Tag Archives: Orientation

Diva Lesson #8: Celebrate!

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Hello hello my Divas! It’s nice to be able to converse with you once again. Throughout this crazy, strange week, I wasn’t sure if I would make it to the end. Yet, here I am, not only surviving, but thriving! (Maybe that should be another lesson…we shall see). This week was a true oddity because we had Monday classes on Tuesday, and Tuesday itself was obliterated from the school week. Talk about sheisty! But such is life I suppose, and despite being hit with the triple whammy of an 8am class three days in a row, I still made the best of it and I survived! It’s what Gloria would have wanted (Gaynor…for those of you who may not know for some reason.) Well anyway, with the arrival of Diva Lesson #8 comes midterms! Take some time to review the past Diva Lessons, and make sure you understand them fully! You never know when you  may need to apply one or more of them in your everyday life. Proper application is surely, the key to success. Anyway, now that I’ve gone off rambling, let’s get back to the meat of the issue! Now when you hear midterms, I know most of you are probably thinking about crazy tests which cover a ton of information, all complied onto just a few sheets of paper. But here at Diva Lessons, we don;t play it like that. Instead, we’re gonna teach y’all a fun lesson! That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take it seriously though, of course! So here it is, “Diva Lesson #8: Celebrate!”

Now amongst our daily shuffles from place to place; activity to activity, we may found ourselves lost, confused, or overwhelmed. First, consider looking back at the Diva Lesson entitled Balance is Key (it’s a winner, I assure you.) But then, the next step it to remember to enjoy life, and make the most of it! Sometimes this means taking some time away from your studies, to celebrate those in your life who are important and matter most to you. Amidst my crazy schedule, that’s exactly what I did over the weekend. To start off the weekend, which would ultimately lead to my friend Sarah’s birthday on Tuesday, I went and paid a visit to Suite Ronnie Intensive (home of Sarah, Jenn, Eileen, Lindsay, Haley, and Dom…and kind of Jon). Things started out like a typical Friday night, with the usual food and Mario Baseball playing. But then, we decided that for Sarah’s birthday, we would have a scavenger hunt. Eileen and Lindsay were one team, and Sarah and Jenn were the other team. They made up lists for each other, and I was the judge. I assigned different point values to the items on each of the lists, so that we could determine a winner at the end. Both of the teams made hilarious and somewhat challenging lists which ranged from taking wacky pictures with different people or in random places, and others mandated collecting items, like restaurant menus or TCBY samples. The whole night was truly a blast. At the end, when the teams came back together, we ate an entire loaf of challah bread while laughing at the hilarious pictures they had taken, and items that were collected. It was by far one of the funniest moments in a long time.

The following day, we all simply hung out, and at night I went over to Gage to help Jen make some items for the sub-regional meeting that will be taking place here at New Paltz over the weekend. I helped her make door tags for all of the visiting people, and they turned out wonderfully. The next day, which was Sunday, Sarah’s parents both came up to visit for her birthday. They’re always hilarious, and I enjoy when I get to see them. Initially, we all went apple picking and Jenn creepily took photos of cute babies we saw while we were on a tractor ride to the apple trees. But, this weekend was unusually warm, so it ended up being too hot to fully enjoy picking the apples. Therefore, we went back to campus, and hung out around Suite Ronnie Intensive (located inside Dubois, and known as SRI, as Stephen calls them). We all watched videos of Sarah from when she was still in high school and laughed at how crazy she and her friends were. The best video was her birthday video, which her friends made for her. It’s probably one of the funniest things ever created. A little later on, Sarah’s parents took her out to dinner, and Jenn, Eileen, Lindsay, and I went on a mission to gather items for Sarah’s birthday. This included a ton of pictures that were used to create a giant collage.of hilarious or fun pictures taken over the year, and throughout her life. Then, we finished off the night by all returning to SRI (have you been paying attention to the abbreviations?!) and had ice cream cake for Sarah’s birthday! It was truly a wonderful day.

The following day, we still didn’t have classes because of Columbus Day. So I was able to sleep late, I stayed in Haley’s bed for most of the weekend, and I listened to the Student Ambassadors out the window as they went by with tour. It was another simple and relaxing day with friends, and Sarah and I were both in our friend Jen’s movie for her film class which took up a large portion of the afternoon. Following that, we got lunch, and spent the remainder of the day studying and doing homework for the week to come. Once midnight hit on Tuesday morning or Monday night, Jenn brought out a candy cake which she and Eileen had made earlier in the day. Basically, a candy cake is a typically circular structure, both filled and surrounded by candy, giving it the appearance of a cake. It’s pretty interesting. I went back to my room, and went about the next day as a typical Monday (even though it was Tuesday?) and had lunch with SRI for Sarah’s birthday, went to my classes, and got everything I needed done. Then, we all went out to dinner at the Olive Garden for Sarah’s birthday. I went with Sarah, Eileen, Jenn, Lindsay, Jon, Steven, and Mary. It was really a blast, but I don’t think the staff liked us very because we were a group of college students. That’s fine though. I hope she had a really wonderful weekend and birthday, because it was very nice to be with everyone and take time to celebrate as people should when someone important has a big event in their lives!

Basically, to sum up this lesson, always remember that people are most important. Quizzes and tests will come and go, and although they have a great importance, especially in college (for obvious reasons), having that strong foundation of friends to help support you and have fun with is also key. It is the best feeling to be able to make them feel loved and appreciated, simply for being a part of your life. That’s why this lesson is so important. It is essential to take some time out, even a small amount of time, and just celebrate! Let your hair down, and let loose! But of course, never lose your class and poise, because those are arguably the most essential pieces to being a Diva. Anyway, I guess it all really just comes back to two main ideas. Appreciate those you love, and never be afraid to express it, especially when it’s their special day, and always remember how important it is to celebrate and enjoy these moments in life! Too frequently, we get caught up in the constant buzzing of life’s activities, but being able to celebrate and truly enjoy what life has to offer is an essential skill, especially when it comes to being a Diva, and reaching your true potential. I suppose that’s really all I have to say this week! Enjoy you next week, and be sure to check in next week for the next Diva Lesson installment! Until then, this concludes “Diva Lesson #8: Celebrate!”

 

Extra Credit!

As if I don’t have enough going on in my life, this week, I decided to run for Vice President of Capen Hall, where I live on campus. There was an opening, and I took this as a sign that I should run for the position because i hadn’t done so originally and I missed being involved in Hall Government. Luckily, I got the spot!! I’m excited to see what this new Hall Government and my position have to bring me.

As stated earlier in the Lesson, this weekend we’re hosting a NEACURH sub-regional meeting. This means I will be able to meet the chair of my national committee, Danielle. I’m very excited to finally meet her in person, and assist at the meeting in anyway that they need me too.

Further, this weekend is Parent and Family Weekend. Being an Orientation Leader, I am obligated to help out. For my shift, I will be taking a boat ride on the Hudson River with Christie, Stephen, and 300 parent and family members. It should be interesting and I hope it doesn’t rain. Also: Stephen and I bought matching sailor hats, so that should also be hilarious.

Tonight, I attended an A Capella show in Bevier Hall. There were so many people there and the lounge was so warm! All of the groups were great, and the Sexy Pitches performed a new song. But of course, their new song was “Back to Black” by Amy Winehouse. I nearly started  crying because I love her and miss her so much! Stephen thought this was funny, so her sent out a mass text to all of the other Orientation Leaders to tell them, because I had done an Amy Winehouse tribute during session 5 of orientation.

Of late, my life has felt a little messy, or a little all over the place. I think I have some things to sort through, but that’s life I suppose. When it comes down to it, you need to be able to persevere through problems, and face them head on, with your head held high. It may not come easily, and it might take some work, but it’ll be worth it in the end. It’s a process, and I think I need to get started.

Diva Lesson #3: Balance is Key.

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Hello hello my students of sass! Here we are once again, for your weekly lesson to help you reach your true potential as the Ultimate Diva. So give your hair a quick flip (or whip…yes, I’m talking to you, Willow Smith) and get ready, because class is now in session. This week, I bring you Diva Lesson #3: “Balance is Key.”

As school slowly but surely gets into full swing for the fall semester, I find myself trying to juggle  responsibilities of being a student, as well as finding the time to have a social life while also doing homework and being a good student. This can be hard to maintain, especially in some classes where teachers have aggressive regiments of reading planned. However, that’s college life and the key to success is being able to find a balance between all of these things. This past week, as I found myself reading the history of the Peloponnesian War, written by ancient Athenian citizen Thucydides, for my Classical and Medieval Political Theory class, and different articles about myths and cultural images surrounding mothers for my Mothering and Motherhood class (I know, it’s an interesting mix. But such is the life of a Women’s Studies and Political Science major.), I found myself asking a deep, philosophical question. How exactly does Angelina Jolie find the time to be in a relationship, take care of children, while also being an amazing and flawless actress? I’m sure many people have thought of this before, and have asked similar questions. You could probably just ask SJP (Sarah Jessica Parker for all you non- Sex and the City fans.), since she just starred in that new movie I Don’t Know How She Does It, in which she portrays the role of a mother juggling all sorts of responsibilities at once. But then of course, I realized that the answer was quite simple. They’re both divas with balance. So now, I impart this knowledge to you, which I have gained in the past week.

It actually occurred to me this week, that I had been practicing balance for quite some time. In fact, balance is just another term for time management, really. That’s the key. As I reflected upon Labor Day weekend, this also became very clear. To start things off, on Friday, I took some time for myself. I took a nap in the afternoon, enjoyed dinner with friends Jen and Stephen, and then I went to visit Kyleen and Jordan who were both working the First-Year Friday event (aimed at first year students) which was a late night ice cream social in the student union, along with Jen. After that, I spent some time just hanging out with Allison and Jen just hanging out. It was very nice.

The next day, I started out by doing some laundry, and then going to see my friend Sharyce (aka Little Old) go and play tennis with Joey and Cat. She was only playing exhibition matches, but it was still a lot of fun to watch her do something she enjoys. Following that, I went to Starbucks to celebrate the return of fall beverages with my friend Jen (I know, again with all the Jens). We both got pumpkin spice frapps from Starbs. It was the greatest. Later that day, Jordan and I got dinner together at the Hawk Street Station, and then I spent the night in Bevier Hall with my friends Kyleen, Joey (the second), and Shaynee, all Resident Assistants in that hall. We spent the night listening to music and watching Criminal Minds. It was a very enjoyable and relaxing evening.

On Sunday, I got brunch with Joey (the first…I know, I should try to make friends with different names) which was great. I don’t get to see him as much as I did last year, so it’s nice to spend time together when we can. After we were done, I went back to my room and got some work done. I did my Japanese homework, and spent some time reading and taking care of things that needed to get done. I spent most of the day doing that, until later on when Jen, Stephen and I went to Stewart’s (our favorite gas station/ice cream place) to get ice cream and celebrate Beyonce’s 30th birthday. Obviously, this was a big deal and needed to be celebrated accordingly. Following that, we spent the night just hanging out.

Finally on Monday, a bunch of the Orientation Leaders and I went to a Chinese buffet in Newburgh. Since we all have different schedules, we don’t get to see each other that much anymore. Therefore, we all try to organize times or events when we can spend time with one another and catch up on everything that has been going on in our lives. I love the Newburgh buffet so much. It’s probably one of the best places to eat. It never disappoints. We all had a blast, and then on our way back we went to Starbs (twice in one weekend!!) where I enjoyed a pumpkin spice latte (I’m really into the fall drinks of late), and then headed back to campus where I returned to get some more work done, and enjoy the remainder of my weekend before the busy schedule of the week picked up once again.
As I reflected upon this story of my weekend, I thought about the balance I had used  to not only have time to spend with my friends, but also to get homework done, and remain on top of my studies. That’s why balance is so key. It’s all about finding the proper amount of time so that the work gets done and isn’t overwhelming, as well as remembering that it’s important to take breaks, take some time to enjoy being social, and enjoy friends. It is so important to remember because while work or tasks at hand may seem daunting, there’s always a way to navigate through, and achieve success while having fun at the same time. Just ask SJP or Angelina Jolie. I’m sure they would tell you balance is essential. That’s why this week’s Diva Lesson is “Balance is Key.” Class dismissed.