Happy November everyone! As the leaves continue to fall and the temperature starts to chill, life here at PC is still going strong with tons and tons to do on campus every day. And although two months have already passed since the 2009-2010 school year has begun, things still seem fresh and new. For instance, two weeks ago we celebrated Halloween on the PC campus in, well, a more native style… And for someone who never really celebrated Halloween much in the past, it was definitely one to remember.

The Office of Residence Life sponsored “Halloween on the Quad” – a night of fun music, dancing, and food right outside on the quad in front of the picturesque Aquinas Hall on the night of the 31st. But it wasn’t that simple – it was raining. But, as PC has continued to show me time and time again, the spirits remained high and people still gathered on the muddy quad in their festive Halloween costumes. And it didn’t stop there! Not only did it rain on-and-off for the entire night, but the upper quad sprinkler system had never been turned off – a sign that if you weren’t wet yet, you were going to be.

I’m not much of a girly girl – I’ll gladly go on a nature hike or climb a tree [with some assistance] – but I’m not the jumping-in-the-mud type of tomboy either. So I even surprised myself with my willingness to not only let the sprinkler soak my Indian costume, but to enjoy it as well.

This is just another sign of how, only two months into this new stage in my life, college is starting to shape me into a new person. Don’t get me wrong… I liked the person I was when I graduated high school, and all of that summer-before-college talk about “creating a new identity” didn’t sound as appealing to me as it did to my friends. But there were smaller things that I was ready to change and experiment with – one of those being my tolerance for rain. And on October 31st, 2009 – on a holiday I never celebrated save for working at my school at our “Safe Halloween” program – I discovered a part of myself that is willing to throw caution to the wind and get her feet wet.

I guess what they say is true. Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain.

Posted by Emily Corr at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This past weekend, PC celebrated its annual Freshman Family Weekend – a wonderful opportunity for the class of 2013 to reunite with their families for a few days. It was so sweet to see my mom and dad park in the Ray parking lot, waiting for me to come out after dinner, five minutes before I was scheduled to be at Romeo and Juliet - just to say “hello” and that they were safe and had made it to Providence.

On Saturday, my parents picked me up early and we drove over to Whole Foods where we had lunch and talked for hours upon hours. It was so wonderful to share all of my stories in person with the people I care about most – while Facebook and texting and cell phones are addicting, there’s nothing like sharing your memories with the person right in front of you.

After our Whole Foods extravaganza, we drove over to Thayer Street and did some sightseeing around the area. I bought a travel mug with a lovely quote on it – “What would you attempt if you could not fail?” – and a Gandhi poster (: After our Thayer Street expedition, we went out to a huge dinner party with all of my close friends and our families at Jackie’s Galaxie Restaurant, where we enjoyed some Chinese cuisine and got to know each others families a little better – yummo (:

The weekend was a great opportunity to see our loved ones and continue to meet new people. Meeting the families of our new friends and learning more about their histories is what makes life, well… life. We’re constantly absorbing knowledge, whether we’re aware of it or not – we don’t have to be in a CIV lecture about Roman Architecture or Seneca’s stoic philosophy to attain it [although it definitely counts].

Knowledge is like a river. College is a stepping stone. What’s on the other side? I guess that is what life is about – figuring it out for ourselves.

Posted by Emily Corr at 2:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So as of 11:45am yesterday morning, I am officially a Psychology major! Well, okay… let’s back up.

When I was applying to colleges as a senior in high school just last year, I had a passion for English. [Don’t get me wrong – I still do! But more on that later…] I had an incredible English teacher for both my junior AND senior years, and I knew I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Then as the summer settled in and high school was behind me, I realized I still wanted to teach… just not high school students [because let’s face it… we can be a bit moody and snippy at times]. So I decided I wanted to become an Elementary/Special Education major instead. I absolutely LOVE children, so it seemed to be the perfect profession for me. By the end of August I had decided – I was going to switch my major when I arrived in September.

Well as fate would have it, I decided to stick with English and Secondary Education as my major – I was content with the classes I was taking, and I told myself that I had time if I decided to change my mind – I’m only a freshman! Well, I was right… I did decide to change my mind, but not to the major that I imagined.

I should probably be kind and rewind. Here’s a little tid bit about myself – I love to help people. I like to listen and offer advice when people need an ear. So why psychology – a profession of offering help to others concerning their problems – never occurred to me is beyond me. But one brisk October morning, as I walked from McVinney to Harkins for my Educational Psychology class, it hit me – Psychology. Helping people for a living. The perfect fit.

I am super super excited to get started with my new major. And of course, I will keep you all updated with how things are going (:

Posted by Emily Corr at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So I thought I’d preface today’s post with a huge thank you to everyone who reads my blog! I know - kinda random and out-of-the-blue, but I just wanted to say that I truly, deeply appreciate that you all take time out of your day to take a peek and see what is going on here at PC. So thank you all so, so much! I hope I’m doing alright!

So as a fun, little thank you gift, I thought that we could possibly start having some different “post” themes going on… small, little constants between each post or even something to look out for every month… for me, a strategy to keep my readers reading! So I thought we kick off with a “throwbacks” theme – once or twice a month, I could dedicated an entire post to something that I didn’t have an opportunity to post at the time. Throwback’s could be fun because it’s a break from the casual, traditional post, and it’s also a ton of fun to reminisce on the past (: So let’s throwback to Orientation Week!

Throwbacks 2.0 – Newport, Rhode Island

So I know I told you all about our freshman trip to Newport, Rhode Island, but I never showed you any pictures! So here you go (:

Megan, Sabrina, Emily, Claudia, Danielle, Me, Erin, Kathryn, and Meag checking out the cute shops near the shore.

Sabrina and Erin rockin’ out.

The beautiful First Beach shoreline.

The Cliff Walk.

Sabrina and I sitting on the cliffs.

One of my favorite pictures ever! Me, Kathryn, Meag, Danielle, Erin, Sabrina, Claudia, and Emily – basically the 9th floor – after our trek down the cliffs!

Now you know what happened, and you've seen it too (:
Stay tuned for my connections post - hopefully I'll have it up before the end of this week... I've let it go for too, too long!

Spread the joy,
Em

Posted by Emily Corr at 1:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So as you – the prospective student – have probably heard time and time again as you not only look for possible majors, but activities to pursue while in college, “college is the perfect opportunity to start up a new hobby”. Don’t even try to deny that you can’t hear the voice of an elder when you read that line. But it’s perfectly true - it’s the perfect time to try new things that you’ve never done before. Maybe you were too afraid to try it out in high school, or you didn’t have enough time, or maybe it just wasn’t available to you. So as I type, I am at one of the last Romeo and Juliet dress rehearsals, listening on headset in the green room and making sure everything back here is flowing as smoothly as possible.

Oh, wait – let me backtrack.

So, I’ve never really done anything like this before – stage crew or even a theatre production. The closest I’ve ever been to acting includes seven years of skits at the summer dance camp I attend where all I really have to do is impersonate dance teachers – that includes yelling at people’s feet and making obnoxious, exaggerated gestures with my legs. So to say that this is a totally new experience for me would be a bit on an understatement.

But I’m having a blast! I was super nervous at our first rehearsal on Sunday, but now that I’ve got the hang of things – like learning how to work a headset, or that “striking the set” does NOT mean crossing out items on the props list or physically hitting them with a bat – I’m able to multitask. Like right now, I can update the blog, watch the production on the green room TV, complete my DWC seminar questions, and listen to directions on the headset with my fellow tech members (more like listen to and laugh at our hilarious comments).

And I’m not gonna lie – I totally feel like a secret agent with this headset thingy on.

Romeo and Juliet premieres this Friday, October 30th at 8pm in the Angell Blackfriars Theatre at the Smith Center for the Arts.
Saturday, October 31st at 8pm
Sunday, November 1st at 2pm
Friday, November 6th at 8pm
Saturday, November 7th at 8pm
Sunday, November 8th at 2pm

Posted by Emily Corr at 11:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, the rain may be pouring down on PC, but spirits are still high from a very exciting weekend. So let's recap!

Thursday: Apple Fest
As a student with a entirely full schedule on Fridays (all four classes), I'm usually glued to a chair in the study lounge or library, submerged in work on Thursdays. So having Apple Fest at Ray completely made my Thursday! As a welcoming of the fall, all of the food at Ray was prepared with an Apple Theme - everything was cooked with apples and there were plenty of apple treats for dessert (yummmmm, apple pie). I also had my first ever candy apple - which I was later corrected and told it was actually a caramel apple and not a candy apple, but what's the difference anyway? Apple Fest was a wonderful study break and definitely was the closest I've had to a home cooked meal!

Friday: Late Night Madness
On Friday, the student body gathered together to welcome the start of the 2009-2010 Providence College basketball season. Spirits were high as the men and women's basketball teams were introduced and various performances added to the fun and excitement of the night. The dance team, dance company, and the cheerleaders opened the performances of the night, followed by a dance competition between the dance club, the BOP, and the BMSA.
I had a particularly fun time as my friends Erin, Sabrina and I entered into a contest hosted by the local news station to come up with PC's best cheer of the night - Compared to everyone else around us, we didn't have much of a cheer (We went with the classic, "Let's Go Friars, Let's Go!") but it was still an interesting opportunity and I got a free t-shirt for it too (:

Waiting for the doors to Alumni Hall to open with Erin, Joe, Emily, Sabrina, Jessie, and Danielle.

The crowd at Late Night Madness.

Joe, Emily and I waiting for the pep rally to start.

Saturday: Ice Skating and Various Other Fun Times
On Saturday night, the Schneider Arena held a free skate where students could rent out ice skates and enjoy a Saturday night in on campus. So of course a few friends and I headed up towards the Arena to embarrass ourselves with our lack of coordination and balance - well, I suppose I was the only one with a lack of coordination, falling twice and bringing a friend down with me at one point. But I'm definitely looking forward to some redemption in the future (:

Taking a break with Sabrina and Emily on the side of the rink.

After ice skating, we headed over to '64 Hall for a round of laser tag - in which my team lost epically, but still had an amazing time pretending to be James Bond. We then headed down to the new Slavin Center to play Wii and watch the Yankees vs. Angels baseball game (any Yankee fans out there?). It was a great night with some great friends that I won't be forgetting any time soon :)

There was a lot of rain this past weekend - more than I've ever seen! And while most would be depressed and uninspired by the murky weather, it's important to find inspiration from what you have presented right in front of you. Take the rain, and make a positive out of it. Because of the rain, we decided to do indoor activities this weekend, like ice skating and laser tag and watching tv in the new Slavin lounge. Right now, it's hard to picture my weekend without those moments, for through those moments, I created more bonds with the people around me, and discovered things about myself in the process.

I guess what they say is true. Life is like a rainbow. You need both the sun and the rain to make its colors appear. We are given the rain. It's up to us to create the light in order to paint the beautiful picture of our lives.

Posted by Emily Corr at 7:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

... because goodness, it's cold outside! Right now, at approximately 11:11 PM [make a wish!] it is 40 degrees outside. Tomorrow's average is supposed to be 48 degrees. Where did the gorgeous autumn weather of 65 degree highs go?! Well, looking from an optimistic point of view, the colder weather is the sign of wintertime! More specifically, Christmas!!! But I suppose we should look forward to Halloween and Thanksgiving before that (:

Much like the other students at PC this semester, I am starting to find that the work is starting to pile on, and the professors are pushing ahead towards the meaty subject material that their respective classes offer. This can only mean one thing - midterms are approaching. For me, they're all next week - three of them are on Wednesday alone! So if there happens to be a slight decline in blog posts next week, it is most likely because I have glued myself to a chair in the library to familiarize myself with Aristotle, Plato, Julius Caesar, and Derivatives.

Although it has been almost two weeks since I've returned from it, stay tuned for my post all about the Connections Retreat! The retreat was, by far, the best weekend of my college experience, and one of the greatest weekends of my entire life. So stay tuned for funny stories and pictures!

Speaking of pictures, please bear with me as I am still figuring out all the nifty things that come with this blog! I'm not the most tech savvy teen and I've had a few technical difficulties, so sorry for the delay on the visual aids! I figure it out ASAP... I pinky promise!

Well, I must be off - Aristotle is calling my name. I hope you're all having a wonderful week! If not, hang in there - we're almost to Friday!

Peace.
Emily (:

Posted by Emily Corr at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well hello there, and Happy Monday! With the end of a wonderful three-day weekend just hours away, I thought we could wrap up the relaxing weekend with a blast to the [recent] past! This past Tuesday marked the one month anniversary of the 2009-2010 school year at Providence College, and I would love to share with you everything that happened on and around the PC campus in the first month of this new beginning.

Phase One: Orientation
When: September 2nd, 2009
This year, the Providence College family launched the New Student Orientation program - a week long orientation program for the incoming freshman class of 2013. For one week, we acquainted ourselves with the PC campus and each other through talks with our orientation groups (Sammy and Jill were the greatest OL's ever), floor meetings (gotta love the McVinney girls), department meetings, residence hall socials (Apples to Apples!), and safety/health lectures. Towards the end of the week, every student participated in the Building Bridges Program - for the entire afternoon, every participant in the orientation program was assigned a location that was in need of service/help. For my service, I - along with about 20 other "friars" - painted an old, rusted fence at a baseball field. At the end of the day, we reflected on our service with our orientation groups. For me, personally, the day of service made me more interested in reaching out to the community and helping those less fortunate than me, whether it be working in a soup kitchen, or cleaning a park, or even painting another fence at another baseball field.
The week ended off with a trip to the glorious vacation getaway, Newport, Rhode Island. For the day, we walked up and down the streets of Newport, ate lunch in a quaint, oceanside restaurant, went to an Irish festival, and even went on a cliff walk along the picturesque shoreline.
While orientation week was a wonderful way to become familiar with the campus, PC's mission as a Catholic institution, and to meet new people, by the end of the program most students were ready to get started. Which lead us to...

Phase Two: What we’re here for
When: September 8th, 2009
Yes, that would be the whole school part of this. Classes officially began on Tuesday, September 8th, and for me, at 9:30am in Dr. O’Connor’s Education Psychology class. While the first two days moved slowly – introductory days, I guess you could call them – there was one class that refused to put the breaks on for anyone – the infamous, Development of Western Civilization. While I find the class both thoroughly interesting and very demanding now, back then I was slightly overwhelmed as to how Father Hayman jumped right into a lecture about Ancient Greek Civilization with such ease – scary then, admirable now.
This semester, as an English/Secondary Education major, I am taking the first year of Development of Western Civilization (along with the other 966 new freshman), Educational Psychology, Introduction to Literature, and Calculus.

Phase Three: What we’re also here for
When: Right Now.
Amidst the chaos of reading 100 pages from the textbook a night, writing 5 page papers, and pulling all-nighters, it is important to keep in mind that with every minute that passes, we are creating the memories that we’ll look back on and say “Remember that time?” College is about improving our intellectual ability, enhancing our education, and it forces us to ask ourselves the big questions. But it is also the perfect opportunity to find ourselves. Many people will never be given the opportunity to go to college, so we must remind ourselves of how fortunate we are and actually DO something with the resources that are openly available to us. College is an experience – things will happen to us that we may not directly plan, like Father Hayman playing “American Pie” at the beginning of DWC, and then proceeding to say that it had absolutely nothing to do with the lesson. We will be faced with experiences that will teach us valuable lessons, like learning to walk around the large oak trees and not under them on a windy day to avoid being pelted by falling acorns. Things are awkward and messy at the beginning of anything new, like having to swipe your PC ID on the RIPTA over five times, causing a line to form behind you and the bus driver to stare at you with an impatient glare. But in just one month, these are only a FEW of the small, tiny memories that I will look back on and say, “Remember that time?” This is our time – let’s make it happen.

Posted by Emily Corr at 6:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Greetings PC and prospective students! My name is Emily Corr and I am currently a freshman here at PC!

I am super excited to be blogging for you all this school year, but first, here's just a bit of trivia about myself - I was raised in Commack, New York; a small, but heavily populated town at the approximate center of Long Island [and for clarification, no, we do not pronounce it “Lon-Gai-Lan”]. Commack is known for being the hometown of famous sportscaster Bob Costas, Food Network Chef Adam Gertler, and celebrity Rosie O’Donnell, as well as for having one of the best kickline teams in the nation [I always wanted to be able to say we were known for some sort of delicious food item that you couldn’t find anywhere else, but we do have some really great pizzerias!] I attended the Commack schools all the way from Kindergarten up until my senior year at Commack High School, where I graduated with honors and an advanced regents diploma.

During my four years at CHS, I was a three season athlete [winter track, spring track, and cross country], a member of the student council, girls leaders, my classes executive board, the athletes helping athletes organization, and four honor societies, including the NHS. I am also a competitive Irish Dancer, and I have been dancing for 10 years. Whenever I’m not completing school work, I enjoy reading, writing, and of course everyone’s favorite excuse for procrastinating - Facebook.

Everyone has their story of how they found PC – the events that lead to them finding the school of their dreams. They remember their first steps on PC soil, the first student they spoke to, the smell of the dormitories, and all of those good nuggets. My story isn’t as epic, but it is equally significant– three years ago I was woken up early, thrown in my family’s minivan and forced to sit through a college tour for my older brother who was starting to look at colleges. But by the end of that day three years ago, I became interested in not just what college had to offer, but what Providence College had to offer.

Currently, I am an English/Secondary Education major here at PC (I know, it's says I'm an Elementary/Special Ed major... just ignore that) and so far, I have joined the Education Club, Dance Club, Irish Dance Club, the STOP Hunger organization, and Habitat for Humanity.

I am very excited to see where my freshman year at PC takes me, and I am even more excited to share it with you! If I can make one future prospective student interested in PC, I will have accomplished my goal. Hopefully, I can give prospective students a clear perspective of what it is like to be a freshman at PC.

Well, I must be off - this weekend I am attending the Connections retreat! I can not wait to share how it goes with all of you, and also to recap everything that has happened in the past month that I've been here. So stay tuned!

Emily (:

Posted by Emily Corr at 4:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)