Florida Adventure!

   Hey all! Sorry I haven't written in like eternity! But ain't no stressin'! I'm back now! So as you hopefully know, it has been summer break for me for about 2ish weeks! YAY FOR SUMMER! I start work on June 15th (and I am super exited about it! #summercampswag). But for the past couple of weeks I have been having a little bit of fun. Last week I was in Orlando, Florida and it was totally lovely! My family and I haven't been for Florida since my brother and I were around the age of 7, so it was super exciting for us! We stayed at a lovely resort called Silver Lake Resort. It was beautiful and our 2 bedroom condo was enormous! There were 4 pools on the property plus a hot tub, tennis courts and a massive game room. Plus all week it was 87 and sunny! Now that is the summer weather I was hoping for! 
 

One of the lovely pools at the resort!

View from the plane!

   On Monday we went to Island Of Adventure which is part of Universal. My brother is a huge fan of Harry Potter so of course we had to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was fantastic! Hogsmeade looked exactly like the movies! We went on all the rides and went in all the little shops. My favorite ride probably had to be the Dragon Challenge roller coaster, but I preferred the red side to the blue. The butterbeer was also delicious. Nick, my brother, got the carbonated soda-like one and I got the frozen one. Personally, I liked the frozen one better! Nick also got Pumpkin Juice which tasted like apple cider, it was pretty yummy! After about an hour or two in Harry Potter World, it started to get pretty crowded, so we ventured out to the rest of the park. I was stunned at all of the architecture within the park. Each section looks completely different which was amazing to me! 

Hogwarts!

ButterBeer!

Just hanging with my friends!

Pumpkin Juice!

The cutest train conductor ever!

    On Tuesday we went to Universal Studios. It was a little less crowded but still as cool. The first ride we went on was the RockIt roller coaster and holy crap. I will insert a picture down below so you can see what I mean but the initial climb was a solid 90 degrees. I was screaming before the roller coaster even went down the hill! Universal was really awesome though. It was split up into different cities, so there was a New York City section, San Francisco and so on. Each place looked so real! We saw a lot of fun shows there too, like an Animal Actors show and a Horror Makeup Show. 

Universal!

This show was hilarious and pretty interesting!

Just me chillin' at my New York City apartment. 

This is the RockIt. Just look at it. Insane right?

   Wednesday my brother and dad went to Cape Canaveral to see the space station while mom and I stayed at the resort and hung out by the pool. It was a beautiful day of relaxation with my mom and my brother and dad loved the space station.

   Thursday we decided to go back to Island of Adventure. We didn't stay as long as we did on Monday because there were many more people. We rode all of the rides that we really wanted to ride then headed back to the resort around 1:30 and hung out by the pool for the rest of the day!

    Friday was our last full day in Florida, sad, I know. We just relaxed by the pool all day because the weather was gorgeous. Later in the night we went out to eat at Bonefish Grill (if I can remember correctly) and the food was delicious! After that we had to participate in a typical Shigo family vacation game of mini golf. We found this pirate mini golf place and played. I lost. Badly. But it was a beautiful night and the sunset was magnificent. 

The beautiful sunset. It is almost as pretty as the ones at SMC!

    Saturday we were up bright and early to catch our flight to Hartford. We got stuck on the plane with all the screaming little kids, but it wasn't that bad. Now we are all home and settling back into some sort of routine. I am trying to see all my friends from high school before I leave for the summer to work at summer camp. 
   Overall, my start to summer has been amazing! Also, I have been getting a lot of questions from the Class of 2017 on Facebook. If you are reading this and have any questions that you would like me to address in a blog, tell me! If you have a question about something, chances are another person has the same question! So don't hesitate, I love hearing from you all!!

Love and summuhhh time!
Susanna

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What am I listening to?
(this song below has been one of my favorite summer songs!)

Classes for Next Year!

     Lately, I have been getting a ton of questions about what classes I am taking next year. So I figured, why not tell you!? Earlier this semester I declared my major as Media Studies & Digital Arts (with Journalism) and I could not be happier! I am so excited to really start taking classes in this major as it really interests me! In the fall, I will be taking 3 media classes and 1 other course to satisfy one of my LSCs.

The classes I am taking are:

MJD-110: Digital Media: Art, Culture and Theory (Monday & Wednesday from 1:30-3:05) with Professor Swope.
The course description is as followed:
"Digital media have changed radically the ways words, images, and sounds can be manipulated and delivered and, in the process, have altered the ways in which humans communicate, express ideas, get information, and conduct relationships. Students are introduced to new technologies used to create digital art and develop basic proficiencies in digital imaging (Adobe Photoshop), digital illustration and animation (Adobe Illustrator), and web design (Adobe Dreamweaver). Students are introduced to the critical examination of the digital revolution, including issues connected to privacy, consumerism, artistic/creative expression, media ownership, multitasking, and mediated representations of reality."
*Course descriptions copied from KnightVision*
I am really excited to take this course. I am so stoked to start learning photoshop, as I have always wanted to learn. I have heard great things about this class which makes me even more excited!

MJD-213: Media Law & Ethics in the Digital Age (Tuesday & Thursday from 9:45- 11:20) with Professor Griffith
The course description is as followed:
"This course explores the political, historic and philosophical roots of the First Amendment. Particular emphasis is given to the legal and ethical problems of the new communications technologies; other topics include libel, privacy, obscenity, news gathering, copyright, and the free press/fair trial dilemma. The class also provides insights into how the legal process works and an understanding of the principles and philosophies that underlie the restraints on and privileges of the media. After analyzing what the law says journalists can do, the course moves into the ethical component of what they should do. Using basic philosophical theories, students analyze ethical dilemmas through the use of case studies. Using multimedia, guest speakers and current events the course considers media law and ethics and its impact of journalists' ability to fulfill the historic function of the press to inform the public."
I had Professor Griffith this semester for Media Revolutions and I really enjoyed her teaching style. She is very knowledgeable about the subjects she teaches and you can see her passion in the subject when she is teaching. I am really interested in the legal side of media so I think this course is right up my ally. I am really interested to see what this course has to offer. 

MJD-219: Magazine Writing (Tuesday & Thursday from 8:00- 9:35) with Professor A. Cleary
Course Description:
"Various topics, ranging from women in the mass media to advanced Web design and theory to literary journalism."
I know I have said that I am excited for all of the previous classes, but I am REALLY excited for this class. My advisor said that this class hasn't been offered for a while so obviously I jumped at the chance to get into this class. I love reading magazines so it will be really cool to get a glimpse of what it would be like to write for one. Even though this class is early in the morning, I think I will find it interesting enough to get me out of bed bright and early!

GG-102: Intro to Physical Geography (Wednesday & Friday from 9:45-10:50 w/ lab Friday from 1:30-4:30) with Professor Stroup
Course Description:

"This course is a systematic study of elements that compose the Earth's physical environment: weather/climate, vegetation, soil, and landforms. The emphasis of the course is on these processes, but human-environment relationships are also examined. Labs promote hypothesis testing, sampling, and experimentation on processes and interactions occurring in the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere." Ok, I am the first person to admit that I stink at science. As part of our liberal arts requirement we have to take a science class with a lab. One of my good friends, Lida, was planning on taking this class, so I figured why not just take it. So that's what I am doing. I am not really sure how it is going to go, but it seems pretty interesting.  It is just so crazy that the end of this semester is coming up so fast. In 3 days, I will be 1/4 done with my college career. How crazy is that?! Love and classes, Susanna Questions? Comments? Just wanna say hey? Email Me! Tweet Tweet @shigosusanna Leave a comment down below! What am I listening to? (I know, I have been a bit on a country kick lately. I guess it is a side effect of all this warm weather!)

    

Last Full Week

     So this is really sad. My time as a freshman here at SMC is coming to a close way faster than I ever would have expected. I know I say it a lot, but it seems like just yesterday I was moving in to my room in Lyons. Now, I am planning on moving out. It has all just gone by so fast. This past week has just been a jumble of finishing classes, studying and going on adventures. My friends and I have recently been on an adventure kick. They are just such great ways to get away from the stresses of the upcoming finals and the fact that in a week we have to say goodbye to each other. Adventures give us time to hang out with each other without having to worry about classes. My roommate Mar is headed back to the Netherlands next week and is not coming back next year. Earlier in the semester, she made a bucket list of things she wanted to do while she was here, so we have been gradually crossing off the last do-able things on the list.

     The weather lately has been amazing. Sunny, warm, not a cloud in the sky type of days. Most of our adventures have taken place outside lately because, I mean, come on, who would want to be stuck inside on amazingly beautiful days?! One adventure we took earlier in the week was over to the view and then down to the train tracks. Lida, Mar, Candice, Keri and I all ventured down there and Lida took some amazing pictures. Here are some below!

(l to r:Candice, Me, Mar and Lida)

(l to r: Candice, Me, Mar and Keri)

one of my personal favorites!

such a good picture!

(l to r: Lida, Mar and Candice sitting at the view. Camel's Hump in the background)

Typical Suze face and Keri's imitation of it!

     One thing on Mar's bucket list was to eat a Vermonster from Ben & Jerry's. For those of you that don't know, a Vermonster consists of 20 scoops of ice cream, 4 bananas, 4 ladles of hot fudge, 3 chocolate chip cookies, 1 brownie, 10 scoops of walnuts, 2 scoops of 4 toppings of your choice, and whipped cream. Lida, Mar, Candice and I were planning on eating it, but then had second thoughts. Instead, we opted for a half Vermonster. It was much cheaper and saved us from being severely sick. After that, we ventured down to the waterfront because it was a beautiful 77 degree day. The sun was shining, people were playing football on the green and the water was lapping up on the sandy shore. As we were walking back to the bus, we remembered another thing on Mar's bucket list: eat a maple creemee. After that half Vermonster, just the thought of more ice cream made us all want to vomit, but she had to get one! So we stopped at a little stand near the water front and Mar got her first taste of a maple creemee. We then headed back to a fun night of studying like mad women for finals! 

about to dig in!

the aftermath! 

the beautiful bushes near the lake!
(l to r: Keri, Lida, Me, Mar, Colleen and Candice)

Love and ice cream overload,
Susanna

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***Thank you bunches to my friend, Lida, for letting me use some of her amazing pictures on this post! 

P-Day Weekend!

     This weekend was one of the best times I have had at Saint Mike's this whole year. Since I started in August, I have been hearing a ton about P-Day and how much fun it was, but I still did not really know what to expect. P-Day weekend all started on Thursday night. 

     On Thursday, Saint Mike's campus was graced by the presence of Macklemore. Amazing. Over 3,000 people packed into the gym to watch him perform and let me tell you, it was FANTASTIC. He not only was great live, but he took the time to express his love for our community here on campus. One of our own SMC family members was diagnosed with leukemia and was unable to make it to the concert. Macklemore took time out of his day to go visit him at the hospital which tells a lot about his character. Then at the concert he told everyone that he went to the hospital and let me tell you, I was on the verge of tears. Between the jumping, dancing and singing (badly), I don't think I will forget this concert.

MACKLEMORE!

Macklemore sitting on the crowd

ladies ready for the concert!

     Friday was a pretty normal day. I don't have class on Friday's so for the most part it was like every other Friday. At around 12:30, all of the dance classes had their recital on the lawn between the library and Tarrant/ Ross. It was so funny to see some of my friends preform dances that they have been learning all semester. Later that day, both of the rugby teams on campus had their last games of the season. It was really sad to know that I won't be back out on the pitch for a couple months. I will really miss all of our graduating seniors. They have taught me so much over this past year and have become some of my close friends. It was also really nice to see a lot of Saint Mike's students come out to the games (it could have been because Alliot dinner was moved out there, but they still got to witness two awesome games of rugby!).

one of the dance classes. I believe they were pretending to be monkeys but I am not entirely sure.

The ever fabulous Gabbi Hall doing ballet!

My lovely RA Bizzy dancing her little heart out!

All of the dancers preforming Beat It!

     Saturday was the day that we have been waiting for all year. Saturday was P-DAY. WOOOOOO! That morning I woke up early because the rugby teams were signed up to do a three mile walk for Multiple Sclerosis. There were about 50 of us and it was a great time! We raised a ton of money for research and got to enjoy the beautiful morning! After that we all headed back to campus to celebrate the biggest campus holiday. P-Day is sort of what other colleges would call "Spring Fest", only ours is way better. We have a trike race, inflatables, live music, and free food! A lot of people make shirts with all their friends and just lay out and have a blast. Later in the night there was a mind reader/sword swallower and he was insanely amazing. Some of the things he did I was like "how the heck is that even possible." After that performance everyone found their way to Alliot for Late Night Breakfast. All I can say about it is that 1.) I wish it happened every weekend and 2.) it was so entertaining. 

The beautiful view from the MS walk!

The girls!

You can clearly tell that I adore Kallie!

     Sunday the campus was pretty quiet. As the hours passed the weather became amazing and a ton of people flooded the library lawn to do homework, play music or throw frisbees. Yesterday was the perfect end to an amazing weekend!

Sunday evening: sitting on the library lawn with Keri as she blows bubbles. 

Love and sunshine,
Susanna


Questions? Comments? Just wanna say hey?
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Almost the End

     Well, this is weird. We currently have less than 2 weeks left of this school year and I have entered into freak out mode. This week has gone by incredibly fast and it is only going to speed up after today. Tonight is a very busy day for me. I woke up at 7 am this morning to be in Ross Sports Center to help set up the stage for the Macklemore Concert that is occurring tonight on campus. I am BEYOND excited to say the least. It is going to be a blast. Right now, I am sitting in financial accounting. From here, I go to Catholic Christianity and then I have to Media Revolutions and give a presentation. Then I head over to practice and then it is the concert! Crazy day right? Yeah, well its not over after the concert. After the concert, both rugby teams on campus are helping to take down the stage. Then I can finally go to bed after that! 
     Friday's are normally my day off. I don't have any classes on Friday so thankfully I can sleep in. Both rugby teams have games on Friday (Women's at 4 and Men's at 6). From there we will all be heading to the MLK Talent Show which I am really excited to see. I have heard a lot about it and have seen a ton of videos of it on Youtube. Here are some!

The ever fabulous Gabbi singing!

This was the winner last year!

     Saturday, both of the rugby teams are walking in an MS walk before P-DAY. When we get back it is officially P-DAY! P-Day stands for preparation day. Everyone makes tshirts with their friends, sits outside, and takes advantage of the bouncy houses and free food that is placed on the 300's field. There are also musical acts and a sword swallower! I am so excited! This weekend is going to be a blast! 

Some video footage of P-Day 2011! It looks like so much fun!

     It is just crazy to think that my first year here at Saint Mike's is almost over. It feels like just yesterday I was pulling into the parking lot behind Tarrant to pick up my keys to move in. Saint Mike's has honestly become my second home and I could not see myself any place else. I get so excited each day when I look at the Class of 2017 page and see all new SMC family members as excited as I was to come here. I will say to them that the excitement never goes away. I am always excited when I am here at Saint Mike's. 
     One last thing before I go. I wanted to thank all of my readers, without you this blog would mean nothing. Earlier this week I was awarded with one of the SMC Bloggers of the year along with fellow blogger Alex! It was truly an honor, but I would not have received it without all of your support! So thank you thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU!

Love and the final stretch,
Susanna

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Backpack Backpack Yeah!

Hello all! Tech Fast 2013 is now over! HOORAH! Anyway, I have been meaning to address this in a post and just haven't gotten around to it, so I am now!
     
     A couple of weeks ago I was asked a lovely question by a student on the class of 2017 Facebook Page. (I encourage all Class of 2017 people to go join!) The question was about backpacks on campus. The question was....

     "Do most students on campus use backpacks or do they just use small bags?"

So here are my backpack tips and how I organize/what I have in my backpack!

While some people on campus use tote bags, the majority of people on campus use backpacks. It seems to just be easier when you have 2 textbooks, 3 note books, your laptop and a bunch of other stuff in your bag. It is just a lot easier to carry everything without getting really weighed down on one side!
    Here are some tips!

• Get a sturdy backpack: backpacks can get pricey. But for me, I think it is worth it. My backpack is my life and can be used for many things. While you would normally just take it to class, it can be used for day hikes, bike ride trips, overnight trips or a gym bag. They always come in handy. Also, getting a waterproof backpack is a good idea. It does rain, snow and hail and your backpack tends to be exposed to those elements. So getting a waterproof backpack protects all of your precious cargo on the inside. While at the moment dropping a good $40-$100 on a backpack might not seem like a smart idea, it is. That backpack will last you all four years in college plus more years. A good backpack is everything. 

• Try to get one with a laptop compartment: while not necessary, it is nice to have a designated place to hold your beloved laptop. It just prevents it from being damaged and the laptop specific pockets tend to have a little more padding to cushion it. 

• Be unique: As you may or may not know, no backpacks are allowed in the Green Mountain Dining Hall (Alliot) so we all just leave them outside. In coming to school, I really just wanted a plain, black, North Face backpack. When I came for one of my tours, I noticed that half of the bags outside of Alliot are black North Face backpacks. I would suggest getting a funky colored backpack or, if you really want that black North Face backpack, add some pizazz with ribbons or pins so you can separate yours from all the others!

• Get one with water bottle holders: Everyone on the SMC campus carries a water bottle to help the campus go green. It is always nice to have some water or something to drink if you are thirsty without having to spend money at a vending machine to grab a water bottle. Also, there are water bottle filling stations all over campus which really comes in handy!

What is in my backpack you ask? Well, why don't we take a look!?

My backpack is the Burton Treble Yell backpack. It is black and white checkered and I am in love with it. It is easy to spot in Alliot while also being neutral colors (it matches with all my outfits. haha)

My backpack!

What is in my backpack?

• Bottom pocket: graphing calculator (TI-84), lotion, body spray, 2 hand sanitizers (don't ask me why I have 2 because I have no idea), and sunglasses.

• Top little pocket: a slew of pens, pencils and highlighters. (I cannot just carry around one pencil, one pen and one highlighter. It gives me major anxiety to not have options), post-it-notes, gum, chapstick and normally a granola bar (just in case I don't have time to run to Alliot to eat!).

• Big main pocket: as of now, I have 3 notebooks (Media Rev, Financial Accounting and Catholic Christianity) I also have my planner, my Financial Accounting Book and my Media Revolutions book. On Tuesdays and Thursdays my laptop is normally occupying the laptop pocket. 

• Side mesh pockets: my water bottle normally occupies one of those, the other is almost always empty.

I hope that you found this post helpful! If you have any questions feel free to ask away!

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Love and backpacks,

Susanna

Easter Weekend and Bye Bye iPhone

Hi all! This week/ weekend have been pretty crazy around here! Luckily, last week we had wonderful weather, meaning all the snow was finally melted off of the 300's field! YIPPIE for spring rugby! We had a great week of practices and I cannot wait for this week. We have 2 games this weekend, one on Friday at 5 against UVM. This will be a B side game, I believe so I will get to play. Also it is really nice to be playing on our home turf. On Saturday we have a MASSIVE game. This is the first time in school history that a National Playoff game has been held here. Big deal right?! I am so excited to see my lovely teammates play. We have all worked so hard for this. (Hey you reading this. Yeah you. If you are by Saint Michael's College Saturday morning, you better be there. I mean it.) 
      This past weekend was Easter weekend. One of the perks of being at a Catholic school is that we get a lovely 4 day weekend for this lovely holiday. This was the first time that I wasn't in Massachusetts with my entire family for Easter. Since my brother did not have the weekend off, my parents came up here to spend a little time with us. Thursday afternoon I went with my friend Keri, my roommate Mar and our next door neighbor Candice to Keri's house to get a little taste of a very Vermont Easter! Even though I was only there for a little over 24 hours, I had so much fun! On Thursday when we got there, her family was a little ways down the road at their sugar house making maple syrup. I grew up only eating Vermont maple syrup so I was really excited to see how it was made. The sugar house was the cutest thing and her family was the sweetest. Plus, we got to try some freshly made maple syrup and holy goodness it was amazing. I could drink it all day! We then went back to Keri's house and passed out we were all so tired. The next morning we woke up and made a massive breakfast of waffles (with maple syrup of course) and a yummy smoothie. We lounged around for a while then went for a walk around Keri's house. Even though it was a little rainy it was so beautiful. After the walk, we played a couple card games for a little bit while we waited for her mom to get home so we could take the car and venture down to Montpelier. On the way, we picked up our other friend, Anne Marie. We had a blast walking around the cute town. The shops are adorable there. After that we just drove around a little bit and Anne Marie and Keri kind of gave us the low-down on the area. At around 6 my parents picked me up and we started back to Burlington to go to my Aunt and Uncle's house.

Keri's house is the cutest house ever!

Dirt roads for days.

Montpelier!

     Friday night we just stayed in, talked, and ate some yummy pizza from Leonardo's. I found myself asleep by around 10. I was so tired. The next day was also a pretty lazy day. I played with the three dogs for a while, took a walk with my mom and slept a little more. Later that night, my cousin Kevin, my brother Nick, my uncle Emmett, my cousin Finch and her friend and my cousin Ryan and his fiance came over for Easter dinner. My mom made a lovely meal and we were all happy to see each other again. It is always funny to be around my Uncle Ted and Uncle Emmett because they both went to Saint Mike's. They always end up telling me stories about it and it is just hilarious. Saturday night I spent in my dorm room, pretty boring as no one was here. Sunday morning my family and I went to 11 o'clock mass, I said my goodbyes and they were off.

Tupelo the terror. We were all surprised that he stopped playing for once.

The cousins!
(l to r: Maryse, Ryan, Me, Finch, Nick, Kevin, Ayla)

    Then I guess that brings me to today. I woke up pretty late, around 10. Had some cereal and started taking in all the technology that I could. Tomorrow I start my one week technology fast for Media Rev. I have to admit. I am pretty freaking nervous. I do admit, I am addicted to technology and the thought of giving my teacher my phone and her locking it up for a week gives me nightmares. The only thing I can compare it too is me having to sacrifice my first born child. Yeah, I am that addicted. We will see how this goes.

Love and anxiety attacks because I don't have my iPhone,
Susanna

Questions? Comments? Just wanna say Hey?
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