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Heating Up: Spring Has (Seemingly) Sprung!

 

Fenwick Hall, as seen from nearby building Stein Hall
A view of Fenwick Hall on a beautiful afternoon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello again, readers! Seeing as it is the first official day of Spring 2019, I figured today was an appropriate day to blog about my experiences over break, as well as my more recent undertakings here on Mount Saint James.

Over spring break, I went home to Rochester to visit my family and friends. Upon returning to campus, I learned that several of my friends chose to travel with immersion programs to various states to take part in service projects. Although I did not have such an opportunity this year, I heard wonderful things about the programs, and would very much like to attend one of these trips in the future.

Nevertheless, my time in Rochester was far from wasted. On my third day home, I visited my high school and delivered a speech entitled “Masculinity and Sexual Scripts: Discussing Consent and Injustice” as part of the school’s week-long series of discussions on masculinity. It was a great opportunity to discuss an important issue, as well as a chance to apply knowledge I garnered from my Social Psychology course last semester.

Additionally, I spent the rest of the week catching up on my German, attending the play The Humans at my local theatre, and taking a quick day trip to Buffalo, NY.  It was certainly a much needed break, seeing as schoolwork has certainly had the tendency to pile up as of late.

Still, it was great being back on campus for Saint Patrick’s Day weekend! As it turns out, the entire Holy Cross student body is quite enthusiastic for this particular holiday, and I could not think of better people with whom to spend it, although having to take two midterm exams on Monday certainly put a bit of a damper on things.

This week, I’ve been putting in many hours of work in the library. This isn’t always easy, particularly given how much nicer (albeit windier) the weather has become. Course offerings for Fall 2019 were released today, so I’ll be spending time planning which classes to take next semester. Still, I’ve certainly made time for extracurriculars as well, especially my late-night basketball sessions at the Hart Center.

Overall, things have been going very well on the Hill. I look forward to the challenges and rewards that the next several weeks will have to offer. As always, please feel free to comment any questions you may have about the Holy Cross student experience, particularly those who are considering attending Holy Cross. Until next time!
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Spring Break is Here: A Look Back at Weeks 1-6

Hello, all! I am currently typing this post while sitting in my room in a very empty Clark Hall. The reason why? Spring break is here! Almost all residents have already moved out, but I’ll be on my way home tomorrow morning. It seems crazy how quiet it is here at the moment—usually the residence halls are bustling with people and activity at this hour. Still, the peace and quiet isn’t entirely unpleasant; I used the opportunity to tidy up my room after my roommates left, and my plans for tonight consist exclusively of watching some NBA basketball on our TV.

Six weeks have passed since the beginning of my second semester, and only six weeks remain at Holy Cross before our Easter break. After that, we only have a few weeks before final exams begin. It’s absolutely crazy to think how quickly time is passing. I feel like I just began a new schedule, yet much of the semester has already come to pass.

In addition to my Montserrat and German classes, I decided to use this semester to complete a couple additional common requirements—as mentioned in a previous post, I am enrolled in Philosophical Inquiries and Fundamentals of Music. After having completed six weeks of these courses, here are some of my thoughts and comments on each class I am taking:

 

  • Conflict (Montserrat): As mentioned, my Montserrat seminar spent the first half of the year discussing sport psychology and athletic careers. We spent the first few weeks of this semester discussing and examining literature addressing athletic career transition, as well as coaching. We have now begun the second component of the course: military psychology and and careers. This past week, we read the entirety of Jon Krakauer’s biography of Pat Tillman, Where Men Win Glory. Tillman was an outstanding football player for the Arizona Cardinals, but passed up an enormous contract in order to enlist in the U.S. Army following 9/11. Tillman was killed in Afghanistan in an incident of fratricide, but the U.S. Army formulated an elaborate cover-up story to maintain public support for the war. Our classroom discussions have focused on such injustices committed within military circles, and even at governmental levels. Such discussions have certainly improved my ability to think critically in matters of public relations, and evaluate aspects of the U.S. military that I had never even considered.
  • Intermediate German: Not much has changed since the first semester in German. We are currently studying the city of Salzburg, Austria, and have recently learned some very useful grammatical skills, such as relative pronouns and coordinating and subordinating conjunctions. We have also spent our time in Practicum reading through an interesting play, Der Besuch der alten Dame. We continue to write papers in German every other week, and our most recent paper pertained to our personal experiences with art and music in our lives. I am definitely enjoying our discussions on German culture, in addition to learning the language.
  • Philosophical Inquiries: This class has been a bit challenging at times for a variety of reasons. The texts with which we engage are often difficult, but the course is quite heavily based on classroom discussion of such texts, so things are often much easier to understand after having these discussions. This past week, we submitted our first paper for the course, which was an interesting challenge. Writing a philosophy paper, as it turns out, as rather different from writing an English paper. My professor, however, was quite helpful in the process. Visiting her office hours certainly helped quite a bit. Currently, we have transitioned from Platonic texts and Aristotelian ethics into discussing more contemporary commentaries on the distribution of wealth.
  • Fundamentals of Music: Originally having enrolled in this course to fulfill my arts requirement, I knew it would be a bit of a wild card. I had some background in music, but nothing very extensive at all.  Thus, I was worried that I may fall behind in a subject in which I had little knowledge. The class, however, has proven to be extremely enjoyable. Our professor is not only an extremely talented pianist, but also a very effective educator. Admittedly, the course has moved at a frenetic pace, but this is perhaps necessary in order to cover all basic components of music in a single semester. The homework for this class is more extensive than I initially expected, but I actually find myself enjoying the assignments quite a bit. Learning music is almost like learning a new language, yet it seems to make so much sense to me now. I’m definitely excited for this class moving forward.

Again, these six weeks have absolutely flown by, but I feel that I have learned so much in such a short period of time. I’m definitely happy to have enrolled in the courses that I did, and I hope for continued success in each one. Spring break is much needed, however, and I cannot wait to be home in just eighteen hours! Be sure to check back soon for an update on my break! Until next time!