Tom's Blog

Past few weeks

trn001@mcdaniel.edu — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:37:00 GMT

First off, apologies for not blogging in a while. I've been super busy. The past few weeks have been hectic but a lot of fun, I'll try to fit everything in:

1. Greek Week

Greek Week is essentially a competition between all the social sororities and fraternities on campus. We participate in quad games, track and field events, swimming races, and lots of other stuff every night. At the end, a winning fraternity and sorority are announced based on how many events were won. I'm glad to say that Alpha Sigma Phi brought home to gold!

2. Initiation

After a couple months, I finally got initiated as a brother into Alpha Sigma Phi. I can't really talk about it what happened, but I can say that I'm so glad I made the choice I did. For all you incoming freshman - try to have an open mind about greek life. The scene here is different from a lot of schools, and can be extremely fulfilling. Even if you don't think it's for you, just go to some greek-sponsored events and talk to people. You may find a whole new group of friends and brothers (or sisters).

3. Spring Fling

I'm sure you'll find out when you get here, but Spring Fling is one of the most anticipated events of the year. It starts on Monday, with an activity every night. These include clubrooms (basically dance parties) and laser tag in the gym. But Saturday is the best. The quad is filled with games and activities, like inflatable obstacle courses and tie dye, CAPBoard gets a couple live bands, and everyone just hangs out all day outside. The weather this year was absolutely gorgeous, so the day was amazing. It may not come until the last few weeks, but it's definitely worth the wait.

4. Maryland Student Legislature Annual Session

Probably not as interesting as the other stuff, MSL Annual Session is when MSL chapters from around the state go to Annapolis to debate bills on the floor of the House of Delegates and Senate. It's basically college students pretending to be legislators. It actually turned out to be a lot of fun, because we got to hang out with students from all over the state, as well as meet some of Maryland's most famous politicians. And, as this was my first time to Annapolis, I got to see the city, which was really cool. MSL is something for all you potential Political Science majors to check out.

So that's the past few weeks in a nutshell. Schoolwork has been keeping me busy, but it's the last week of classes! It's weird to think that I've already been here for a year, the time has flown by so fast. I'll probably have one more post to do, next week sometime. At this point, I'm sure you all have decided on McDaniel, so welcome! I look forward to seeing you on the Hill next year.

Last Leg

trn001@mcdaniel.edu — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:18:00 GMT

It's hard to believe that I'm in the home stretch of my first year of college. These past couple weeks after spring break have been hectic (hence no post) but a lot of fun, and very surreal. The first weekend back was the Black Student Union's annual Fashion Show, which was awesome. I don't know if I mentioned this or not, but I was asked back in November to be a model in it, and we've been working on it ever since. Fortunately, all the hard work payed off, and the show went great and was a ton of fun. Plus, now I have some more free time to write all the papers that I have...

My fraternity stuff is wrapping up, too, with only about two and a half weeks left in the pledge period. In fact, almost all of the other pledges in other fraternities have already been initiated. Admittedly, AΣΦ does have one of the longest pledge periods at the college. I'm just really excited to be a full brother. As I've been getting to know the inner workings of the fraternity and more about the other brothers, I'm becoming happier that I made the choice I did.

I also got a little freaked out by Admitted Students Day this past weekend. It's weird to think that soon, I won't be a freshman anymore, and a whole new group of people will be coming into the school. This year has flown by so far - I still feel like I only just moved into my dorm. But I'm definitely excited for next year, and everything it brings with it. Assuming I get all the classes I want, I'm going to have an awesome schedule. (Nothing before 11:40 in the morning!) Hopefully I'll get to see some of you around campus in the fall?

Cabin Fever

trn001@mcdaniel.edu — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 23:37:00 GMT

This has probably been the best weekend I've had all semester. The weather was beautiful, I had a couple adventures, and now the only this standing between me and spring break is a week of classes. It actually feels a little bit like summer is here, with how everyone has been acting. Almost everyone I know took advantage of the weather this weekend, from playing horseshoe in the North Village quad to doing their homework outside on the grass.

Personally, I wasted most of the daylight by sleeping. But the nights were a ton of fun. On Friday, I joined the French club on a trip to the embassy in D.C. for "La Grande Fête de la Francophonie." It was, essentially, an all-you-can-eat buffet featuring cuisine from every Francophone country in the world, and then some. A lot of fun, and a lot of really good food. The next two nights were spent split between hanging out with some of the Alpha Sigma Phi brothers - I got to meet some alumni of the chapter - and the theatre, as this was the weekend of Amadeus, the theatre department's spring performance. They did a great job with it, per usual, and built an intense set.

Overall, it was great to unwind and have some fun for a while. Unfortunately, I'm now stuck with a pretty decent amount of homework. Midterms are this week, though I lucked out and only have to take a couple, and finish a paper. After that, it's home to Boston for spring break. Not as exciting as some of my other friends, but the time home and free laundry will be greatly appreciated. My only hope is that I'll be able to resist the allure of the gorgeous weather enough to actually buckle down and study...

Snow Day. Yesssss.

trn001@mcdaniel.edu — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:09:00 GMT

Here's the thing about living in Massachusetts. We get snow fairly often, and in fairly large quantities, so we know how to deal storms and large accumulations. Consequently, we don't really get snow days, especially not my district, because it's so tiny. Not to diss Maryland, but the fact that you guys don't have the snow-clearing resources of more northernly states is awesome. You see, I woke up this morning to discover that the college wasn't opening until 11, and promptly shut off my alarm and went back to sleep. It was fantastic, a joy that I rarely got to experience in high school.

What does that mean for my day? Well, my first two classes are cancelled. I don't have anywhere to be until 3 in the afternoon. I just enjoyed a nice leisurely breakfast. And the day is rife with possibilities: I can watch a movie, do some reading for fun (yes, there are people who do that), play video games, or I may go sledding on the golf course, a college tradition when it snows. I'll see what else is out there. I might even go make a snowman in the quad.

I would also like to point out the fact that in my previous entry, I talked about how glad I was that it's getting warmer. Gotta love the irony.

I can't really even categorize what's in this entry.

trn001@mcdaniel.edu — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:12:00 GMT

I love the weather right now. While it's usually pretty cold back home, I started getting sick of winter weather a couple of weeks ago. Luckily this week has been just getting progressively warmer, and it's starting to show around campus. Some people may have certain signs for spring - birds returning, trees turning green, that sort of stuff. For us, it's when Turtle Buddy starts having jam sessions out on Red Square again, which happened a couple days ago. Then, when I was walking to gospel choir rehearsal last night, I saw people out on the quad in between DMC and ANW playing frisbee for the first time in a long time. And of course, nothing beats walking across campus to class without freezing. It'll be great to finally spend some time out of doors again.

Another good part about this week came on Monday morning. My French professor had a conference to go to, and put the director of the French house in charge of class for the day. Well, the residents of the French house, (almost all of whom are in my class) decided that we would have class there instead of the normal classroom setting. It was so much fun. Though all we did was peer-review papers that we're writing, we made hot chocolate and got to sit on couches instead of in desks. It was a little cozy, but still a lot better then being in the basement of Hill Hall. I'm hoping that we can have more days like that in the future.

Going Greek pt. II - Bid Day

trn001@mcdaniel.edu — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:00:00 GMT

I must apologize for my absence over the past week or so. Like Jason, I was lucky enough to participate in HNMUN over the weekend. Unfortunately, it left little time for anything else, like homework and the blog. But I had a great experience there and met a lot of awesome people. And the chance to be back home for a little bit was definitely worth it.

What has overshadowed this past weekend slightly for me, however, was Bid Day. Bid Day is when all the students who want to go Greek that semester find out what fraternity or sorority is offering them membership. After two weeks of smokers (or, in the girls' case, rounds), we finally get to see who wants us, so to speak. How the fraternities do it is quite different from the sororities, as well.

My experience, as well as that of my fellow pledges to Alpha Sigma Phi, was this - a little after midnight, a few brothers came to my room and asked me to follow them outside. When I did, I found that about half the fraternity was waiting there for me. They offered me my bid, I accepted, and there was much celebration. (I apologize for the Monty Python reference. I didn't mean to.) From there, they went and rounded up all the other bids - there were about seven of us in total - each being offered the bid individually. Once everyone had accepted, rejected, or deferred, there was a short ceremony in Red Square, and then we filled out paperwork back at the clubroom. It may not seem exciting, but it was definitely a great night on my part.

The sorority version of Bid Day goes like this. Each girl who has been offered a bid is gathered by representatives from each of the three sororities. They are then all brought to Big Baker chapel, where the entirety of the three sororities are waiting. (And yelling. A lot.) Each of the girls has their name announced, followed by the sorority that wants them to join. Then they go and join their new "sisters" in the pews. Again, doesn't sound like much, but it's a lot cooler when you're there.

And now, I am no longer a bid, but a pledge, on my way to becoming a full-fledged brother.

trn001@mcdaniel.edu — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 02:58:00 GMT

I don't know how many of you check the McDaniel website regularly, or if you're from Carroll County, read the news, but recently the college lost one of its own. His name was Tom Rouleau, a sophomore, and a friend of mine. We weren't very close, but shared a lot of friends, and our paths crossed fairly often. He was involved in a car accident - a hit and run with a pickup truck - on Friday night. Four others were injured, two of them also friends of mine. As far as I know, one is still in the hospital. Needless to say, everyone I know is really shaken up. It's always unfortunate when someone has to cope with the loss of a friend at this age, especially so suddenly. But I can honestly say that there is no other place I would rather be right now than here with my friends.

One of the most important things I've learned since I've been here is how to handle tragedies when you're far away from your families and friends at home, mostly out of necessity. You really have to rely on your friends to get through it. Another friend of mine, Pauline, lost her grandfather at the beginning of the week. While it was expected, since he had been sick for a while, her problem is that she's from France. She didn't have her sister or best friend to grieve with when she first found out, just us here. We did what we could, listening to her favorites stories about her grandfather and searching for a ride to BWI the next day. I think we did a pretty good job, as she was feeling better when she left the next day. We obviously couldn't do or say much, since we didn't really know her grandfather, but we were there for her.

That's a lot of what's been happening with my friends this weekend. Very rarely have we left each other, whether its sharing Chinese food in someone's dorm for lunch, making a late-night trip to Denny's, or just sitting around at the gazebo telling stories about the crazy stuff that Tom did. We just did what we could to help each other out, and keep our spirits from getting to low. And as rough as this next week may be, I know that we'll all come out of this as better friends, and with a greater appreciation for everything that we have. It's not just the good times at college that forge lasting friendships - the bad times probably do the most to build them.

If you're the praying type, I ask that you keep the Rouleau family and all those injured in the crash in your prayers. Thank you.

Going Greek

trn001@mcdaniel.edu — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:48:00 GMT

Since I've been here, I've done a lot of stuff that I never thought I would do in high school. Put probably the decision that I surprised myself the most with was that to pledge one of the fraternities here on campus. Until I got here, I was never really into the idea of greek life at college. Like most people, I thought that everyone who pledged was the stereotypical frat guy, and that the main focus of fraternities and sororities was parties. But I've gotten to know a lot of people involved in greek life here, and I've seen how different it really is.

The most shocking thing for me was the kind of people who were in greek life. It wasn't as much the expected kind of guy or girl, but more of people who are involved throughout campus. A lot of the brothers in Alpha Sigma Phi, the fraternity I plan on pledging, are like the kind of people I hung out with in high school. They're involved in groups like the jazz band, photography club, service organizations, and honor societies for various academic departments. The fraternities and sororities also place a big emphasis on community service, and are usually big players in campus fundraisers, and events like Homecoming.

Because it's still early in the semester, I haven't begun the pledging process yet. Next week is an open house with all the fraternities on campus, which begins bidding. Prospective pledges get invites to open and closed "smokers" - essential hangouts with the current brothers - that take place over the next few weeks. By the end of the next couple weeks, I'll get a bid and find out which fraternity I can pledge - a day know as, believe it or not, "Bid Day." I'll certainly update on the process as much as I can, but right now I'm just waiting to get started.

So this entry is really corny. But whatever.

trn001@mcdaniel.edu — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:27:00 GMT

It's a week into the spring semester, and I'm so glad to be back at college. The break was definitely needed and enjoyed. But after a few weeks of working almost every day, I couldn't wait to be back on the hill with all of my friends. I actually left a week early and went to stay with a friend in Gaithersburg, so that I could attend the inauguration, which was an awesome experience. Once I was back at McDaniel, it was really weird to see how things had changed from last semester. A lot of my friends had left to go abroad, and a couple had transfered. But in their place were a whole bunch of kids who had transfered in, as well as those who had been abroad during the fall and were now back on campus. So, after four months, I'm still meeting new people and making friends.

I've come into this semester with high hopes. I'm trying to challenge myself academically, and hopefully develop some new, better habits. I also want to work on getting a little bit more involved on campus, both in new activities and the ones I already participate in. It should be interesting, but I'm going in with a lot of energy. Here's to a great semester!

Catching Up

trn001@mcdaniel.edu — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 02:23:00 GMT

First of all, sorry for not posting in a while. Between Thanksgiving break, preparing for finals, and then actual finals, my schedule got a little hectic. But, I can now proudly say that I made it through my first semester of college. I've got all my stuff packed up and ready to go, and tomorrow morning I'm hopping on a plane to go back to Boston until mid-January. But before I do, I want to give you all some advice, whether you choose to go here or not.

1. Try to move on from high school. I'm not saying to forget your friends, memories, and accomplishments, and never go back. But once you reach college, you'll find that the world has so much more to offer. The friends you want to keep in touch with, you will. But try not to go home every weekend, make a place for yourself at your new school. You'll find that you grow a lot more as a person, and when you do go back to visit your high school, you'll be a lot more interesting to talk to.

2. Get involved! While most people say try to join a club or organization in your first semester, I would say join two. You don't have to be really involved in either of them - especially as a freshman, it's not expected. But if you can join two, you'll instantly open yourself up to a wide range of social circles, so you can explore until you find where you're comfortable. Which leads me to my third topic...

3. Don't worry if your friends change. The first semester is always weird, since everyone is meeting everyone else for the first time. You don't really get to know people very well for at least a month or two, and at that point you may find out you don't like them all that much. A lot of freshman are also discovering things about themselves that changes them from who they are when they first arrived on campus. So if you're hanging out with a completely different set of people in November than you were in September, don't worry. It's completely natural.

4. Think about yourself a little bit more. I'm sure that a lot of you have your parents helping you to make most big decisions in your life. In college, you'll find that you have a lot of freedom, so be sure not to waste in. I'm not saying go out and party all the time, but be in control of your own life a little bit more. If there's a class that looks really cool, or a trip to New York that you really want to go on, go ahead and sign up. It's your life now, and you should get to spend it how you want.

5. Bring an iron and an ironing board. It took me forever to find one on this campus.

I know that a lot of you should be getting your acceptance letters in the mail soon for EA/ED. Good luck to everyone! Hopefully I'll see some of you on the Hill next year. If you guys have any questions at all, feel free to leave a comment on one of my blogs, or send me a message via Facebook. (Tom Nelson, in the McDaniel network. Just make sure you tell me that you're a prospective/accepted student so I don't get totally creeped out.) Happy Holidays to everyone!

Tom