Do you have an internship?

Do you plan on getting one?

Although you might not need one for your major, internships are essential in building your dossier. When employers fumble through your resume, they should be blown away by all of the extracurricular things you did, and the overwhelming amount of resources for contact you have about internships!

As a college student, you really should get starting thinking about doing an internship. They often start as early as the first semester of sophomore year, and can start as late as the last semester of your college career!

But we are smarties and we aren’t going to wait that long. We are going to get our workplace pants on, and apply for internships in our junior year. Junior year is a nice comfortable place to get started because you’ve had enough college experience to know what you are doing, and are in a really good spot to get some workplace experience.

Internships come in a variety of different forms. They can be as official as working for a fortune 500 company where you show up in a suit and tie every day, or as laid back as an on –campus opportunity between classes. The caliber of internship is not necessarily important, so don’t sob helplessly if your internship isn’t as glamorous as you thought it would be. The purpose is the experience. That’s the part that counts. And it’s almost never too late. The internships on your resume can be several in number. You don’t have to do just one, but you don’t have to do six either. Do the amount of internships that you feel comfortable with. Remember, the purpose of internships is to broaden your understanding of the kind of material that you are going to be working with in your career. You want to fine tune your skills!

In the meantime, I will be working diligently at my internship for WMUK! Wish me luck!

Being away from school for three weeks is actually quite a nice break from the hum and drum of daily routines. The holidays were full of fun, family, and fruit cake, but now it’s time for classes, meetings, and textbooks.

Unfortunately, school is not just on the horizon, it’s in two days. Two days from now, we’ll all be waking up groggily, and reluctantly to trudging to class to meet new professors and get overwhelming course loads.

It’s all sad really. I mean, we all love being in college, and enjoying our young lives, but being ripped away from a long period of relaxation and comfort is kinda unfortunate.

But, we are a fearless group of students right? We can deal with finals, and exams, and mountainous loads of reading, so what’s another semester? I say that even though we will hate every second of it at first, let’s get back to school, and work, and our normal semesterly routines. This time, instead of holiday break to look forward to, we have SUMMER!

The bombardment of toy commercials and the sale of boughs of holly has finally come to an end. What’s next?

NEW YEAR’S EVE!!

Ah, yes New Year’s Eve. A time of new beginnings and resolutions that get disregarded. We’ve been waiting for it for a whole year, and here it is on the horizon.

In 2013, I plan to do some of the things I don’t normally get a chance to do, and I hope to achieve greatness in any way that I can. I am looking forward to a new year of excitement, delight, and adventure. I will put my best foot forward and cherish every moment in my life.

What do you hope to accomplish in the New Year?

Are you surprised by the lack of snow? As strange as it seems we are entering into our second week of December with not a flake in sight.

It may be slightly chilly outside, but even there it is rather warm. These past few weeks have had days consisting of 45 degree days with sun shining in streams all around.

Where’s the snow?!

Well friends, if you are a snow-loving being like me, there might be an extended waiting period before our buildings and streets can be covered in that soft white blanket of magic.

I personally celebrate Christmas, and I explode a little inside when Christmas is snowless. Snow is essential to the balance of the Christmas. There is a certain quality that snow brings to the holiday, and without it, it is not quite the same.

Hopefully the snow hits us at least a week before the big guy comes down from the North Pole and fills our stockings with holiday cheer and men made of ginger bread!

I will have my frozen fingers and toes crossed for the first frosty snowfall!

Are you ready to get out of school? Is your winter break bone itching?

So is mine!

I have been ready to get out of school since I arrived back in Kalamazoo from Thanksgiving break yesterday afternoon. I pulled into my parking spot in front of my apartment and let out a heavy sigh. All I could think was “back already!”

Soon snow will be falling and we will be saddling up our cars and booking train trips home for the most wonderful time of the year.

After the week after next we will be home free! Though it seems like a long time, if you concentrate hard enough, the weeks will fly by! Here are some tips of mine that keep me focused and in the school spirit.

1. Don’t think about it. The more you think about getting out of school, the more anxious you are going to be about it.
2. Focus on your immediate goals. You have exams coming up! Focus on getting your grades as high as they can be!
3. Think of Christmas break as a prize. You will gain said prize as soon as you have finished your exams.

Hope these things are helpful! This is how I keep focused and stay on the grind!

Have a great week!

It’s unfortunate. With sadness in my heart, my head hung low as I watched landscaping services put up the bars that deter pedestrians from using certain stairways and walkways on campus.

How could it be? It’s so soon! Mid November is upon us, and we already preparing for the bitter winds and harsh snows.

I suppose it’s warranted. They wouldn’t do it if it weren’t necessary protocol.

I guess that I am about ready for the snow to start coming down. I still don’t know when is the proper moment to start decorating for Christmas. I haven’t even begun to plot out how many strings of light I’ll need, or even if I’ll get a tiny tree.

All this to say, that the barring started too soon! Before I blink my eyes there will be three feet of snow outside!

UGH I will see you next spring, I am going into hibernation.

Doesn’t it seem like we just settled in? Like we just got acquainted with our schedules and just cozied up to the way that things are?

Although it does feel this way, the semester is starting to stumble into its final weeks. Isn’t that odd? To think that it’s almost over already!!

This just means that we need to prepare for the blistering cold mornings of Spring Semester!

Yes many have made the final touches on their class lists, and have toiled away at trying to score internships for the coming year. All these efforts certainly worthwhile. People are setting out to improve their college careers and make headway on their futures. It is definitley a time of forward thinking and plan-setting. Have you made preparations for your spring plans yet?

Are you ready? Check your planners and schedules and get ready to rock because semester two is coming!

If you have misplaced your calendar, or you live in a shoe, Halloween is coming up on Wednesday!

Though a lot of people find Halloween to be pretentious or maybe even ridiculous, I sincerely enjoy Halloween.

What other holiday allows you to dress up in a costume and come to class?…Well, at least that’s what I do!

Yes friends I may be one of ten people that actually dresses up for classes on Halloween. It may not always be a full costume, but usually I exercise my right to be silly in public, and dress up in full costume.

I have to wonder where the magic stopped with people. It’s rather interesting because as children we dressed up each Halloween with bags agape at the doorstep of our friends and neighbors. Now, people eyeball me when they see my Luigi costume (of Super Mario Bros.). It’s so funny how the tides have changed with Halloween. What was once traditional is now gawked and smirked at.

Fear not WMU students and Kalamazoo citizens! As long as I remain a member of this society, I will continue to exercise my right to wear a Halloween costume to class! So look for me, as whatever I may be, when it’s time for Halloween tricks and treats!

So I can honestly say that I am a huge foodie! (a term that I have come to understand as a name for someone who likes food) I adore new restaurants that have new and interesting recipes to offer me for trial.

This week, on a rather cold and blustery day, I found myself stumbling into Video Hits on Howard Street looking for a film for one of my classes. Filled with dismay at the fact they didn’t have the film that I needed, I wandered toward the back of the store looking for something else. My eyes drifted upward for no particular reason, but were amazed to find a sign that had a picture of a smoothie on it.

Smoothies are my favorite frozen beverages of all time, and I was jumping out of my skin to see what the smoothie sign was all about. I rushed upstairs to find the wonderful entity that is All Stirred Up. For those of you that don’t know, All Stirred Up is a café that specializes in just about everything. They have baked goods, Panini’s, teas, coffees, smoothies and more!

My eyes, and more importantly my stomach, couldn’t wait to see what they had to offer! Of course, it was fantastic. I indulged in a handmade turkey Panini with a mango smoothie on the side. It was the most scrumptious meal I had had in a long while. My taste buds were thoroughly satisfied.

All this to say, that All Stirred Up is a fantastic place to visit for a scrumdiddlyumptious bite!

And it’s close to WMU’s main campus too! Only a walk-across-the-street away!

Homecoming. It happens every single year without fail. It goes faster than it comes, but what exactly is homecoming all about?

The technical definition of homecoming, as provided by Dictionary.com, means “an annual celebration held by a university, college, or school, for former students”. This sounds familiar eh?

Homecoming is a tradition that begins in high school and then continues on in college. Do you remember going to homecoming in high school? Many people don’t, but I do, and I am interested in comparing and contrasting these ideas.

In high school, homecoming was a dance, usually prefaced by a week of fun activities that demonstrated school spirit. The week’s activities included a theme for each grade, which was then embodied by the various grade groups and portrayed in various formats. My high school in particular had lip sync performances where the group would dance to a song that comes from a given theme. Additionally there was a parade through the downtown area, and of course the essential homecoming football game.

College demonstrates few differences. The homecoming game, as in high school, is a vital piece to the concept of homecoming and homecoming isn’t complete without it. Differently though, the college idea of homecoming doesn’t exalt the dance portion. To my most recent understanding, there is in fact a dance in college, but said dance isn’t as paramount as it was in high school.

Interesting huh?

There are my factoids for the week about homecoming. Share some comments, thoughts, or feelings on the subject matter!

Happy homecoming week Broncos!!