Observation #3: Disruption

I decided to disrupt the norm of the workout room in Granville. To do this, I went into the room and got on a bike like I was going to work out just like anyone else. I then pulled out a Snickers Candy Bar and started to eat it while working out. There was one guy in the room who was working out on the machine next to me and he got off and moved over. He then kept looking at the candy bar; he did not directly stare at it but he used the mirror located on the wall. When I looked at him, he quickly looked straight ahead refusing to make eye contact. He did not say anything to me but I could tell by his face that he was very curious as to why I had a candy bar while working out. After a while, he got used to my presence and started working out, completely ignoring me. I then got up and moved closer to him but he just turned the treadmill up a little higher and continued his workout, completely ignoring me. Overall, the experience was very awkward for both me and the other guy in the room. Disrupting an accepted norm within our culture takes everyone out of their comfort zones.

Observation #2: The Agora on a saturday afternoon

I went to go eat in the Agora, which is the cafeteria for Granville residents, around 12:30. I noticed that unlike other days, on Saturday, there is more of a relaxed atmosphere. People are dressed for comfort in sweatpants, sweatshirts, slippers and even pajamas. Most people are sitting by themselves or in small groups of two or three. There also seem to be more girls in the Agora at this hour than guys; there is one group of five guys who are sitting together over by the TV and every once in a while a guy, will be sitting with a girl at a small table. People are sitting at tables that are far away from the center of the Agora so there is a lot of space between people at different tables. There is not alot of noice, only a quiet murmur of people talking. Some people are doing homework (usually the people who are sitting alone) but most people are relaxing and people watching. Most people are also eating breakfast foods, particularly the waffles from the Agora waffle maker. Some people seem very tired and they are usually drinking cup after cup of water. All of these observations are the norm for a Saturday morning.

Observation #1

I went to work out this afternoon and while I was working out, I decided to observe the people working out alongside me. Granville Towers has its own mini-workout room so everyone who uses this room has to be a Granville resident. The room is divided into two parts: a weight area and a cardio area with treadmills and bikes. During my observations, I noticed that the guys perfered the weight room whereas the girls prefered the treadmill. Maybe this is because the guys are more concerned about building muscle whereas, girls tend to be more concerned about losing weight. I also noticed that there were alot more people working out maybe because of spring break; people are trying to get into shape for swimsuit season.
There was not much interaction taking place. Most people had their i-pods on or were reading a book. Everyone seemed to be focused on their own workout with no desire to carry on a conversation which is the norm for this kind of environment. The guys, however, were more likely to interact with one another with a high five or a pat on the back after benching a good amount of weight. The guys were also more likely to work out their arms and legs whereas the girls seemed to focus solely on the treadmills.
The majority of people working out did not seem to be athletes. The two guys who were lifting weights may have been athletes because they seemed to have a workout schedule, spending a certain amount of time on each piece of equipment. However, I observed that most of the girls seemed to just be trying to fit that last workout in before spring break; that's why I was there...

Ok, so I know we are supposed to be talking about how people interact within different environments like a dorm room, cafeteria, etc so I think it would be appropriate to talk about my lab today. As I've mentioned before, I have chem lab on wednesdays. It's been going pretty well actually... until today. When we first arrived, everyone seemed a little anxious to get started because we had all heard horror stories about this lab. The earlier you start, the earlier you finish so everyone was kind of rushing, trying to set everything up. No one was really casually talking like we normally do; everyone was pretty focused. About half way through the lab (about the two hour mark), you could see people get frustrated one by one. Students were no longer standing up straight but were leaning over their computers, looking like they got hit by a bus. The TA was being called over more and more for assistance and she was starting to get a little tired herself. At the 3.5 hour mark, the remaining people were obviously irritated (including myself). Some lucky students had managed to finish the torturous lab and all of the remaining students were extremely jealous of this fact. Lab partners were starting to snap at one another and calculator buttons were definitely being pushed much harder because of frustration. When the four hour mark finally came around, the TA told the remaining students to go home. She had another class to go to and she couldn't stay with us to finish the lab. There were definitely mixed emotions over this: there was some defeat and discouragement, maybe some dread over having to finish the calculations over the weekend. But mostly there was relief because once we were out of that door, we were free of lab for a week...

I am going home for this weekend and I am definitely looking forward to it. I haven't been home since the first week of school and I'm excited to see some of my friends, family and my dog (i know, i know... but i miss him too!). I'm hoping to see some movies because I honestly haven't been to the movie theatre in I don't know how long. I feel completely cut off from the outside world because I have no clue what movies are playing, what songs are popular and what TV shows are playing. I also really don't know what else is going on when it comes to world issues or the government. It's weird because in college, I feel like I have more of an opportunity to become involved yet I feel like I truly am living in a bubble. The only newspaper I read is the Daily Tar Heel and mostly, the only information I hear is about activities going on at Chapel Hill. Does anyone else feel like that sometimes? I find that feeling really weird. But I guess, college allows you to figure out who you are as an individual without the distractions of the media. You can focus on your goals in life and who you want to be as a person. But I still like to go home and find out what's going on, feel like I'm part of the loop again...

Event #1: Student Organization

Thursday, I went to a Cornerstone student organization meeting. Cornerstone is a Christian organization and it is part of Campus Crusades which not only meets at Chapel Hill but at other colleges within the area. I was surprised at how many people were there and my friend said that normally, there were more. I recognized alot of people that I had seen around campus, there seemed to be a pretty good amount of freshman there. At the beginning of the meeting, we sang songs of worship and watched some of the leaders perform some funny skits to lighten the mood and allow the audience to mingle. The mood became a little more formal when a guest preacher came to talk to us about what God wanted us to do at this point in our lives as college students. He talked about what we need to do spiritually, socially and physically to honor and become closer to God. To grow spiritually, we need to read our Bibles and pray even when college life becomes crazy. Physically, we need to honor our bodies and take care of ourselves that we tend to overlook when the stress of college exams come around. Socially, we need to surround ourselves with good people but at the same time, don't cut ourselves off from the rest of the world. Share God's love and wisdom with those around you and try to become a role model to others.
The preacher was pretty young and he talked about how he was a college student not too long ago and how he remembered wondering what God wanted him to do when it came to picking a major, becoming involved in activities and eventually picking a job. He said that if we listened, we would know what God wanted us to do and we would eventually follow His direction because God has no plan B because He doesn't need one. We can fight Him all we want but everything works out the way He wants. I really appreciated his personal accounts because many of us are experiencing the same feelings of uncertainty. The preacher was able to give a serious sermon that was not too formal and relate to his audience of college students. Throughout his sermon, he used "we" and "us" to include the audience in his sermon. He walked all around the lecture hall making it seem that he was talking to each one of us and not just a huge crowd. He also managed to work in some basketball and football references particularly the basketball game on Wednesday against Duke. He didn't seem to press any beliefs onto us or condemn us for any actions. His sermon was not too "preachy" and therefore, the audience listened to him and what he had to say. I was very glad that I went and I look forward to hearing some more sermons in the Thursdays to come.

Franklin St.

I live in Granville Towers so I am very close to Franklin St. So of course, I had to join my suitemates in the run after the basketball game. O and on the way I learned how many people can get on an elevator at one time. It was definitely crazy. Because I am so close, my suitemates and I were able to get there before the other 10,000 people. It was funny seeing everyone sprint towards one area. People were screaming, hugging one another and of course, doing the famous Tar! Heels! cheer. Before I knew it, more people were running to Franklin and people started to climb on signs and telephone wires (not the smartest thing to do though). I looked up and there were like 3 news helicopters giving live feedback about Carolina's reaction to the win. And there was a pretty big bonfire going on at one point. After a little while, I came back to the dorm because I hadn't really gotten much sleep over the week. But we still had the TV on from watching the game and it was really cool seeing Franklin St. when I had been there around 5 minutes ago. All I know is that it's a good thing a Duke student was no where close to Franklin..

Krispy Kremes, chem and valentine's day

So for anyone who wants to know, the Krispy Kreme challenge was a success. There were over 5,000 participants and I think the record was around 27 minutes. It was very strange watching for my friends to come across the finish line and seeing people all dressed up as Elvis, Superman, etc (I even saw some speedos which I am still traumatized from). But thankfully, my friends were not sick and we were able to hang out for the rest of the day...
So this week... well, it's going to be brutal. After a wonderful weekend, I have to go back to working like crazy. I have two papers, a lab report, chemistry exam and I have to start studying for my econ exam next week. Most of its due on Wednesday so I figure that if I can survive til then, I'll hopefully have it a little bit easier. I didn't do well on my math test from last week (but according to class average, no one else did either) so that is definitely frustrating. I'm praying to do well on my chem test because for anyone who has taken/is taking chem knows that the grades that come from that class are never good. So I'm trying not to stress yet I can't seem to stop... this whole freshman year has definitely been very stressful. I'm just trying to take it one day at a time to keep me from becoming too overwhelmed.
O and on a side note, as everyone knows, this Saturday is Valentine's Day. Because both me and my boyfriend are college students, we are both broke so I was wondering if anyone had some fun cheap Valentine's Day ideas?

Krispy Kreme please

So the week is looking up and I'm definitely in a better mood because the weekend is so close. Tonight, I went with my suitemates to a mexican dinner at a sorority house. It was nice to bond over some good food in an environment that was not focused on academics. I'm definitely looking forward to Saturday because my best friend is coming to visit from UNCG. We've been best friends since sophomore year in high school and because of our busy schedules, we haven't gotten a chance to hang out since last semester.We are both going to watch and probably take care of some of our friends who are participating in the Krispy Kreme Challenge. Apparently, you have to run two miles to the Krispy Kreme in Raleigh, down a dozen glazed donuts and run back all under 1 hour. So this should be interesting. And ESPN is going to be there. Apparently it's a big deal, some people train all year for it and I think the record is around 30 minutes. I don't know why they would want to film kids getting sick but I guess it's some form of entertainment. But regardless, it should be fun. O the things college kids will do for food...

Cause you had a bad day...

So I hate to be a downer but I have not been in the best mood this week. I guess I'm experiencing the usual freshmen syndrome in which I feel like I don't exactly fit in. Everyone keeps telling me that I just need to make the transition into college but I don't think that's the problem. I was used to college after about the first week of fall semester. I went to all of my classes, studied hard and worked towards getting those credits towards my major. This semester though, the freshmen syndrome has gotten worse. I find myself wondering why I'm taking all these classes that I don't enjoy to receive a major in something that I may never work in. To receive a major in biology (and possibly go to med/vet school), I have to take Physics 1/2, Calculus 1/2, all the chemistrys offerred, a few business classes and way too many labs. And I'm definitely not that great in those areas. I enjoy biology so I want to take biology classes. It's depressing to think about all the other amazing kids working to get into med and vet school; that's major competition. I also find myself going to state more and more over the weeks so I can spend time with my boyfriend and friends. I know it's a UNC sin to go over to state (at least its not duke) but its nice to be among people who know and care about you