Goodbye for Now, Clark! Final Reflections

The end of the semester is very close now - I leave in less than a week! Three exams to go, and then I'm done foreverrrr! Just kidding, I mean I'm done until summer classes start up.

Overall, my junior year has been filled with challenging courses, new friendships, new jobs, and difficult circumstances to overcome. But it's been very enjoyable! Along with working hard in my courses, I hosted and prepared playlists for my own radio show on ROCU (Radio of Clark University) and I successfully led my first semester as a co-president of CUFS (Clark U Film Society). I lived an entire year with a male roommate without either of us driving the other crazy, and I lived happily in a substance-free dorm. I attended various performances, improv shows, movies, and activities. It was a great year!

Although I'm pleased to be (nearly) done, I will miss Clark dearly over the summer. Today I filmed a video of  what I'm going to miss about Clark while I'm home. I apologize for the rain! On the upside, everything is looking wonderfully green.

Thank you to everyone who followed and kept up with my blog! I really enjoyed updating it, and I hope it gave everyone a nice look into what life as a psychology student & Jewish Studies concentrator is like at Clark.

I hope everyone has a lovely summer!

Eleven reasons (and ten pictures) depicting why Clark is great even during finals

I have been very busy with finals and the end of classes; thus far I have completed (& presented) one presentation on a comparison between interviewing and observing (for Qualitative Methods). But I still have a lot left to do! My to-do list: (1) present a twenty-minute presentation on Gender Identity Disorder for Human Sexuality, (2) write a ten-to-fifteen page paper on my interview for Qualitative Methods, (3) write a three-to-five extra credit paper for Astronomy, (4) write two short papers for Hebrew Bible II, and (5 - 7) exams! For Human Sexuality, Astronomy, and Hebrew Bible II.

The weeks have been crawling by. I love being at Clark very much, but the cram and stress that always occur at the end of classes makes for a build of anxiety and a desire to return home where the cats are plentiful and there is an excess of time to be used sleeping.

Additionally, the pressure to figure out issues relating to class standing has been causing me to fret a bit. If anything, I can determine that this grinding process has at least been a learning experience of sorts; experience that allows me to communicate with the university as an institution and work together to determine how we can maneuver around the difficulties that have arisen. I feel that the head of the psychology department and the Clark faculty must be trying their very hardest to be flexible towards my academic needs at this point in time.

All of that stress-talk aside, there have been many ways to blow off steam in a safe and fun way, provided by Clark & the Worcester community. And so I present to you: ten pictures and eleven ways to enjoy life and take a break during finals time at Clark University.

1. Walks in Elm Park (we are imitating the hanging things from the art exhibit above us)

2. Road trips! (To the movies, preferably. The West Boylston theater always has a nice array of movies for low prices. And of course, Cinema 320 is run out of Clark's own Jefferson 320 serving as another movie option (in addition to CUFS, of course!) if transportation to get off campus is limited)

3. Browsing in That's Entertainment, Jelly's, and other local Worcester businesses.

4. Hanging out (or doing work) in the Clark Bistro

5. Sitting on the green with other Clarkies

6. Dance parties

7. Playing piano in Tilton Hall (in The Higgins University Center)

8. Drinking lots of coffee (provided by the Clark Bistro and Jazzman's cafe located on the first floor of the library)

9. Taking lots of snack breaks

10. Dressing up Freud in weird costumes (catch people red-handed on the Clark Red Square webcam)

And lastly, but definitely not least

11. Attending a variety of Clark-sponsored events! Just to give an idea of the assortment of activities offered:

Past events this weekend include:
Academic Spree Day
SPOC's game night
Clark's Relay for Life
Shenanigan's final show of the semester
DOM live in the grind and
Behold The Man (a student written, directed, and performed play).

Upcoming events include
Pea Pod's final show of the semester
Variant Dance Troupe's Spring Show and
the annual Screen on the Green sponsored by CUFS and SAB.

And so, as the school year concludes, I find myself overwhelmed by schoolwork but still enjoying my time here at Clark (how could I not, with all these fun things to do?)

Happy almost-Mother's Day to all mothers and children of mother's out there! Be sure to watch out for my last entry of the school year! Coming soon to the Internet near you.