Mike's Blog

Friday, November 13th, 4:00pm:

You may be thinking to yourself: why is this dude sitting down, writing a blog on a Friday evening when he could be out enjoying the start of the weekend? Thanks for asking! I decided to sit down and write a blog because I am currently in the Board Office of the College of Liberal Arts Student Governing Body waiting for undergraduate students to drop off their art work.

It is currently November 7th and I am sitting in my apartment getting ready to go enjoy some time in the beautiful weather outside. Yes, I mentioned November and beautiful weather in the same sentence. Who said it has to be cold in Minnesota all the time?

One of the main differences between the University of Minnesota and other Big Ten Universities is that this University is located in a very urban environment. The University of Minnesota is only a short bus ride away from the heart of Minneapolis...

One commonly expressed fear for first year students is leaving their old friends back home and trying to find new friends and create a niche at their new school. It can be rather daunting heading to a new place where you may not know anyone. However, there is no need to worry. There are plenty of opportunities to meet other students and create long-lasting friendships.

With our upcoming home football game against Michigan State I thought I would take a moment to write about our amazing new outdoor football stadium.

For the past two years I have contemplated taking a Chicano Studies class based on Service-Learning in the Chicano/Latino Community. This class is basically built around the idea that there are many limitations within schools in the US/Minnesota that hinder educational opportunities for Latino students.

This week is filled with a very big event for the College of Liberal Arts. The Major Fair is this upcoming Wednesday, April 1st in Willey Hall from 10:00 to 2:00 and is open to any student who wants to discover more information about a possible major or minor in the College of Liberal Arts. I was able to help plan this event and run it through my involvement with the College of Liberal Arts Student Board.

Spring break just ended and classes have started up again. This past spring break was very relaxing for me.

Spring semester is almost half way over and I am starting to contemplate what I am going to do this coming summer. I have currently narrowed my options down to three choices...

Winter break went by way to fast! I decided to spend my winter break back in my hometown enjoying home cooked meals and visiting with family. I also stayed very busy managing the local movie theater in my town since business picks up during the holidays. It was great seeing everyone again and getting caught up on all of the recently released Blockbuster Hits.

A few years ago I traveled down to Florida to visit some family friends during winter break. The temperature stayed around 60 degrees throughout our visit. It was a little cool to spend time swimming at the beach but I enjoyed getting the chance to break out my shorts and t-shirts. I also remember my Floridian friends thinking I was crazy as they bundled up in jeans and light jackets before we would go out at night!

With Thanksgiving in the rear view mirror, it’s time for the final stretch of school. Over Thanksgiving Break I put in a lot of hours managing the two movie theatres I worked for over the summer. It was nice to see everyone from work and make some extra money, but I also find myself thinking about all of the homework and studying I could have been doing this past weekend…

2:15AM

Why am I writing a blog entry at 2:15 in the morning? Truthfully, I am not really sure why. I am in the process of writing a paper that is due tomorrow morning and am currently in the process of pulling an all-nighter in order to complete this task.

This last Tuesday was Election Day and what a day it was. One fun place to be during a presidential election year is a politically active campus like the University of Minnesota. With the state capital being a short drive away from campus, and several politically active student groups like the University DFL and the College Republicans, it is easy to get involved in the political action.

One great way to gain experience for a potential career is to find an internship during the school year or the summer. Students usually decide to search out these opportunities their junior and senior years after they have an idea of what fields they are interested in. However, many students do not take advantage of the abundant number of resources available to prepare for these opportunities.

One question that I feel many prospective students think about is what exactly happens over the weekend in college. This is a very relevant question to ponder since the college campus will be a student's new home for an entire academic year. Since the University of Minnesota is located in the heart of the Twin Cities there are several off-campus activities that students are able to discover in addition to on-campus events as well.

Some of you are probably aware of the fact that the Minnesota Twins were in the Pennant Race for the American League Central Division. We were only win away from heading to the playoffs, but this all abruptly ended with a heartbreaking loss to the White Sox this past Tuesday night.

As another school year comes to an end I sometimes find myself thinking about the end of my senior year in high school. I had applied to various colleges early my senior year but took awhile to decide where to go. While I was deliberating on which college to attend, I realized that choosing where to spend the next four years of my life was a very important decision and should be made carefully.

Studying is the last thing on my mind after spending a week away from school during Spring Break; however it is finally time to get back into the swing of things. I spent my Spring break relaxing and forgetting about schoolwork and upcoming assignments. This seemed like a good idea at the time, even though I knew that I would have a lot of catching up to do when I returned to campus. So far the first week back from Spring Break has gone smoother than expected and I am enjoying the warmer temperatures (40 degrees!!) as compared to the cold, winter weather earlier this month.

I am currently in the midst of finals week and basically running on pure caffeine. I have taken a break from my Spanish studying to grab a bite to eat and decided to blog about this bittersweet time of the year. ‘Bittersweet’ is the perfect word to describe finals week with Winter Break on the horizon and classes almost complete, yet still having to cram for one last exam in every class.

I decided to take some time out of my Saturday night paper writing session to catch up on my blogging. Yes, you heard me right; my ‘exciting’ Saturday night has consisted of writing two management papers and I am currently in the process of writing my ‘results’ section to a psychology research paper. Sounds like fun huh? Usually my weekends are not jam-packed with this much studying, but with Thanksgiving on the horizon I have noticed that my professors are unloading everything on us this coming week. Next weekend should be far more relaxing.

I just returned home from a relaxing vacation in Michigan and am surprised as to how fast this summer has gone. The highlight of my vacation was some amazing water skiing, which I am already missing. With my cousin’s double water ski tow bar, we were able to ski along side each other. The experience was great and I am already looking forward to next year. However, school starts in less than a week and I am completely unprepared. This next week will be insanely busy but I am excited to get back to campus and see everyone.

It’s 3:00 in the morning and I just got off of work. Before I collapse on my bed from exhaustion, I decided to write about a ‘normal’ workday for me. There is a big upside and downside to working for a movie theatre. The bright side is that movie showings tend to not start until noon, so being able to sleep in everyday during the summer has truly been a luxury. However, the downside is the countless late nights I have to work since the movie rush comes for the nighttime showings. Tonight we had the midnight showing of Harry Potter, which completely sold out and was simply chaotic. Dealing with angry customers who ‘thought’ they bought online tickets to the movie (when it was already sold out) was stressful but I appreciate the learning experience this will bring me for future careers.

I just finished watching the comedy, "Knocked Up" and feel exhausted from laughing throughout the entire movie. One of the perks of working for a movie theatre during the summer is seeing an unlimited amount of free movies, which I fully utilize. I was planning on working on campus throughout the summer, but decided to head back to my hometown after things didn’t pan out. Even though staying on campus for the summer would be a lot of fun, I am enjoying countless home cooked meals and hanging out with old friends.

I just finished taking my last final test and it feels greeeeat! However, the rush of final assignments, tests and papers that are due at the end of the semester can be a little overwhelming. Preparation is the best method to approach these fairly daunting tests. I personally try to buckle down and solely focus on my academics for the last couple weeks of the school year.

As you might already know, the most popular major in CLA is ‘undecided’. As a freshman, I entered college completely undecided and open to any field of study. So, during my first year in school I decided to take classes that interested me and knockoff some CLA requirements. This was a good route to take because after completing an Economics and an Introductory Psychology class, I decided to evolve my major around these interests.