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!