Posts Tagged ‘Freshman’

San Francisco Art Trip for High Sierra!

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Hey guys! Sorry I haven’t blogged in two weeks! I have so much catching up to do with you guys, and so much to tell you all! As everyone keeps saying again and again, college is super busy and time flies by so fast. I feel like it was just last week when I flew on a plane from Virginia to California to start college, when in reality, I’m already almost done with my first semester.

A couple weeks ago, me and the rest of the students here went to San Francisco for an Art trip, where we visited numerous museums and cathedrals. We visited the New St. Mary’s cathedral, Old St. Mary’s cathedral, the Mission Delores Basilica, the Grace Cathedral, the Legion of Honors museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the De Young Museum. It was so amazing!!! When I walked inside each of the cathedrals, I could feel God’s presence and aura all around me. We also took part in a Catholic mass, and that was pretty cool, too. The museums were all extraordinary. I saw art pieces of modern artists and famous ones like Picasso and Chigall(sp?).

In San Francisco, me and a few friends decided to hit up the party scene. The first night, I went to a techno club and it was awesome. I’ve never been to a club since I turned 18, which was in late August, so I was excited to go to one for the first time. Clubs aren’t as bad as everyone makes them out to be. The next day, me and a few other friends from High Sierra went to a huge club with a dance floor that lit up different colors. We had such an amazing time at the club. We celebrated my friend’s birthday, who was Candace from High Sierra. She had a blast at the club, and I’m glad we could all spend time together just to deepen our relationship. Here’s some pictures from our time in San Francisco, ranging from our museum, cathedral, and club experiences. San Francisco is definitely a unique and awesome city!

Grace Cathedral

Me and Jules in San Fran

Me and Jules in San Fran

View of some on San Francisco

View of some on San Francisco

Wandering through the graveyard at Mission Delores

Wandering through the graveyard at Mission Delores

Me and Candace in the busy streets on San Fran

Me and Candace in the busy streets on San Fran

Finally a Video!

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

I promised the next blog would include videos.. so here you go!

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This is Karissa and Purple (Michelle) singing at an event called ‘Color the Night.’

Color the Night was an event to show APU creativity through student artwork and music . It was fun to see APU students play fun music and see all the beautiful artwork. :)

The next video has a story behind it.

Smith (the all guy hall) started dressing up for family/hall dinners.  Family/Hall Dinner is where you eat with your entire hall in the Dinning Hall. Not only do you dress up as the theme, you are supposed to act the part.  I believe the first theme for the Smith hall was Egyptians but it’s since been sheep, beggars, and other crazy ideas. Trinity 1st South has been waiters and first graders. Trinity 4th North have been really funny nerds and babies.

3rd North decided we wanted to go all out for our first ‘themed’ family dinner. Our theme was Safari, which meant we dressed up as wild animals. Yes, its a little bit crazy but it was a whole lotta fun :)

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When we say we barely have free time in College, we mean it!

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Hey, its J.P again!! Sorry I haven’t been blogging much, but as the title says, College is extremely busy!!!!

In case some of you readers don’t know already, I’m studying in the mountains near Yosemite for a semester long program called “High Sierra”, which is sort of like a study abroad program. For my Leadership class I have here at the “satellite campus”(campus that is not on the legit APU college) the 22 students here had to go on a 6 day trek in Ansel Adams(sp?) which is part of Yosemite. For 6 straight days, we have no classes, no internet, no phones, no showers, and worst of all, NO TOILETS!! It was a great experience; One of those things that you do once n a life time.My trek group for the grueling 6 day trek consisted of 9 other classmates and professors.

Here are some pictures from my 6 day trek!Me on the 6 day trek for High Sierra

Looking out to YosemiteSLab Lake in Yosemite

Some people from my trek group summiting a mountain!!

Some people from my trek group summiting a mountain!!

The 6 day trek was tons of fun!! I had a “Solo”, where I was by myself in the wilderness with only my sleeping bag and a few other things. I spent 24 hours by myself, and chose to fast the whole day by choice. In the 24 hours while I was on my “solo” time during trek, I have never felt more closer to God in my entire life. I spent the whole day in solitude, and spent a lot of the day appreciating God’s majestic creation and basking in the sun by the lake(a picture of it is above here).

Now, I’m back on campus with the 22 or so other students, and have been trying to transition back to the groove of the dreaded 6 classes I’m taking here at High Sierra. Don’t get me wrong, I love the classes that Azusa Pacific offers and I learn tremendously. The teachers here are amazing and are like mentors. A few of them that I can name off the top of my head are Dave Williams, Mike Robbins, and Tom Dunn. They are some rad professors!

I have had a difficult time trying to juggle my time wisely. In college, countless temptations get thrown your way and at times, it will be very difficult to turn them down. Instead of doing homework, I’m tempted to hang out with friends, watch a movie, play a game or sport, or even procrastinate on facebook! I barely seem to have time to call my parents and siblings back in Virginia, and even my roommate back on the APU campus.

All in all, College is the most amazing place on Earth, besides a church of course. :) I have met some quality friends here, and I have learned so much just as a person, and also as a Christian.

To close off, I’ll just explain what I did today to give you a taste of what college life is kind of like:

I woke up around 11 am because I didn’t have any  classes today, and then chilled with a few friends until it was time for lunch. I didn’t get a chance to eat breakfast since I woke up so late(Breakfast is around 8am here at the High Sierra). Then, my friend Rachel Eblin trimmed my hair with her own personal hair cuttery kit. After my trim, I went on a mini “field trip” with about 8 other students to Starbucks to study/work on homework. We could of just stayed on campus, but the track team from Azusa Pacific is here at High Sierra for a team building weekend or something, so there is constantly a lot of noise because of how much fun their having. The few of us who couldn’t concentrate, and the students who wanted to leave campus for a while decided to go to Starbucks and I got a lot of work done. It’s relaxing to get away from campus and the whole college environment for a while and just relax.

Right now, it’s about midnight and I’m typing this blog in the dining hall, which is filled with at least half of the guys and girls from the APU track team. I’m about to work on some homework(story of my life) and get some sleep.

I plan to blog more often, sorry for the abscence. Like I said, I barely have any free time, but I’ll make this blog job one of my priorities. :)

Night, J.P

Week In The Life Of A Freshman

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

So this blog is a few days late, but the bonus of it being late is that you get it with pictures and an example of a normal week in my life. My week has been pretty random, so here are my awesome APU highlights! :)

Sunday: We went to a beach bonfire with our brother hall.  We celebrated their RA’s (see note below) birthday with hotdogs and cake. It was fun, but I was definitely tired. Note to self: Get more sleep before going somewhere. Actually, getting more sleep in general would be a pretty good idea.

The mix of wind and fire made it hard to heat our hotdogs!

The mix of wind and fire made it hard to heat our hotdogs!

Huntingtons Beach at night with Meredith, Libby, and Susie :)

Huntington's Beach at night with Meredith, Libby, and Susie :)

Monday: My Mondays feel generally pretty crazy. I have three classes on Mondays, which isn’t too bad, but one of them is 3 hours long and chapel starts at 9:30.  Something interesting probably happened, but I apparently can’t think back a week :) I’m sure there was homework involved. Oh, and this is the day I locked myself out of my room so I studied in our Study Room until Rachel (my roommate) got home.  (By the way, RA’s can unlock the doors for you, but it costs $5) I love the Study Room.

Tuesday: The Freshman had a “Street Meets” which was called a Lumberjack Dance. I don’t really know what the point of the whole thing was, but it was similar to a hoedown with plaid/checkered flannel. The highlight for me was when the RA’s from each dorm performed group dances. I wish I had would have been able to video it! Engstrom was the most amusing, but the Trinity RA’s had the most skill.  I wasn’t able to stay at the dance long though because I had a test the next morning as well as an Alpha meeting. We had our Alpha meeting at 10:30pm after getting coffee at the Cornerstone Cafe because it is the only time that fits our whole group’s schedule. Alphas group are a required once a week meeting with a random group of people from the Beginnings class, lead by an sophomore who volunteered to be an Alpha leader.  It was a very informal meeting and we just had a lot of fun sharing stories and eating delicious Pizookie (an ice cream and cookie dessert) that our Alpha leader Jen made for us.

TIffanys view from the dance

TIffany's view from the dance

Wednesday: Wednesday morning I thought I was going to have my first APU test. My teacher told us to study two chapters in our book. After staying up until 3:00am, studying the two chapters and one wrong one, I felt pretty prepared. Unfortunately, I was a bit over prepared.  My professor’s version of a ‘test on the chapters’ ended up being essentially a 15-question quiz worth 5 points. Needless to say, I realized I should ask for more information on ‘tests’ before studying in that class.

My hall had Family Dinner together! Family dinner consisted of as many 3N Girls going to the Caf together and fitting into one long table. The Caf was reasonable full when we got there at 6:30 and finding a table for 20+ girls was difficult.  The only tables available near each other were in a huge corner that made it hard for anyone to move around. A few of the girls resorted to climbing under the table so they could get more food. It was pretty funny and possibly a bit gross, but we were all able to eat as a ‘family’ (and that’s what counts :)  Every Wednesday Night we have Kaleo, which is my favorite chapel service.

Almost all of the 3N Girls

Almost all of the 3N Girls

I love Kaleo with all of my heart.  The services have been getting so crowed that people have started to line up as early as 8:15 to be sure they get in for the service at 9:00. We are going over the book of Daniel in a way that it is applied to our lives directly connecting to scripture.  Instead of going story by story, we are taking a chapter or two at a time and digging into it while making it personal. I’m sure I’m doing a terrible job at explaining it, but I promise, Kaleo really is awesome.

Thursday: I’m pretty sure something exciting in our hall on Thursday but again, the days seem to blur a bit.

Friday: Friday was a really exciting day for me! I had my normal classes that were great, but the highlight of the day was seeing my friend Lainey. I haven’t really been able to see anyone I know closely for a month and I was so happy to see her face! She goes to a different school about 45 minutes away, but neither of us have cars which makes it difficult to hang out.  Lainey and I have been best friends since 4th grade but she moved to Illinois in 8th grade. Seeing her was definitely a blessing.

My mom made me promise wed take pictures but my camera is broken. My used Photobooth instead :)

Promised my mom we'd take pictures but my camera is broken. My used Photobooth in my dorm instead :)

Saturday: I went to the football game vs. the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. It was fun to cheer them on and even more fun when they won 23-7. There were some awesome fumble returns and an amazing field goal!

Libbys view of the APU football game

Libby's view of the APU football game

Wearing our Blackout at the football game :)

Wearing our Blackout at the football game :)

Sunday: On Sunday I pretty much slept all day. I’ve never been able to go to bed early and college definitely didn’t change that habit. I use my weekends to make up for the 5/6 hours of sleep I get during the week. I basically spent all day in bed but I attempted to do homework too. I wrote my speech for Public Communications and almost started this blog :). I took a break of doing nothing to go celebrate my hall-neighbor’s birthday at Tutti Fruity, a local frozen yogurt place that is not only delicious but also gives APU students 15% off!

Wishing Meredith a Happy Birthday at Tutti Fruiti!

Wishing Meredith a Happy Birthday at Tutti Fruiti!

Monday: My Monday was a crazy day again which is why this blog didn’t get posted this morning.  I love my Exodus/Deuteronomy class but it sometimes causes a brain overload. The hardest part of the day was Public Comm because I was second to give my ‘Story Speech.’

My speech was a fairytale story I made up for the girls I nannied for this summer. I’m not a huge fan of public speaking even though I talk too much. The formality too it is a bit daunting for me and I was definitely nervous.

After Speech I saw a friend from my Into to Communications class and had a fun time hanging out in her hall. Unfortunately when I got back to 3rd North after 10pm I realized I had a quiz in my Health and Wellness class. A neighbor of mine has that class too so we attempted to study in the hall kitchen but we were very easily distracted by pretty much everything and anything. During our ‘study breaks’, which there were more of then actual studying, I started this blog. By the time I got to bed I realized like I hadn’t learned very much, my blog wasn’t finished or proof-read, and I had to be up at 7:45 for my Walk/Jog/Run class.

Tue: When I woke up, the day wasn’t looking too promising. I was tired and was worried about my quizzes. Thankfully, my Health and Wellness test was very easy for me and since we could leave as soon as we were done, I had time to eat and study a little bit more for my Into to Lit quiz. Now I plan on either watching something on Hulu or taking a nap before starting homework. Good day :)

Feel free to add comments or ask any questions!

-Kelsey

*Resident Assistant- An upperclassman who is in our hall all year to support, counsel, and love on us

Stressed as a college student?? Same here!!

Friday, September 25th, 2009

Hey there guys!! J.P here again with a few words of wisdom!

Well in case you didn’t already know, I’m a freshman here at Azusa Pacific University. Ironically, I’m not on the campus (The campus is pretty dope!), I’m at the semester long program called “High Sierra” where we study in the mountains and get to do outdoors-y stuff like go on a 6 day trek in Yosemite (We leave this Thursday which means no school for 6 days! hah)

Here’s a picture of the 23 students and teachers/mentors/friends here at the High Sierra program. It’s an amazing community:

high, sierra, freshman, experience, jp, park, yosemite, trek,

high, sierra, freshman, experience, jp, park, yosemite, trek,

Anyway, even though I have only been in college for a couple of weeks now, I’m already starting to slowly get stressed and even more stress. STRESS  SUCKS!! In college, you tend to get so busy with countless things such as SCHOOL WORK, clubs, sports, extracurricular activities, friends, and so on.

The most helpful tips I found out were obvious, of course. Here are some of them:

1. PRIORITIZE!!!! Always start and finish the things that are most important like class work like essays and reading books. I procrastinate A LOT, so the faster you finish your work, the faster you get to all of the other fun stuff APU offers. I can’t “stress” enough about how important it is to get the most important stuff out of the way first.

2. Make a “To do list”/ Calendar —-I always make a to do list with my homework for each class, upcoming events, and planning what days I can go out and have fun and whatever else. It helps a lot to see what you have already completed but crossing them off the list, and what you still need to do.

3. DON’T PROCRASTINATE!!!!!!!—–It’s so easy for a friend to stop by your dorm and want to chill or go out to lunch or dinner. I know it is hard to say no when all of your friends urge you to do something, BUT there will be plenty of countless opportunities to hang out and socialize. You have 4 years to do that! Grades and academics come first!!!

I could say a lot more, but none can come to mind right now. Haha.

The faster you do your class work, the sooner you’ll be able to do this:

Me, (JP) sleeping in my dorm

Hahahaha! Naps are even more amazing in college, except when you constantly have people knocking on your door to hang. But I don’t have to worry anymore since I”m here in the mountains for High Sierra semester.

College isn’t all fun and games…Don’t get me wrong…I LOOVVVEEE college, but there has to be a balance between socializing and studying/doing homework.

Just last night, I had to read 5 chapters (50 pages worth) and while I was reading, my roommates asked me if I wanted to go kayaking in the lake. I really wanted to go, but I knew had to finish reading…. Being productive means making compromises. The more you say no to your friends, the more they will respect your studying time.

Hope this helped a bit, ha! I need to go work out for my Fit For Life class, so lataz!

Beach Trip

Monday, September 21st, 2009

My hall’s awesome RA* (see note below) Megan planned a trip last weekend to celebrate our first week of classes. It was really nice to be able to go somewhere, forget about homework, and most of all, celebrate at the beach!!

About 20 of us piled into cars and took off to Huntington Beach!!

By the time we got there half of the group wanted to go eat but I stayed with the group heading towards the water.

The half that wanted to go straight to the water!

The half that wanted to go straight to the water!

I’m from Northern California and while we have some beautiful beaches, they are usually very cold and windy. Especially because I lived pretty far north. Only brave kids got farther than their ankles in the freezing water and I wasn’t one of them. So the idea of a warm beach was extremely exciting!! It has been a really long time since I’ve been to a warm beach. It was weird to see all of the girls go so far out into the ocean and swim in the huge waves. I’ve been taught never to go above waist level because of the horrible sleeperwaves in NorCal. It was really fun to just hang out in the sun too.

We laid out on the beach for a while and then switched with the other group and ate at BJ’s. BJ’s is a really good restaurant that has delicious deep-dish pizza and Pizookies. Pizookies are huge cookies baked in a deep dish covered with vanilla bean ice cream and they are amazing.  A bunch the girls in the hall are planning a trip to go there (and the beach) soon!

Overall, it was an amazing time to get to know the girls in my hall better, hangout at the beach, and have some amazing food.

Our entire group!

Our entire group!

*Resident Assistant- An upperclassman who is in our hall all year to support, counsel, and love on us.