Time to Relax...

Whew. With only one exam left – and an easy one at that – I’ve finally finished the stress that is 4 papers, 3 exams, and other various end-of-year projects and activities. Ann Arbor has gotten so beautiful the last few weeks, and it was so hard to walk outside in the sun and then go inside to study all day. Yesterday I took the whole day off from studying and had coffee with some friends outside, took a walk to the Arb (a really beautiful forest and field close to campus), and just relaxed the whole day. That felt incredibly nice, and campus has a very different feeling once it gets nice and finals begin to wrap up. The last day of class was last Tuesday, and so the only academic things that have been happening are studying for exams and writing final papers. The libraries are fairly full, but there’s still a certain vibe outside that is much more relaxed and feels like summer.

A few of the highlights since my last blog:

I’ve seen some great performances…Lang Lang, a world-renowned pianist, performed on April 2^nd, and he was phenomenal! He has incredible technique but is also a highly dramatic, engaging performer. I also saw the School of Music, Theater and Dance’s performance of Carousel. Every production they put on is fantastic, and Carousel was no exception. The musical itself isn’t my favorite one, but the actors had great voices and the whole production was great! I also saw Bobby McFerin, Chick Corea, and Jack DeJohnette in concert this past weekend, which was a really interesting, surprising experience. They didn’t do traditional jazz songs, but instead did a lot of improvisation and just kind of played around with different types of sounds. To cap off my year of performances, I saw the Dalai Lama speak today…for free! He came to give a lecture on sustainability (which isn’t really his area of expertise, but that’s ok – he’s the Dalai Lama!). That was cool if only because of how big a name he is, and he had a lot of really interesting things to say about world religions coexisting and using compassion to help solve the world’s problems. I love that the University can get someone as huge as the Dalai Lama to come speak and then give out free tickets to students.

I also had my last Campus Day, and gave my last tour for the school year. (Campus Day if a program for admitted students to get to see the University and get a flavor for Michigan) That was really emotional, as I’ve really gotten attached to my co-workers there. I have started saying goodbye to friends for the summer, which is also really sad as I’ve really gotten close with them over the year. I’m having some major mixed emotions for the school year ending: I’m thrilled to get a break from studying, sad to leave my Michigan friends, sad to end my classes, excited to see my home friends, and excited for my trip to Israel. It’s been really great just relaxing with friends and decompressing from the last month of stress.

Well, that’s it for me for the year. If you’ve read all my blog entries, I hope you enjoyed watching my journey through freshman year! If this is your first, keep an eye out in the fall, as I’ll be back with a new perspective: sophomore year! As always, feel free to email me with any questions…I love to talk about my school! Mitchc [@] umich.edu

For the last time this year, GO BLUE!!!!

Almost 1/4 Done With College :0

As March comes to an end and my last month of Freshman year begins, it’s crazy to think that in a few short weeks I’ll be home, and ¼ done with college! March seemed to zoom by, and now I have only 2.5 weeks of class and one week of exams left! My schoolwork is like the giant constant of college…it’s always there on the to-do list, just waiting until I finish my meetings and other commitments. It seems to say “Come on, Mitchell…you know you have to get me done. Just sit down and finish me!” My day seems to always end with me looking over my homework list and wishing I had finished more. I understand the equal importance that co-curricular activities play in my college education, but still – what my parents are paying for is my classes, and when I’m not able to get everything done, and I have to stay up way too late to finish reading or homework problems, it’s frustrating! When thinking about next year’s courses, I caught myself thinking “well, I might not have time for 18 credits if I’m going to be president of South Quad…” which seems out of place when the main reason I’m here is to get educated. I can’t emphasize enough how important the word “balance” is to college – if you use your time exclusively on schoolwork, being social, or activities, you’re missing out. Sometimes, it’s hard to balance those three appropriately, but it’s essential to know when to focus on one or the other.

I had been forgetting about the fact that one also needs to balance sleep into their schedule, and was getting 6 hours consistently for several weeks. I think that contributed a lot to the fact that I now have mono. Granted, you don’t get mono from lack of sleep, but it definitely suppressed my immune system, and so when I shared a drink with someone who had it, I just got it immediately. Throughout high school, I never liked to share drinks or food with anyone, and as soon as I relaxed about that a little bit in college, I got mono! Moral of the story? DON’T SHARE DRINKS! Anyway, once I found out I had mono, I went through my calendar and started crossing things off. (The only cure is getting lots of rest). There are some meetings I can’t miss, so I haven’t been literally going to class and then sleeping, but I’ve had to miss a lot. That has been really frustrating for someone who thrives on being busy and having a full schedule, and it’s been difficult to accept the fact that I simply won’t get better for several months unless I really think critically about each thing I am involved in and decide what I can and can’t miss.

If I didn’t have mono, I would be telling you about my trip to Chicago this past weekend, which my friends who were able to go reported as “amazing.” I would be telling you how excited I am to walk in the Relay for Life this coming weekend. I wouldn’t be talking about how behind I am in schoolwork, and instead would be talking about all the fun parties I had gone to. But, alas, everyone has to get mono at some point in college. I guess the timing was pretty good…like I said, we only have a few weeks left of school, and my various involvements have definitely slowed down a bit. But nonetheless, it’s still a drain on my energy!

In other news, I have 4 papers, a performance of a Shakespeare scene, and 3 exams coming up in the next few weeks. At the same time as I’m not looking forward to freshman year ending, getting through all of that and then having a nice long break is going to be very nice! I’m very excited for my trip to Israel with Michigan’s Hillel in May. We had a meeting for my group last week, and it was really cool to meet all of the people that I will be going to Israel with. It’s really neat that I was able to do the trip through the University of Michigan Hillel, as next year, I’ll be able to maintain the connections I form on the trip!

This weekend was the Honors Charity Ball, which is an annual event put on by the Honors Resident Advisors. I was the disc jockey for the event, and it was really fun for everyone who came! South Quad events never fail to be fun, and despite mono, I was able to dance and have a good time! The 4^th is my birthday, and a group of friends and I are going out to dinner together, so that should be really fun. Turning 19 is really freaky to me, but I’m definitely excited to enter the last year of my teenage years!

I also bought my football tickets for next year…I’m going to be sitting with a few of my really good friends, so that should be really fun!

I’m terribly sorry that I don’t have more exciting things to report, but I’ve been trying to take it easy the last few weeks to get over the mono as quick as possible! I definitely don’t want to be sick for my trip to Israel!

Remember, if you have any questions at all, I’d love to help! Academics, activities, social, personal – you name it, I’ll answer it!

mitchc [@] umich.edu

GO BLUE! Don’t share drinks!

Big Fish in a Big Pond

Wow! What an incredible night I’ve just had! We had the elections for South Quad Hall Council’s Executive Board for 2008-2009, and I won President! I’m thrilled and am really excited to continue my involvement with Hall Council next year! My good friend Lizzi is going to be Vice President, so it will be fun to work with her and continue putting on great programs for all of South Quad!

What else is new? Well, last week I was working really hard on Casino Night, an event put on by the South Quad Residence Staff. We finished up all our decorations and set up Wednesday and Thursday nights, and the actual event was held Thursday night. We had four areas set up in the cafeteria, each resembling different hotels in Las Vegas. We had the Circus Circus hotel, the Luxor, Treasure Island, and Caesar’s Palace. Each of these areas had their own unique decorations, and one type of casino game was present at each one. I was in charge of decorating and running the Circus Circus area, and we did some cool stuff! We bought a big tent over which we draped yellow and red cloth to make it look like a Circus tent. We had red, yellow, and blue balloons, Christmas lights, and a blown-up monkey! We also had a cool clown! All of the decorations really made the night special…the Treasure Island area made an entire ship out of tables and cardboard boxes! Besides the decorations, all of the RAs who worked as dealers wore suits, and we had a whole multicultural area which featured casino games from around the world. There were some really awesome prizes, including 3 iPod shuffles and DVD sets of casino-themed movies (like the Ocean’s 11, 12, 13 series). Overall, the event was truly fantastic, and I had serving as the DJ. I mostly danced around with friends during the event, and didn’t play too many of the games because I was so busy schmoozing and running the music.

Another exciting thing from last weekend was my trip to the Dance Marathon to morale some friends! Dance Marathon is an incredible organization, and they are the largest student group on campus. Every year, they hold a 30-hour marathon where participants must stand the whole time. It’s a celebration of all the fundraising they have done throughout the year, and is a really good time! Check out their website here…they are awesome: www.umdm.org

The Michigan Student Assembly elections are starting right now, and they are very intense! The dominant party is MAP, Michigan Action Party, and my good friend Chris is running to be an LSA representative. He has been busy every minute the last week just going around to different residence halls, fraternities, sororities, and organizations to campaign. Every spare minute he gets he goes to the Diag to hand out flyers telling people to vote for him. I’m going tonight to help him campaign, and in two days the elections will be done and we’ll know who all the winners are! It’s incredibly exciting and resembles the current presidential race in that the candidates take it very seriously. MSA’s website: http://msa.umich.edu/

I remember high school student council elections as being a popularity contest, but in college, it’s about who is the most passionate and intent on winning. There isn’t really school-wide “popularity” at Michigan mostly because it’s so big. Of course, within different communities there are more well-known individuals, and there are definitely social clusters around residence halls, frats, sororities, organizations, and social identities. But overall, it’s just a big sea of people! I actually love that I’m able to get the best of both worlds – when I want to just be a Wolverine, I can, and when I want to be with people who know me and whom I love, I can. One thing that really surprised me after about a month of living here was how often I see people I know! Granted, I’m an extremely extroverted and social person, but still, the odds are simply not high that walking across the Diag at any given moment I would see 5-6 people I know. But it happens every day!! All of my friends, extroverted or introverted, report roughly the same thing. I was really concerned about coming to such a big school, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to “make a name for myself” or have a presence, like I did in my 1700-person high school. While it’s true that it’s impossible to be known by all 38,000 students (unless your name is Chad Henne), within different social circles and communities, I’ve definitely been able to carve a niche. The great things it that all those communities overlap, and the individuals I have made connections with through those communities are all a part of the larger Michigan culture, so I see them in different contexts and on a day-to-day basis, and honestly – it’s just fabulous!

Feel free to email me with ANY questions! mitchc (@) umich.edu OR friend me on Facebook "Mitch Crispell"

Random Thoughts from a Busy Mind...

I’m back from Spring Break and feel like I just jumped onto a rollercoaster from a dead stop! I did absolutely nothing over our week-long spring break, and already in the course of 48 hours I’ve accomplished so much! I spent 3 hours yesterday just going through emails and taking care of my to-do list! Whew! I’m definitely right back in the groove of college life, and my involvement in different clubs and organizations is at a peak!

First off, a lot of people say “huh?” when I say that I’m on Spring Break in February/March. The way Michigan’s schedule works is a little bit different than many other colleges. We have short winter and “spring” breaks, but a super-long summer break…May, June, July, August…4 months solid! Many schools get anywhere from 3-5 weeks for winter break, but because of our really long summer break, we limit it to a week and a half. I personally like this system better, because there’s no internships or jobs available over the winter break, but over summer break there’s tons of things I want to do! Therefore, having a short winter break is fine because of that four-month block we have in summer!

The really long summer break allows us to do all sorts of things in one summer. For example, this summer I’m (hopefully) going to a Leadership conference for a week, then (hopefully) Israel with Michigan’s Hillel, then (hopefully) working at Gap, then working at a summer camp, and then taking several other smaller trips to visit family and friends in Connecticut and New York. All that in one summer! May is a great month because most students aren’t home from college yet, and we get to snag all the good jobs and internships! Having four months also makes it possible to have both a job and an internship or do multiple different things.

Anyway, enough about breaks! Right now I’m definitely not on a break! I’m working on planning a “Casino Night” for my residence hall, which should be really neat! We’ll have all types of casino games set up with lots of decorations, food, and music, and residents will be able to play the games and schmooze with their fellow residents! It should be great!

Coolest thing that happened to me today: I got tickets to see the Dalai Lama speak! For free! That’s right, the Dalia Lama (the real guy!) is coming to Michigan in April to give several talks, and one of them is free to students. There was a huge line today to get the free tickets, but it was definitely worth it! It’s amazing how many great speakers come through campus and how frequently they are completely free to students!

Something exciting on campus: Right before break, the University opened a café inside the Undergraduate library. The whole thing was a big affair, with balloons and tents and even a small band playing the fight song and alma mater (right inside the library!) The café is great…it’s right in the lobby of the library, so if you’re up late studying you can run down and grab a cup of caffeine-filled coffee to keep working through those textbooks.

Something I’m looking forward to: I’m really excited for a trip to Chicago I’m going on at the end of the month. It’s with a new group called MUNDO Michigan, and I’m on the planning committee for the trip. We are going to do some service for a food-bank in Chicago and see the play “Wicked” while we’re there! The whole thing is just $55 dollars for me, as we got funding from several different sources to subsidize the cost. That’s another advantage to participating in University-sponsored things…they often get funding to make it cheaper (or free) for students! Anytime there’s a lecture or program being held, I check to see if there’s free food, and if so, I’m there! Free food is definitely a big deal in college, as there’s no kitchen for me to go to that my parents keep stocked. Everything I eat is through the cafeteria or paid for from my pocket, so it’s definitely nice to get a free meal!

Well, this entry was a bit of a grab bag of things, which suits my mood well! I’m balancing lots of different things and trying to keep my sanity and social life among it all! But I’m learning every day, and every week is an adventure!

Feel free to contact me with ANY questions at all (seriously – anything!) mitchc [@] umich.edu

GO BLUE!

A Week In My Life...

For this blog entry, I thought it might be interesting to share a “typical week” for me. I’ll do Monday 2/11-Sunday 2/17… a lot of this is related to my participation in hall council, as I’m very active in that group.

Monday 2/11/08
7:15-1: Campus Day (for accepted high school students, they can come and see the University, etc. I’m one of the student leaders, I take them on a tour, do a Q+A session, etc.)
1-2: Statistics lecture
2-5: nap
5:30-6: Taylor House meeting – discuss plans for upcoming events for our Hall Council Reps 6-7: Sell tickets in South Quad’s lobby for a Basketball game 200 of South Quad’s residents are going to together
7-8: homework in my room
8-10:30: dinner + Forum on sexual violence in Hip Hop music and a debrief session with Hall Council
10:30-12: hang out with people in my hall

Tuesday 2/12/08
9-10: Great Books Lecture on the text of Genesis
10-11:30: Shakespeare in Performance class – discuss video clips of “Merchant of Venice”
11:30-1: Lunch with friends from my Shakespeare class
1-2: Psychology Lecture – psychology in the workplace, discuss people’s motivation at work
2-4: Homework in the Graduate Library
4-6: Psychology Discussion – breakdown class to discuss the lectures for the week
6-7: Dinner with my friend Andrew
7-8: Planning meeting for MUNDO Michigan, a group that is planning trips to Detroit and Chicago to do service and see “Wicked”
8-10: Full Hall Council meeting – vote on various proposals, hear reports on upcoming projects, etc.
10pm – 2 am: Study for statistics exam

Wednesday 2/13/08
9-10: Great Books discussion about the lecture on Tuesday
10-11:30: Statistics Lab – review session for exam
11:30-12: study for stats
12-1: Lunch with my friend Bria
1-2: Statistics Lecture
2-3: study for stats in the library
3-5: IGR dialogue class – do an intense activity to demonstrate the in- and out-group dynamics in terms of socioeconomic status.
5-6: dinner in South Quad
6 pm-1 am: Study for Statistics exam in Law Library

Thursday 2/14/08
9-10: Great Books Lecture on the text of Exodus
10-11:30: Shakespeare in Performance clas
11:30-1: Lunch with my class
1-2: Psychology Lecture about sexual motivation and the need to belong…perfect that it coincided with Valentine’s day!
2-6: study more for stats, take a nap
6-7:30: Statistics exam!
7:30-9: diner with a friend
9-10: meeting with the Solar Car Team to help them gain presence in Residence Halls and put together an event with Hall council and their group
10 pm – 2 am: some homework, hang out with friends in my hall

Friday 2/15/08
9-10: Great books discussion on Thursday’s lecture
10-1: Homework
1-2: Statistics Lecture
2-4: weekly lunch with friend Tamara
4-6: hang out, homework
6-7:30: go to Hillel for services and dinner(free!)
8-10: see the play “As You Like It” performed by theater students with friends from Shakespeare class
10-12: hang out with friends in my hall

Saturday 2/16/08
7:15-1: Campus Day (usually we don’t have them on Saturdays, but this was just one day we did have it)
1-4:30: lunch and see the “Vagina Monologues” performed with my friend Danielle
4:30-6:30: hang out in South Quad
6:30-10:00: dinner and see a concert (Ahmad Jamal, a jazz pianist) with my friend Michael
10:00pm-1:30am: do laundry, hang out with friend Suzanne, vacuum my room, etc.

Sunday 2/17/08
Sleep in!
1– 4: go to Michigan vs. OSU basketball game and crush Ohio State!! Hang out with friends in Squad.
4-8:30: homework in the Law Library, dinner
8:30-9:30: Meeting with South Quad Multicultural Council
9:30-10:30 – PULSE event about drinking and understanding one’s BAC, called “Mocktail Night”
10:30-12 - homework

As you can see, there’s not a dull moment! I keep busy because I find that I get more schoolwork done when I only have limited time to do it. I love having lots of meetings to go to and to feel like I’m involved in things. Most students are involved in at least one thing, and you can be as involved as you want. Not everyone has as many meetings and commitments as I do, and some people have even more! It depends on your course load and what you want to do!

Also, this weekend was an exceptional one in terms of Arts performances…not every weekend is like that! Two weeks ago, I saw three concerts in three nights, but some weekends I see none…they kind of come in spurts! Going out to performances and concerts is one of my favorite things, and they’re definitely something to take advantage of in college, when every type of performance you can imagine is happening – and all of it is inexpensive!

This week is just as busy, but next week I get a break (which is definitely needed!) I’m sure when I get back, things will pick right back up again!

This week I also decided what I want to major in – Organizational Studies. It’s like a hybrid between Sociology, Psychology, and Economics, and addresses those three fields in the context of organizations and the dynamics of how people work together. I’m hoping to focus on how to create safe, comfortable, tolerant, and open work environments where people feel good about their jobs and the others around them. I’m really excited to apply next year for the program and am really happy to have a better idea of what I want to do!

My email address is mitchc [@] umich.edu and if you’d like to email me to ask any questions (really, anything!) feel free! I would love to answer any questions you have about U of M that I haven’t addressed here!

Until next time, GO BLUE!

Busy but Having Fun

(above pictures --> the contestants from Mr. South Quad: I'm on the left with the two polo shirts and sunglasses, the winner of Mr. South Quad getting his crown, the poster advertising the event )


I can’t believe it’s already February! Time really flies when you’re busy!

So I have to tell you about this really cool thing I went to - last weekend, my residence hall (South Quad) held a “Mr. South Quad” pageant. It’s just like “Ms. America” except with guys and a different emphasis…the “Mr.” pageants are more about being fun and silly and less about having real talent or beauty. I got to participate in it as a representative of our Hall Council (the student government system within each residence hall…see other entries for more on that). Every candidate had to appear in a hobby outfit, perform a talent, answer silly questions, and do the dance to “Love Shack”. Everyone did really funny things! I appeared with two polo shirts on and some crazy blue pants and said my hobby was “fashion”! That got a big laugh from the crowd, and it was really fun to dress up and act crazy! In the end, I won second place, which was a really awesome way to end the night! The whole thing was a lot of fun, and the event had great turnout within the dorm…over 250 people came out to see it!

Also, I may have mentioned that I’m in a class called a “dialogue.” (see my Jan. 16 entry towards the end) On Wednesday, we did the “testimonials” portion of the class, where each student wrote up their “story” in terms of their socioeconomic background and shared it with the class. Each person had 5 minutes to talk with no interruptions or questions, and the things people said were intense and very engaging. It was really interesting to hear people speak so honestly about their backgrounds, and because of the nature of the class, participants are able to feel safe revealing these important things from their past. That was a fabulous class, and my IGR course is definitely my favorite that I have taken at U of M so far!

The Program for Intergroup Relations(IGR) at Michigan was the first of its kind, and many other universities have created their own programs modeled off ours! President Clinton also praised U of M’s IGR as one of the best things being done to promote tolerance and end racism in America. Pretty cool! This is consistent with the importance Michigan places on diversity and tolerance…it’s apparent in all aspects of the University. For example, at the very beginning of the year, UM puts on something called “Day of Change,” where guest speakers come and discuss issues relating to diversity and the importance of changing our attitudes and opinions to be progressive in society. There are all kinds of group discussions and different events which occur throughout the day, and they were all really cool! That day was my introduction to Michigan’s strong commitment to diversity and breeding acceptance and tolerance, and it’s really cool! Another really cool thing I participated in was the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Symposium, which is a collection of events and seminars which all occur on MLK day. That was a really cool experience, and I participated in several interesting programs.

I know that “appreciating diversity” is vague and hard to get excited about from reading it in a blog, but it’s such an important part of my life here at UM that I just had to address it in this entry!

Anyway, I had a Psychology 111 exam today which went well, and the next few weeks are going to be very busy ones in terms of exams and papers, as it’s midterm season! Fortunately, I have a break to look forward to in the last week of February. I’m going to be visiting some friends at Temple University, as our breaks don’t coincide, so they’ll be in school while I’m on break! I can’t wait to see them, and to have a break from exams and classes!

I’m meeting my friend soon for coffee and working on homework, but I’ll write more soon! GO BLUE!

Back In the Groove...

Well, Winter semester has started and is fully underway! My classes have kicked off and I am right back into things with lots of reading and assignments! My classes are almost entirely different this semester, so it’s taking some adjusting to get used to the new professors and course materials. My other activities have all really kicked up in intensity as well, so I’m trying to balance a lot of things at once!

I had a really great winter break and hung out with a lot of friends from high school. It was really neat to see how much everyone had changed in their first semester of college, and I noticed that I got along better with some friends than others. Towards the end of break, I found myself really missing my new college friends, and I was thrilled when I came back and got to see them again. I feel much closer to my new college friends than my friends at home, and its really great to feel such strong connections with people here. I think it’s because I’m with these people 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and I’ve gone through a lot more new experiences with them. When you’re a freshman in college, everyone is in the same boat, so connections you make are stronger because everyone is dealing with the same issues and is trying to navigate a brand new setting. Anyway, I love my new friends and I love my old ones, and it’s wonderful to have two full sets of people to hang out with when I’m at school and when I’m home.

The first two weeks back in Ann Arbor were really fun…classes hadn’t started up too much, and I got to be social almost every day of the week! Friday night I went to Necto, a nightclub in Ann Arbor, to support a fundraiser my friend helped organize. It was really fun, and I hope to go back again soon! I’ve started working out and playing racquetball every Monday night with my friend Christine, so that’s also a really fun way to get some exercise and see a friend at the same time. The intramural sports building has racquetball courts, weight rooms, a pool, a basketball court, and lots of other facilities for fitness, and all of these are free for UM students!

In terms of courses, I’m enrolled in…

Great Books 192 – the second semester of my first Great Books course, which I did in the Fall semester. I really like reading the old Greek and Latin texts which have survived for thousands and thousands of years and are still entirely relevant in our world today!

An “Honors Seminar” called The Evolution of Cognition – a “seminar” just means it’s a small class where the professor has discussions with students instead of lecturing to a large group. This course is really neat, and our first reading was about how eyeballs have evolved…it’s more complex than you might think!

Statistics 350 – this is the basic intro to statistics course, but fortunately I have a really good professor, Dr. Brenda Gunderson, who truly loves to teach the course and is so incredibly organized that she makes it easy for students to succeed! Remember the name “Gunderson”…she’s the best prof for this class! I think everyone should have this class just so they understand statistics they read in papers and see on TV. It’s interesting and not as challenging as my Calculus 3 class first semester, which is a bit of a relief!

English 140 – Shakespeare in Performance – this is a course about how Shakespeare’s plays are performed. We look at the different ways actors’ and directors’ interpretations of Shakespeare’s words influence the way the plays are presented onstage. This has turned out to be a very difficult course, and I’m struggling a bit with reading Shakespeare’s text closely. I’m going to office hours on Thursday with my professor, and I’m hoping he’ll be able to give me some tips on how to approach the plays.

Finally, I’m in a “Dialogue” course through the Program on Intergroup Relations about socioeconomic status. This course brings together people of high and low socioeconomic standing to discuss issues of class differences and privilege in society. The goal is for all the participants to gain understanding of the other group members’ experiences and feelings. I haven’t started this course yet, but the first reading was very interesting, and I’m excited for this course from a more personal standpoint and a less academic one, as I will probably learn more about myself and the people around me than about a specific “academic” subject. Some of the best learning you do in college, however, has nothing to do with your major or any of the traditional academic subjects one thinks of (math, English, science, etc.) Instead, every experience is one for growth, and college is equally about maturing as it is majoring in something to get a job.

I’ll let you know how these courses turn out to be as the semester goes on…right now I don’t know too much about them, and while I have plenty of work, I’m still unclear on the main focus in some of them. A friend from high school is coming to visit this weekend, so it will be nice to see her and take her on a tour of campus.

Until next time,
GO BLUE!

Hannukah! Formal Dance! Exams! OH MY!

Whew…first semester is over! It feels so weird to have literally NOTHING that I need to do except relax! I finished up exams last week, and I flew home Sunday. Exam time was definitely intense, but I got through it without stressing too much. I was lucky…I only had two finals and one final paper to do, and they were all spread out nicely so I was able to study for each one separately. Lots of different student groups and offices within U of M put on study breaks, often featuring food, and those were a really nice way to take a break from studying!

Let me go back a few weeks to talk about some AWESOME things I did before finals season hit!

First off, Hannukah was two weeks ago, and I was really bummed to not be home with my parents to light the candles. Well, lucky for me, Hillel had a menorah lighting right in the diag on the first night! They brought a huge menorah and we all lit the candles in the cold night! Then we had latkes! The dining hall also had a phenomenal holiday meal, complete with Christmas-dinner type foods and more latkes!

Another highlight of the last few weeks was the Taylor House Formal, a dance that my Residence Hall’s student government put on for everyone on our floor. I’m the president of my house (“Taylor House” is the floor I live on within South Quadrangle…we have events for everyone in South Quad and others specifically for residents in our “house”). Samantha and I along with other members of the student government organized the dance, and a lot of people from our dorm came! It was a real blast…everyone got all dressed up, and we danced for several hours in the lounge/party room in the basement of our dorm. Here's some pictures from that:

The dance floor

Me with my RA, Daniil

This past Saturday was a really awesome day…after a fun day at the mall with my friend Andrew and dinner out, we met our friend at a coffee shop on South University to hang out. Somehow, we launched into a really intense conversation about global warming, and even though it was really late and everyone was tired from exams, we really got into it! It’s so weird that something which seems like the kind of conversation you would only have in a class actually can happen late on a Saturday night in a café. That’s one of my favorite things about college…the different viewpoints and the general interest that the people around me have in discussing important things. I’m always up for some meaningless banter or gossip, but it’s the real discussions that stay with you longer after they happen.

After our discussion, we headed over to Oxford(another residence hall for students) to watch a movie, and eventually I got back to South Quad…I had to walk through some intense snow, but it was really peaceful and nice outside, so it was actually fun! There were several inches of snow on the ground, so it was great to get inside once I got back home. I was just about to go to sleep around 1AM when the fire alarm went off, and I grudgingly got my boots and coat on and trudged outside. Once everyone from South Quad was out front, we realized that West Quad (across the street from South Quad) also had their fire alarm going off, and all of sudden everyone knew what was about to happen…the annual South Quad/West Quad snowball fight! The police came to block off the street so no cars would go by and interfere with our fight, and everyone grabbed some snow and started lobbing it across the street at the West Quad residents. It lasted about an hour, and by the end I was completely freezing and tired – but it was still amazing!

It was a fantastic ending to an awesome semester, and I’m looking forward to a nice long break until next semester, when I start 5 brand new classes! It'll be great to get back and see all my friends, and while I'm going to enjoy my break, I'll be happy to be back at U of M!

Happy Holidays, and GO BLUE!

Welcome to my blog!

Hey everyone! My name is Mitch, and I’m a freshman in LSA. I’m also in the Honors Program within LSA. Right now I’m 100% undecided on my major, and I’m loving it! I’m trying lots of different classes and trying a whole range of things to see what I’m interested…as soon as I feel “inspired” or I try something that I love, I’ll declare my major, but until then, I’m doing everything!

I just got back from Thanksgiving break, and I’m so glad I got to relax for a few days before finals season starts up! This week isn’t too bad, but the next two weeks are going to be really busy in terms of reviewing all my course material from the semester and getting ready for finals! But then I’ll have a nice winter break with NO homework at all (because Michigan puts winter break in between semesters, so you’ve finished all your Fall Term classes and haven’t started your Winter term classes yet…genius, eh?).

Right now, I’m in five classes: Great Books, Calculus III, Spanish, a freshman seminar called “Law and Psychology,” and a University Course about how to use Michigan’s library system and different research tools. I love all my classes, especially my seminar, which only has 14 students! We have a lot of really interesting discussions in that class, as well as “court cases” where we read a book about a real case, assign lawyers to give closing arguments in support of each side (prosecution and defense) and then the other students form the “jury” and deliberate and reach a verdict. Those are really fun!

I’ve found that college is definitely more work than high school, but I really love all my classes, so I’m more interested in working hard in my classes. When you’re in a class you love, it’s much more enjoyable to do the homework! I tend to use the Law Library for my homework, as it is a really quiet place to study and I like to work in near-total silence. A lot of my friends like a bit more noise while they work, so they go over to the Undergraduate Library or work in their rooms.

I just got accepted as a student facilitator with the Office of Student Conflict Resolution, so I’m really excited for my training session this weekend, where I’ll learn how to help students who have conflicts reach peaceful and viable agreements. I’m also looking forward to a POPS concert, which is a student instrumental ensemble on campus. There’s always something happening, and I try to go to as many events as possible! It’s really fun to go to lectures on things you know nothing about…I always leave fascinated by a new idea or something interesting the speaker said!

I’m going to work on some calc homework, but until next time, GO BLUE!