christmas break I spent 10 days in Cusco, Peru, with the Alternative Winter Break program through the Dean of Students Service and Leadership Office.  The Alternative Breaks program (as the name suggests) allows students to go on service trips over winter and spring breaks rather than sitting at home!  The spring break trip is within the U.S., and this year they are traveling to Mississippi, Boston, and Florida.  The winter break trip is international, however. 

While we were on our winter break adventure to Peru, we taught English at a community center, constructed ceilings of classrooms, and worked in a few orphanages.  The children were so happy and energetic.  We were definitely worn out at the end of every day, but I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my Christmas break. 

Aside from working, we also got a small taste of the culture of Cusco…literally.  Some of us got to eat their delicacy of guinea pig!  We also spent New Year’s Eve on the Plaza de Armas in Cusco where they dance in the streets at the strike of midnight.  On the last day we were there, we toured Machu Picchu one of the Seven Wonders of the World!  I would totally recommend this program to everyone.  What a great experience!

We started this new thing here in the Admissions Office at ISU.  It’s called…weekly Ambassador meetings at 7am on Wednesday mornings!  YES!  I love it!  If my sarcasm isn’t apparent in the wonderful world of blogging, let me just say… I am being sarcastic.  :) 

Really though, it isn’t that bad.  It’s just getting up that’s the hard part.  I set three alarms last night.  My alarm clock, my phone, and my watch.  And of course, I snoozed all of them about 3 times.  Finally, I slowly rolled myself out of bed at 6:35ish.  Yes, just a reminder, the meeting did start at 7 and, yes, it was across campus.  But, I got dressed, threw my hair up, brushed my teeth, made myself smell nice (that’s always appreciated), and by about 6:47 my roommate heard the click of the lock on my door as I made my way to the Admissions Office. 

But, on the way I got sidetracked by the gentle whisper of…the vending machine.  Oh, I was hungry.  And I wasn’t going to get an opportunity for breakfast for a few hours because the dining center doesn’t open until 7 and I had to work from 7-9 this morning.  So, I stopped.  Hmm….not much of a selection.  Poptarts would have to do.  The guy who refills the machines had his cart abounding with vending machine goodies right in front of them. Grr!  Oh well, I just walked to the farthest machine and swiped my card.  Nothing.  Not even an error message.  Machines don’t function at 7am either apparently.  So, I moved to the next maching…closer to the refill man.  And swipe…and still nothing.  Ugh.  By this point, I was just sure that the refill man had disabled the machines, and he was just getting his little giggles inside watching me try to jimmy rig this vending maching into giving me my poptarts.  Just then, he phonates…that’s right…the man speaks.  “I knew it!  You just wanted to make fun of me! Ugh.”  These were my thoughts when it registered what he was actually saying to me, “Turn your card around.”  “Huh?  OH!  How embarrassing.  How many times have I used that silly machine?????  Even worse, as I turn my card and finally retrieve my golden poptarts, I realize that all of this event was just witnessed by a fellow coworker on his way to the Admissions Office.  Awesome.  At least Dan is nice and didn’t make fun.

Anyway, this wonderful start to my day was just proof that 7am is WAY too early for my brain.  Perhaps as the semester wears on, it will get better.  I certainly hope so.   One of the nicest things about college is that you can arrange your schedule each semester any way you want.  Well, this semester I chose to get my obligations done early and get them out of the way.   So, every day I start at the latest by 8am.  If this morning was any indication of what the rest of the semester holds, I am in trouble.�

I have gotten a few questions from some prospective students recently, and I figured many of you may have the same questions, so I thought I would write a post answering them.  Here are their questions and my answers:

1) What is the social life like at ISU?  I actually already answered this question in my blog “3 Important Questions”; however, in that blog I didn’t not address alcohol which students and parents do ask about.  Naturally, with 20,000 college age students gathered in one small radius, you can find parties.  There aren’t a great deal of bars in the ISU area; most of them are in downtown Bloomington.  However, there are a few in uptown Normal just blocks away from campus.  Although there aren’t a great deal of bars, fraternities and sororities are scattered all around campus and frequently host parties.  Also, many people who live in apartments near campus hold parties as well.  If alcohol is what you are looking for, it isn’t hard to find.  HOWEVER, ISU has FIVE police forces that patrol the campus: ISU PD, McLean County PD, Normal PD, Bloomington PD, and State PD.  Therefore, if you are underage, you drink at your own risk. 

Having said all that, I, personally, choose not to drink and I have never felt left out or bored on a weekend because there was nothing to do.  You can look at my previous blog mentioned above to find out what I do on the weekends instead. :)  Actually, I know a great deal of students who for various reasons choose not to drink.  Either way drinking or no drinking, I still think that ISU provides a great social atmosphere.

2) Should I bring my car?  No.  I cannot stress this enough.  The Office of Parking and Transportation is probably the most efficient office at ISU.  I have literally seen a Parking officer stop at a meter write a ticket and sit there for a good couple of minutes.  Then the meter expired, and he hopped out of the truck, plopped the ticket on the windshield of the other vehicle, and drove away.  On top of that, there aren’t a great deal of parking spaces around campus.  They are making strides to improve this like turning an old set of tennis courts across from Atkin-Colby into more parking lots; however, it is still an issue. 

Also, the freshmen storage parking lots are about 3 miles away from campus which equates to a 15-minute bus ride just to get to your car.  The Bloomington-Normal Public Transit System buses run almost all the time and stop in front of Watterson.  All you have to do is show your ISU ID, and you can ride for FREE.  These buses are coded (Lime - I, Pink - D, etc.) and they all go different places around town like Walmart, Target, the mall, and everywhere else in between.  You just look on the map for the one that is going where you are going and hop on!  I was nervous about it too, but it really isn’t bad at all. 

Finally, if you were thinking about using your car to get home, there are several other routes.  Peoria Charter and Burlington Trailways stop in front of the Bone Student Center everyday and make trips up to the suburbs.  You can buy bus tickets in the Bone at the ticket office.  Also, the Amtrak trainstation is in Uptown Normal about 2 blocks away from campus.  Finally, you can usually find friends to carpool with if the other two avenues don’t work for you.  Your parents can trade off driving you guys back and forth from school.

3) Is there a Starbucks on campus?  No, there is not a Starbucks on campus.  BUT, we have soooo many other coffee shops around campus that I like even better!  Trust me, I never thought I would say that prior to coming to college, but boy oh boy, I will say it now.  Just a block away from Atkin-Colby on Main Street is Fusion Brew which is a coffee shop that specializes in bubble tea and specialty coffees and is a nice quiet place to hang out with friends.  In Uptown Normal about a block away from Watterson is The Coffeehound.  This shop has more traditional coffee items and a really good atmosphere for getting some homework done.  Just down the road is The Coffeehouse which is much larger than the other two and is more of a little deli in addition to a coffee shop.  The Coffeehouse also has a lot of vegan and vegetarian foods.  Finally, ISU has its own coffee shop The Cage II right in the Bone Student Center.  I really love their hot chocolate, AND the best part is that your flex dollars (part of your meal plan that is good in any on campus restaurant) work here!  Its practically FREE!  Well, maybe not to your parents…but it seems free to you as a student.

So, there you go.  There are my answers.  Please post any other questions that you guys have, and I would be happy to answer them.�

(Door bell.) “Gloooooooooooooooooooria, in excelsis Deo!  (Door open.) Glooooooooooooooooooria, in excelsis Deeeo!”  (Confused look.  Slam.) “Angels we ha…oh…uh…well, do we keep singing? Uh…”

My campus ministry went Christmas caroling on Wednesday night this week, and this was our experience at the first house we stopped at.  Hilarious.  However, don’t think it was all gloom and doom the whole night.  I got the feeling that perhaps this first house was kind of confused as to what was going on.  Perhaps they thought we were “a bunch of hoodlums” trying to pull a prank or something.  :)  But, the rest of the houses in the neighborhood were just delighted to have us sing at their door.  Well, maybe not all of them, but most.

A few houses that we went to had families that just loved the traditional caroling.  Usually a dad would open the door and disappear only to come back in a few seconds with the rest of his family.  They would all stand at the door singing and bouncing along with us to “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” until the last ringing (or well, maybe clanging) chord of “his-stooo-ry!” after which, we and they would all shout “Merry Christmas” in unison.  It was picturesque…much like the movies…heartwarming really. 

Although these moments were heartwarming, and I will treasure them, there are a few other hilarious moments of the night that I will also treasure.  For example, when we left for caroling we took two packets of lyrics to Christmas songs.  However, there were about 30 of us trying to share these two sheets, and it was dark outside!  One person did think to bring a tiny flashlight and one of those head lamp things (a headband with a flashlight attached) which was hilarious in itself, but everytime he moved his head or looked up at the family at the door, we couldn’t read the words!  Then, the actual list of songs caused some problems as well.  When it was made, he included the Christmas standards both Christian and secular, ranging from “Silent Night” to “Rudolph”.  But, in between those standards there were several of those songs with popular choruses but verses that no one knows the words to.  Like “Silver Bells”.  Sure, you’re thinking, “Oh, who doesn’t know that song?”  Yeah yeah….it goes, “Silver bells, silver bells, it’s Christmas time in the city…” But how ’bout the verses? Uh….”City sidewalks, busy sidewalks…dressed in holiday style…duh duh duh duh duh d…”  Yeah, that’s what we did…only it was in front of strangers.  Embarrassing.  Those houses were pretty much a hot mess…or cold mess if you will.  Oooh…that was a bad joke.  My apologies.   Well, regardless, it was a train wreck.  :)  And there were worse songs than “Silver Bells” like “It’s Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas” or “Holly Jolly Christmas”.  Just try to think of the words to those.  Pretty much impossible.  :)  We all sounded like a jumbled mess of “watermelon” (if have ever performed at all and you didn’t know the words, you understand that) until we got to the title line in which we belted it out at the top of our lungs just in time to let the family at the door know that we were indeed still singing.  Good times.  Good memories.

 Oh, man, after all of our crazy singing escapades ranging from the delightful to the laughable we ended at my friend’s grandmother’s house for hot cocoa and warmth.  Hooray!  It was truly a night to remember and a wonderful way to kick off the Christmas season and end the semester (including finals!).