Christmas Wars and Taking OWLS at Hogwarts

As I was riding back home on the train from Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I reminisced about all the unbelievable things I had seen and done during my first semester as a wizard.  From nearly losing an ear to an accidental explosion in potions class, to learning how to ride a broom, and seeing a hippogriff, the semester had been nothing less than eventful.  Living in the Gryffindor dormitory, I had made loads of friends and acquaintances after many sleepless nights of practicing spells and working out ancient runes.  Already, I had forged a strong friendship with some that I know will serve as a more powerful weapon against the dark arts than any magic.  The last couple weeks of OWLS had been draining, but at the same time we managed to squeeze in some time to go out and enjoy some butterbeer.  Nonetheless, it was neat to see our class progressing together through all the hurdles of studying as a wizard at Hogwarts.

Now, I wasn't really at Hogwarts, but I sincerely felt like it when I was riding home on the Amtrak, through all the snowy mountains to my desert home in Utah.  Why couldn't it have been?

Girl's floor gift exchange

As I was riding back home on the Amtrak from Mines, I was reminded of all the crazy things I had seen and done in such a short time.  I felt like I had learned more in 6 months than I probably did for a whole year in high school; my brain felt stuffed.  From igniting experimental rockets in Chemistry, to pranking the guys' floors, and seeing a Hippo (Denver Zoo), the semester was one I'll never forget.  Living in the Traditional Halls, I had made tons of friends after many sleepless nights of writing lab reports, doing online biology homework, and stuffing inconceivable numbers of people in a single room to watch movies.  Even in this short time, I know I have discovered friendships that are a more powerful weapon against zombies than any Nerf gun.  The last couple weeks of finals had been grueling, but at the same time we were able to squeeze in some necessary down time to go out, play in the snow, and enjoy some legendary pizza at Woody's.  At the very least, it was rewarding to see our class progressing through all the hard times and red boxes of studying as an engineer at Mines together.

Just recently, the floors of Bradford Hall in the Traditionals (Gryffindor, obviously) were engaged in an intense Christmas decoration war, resulting in a night of shirtless guys wrapping their entire wall in wrapping paper and stewing up more crazy ideas for their plot to beat the girls.  The second floor's decorations were complete with lights strung up and down the entire hallway, a cardboard Christmas tree, and even lights in the windows spelling out "PEACE", a sight seen all the way from Sorority Hill.

The guys' Christmas Wars decorations, complete with broken sleds after some late-night sledding

Now a summary of this last month wouldn't be complete without a brief description of Finals and Dead Week.  It was something I had been dreading since August, and it definitely involved more time spent just sitting down and studying than I had previously experienced.  However, with the support and help from some good friends, a lot of the weight of Finals seemed to be lifted off my shoulders.  And contrary to popular belief, I find it hard to say that Dead Week is actually "dead".  Classes still go on, and there are still people out and about making snowmen, putting up Christmas decorations, and doing other such things.  There are also great Pre-Finals Workshops, tutoring sessions, and study areas specially available for the students this week, showing that there is quite a bit of help and guidance if you only go out and ask for it.  Me personally, I found it was most effective to get together with a friend or two, leave the dorms (due to enforced 24/7 quiet hours making the dorms alarmingly quiet), and go to a separate building, in our case Brown Building so we could listen to people playing the piano, and as down-to-earth as it sounds, spend some quality time with the books, former exams, and our notes.  Friends don't let friends fail.  At least not at Mines they don't:)

Anyhow, It's been a wonderful semester, and I can't wait to come back for the next!  That is, after a much-needed break to catch up with family (and on sleep).  See you next semester!

How Zombies Taught Me How to Study

It was on.

After a relaxing fall break, everyone started preparing their arsenals of Nerf guns, marshmallow shooters, balled up socks, and dance moves for the upcoming zombie apocalypse.  Some of my friends had literally been stocking up on supplies, modding Nerf guns, and even practicing missions for weeks.  It's a good thing they knew their stuff, for I probably wouldn't have survived to tell this tale without their aid and superior zombie-fighting expertize.

It all started that Monday; the infection had been detected in three unlucky souls at midnight, whom for the first morning were free to roam through the humans undetected and infect as many other humans as they could in a struggle to satisfy their undying hunger for human brains.  In other words, everyone playing started as a "human" wearing the orange bandana on their left arm, and 3 people were selected to be the original zombies.  These three could then touch any human to "infect" them and thus, turn them into zombies, now wearing the orange bandana around their forehead.  See the official rules and stats here: http://inside.mines.edu/~mmazzocc/rules).  I heard horror stories from that first morning physics class.

That week, I proceeded to learn quite a bit about myself, my study habits, and my ability to cope in high stress environments.  Here are some tips I came up with for surviving a zombie apocalypse (as well as for staying organized and doing well on your next exam):

•  Lesson #1: carry everything you need with you for the day on your back.  This means nerf gun, marshmallows, marshmallow blow gun, foam sword, extra socks, the works, as well as other things like homework and books (there is an art to this however, because carrying too much means being weighed down and not as agile at escaping).  The Monday of the infection after a sneaky lunch at Einstein's, I found myself stuck in the next building I had a class in.  Thinking it was not worth the risk or effort to go back to my room in the short time between classes, I resorted to pulling out my Calc book and studying.  I may have to thank the zombies for my score on that next Calculus test with all the extra studying I got done that week.  

• Lesson #2: know your surroundings, and never underestimate the tenacity of the zombies.  Later that evening after studying in another building for several hours, three of us were ambushed by a group of zombies as late as 9:00pm!  Many bad situations like this are avoideded by simply checking behind your back and around corners, so do it constantly!

• Lesson #3: plan ahead and always give yourself extra time.  As a human, I began changing my habits; I left for classes at least 15 or even 30 minutes early to avoid the hourly rush of students, and every night I sat down and made a game plan for the next day, including each class, meeting, and every place I had to go to for the whole day so I would know what I needed to carry with me and when I needed to think of a creative escape route.  After a close call, I also decided to make a point to start doing online homework the night before the night it's due.  The same night as the first ambush, I had online economics homework due at midnight.  After all the time it took for us to call in reinforcements and make our way back to the dorms, I was very close to missing the deadline.  I thought I had it bad on normal nights trying to get it done in time. 

• Lesson #4: check out the other cool places to eat and study on campus.  If one thing's for sure, nobody ever survived a zombie apocalypse by eating at the same old cafeteria for every meal.  After the experience of being a human running from zombies for a week, I happened upon multiple places to eat, play the piano, hang out, and study inside buildings and in places I never knew existed.  Take advantage of the awesome place you're going to college at!

• Lesson #5: strength is in numbers, and communication is key.  As it was understood that the chances of survival were much greater with someone to walk with you and watch your back, fellow humans instantly became friends, which served as a great way to meet people.  I also learned that when traveling with a larger group of humans, basic commands and formations were essential when facing large hoards of zombies.  Make sure there is clear communication throughout your group of humans.

• Lesson #6: don't go out and play in the snow when you've been temporarily locked out of your room and all you have is a bag of marshmallows as a weapon.  I am the only known survivor of this folly...

• Lesson #7: never lose hope! you never know when you'll find an antidote out there.  And even if you do become a zombie, have fun with it!  Many people actually prefer the zombie side of the game; however, I'm one of those who would much rather fight.

By Saturday, a helicopter had located the last of us, fending off a massive hoard of zombies heroically in our Halloween costumes, and was able to rescue a whopping 17 out of the 250-some that began the game as a human.

After everyone was done throwing snowballs, our floor proceeded to celebrate Halloween by carving pumpkins, reverse trick-or-treating (coming to other people's doors at the dorm, making them say "trick-or-treat", and then giving them candy), and attending a surprisingly really fun Halloween dance/party night put on by the Residence Hall Association.  I had much more fun dancing with friends than I think I ever could have if I payed a lot of money to go to some crazy concert in Denver.  Just goes to show that you really don't need to spend a lot of money to have fun as a college student.

Needless to say, it was the coolest Halloween ever. :)

Prom Dress Rugby Pics!

Love: the sexiest rugby team in the universe <3

FORCE X DISTANCE, WORK WORK WORK!

A Game of Inches

There were some things I always thought I would experience at college.  Some things that come to mind are "a crazy teacher who wears dark glasses" (referenced from the 80's song: The Future's so Bright I Gotta Wear Shades and personified in our freshman chemistry teacher, Professor. Racicot), road trips, fierce football games with amazing marching bands (above is a picture of the marching band splitting an atom during halftime of the homecoming football game), pranks, and classes so hard you got a headache just thinking about them.  The latter involves another tale from the class of 2015.   

I GOT A 66?

This was the average thought (censored a little) going through about 3/4 of the class of 2015's minds, and the thought that was going through my mind, as we looked up our exam scores on the internet, felt our souls crush a little bit, and sunk into despair for the weekend.  For many of us, it was our very first exam at Mines, and it had also been scheduled on the same night as the first freshman chemistry exam, so we had double the studying to do, no perception of what we were in for, and no experience in how to prepare for an exam at Mines.  It was a biology exam covering 7 chapters which we had gone over in about 4 weeks, a class that many of us had been randomly placed into on the basis that our majors did not involve rocks or computers.  Although it may seem to be one of the more simpler subjects, this exam proved to be a turning point in the academic careers of all those who witnessed it at Mines.  And boy did it turn us in the right direction.

I was with those who lamented over their scores that next Monday, as in class Dr. Schoonmaker (Dr. J for Judy) displayed our scores in a graph, showing an equal distribution of scores around the average of 65.  She explained to us how this was a good sign- now that all of us A-students in high school had arrived at an institution that challenged us, we were once again met with adversity, and if we wanted that A bad enough, we were going to have to climb our way back up the ladder.  "When the going get's tough, the tough get going," she remarked, while encouraging us to use this as an opportunity to learn from our mistakes.  She then gave some advice for the next exam:

• Use office hours to get a better idea of what went wrong on test day.  Understand why what you answered wrong was wrong, and why the right answer is right.  Was each missed question a mistake in reading, understanding, or material? (each missed question on the exam would be read through and marked with an R, U, or M)
• Spend time doing the online homework.  Don't just rush through it, get the answers from a friend, and neglect to read the actual material in the homework and in the textbook.  As a good friend once mentioned to me, the amount of enjoyment gotten out of the lecture was directly proportional to how much reading he did.
• Schedule the week of the exam with a specific study plan.  Trust me, I did this myself, and it did wonders on my score.  Be sure to read every chapter the exam covers, actually write down the answers to the key points that Dr. J puts up on Blackboard, attend or at least get the worksheets from the Academic Excellence Workshops- as those questions very often shop up on the exam, and go back over your notes all during the same week as the exam, preferably spread out over several days.

Now before you take all this advice to heart, remember that every professor is different, and professors can change every year.  I have talked to many a sophomore, and they all said that biology was a breeze their freshman year.  On the other hand, you can never be too prepared.  A bit of advice from me would be to always shoot high for the first exam just in case, until you know how to prepare for the coming exams in that subject.  And number two: don't stress it!  Like Dr. J said when I went to her office hours, (literally packed with students checking over exams) "before you take any exam, say to yourself that your mother loves you".  Remember that what you're taking is just one exam- and that no exam score, no matter how low, is the end of the world.  Just be sure to learn from it!  Remember that when you are landed at Mines, or some other equally fantastic school, and you get that first 66 on your exam, that you should stop and take the time to think about it.  Your professor is not the one to blame for making it a challenge, you are the one who needs to accept that challenge and bridge the gap to come out victorious.

It's just the best feeling in the world when you know how much harder you studied and how much better you planned for an exam, and then you see the results.  The average score on the next biology exam went up to 76 (compared to 65), while my personal score miraculously went up by 30.  I was ecstatic- along with many of my other biology class friends who were also finally satisfied with their scores. 

Now when it comes to physics, I've heard horror stores even scarier than this one, however I cannot say firsthand.  I will have the pleasure to experience that challenge next semester.  Of course that's what you get for going to a university with one of the best physics programs in the country! (allegedly Mines has the second hardest physics 2 class in the US)

As they say in rugby, it's a game of inches.  Every inch is a victory, and you can't make it to the other side of the field without winning all those little victories.  It also relates to rock climbing as I have experienced; being able to smush yourself up that one INCH can get you high enough to finally reach that next handhold and take that next step.  Figuring out how to take an exam in that one subject is just part of the whole battle.  (below, a little kid battling Marvin the Miner at homecoming football game)

Speaking of battles, I will likely be posting about the upcoming Prom Dress Rugby Game!!! :D  Along with some Halloween shenanigans and an epic two days of Humans vs Zombies.  Right now I am enjoying a calm fall break and looking forward to the rest of October!

Ordinary Friday Afternoon

-While writing to a pen pal in Belgium (which I had unintentionally put off for several months)...

Inspiration - Boom!!!

It was an ordinary Friday afternoon at the dorms, I was just coming back from swing dancing lessons and came downstairs to pick up a package from home: an air-popper I meant to bring, a Kairi costume complete with a keyblade (from the Kingdom Hearts video game) for an upcoming anime convention/Halloween costume, a letter, and a present from my parents, when I saw a flyer on the wall, "Write a freshman blog and you can get a free digital camera!".  My mind looked up and smiled (a big :D smile).  I was in desperate need of a camera.  My current camera, the "adventure camera", was becoming more and more obsolete by the day; only 1/4 of the screen was decipherable due to a spider-climbing episode in a slot canyon in Utah, and I needed some visual, artsy way to document my life.  Deep down, I'm a would-be nature photographer- just like how deep down, I'm also a blogger.  Plus how cool would it be to keep up a blog about my mind-blowing time at Mines?

...That cool!!!

Anyways, that's how I ended up here, brainstorming what to tell my friend in Belgium about life at college while also writing about those same ideas in my first blog post.

...(back to the letter)
I'm sure you know the feeling, you're experiencing it right now in Belgium: going to college for the first time, finally being at a place you can call your own, being responsible for your own life, and being free to explore the world.  Many aspects of being here at college remind me of being a foreign exchange student in Brazil where I met you, but with even more freedom, and with that more responsibilities, and more at stake (looking at the score from my first exam...).  But it's process and a challenge we must all go through at one point in life.  After all, Mines wouldn't be so legendary if we ALL got A's on the first exam.

What can I say?  Living is golden here.  As you know, I come from a town called "The Middle of the Desert", Utah, so I am new to living in such a vibrant place.  I have always been very in-tune to the culture and natural environment associated with a place, a habit probably acquired from having the chance to absorb a whole new environment during my stay in Brazil; it's something I pay attention to.  What I picked up on here is that people in Colorado are, in general, more happy and healthy due to their captivating and easily accessible outdoor surroundings, and there's proof: Boulder, CO was once voted healthiest (least overweight) city in the US.  You can see it in the people too; try going to the supermarket with white wash all over your legs (a remnant of the M-climb earlier that day) and not having some stranger smile and start up a friendly conversation with you.

The campus itself is very nice (despite the slight construction obstacles).  It's just the right size, not too big, not too small, everything in perfect walking distance (especially from the traditional dorms), complete with cute little squirrels scurrying around.  You look out the window from my 3rd story room, and there are mountains galore!- close enough to even walk to and climb from campus.  Even when it's raining and a big foggy cloud is engulfing the M-hill it's beautiful, perfect for running by the creek.  Did I mention, the main attraction in Golden: Clear Creek!  It's evidently the thing to do for fun in small-town Colorado (as I saw in great numbers when the town was full of people for the bike race): jump in a freezing cold river!  Or option 2: float down a freezing cold river on whatever you can find that floats!  It turns out to be surprisingly enjoyable, especially when paired with sipping home-made root beer from the local farmer's market.  I have always adored Colorado, it's like the outdoors of Utah, but less desert-like and more mountainous, in addition to just the sheer freedom of being in Colorado (or otherwise, the freedom of not being in Utah).  It's not that I don't like Utah (I am just so excited to be in college here in Coloradooooo!).  And don't even get me started on how excited I am for the snow. 

It's been a great first 4 weeks, I've already learned so much and met so many people- so many like-minded people.  I walk out the door carrying a keyblade, am nearly tackled with excitement by a neighbor in my hall, end up having a photo shoot, and then I remember why I came here, and know for certain that I am destined to be here at Mines, and nowhere else.  :D

I hope you're also having a great first-year of college in Belguim!
Your good friend,
-Joelle