Archives: Dorm Life
Stuck in my room
Of course, I got sick, again. Alright, to start from the beginning. I finally got to see my mommy! I had been looking forward to it for weeks. Sadly, soon as I finally get to spend time with my mom, she get sick, and more then happily passed it on to me. I was fine for a few days until suddenly, I had a light cough. My first thought, uh oh. All I could remember is my mother saying, “I wouldn’t give this to my worst enemy.” Thanks mom… I think.
Tuesday, BSU had our kick off! I was so excited! I could hardly speak without coughing so I had Megan, my awsome VP do the talking for the night. For someone who is every outgoing, I was laughing at her grabbing all the rest of the BSU members to make them speak insted of her everytime something had to be said. It looked great, although, I must remind her to imbrace her wild side, its what makes her a great VP.
I had a lot of fun and so did the students who came. I saw a lot of greek life there which is always exciting! Rob and his ZBT brothers were there, and a bounch of my sisters were there, a few in letters. 
BSU brought two R&B groups for our kick off, C4 and The Bench Warmers Clique. Some of the girls were going crazy over one of the guys in C4. I couldn’t help but giggle and try and turn a blind eye to it all. I think the worst part of the night is that I helped picked out all the great desserts for the night, and couldn’t have a single one because I was sick and could only eat soup or have tea because they were keeping me from coughing. Yup, that had to be the worst part.
At the end of the night, I started to get the chills, by the time I got ready for bed, they were very intense chills. The next morning I went straight to the nurses office where she made me cry when she tested me for the flu. You don’t want to be tested for the flu…. They stick stuff up your nose. Its horrible. I was like, I already feel bad and have a horrible headache, why are you doing this to me????
So now, days later, I am still stuck in my room. Coughing, a lot. I’m starting to feel better, so I guess all this weekend is going to be is sleeping, meds, and disinfecting this room! I almost want to get some stuff from the lab to clean this room. There is the good stuff in there, I’m sure nothing could survive the harsh cleaning products and me washing and scrubbing everying for a hours.
Right now, I am going to take something for this annoying cough that keeps me up and take a nap! Yes for naps! I still have a headache and still hurt a little but I’ll be able to go to class on monday! Yes! No more boring 4 walls! Fresh air! The lovely sun! Oh and homework, tests, BSU paperwork and lectures to type up. I’m going to be busy catching up on a lot, but it will be ok, I can do it outside!!!!
What’s that annoying sound???
Tonight, I had just changed into my PJ’s and was about to make a snack before studying for my marketing test tomorrow when the fire alarm went off. I was standing by my sink when this very loud and annoying sound starting blasting into my ear and all I could think was, what the heck is that annoying sound???? Duh, it was the fire alarm. I always forget about that thing. To me, it doesn’t sound like a fire alarm so I always pause and have to think about it.
So yes, I was standing outside on the field by the softball and baseball field that is just grass, looking at my building, Freiburger, not seeing smoke. Great, a drill. I am starting to think we are the only building that has drills. That’s two in two weeks. Please tell me this isn’t a start to a pattern!
I was joking with some of the freshmen girls out on the field about past fire drills, the one at 4 am, the one that flooded Old Lynn, oh the fun that happens because the fire alarm went off!
I think the worst part about fire alarms going off at random times, is someone always happens to be in the shower… including 4 in the morning. Ya, not the best way to exit a building, still soapy and in a towel. Luckily, a girl ran to her room and threw on some clothes. I’m just happy that I remembered to grab my key and a jacket…. hey, I said I was in my pjs!
College: Best Time to Meet Yourself
For my 300th post, I was stumped at what to write. 300 posts about college is a lot. From my first day to my junior year where I am about to take my VCATS and the GRE.
I’ve learned that college is a great time to learn about yourself. I know I have said it many times before, but I’ve honestly learned more about myself in the last three years than I could have ever thought possible. Each year I look back and see how much I’ve grown, how my actions effected my life.
I’ve learned that the end of the day, chances are you are going to get sick with what ever is going around campus. Swine Flu is really messing up my plans this year, trying to avoid sick students is hard, and the extra worry that they may have a flu that is killing people all over the world is not a comforting feeling. The fact that the school has spent money on hand sanitizers all over campus is a good sign that there is a large effort to stop the spread of germs.
I’ve learned that it is really annoying to have a car sometimes. Not the car itself, but people wanting rides. Sometimes, I find it hard to figure out if people want to be friends with me or just because I have a car. Some are very honest about why they are befriending me, they openly ask for rides to places, while others are more coy and it may take a few conversations to realize it. I know some people with cars don’t mind giving rides, but I can’t stand it. It find it so rude when people ask me because most of the time, they want me to bend to their schedule. I thought I was doing them a favor…. People without cars on campus seem to forget that cars run on gas and students aren’t taxi services. If you are going to ask someone for a ride, thank them. They didn’t have to take you to where you needed to go or take time out of their day when they weren’t heading in that direction.
I’ve learned that there are tons of unhealthy relationships going on in college. From the distractions, the cheaters, the liers, the stealers, the heartbreakers, and the flat out abusive. Like I said, college is the best time to learn about yourself and relationships are apart of who we are as individuals. I’ve learned friends and parents are usually the best bet to learn if someone is good for you. If your friends and family don’t like the new guy, he needs to hit the road.
I’ve learned that not everyone is designed to have a roommate and that not all types of people make good roommates. I have a single this year because I study better when I have my own space and can study when ever I can. I feel too stressed out when there are other people around when I am studying. I can have my room the way I like it so I am comfortable while trying to learn tough subjects like microbiology or organic chemistry. My grades inprove greatly when I am by myself in a room. Some students don’t do so well on their own, they need that contact or their grades drop. It really depends on the student. Some days I liked having a roommate but other days it was too distracting from why I am here at Lynn, to get an education.
And last but not least, I’ve learned to enjoy college! I really feel that this year is my year. We only have 4 years to be in this crazy artificial world that allows us to try new things and explore who we are in a safe mannor where we can learn from our mistakes where there are not lasting effects…. well, most of the time. Each year, I find myself tryin new things, exploring new options. I want to enjoy my 4 years of college to the max. I look back at high school as a waste of time, I don’t want to look back and see college the same way. So far, I am really enjoying college and I hope it keeps going the way it has been. I love being president of Black Student Union this year, planning events, seeing an idea on paper come to life. I love my sisters and all that we stand for as Tri Sigmas. I have awsome friends. College is what you make it, and I am working very hard to to make it the best 4 years possible!
The First 24
I have been back in Florida for a little more than 24 hours now and I’m so excited but extremely tired! I could hardly sleep last night after I landed and arrived at the Marriott. My car was waiting for me in the parking lot with a loving note that she was taken cared of over the summer. I rushed to drop off my stuff in my room and came up with a lame excuse to drive my own car. lol. Yes, I’m weird. I drove to store and to my storage unit just for the fun of it. Man, when I opened my storage unit, I didn’t remember it that way! It some how had gotten a heck of a lot neater in my head over the months.
At about 8:45 am, I arrived at Lynn, already checked out of my hotel room, ready to check into school. I had checked in online the first day the school loaded it on mylynn, and so all I had to do was pick up my new parking decal. With the old ones removed from the previous two years, I happy slapped on the new one and was ready to check out my new room.
I opened the door to the new wing in Freiburger that has been changed to singles and noticed the new paint job. Signs and colors were splashed everywhere by my RA and classmate Wideline. (An awsome combo by the way, my RA and my classmate, we can study when she’s on duty and bored out of her mind…. or watch TV…) My room used to be a twin in an all guys wing. Now its a single on the girls floor, which in this case, happens to be the bottom floor. I’m not so sure how I feel about that at the moment, I’m just counting my blessings that I didn’t have to carry anything up the stairs!
I’m all moved in in one day! Thats never happened before! I’m in shock. haha. My boyfriends mom helped me move in since he couldn’t get time off of work. She laughed at our three day plan, slowly moving the stuff in. Within three hours, all my stuff was out of the storage unit, I had closed my account there and was heading back to school with the last half of my stuff, while his mom went home to relax, still laughing at our three day plan. Mothers have mad skills at packing and moving! After dinner at their house, the no longer working muscle came over and helped take the really heavy stuff into the room. I love this system. It took only a third of the time and half the energy. I have already put a lot away, my bed is set up, along with my laptop. Containers are in their places, and my sink looks like I’ve been here for days already. The only down side to the extreme move in, sun burn and a very sore body.
I love my room. I think I called my mom 5 times today to just tell her how much I love my room and how greatful I am to have it. I have so many ideas for my new room, my mind can’t keep up. So much to do to make it a place where I can really focus and relax when I need to during the rough weeks to come.
After two years under my belt, I feel like I’m finally getting the hang of this college life.
Now, I am going to force myself to go to sleep so that I don’t over to it today and try and unpack my room in one night. I just feel like I am on a roll and its hard to get off! There is always tomorrow between meetings… ah! Another meeting and it will only be day two!
Too excited to sleep
It is almost 1 am and I am to excited to sleep. I am looking forward to school to start in a few days. Yes, I’m the nerdy kid who loves the first day of school. I am using the Tri Sigma mentality, always moving forward. I’m looking forward, and enjoying what is yet to come. I am looking forward to moving into my dorm room! Finally, a single! All to myself, from the start. I have so many ideas for the room design, my mother is scared and has recently and oh so convenitly “lost” her wallet.
Black Student Union is going to be up and running this school year, ya! New exciting programs to come up with and new people to meet. Sigma Sigma Sigma recruitment, making new friends, loving new sisters. I am looking forward to continue with the ideas that I started last year and to see how they have grown over the summer to make them even better for the sorority. This year, I really want to take the time and get to know all the great women I call my sisters. I feel like I missed out on getting to know some of the ones that graduated last year and now they are gone becoming wonderful women in their fields.
Then there are the new labs, new ways to try and blow up our lab experiments. Just joking Professor Ahmed!
This is the year where I have to find a job in my future field. I am going to the career center soon as I get back so they can help me make sure that I get the right job that meets the requirments that I need to get into a veterinarian school.
It is going to be a very busy year this year, but I am very excited to jump into it and get started! I have a feeling I may have over booked myself, but I’m not worried. I am looking forward to seeing what I learn about myself this year and the great adventures I find myself in over time. I feel like junior year is my year to shine. Freshmen year was the year to adapt to my new life, sophomore year was the year to work hard and focus on my grades and what made me happy, now it’s my year to come out of my shell and make my mark.
Alone Time
I’ve been really enjoying having the condo in DC to myself for the last two weeks. It feels good to be home and really have my own space, privacy, and well, bathroom! I have a kitchen! And a TV! Don’t worry, I’m getting a TV next year for my dorm room, but no fancy cable sadly with a cool remote control.
I’ve enjoyed sleeping in, and cooking all my meals. How I’ve missed cooking! Sadly at Lynn, we do not have community kitchens to allow students to cook. Although, that wouldn’t be a bad idea for the future… hint hint Lynn.
In the last few years, I’ve learned that I really enjoy my alone time. I would have never thought 5 years ago that I was happy being by myself. I always thought that I was a social person, but now, I’ve figured out that I am a very social person after I’ve had my space and my alone time to chill, watch TV, cook, read a few books, play with the cats, explore some new thing. Once I feel like I’m personally recharged, I’m ready to go out, chill with my friends, party, what ever.
I realized that I hardly ever get this alone time in college. Reason why I can’t have roommates, cause they get mad when I go into my own world and really just stop talking, cause I’m chillin, doing my own thing in my own time. All of this can last for about a week so I’m prety much off the grid and sometimes it drives my friends crazy, because if I don’t get my alone time, I get seriously… well, grouchy.
As I get older, it is fun learning about myself. Just like everyone else, I’m learning and growing as a young adult. I’m def learning about myself, who I am, who I want to be, what kind of people I want in my life, what kind of life style I want to live, and college really as been a great environment for me to figure it all out in.
What not to pack
To all the high school grads, listen up! Your first act as a freshmen going to college is to stop your mother!
Why you may ask? If they are anything like my mother, they will go into some insane sort of new nesting syndrome and start trying to make sure you have “everything you need for college” which will only be short the kitchen sink.
I ended up having what seemed like half my house in what used to be the size of my bathroom in Kuwait. Lets just say, it caused some problems… for two years. I just now have my stuff under control. Hmm, so lets say, I got rid of one third or my room a year till I finally got down to what I actually use.
So what are the warning signs it is going to take a small army to get all your stuff down to South Florida and 4 years to get rid of it all?
- Your mom has been planning for you to go to college for 4 years… as in when you were a freshmen in high school.
- Your mom spends more time on the market now than she’s ever had. She’s wondering if she will need to mail laundry detergent down ahead of time or will it go in the car? (The answer is NEITHER. We have supermarkets down here too.)
- Your father wants to buy a new car… sees how much you need to take down to Florida and now rethinks that he should use it to rent a truck to move all of your stuff.
- The guest room is now a testing ground for how much stuff your new room can hold. Only problem is, your mother forgot that you will have a roommate or two and now you can’t find the dog…
So what should be in those back breaking boxes? Well, I would say for girls, two boxes of clothes (try and squeeze some shoes into one of thoes boxes) and one box for guys. Guys just seem to have less clothes than girls. A TV, a microwave, and a bed sit that you can sleep on for a year and not be embrassed by. That means a long talk with mom and dad about what style that you think you will want when you get to college. Fav books and movies are a must. Photos of family and friends for your wall. A new laptop… hint hint mom and dad. Lynn has a discount with Dell I believe. Its part of your welcome to Lynn package.
Also, caf food has improved greatly since your parents went to school. Which reminds me, when your parents start going on and on and on about when they were in college, please remind them in a loving way that that was a while back and that times have changed. Although not all things about college change, a lot of food standerds have over the years. I would tell you all the ways that college has changed, but I don’t think it would be allowed on here! You can still email me if you have questions though! 
(manderson5@email.lynn.edu)
Well, I am off to bed. It’s almost 1am and I have a busy day of chores tomorrow. Oh the joys of vacation!
Freezing water
About the freezing cold shower I just took… thanks Lynn University.
Randomly around here, the hot water will go out… sometimes for days. I cannot explain to you how much this sucks today of all days. I have a serious chest cold and that cold shower just made it worse. Needless to say, that was not the reaction I was hoping for when I thought of the shower. Now I feel stiff and sore and coughing even more. I was hoping a hot shower was going to relax my flu suffering body and make the cough easier.
So back to the fact that the hot water randomly goes out. No email, not even a sign. The night before I left for spring break, it was like this, and now that I’m back, its like it again. Although, the first night back, it was hot as could be! The whole bathroom was filled with steam, it could have been the opening to Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
I could not tell you if the hot water heater was just not working or how many buildings were suffering from this problem. Nothing. A little help please?!
I remember this happening once my freshman year. The water heater was broken for about 4 days, but we never had the problem again last year. Now it seems to be 3 times a month, and well, I don’t know about anyone else, but that is about 2 times to many for me to not protest.
Spring Break in Baton Rouge
I’m spending my spring break in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Exciting stuff. I have tons of photos but no time to load them onto my computer!
Lynn University has their spring break a little early, so everyone I know that doesn’t got to Lynn, still have classes. I’m visiting one of my friends from high school, Jarrod, but he’s got midterms this week so today he’s a little busy trying to get some studying in.
Oh I forgot to mention, I’m at LSU. Its a great school, with abou 30,000 students. I can’t even picture going here. I get lost in the dorms! The school is so beautiful, the campus is filled with great buildings and willow trees. There are students everywhere you look and the dorms are constantly full of noise at any hour of the day. Just being here for a few days is making me miss Lynn and the environment at Lynn.
Here, it is extreme security. I guess it is a must when there are 30,000 students, but at Lynn, at least you can easily go see your friends! Or just go to the rest room! At LSU, you need a key to get into the hallway you live on, and it does not work on any other floor, (not so at lynn, if you live in that building, you can get into any wing of that building so you can easily go see your friends.) I got stuck in a stairwell for 25 minutes because my friend didn’t hear his phone and you can’t get out of the stairwell without a key unless exiting the building into the freezing cold. Then you need a key to get into the restroom. Its crazy!
Well, I’m off to get some quick studying in myself and then maybe find something to eat.
Enjoying life
Lately I have been enjoying myself at Lynn. Today I went to the school’s coffee shop, Christines, with Cristina. I am def noticing the change in work load since freshmen year. Now back for my second semester as a sophomore, I am feeling the pressure to do more in shorter amounts of time and well, it gets rough some times.
But like I said, I am enjoying my time at Lynn and enjoying life. Tri Sigma had a Super Bowl theme meeting the other night. I don’t remember ever having a theme for a meeting before, but we sure did enjoy it, pizza and all.
Now that I have a good few months under my belt, I am starting to think about study abroad. Junior year will be here faster than I ever expected, I know that much, so I am trying to plan ahead. My only problem is I can’t figure out what I am going to do! I am going to stop by the study abroad office some time this week or next to figure out what Lynn offers.
Oh! And my room is all set up now! It looks wonderful and feels like a place I can relax in now, not like a cell anymore. I had some help getting my new room set up, and the bribes were worth it! I love how everything is set up.
Oh and another thing! Did anyone check out the last home game for basketball? We had 99 points, one point away from an even 100. My friends and I were going nuts over the one point. We wanted to see it go into the hundreds but oh well, we won! It was a great game as always. I love sporting events at school, Lynn students and staff go wild at all the games. No matter if we are winning or losing, there are people screaming, chanting, laughing, dancing, its just crazy!
Well, homework calls. Like I said, sophomore year is just a little more demanding than my freshmen year…. man, if only I knew how easy I had it!
