Accepted Students Days!

Hello all! I know, it has been a while. It has been a little nuts around here lately. But today has been a lovely day! I had class at 8am and was done for the day by 9:35. That is pretty lovely if you ask me! But the best part of my day you ask?! Welllllllllllll, at noon I got the chance to eat lunch with accepted students and their families and answer questions and tell them how much I love Saint Mike's....because I really do love Saint Mike's. It was really great to get a sense of what they were looking for in a school and to answer questions that may not have been answered on tours. So here are some of my tips for I guess "surviving" accepted students days, because let us be real here, they can be pretty freaking terrifying.

1.) If there are 10 activities on the list, go to all of them. I know, you are probably thinking, do I really have to go to every single thing? And I am able to answer honestly, no you don't, but you probably should. I know sitting through something that you may not be interested in may be more than boring, but whatever you sit through you will gain some information that you didn't already have before.

2.) If there is a tour of a dorm, do it. I guess this one is kind of a no brainer. You obviously want to see where you will spending a whole year of your life living. To me, this is a really important thing.

3.) Ask questions about things that interest you- everyone basically has to give you the same basic overview of the school. But say you are really interested in biology for instance and your tour guide or someone on your panel hasn't talked about it, speak up! They would be more than happy to answer your questions!

4.) See if you can eat lunch with a current student- I did that today and I had a blast! The two girls were amazing and so were their families. I tend to like the more personal settings to ask questions so that I don't have to speak in front of a super large crowd because sometimes that just freaks me out. Also it is great because you get to take the food for a little test drive!

5.) If you do number 4, chances are the person you ate with will have your email address. They will probably email you after the little lunch "date" (for lack of better words). Feel free to respond with any lingering questions you may have, add them on facebook, follow them on twitter or do whatever. They are a great resource for you, especially if you plan on coming to the school in the fall. They will always be willing to help you find places on campus or anything else along those lines. Also, another super big point that you may want to look into is doing an overnight on campus to see what it is like on the weekends. They are some great people to ask about that!

6.) Don't be nervous- we have all been there. It really is no big deal.

7.) Introduce yourself- be brave. See someone sitting alone? Go sit with them and be all like "Hey I'm (insert name here)". Then BAM, one new friend/ familiar face. Also, I would recommend introducing yourself to teachers or people of higher stature in the college. It is great later on when you may need their assistance for something and they are able to put a name to a face.

8.) After your tours, make a pros/cons list. It really helps when it comes time to actually make a decision to figure out what you are actually looking for.

9.) Join the Saint Michael's College Class of 2017 page on facebook! It is a great way to meet other incoming students and to get questions answered if you have any!

10.) Take the time to stray off the beaten path. After the day is done, take the time to just walk around campus and explore. You never know what you are going to find!

I hope all the students that came today had an amazing time and I hope to see many of your faces in the fall!

Oh and another little incentive to come here, the sunsets have been AH-MAY-ZING.

 

Love and first steps,
Susanna

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Guide to Surviving the Vermont Winters

As you may, or may not know, we are currently in the midst of a blizzard here. Currently, as I sit in my nice warm bed, I can look out my window and see a ton of white powdery stuff start to create a super think layer on the ground. I'm not kidding. There is about a foot of snow currently and it is only going to get worse (or better. I personally love the snow so it is better for me.) But anyway. So before I made my decision to come here all my friends back home were like "isn't it cold there?! how are you going to survive with all that snow?" I told them it would be easy. So here are some of my tips to make walking through that blizzard a little more bearable!

1.) LAYERS. I'm telling you... you NEED to layer up when you go outside, especially if you are walking to class. It tends to be freezing outside and as soon as you get into class you feel like Frosty the snowman on a hot summer's day. It is always good to layer!

2.) Get a good pair of snow boots and a good coat. For the ladies- while UGGS are so comfy (I know, I own 3 pairs) they have absolutely no traction on slippery walkways. Make sure you get a good pair that won't make you fall flat on your face. I currently have a pair of Sorrell boots and while they are a little clunky and fairly expensive, I know that they are keeping me warm and dry, keeping me on my feet and they will last for a while! Also, get a good coat that is water proof! This is really important because you don't want your clothes underneath your coat to get soaking wet. A good coat will help to keep you nice and warm.

These right here are Sorell boots. I would HIGHLY suggest getting them or something like them! They really do make a difference!

3.) Check the weather often. This is something I do almost every morning. I always check the weather app on my phone before I start getting dressed in the morning so that I know exactly what the weather is going to look like for the day so I can dress properly.

4.) Moisturize and use Chapstick! My hands tend to get super dry in the winter, so I am totally guilty of putting on lotion about 10 times a day. Also, chapstick is super important. Not only does it keep your lips nice and soft, but most of them smell super good (my current favorite chapstick is Orange Cream from Blistex. It tastes so yummy!)

5.) Blankets! I am a self proclaimed blanket addict. They keep you so warm and cozy. I love to just snuggle up in a ball under my blankets and watch a movie with a nice hot cup of tea or hot coco!

As always,

Love and blizzards,

Susanna

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Smuggs!

     This past weekend I went to Smuggler's Notch and I just wanted to show you all a few pictures! Being a student at SMC is great because we get a $30 season pass through the Wilderness program. It is really awesome and I highly recommend that everyone take advantage of it! Also, as a student, you get 50% off rentals which is AMAZING.

Here are some pictures!


Two of my friends, Candice (l) and Keri (r).

My roommate, Mar, and I!

Q and I were always bus buddies for rugby. We finally got to sit together again!

All the girls!

Candid that Candice took!

The AMAZING view.

 

Want to learn more about Smuggler's Notch? Look HERE!

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Love and mountains,

Susanna

 

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Things You Learn in College...

     Hello all! How is your Monday? Mine is well.....I guess the only word to describe it would be merp. Good news for you, I have just as much knowledge of the word merp as you do, so we are kind of in the same boat here. After looking over the SMC Class of 2017 page, I saw a post that was kind of cool. That post was "What are you looking forward to the most in the fall?" I know when I was in their positions, I was looking forward to meeting new people and moving in. You see in movies and TV shows how college is, but is that really what happens? So, in this post I plan to tell you what you will learn about college. I also have to point out that sort of the general construction of this post was based off of a post that my cousin Shay has on her blog. While her blog was about moving, it really made me think about how it applied to me as a college student. If you would like to look at her blog, you can find it HERE.

     Things you learn in college:
-you will be broke: I mean, come on. This one was a given.

-you crave Ramen at really odd hours: its true. I swear.

-you will learn that you have to work out to burn off all those calories you just consumed in that one bowl of Ramen: trust me, it is a small campus. just walking to your classes doesn't cut it as "working out".

-you will meet some amazing people: I LOVE all of the people I have met so far and I am so happy to have them in my life.

-you will get homesick from time to time: people lie, they say that they will never miss home or never come back or only call their parents once a week. I know people lie because I was one of them. But I have found that cutting off all ties from your family and friends back home is hard. I talk to my parents almost every day.

-you will, sometimes, be up until 4 in the morning studying for your 8 am class: I can honestly say that this has never happened to me, but I am sure it will eventually.

-you will learn to make things simple: I am not really sure how to explain this. I guess I can say that you will learn to organize your time more?

-you will learn to cherish every opportunity that is thrown your way: self explainable.

-you will have massive dance parties in your room when you don't feel like doing homework: admit it, we all have done it or will do it.

-you will fall asleep after that dance party, further putting off your homework: that's a given.

-you will make mistakes: we all do. we are only human.

-you will NEVER forget college: that's for dang sure.

That is what I have gathered for the most part. There may be a sequel to this post, who knows. I guess for now I just plan on going with the flow.
Love and memories,
Susanna

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Oh What a Lovely Place it is.

     Hello Internet world. How are you on this lovely Monday morning? Monday for me is one of my easier days class- wise. On Mondays and Wednesdays I only have Philosophy from 8 AM until 9:35, then I am done for the day. A perk of this is that I don't have any classes on Fridays. Yippie for 3 day weekends every week! Anyway, you are probably thinking what the heck do I do with all my time on Friday? Well, if I don't feel like getting ahead on work that is due for the next week, I normally end up venturing down to good old Church Street. I believe that I have written about adventures on Church Street before (you can read that blog post HERE) but I guess this one is more of an updated/ more informational post about the lovely place. This one is aimed to give you info about my favorite places and some hidden gems that I have recently discovered.

Food Picks, because, come on, who doesn't like food?! (these are in no particular order)

Sweetwaters- the first time I went to Sweetwaters was during the beginning of fall break. I went with my family, mom, dad, brother, cousin, aunt and my uncle. The food was great and it was fairly reasonably priced. I eventually ended up going back about a month or two later with a couple of friends and we had a great time. You can see the menu HERE.

My Little Cupcake- I cannot even begin to describe my love for this place. I find that when ever my friends and I end up going downtown for a "break", as we like to call it, we always end up going to My Little Cupcake. They have amazing homemade cupcakes that are tiny, but one will fill you right up! They have amazing flavors like maple bacon, blueberry cream cheese, red velvet, salted caramel and much more! They also have normal sized cupcakes, cake pops, vegan cupcakes and gluten free cupcakes. What ever you feel like having, you can probably find it there! You can look at the website HERE.  

Three Tomatoes- Personally, I have never been to this restaurant, but a good friend of mine, Colleen, adores it. After exploring their website for a bit, I came to the conclusion that it seems pretty stinking awesome. All the ingredients that they use are all natural and they support local farmers by buying their products. Colleen said "I went there, I wasn't even hungry, but I just kept eating because it was so good." Sounds like a pretty good place to me if you can't stop eating the food! Colleen also recommends the pizza. The menu can be found HERE.

The Skinny Pancake- Like Three Tomatoes, I have never actually had the opportunity to eat their food, but I promise, by the end of the semester I will have eaten their at least once! But trust me, by the smells that come out of their cart on Church Street, it just makes me want to eat their so bad. The restaurant is located near the waterfront, just a short walk from Church Street, and I hear that everything is good, so it is well worth the walk. Website for them is HERE

Stores, because shopping is just so darn fun!

Earthbound Trading Company- Earthbound is probably one of the coolest stores on Church Street. When you walk into the store there are so may bright colors and cool things that you can't help but look around! On the website they say that they provide an eclectic assortment of products at great prices. It is a great place to find gifts for people!

Thrift Shops- what what, what, what.... don't get my reference? That's fine. Whatever. Anyway, all of the thrift shops in Burlington are super cool. There is Second Time Around and Downtown Threads located on Church street which are always favorites of my friends. The prices there are super reasonable and the stuff is really nice!

Burton- I know, it is not located on Church Street, but it is only a little ways away. It is probably one of the coolest stores ever and I highly recommend that anyone, whether you ski or snowboard, check it out!

Attractions, sort of.

Waterfront- This place is amazing. There is a lovely bike path and tons of benches that you can sit on an look out over the lake. I also highly recommend going down their to watch the sunsets. (Guys out there reading this, I just gave you a MASSIVE tip on where to take your girl on Valentine's Day, don't screw it up!)

Camel's Hump State Park- I have never been there, but it is on my bucket list for spring. Hiking it takes about a total of 3 hours and I hear that the views from the top are amazing. I definitely want to check it out!

Here are some cool videos about Burlington and Winooski. Shout out to Gabbi who stars in the first one!

Love and fun places,

Susanna

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Second Day of Classes!

    Like the title says, today was the second day of classes for the spring 2013 semester. Today was much more hectic than the first, but it was still a good one. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have the bulk of my schedule, 3 classes, in a row, from 9:45 until 2:50, no breaks. Kinda nuts right? Yeah, I mean, it sort of is, but after today, it didn't really seem that bad. I woke up around 7:45 this morning. I am not really sure as to why, but I did. I did my normal morning routine for getting ready then headed out the door at around 9 to go grab some breakfast in Alliot. After breakfast I scurried off with Candice to our Financial Accounting class. It seems very interesting and our professor seems super nice. The class also seems to have a good mix of people which I always like because you can here many different viewpoints. It seems pretty intensive work wise but I feel I can keep up with it.
     My second class of the day was Catholic Christianity. I am basically only taking this course because it is required, but what I gathered from today is that it seems some what interesting, hopefully I will keep thinking that by the time the end of the semester rolls around! But it is also nice that I know a few people in the class and two other girls on my floor are also in the class, Candice and Lexi, so I always have someone to go to if I need to ask a quick question.
     Lastly I had the class that I was most excited for, Media Revolutions. Let me just say that I am still so excited for this class. I have Professor Griffith and she seems so cool and like she really knows what she is talking about. I am interested to see if this class influences my decision to switch my major from business to Media Studies. I guess we will just have to wait and see.
     Well I guess that is it for now! Off to do a boatload of homework!
Love and Second Day of Classes,
Susanna

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First Day of Spring Semester

     Again, I apologize for the lack of a creative title, but I honestly could not think of a creative way to put it. Today, as some of you may, or may not, know was the start of the Spring 2013 semester. Crazy how fast time flies for a first year. I mean, just think about it. I feel like it was just yesterday that I had moved into Lyons 4 North, started the crazy process of Orientation weekend, then started my first college classes ever. And that brings me to now. Sitting on my bed, looking out my window at the construction, typing this to tell you about my first day. I know, you are probably thinking, "Susanna, it is only 11 o'clock, what do you mean you are going to tell us about your first day?" Well, on Monday and Wednesdays I only have one class. That class is Philosophy at 8 am which means that I am done for the day at 9:35. Kind of nice, right? Well it is. But my Tuesday and Thursday are going to be nuts. I will probably tell you about those tomorrow.
    Now onto Philosophy. For me, I am really only taking it because it fills a requirement. In simpler terms, I have to take it. The professor for this class is James Amsbury and he seems like an awesome professor and from sitting in class on the first day the class already seems pretty interesting. I also have this class with two girls on my floor, Colleen and Emma, which I think is great because we always have a study buddy if necessary. After Philosophy I went to breakfast with Mar, my roommate, Candice and Keri. And that brings me to now. Picture me, sitting under a blanket on my bed, typing this while listening to Passion Pit and Colleen complaining about too big puffy winter coats. Sounds fun right? Well it is. Happy first day of the semester!
    Love and firsts,
Susanna

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