there's a certain stillness associated with New York in the morning. before the tourists flood the streets. before the real day begins and the streets are filled at near maximum capacity. before all of the sounds blur together. instead, you hear everything with perfect clarity. the construction, buses sighing with relief as they deposit passengers on the sidewalk corner. horns honking as the streets fill with taxis.
to celebrate the end of the semester, brynn and i walked to trump tower this morning for starbucks and breakfast at tiffany's.
this is what i will miss about new york for the five weeks I am torn away from it. the stillness is a sea of chaos. the calm before the storm.
oh, what am I saying? I will miss everything about this place.
except times square. times square is literally hell on earth.
well, here's to a great first semester, NYU.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
The traditional New Yorker stereotype is of a cold and uncaring population, but in the past few days the city has united. People are offering their homes to their neighbors, companies are giving away food on the street, and people are letting strangers use their power to charge their phones.
[its time to get serious]
Being able to leave my room and find a hot meal within five minutes.
Plugging my phone into the wall outlet and coming back an hour later to a fully charged phone.
My entire family only just a phone call away.
I've taken these things, and so much more, for granted before and after coming to NYU. I am one of the lucky ones who still has power in a completely dark lower Manhattan.
This hurricane completely decimated lower Manhattan. Days after the last rains hit, you still have to walk up to around 30th st to find anywhere with power, including a place to get a hot coffee or lunch. Subway stations below 34th st are still not running due to flooding and lack of power. Two out of twenty or so residence halls at NYU have power, my dorm being one of the lucky ones. We're sheltering people from other dorms because they've been evacuated. People are staying on the floor of the Kimmel center because that's the only place for them to go.
And still, we're the lucky ones. We're alive. We're privileged enough to go to a university that still feeds and houses us. Others in lower Manhattan are without hot food and running water. The entire Jersey shore has been practically wiped away. A hundred homes in Queens burned to the ground.
It's times like this when I'm proud to go to NYU because everyone has banded together to take care of the rest of our NYU family.
I just can't wait until this is all over.
Plugging my phone into the wall outlet and coming back an hour later to a fully charged phone.
My entire family only just a phone call away.
I've taken these things, and so much more, for granted before and after coming to NYU. I am one of the lucky ones who still has power in a completely dark lower Manhattan.
This hurricane completely decimated lower Manhattan. Days after the last rains hit, you still have to walk up to around 30th st to find anywhere with power, including a place to get a hot coffee or lunch. Subway stations below 34th st are still not running due to flooding and lack of power. Two out of twenty or so residence halls at NYU have power, my dorm being one of the lucky ones. We're sheltering people from other dorms because they've been evacuated. People are staying on the floor of the Kimmel center because that's the only place for them to go.
And still, we're the lucky ones. We're alive. We're privileged enough to go to a university that still feeds and houses us. Others in lower Manhattan are without hot food and running water. The entire Jersey shore has been practically wiped away. A hundred homes in Queens burned to the ground.
It's times like this when I'm proud to go to NYU because everyone has banded together to take care of the rest of our NYU family.
I just can't wait until this is all over.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
[what you want]
I think its hard to understand the city that never sleeps until you walk around it at 5:30 in the morning.
Last night, someone mentioned watching the sunrise from the Brooklyn Bridge. We agreed that it seemed like a worthy venture, so I was woken up bright and early by Megan standing at the foot of my bed. However, we were so sleep deprived that we ended up at the wrong subway station, but good ol' new york has connections available everywhere so we just took the train up to 14th st and took a connection to the right train.
This morning pretty much affirmed every single reason why I decided to come to New York. From our point at the bridge we could see the statue of liberty, downtown, the empire state building, the chrysler building, you name it. At one point, I turned around to see Midtown and I realized that I live here. This amazing city is my home.
Even at 6 o'clock, the city was alive with the sounds of people. Runners going to Brooklyn and back, people just getting in for the night. And there we were, four people in a sea of thousands.
Now back to bed.
ps.
I'm sorry for not blogging about my adventures! This month was absolutely crazy with midterms, going home, and just general mayhem. I'll try to blog more this month!
Last night, someone mentioned watching the sunrise from the Brooklyn Bridge. We agreed that it seemed like a worthy venture, so I was woken up bright and early by Megan standing at the foot of my bed. However, we were so sleep deprived that we ended up at the wrong subway station, but good ol' new york has connections available everywhere so we just took the train up to 14th st and took a connection to the right train.
This morning pretty much affirmed every single reason why I decided to come to New York. From our point at the bridge we could see the statue of liberty, downtown, the empire state building, the chrysler building, you name it. At one point, I turned around to see Midtown and I realized that I live here. This amazing city is my home.
Even at 6 o'clock, the city was alive with the sounds of people. Runners going to Brooklyn and back, people just getting in for the night. And there we were, four people in a sea of thousands.
Now back to bed.
ps.
I'm sorry for not blogging about my adventures! This month was absolutely crazy with midterms, going home, and just general mayhem. I'll try to blog more this month!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
[there's only this]
As of last Wednesday, I've officially been in this city for a month.
Friday we celebrated that milestone with a floor dinner that was full of craziness. Brynn, Bryna, and I made cupcakes while Ryan, Jacob, Megan, and Sakib somehow managed to make baked mac and cheese, chicken parm, green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes...all for thirty people in the tiny kitchen we have downstairs. The food was wonderful as was the experience of spending time with my floormates. I didn't realize until this weekend how much of an abnormality my floor is. Even in my residence hall that is famous for community, no other floor is as close as mine. Sure people have their groups of friends, but everyone in my hall is friends with everyone.
It was quite odd to spend the weekend out of the city. I'm part of the violet leadership institute and we went on an overnight retreat along with the inter-residence hall council and the national residence hall honorary. It was a lot of fun just to meet new people and do a lot of work on personal growth and leadership development. Turns out I'm a huge leadership nerd. This entire weekend just really forced me to change my perspective on how I see things and it really showed me how different NYU is.
However I am glad to be back in the city, something I never realized until I left it. I've always been a city person, but I never realized how deep my connection to the city really was. Plus I missed all my friends dearly. I have no idea what we're going to do over Christmas break since we're all so spread out.
To sum up my first month at NYU in a few words, I'd have to say it's been a crazy, hectic, inspirational, awe-inspiring, magical time.
Now I'm off to write three papers and study for my midterm this week.
You think I'm kidding.
--cassie
Friday we celebrated that milestone with a floor dinner that was full of craziness. Brynn, Bryna, and I made cupcakes while Ryan, Jacob, Megan, and Sakib somehow managed to make baked mac and cheese, chicken parm, green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes...all for thirty people in the tiny kitchen we have downstairs. The food was wonderful as was the experience of spending time with my floormates. I didn't realize until this weekend how much of an abnormality my floor is. Even in my residence hall that is famous for community, no other floor is as close as mine. Sure people have their groups of friends, but everyone in my hall is friends with everyone.
It was quite odd to spend the weekend out of the city. I'm part of the violet leadership institute and we went on an overnight retreat along with the inter-residence hall council and the national residence hall honorary. It was a lot of fun just to meet new people and do a lot of work on personal growth and leadership development. Turns out I'm a huge leadership nerd. This entire weekend just really forced me to change my perspective on how I see things and it really showed me how different NYU is.
However I am glad to be back in the city, something I never realized until I left it. I've always been a city person, but I never realized how deep my connection to the city really was. Plus I missed all my friends dearly. I have no idea what we're going to do over Christmas break since we're all so spread out.
To sum up my first month at NYU in a few words, I'd have to say it's been a crazy, hectic, inspirational, awe-inspiring, magical time.
Now I'm off to write three papers and study for my midterm this week.
You think I'm kidding.
--cassie
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
[you look familiar]
This city makes me restless. Before moving here, I was able to spend an entire afternoon on my computer and not even bat an eye. Now, I feel like I'm missing something even as I write this at 10:59 pm.
New York is truly the city that never sleeps and there is always something going on. There's the fear of missing out. Today, I should have worked on a paper and studied for micro. Instead, I went to the Met with one of my suitemates. Why? I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity. I'll be at the Met next week with one of my classes, but the thought of staying in my dorm and studying made me restless.
Last night, Brynn and I walked the stairs of our dorm because we couldn't just sit in Megan's room and chill. Maybe its the caffeine. Maybe its the fact that I'm in a new place.
It isn't necessarily a bad thing because the restlessness is forcing me to get out and be social and explore this wonderful city. And I am being productive. I'm not super behind on homework, I'll probably catch up by the end of the week. I go to the library all the time with Brynn.
If anything, I'm definitely learning time management!
--cassie
New York is truly the city that never sleeps and there is always something going on. There's the fear of missing out. Today, I should have worked on a paper and studied for micro. Instead, I went to the Met with one of my suitemates. Why? I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity. I'll be at the Met next week with one of my classes, but the thought of staying in my dorm and studying made me restless.
Last night, Brynn and I walked the stairs of our dorm because we couldn't just sit in Megan's room and chill. Maybe its the caffeine. Maybe its the fact that I'm in a new place.
It isn't necessarily a bad thing because the restlessness is forcing me to get out and be social and explore this wonderful city. And I am being productive. I'm not super behind on homework, I'll probably catch up by the end of the week. I go to the library all the time with Brynn.
If anything, I'm definitely learning time management!
--cassie
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
[you belong with me]
Or, as I like to affectionately title this post: "Adventures in Penn Station"
Last week was absolutely crazy! It was definitely a blur of homework, classes, and hang out sessions. But I had a three day weekend because one of my professors is Jewish! It was definitely needed. Saturday we did hall council planning for a majority of the day and Bryna and I saw Bachelorette because we were unable to get tickets to Avenue Q with the rest of our friends (aka I didn't feel like getting up at 9 on a Saturday to get tickets). But the movie was really funny, I'd definitely recommend it! After that we did laundry like the cool kids we are.
Sunday was where my adventure in Penn Station came in. My friend Taylor from leaders was home this weekend and her bus left from the city, so we decided to go get breakfast together with Victoria. I had to leave my dorm at 9 in order to get there on time...I woke up at 8:54. But I actually made it on time! This was the first time I took the subway completely by myself and it was to one of the biggest stations in the city, if not the biggest. But I got there fine, we grabbed breakfast and just chatted for a good two hours which was wonderful because I loved being able to catch up with everyone. So we left Taylor at her bus station and then Vic and I went into Penn Station to go back home. We basically had to take opposite trains since I needed the E downtown and she needed the E uptown. I find where the platform is, go through the turnstiles, and then am left to wander around looking for the downtown platform. I thought I found the right place (turns out I did) but I saw signs for going uptown. So I go downstairs again and somehow end up on the express platform which is fine because it still stops at 4th st. But I was tired and stressed out and that did not help hahah. Made it back home finally to go read in the park and just chill for the rest of the day.
The rest of my week has been pretty boring so far, just a mixture of classes and homework.
But I get to go to the Brooklyn Museum of Art this Friday, which I'm so excited for!
--cassie
Last week was absolutely crazy! It was definitely a blur of homework, classes, and hang out sessions. But I had a three day weekend because one of my professors is Jewish! It was definitely needed. Saturday we did hall council planning for a majority of the day and Bryna and I saw Bachelorette because we were unable to get tickets to Avenue Q with the rest of our friends (aka I didn't feel like getting up at 9 on a Saturday to get tickets). But the movie was really funny, I'd definitely recommend it! After that we did laundry like the cool kids we are.
Sunday was where my adventure in Penn Station came in. My friend Taylor from leaders was home this weekend and her bus left from the city, so we decided to go get breakfast together with Victoria. I had to leave my dorm at 9 in order to get there on time...I woke up at 8:54. But I actually made it on time! This was the first time I took the subway completely by myself and it was to one of the biggest stations in the city, if not the biggest. But I got there fine, we grabbed breakfast and just chatted for a good two hours which was wonderful because I loved being able to catch up with everyone. So we left Taylor at her bus station and then Vic and I went into Penn Station to go back home. We basically had to take opposite trains since I needed the E downtown and she needed the E uptown. I find where the platform is, go through the turnstiles, and then am left to wander around looking for the downtown platform. I thought I found the right place (turns out I did) but I saw signs for going uptown. So I go downstairs again and somehow end up on the express platform which is fine because it still stops at 4th st. But I was tired and stressed out and that did not help hahah. Made it back home finally to go read in the park and just chill for the rest of the day.
The rest of my week has been pretty boring so far, just a mixture of classes and homework.
But I get to go to the Brooklyn Museum of Art this Friday, which I'm so excited for!
--cassie
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
[settle down]
I was in second grade on September 11, 2001. I had just moved to a new school but I remember my teacher and all of the other teachers running around chaotically that entire day. The phone rang off the hook as different staff members came and went from our classroom.
I had never seen the plane hit the second tower until the tenth anniversary. Sitting in AP Government we watched different news clips from both the day of and the tenth anniversary. It baffled me that the freshmen in my class were not in school that day.
Being in New York City on the anniversary felt out of sorts. In some ways, it was a normal day. I went to class, did homework, and hung out with my friends. But there was just generally a different vibe yesterday. I can't really describe it. But last night after we were all done classes, I went with my friends Bryna and Jacob up to St. Patrick's cathedral. The three of us lit a candle in remembrance. (on a side note: the church is absolutely gorgeous. I was awestruck. Also I'm pretty sure the three of us stuck out like sore thumbs because the other two aren't religious at all and I'm Protestant) But it was just a very poignant way to end the day. We went up to Union Square for dinner and when we were walking back to the square the spotlights guided us home.
I had never seen the plane hit the second tower until the tenth anniversary. Sitting in AP Government we watched different news clips from both the day of and the tenth anniversary. It baffled me that the freshmen in my class were not in school that day.
Being in New York City on the anniversary felt out of sorts. In some ways, it was a normal day. I went to class, did homework, and hung out with my friends. But there was just generally a different vibe yesterday. I can't really describe it. But last night after we were all done classes, I went with my friends Bryna and Jacob up to St. Patrick's cathedral. The three of us lit a candle in remembrance. (on a side note: the church is absolutely gorgeous. I was awestruck. Also I'm pretty sure the three of us stuck out like sore thumbs because the other two aren't religious at all and I'm Protestant) But it was just a very poignant way to end the day. We went up to Union Square for dinner and when we were walking back to the square the spotlights guided us home.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
[i wanna dance]
One year ago today was the first time I visited NYU.
Crazy, isn't it? I didn't even realize it until we went to lunch (...at 2:30 hahah) and saw a tour group in the lobby of Hayden. I'm not even sure why I remember that I first visited NYU on September 8. Probably because it was the third day of school and so close to September 11th. But I wanted to butt into the tour group and just scream at everyone to go here.
It really is crazy how things can change in a year.
This is a short post because I am super tired and want to go play Apples to Apples with some of my friends on my floor.
But I promise I'll post about my classes sometime soon when I'm not doing homework!
Have a wonderful weekend!
-cassie
Crazy, isn't it? I didn't even realize it until we went to lunch (...at 2:30 hahah) and saw a tour group in the lobby of Hayden. I'm not even sure why I remember that I first visited NYU on September 8. Probably because it was the third day of school and so close to September 11th. But I wanted to butt into the tour group and just scream at everyone to go here.
It really is crazy how things can change in a year.
This is a short post because I am super tired and want to go play Apples to Apples with some of my friends on my floor.
But I promise I'll post about my classes sometime soon when I'm not doing homework!
Have a wonderful weekend!
-cassie
Friday, September 7, 2012
[i'm telling you i'm telling you]
Ten Things I've Learned This Past Week:
1) If one person on the floor gets sick, everyone is going to get sick. Don't fight it, just accept it. If you're that first person, don't feel bad when everyone else gets sick. 42 teenagers living in such a close proximity to one another will never end well.
2) No matter what time you go for lunch, there will be a line at Kimmel. However, if you go for dinner at 6:30 on a Thursday night, you will have the entire cafeteria to yourself.
3) Never ever go to Trader Joes in Union Square unless you are prepared to stand in a line that wraps around the entire store. Even at 4 in the afternoon on a Wednesday.
4) Fashions Night Out is super dangerous for your wallet. However it is one hell of a good time.
5) All of the tuition money I'm spending is going to the millions of online programs NYU has. So far I am using aplia, NYU Classes, Blackboard, and atlas for at least one class.
6) I don't know how I ever woke up for high school. I can barely get up at 8, let alone 6.
7) Hall Council elections turn everyone crazy.
8) I apparently look like Amanda Seyfriend and sound like Drew Barrymore when I'm sick.
9) Being sick just sucks. A lot. So does rain.
10) Sororities at NYU are nothing like sororities at other colleges. They're more academic driven and absolutely perfect for me.
Anyway I'll talk about my classes later. This was a wonderful first week of classes, besides being sick!
--cassie
1) If one person on the floor gets sick, everyone is going to get sick. Don't fight it, just accept it. If you're that first person, don't feel bad when everyone else gets sick. 42 teenagers living in such a close proximity to one another will never end well.
2) No matter what time you go for lunch, there will be a line at Kimmel. However, if you go for dinner at 6:30 on a Thursday night, you will have the entire cafeteria to yourself.
3) Never ever go to Trader Joes in Union Square unless you are prepared to stand in a line that wraps around the entire store. Even at 4 in the afternoon on a Wednesday.
4) Fashions Night Out is super dangerous for your wallet. However it is one hell of a good time.
5) All of the tuition money I'm spending is going to the millions of online programs NYU has. So far I am using aplia, NYU Classes, Blackboard, and atlas for at least one class.
6) I don't know how I ever woke up for high school. I can barely get up at 8, let alone 6.
7) Hall Council elections turn everyone crazy.
8) I apparently look like Amanda Seyfriend and sound like Drew Barrymore when I'm sick.
9) Being sick just sucks. A lot. So does rain.
10) Sororities at NYU are nothing like sororities at other colleges. They're more academic driven and absolutely perfect for me.
Anyway I'll talk about my classes later. This was a wonderful first week of classes, besides being sick!
--cassie
Monday, September 3, 2012
[remember all the things that you and i did first?]
happy labor day everyone!
this weekend was absolutely crazy but it was a great way to end my first week at school!
Saturday we all slept in and then went to the Strand again. This time I actually bought three books (for $5!!) and some postcards to decorate our room. Came back to Goddard and hung out until we went to times square at midnight! It was so much fun to go up and see the entire place lit up with all of the lights. You could hardly tell that it was after midnight because everything was so bright. We ended up just walking around before getting gelato. We finally got back to the dorm at around 1:30 and the girls just hung out in our suite before bed.
Then yesterday I woke up and felt like I had been hit by a bus. My roommate has been sick for a few days and I knew it was just a matter of time before I got sick as well. So I spent the majority of the day in bed, drinking tea like crazy. By like 7:30 I still had no idea if I felt well enough to go on the cruise but eventually I just sucked it up and went although now I'm really glad that I did! It was such a cool experience and it kinda set in that I live here. Most of my friends are having a normal college experience in their college town going to college parties and football games. I, on the other hand, have this absolutely amazing opportunity that is living in New York City. I still can't believe it.
We finally got back around 4 and I was absolutely dead on my feet. I slept in this morning and then got lunch with Victoria, one of my fellow J-Staffers! It was so nice to just catch up with her since I haven't seen her since the end of July. It also was nice to see a familiar face since I've been overwhelmed with meeting all sorts of new people. Now we're just hanging around the residence hall before dinner and another floor meeting tonight.
Classes start tomorrow, I'm so excited!
--cassie
this weekend was absolutely crazy but it was a great way to end my first week at school!
Saturday we all slept in and then went to the Strand again. This time I actually bought three books (for $5!!) and some postcards to decorate our room. Came back to Goddard and hung out until we went to times square at midnight! It was so much fun to go up and see the entire place lit up with all of the lights. You could hardly tell that it was after midnight because everything was so bright. We ended up just walking around before getting gelato. We finally got back to the dorm at around 1:30 and the girls just hung out in our suite before bed.
Then yesterday I woke up and felt like I had been hit by a bus. My roommate has been sick for a few days and I knew it was just a matter of time before I got sick as well. So I spent the majority of the day in bed, drinking tea like crazy. By like 7:30 I still had no idea if I felt well enough to go on the cruise but eventually I just sucked it up and went although now I'm really glad that I did! It was such a cool experience and it kinda set in that I live here. Most of my friends are having a normal college experience in their college town going to college parties and football games. I, on the other hand, have this absolutely amazing opportunity that is living in New York City. I still can't believe it.
We finally got back around 4 and I was absolutely dead on my feet. I slept in this morning and then got lunch with Victoria, one of my fellow J-Staffers! It was so nice to just catch up with her since I haven't seen her since the end of July. It also was nice to see a familiar face since I've been overwhelmed with meeting all sorts of new people. Now we're just hanging around the residence hall before dinner and another floor meeting tonight.
Classes start tomorrow, I'm so excited!
--cassie
Saturday, September 1, 2012
[it's always a good time]
Yay college! Boo end of welcome week!
These past two days have been crazy busy!
Yesterday we went on a picnic in central park which was gorgeous. It was my first time there and it is just a wonderful place. You literally forget you are in the city. So we did lunch there and then just hung around with some kids from my dorm that I haven't really had a chance to ever talk to so it was nice!
We got back to the dorm and just chilled for a while before heading out to a floor dinner which was fun although we pretty much already know and are friends with most of our dorm. Then we went straight from dinner to get in line for casino night...an hour and a half early. We were waiting in line forever and it was just so tiring on top of the fact that we were already tired. So when we finally got in and found it pretty lame, we were disappointed. We entered the raffle and my suitemate won! But we got back to the dorm and just chilled in our room forever for like the fourth night in the row haha. It was really chill and I love these bonding sessions I've been having.
Today was a different story though. We had decided that since we didn't have any orientation events left we would go out to breakfast since we haven't yet. After that was a seminar on saving money which wasn't very helpful but it was still worthwhile. We grabbed lunch and decided to go to an open house at the career center that wasn't an open house at all. Turns out there was a presentation and then a tour of the center. By the time we made it up to Union Square we missed the entire presentation and could only go on the tour...annoying.
But then came the best part of the day! Some of us didn't go to the picnic yesterday so they wanted to see the park...so we went! We were big kids who took the subway ourselves and then ended up sitting in central park just talking for two and a half hours. I bonded even more with these people including some of the guys on my floor who are now my good friends!
We finally made it down to WSP again but we were starving. So we walked all the way back up to one of the other dining halls near union square. After dinner we stopped at the Strand which is a crazy huge and cheap book store. We could have spent forever in there and I'm happy we're going back there tomorrow.
Came back, chilled some more, and then ended up going to zombie ball. It wasn't that much fun. I wasn't in the mood for it to begin with and it just felt forced. I am glad we went, but I'm also glad we came back and once again just hung out in the guys room and the hallway.
But now I am absolutely exhausted from this week and I am really excited to sleep in tomorrow. We're going shopping and then to the annual Goddard games!
I am absolutely loving this school so much. I've had more intellectual conversations this past week than I ever had in all of high school. Everyone here is just so smart and they actually care about the world and what is going on around it. More than that, they form their own opinion and are passionate about what they believe in. Although Welcome Week is over, I am so excited for classes and my time at NYU to really start.
--cassie
These past two days have been crazy busy!
Yesterday we went on a picnic in central park which was gorgeous. It was my first time there and it is just a wonderful place. You literally forget you are in the city. So we did lunch there and then just hung around with some kids from my dorm that I haven't really had a chance to ever talk to so it was nice!
We got back to the dorm and just chilled for a while before heading out to a floor dinner which was fun although we pretty much already know and are friends with most of our dorm. Then we went straight from dinner to get in line for casino night...an hour and a half early. We were waiting in line forever and it was just so tiring on top of the fact that we were already tired. So when we finally got in and found it pretty lame, we were disappointed. We entered the raffle and my suitemate won! But we got back to the dorm and just chilled in our room forever for like the fourth night in the row haha. It was really chill and I love these bonding sessions I've been having.
Today was a different story though. We had decided that since we didn't have any orientation events left we would go out to breakfast since we haven't yet. After that was a seminar on saving money which wasn't very helpful but it was still worthwhile. We grabbed lunch and decided to go to an open house at the career center that wasn't an open house at all. Turns out there was a presentation and then a tour of the center. By the time we made it up to Union Square we missed the entire presentation and could only go on the tour...annoying.
But then came the best part of the day! Some of us didn't go to the picnic yesterday so they wanted to see the park...so we went! We were big kids who took the subway ourselves and then ended up sitting in central park just talking for two and a half hours. I bonded even more with these people including some of the guys on my floor who are now my good friends!
We finally made it down to WSP again but we were starving. So we walked all the way back up to one of the other dining halls near union square. After dinner we stopped at the Strand which is a crazy huge and cheap book store. We could have spent forever in there and I'm happy we're going back there tomorrow.
Came back, chilled some more, and then ended up going to zombie ball. It wasn't that much fun. I wasn't in the mood for it to begin with and it just felt forced. I am glad we went, but I'm also glad we came back and once again just hung out in the guys room and the hallway.
But now I am absolutely exhausted from this week and I am really excited to sleep in tomorrow. We're going shopping and then to the annual Goddard games!
I am absolutely loving this school so much. I've had more intellectual conversations this past week than I ever had in all of high school. Everyone here is just so smart and they actually care about the world and what is going on around it. More than that, they form their own opinion and are passionate about what they believe in. Although Welcome Week is over, I am so excited for classes and my time at NYU to really start.
--cassie
Thursday, August 30, 2012
[breaking the chains of love]
Day 3 (4?): Complete!
Yesterday started off not so wonderfully but by the end of the day I was having a fabulous time.
I'll admit something. I've been sorta skipping some of my orientation events. Not the major ones. But I didn't go to a lot of the stuff in the afternoon because all of my friends have morning orientation then they get out right when I'm supposed to be going to stuff. Plus I'd rather go to Welcome Week Events. I've only skipped two so far. One because I honestly wasn't going to make it in time and I heard it wasn't worth it and the other because I wanted to go see the comedy show and wasn't in the mood to walk all the way up to Union Square for a half hour open house. Plus I'm skipping my advisement open house (I don't have anything really to talk about with my advisor) and like the student council meet and greet because I want to go on a picnic to Central Park. But I'm not the only one so its all good!
But yesterday morning I was so proud of myself for getting up and actually going to my peer advisement session. Luckily the other girl in LSP on my floor was going to the same building so we walked together. But I get there and my group goes into the classroom...and waits. No one ever showed up! So we waited until 10 and then just left. I feel so bad because one of the girls in that group is a commuter so she wasted so much time! But I got to go into the Starbucks below my dorm for the first time and I wasn't disappointed!
So I came back to my room and hung out for a little bit still trying to get a few things put together and arranged. My roommate came back and invited me to hang out with her and some friends in the park. It was absolutely gorgeous out so I couldn't refuse but it was kinda awkward because I didn't know her friends. But whatever, I made it fun! I eventually got a text to go get lunch with some of the other girls on my floor so we ate outside the Kimmel marketplace which is a little outside balcony on the third floor overlooking the park. The view is GORGEOUS. Eventually I went with one of the girls I ate with to the student comedy and I enjoyed it. The first group wasn't the best but they had some funny lines. The second group was absolutely spectacular and the third group was pretty good too.
After that I just chilled again but I got to Skype with Taylor! It was a very pleasant surprise and a great addition to my day.We went to the meeting about getting involved in Hall Council which I am still contemplating whether or not to run for. If I do I'll probably just be a programming chair because a lot of the stuff they do is similar to what I did in leaders. But if not I'll still definitely be involved in the general assembly. Yay branching out!
We had to leave right from that to get in line for NYU Portraits which is their like culture festival. Also Stanley Tucci was there. He was fabulous. They all ready different important short works from history highlighting the struggles of many different cultures. I was absolutely blown away. They chose to focus on lesser known struggles like Japanese Internment and prejudice against immigrants in the early twentieth century while also highlighting works from great women's and civil rights activists. Again I was blown away.
But we finally got out of there at like 9:30 and realized that we had yet to eat dinner. We had to walk all the way up to Union Square to go to the one open dining hall but it was still really good. Plus we went up pretty much as an entire floor (or at least my side of the floor) and I got to talk to people I haven't really interacted with yet while getting close to my group of friends.
We got back from that around 11 and then ended up just chilling in the other room in my suite. It was a wonderful bonding moment where no one left until like after 1. So when I crawled into bed at like 1:30 I basically passed out.
But yesterday was wonderful!
Up today: Picnic in Central Park, Casino Night!
Yesterday started off not so wonderfully but by the end of the day I was having a fabulous time.
I'll admit something. I've been sorta skipping some of my orientation events. Not the major ones. But I didn't go to a lot of the stuff in the afternoon because all of my friends have morning orientation then they get out right when I'm supposed to be going to stuff. Plus I'd rather go to Welcome Week Events. I've only skipped two so far. One because I honestly wasn't going to make it in time and I heard it wasn't worth it and the other because I wanted to go see the comedy show and wasn't in the mood to walk all the way up to Union Square for a half hour open house. Plus I'm skipping my advisement open house (I don't have anything really to talk about with my advisor) and like the student council meet and greet because I want to go on a picnic to Central Park. But I'm not the only one so its all good!
But yesterday morning I was so proud of myself for getting up and actually going to my peer advisement session. Luckily the other girl in LSP on my floor was going to the same building so we walked together. But I get there and my group goes into the classroom...and waits. No one ever showed up! So we waited until 10 and then just left. I feel so bad because one of the girls in that group is a commuter so she wasted so much time! But I got to go into the Starbucks below my dorm for the first time and I wasn't disappointed!
So I came back to my room and hung out for a little bit still trying to get a few things put together and arranged. My roommate came back and invited me to hang out with her and some friends in the park. It was absolutely gorgeous out so I couldn't refuse but it was kinda awkward because I didn't know her friends. But whatever, I made it fun! I eventually got a text to go get lunch with some of the other girls on my floor so we ate outside the Kimmel marketplace which is a little outside balcony on the third floor overlooking the park. The view is GORGEOUS. Eventually I went with one of the girls I ate with to the student comedy and I enjoyed it. The first group wasn't the best but they had some funny lines. The second group was absolutely spectacular and the third group was pretty good too.
After that I just chilled again but I got to Skype with Taylor! It was a very pleasant surprise and a great addition to my day.We went to the meeting about getting involved in Hall Council which I am still contemplating whether or not to run for. If I do I'll probably just be a programming chair because a lot of the stuff they do is similar to what I did in leaders. But if not I'll still definitely be involved in the general assembly. Yay branching out!
We had to leave right from that to get in line for NYU Portraits which is their like culture festival. Also Stanley Tucci was there. He was fabulous. They all ready different important short works from history highlighting the struggles of many different cultures. I was absolutely blown away. They chose to focus on lesser known struggles like Japanese Internment and prejudice against immigrants in the early twentieth century while also highlighting works from great women's and civil rights activists. Again I was blown away.
But we finally got out of there at like 9:30 and realized that we had yet to eat dinner. We had to walk all the way up to Union Square to go to the one open dining hall but it was still really good. Plus we went up pretty much as an entire floor (or at least my side of the floor) and I got to talk to people I haven't really interacted with yet while getting close to my group of friends.
We got back from that around 11 and then ended up just chilling in the other room in my suite. It was a wonderful bonding moment where no one left until like after 1. So when I crawled into bed at like 1:30 I basically passed out.
But yesterday was wonderful!
Up today: Picnic in Central Park, Casino Night!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
[shake it out]
Hey y'all!
Its getting late so I'm gonna cut this short because all I want to do right now is curl up in my bed and pass out until I have to wake up and tackle a million different things!
Tonight was absolutely fabulous. One of my suitemates along with another girl from our floor and I went belly dancing and it was so much fun! Of course it was at Palladium which is in Union Square but even the walk was nice! Mad props to belly dancers because it is not easy at all! Belly dancing is actually really cool because it is all about isolating different parts of your body but it really takes muscle and coordination to do. It was one of those things you just have to try and I'm glad to say that I've tried it! I've decided that I'm going to try some new things this fall but also go back to things I love. I might get involved in some sort of dance group on campus because I absolutely love dancing. I danced for eight years and just recently rediscovered my love for it last year with the musical. Hopefully I can find something that doesn't require a ton of skill originally because I definitely need to catch up!
After that I had to go to a common reading lecture which, after belly dancing, was a challenge to stay awake in. I hated the summer reading and so the lecture wasn't much better. If I had paid attention I probably could have gotten more out of it but I was tired! However I found another person in LSP! Originally it was just Tricia (one of the girls on my floor) and I attending all these things together since most of the other girls we hang out with are in CAS. But we met one of the girls on the fourth floor who is also in LSP!
After that we hung out until everyone was done with a walking tour they did of Greenwich Village. Kinda bummed I missed it because I was still in my lecture when it started but it was fun to just hang out around the floor. It was relaxing too which is nice because I haven't really had a chance to sit down much these past three days.
Then we went and got pizza and I'm sorry but I'll never be able to eat anything but New York City pizza ever again. Luckily during their walking tour some of the girls got tips on where to eat and this pizza place was sooo good! Plus it was pretty cheap which is always a plus for broke college kids!
My favorite part of the night, however, was Rocky Horror Picture Show. I wasn't originally gonna go because I was crazy tired but I'm glad I decided to! We all dressed up and did our makeup all crazy and we just looked absolutely amazing hahaha. But I've never been to Rocky Horror or seen it and it definitely was an experience!
I'm absolutely loving it here. This city is so gorgeous and everywhere you turn you are always discovering something new. People told me when I came here to not expect to find much of a community but some of the people I've met are some of the kindest, most driven people I have ever met.
Tomorrow: student comedy, NYU Portraits (WITH STANLEY TUCCI), and whatever else I decide to do in this wonderful city.
--cassie
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
[concrete jungle where dreams are made of]
I moved into NYU Sunday and it was actually a lot less hectic than I had anticipated. We left home around 10:30 and after a Wawa stop (okay...I'm actually gonna miss wawa coffee) and some lunch we finally arrived in Manhattan around 2ish!
I was expecting lines out of the door to check in and whatnot. Instead I got out of the car, went into the basement, and checked in all within a matter of like three minutes. After that I decided to be stupid and climb the seven flights of steps from the basement to my room (...bad idea. Since then I've taken the elevator to the sixth floor) to go check if my roommate was there and warn her about my crazy family if that was the case.
Got everything moved in, said goodbye to my parents, then I went out to get dinner with my roommate and another girl on my floor who I met when unpacking. Unfortunately I live in like the only residence hall without a dining hall (we call ourselves dining hall hobos) so we had to go to another one of the dorms to get food. The first place we tried (the student center) was closed so we went to the closest dining hall which we found out was also closed. We ended up eating at the kosher cafe there but we were running late for our floor meeting sooo we just ate salads. Go to our floor meeting and there we met a lot of the girls who live in the same side of the floor as we do. We kinda hung out for a while before deciding to go to Bed Bath and Beyond because they were doing an after hours thing for NYU students so we got different prizes plus everything was 10% off. It was actually really funny because NYU isn't known for its community, so most people were shopping by themselves or just with their roommate. I live in the most community oriented dorm so we were the odd balls shopping in a group of seven people.
Then yesterday was all sorts of crazy. I had to be up at like eight so I could get to the LSP Welcome Convocation at nine. I don't think I've been up before nine since PACAA so it was rough. But the first thing I set up in my room was my Keurig so at least I had coffee! After I basically slept through the convocation, I had to go meet with my faculty mentor and discuss the summer reading book. Well luckily for me my mentor is awesome and he hated the book as much as we did so we basically trashed it for an hour and then talked about random stuff for the rest of the time.
We got out of that and it was absolutely pouring which sucked because we then had to go to the President's Welcome at the Beacon which required walking a few blocks to the subway in the pouring rain. Luckily when we got off the subway it had stopped raining but then everyone just felt gross for hours. The President's welcome was so cool, John Sexton (the president of NYU) just seems so invested in the students here and like he really wants the students to succeed.
After that was the reality show where a group of Tisch kids write a show that goes over different problems people are likely to experience in college. These kids were all insanely talented and the show was absolutely wonderful. When that was over we had to get ourselves back to Washington Square using the subway but of course there was a group of about two thousand kids all trying to go to the same subway station. So my group of girls from the floor decided to walk to another station and take it downtown which actually worked out really well because the train we took was absolutely empty. And we proved we could navigate the subway with the help of my trusty subway app!
We were all starving because we hadn't eaten anything except for snacks all day so we tried Weinstein (the dorm we had eaten in the day before) but turns out that the reason the dining hall is closed is because its being renovated and won't be open for a few more weeks! So we settled for going across the park to Hayden which was actually pretty good. After that we went on a walking tour of the West Village which is such a quaint part of the city. We ended up at the pier and had a toast to celebrate the beginning of the school year. We did some team building activities which was fun until we had to walk back to the dorm. After that the seven of us went to see an a capella show at like 11 which was crazy because I was absolutely exhausted but everyone who was in it was crazy talented. We finally got back to our dorm at like 12:15 and I pretty much passed out right away.
Anddd right now I'm sitting typing this because a lot of my friends had orientation programming for their school and this morning was pretty much empty for me. I could have gone to a coffee and tea tour or to see the student comedy group but I'm planning on doing both sometime this week anddd I didn't get up and ready until like an hour ago...awk. I'm supposed to be going to a student life fair in like fifteen minutes but I'm not sure whether I want to skip it or go later with some people from my dorm. I'm planning on going to belly dancing with one of the girls in my suite later before I have to go to a common reading lecture for my summer reading book. Then we're planning on either going to a comedy show or to see Rocky Horror Picture show (or both)
Anyways, I'm absolutely loving school so far. I know classes haven't started but I'm actually really excited for those to start as well which never happens. I love my dorm and my suitemates are absolutely fantastic which is always a good thing!
I'll try and post something either later today or tomorrow. This week is crazy jam packed with activities but when classes start things will probably calm down (or at least I'm hoping they will).
--cassie
I was expecting lines out of the door to check in and whatnot. Instead I got out of the car, went into the basement, and checked in all within a matter of like three minutes. After that I decided to be stupid and climb the seven flights of steps from the basement to my room (...bad idea. Since then I've taken the elevator to the sixth floor) to go check if my roommate was there and warn her about my crazy family if that was the case.
Got everything moved in, said goodbye to my parents, then I went out to get dinner with my roommate and another girl on my floor who I met when unpacking. Unfortunately I live in like the only residence hall without a dining hall (we call ourselves dining hall hobos) so we had to go to another one of the dorms to get food. The first place we tried (the student center) was closed so we went to the closest dining hall which we found out was also closed. We ended up eating at the kosher cafe there but we were running late for our floor meeting sooo we just ate salads. Go to our floor meeting and there we met a lot of the girls who live in the same side of the floor as we do. We kinda hung out for a while before deciding to go to Bed Bath and Beyond because they were doing an after hours thing for NYU students so we got different prizes plus everything was 10% off. It was actually really funny because NYU isn't known for its community, so most people were shopping by themselves or just with their roommate. I live in the most community oriented dorm so we were the odd balls shopping in a group of seven people.
Then yesterday was all sorts of crazy. I had to be up at like eight so I could get to the LSP Welcome Convocation at nine. I don't think I've been up before nine since PACAA so it was rough. But the first thing I set up in my room was my Keurig so at least I had coffee! After I basically slept through the convocation, I had to go meet with my faculty mentor and discuss the summer reading book. Well luckily for me my mentor is awesome and he hated the book as much as we did so we basically trashed it for an hour and then talked about random stuff for the rest of the time.
We got out of that and it was absolutely pouring which sucked because we then had to go to the President's Welcome at the Beacon which required walking a few blocks to the subway in the pouring rain. Luckily when we got off the subway it had stopped raining but then everyone just felt gross for hours. The President's welcome was so cool, John Sexton (the president of NYU) just seems so invested in the students here and like he really wants the students to succeed.
After that was the reality show where a group of Tisch kids write a show that goes over different problems people are likely to experience in college. These kids were all insanely talented and the show was absolutely wonderful. When that was over we had to get ourselves back to Washington Square using the subway but of course there was a group of about two thousand kids all trying to go to the same subway station. So my group of girls from the floor decided to walk to another station and take it downtown which actually worked out really well because the train we took was absolutely empty. And we proved we could navigate the subway with the help of my trusty subway app!
We were all starving because we hadn't eaten anything except for snacks all day so we tried Weinstein (the dorm we had eaten in the day before) but turns out that the reason the dining hall is closed is because its being renovated and won't be open for a few more weeks! So we settled for going across the park to Hayden which was actually pretty good. After that we went on a walking tour of the West Village which is such a quaint part of the city. We ended up at the pier and had a toast to celebrate the beginning of the school year. We did some team building activities which was fun until we had to walk back to the dorm. After that the seven of us went to see an a capella show at like 11 which was crazy because I was absolutely exhausted but everyone who was in it was crazy talented. We finally got back to our dorm at like 12:15 and I pretty much passed out right away.
Anddd right now I'm sitting typing this because a lot of my friends had orientation programming for their school and this morning was pretty much empty for me. I could have gone to a coffee and tea tour or to see the student comedy group but I'm planning on doing both sometime this week anddd I didn't get up and ready until like an hour ago...awk. I'm supposed to be going to a student life fair in like fifteen minutes but I'm not sure whether I want to skip it or go later with some people from my dorm. I'm planning on going to belly dancing with one of the girls in my suite later before I have to go to a common reading lecture for my summer reading book. Then we're planning on either going to a comedy show or to see Rocky Horror Picture show (or both)
Anyways, I'm absolutely loving school so far. I know classes haven't started but I'm actually really excited for those to start as well which never happens. I love my dorm and my suitemates are absolutely fantastic which is always a good thing!
I'll try and post something either later today or tomorrow. This week is crazy jam packed with activities but when classes start things will probably calm down (or at least I'm hoping they will).
--cassie
[oh what a lovely day]
Hello there!
I'm not sure who all is going to read this, whether or not it is people who used to read my old blog (...all like two of them) or if new people find it. But regardless, hello! If you haven't figured out, my name is Cassie. I'm a freshman at NYU currently in the Liberal Studies (LSP) program. Don't ask what it is. Tons of people so far have asked me about the program and I just look stupid stumbling over my words trying to come up with an explanation. Don't ask what I'm going to major in after my two years in the LSP program. Today it is chemistry or psychology. Tomorrow it could be theater for all I know.
Anyway, I figured that with going off to college, the easiest way to keep people around me updated would be to blog about it. I used to blog a lot but I procrastinate. A lot. So when school picked up around junior year I stopped so I could concentrate on college applications and other fun stuff like that.
Anyway, I figured I would write an introductory post like this and then I'll probably follow up with a post about the past few days!
--cassie
I'm not sure who all is going to read this, whether or not it is people who used to read my old blog (...all like two of them) or if new people find it. But regardless, hello! If you haven't figured out, my name is Cassie. I'm a freshman at NYU currently in the Liberal Studies (LSP) program. Don't ask what it is. Tons of people so far have asked me about the program and I just look stupid stumbling over my words trying to come up with an explanation. Don't ask what I'm going to major in after my two years in the LSP program. Today it is chemistry or psychology. Tomorrow it could be theater for all I know.
Anyway, I figured that with going off to college, the easiest way to keep people around me updated would be to blog about it. I used to blog a lot but I procrastinate. A lot. So when school picked up around junior year I stopped so I could concentrate on college applications and other fun stuff like that.
Anyway, I figured I would write an introductory post like this and then I'll probably follow up with a post about the past few days!
--cassie
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