Category: Hannah

Hannah: 7 Favorite Things About Boston & BU

Hi prospective students! As many of you know, the past week in Boston has been a whirlwind of emotions. The tragedies that took place in Boston on Marathon Monday have affected all of us within the Boston University community (which I’m sure all of you are more than aware of.) For my blog post this week, I wanted to highlight some of my all-time favorite things about BU and the city of Boston, because this one terrorizing act shouldn’t cast a shadow over all the wonderful things this beautiful place has to offer.

Here are my 7 favorite things about Boston and BU:

1. Boston Sports fans: Whether you’re walking through Fenway or making the trek out to Gillette stadium, the spirit of these vivacious fans is contagious. Just strolling past Fenway on the day of a game puts a smile on my face. Commonwealth Ave is always filled with Red Sox fans that storm the green monster just before the first pitch. Even after the Celtics’ shaky season, TD Garden maintained an atmosphere like nowhere else I have ever been. This extensive sports enthusiast family welcomes everyone with open arms. (Yes even you, you diehard Yankees fans…

2. BU’s student theater: Until four weeks ago, I had no idea that tucked between Agganis arena and FitRec there is BU’s student theater. This cute little hole in the wall is home to our very own stage troupe! Stage Troupe puts on a performance every few weeks ranging from classic to contemporary shows. Tickets are usually around $8 and are always well worth it! It’s a great way to break up a Thursday study night by catching a quick 8pm show. I highly recommend it.

3. Second Floor Elipticals: FitRec houses an extensive amount of workout equipment, but my favorites are the elipticals on the second floor. Looking out over the pools, the swimmers provide a great distraction from the fact that you’re working your butt off. Also there is a phenomenal view of the Cambridge Skyline if you time it right. Plus there is always a machine open on this level. You can cap off your workout with a smoothie from the first floor snack bar and suddenly working out doesn’t seem so painful.

4. The North End: Dare I say it … I had never had a cannoli until my roommate introduced me to Mike’s pastries. My love affair with Mike’s and the North End hasn’t ceased since that fateful October night. This cute little Boston neighborhood is home to some of the all time best Italian food you will ever taste. They also have every possible Italian dish under the sun. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Then to top it all off, nothing satisfies a sweet tooth like Mike’s chocolate chip cannolis.

5. The Boston Commons: Especially now as spring finally arrives in Boston, few things are as relaxing as a peaceful afternoon spent in Boston Commons. This giant park is a common ground for all of the residents of Boston. Sometimes you just need to escape the chaos of campus so grab a blanket, a good book, and head over to the park. It’s a great place even to just people watch (Sorry, I’m creepy.) Plus, there are more spectacular views and it’s centrally located so an afternoon starting in the commons can lead to any of the quaint Boston neighborhoods surrounding it.

6. Marciano Commons: In case you haven’t noticed, I really like food. Now we have basically any option under the sun thanks to our new dining facility on Bay State road here at BU. Marciano commons not only houses a huge dining hall, there is also Rize, a cute and delicious café, and late night, to satisfy any late night cravings, conveniently located in the basement.

7. The People: In the past week I have never felt so connected to a community. While tragedy came knocking on Boston’s door, rather than cowering in fear, this tight knit family came together. From police officers who fearlessly protected the citizens of our great city to the citizens who offered comforting shoulders for their neighbors to lean on. The people of Boston are unique, smart, strong, and above all else resilient. As we work to move past this dark hour in our history, I have no doubt that this community will bounce back stronger than ever. The people of Boston are people I am proud to call my neighbors, friends, and family and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

I hope this gave you a little taste of all the wonderful things that Boston and BU have to offer, and I hope I’ll someday be able to welcome more of you into this beautiful strong community. That’s all for now!

-Hannah

 

Hannah: The Balancing Act

As one quickly learns, college is primarily a balancing act. Suddenly you are expected to maintain your grades, stay healthy, and make a new life for yourself. There will never be enough hours in the day, but hopefully these quick tips can ease the time crunch.

First, find a system that helps you keep track of anything important going on from breaks to assignments to midterms. I recommend making a calendar. By keeping all of my important dates and assignments in one place, there is less room for mistakes. I carry a day planner with me at all times and each morning, I write my schedule for the day on a big dry erase board. Somehow I still miss the occasional Spanish worksheet, but for the most part, this has been fool proof for me. My roommate on the other hand uses color coded sticky notes; green for homework assignments; pink for projects; orange for important dates. Then she papers her desk with them. Everybody has a different way to go about it, but organization is a key component to maintaining balance.

Next, take advantage of office hours. They are an asset. It may seem counter productive to cut extra time out of your day to go ramble on with a professor, but in reality talking over upcoming essays and assignments with him or her will only expedite the completion process. Not to mention, professors like to see that you’re invested in the class! A little extra attention can go a long way. If you build a nice repertoire, those relationships can be great connections and recommendations for future internships and job opportunities.

Next is the issue of making time to keep in shape while keeping on top of classwork. Everybody loves FitRec, but sometimes there just isn’t time to make it to the gym (especially for those east campus residents.) But instead of skipping a workout altogether, find some dorm room workouts on sites like Pinterest or Tumblr. For me personally, the Undressed Skeleton blog has become my college fitness bible. Not to mention, this blogger includes dorm room recipes that never require anything more than a microfridge. This leads to my next tip. Everyone has the occasional late night snack binge, but keep healthy food rather than your typical junk food. It will at least curve your appetite and you don’t have to feel so guilty.

Finally don’t procrastinate. This is a dangerous custom that many fall under, but fight the urge! If you get your work done now rather than later, you will only have more time later. So enough procrastinating by reading this blog post, go get to work!

 

Hannah: New Semester, New Experiences

Hey Everyone! I’m Hannah, one of the new CAs, and being new basically sums up the past month for me. As you all have probably heard, the first semester of college can be a bit overwhelming for freshman including myself. After spending those first couple months hibernating with my studies, I am finally ready to branch out. As you will quickly learn, I basically want to do everything. Here are a few of the new extracurricular activities I have picked up in the New Year.

Greek Life- It’s official, a very German girl can be Greek! Coming from a big family (3 sisters, a brother, and 2 very rowdy dogs) I need to have people around. At first I was hesitant and a bit intimidated by the formal recruitment process. In reality, it has been one of the best decisions I have made. No matter the sorority, I feel so welcomed by all the girls. Even in my first weeks, I already feel right at home.

Boston Cares- Boston University has a wealth of opportunities on campus, but the city of Boston also has some pretty amazing extracurricular activities for students to get involved in. Thanks to my writing professor, I found Boston Cares, a volunteer network that sets up a calendar of events that you can sign up for based on your own personal schedule. It’s super convenient and an amazing way to get out into the city. My favorite event thus far has been volunteering at JVS where I help prepare refugees for job interviews and entering the American work force. I highly recommend looking into the organization.

Finally, I’m new to the COM Ambassador community, and I couldn’t be happier! I love meeting prospective students and who doesn’t love showing off how awesome COM is? With all these new opportunities as well as a few great classes (even if one is at 8am) I feel like this year is off to a great start! So there you have it, being the new kid on the block isn’t so bad after all. Hope everyone is off to a great new year and embracing all of the amazing new opportunities this time can offer!