Senior Blog: Class of 2009

Goodbye Hopkins

-Posted by Laura P.

I kept putting off writing this last post, because it is just one more thing that makes graduating seem real.  In so many ways it is easy to see packing up from school this year as just another summer vacation, while in reality it's a big step in life.

The week of graduation was exceptionally hectic--my parents were visiting, there were receptions & events to attend, packing up all of my things, and then the hardest part, saying goodbye to the people  & the places that have become so important to me over the past four years.

Coming to Hopkins four years ago it was hard to imagine that Baltimore and especially the Homewood Campus would be somewhere I saw as my home. I love my home city, Seattle, and of course my friends and activities from high school. But having spent exactly two weeks at home in Seattle since I packed up and left, I find myself missing my other home--the one in Baltimore.

It's hard to even begin to reflect on my time at Hopkins. When I think about my experience it's a swirl of people--my friends, professors, co-workers--, classes, late-night conversations, Admissions meetings, making dinner with my roommates, outdoor trips, brunches with my girl-friends, coffee-dates, playing Frisbee on the beach, working at Cafe Q, climbing at the wall, study-groups & random dance parties (along with all the many other moments).

It is all of those things-- learning how to write a good opinion paper, learning how to trad climb & learning how to make the perfect flank steak--that made up my time at Hopkins, and shaped me as a person.  Hopkins is where I really grew up--made my own choices (good & bad), made mistakes, learned about myself & about the world.

While I am incredibly sad to leave my friends, (I cried for a long time about leaving my roommates) I am really excited to begin the next step of my life. Despite the bad economy & despite the fact that I am constantly warned that publishing isn't the field to go into these days (I majored in Writing Seminars), I am excited. I've embraced the fact that the face of publishing is changing, and I am excited to be part of that. I'm excited to be graduating into a time of hope and a time of change. I'm excited because I know that the rest of the people who graduated in my class are also ready to make the most of what they have. Because at this point, I think we are all ready to begin a new phase, whether that means med-school, grad-school, a new job, an internship, or an adventure.

This summer I'm co-leading a trip of high school students (from the school that I went to) on a five-week-long backpacking trip/Pilgrimage through Northern Spain.  We are doing a route called the Camino de Santiago; it is a traditional pilgrim route that's been around since the mid 12th Century. We're walking a slightly less traveled route, the Norte, or Northern Route, and then connecting up with the Via Frances, which is a more frequently traveled route before we arrive at Santiago, the end point of our journey.

After (and during) the trip, Dave, the other leader, and I are working on creating a guidebook to the Northern Route, as there isn't one that currently exists in English.

I am really excited to be leading this trip; not only is it a great summer job, but walking for 15-20 miles a day will give me a lot of really valuable time to think and reflect on my own life while I am at this intersection.  Hopefully I'll return with more ideas, and a better sense of what direction I want to take.

While there certainly lies a LOT of excitement ahead, it is so hard and sad to be leaving behind Johns Hopkins. I absolutely loved being a part of the University and I already miss my friends, my apartment, & the campus so much.

 

"My Very First Easter"

--Posted by Laura P

So, I love Easter. Well, I love Easter Egg Hunts. Growing up, my dad would hide plastic Easter Eggs, filled with candy, all over our backyard. As my sister and I got older, the eggs were hidden in increasingly harder spots, in tree branches, under planter pots, inside the drain pipes.... And despite the majority of our Easter Egg Hunts occurring in the rain (I grew up near Seattle), they were always one of the most fun mornings of the year!!

However, we kind of fell of the easter egg hunt bandwagon once my sister left for college, and now that I am in college, I hadn't actually done anything for easter until this year.

My roommates are all Jewish--which means that over the past few years I have learned about Yom Kippur, Passover, how to make matza ball soup and how amazingly delicious challah is.  Now, Jewish holidays are great--minus the whole no wheat/bread thing on Passover, but, no Easter Egg Hunts??? When I realized that my roommates had never experienced the wonder that is Easter Morning, I realized that I was obligated to show them an Easter Morning in style (but Kosher, because, of course, it was also passover.)

So, before Easter I bought chocolates, jelly beans, and a big chocolate rabbit, and filled plastic eggs with the candy.  Then, not having any baskets, I made my roommates "easter baskets",  and woke up extra early on Easter to hide eggs around our apartment and make brunch.

When they woke up, I explained the rules of Easter to them: In the common space there are 31 Easter Eggs hidden. Everyone gets a basket to put their eggs in. They are all visible from some angle (which may include lying on the floor upside down...), which really just means don't go through cabinets or drawers. Whoever finds the most eggs wins a prize! Yay prizes!

So, of course they all rushed into the room to find easter eggs!!

After they had searched for a while, they managed to find most of the eggs, however, there were still about ten left to find when we realized we needed to have a coffee break so that they had enough energy to find the rest of the eggs before breakfast was all ready... 

After our coffee break, they finished searching for the eggs--it got pretty dramatic when Rena, Matt and Sam all had 10 eggs, and there was only one left. I actually had to institute a rule so that no one would injure anyone else....

At the end, Sam found the last egg, so he won the chocolate easter rabbit!!

Fortunately, My roommates really liked that easter tradition, and now they can throw Easter Egg Hunts for all of their friends who may not have experienced the magic that is easter morning!

Why I'm Still Glad I Chose Hopkins

Posted By Laura P.

Congratulations to the class of 2013!!!!!

Now is such an exciting time for all of you!! I can't believe that I am a senior now too, because making my decision to come to Hopkins really doesn't feel like it happened that long ago... I remember getting my letter/acceptance package in the mail (no I didn't get an e-mail!), and ecstatically opening it at the mailbox!

I loved Hopkins from the first time I visited; I even considered applying E.D. here, so I was excited to get that letter---and pretty set on going to Hopkins once I got in.

After nearly four years here, I am still happy that I chose Hopkins. I LOVE the school for so many reasons!!
Here are the top three:

1. The Classes are GREAT.
I LOVE my classes here. Each semester I get incredibly excited to peruse the course listings and pick out the 15 or so classes that I am interested in--the hard part is always narrowing it down! I think it is a good sign when there are always too many classes that I want to take, rather than too few. Not only do the classes sound great in the catalog, most of them turn out to be great! This is generally a combination of great Professors, engaged classmates, and, of course, interesting subject matter. Some great classes I've taken have been: Faulkner, Fitzgerald and Hemingway with Professor Irwin, Comparative Freedom Struggles (Comparing the South African Anti Apartheid to the U.S. Civil Rights Movement) with Professor Shell-Weiss, Feminist Epistemology with Prof. Tumulty and Gender and Health with Prof. Goodfellow.

2. The People
Even more than the great Professors and Classes that are offered at Hopkins, the people here are what make the school so great. Having great people in your classes can even turn an okay class into a really fun one.  But more than that, the people that you become close to here really do become your best friends, your support group, and your family. I don't know what I would do without my amazing roommates or my great group of friends. They help you out when you are sick, go out with you on the weekends, and are always up for coffee breaks when you are tired of studying.

3. Extracurriculars
Being involved on campus makes life on campus a LOT more fun and a LOT more interesting. When you're involved, you know what's going on (because you hang out with other involved people), you get to meet a ton of people who don't live on your floor or aren't in your major, and you get to have something to look forward to other than going to class each day.  Over the past four years I have been involved in a ton of different stuff, but my favorite groups, and the one's I've been most involved with, are the Student Admissions Advisory Board (SAAB), and the Johns Hopkins Outdoors Club (JHOC). I've been involved with both of these groups the whole time I've been at Hopkins, and have become really great friends with other members in the groups, and have had a ton of fun working with the groups. I can't imagine a complete experience here without doing SAAB and JHOC, or any other slough of student groups, because they really have been a huge part of my time here.

Now, while at any college you'll take classes, meet great people, and be involved in extracurriculars, the most important thing is finding a college that fits well for you--in all of those ways. I love the classes here because students are engaged and the professors are great teachers.

The people here are a great fit because they are driven to succeed but still want to enjoy life and what is going on around them. Furthermore, everyone here tends to be passionate about what they do--and it is great to get to share peoples passions with them.

And the student groups are wonderful because people are generally committed to their activities, because they want to be a part of what they do--which makes being involved a lot more fun.

So, while I may have fallen in love with Hopkins because the first day I visited campus, it was sunny and warm and the cherry trees were blossomming--I am glad I chose to come to Hopkins for so many other reasons.

Good Luck on your Decisions!!!

My Apartment!

Posted By Laura P. 

This year I live in an off-campus apartment, and I LOVE it! It is north of Hopkins Campus, and in a really beautiful area. We have a little courtyard out front and a small balcony that looks over it! We also live on the edge of a really beautiful neighborhood, so that makes going on walks & runs really enjoyable.I live in a triple with two boys, Matt & Sam, and we have one honorary member, Rena. My apartment this year is great--it is spacious, cute, and we love the kitchen--but it really is having great apartment-

mates that makes living here so much fun! 

This is the four of us hanging out one evening in our living room and making s'mores--YUM!!
We use our common area as a good place to watch movies, have people over, and to get work done =).

As a "family", we also love making big family dinners! We go grocery shopping together and have really been able to utilize our kitchen this year. One of the best things about living in an apartment is being able to have a nice, full kitchen!! 

Here is one of my apartment-mates, Matt, making some delicious dinner for all of us! (And a small snapshot of our awesome kitchen!)

And, here is Rena, showing off one of the great meals we made for Matt's Birthday Dinner (We had lamb, wild rice, super delicious salad, brussel sprouts, an extensive cheese plate & carrot cake!)

Living off-campus has been a great experience. It is nice to really feel like you have your own place--you can decorate it and make it feel homey--rather than the sort of sterile/impersonal feel of the dormatories. Additionally, it is nice to be a little bit further away from campus, and feel like you are "away from school" when you are at home. 

I have had a great experience with my roommates, living-off campus, and gaining the independence that comes with navigating living in an apartment!

Last Spring at Hopkins?!

Posted by Laura P.

I had a scary realization this morning, when I realized that Spring Break is next week.Not just any Spring Break, but my last one!! Which means that there are only 7 more weeks of school left. SEVEN weeks of Hopkins! I can't believe that I am so close to being done.

It is both exciting, and pretty scary to be finishing so soon--I'll be moving into a whole new phase of my life--and there are so many thing to figure out (where to live, what to do, what my priorities are); but, before I get into worrying about all of that, I want to make sure the last Spring that I have at Hopkins is amazing.

Thus, I am making a list of Goals--to keep me on track for making the most out of the rest of my time here at Hopkins!!

1. Say Yes!
It is easy to feel bogged down with work, busy or stressed at while in the midst of a busy semester. And a lot of the time, it is important to say no to commitments, social engagements, or activities that will take up your time and stress you out. But, for the rest of the semester, I am going to try to say Yes to going out with my friends, listening to guest speakers, stopping by a party, going to performances, leading outdoors trips, trying new restaurants, meeting new people and exploring Baltimore.
Even though school can be stressful, right now I want to make it my second priority to all the other opportunities provided at Hopkins!! There are too many things that I miss out on by doing work, and now is a great time to take advantage of them.

2. Enjoy My Classes
 Although I generally like my classes, when the workload gets really heavy towards the middle of the semester, it can be easy to lose the scholarly excitement that I had in the beginning of the semester.  Since these are the last classes that I will have at Hopkins, I want to make sure that I don't just do the work for them, or make the effort to get a good grade--but that I actually learn and actually enjoy them! This means worrying less about deadlines and grades, and more about what interests me about the class and making sure that that is what I pursue.

3. Stay Organized
Okay, it might seem trivial, but as soon as things get hectic, it is really easy for me to become disorganized. My room gets messier, I put off doing laundry, I leave my readings strewn across the floor.... and all of this of course makes things more stressful and more hectic! Vicious circle! Right now my room is pretty clean, and I am pretty organized. If I can make an effort to keep it that way, everything else will feel a lot easier!

4. Keep Exploring Baltimore 
I have definitely gotten to know and love Baltimore more each year I've been at Hopkins. I've  discovered more delicious restaurants, more fabulous coffee shops, more fun markets, and more places that I like to be.  But that is no reason to stop exploring! So I want to take advantage of Baltimore while I am here.  To go to the places that I love, to do the things I've been meaning to do, and to visit new places while I am still here! (So, if you have any recommendations, let me know!)

5. Smell the Flowers
 As the weather outside gets nicer--I really want to make it a goal to get outside more. Whether that means going on outdoor trips with JHOC, going climbing with friends, going for walk to the Tulip Gardens, playing Frisbee and lounging on the beach, or biking to the Farmers Market, I am always  happier when I am able to spend time outside and enjoying the weather.

6. Have Family Time
My roommates are like my family. We live together, we eat the same groceries, we have family dinners, we study with each other, get annoyed at each other for being loud, or not cleaning, or eating the last of the ______, watch movies together, and take care of each other when we're sick.  I love living with my roommates (Sam, Matt & Rena) so much, that I really can't imagine life without them.  I am a little bit worried, actually, about living without them next year--there are just so many wonderful things about our family, that I don't know what I'll do without them! That said, I want to make sure to spend time with them and really enjoying my living situation this year.

7. Make Playdates
Remember when you were little, and you would have your mom call so-and-so's mom to arrange a playdate for the two of you? Then you'd get a whole afternoon or evening of fun! Well, now of course I don't have to have my mom do it, but I do want to make it a priority to spend time with my friends here! We are all so busy in various activities, that it can be hard to make time to see everyone. But these last few weeks I am going to make dates with my friends, plan fun things to do, and go out and enjoy ourselves! Since everyone is going to be in so many different places next year (London, Bolivia, New York, D.C., Baltimore, Ghana, California...and that's just what I know so far!), it is really important that we get in some quality time now!

8. Take Pictures
I have a camera. I bring it with me. I leave it in my purse/backpack/jacket pocket. Oops.
This is the story way too often. Every once in a while I am good and I remember to take  pictures. I am going to take pictures the rest of the semester!! Often!

 9. Check off My Lists
There are so many things that I "am planning to do later". At Hopkins, in Baltimore, in D.C. This is everything from trying out a restaurant that's been recommended to me, or going DuckPin Bowling to talking to one of my Writing Sem's professors about Grad School and editing.  There are so MANY things that I keep meaning to do while I am here--so it's time to do it!

10. Have Fun!!
The most important thing, of course, is to embrace everything that I love about Hopkins. The groups that I love being part of  (especially JHOC and SAAB), the intellectual excitement of the students, my amazing professors, the cherry blossom trees in the Spring, breakfast dates with my girlfriends, Family Dinners, games of Taboo, the beautiful campus, and all the many things to do here! So, now is the time to spend time doing all of the things that I love here--and truly enjoying being at Hopkins!

Hopefully I can really make the most out of my last Hopkins Spring!! Wish me luck!

Women, Gender, Sexuality Minor

Posted by Laura P.

Although I have written some about my major, Writing Seminars, and have certainly written a lot about my classes at Hopkins, I thought I would spend this post focusing on my minor: Women, Gender and Sexuality.

Women, Gender & Sexuality doesn't officially have it's own department--rather it is an interdisciplinary program.  The idea behind the program is for students to gain expertise in the study of WGS through a variety of disciplines.  WGS classes are crosslisted with classes in other disciplines in fields such as Political Science, Anthropology, History, English, Sociology, Public Health, Philosophy etc...

Additionally, there are a few classes that focus more specifically on the basics of WGS, including Introduction to Feminist and Queer Theory.

I decided to become a WGS minor after my freshman year.  Three class I took during freshman year were cross-listed with WGS, and I really loved all of those classes. The one that especially sparked my interested in WGS was Feminist Epistemology, a course taught by Professor Maura Tumulty (who, unfortunately, now teaches at a different University).
I really loved the class because it was a small seminar, the subject matter was extremely interesting, Maura Tumulty was a fabulous professor, and the class discussion was always dynamic.  We studied a lot of Feminist Theory and the course really opened me to a new way of viewing/questioning social structures and politics. It was also the first philosophy class I took at Hopkins, so it was a very new field for me.

After taking Feminist Epistemology I knew that I was interested in pursuing a Minor in WGS.  I ended up taking about one or two courses a semester cross-listed with WGS in order to complete the requirements for the minor. 

Since WGS is an interdisciplinary program, looking for classes each semester encouraged me to branch out into different fields of study. I've taken WGS classes in History, Philosophy, Anthropology, Public Health, Sociology and Literature.
While all of these classes have dealt with similar subjects, the different focus each has had has given me a very different perspective on the study of WGS.  For instance, through Anthropology and Public Health I took "Gender and Health"--a class that looked at the effects of gender, location and class on health, gender issues, and health care.  This class was entirely different than the class I took on Feminist Epistemology, although the background I had in Feminist Theory was incredibly helpful for the Gender and Health Class.  This has been the case across the board for WGS classes--although they are all different, each one builds upon what I have learned previously.

First Semester of my Senior Year I completed an Independent Study with Professor Aaron Goodfellow, the head of the WGS program.  For my study, I knew that I wanted to continue with Feminist Theory and Feminist Epistemology.  Aaron and I sat down together and discussed different authors I could look into reading and different ways to approach my project.  I also contacted Maura Tumulty, who taught the class on Feminist Epistemology which originally sparked my interest and she was also able to provide me with some ideas for my study.

I loved doing this project because I was able to pick readings that I was interested in, or that seemed like they might be interesting. I ended up reading five books by different authors (Donna Haraway, Emily Martin, Judith Butler, Sandra Harding and Londa Shiebinger) and a handful of related articles. Additionally I attended some of the talks that the WGS program sponsors each semester, since a few were relevant to my study. 

During all of this I met with Prof. Aaron Goodfellow to both discuss the readings and to discuss the shape of my study.  Since I was working independentally with Aaron, I was able to shape the study as I wanted--adding or subtracting readings, topics or books as made sense.  This was a really fun experience, because when I was excited by something, I was able to explore more on that topic, rather than having to follow a set curriculum. 

Although WGS is a tiny program, I have found the faculty who are involved in the program to be incredibly helpful and supportive.  Professor Aaron Goodfellow who is the head of WGS is always interested in helping students pursue their interests and in constantly looking for ways to improve the program.

The classes that I have taken through WGS have been some of my favorites. I especially loved Feminist Epistemologies, Comparative Freedom Rights Struggles: The American Civil Rights Movement and The South African Anti-Apartheid, International Development and Gender, and of course my Independent Study.

Additionally, the WGS program is very supportive of students interesting in pursuing their own studies, research and projects.  Each semester the program offers a variety of independent studies, and also provides a Summer Grant for Undergraduate Research.

I would strongly encourage students to consider a minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality. I have had a great experience with the program, and furthermore it both encourages students to explore different fields of study and demonstrates the strength of interdisciplinary learning.

It's been four years?!?!

Posted By Laura P

I can’t believe that I graduate in just a few months.  Orientation really seems like it just happened—I remember meeting my roommate for the first time, watching the comedy show in the balcony of Shriver and sitting in the common room on my floor in Wolman learning all the names of my floor-mates.

I love Hopkins. I remember coming home for Winter Break freshman year and telling all my friends from high school how great it was—I loved my classes, my new friends, the campus, and even my tiny dorm room. Even though Hopkins has had its ups and downs in the past four years, I still love it here. I love getting excited every semester when the new course catalogue comes out and there are so many classes that I want to take. I have so much fun spending time with my friends—either through the many clubs and extracurriculars that I am part of or just hanging out at home.

My friends here feel like my family—in many ways they have become my family. These are the people who I live with, study with, cook dinner with, stress out with about finals or papers or jobs, and who I’ve grown with over the past four years.

Like others have said, Hopkins gives its students so many opportunities—take advantage of them!! That means trying something new—whether it’s a new extracurricular, a new subject, or even just going out with a new group of friends, constantly exploring gives you the best opportunities. Some of the best times I have had at Hopkins have come from branching out—for instance after coming to college I became really involved in the outdoors groups at Hopkins—something that I had never really participated in during high school. Last year I took the opportunity to study abroad in Italy, even though it was hard to go somewhere totally new and different—studying abroad was sooo much fun. 

There are other activities and classes that I tried out that I didn’t like as much—working for the newspaper and joining a sorority—but in both experiences I learned a lot more about myself, and met a lot of great people and made great friends—so I don’t regret trying these things out.

Looking back I wonder what I would have done differently. And it is hard to say. I wish I had taken an even broader range of classes—there really just isn’t enough time in four years to try out everything! But I wish I had taken more classes outside of the Social Sciences and Humanities, because even though I love both of those disciplines, I would have liked to explore even more areas.  I would have tried more extracurriculars, even though I tend to fill my schedule up with them. I would have started working at Café Q even earlier to save three years of drinking multiple coffees a day. But, all in all, I think I did a pretty good job of fitting a lot into just a few years.

When I graduate in a few months, I’ll be sad to leave Hopkins—I’ve met my best friends here, developed my passions here and have learned a lot about myself here—but I also feel like I’ll be ready to go. I will miss all of the things I love about Hopkins, but I’m prepared to make the next big step.

Second Semester Seniors

Posted By Laura P.

Happy New Year!!

Hopefully those of you applying to colleges are done, or nearly!! Congrats to those of you who have finished all of your college applications-- now you can fully enjoy your last semester as a highschool senior!

I remember finishing up all of my applications over break...and it was not a fun handful of days! But they all went out, and fortunately, I didn't have to worry about those again for another 4 months!

So, Enjoy the rest of your senior year--finish up those applications if you haven't already, and don't stress about getting into your schools until late March/early April is rolling around.

And, my friendly advice for those of you who are Seniors--enjoy your last semester of highschool! Spend time with your friends and your family, because next year you may be trekking across the country for college. Take advantage of home cooked meals and your own space- who knows how you might handle sharing a double! And participate in your highschool events.  My senior year, one of my good friends invited the whole senior class (there were only 60 of us..) over to his house for a random Friday night potluck/party. A handful of people didn't go because it was last minute, they were waking up early the next day, etc..., but it is moments like that that really make your senior year special. So go to your prom, help plan your senior prank, start a new senior tradition at your school--maybe all the Seniors spend the night on the football field the last night of school, or plan a "senior skip day" where none of the seniors go to school and instead go on their own field trip.  This is the time to really take advantage of your high school and all it has to offer--because while college is amazing, and a ton of fun, it sure is a big change.  So enjoy, don't stress, and embrace being a second semester senior!!

The scary part of that sentence is that I too, am about to become a second semester senior, but of college. Which means this could be my last winter break ever! What a scary thought.  I am trying not to be too worried about it, but there is a lot to do.

Right now I am on my way to my cousin's wedding in California (she is just three years older than me! We are growing up way too fast!), but when I return I have blocked out a few days for working on my resume, applying to the list of jobs I have had sitting in my to do pile for the last few weeks, finding some more programs, jobs, etc, to research and apply to, and hopefully setting up some informational interviews.  Right now I really don't know what I want to do when I graduate, so it is hard to even know where to begin.

I think that in the long run I want to go into editing/publishing of some kind, but I don't know for sure. However, I don't know that I want to jump straight into that, or if I want to try to travel or explore more before I buckle down with a "serious" job. 

My sister, who is three years older than me, did Teach for America in D.C. just after she graduated from college. Her first year was really rough, but her second year of TFA she was really enjoyed her work--she bonded with the kids, helped them to make a lot of progress, and had a very successful year.  This year she moved to Chicago and is currently teaching at an inner-city school.  However, her job is not quite what she expected, and she's really not enjoying it.  She is also now regretting not taking time off after college to travel, explore her interests, and figure out what she might want to do, instead of just leaping into a job.
A lot of her friends took jobs after college helping run camps in the summer and working as Ski Patrol in the winter, allowing them to travel, play and take time off. Now she is trying to figure off if she wants to do something like that now, continue teaching, or look for a totally different type of job.

All of her ruminating is making me wonder if I should take some time off after college to explore my interests further before jumping into anything.  I don't know what I will do yet, but I do know that I need to start researching, planning, asking questions and talking to people before I figure anything out.  I guess that means I will be spending a LOT of time at the Career Center next semester.

My plane is about to land, so I have to shut off my computer... but Happy New Year and Enjoy the rest of your Winter Break!!!

Bike Rides, Bottomless Coffee, Swing-Sets and Snow!

Posted by Laura P.

Monday is the last day of school of the semester! Which, while being totally exciting and crazy, (only one more semester at Hopkins!??? How can that be?) also means that in the next few weeks I have a slough of papers, portfolios, and projects to complete. However, this is normal for this time of year and so, my roommate Rena and I decided to make the best of a weekend that we knew would be filled with work, by broadening our studying boundaries.

This began, like all good adventures, with a random late-night conversation, and a Google search.  "Best Coffee Shops in Baltimore".  After reading through a handful of reviews, getting linked to totally bizarre websites that weren't coffee shops, and looking up addresses, Rena and I discovered this coffee shop called The Evergreen.

The reviews said it had great pastries, Zeke's Coffee (Locally Brewed and Delicious!), and wireless internet.  Even better was it's proximity to campus--I realized that I went running just two blocks south of it on one of my pretty common routes!!
The Evergreen is still about a mile away from our apartment, but fortunately, Rena and I both have bikes this year.

So, Saturday morning (after visiting the farmers market) we packed up our laptops, notebooks, pens, pencils, library books and post-it notes, bundled ourselves in coats, hats, gloves and scarves and hopped on our bikes, heading towards the coffee shop!!
That's Rena biking ahead of me! Sorry it's a little bit blurry...

The beginning of our ride to the coffee shop was great, it was on University--where there are nice bike lanes and even, gently sloping roads. However, the road we needed to take to the coffee shop included a STEEP uphill!! So that was an interesting surprise and hard workout!!

But we found the coffee shop, locked up our bikes outside, and headed inside.
  The cafe-bar/line for coffee!
The inside of the Evergreen is open and cute.  Just inside the door are a handful of scattered tables. Off to the left are two couch/armchair areas--set up for curling up with a good book or enjoying good conversation with a friend.  Further into the coffee shop are three highly coveted booths, (we sought one out after we saw the previous occupants packing up) because they are great for spreading out and studying, and they have the best access to power cords =).  Then there are some more scattered bar tables and chairs. 

A snapshot of the inside of the Evergreen.

When we walked inside the Evergreen, we were cold, hungry, and in desperate need of coffee.  Fortunately for us, they had a huge selection of bagels, scones, muffins and pastries; and some specialty breakfast items like omelets and egg sandwiches. Even better, they serve bottomless cups of coffee for only $1.80!! Crazy!

We both, clearly, ordered bottomless cups of the House blend, and some food for breakfast. I can't speak for Rena, but my mixed-berry scone was delicious.

We had a very successful day--both researching for papers we have due in the next few days.  We drank coffee, took occasional study breaks to talk with each other, and were able to try some of their other food selections (toast, sandwiches, soups and salads) when we discovered we needed sustenance to continue taking pages and pages of notes.
 Rena hard at work.

Some of the coffee we went through during the course of the day...

Rena hard at work #2... (We switched tables shortly after this picture)

Me hard at work.

All of my work spread out on the table....

All in all, the day was successful work-wise, full of great coffee and food, the Evergreen was one of the best finds EVER--so great, in fact, that we decided to return the next day.  As we headed outside into the snow (yes snow!), we felt like we had had a pretty good day...

That is, of course, until we stumbled upon the wooden swing, hanging from a tree, in the middle of a pseudo park--all covered in snow, on our way home, and had to stop for a little bit of playing:

Swing with pretty lights in the background!

Rena on the swing!!

Yay swinging in the snow!!

Rena taking one last swing, before we got too cold and had to bike furiously back to our toasty apartment where we could make HOT apple cider and warm our cold fingers and toes!!!

Happy Winter Everyone!!!

Farmers Market & Family Dinners

Posted by Laura P.

Every Saturday morning, all year round, there is a FABULOUS Farmers Market within walking distance of Hopkins. The Waverly Farmers Market is located on 32nd Street and Greenmount, just a few blocks away from Charles Commons.  The Market is open from 7am til Noon.

Every year that I have been at Hopkins, I have spent many Saturday mornings walking to the farmers market to buy the last peaches of the summer, heirloom tomatoes, honey crisp apples, pumpkins for Jack-O-Lanterns, squash, kale, eggs, challah, pecan raisin bread and beautiful freshly cut flowers.

This year, especially because we live off-campus and make a lot of our dinners here, my roommate Matt and I have been making a big effort to go to the Farmers Market every weekend.

  Fall has some great produce. Try the HoneyCrisp Apples--YUM!!

Pumpkins & Squash!!

The Farmers Market Garlic is delicious!! And The Greens are fantastic and even the green beans are good (and I don't even like green beans!)!

 

Yum--all the types of potatoes you could ever want!

Some exchanges going on--look at how huge and crazy the squash are!!!

Lots of Hopkins students go to the Farmers Market, and I've even run into a professor there! Here Matt ran into one of his friends from class and they spent a few minutes catching up before we had to head home.

Anyhow--The Farmers Market is a ton of fun! The food is delicious (I love getting a pumpkin muffin for breakfast!) and the produce is amazing! It is also a great way to be more involved with the community and to support local agriculture and local businesses!

Also great, is going to the farmers market really inspires you to cook with your food!!

For instance, tonight my roommates and I made Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic; and used garlic and onions that we bought at the farmers market!! We also roasted Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes, two other great Farmers Market buys and made a loaf of Irish Soda Bread. Yummbola!!

Anyway, checking out the Farmers Market in Waverly is a definite MUST for any hopkins student. Whether you go for the produce, the baked goods, the flowers, the people watching, the pumpkins, the eggs and cheese or the amazing apple cider--make sure you make a Saturday Morning Trip to the Farmers Market!!