Thinking Ahead

Oh man. It was cold today. At least I thought was, and it reminded me that there’s going to be winter at some point.

Maybe it’s a little too early to be thinking about it, when it’s still falling leaf time and you can see the ground, but having had the dubious pleasure of experiencing an Oswego winter before, it’s looming large and foreboding in my mind. I come from a fairly temperate place – Bellingham, WA – and we don’t get much snow there. Maybe a little bit for a day or two, but then it just goes back to being overcast and gloomy. I was very much unprepared for winter then, but now I’ve got it a little more under control. Just need to knit up some new hats and gloves to replaced the ones I ruined last year.

Anyway, if you come from a warmer place where snow isn’t as common, even if you love the snow, even if you love building snowmen, making snow angels, traipsing about in your winter finery, don’t underestimate the winter. It will drain your will to live if you’re not careful. Even if it doesn’t do that, it will chap your ears, nose, lips, cheeks, and knuckles, make your feet numb, soak through several layers of clothing, put a layer of slick ice down on the sidewalks, cause power outages, and make your car hard to start in the mornings. I guess… all I really want to say is, be prepared with warm clothes, maybe some supplies in case of outages and sudden cravings for hot cocoa, and the knowledge that someday, it will end.

Anyway You Can!

I have found that it is a VERY good idea to get involved anyway you can on campus. Being a transfer for this semester, I have joined BASIC, The MA-SH Hall Council, and The Student Conduct Committee. It feels awesome to actually be a part of something on campus. At my previous college I really didn’t join anything until my very last semester. It really didn’t help me all that much to get to know people or to get involved. I have joined these few groups on campus knowing that it would help me meet new people. These will look really good on my resume as well. Keeping all of those things in mind, joining clubs and organizations just feels great. It feels good knowing that you are a part of something. Just don’t let your studies slip to be just in the groups. We want you to actually finish school so you have that chance to boost your resume.

Unexpected happenings

Finally, it’s October, and so it finally feels like school’s really happening. Starting in August just goes against the grain of my being. Having spent two years at a school that starts sometime around the 23rd of September each year, it just doesn’t feel like school time until about October. Doesn’t matter that I’ve been in class for over a month, taken numerous tests, woken up at 6:30 three days a week, been up until one in the morning writing a lab report. It’s finally real now.

Did everyone enjoy their long weekend? I sure didn’t. Late Wednesday night I woke up with the worst abdominal pain I’ve ever experienced. (That’s saying something, as I’ve been having episodes of terrible abdominal pain for three years now.) An hour and a half later, when the pain still hadn’t subsided, I went off to the emergency room and spend the next sixty hours in the hospital, suffering from acute pancreatitis. I guess I should be grateful that it was a long weekend and that I didn’t miss any school, but, well. Anyway. During this ordeal, I discovered a lot about health-related college things, like that there’s no one to answer questions at 1:30 in the morning, and that the health insurance won’t cover any hospital expenses (if I remember correctly). Hopefully no one will have go through what I did, but at least you’ll have some knowledge before you find yourself in a hospital bed, drugged up with Dilaudid.

Good luck with school, everybody, now that it finally feels like it’s really happening.

Get involved!

The best advice I can give any new student is to get involved! SUNY Oswego has over 150 clubs on campus so it’s easy to find at least one thing you like. Throughout high school I always wanted to do crew (rowing), so when I found out Oswego offered club crew, I jumped all over it. Not only is it a good workout, but you can put it on a resume, and you meet tons of new people. The team became close really fast, and now I have new friends that I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise. If you’re not interested in sports, join a club related to your major (I’m joining American Marketing Association) or something you’re interested in like bowling, creative writing, history, etc. There are also plenty of community service options which will look great on a resume and will help out the community at the same time.

At Oswego there is something for everyone, so go pick something and get involved!

Being The New Kid

Hey guys! I’m Taryn and I’m a marketing major from Liverpool, NY. I transferred from St. Bonaventure University, a small private school with about 2,400 students total. Coming to SUNY Oswego, which is over 3 times the size of St. Bonaventure, I wasn’t really sure how I would handle it. However, I’ve found only good things to say about the school, and it seems like I find something better I like every day. A school the size of Oswego (compared to smaller schools) can seem kind of overwhelming at first. I’m not used to this many kids! I think it’s great though. There’s a lot of diversity and so many opportunities. You can really be whoever you want to be.

I was placed in Onondaga Hall with 5 other suite mates. They were all close friends before I moved in, so I wasn’t sure how I would fit into their friendship. The minute my parents left, I felt very awkward being the new kid and I almost wanted to cry. I can be shy when I’m uncomfortable, and my immediate reaction was to keep to myself. However, I’m at a new school with new people – it’s a fresh start, so why not make the best of it? Luckily, everyone was so welcoming! I’ve never met such nice people who wanted to help me and show me around. They introduced me to their friends, answered my questions, and made every effort to get to know me. We’ve only been moved in for about a month, and I already feel like we’ve known each other for years!

Being new on campus can be totally overwhelming. You’re probably going to be nervous, you’re probably going to feel awkward, and you’re probably going to want to run right back to your parents (I’m almost 21 and I still had that feeling!) My advice would be to not hold back. You have a fresh start so you can be anyone you want to be. If you were shy in high school/your previous college, or if you never got involved, or if you were never the most popular kid – nobody has to know! You decide your future from here on out. Make friends with anyone and everyone. Sometimes the person you thought you would never even talk to can end up being your best friend!

Roomie Awareness: New People

SUNY Oswego is a wonderful campus and has many wonderful people. If you are like me, shy, I bet you don’t always get to know people easily. I have always been shy and it has always been more difficult for me to get used to and to get to know new people in new places. If you are living on campus as a transfer student you know how it is when it comes to getting to know your roommates. In my particular situation I have two new roommates who I don’t know at all but they know each other. They have known each other since, at least, last year. As time moves forward and I am with them longer I get to know them a little more every day. We might have awkward situations where sometimes I feel like a third wheel to their already bloomed friendship. If you are having the same issues, don’t worry. I know that as time moves on we will become even more like friends. I’m sure the same thing will happen with anyone else who has the same sort of issues. Just look to the future and the new friends that you are making. I’ll toast to that.

A Whole New World

Hey everyone! My name is Mindy and I am Human Development major here at Oswego. This is my first time living away from my home and it has been a fairly easy transition surprisingly because I am very close with my family! I am living in Hart Hall, which is the international dorm here on campus. My roommates name is Yang, but her american name is Lilian and she is from Ningbo, China. She is very busy and is really never in our room unless she’s sleeping. She said there are “too many differences to count” between here and China. Living in the international dorm might not be for everyone, you do have to enroll in a mandatory IST course where you have to attend 6 approved events a semester, write a one page write-up for each, and participate in 10 hours of community service. It might sound like a lot, but you get one credit and your dorm is right in the middle of everything! Which is a main reason why i choose it. Being small, I heard the wind would blow me down during the winter time! So with having a dorm about a 2 minuet walk from all my classes was very strategic!

The first day here, I cried of course, but then I went to go meet with my transfer mentor Ali. She is awesome and willing to help me with any problems I have. She even helped me pack for my dorm! After the transfer mentor meet and greet there was a giant picnic in the middle of the quad. Me and my long-lost friend from elementary school Erika (Who would have known we would be so similar!) got some delish picnic food and sat down at an empty table because we really didn’t have anyone else to sit with. Then this man came and asked if he and his wife could sit there. At first we just thought he was someones grandfather that came to help move, but we soon discovered that he was Dean of Graduate Studies and Research! The man who will one day decide if we get into Oswego’s school counseling graduate program! He told us that when applying to graduate school grades were not the only thing that matter, yes you must have a high GPA, but if someone has a GPA of 3.4 and was involved on campus and in the community he would be more apt to choose them over someone with a 3.8 GPA and no extras. I have clung to his words and am trying to participate in as much as I can.

I am taking 17 credits right now, counting the credit I get for living in Hart. I am thinking about joining a service learning class (another upper level credit) where i go to local nursing homes and places along those lines and just chill with the residents there. Granted it is work involved, but I feel the experience will help me understand my HDV 120 class even more!

The best advice I can give you this week is to not be afraid to say Hi to anyone. I am a shy person and I have already met some girls that I am sure to be friends with for a long time. Before I even came to Oswego I had joined a FB group and met some transfers from there, Its nice knowing you know someone you can have dinner with that first night!

Movin’ on up to the East Side

I find it a bit odd that I could end up doing community service if I don’t visit the trash room every so often.  I understand that things should be thrown away and/or recycled.  But jeez, legal punishment?

I am moving into Mackin Hall during either the first or second week of December.  The roommate isn’t really an issue; it’s just that the consistent volume eventually got to me.  They say ‘if it’s too loud, you’re too old.’  Well, yeah, I am too old for Seneca Hall.

I’ve noticed a gross smell emanating from the water in the bathrooms.  I’m not sure what it is, but I feel like I’d be safer drinking lake water.

People seem to be really stressing about finals week.  I can understand that, of course.  But let me assure you that it will be okay.  Just breathe and realize that you’ve been working hard all semester.  If you haven’t, well, that last sentence isn’t for you.

Thanksgiving break is finally here.  I heard we’re the only SUNY school that doesn’t have a fall break.  I don’t know if that’s true.  But if it is:  boo.  Regardless, I hope everyone has an awesome break and comes back refreshed for the homestretch.

End of Semester Stress

Hello everyone,

Are you feeling stressed out with tests, papers and projects due dates fast approaching? My suggestion: get off campus for a few hours. Go to the mall, go to a movie and definitely go to the zoo!!!! This past week I’ve been doing all these things and guess what?! It works. Going out with your friends and just hanging out off campus is a great was to de-stress. So this weekend don’t freak out with the stuff that’s due. Prioritization is everything. Get what you can done today and get it done well. Trying to rush through your homework and doing a crap job on it is the wrong way to go. Do what is due first and work away from there. That’s all for now! Have a great weekend.

JMAG

Registration Time!!!!

Fellow students,

Registration time is here and I hope all the juniors got a second pin. To all those that aren’t juniors a second pin is required for you to register for the spring semester. You have to go see your advisor in order to get it.

I don’t know if I’m the only one but I love planning out my own schedule. My advise on making your schedule, take morning classes that you know you won’t sleep through and don’t take night classes because it gets extremely cold at night.

Making time to go see your advisor is a great idea. They know how to guide you. But you must have an idea of what you want out of your time in college. If you don’t have a plan they can’t force you into one so knowing beforehand is highly recommended.

I hope everyone gets the classes they want and good luck next semester.

JMAG