Thursday: Community

welcome to thursday of the BSU Blogfest!

today's theme is Community

what I love most about Bridgewater is the sense of community I feel in every aspect of my life here.

let's do a little compare and contrast from BSU and college #1.

at college #1 I didn't feel like I was a part of the campus. from the moment I moved in to the minute I left. I felt like a stranger at my own school.

the dorm I lived in was not a cheerful place. the RAs didn't decorate the halls with certain themes, there weren't programs for us to go to in the dorm. the only part of that dorm that felt welcoming was my room. my roommate and I decorated a large majority of our walls, we had photos and posters on the walls. it was the only place I felt comfortable.

the classrooms felt like cells. little light, little color. large shades on the windows. I did my best to learn, but I didn't feel a connection to the professors. I didn't feel like I could visit them in their offices for help.

the clubs and organizations on campus felt closed off. I didn't feel like anyone wanted me to be a part of their organization. I was a part of one organization for my first semester, but had no connections to make me want to go back for the second semester.

whereas at Bridgewater, I already had a certain connection to the school, having visited my friends on the weekends, and seeing the good in it from the start.

I like seeing the decorations hanging on the walls and the themed floors in my residence hall. I love seeing that there is a program to go to, even if I'm not always able to attend. I like knowing that they care about the building even if it means they have to charge us for some missing elevator buttons.

the classrooms are well lit. I feel comfortable being in class. I know I can rely on my professors to help. I know they want their students to succeed.

the clubs and organizations on this campus are more than welcome to accept members. I made a connection and have become very good friends with so many people through Program Committee. I spend time in OSIL because I want to be around this wonderful community of people I've met on campus.

so whether it is from living in the residence hall, to being in the classroom, or what I do when I'm not in class I have always felt like a part of the BSU community. it didn't take me very long to feel that way either. I know my experience at college #1 has made me appreciate this community 10 times more.

sometimes I wonder if everyone feels the way I do about the BSU community. I don't think everyone takes advantage of what is in front of them. there are so many different outlets for the diverse group of students we have here. I wish there was some way we could reach out to every student and find out if they feel like they are a member of the BSU community and if they don't, help them to.

my college experience became so much better after I felt like a part of this campus. I take pride in being a student at BSU and this is because I feel welcome in such a great community.

a delayed wednesday: leadership

wednesday's BSU Blogfest post is a little late. it was a little crazy yesterday, but here it is :)

so Wednesday's theme was Leadership!

being a leader has been a new concept for me in the last year.

in high school and for my first couple years of college I never really thought of myself as a leader. for a while I was content being the follower. I got along standing on the side. But I always wondered what it would be like to be a leader.

last year, when it was my first year at BSU, I was genuinely happy being at this school and really felt that I had found where I was meant to be going to college.

I made a lot of new friends, many of whom I looked up to as great leaders on campus. they urged me to apply to be an Orientation Leader. until they mentioned it to me, I hadn't really thought much about it. I wasn't sure if I was the right kind of person to be an OL. they asked me a few different times to apply and I eventually did.

now after I went through the group process interview and found out I was an alternate, I wasn't overly upset and went on with the semester.

then I had a few different people asking if I was going to apply for PC e-board when they were looking to fill a few more positions. again, I wasn't sure I was going to be right for this position, but I figured, let's try it out. it's worth a shot. I went in for an interview and found out I was the director of marketing.

so long story short (and I know I've told the story before here on the blog) I found out I was going to be an OL. last summer, I really started to feel like a leader.

I know now that anyone can become a leader. the first step is going out there and trying it out. if I had gone along telling myself that I'm "not the right kind of person" then I never would have had the best summer I think I've ever had. I never would have learned that there isn't a cookie cutter kind of leader.

I gained so much confidence in realizing that yes, I can do this. I can be that person who stands in front of a group and be the one who they look to for guidance.

leadership has definitely been an important part of my life.

I'm not afraid to say I'm not the right kind of person anymore.

:)

Tuesday- Technology

welcome to BSU Blogfest Day 2!

today's theme is Technology :)

technology has always been a love/hate thing with me.

without it I could be more productive. without it I would be able to read more than I've been able to. without it I could spend more time doing more.

but without it I wouldn't know some of the people that I do. without it I wouldn't be able to stay in touch with many people that I've met. without it I think I would be bored.

i thinking along the lines of personal technology

cellphones, smartphones, laptops, ipads, ipods

it's amazing how much our lives revolve around them.

sometimes I wish I knew what it was like without it all. technology of all sorts has its perks and uses now, but what were the days like when people use to talk face to face, not facetime to facetime.

yet I still would have trouble giving up my laptop or my cellphone or my ipod. it's frustrating to think about. are we better off without technology or is the world better off with it all?

I don't know.

I guess I wish technology wasn't so frustrating sometimes, but i wouldn't give it up for the world.

what about you? do you ever wonder if we're better off with or without it all sometimes?

not much on today's theme. I'm a little fried after my two tests today :/

Monday: Learning

welcome to BSU Blogfest Day 1!

today's theme is Learning.

I have learned a lot in my 20 (almost 21) years of life.

we could talk about what I've learned from class, what I've learned about family, what I've learned about friendships, what I've learned about myself,

I could continue going on and on.

but I think I learned the most in my first year of college.

some of you may already know that I didn't attend Bridgewater State University (aka college #2) for my first year of college. I actually went to another school. I transferred to BSU for my sophomore year.

I didn't know what to expect when I first went to college. I was a good student and did everything by the book in high school. I didn't get in trouble, got mostly As and tried hard to stay that way.

when I first got to college #1, I wasn't overly worried about living away from home. my parents raised me to be a pretty independent person, so the independence factor wasn't too troublesome for me. I've always been mature for my age. I knew I was going to school to get an education first and foremost.

what I didn't realize was the things I would learn about myself and the big world outside of the small town life I grew up in. I made a couple of friends that first month and got to know them. but when october of my freshmen year came around I learned a lot about trust. if you aren't careful about those you trust when you get to know someone, that trust you instill in them can come back and bite you in the butt.

I learned that the world is not perfect. terrible things happen to people and this can influence the way they act. when you get yourself mixed up with these people, you can be put into some difficult positions. I had to face the consequences for my so called friend's actions.

on top of this situation I faced, I also lost my grandmother in November of my freshmen year. she had been sick all my life. it was hard losing her. she was an integral part of my childhood and I learned that it doesn't do you any good to whine and complain about things in life. my grandmother had her good and her bad days, yet she never complained.

I tried not to let all of these things affect my schoolwork and finished the semester doing well in a majority of my classes.

over winter break the feelings and pressure I felt about everything that I went through during those first 4 months of school hit me all at once. I had one big anxiety attack. but luckily, I learned how to handle this anxiety I was feeling and I learned that crying is not a bad thing :)

I wasn't happy after my first semester of college. not just because of everything that had happened. I wasn't happy sitting in my room all the time. I did join college #1s version of Program Committee, but wasn't enjoying being a member.

over that winter break I learned that I did not want to stay at a school where I wasn't happy. I couldn't see myself graduating from college #1. that was the most important thing for me.

that's when I applied to BSU. I had visited my friends who went here their first year and loved it. I had applied here when I was in high school, but I wanted to try something different from my friends. to try out that independent deal.

I was accepted and made it through the second semester of college #1. after I left college #1 I never regret going there. one of the other many things I learned was how to branch out and try different things. I grew up that first year and I got a better understanding of the outside world.

but let me just say I'm thrilled to have been at BSU the last 2 years. I've learned so much and grown even more. I can see myself graduating from here next year and while it is a daunting thought, I know I'm happier now learning everything I did that first year.

so is there something that you have learned that made a big impact on you?

:)

BSU Blogfest

you all know I love twitter

and facebook

and this blog

and my readers

and my school

right?

it's true, i do.

well next week I'm going to be participating in the BSU Blogfest.

I'm sort of excited for it.

let me explain what is going to happen:

all next week, I'm going to be blogging about the theme of the day. each day has a different theme. I'm going to try my hardest not to stop writing in the style that I already do. my style goes with the flow and is basically whatever comes to mind. so whatever I think of is what I'll be blogging about. you know, the usual.

the Blogfest is part of a weeklong event hosted by the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership at my college, Bridgewater State University. this event is called Social Media Week!

there are so many different clubs, organizations, faculty, staff, and students who use twitter, blogs, facebook or other social media sites on our campus that it's time we use all of them in one week.

I normally write about my life and that isn't going to change next week. I'll be doing my best to apply the themes to things I've experienced in my life while still staying lighthearted and optimistic like I've always wanted this blog to stay.

I hope you all enjoy being a little piece of my every day life next week! please feel free to comment on the posts or write your own posts with your thoughts on the theme of the day or how social media ties into and affects your life. and if you do let me know! I want to know!

there are other blogs participating in the Blogfest and many more people tweeting and discussing social media all next week!

check out the other blogs here

we'll also be using the hashtag #BSUsmw on twitter all week as well.

if you don't already follow me on twitter you can find me @MEO18

I can't wait to hear your thoughts about all the themes and everything else to do with social media next week!

get excited!!

:)

the non-french lesson

I took french in high school.

my teacher was a nice person. I learned a little bit of french. do I remember any french? um, not really, but I can say Je m'appelle Meghan (which I think means My name is Meghan) that's all I've got.

what I do remember is when we had a lesson on doing nice things for others.

with the lesson she wanted us to watch Pay it Forward. you know the one with Haley Joel Osment, Kevin Spacey, and Helen Hunt? we even got to watch it with no subtitles.

anyway it was a great lesson to have in junior year of high school, but just a little weird to have in a french class.

the idea of it is great, if you do something nice for someone and they do something nice for someone else, this kindness will spread to many others.

well a few weeks ago Vanessa over at Caramel Covered Photographs passed this amazing idea along.

"Here's the deal. I promise to send three of you something homemade sometime in 2011. In order to take part, you need to leave me a comment and also post this idea on your blog, continuing to pay it forward"

it's a great idea that I want to send to three of my fantastic readers so we can spread the happiness and make others day.

remember to leave your email address in the comment

my french teacher would be so proud. and thanks Vanessa for this amazing idea!