I’m a violinist. I’ve been playing violin since the third grade- and I pity my parents during those early years… There was elementary, middle, and high school orchestra and private lessons. At McDaniel I had the option of taking orchestra, but there are also private music lessons!

Starting freshman year, I began taking half hour lessons with one of the violin instructors, Mr. Currie- and haven’t been able to stop! I have absolutely loved them. I can honestly say that I have never before grown so much as a musician, nor had so much fun in lessons. I’ve learned so much, and also heard the most spectacular allusions, similes, and metaphors eve. “You’ve got to be gangster when playing this piece!” What one always expects to hear when working on a classical violin piece (it actually made total sense in context).

Last night, Friday was my final violin concert, and I was able to perform a solo piece I’ve been working on all semester: Praeludium and Allegro by Kreisler. It’s incredibly intense, really challenging and I was determined to learn it throughout this semester. Finally, on Friday I was able to perform the piece for my family and a few friends and show off all the hard work I’ve been putting into the piece! Despite being nervous, I was able to play it well and was really happy with both my performance, and the fact that it was over!

Several other students and the String Ensemble performed as well, a group that I have been in several times. A wonderful accompanist and a great teacher, I could have asked for more for my final concert. I’ll definitely miss taking lessons here, and hope I have enough self-discipline to keep practicing and learning new pieces after graduation. In the meantime, I still have one last music jury for my violin lessons to show that I’ve actually been learning things and improving. So still some more practicing ahead!

Like learning to play an instrument, or want to get better? Take some music lessons here! I just happen to know an excellent violin teacher…

As the end of the semester keeps drawing closer, many departments, sports teams and honor societies are all having their end of the year banquets and dinners.  The Honors Program is not exception, and this past Sunday we had our “Senior Honors Banquet”… but it was a Banquet like no other…

Why you ask? First of all because it was only the honors seniors that were invited, meaning that pretty much all of our friends just got to have a nice dinner together. The whole evening was “Survivor” themed. Both in the sense of the show, and the idea that we had finally survived four years of vigorous academic requirements and were about to graduate at last! My friends on the honors exec board had planned out the evening and we had a nice little dinner of various refreshments and desserts- the swedish meatballs and the little baby cheesecakes where my favorite. After some welcoming remarks and some gift giving,  it was finally time for the Senior Superlatives. This was easily one of the funniest parts of the evening as people were elected “Most likely to win the Hunger Games” and “Most Likely to take over the world- using kindness.” I received “Most Likely to Achieve World Peace” so I must be doing something right! There were also some fantastic pictures of everyone and a great slideshow our President Catherine helped put together of us throughout our time at college.

It was a really fun time to reminisce… and to get henna tattoos! After all, what’s a party without a henna tattoo artist?? We all took our turns and got some lovely henna (yes even the guys, they were proud of it too) in between games and thank-yous.

But soon the grand moment had arrived. We were told there was to be a mysterious performance and were ushered into Red Square. Our surprise entertainment? Remember the henna tattoo artist? It turns out she is also…. a Fire Dancer! It was amazing. I don’t know if McDaniel has ever had anything quite so cool and unique in the middle of campus. She was twirling fire everywhere, eating it, having it lick greedily up her arms and all around embodying the song “Girl on Fire.” I was going crazy with my camera and got some truly spectacular pictures of her and the fire twisting through the evening air. We also soon attracted a small crowd, and people were watching from the library window and other nearby buildings. What a great way to end our Senior Honors Banquet and our senior year. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of friends than those I’ve made through the honors program.

It’s a rare occasion in college that you actually get to go on a class field trip-unless you’re in the Field Botany class. I hear from my friend in that this semester that everyday they get to go hiking somewhere different and plan on how to survive an Apocalypse by surviving the woods. How awesome does that sound?? Unfortunately I don’t quite have time to fit that class in before I graduate in a month. The other class that generally takes field trips are art history classes- they almost always go to an art museum or two once a semester.

Unfortunately, I am neither in Field Botany, nor an art history class this semester… but I am in Digital Photography! And today, we took a mini field trip ourselves- to McDaniel’s farm! McDaniel has a farm? Don’t worry. Every single person in our class asked that question as well, and apparently the answer is yes. It’s about a ten to fifteen minute drive down New Windsor Road, and there it lies, the lovely green farm. Faculty and staff from McDaniel can lease out the houses around it, but we were there for other more artsy purposes: photography! Essentially, after a bit of guidance, we were set loose and allowed to roam the property at will, explore bit of the wood or old barns that too our fancy and climbing up in trees for a good shot.

The field trip was so much fun that our car decided photography trips should be a weekly occurrence in our class. I’m not sure if our professor will go for that, but it’s a plan. I also really like just going off on my own while taking pictures- that way my shots are unique, unlike those that other people bring in. So while most people stayed in pairs or trios, I tended to drift off my myself seeking new and interesting things to photograph!

Here are some shots of the place we went:

A beautiful, tranquil spot in the woods

The corn field, now covered in flowers

All the trees were flowering

The Pond

This is shaping up to be a very interesting, albeit hectic, week! Spring is most definitely in the air- and yet Sunday and Monday were chilly once more… The most sure sign of it actually being spring, despite the fluctuating temperatures however, are the flowers! Everywhere on campus the flowers have sprung up, on the trees, coming up from the ground, and on bushes everywhere. Oldly enough, one time of day that I’ve really been enjoying these flowers has been late at night. Walking back from working late in the Graphic Design lab or the library, the night air seems perfumed now, the heavy scents of flowers drifting through the air. It makes for an fantastic walk around campus, just enjoying the flowers and if it’s a cloudless night, there are some pretty cool stars as well.

In the midst of all of these fantastic flowers and signs of spring… lies frantic planning for next year, and lot of it! All of us seniors are finalizing what we’ll be doing after graduation, and everybody else is figuring out summer plans. For some of my friends, that means grad school! Others have already gotten jobs which is great, and still others are going for a year break of traveling or gaining experience through internships first. I happen to fall into the last of these categories: internships!

What does that mean while being at school? Roughly that the last two months have been consumed with internship applications and moving forward (or not) in the hiring process with different organizations. Trying to make sure that you come across in the best possible way is difficult to say the least: resumés, cover letters, questionnaires and more. The CEO (Center for Experience and Opportunity) at McDaniel is really helpful with this process. I’ve met several times with them to look over my resumé and help me in looking for possible internships. I’ve applied to quite a few, and right around now is when that next step is happening….the interview.

Several of the internship programs that I’ve applied for are on the West Coast, and since I’m all the way over here in Maryland, the interview process generally involves phone class and Skyping! Skype is great, but you have to plan right for a Skype interview- still dressing nice even though you’re not meeting the interviewer in person, trying to find a nice quiet room.

There you have it: a week of spring flowers and April Interviews! Life after college is creeping up on the class of 2013.

Most people have posted on spring fling, but I wanted to show you a rather unique perspective. You see, despite being a senior on campus, I’ve only been on campus in the spring my freshman year. Sophomore spring I spent in Scotland (it was glorious), and the spring of my junior year I spent in Belgium (Je parle français).

So when everyone started going on about Spring Fling coming up, I posed the giant question, “Oh yeah spring fling… what happens then?” Lots of shocked faces stared back at me. But the truth was it had been a long time for me, and all I had were vague memories of having a squirt-gun battle through inflatable obstacles. Or maybe there were water-balloons involved. Something along those lines…

As it turns out, Spring Fling is essentially one giant festival where literally everybody on campus decides to take the day off. I felt like campus became one giant carnival and that we all just came for the day to have fun with friends. I had to work early that morning to set some events up on campus (including for spring fling), and then desperately realized I needed to laundry. It was a beautiful sunny day, if a bit chilly- and starting in the morning people were already up, out and about! Unheard of for a typical college Saturday morning. Making breakfast I already saw people walking by in packs of friends. Is this what happens, I wondered?

Yes, yes it is. While I was going back and forth to do my laundry, my neighbors greeted me by saying, “Happy Spring Fling!” “You too!” I answered without thinking. Hmm. Apparently it’s a holiday now, just like saying “Happy Thanksgiving!”I was also told I should not be doing laundry- because it was spring fling! Go have fun they told me! Okay, deal. Soon, everybody was outside, people playing games in the North Village quad: frisbees and small bean bags flying towards their targets, music blasting through the air, and the sun shining down on tens of college students all out side with their friends enjoying the day. Groups of ten people would walk by, headed to another friend’s apartment . I think I even smelled someone grilling. And this was just in North Village by the apartments. After meeting up with some friends myself, we headed over to where the actual Spring Fling event was: the Quad between DMC and ANW and the gym.

What happens at Spring Fling? Tye-dye! A DJ and a band, inflatables! We challenged each other to the inflatable obstacle course race (I won), made some spectacular tye-dye, and watched other crazy student doing some sort of battle with inflatables, in a a huge inflatable arena. After discovering you could get your picture taken and put into a bottle picture-holder for free (just a pirate ship), we couldn’t resist doing that too. It was a lot of fun, and just a wonderful, much-needed break from the stress of senior year to completely take a day off.

So what happens on Spring Fling? A festival, a holiday, friends, games- and a day off!

The Quad during Spring Fling

Tye-dye t-shirts hanging up to dry!

It’s been nearly three years since I’ve been on campus in the spring – studying abroad twice in the spring semester made me forget nearly everything that goes on here during the spring! It turns out: McDaniel is gorgeous in the spring! Everywhere things are turning green and flowering, so I thought I’d post a brief photo tour of campus in the spring:

This Friday was… the Literary Masquerade! Sound bizarre? Put on the by the Honors Program and the English Department, the Literary Masquerade is essentially a fun night where you come dressed as a character from a book, hang out, dance and eat.

One of my friends was planning it and had the brilliant idea to have white twinkling lights up and have the masquerade outside on the terrace…but then it rained. Since the weather was gross, they decided to move it inside to the building that actually houses the English Department and the Honor’s Room (the Room of Requirement we call it): Hill Hall. The night was actually a lot of fun. I wasn’t sure who to go as and didn’t want to buy anything so I got my friends to help me brainstorm. Since I have long brown hair, it was decided that it would make an excellent Katniss braid, and there it was- I would go as Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games. Borrow a leather jacket, braid the hair and throw on some boots and I was good to go!

The evening had some good music play all night, some snacks, and most importantly- other people dressed up! I met the Rainbow Fish that night, Aragorn, Mr. Darcy, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz plus the Tinman, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion, some Dr. Suess Things (1 & 2) and even Don Quioxte. A lot of people showed up- even, and completely unexpectedly, someone dressed as Peeta. Naturally we had to pretend we planned that.

A fun evening with friends, and characters of all types (Literally)!

One of the really fun things that the Office of Student Engagement sponsors each semester is a trip to go see some kind of profession musical or play. Last fall it was Wicked, and this spring: Les Misérables! Yesterday, Wednesday night was the trip, and we took a bus down to the Hippodrome in Baltimore.

Before you hear of our wonderful evening though…you should learn of the tradition of these shows. It started freshman year. With “Stomp” as I recall. My good friend Veronica and I decided to go see the show together, and get all dressed up. A tradition was born. Every semester (when we both on campus and not off in a foreign country), whenever there is a show, Veronica and I- and generally a large group of our friends are among the first to buy our tickets! They’re really cheap for students through the school, generally between $15 and $30, which is very good for broadway-quality theater.

Last night was no exception. We got all dressed up in classy dresses, and the weather was lovely. But this particular Wednesday night, Veronica and I also both had inductions in to Phi Sigma Iota, the foreign language honors society. The ceremony started at 5:30pm and I had to give a presentation on my honors translation…and we were meant to be at the bus at 6:15.  Luckily, thanks to great schedule maneuvering and the Foreign Language Department’s speed, we got there right around 6:20 with time to spare. After taking our customary picture of the two us up dressed up, we chatted with our friends in the back on the way to the show. I love going to see shows.

Our seat were way up in the top, but that just means we had a good view of everything on stage! (minus the actor’s faces…those were a bit difficult to see) Having never seen the movie nor the show before, my excitement was mounting as we took our seats together and paged through the program eagerly. Finally, the curtain rose and the music started, and we had just enough time, about ten minutes, to try to understand who was who when… the curtain came back down. Intermission already? Nope said a voice from the ceiling, it was a technical delay, the first I’ve ever scene in a show. We waited patiently (and then not so patiently) until finally the show started again.

It’s an incredibly powerful story of the French Revolution and the lives of people swept up in it. Being a bit of a musical theater junkie myself, I was pretty fascinated. The entire show is all in song, nothing is spoken, which may surprise first-timers (I had been warned), but these songs are incredible. And they will never get out of my head either!

Les Mis was a great show, and we had a really fun time fulfilling our tradition one last time before graduation. Now to see the movie!

This past Monday there was a screening of “Nefarious,” a film on human trafficking, and particularly, sex trafficking and the global sex industry. It’s a heavy subject, but one that needs to be addressed and that everyone should be concerned with. I was impressed by the turnout at the screening, we probably had more than 40 students come out that night!

The Sex Industry. That’s a pretty big topic to take on. The film covered everything from prostitution in the US to the Netherlands, the violence and twisted psychological pressures to stay in prostitution, kids sold into sex slavery (some by their parents, from Thailand to the US) and women trafficked into brothels. Pretty rough. The documentary did an excellent job however of trying to show all sides of the sex industry, what tourists see, and also what the women experience. The film team traveled the world to speak to people experienced either in the industry, or helping those trapped within it. From Las Vegas to Phnom Penh, each city was startling different in appearance, and scarily similar in term of the women’s experiences.

Perhaps what struck me the hardest in the film was the story of children in Thailand and Cambodia being sold into sexual slavery and prostitution. Here are impoverished families, decided that it was worth selling their own child to be abused for sex. Apart from the impossible question of why, my thought immediately turned to the kids I had met this pas summer in Cambodia. I had been part of a team selected to travel to Cambodia for two weeks with World Vision ACTS, a non-profit I’ve worked with a lot at McDaniel with my club, Advocacy Team. While we were there we investigated micro finance as a possible solution to poverty- and got to meet a lot of families and children. We listened to and gathered their stories, and talked and played with lots of kids! Those kids were all I could think of. What if they were going to be forced into the same kinds of situations? These were beautiful kids, full of life and promise. And yet, I knew they could just as easily become trapped in that dark and dangerous world.

The film did offer some hope at the end though- a glimpse of Sweden, were anti-trafficking laws are being incredibly effective. The promise of hope was also found in other organizations and churches, bent on helping the sex industry’s victims. After the screening was over, IV (InterVarsity Christian Fellowship) who was hosting the event also had a brief discussion and offered a chance for action by signing postcards to send to the President, calling on him to fulfill his promise to act against Human Trafficking! A very interesting evening, and think everyone present was able to learn something new.

Evenings at McDaniel are pretty much whatever you feel like doing! Take last night for examle: a Friday night, most of us were exhausted and just tired. Some of my friends decided to go watch the Dangersauce Improv Show, which is always a fun evening of comedy. I opted for a bit of a chill evening in my apartment, making a nice dinner for myself and watching a bit of How I Met Your Mother (which is addictive…watch out if you ever get into that show).

After the improv show, a group of my friend went back to their apartment to continue the Friday Lord of the Rings marathon, and so I decided to join them for watching the Two Towers! You know that you’ve watched the movies too many time when you, and all your friends are quoting lines at each other- constantly. We had a great time amusing ourselves with impressions and “fun fact” knowledge about the filming of the movie or the actors. Movie nights are a fairly frequent fun evening activity that most of us typical college students enjoy, but for those who are both over 21 and feeling a bit more adventurous…

There’s Baltimore and Washington DC! Both cities are relatively close if you have a car, about an hour drive or so, and just recently McDaniel started doing a shuttle service to the metros into both DC and Baltimore. For those who are legal, it’s a fun night out to go down to Baltimore and visit some of the bars, and even meet up with students from other nearby schools!

Or, if you’d rather just stay on campus, we also just like hanging out with friends. Whether that’s watching a movie, or just going over to hang out in a friend’s apartment to make food and play games! We always find a way to have a good time or just relax.