COM Ambassador Blog

At the beginning of freshman year, I made an observation as I walked down Comm Ave. As far as wear-to-class apparel goes, every female outfit at BU falls in to one of three categories: trendy athletic clothes, trendy real clothes, or the most-rare BU t-shirt and jeans.

As a freshman from a small-town public school (read: I wore leggings and a sweatshirt to school every day) this observation was striking and a little terrifying. I knew I had to keep up. So, freshman year, I wasted way too much money on Newbury.

Mom yelled at me all summer for spending a good portion of my work-study money on clothes. This fall, I found a way to keep her happy, my bank account fatter, and myself well dressed (For the most part. Leggings and sweatshirts still rock sometimes). Macklemore is also a huge proponent of my solution.

Thrift shopping. In Boston, it turns out, you can build a designer wadrobe off of the hand-me-downs of our super-wealthy, super-generous older residents who frequent Goodwill donation bins.

If you’re looking to make a quick trip, go to Goodwill by West Campus. Urban legend says that this location was voted the best Goodwill in the country, and after frequenting it I’d say that legend seems pretty legit.

A little further down Com Ave is Buffalo Exchange. The selection here is smaller, but nicer. The prices also run a little higher than Goodwill, but you can still get a “new to you” dress and leather jacket for under $30. That happened yesterday.

Finally, there’s the somewhat elusive Urban Renewals in Allston. This store only accepts cash, and while I’ve heard great things about it, I haven’t made it there yet. Apparently, though, they arrange their inventory by color. So that’s fun.

Happy thrifting!

Jonesing to hear some great music? Whether you’ve got a taste for Rock, Americana, Electro, Jazz or anything in between, Boston has got you covered. A host of live venues are just steps from BU’s campus, ranging from $5 indie shows to big name headliners. Venture over the river to Cambridge, and you’ll find even more places to catch some live tunes.

The House of Blues, Fenway - http://www.houseofblues.com/boston/

This chain of rock venues first opened its doors just across the water in Cambridge in the early ‘90s. Since then, they’ve moved to Lansdowne Street just across from Fenway park, but they still put on rocking shows almost every night of the week. Tickets are usually from $20-$40, but the floor is general admission standing room only, so get there early to make sure you can get close to the stage. But beware – if you end up in the pit, things can get a bit rowdy!

The Great Scott, Allston - http://www.greatscottboston.com/

This bar may be small, but it has a huge sound as it fills the place with garage punk guitar riffs and driving rhythms. Though it is a bar, it has many 18+ shows and is just a ten-minute walk from West Campus. You won’t see many big names here, but the intimate size makes for an awesome experience, and you might discover a band you wouldn’t have found otherwise. Best of all, tickets are usually $10 or less.

Paradise Rock Club, Allston - http://crossroadspresents.com/paradise-rock-club/

Probably the most varied of these venues in their booking strategies, the Paradise has been known to bring in everything from hip hop star Joey Bada$$, to rock group OK GO, to EDM groups and Led Zeppelin 2, a Led Zeppelin cover band. This club is literally steps from West Campus, and has bookings multiple nights a week.

Club Passim, Harvard Square - http://www.clubpassim.org/

If you’re itching for some rousing Americana, Club Passim has you covered. This basement-level folk venue over in the Square began life in 1958 as Club 47. During the ‘60s, it was home to performances by folk legends Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. Today they still maintain that level of musical quality, and while their shows aren’t as rowdy as some other venues (patrons sit at tables in traditional music-café style), the connection between audience and performer is perhaps all the stronger for it.

These are just a sampling of the live music venues in Boston, so explore! You’ll find Jazz lounges, dive bars and all kinds of other venues around the city.

They say if you love your job, you’ll never work a day in life. Well, “they” can shut up because I don’t want to hear about acute semantic vagaries. “They” might as well just tell me “if you’re happy then you won’t be sad,” and since everyone, ideally, gets a job, I think I could’ve pieced it together from there.

Now that I’ve ripped this adage apart for no reason, I’d like to talk about how I FINALLY love the “job” I’m doing. My job encompasses all of the things I do as a member of the Boston University community. I have an actual paying job at admissions, but I am also a member of The Daily Free Press, a writer and actor on BUTV, and an academically overloaded first-semester senior. As most students are at this university, I am too busy, but because I finally enjoy each of the things I do, I am no longer bothered by losing sleep and spending a majority of my time doing “work.”

My first two years at BU were spent working as a writer and editor for The Daily Free Press. While I absolutely loved the people I worked with and the ultimate purpose of our operation, it gradually became evident to me that journalism was not my forte. I finished my tenure on the editorial staff at the FreeP, and have since been working as a member of its Board of Directors. I enjoy this position much more because it allows me to help those who are sure they want to become professional journalists follow the proper path and obtain the best skills and experience. (The greatly reduced time commitment and distance from the daily news grind is nice too.)

In terms of my coursework, I finally love every second of what I do. Previously, I was taking too many classes on literature that bored me. Now, in my final English course toward my dual-degree, I’m focusing on the works that I love most. I’m also no longer taking prerequisites in COM and have been able to focus strictly on screenwriting this semester. Latin is still hard as hell, but it’s oh-so-worth-it.

At work for admissions, there’s nothing more enjoyable than sitting down with a nervous prospective family, dispelling their fears about the vastness and open-endedness of BU, and having them stay in touch with updates on their application process.

I’ve always had dreams of becoming the next Tina Fey (what), but I was never able to inject myself into a setting that allowed me to work with television, as an actor, or even on comedic writing. As a film and TV major at BU, the opportunities were staring me in the face with BUTV, but I always felt too overwhelmed by other “work” to take that step and join. This year, I finally became a writer for a comedy show, and as of about 15 minutes ago, I’ve also been chosen as a main actor in a brand new series! (Pals & Friends, shameless plug.)

There’s simply something gratifying about having sufficient experience to pass on good counseling to newcomers, whether they’re incoming COM students, eager young journalists, or future BU freshmen. It’s the best way for me to identify that I’ve actually done things here. And hopefully by the end of this year, I’ll have a nice portfolio of critical and televisual “work” that just might thrust me into bigger and more Fey-esque endeavors. It took me four years, but I’m finally happy and not sad.

So you’ve been in Boston a couple weeks now. Chances are you’ve been to Faneuil Hall, to the Common and Newbury Street – all the grand tourist-y spots. Which means you now understand the frustration associated with circumnavigating the tourists. But where to go next? It’s time to discover the places in Boston upperclassmen know and love. Here are my three favorites:

• Coolidge Corner Theater
  • Jonesing to see that really obscure indie movie that came out 3 years ago? How about a midnight screening of a classic horror movie? This is the place for you! The theater is small, cozy and has a killer old-fashioned marquee. It’s also less expensive than going to the Regal- $10.25 a ticket. It’s time to broaden your horizons! Now Showing: Boyhood.
  • Also see Kendall Square Cinema & the Somerville Theatre

• Carousel on Rose Kennedy Greenway
  • It’s cool, you’re in college now and way too cool for riding a carousel. NOT TRUE. This is by far the best carousel I’ve ever been on. Ride a hand painted, hand carved animal of your choice for just $3 while listening to Frank Sinatra? Sign me up any day.

• John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
  • I will admit I’m a little biased here because I did a research project in the library’s archives, but I really think this is one of the most underrated places in Boston. The library itself is beautiful and chock full of history—a great fall weekend activity! The views from the library are also stunning as it sits right on the water. Just take the red line out to the JFK/ UMass stop and hop on the shuttle that takes you to the library.

Hey yall! Hope your first month of class has been wonderful. With so much going on at BU, it’s sometimes difficult to escape and experience things in the heart of Boston, off campus.

I went to an arts high school, so theatre and ballet are close to my heart. A personal goal of mine is to see one piece of theatre per month off campus. There are a lot of great opportunities to see shows this semester, and at student rush ticket pricing it’s very affordable!

ArtsEmerson: https://artsemerson.org
Supported by Emerson College on Boylston Street, their mission is to strengthen the relationship between artists and audiences and help theatre make more of an impact on the community. They try to bring difference performances from other countries and cultures to broaden Boston’s knowledge of theatre. This semester some performances are Traces, King Lear, The Magic Flute and The Trip to Bountiful.

The Boston Ballet http://www.bostonballet.org
The Boston Ballet makes ballet accessible to the community, educational for all audiences and creative through developing new methods and approaches while still keeping traditional style. There are student rush tickets, and constant performances throughout the semester. These performances include Swan Lake and Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker.

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston http://www.lyricstage.com
The Lyric Stage Company’s mission is to present a wide variety of theatre to appeal to varying audiences in Boston. It’s the oldest professional theatre in Boston with 40 years of production. Some shows for this season, which also provide student rush ticket opportunities, are Sweeny Todd, Dear Elizabeth and The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife.

While Boston has a great music and sports scene, I encourage you to try something new and experience a style of performance art that is different. After all, $20 tickets to a professional show that non-students pay hundreds for is an opportunity that shouldn’t be passed up!

Have a great semester ☺

It already feels like this fall is flying by way too fast. And I'm a sophomore?! It's so crazy to me. My roommates and I were talking about how easy it is to get sucked into a routine, especially as classes get busier and the weather get cooler. We decided that instead of just talking about all the things we want to do in Boston this year, we'd actually make a physical BU Bucket List so we wouldn't forget.

I could honestly go on an on about all the amazing things you can do on campus as far as clubs and student groups. It's way too easy to forget how much you want to do something when you get caught up with classes and clubs and all the other amazing opportunities we have on campus. I think as fun as campus can be, it's really important to get out of our little bubble as much as you can and explore this city we're in. Our bucket list included things we wish we did last year and things we want to make sure we do again like:

- Picnic on Boston Common (totally a fall/spring only thing)

- Ice Skating on Frog Pond

- Visit the Garment District in Cambridge

- Visit the MFA

- Go to the Head of the Charles Regatta!

- Dim Sum in Chinatown

So before you forget all those fun Boston things you keep saying you have to do, write them down and make your own bucket list!

As the second week of the semester ends, it is easy to start to slack off. You’ve set a daily routine and are finally familiar with your schedule. These are a few helpful tips to stay on the right track! Before you know it, midterms will be here!

• Buy a calendar! It’s an easy way to keep organized. The sooner you are organized, the easier the semester will flow.
• Write down every assignment and due date: Again, this is a way to keep organized and on top of your work.
• Give yourself “me” time- but don’t loose sight of your other priorities! I love to set myself time for my favorite shows during the week. Every Tuesday I set time to watch Sons of Anarchy, it's my guilty pleasure!
• Visit your professors: If you haven’t scheduled an appointment with your professors, do it as soon as possible! It is a great way for them to match a name to a face.
• Explore the city! Boston is beautiful during this time of year. Take advantage before it gets too cold!

The school year is starting back up which means my favorite club, WTBU, is broadcasting once again! Over the summer some exciting things happened at the radio:

•Most importantly, for the THIRD year in a row we’ve been nominated for College Music Journal’s “Station of the Year” award! WTBU won the award the past 2 years, and we’re trying to make it a three-peat so keep your eyes peeled for voting, and make sure to support WTBU!
•Studio C got a makeover, opening up a brand new space for in-studio performances. We’ll be getting tons of bands coming in throughout the semester, stay tuned for more live performances and interviews!
•The new Howard Stern lounge is now open, named after the famous BU alum who was fired from his 1973 WTBU show, The King Schmaltz Bagel Hour. Word is the E-board wants him to come cut the ribbon at the opening, if he can find the time between judging other BU alums “Sons of Serendip” on America’s Got Talent. (shameless plug).

Make sure to tune in to WTBU on 89.3 FM, online at WTBU.org, or through our iPhone app to hear about all the new things happening! And tune in on Tuesdays 10-12pm to hear Hey Kids, Get Off My Lawn!, the best classic rock show around! (shameless plug #2)

My first blog post as a sophomore…whoa. It is crazy to think that only one short year ago, I was sitting with my COM Ambassador and wondering what exactly a COM Ambassador was. In fact, I had totally forgotten about the first COM Ambassador meeting, and if I hadn’t passed a friend from orientation on Commonwealth Avenue who reminded me to go, I probably would have missed it altogether. I was an overwhelmed freshman, just like the new students who sat in my Ambassador group a few weeks ago. And just as those freshmen will, I sure have come a long way since then!

Meeting the incoming freshmen/transfers at this year’s welcome event was a blast. I was infinitely impressed by their enthusiasm, and I loved giving them advice and simply getting to know them. It is inspiring to see newcomers embrace an opportunity so thoroughly, and I am lucky to have had a wonderful group of students who seemed to want every resource I could offer. They wanted to try anything, meet everyone, and ask everything, hoping to learn as much as they could to enhance the start of their college experience. I am a firm believer that college is simply what you make of it, and I have no doubt that the newest members of COM will make their experiences incredible.

Personally, their eager willingness to jump into all things COM sparked my own self-evaluation of what I can do to further embrace the college and university I am so fortunate to be a part of. Did I want to try a new club or activity? Did I love all of my classes? Was this still the field I wanted to study? In reassuring the new students that trying tons of things was not only possible but encouraged in COM, I reminded myself that I still have plenty of time to try new things as well! Sure, there are certain deadlines one should keep up with throughout their time in college, such as declaring their major by the time they need to or completing early requirements right away. However, that does not mean it is ever too late to expose oneself to something different. After graduation, despite the potential greatness of “the real world,” our variety of opportunities shrinks with our increasing responsibilities and decreasing amount of extra time. There is no better time to explore new things than right now, while our trials result in something positive no matter how they appear to turn out. Who cares if we try something and hate it? We learn from it and move on to something else, now with a better understanding of our desires and interests.

Aiding the new BU students in their transition to college reminded me that as a college student, there is always a potential “new kid” within me. I should never shy away from a fresh opportunity if it seems interesting, for now is the time in my life best suited for such experiments. I hope that all students, freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors alike, seize the wide array of opportunities Boston University presents to us. This is the best time to explore them, and consequently, this might be the best time to explore ourselves.