And so begins my senior year...

Hey all you future and current Lakers out there! 

My Evie!

I know it has been a LONG LONG LONG time since my last post, but I'm BACK for a new year at the 'Hurst!  Can you believe this is my SENIOR year?!  Yeah, me either...not entirely sure where the time went.  But, I plan on making the best of it and continuing to show all you readers how great this school is.

Our Little Fam

Let me start by telling you all about what had happened in my life since the end of last year!  In the late spring, my boyfriend and I adopted a dog from a shelter and she is the light of my life!  Her name is Evie and she is a jack russell terrier.  She is a little booger, but also the sweetest dog in the world!  Unfortunately, because I live on campus, she could not live with me so she lives with my boyfriend at his off campus house in his school in Ohio.  I miss her (and my boyfriend!) greatly now that I am back at MC but looking forward to frequent visits!

This summer I went back home and worked at a Cleveland homemade ice cream shop called Mitchell's.  It was a ton of fun and I met a lot of great people that worked with me...and of course enjoyed my fair share of ice cream (which I must now work off at the gym :P).  I actually got spoiled by how good that ice cream was because the other day at Egan I got some and it tasted terrible comparatively!  Don't get my wrong, Mercyhurst gets great ice cream...like I said, I am just spoiled!

After seeing Britney Spears

Elephants at the Zoo!

I went to Myrtle Beach, the Cleveland Zoo, Put-In-Bay, and even the Britney Spears concert this summer!  Some of my roommates visited Cleveland and we all attended the concert; I was in HEAVEN and a little girl again!  Even though I was working like crazy all summer, I still made sure to make the best of it!

At Myrtle Beach!

Summer has now dwindled down, however, and the first day of classes of an all new year is tomorrow.  I am not looking forward to homework again, but am definately feeling optimistic that this will be a great year!  I just finished my 3rd and final Welcome Week as a Laker Leader and had a ton of fun doing it!  It was probably the best year to date and I hope the new freshmen had some fun during their first weekend at college!  This weekend was casino night, a blacklight bash (SO MUCH FUN!), and of course the ever popular Hypnotic Intoxication.  One of the most attended events by students for the entire year, peers are actually hypnotized on stage and do some of the funniest things in the entire world!  This year, a friend of mine thought he was Tarzan and went into the audience to try and find Jane...needless to say it was a night FILLED with laughter!

Flashmobbing!

The highlight of the weekend, though, was when the Laker Leaders did a flashmob on the morning of the service project!  We were on the news and on YouTube!  Check out the video link below!

 http://youtu.be/O7TAkiKhUQ0

Laker Leader-ing with friends!

Well, here's to the beginning of the end of my undergraduate college career!  Don't forget to check out my blog often to see what craziness will happen next!

Springfest Festivities!

Us at the concert

This past weekend was one of the most fun weekends at Mercyhurst during the entire year!  This year I spent it with awesome friends and my boyfriend!  Read on to hear about all the AWESOME things we did!

Blurry phone pic with Frankie!

On Friday night was the long anticipated Springfest concert!  This year the headliner was Plain White T's, and there were FOUR opening bands (Parachute, You Hang Up, Andy Grammar, and The Romantic Era)!  I was able to get a guest ticket for my boyfriend, too!  The concert is always free and any student can go.  The first band started at 7 and was really great.  They definitely got the crowd pumped and ready!  After The Romantic Era and Andy Grammar played, You Hang Up took the stage...and FRANKIE MUNEZ WAS THE DRUMMER!  That's right, Malcom in the Middle was at our school right in front of us!  And after his band played I got the chance to meet him!  I even got a picture with him and his autograph!  I had never met ANYONE famous before!  I was excited like a little kid on Christmas!

Frankie Munez's autograph

The rest of the concert was really great.  I really enjoyed the Plain White T's, especially when they played "Hey There Delilah!"  The Springfest concert this year was certainly one to remember!  Of course, the only problem is that it gets REALLY REALLLYYYY hot in the gym because there are SOOOOO many people going crazy and crammed in there!  It's still such a fun experience, though!



Tattooooos!



Saturday was the actual Springfest carnival.  There was a threat of rain so it was inside instead of outside this year, but still a lot of fun!  It was a luau theme this year and they had fun inflatables, snacks, and activities.  My friends and I enjoyed the snacks and even got airbrush tattoos!  My boyfriend and I also went in the photobooth and raced through the awesome inflatable obstacle course.  I got stuck and had to come out the side!  It was really fun and reallyyyy funny, even though I scraped my arm a little!

We wrapped up Saturday with a trip to the mall to play with puppies and a fun low key movie/pizza night.  On Sunday, my boyfriend and I woke up early and drove back home to Cleveland to spend Mother's Day with our mommies.  They were both very surprised and excited to have us there with them!  Plus, it was nice to get away for the night!

Jumpin' into the obstacle course

Today starts the LAST WEEK of my junior year of college!  This week is a busy one for most people, full of papers, final preparation, and projects.  I am definitely ready to finish up this year and start an awesome summer!  As long as I survive finals! 

Enjoy the sunshine!

Five Tips to Choosing Your College!

A lot of the people doing the college search right now are high school juniors.  Being a junior is awesome, especially when you know you are about to be a senior and done with high school forever!  But, it also means that you have the very hard task of choosing the place you will further your education and live for the next 4+ years!  Here are some things to keep in mind while you do it:

1) Don't be afraid to stay close to home!
              I know that a lot of you out there are REALLY just itching to get as far away from home as possible when you're done with high school.  But, keep in mind that there are probably a TON of really great schools close to home that you should NOT discount!  Living at school IS being away from home, regardless of the actual distance from you doorstep!  Plus, as much as you may think you will be independent and ok not going home often, it is REALLY nice knowing that the trip home can be quick and affordable!  I am only 2 hours from home when I am at Mercyhurst, which is great!  I am close enough to get home is I need/want to but still not at home.  But still, sometimes I really wish I were closer.  I really like going home and it's not always too easy to make the trip often.  So, REMEMBER, look at schools close to home, too!

2) Look for a school with a great academic program, but also somewhere you WANT to live!
             A lot of students search for colleges on the only basis of having the program that you want to study.  Then again, others look at schools that seem the most fun or friendly without really considering academics.  When you do your search, find a good medium between the two.  You are going to school to get an education, primarily, but you WILL also be living there for a good chunk of time.  Stay open minded and smart about your choice!

3) Try not to follow your friends, carve your own path!
            I know that it is very easy to look at the same schools as your high school friends simply because it is easy and you know you will have fun and friends there when you move away from home.  But take it from me that following a friend to a school just because that friend wants you to go to college with them does not always work out!  I came to Mercyhurst not only because I loved the school, but because I would be with my best friend from high school.  Now that we are no longer friends, I almost wish I could have broadened my horizens when I conducted my college search as a junior is high school.  I have NO regrets, of course, but you all need to choose where YOU want...no one else matters!

4) Keep price in mind!
             A lot of college's out there are pretttyyyyyy pricey, and it is not so easy to pay for school!  Just remember that private colleges WILL cost more than public universities, but that doesn't mean it is impossible to attend a private school.  Mercyhurst, for example, offers substantial scholarships to deserving high school seniors to be a student here!  Many other schools do, too!

5) DO. YOUR. RESEARCH!
            Bottomline-- know your stuff!  Explore the school's website, call, ask questions, take a tour, and read things like this very student blog!  All of these things will help you become more sure about this huge decision in your life!  The information is all out there, its just up to you to find it!


I wish all you college-searchers that best of luck!   But, enjoy your time in high school while you still have it!  It goes fast and life will never be as simple as it is now ever again =]!

An Amazing Weekend Away!

I have some advice that doesn't so much have to do with being a student at Mercyhurst, but being a college student in general.  My advice for you after this weekend is that if you have a chance to go to a formal for some type of organization, take it!  My boyfriend is in a fraternity at his school and his formal was in Cincinnati right on the Ohio River...and it was SO much fun!



My guy and I at his formals!



Of course, Mercyhurst doesn't have greek life so you can't really get that here but there is a military ball in the spring for the ROTC members!  Plus, the school has a Fall Ball and Spring Charity Ball.  It is really fun to dress up and have a night out!  Mine was especially fun because it was somewhere new and fun that I hadn't really experienced before.  It was surely a weekend to remember!

Right now, campus is looking forward to the Easter weekend.  A definite benefit of being a Catholic school is that we always get a 4-day weekend for Easter off, while a lot of other school don't.  It will be nice to go home and celebrate the holiday, and hope that the rain will hold out for a while so we can have an outdoor Easter Egg Hunt!

Tomorrow is the Leadership Certification Program's end of year induction ceremony!  I will officially be handing over my presidency to the newly elected president for next year!  I can't believe how fast it went!  I also love this event because it is always catered with REALLYYYYY yummy mini deserts and finger foods...can never go wrong with those! 

Well, time to sit down and start pounding out a final paper for one of my history courses!  Ready, set, focus!

Short, Sweet, and to the Point...

It is finally getting warm out!  Needless to say, moods have lifted and life is just good!  That's pretty much enough said about life at Mercyhurst right now!

Hoping it lasts!  Now back to studying for midterms...

The End is in Sight!

It is obvious around campus that we are quickly approaching the end of the year.  Seniors are bustling around and getting nervous for their last 5 or 6 weeks of classes before graduation, clubs and student government are holding elections and being taken over by new officers, and the work load of a fast moving term is sitting on most students' shoulders!  It seems the ONLY thing that isn't ending is the cold weather!  STILLL holding out for that one!

This point in the term is a fun, yet stressful time for me.  I am really looking forward to summer time but the end seems to be coming so fast I am starting to get stressed about finishing all my work in time.  Of course, I always do get my work done but the thought of it is still scary!  I have pretty much dedicated most of my free time for the next few weeks for school work, researching, and studying for exams (with a few exceptions on the weekends, of course!)

Luckily, there are some fun distractions to look forward to that will keep my head above water at Mercyhurst.  Tomorrow during the day is the "Breastival/Testival".  It is a little carnival event that is taking place in order to raise awareness of breast and testicular cancer.  I will probably stop in because there are supposed to be games and awesome prizes!  The leadership certification program exec board and I are also working on planning an Easter Egg Hunt for the club to participate in, which is definately going to be a fun event.  Plus, this weekend there is a comedian on Friday night and the Spring Charity Ball on Saturday!  It should be an awesome weekend!

So, here's to keeping focused and still having fun as the end of the year sneaks up on all of us as Mercyhurst!

Sickness, Birthdays, and MORE snow!

Cute puppy at the mall!

SO I haven't blogged in a little while because I came down with the WORST cold that turned into a sinus AND and ear infection!  As if being in college and having work and classes to attend isn't stressful enough, add being miserably sick on top of that!  Luckily though, the health center is GREAT and got me in the same day I called!  The doctor on staff prescribed me for an antibiotic and I am FINALLY feeling better after nearly a week and a half in bed!

This weekend, even though I wasn't feeling well, we still had the Laker Live-In!  Always a VERY fun event and hopefully some of your were there and saw how awesome Mercyhurst is!  Saturday was also fun because I played with puppies at the mall, attended a GREAT talent show for Mercyhurst students, andddddd a dancer from America's Got Talent performed for us that night!  It was a busy and chaotic day but totally worth it in the end!

Posing at the casino!

This past Monday was my roommate Liz's 21st birthday and we had a LOT of fun!  I went to the Presque Isle Downs and Casino for the first time, and I definately suggest it once you are 21!  When you sign up as a new member, you get $10 FREEEEEEE to play with at the casino and it goes a LONG way if you play your cards right (or slots haha).  I ended up winning about $5 which isn't a ton, but it was basically free money! 

Us with the Birthday Girl!

After a busy, busy weekend and a very fun birthday celebration, I am finally catching up on all the sleep I lost while sick last week!  I am looking forward to this weekend as being a relaxing weekend at home with my family and friends....and hopefully the snow that is STILLLLLLLL hitting lovely Erie clears up REALLYYYY soon!