Category: Kristin S.

By Kristin Rosenmund

Being a COM major, it can be hard to find classes that interest you outside of COM, as many of us are used to constantly being creative. However, due to the BU HUB, there are instances where classes outside of COM need to be taken. Below I have listed the three most interesting classes I have taken for HUB outside of COM, but also walked away from having learned a great deal about a new subject.

1. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
   I took Social Psychology to receive my Social Inquiry hub. This class allowed me to learn about the ways people interact with the world, and delve into different subjects of attraction, love, and even narcissism. This class wasn’t just helpful for navigating the world, but also useful to my Film and Television major. Now when I am writing scenes for a screenwriting class, I recall the information I learned about people’s behavior in this class when I write a character doing something or acting a certain way. The class was comprised of three exams and homework, so
   it was a nice balance of workload but also appreciating what I was learning.

2. INTRODUCTION TO HOSPITALITY
Introduction to Hospitality is a great way to knock out a few Hubs in a relatively easy class, but also opens you up to a whole new industry. Prior to this class, I had never taken a hospitality class or something even similar to a business class, but I left feeling like I gained a variety of skills that I will be able to use interchangeably. I learned about customer satisfaction, and studied a hotel business introspectively, that gave me a better understanding of how hotels and businesses run in general. For the final activity, you are assigned a group to complete a scavenger hunt of hotels all around Boston. This way you get to bond with new friends as well as see iconic hotels in Boston you may have never seen before or gotten the chance to.

3. ARTS IN AMERICA
For anyone who loves analyzing or knowing more about different kinds of art, I highly recommend taking Arts in America. From this class, I have learned various different techniques in how to analyze artworks, as well as learn about different paintings and pieces I have never heard of before. The professor is also passionate about the subjects, always making the lectures interesting and interactive, as he cares very deeply about students opinions on paintings, and enforces the idea that much of it is interpretation, leaving hardly any room for wrong answers.

By: Kristin Rosenmund

Leaving everything you know behind and starting fresh can be intimidating. Many first years probably ponder the question of who they are when no one knows them. And how do you even begin getting to know people? Luckily, many students, including me, have experienced this and live to share their experiences. Here are a few ways I would suggest breaking out of your comfort zone at BU!

1. Join a Club Outside of Your Major

While you should definitely join clubs pertaining to your major in order to gain valuable insights and experiences, it is also important and useful to join clubs that still pertain to smaller interests of yours. This will allow you the opportunity to meet new people you may have never crossed paths with! I did this last semester when I decided to join a WTBU radio show, not really knowing anything about hosting and planning content for a show, or the podcast world in general. However, through this, I was able to be introduced to many new people and establish connections I never would have made before. I also learned new skills like how to publicly speak over a microphone and how to use a control board!

2. Talk to the Person Next To You In Class

This one can seem self explanatory, but it is seriously something everyone should learn how to do. While it may be hard to be the one to start the conversation, just a simple question can go a long way, and it may even provide some relief to those who want to make friends but may be too scared to talk to someone new. Whenever I join a new class at the beginning of the semester, I always make an effort to get to know those around me! This has led me to having study groups, and even maintaining friendships outside of class! All it takes is a simple hello to lead you to a friendship you didn’t expect!

 

While there are a multitude of ways to break out of your comfort zone, these are the two that proved to work the most for me! Hopefully trying these out can lead you to new people and experiences, that will eventually propel you into even more ways of learning to break out of your comfort zone on your own terms!

 

The universal thought process behind most people, especially college students when arriving in a new city, is that they want to be able to explore as much as they can. This way, they will be able to establish themselves as a local through new gained knowledge of different places, but also to get the chance to fully maximize the opportunity they have been given to pursue higher level education in a big city! However, it can be overwhelming knowing where to start. So, this blog post will be providing information on three unique stops on the MBTA green, red, and orange line to be explored!

 

Green Line: Reservoir

While this stop may take you a bit out of the city, sometimes that is what is needed to truly understand just how diverse Boston is, and how much it has to offer in regards to being a great mix of both city and nature. On the D line, the reservoir is an extremely relaxing area to walk around, take pictures of the reservoir, or just stare and think at the huge body of water in front of you.  While there, you can take a stop at the Metropolitan Waterworks Museum.

 

Red Line: Porter Square

An underrated and highly looked past stop, considering it is the one right after Harvard, but many people do not know how much this stop has to offer. Besides the extremely long escalators in the station that can make you feel quite dizzy, there are many shops that are hard to find in a big city such as Michaels arts and crafts, and a local bookstore. A super unique gem in Porter Square is the MBTA gift store, where you can get all T related merchandise!

 

Orange Line: Forest Hills

Lastly, the Forest Hills stop on the orange line is home to two prominent attractions, such as the Arnold Arboretum and the Forest Hills Cemetery. As well as the beautiful scenic views of the fall leaves and trees at the Arnold Arboretum, this place was also a filming location for Greta Gerwig’s 2019 Little Women for all the die-hard fans out there! The Forest Hills Cemetery may sound creepy, but there is in fact also a beautiful garden and lots of greenspace to appreciate, while respecting those who are buried there.