What’s the W.O.P?

Scrolling through my music, which is a hard task in itself (God only knows what random stuff you’ll find), my friends come across my W.O.P playlist. “What’s The W.O.P?” They ask with such wonder. “The W.O.P,” I reply with glee, “is my Work Out Playlist.” I  found it too difficult to write out work out playlist if I’m on the move so I shortened it to The W.O. P.

As an athlete choosing what goes into a W.O.P is very tedious…Okay not really, but it definitely is important what gets chosen to get me through my hour plus workouts. Whether its a circuit workout with Courtney, physical therapy, or the long trek on a treadmill or track I need something with enough power and endurance to prep and push me through the hard parts. I first breakdown the playlist into four fabulous sections, The Warmup, The Starters, The Pick-Me-Ups, and The Power Finish.

The Warmup– Something smooth and upbeat to get you in the mood. You can’t just start a work out all willy nilly.

Shall We Dance– Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr  (Legs meet treadmill, arms meet bench press)

Holding onto YouHouse of Gold– twenty one pilots (mood determines which song plays)

The Starters– Here is where you start to pick up speed. Drop that Bass!

Acapella– Karmin

Work– Iggy Azalea

The Pickme Ups– You’re now in the thick of it. Sweat is dripping off your face, your legs are cramping, you may or may not be able to smell yourself by now (yummy). Here are the ones that keep you going.

Still Alive– BIGBANG (the title says it all)

Till I Collapse– Eminem

This is Gospel– Panic! At The Disco

The Power Finish– Only 5 more minutes left you gotta go big or go home. These are the final two jams to get you through your sprinting finish.

Clarity– Zedd

Trouble– Neon Jungle

You’ve gotten a sneak peak at my work out playlist. What would you put on your W.O.P?

To be continued…

Application Process: The Art of Rejection

After enduring the college application process the word “application” can strike fear into anyone’s heart. The moment that hangs in the air when you get an email or letter in the mail with the words ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is both agonizing and euphoric. Despite hearing more no’s than yes’s in my career at Bryn Mawr I have to admit I am still a glutton for punishment. In my experience with the word “no” I have come to terms with what I call “The Stages of Rejection”.

The stages of rejection are broken down into six easy steps.

1)Excitement

It’s here! I have received the letter for that important thing from that place I really want to go to!

2)Fear

Oh my good shenanigans… this is the letter for that important thing from that place you really want to go to. Should I open it? I’ll go get my friend to open it. No I’ll open it.

3)Shock 

“We regret to inform you…” Huh. Well. Uh…

4)Anger

Forget them! I don’t need them. Whatever, screw you and your awesome perks! I don’t need you!

5)Sadness

WAHHH. Why don’t they want me? WHYYYY?! **eats entire pizza**

6) Acceptance

Well that happened. My next application is due in a couple weeks time to get started.  

I have applied to over a hundred jobs, 15 grants, even a library card, and I have endured each of these stages of rejection. With each disapproval comes a little twinge of doubt and despair that can only happen with rejection. In order to combat this I always turn to one my favorite books, Other Peoples Rejection Letters by Bill Shapiro.

This book is an amazing compilation of, you guessed it, other people’s rejection letters. The relationship between this book and I isn’t completely based on schadenfreude. The compilation of letters range from children’s notes, book reviews, college letters, and more. It also tells you what happened after each recipient received the rejection letter.

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Each letter, whether it is comical or emotional, was a bump in the road for someone. Artist Arthur Gonzalez, whose rejection letters are scattered throughout the book, took the final stage of rejection (acceptance) to the next level. Tired of hearing “no” he transformed his letters into works of art, which were then transformed into the Art of Rejection Collection. The collection was finally accepted into a gallery. Although the pieces of art were originally never meant to be seen by the public eye, his numerous rejection letters never stopped him from continuing his craft.  

Every time I get a big fat “No”, “We regret to inform you”,”You were good, but not good enough”, and my favorite “You’re just too overqualified”, I read these letters and they remind me to keep trying. The only true failure in a rejection letter is when you stop trying. You have to keep moving forward. That is the real art of rejection. 

“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”- Rocky Balboa


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To be continued…

 

#BMCblackout

Bryn Mawr was attacked by the most vicious and terrible of all monsters this week… ICE.

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No, not that type of ice.

 When Punxsuntawney Phil blessed the wonderful east coast with six more weeks of winter I was just as pleased as the the next person. I mean what other Southern California native wouldn’t pleased to continue the marathon of temperatures below 20 degrees? ( I really hope you can detect my sarcasm).

During the welcoming of more winter Mother Nature attacked Bryn Mawr with snow and ice storms toppling over trees, knocking out power lines, and best of all canceling class for about a week. (YIKES.) In lieu of the snow storm, and the ice storm that followed, my friends and I decided to label our hardship #BMCblackout. Through our “witty” banter we depicted the epitome first world problems and tech-addicted college kids going through Wi-Fi cleanse. If you want to see some of the destruction and dangers check out my fabulous photos below.

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But beyond all the humor I really do want to give a big thanks to all of people with Facilities, Dining Services, and Public Safety for doing their best to try and keep the campus up and running and above all safe for the students.

Stay warm!

To be continued…

 

I am an English Major

When you come to college it is an open playground. I was told to explore my surroundings and expand my comfort zone in the academic world. However, when hearing this as a freshman I couldn’t help but laugh. I knew for a fact I was going to be a Psychology major. I was going to be the best in my field with a Ph.D and making so much money I would have no idea what to do with it. After shopping my first Psychology class I was thoroughly mistaken. In the end, if you read the title of this blog, I became an English Major.

As an English major, more often than I would like to, I hear the same thing; “Oh…that’s nice,” followed by “So, what are you going to do with that?” Usually I retort back with “Professional hobo.” Which is then followed by the obligatory cocktail dinner party giggle (something President Obama has taken part in with other Humanity Majors).

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Over the summer I came across an article that I only understood until now. It was so greatly titled The Decline and Fall of the English Major.  I recommend that before reading the rest of this post you read the actual article, but if that is too much to ask I’ll give you the gist of it. Basically the author, Verlyn Klinkenborg, explores the reason why there has been a major decline in English majors in college. More students are now majoring in political science, economics, and mathematics. It is based in the idea that there really is no use for the study of literature anymore. It seems as though English majors have the same problem as athletics do on this campus. It won’t necessarily pay off your student debt and the advertisement is lacking.

However, as the author perfectly put, “What is an English major good for? In a way, the best answer has always been, wait and see…Former English majors turn up almost anywhere, in almost any career, and they nearly always bring with them a rich sense of the possibilities of language, literary and otherwise.”

It is an answer that most English majors come to terms with. In a sense I have come to acceptance and actual exercise of this answer both in my classes at Bryn Mawr and in the “real world.” There has never been a career that is specifically designated for an English major which is both a blessing and a curse. No, there will never be job security as a writer. Sadly, I can’t perform open heart surgery with the brilliant words of Walt Whitman. Despite my best efforts I will never be able to understand the inner workings of my own Mac computer, let alone build one from the ground up. But after exploring political expression in short fiction to understanding the just how rebellious authors can be in texts like The Portrait of Dorian Grey and The House of Seven Gables, the words take on more than a narrative. The literature fills your head with countless lifetimes and professions. And on the more comical side, I will never forget one of my professors telling me something along the lines of, “There isn’t a better feeling than insulting someone with literature. You just ooze with wit.”

The point of an English degree isn’t just to read novels and poetry. It is meant to explore the world through language. Articulation is probably the best piece of education any college can give you. So when I graduate in four months with my degree of wit and skill of literary expression, I can proudly say I was an English major.

“No one has found a way to put a dollar sign on this kind of literacy, and I doubt anyone ever will. But everyone who possesses it — no matter how or when it was acquired — knows that it is a rare and precious inheritance.”- Verlyn Klinkenborg

To be continued…

 

Plenary, Firsts, and Computer Malfunctions

Hello There!

First things first, here are the videos I had promised earlier along:

Bryn Mawr College Firsts

Why Do You Like Plenary

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did making them!

Next is an explanation with why they have taken so long. The Sunday before Fall Break my computer decided it needed a little break from working so hard. In the middle of finishing the videos, blog posts, and midterm papers my darling computer froze, shut off, then proceeded to show me a white screen with a gray Apple logo. **Insert dramatic theme music**.  Normally I would have evaded the unsettling emotion of panic about my now possibly lost work. However, I was in the midst of ordering a new external hard drive when this glorious event happened, so I was now overwhelmed with the unsettling feeling that my midterms and other work were no longer in existence. Thankfully, with the help of some wonderful tech people, my computer and its work were restored! If you follow me on Twitter you would have seen my excitement.

This brings me to my next point- the steps needed to save your technological life so you don’t end up like me (freaking out that your life is over).

1. If you do not own an external hard drive already upload important documents onto an internet hard drive like a Google drive.

Signing up for an account is free and you can save and share as many documents as you want!

2. Purchase an external hard drive (or multiple).

I currently own two, but I am also into the works of ordering a third. These things have saved my life in more ways than I can count. I personally love the G-Technology drives.

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You can find and purchase reasonably priced ones on Amazon, but really any external hard drive will work.

3.  Start transferring your documents… and consistently doing so from here on out. 

This could take anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 hours depending on how much work you want to transfer. My first hard drive download took about 2 days to download and organize my files. I cannot say this enough, REALLY take time to sit down and organize your files this will help you in the long run. Especially because you should be backing up your computer every few weeks or at least every other month.

So, that is the end of my spiel. I hope you are having a wonderful Friday!

To be continued…

Long Time No See

Hello Internet Friends!

I apologize for such a long absence, but it is not without purpose I assure you. So far senior year has been a definite whirlwind. From thesising to soccer to event planning for the fabulous class of2014, a lot of my time has been spent in the depths of the library or in the campus center keeping things under control while nursing my coffee addiction.

In order to blow off some steam I have been working on videos to beef up my vlogging side, so be on the look out for my YouTube account for new videos. And do not fret despite my blogging absence new posts will be coming this week. Some include taking a trip down memory lane, my love of soccer, English major shenanigans, and even Plenary! I hope to get most of these published by Friday, so be on the look out. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

To be continued…

 

Pictures from The Women in Public Service Institute

I just realized I had written about the Women in Public Service Project and had carelessly forgotten to post pictures. The horror on my face when I realized this atrocity was surely one for the record books. However, despite my mistake here are some of the photos from such an amazing event on Bryn Mawr’s Campus. 

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Interim President Kim Cassidy

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None other than the one…the only… Former Secretary Hilary Rodham Clinton!!

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Former Secretary Hillary Clinton and the many WPSP Delegates


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The reception in The Cloisters

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Karina Siu ’14 and Vrinda Varia ’13

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Karina Siu ’14 with WPSP Delegate AnaLu Alveno

 

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Zoe Fisher ’15 and Alexis De La Rosa ’16

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Me, Coach Erin DeMarco, and Karina Siu enjoying the reception



First Day of School

Yesterday was my last first day of my undergraduate career. WOW! Is it weird that I still oddly feel like a Freshman? In order to commemorate the day I decided to stalk some of my friends and capture the iconic “First Day of School” Outfit.

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Karina Siu ’14 looking super excited while packing her backpack.

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Helena VanOudenallen ’16 and Allegra Levy ’16 going for the classic shorts and t-shirt.

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Ellie Frye ’14 and Maddy French ’14 flashing their million dollar smiles.

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Freshman Maya Ulin-O’keefe outside of Rock heading to convocation.

After playing paparazzi I had to return my role as Co-President with Jancy Munguia to help set up for Convocation. The wonderful seniors of 2014 picked up their batrobes and lined up ready to march to the steady rhythms of bag pipes. We heard inspirational talks from Interim President Kim Cassidy, graduate students, faculty, and even one of our own from 2014! (Check out the pictures below)

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When did become such a regal senior?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even with a pretty crazy course load and tons of extracurriculars I am super excited to start my adventure as a senior, but I’ve spent enough time on the computer. It’s time to hit the books and get prepped for soccer’s big tournament in Boston this weekend. Who’s up for a bus ride blog post?

To be continued…