Julia's Journal

What's Next?

I have been a blogger for Hopkins for nearly four years now but it's time to say farewell.  My first entry from October 2005 was titled, "Never A Dull Moment." It was about my lunch in Levering Hall in between my Sociology and Political Science classes and about how my dorm's RA always had candy in his room for all of us to take.  Looking back at those first few entries, I can't believe how different they are from what I normally write now. All of us on the inaugural team of the Student Admissions Advisory Board were just getting used to blogging and I don't think any of us really had any idea what we were doing or what we had gotten ourselves into. 

(See below my freshman dorm room--where all of those first blog entries were written)

In my early blogging stages, I mostly wrote these boring monotone posts about what I had done that day or week, what classes I had attended, events I'd been to and so on.  It wasn't until about my junior year or so that I realized that the great things at college (and in life, I guess) happen when you're on your way to, preparing for, or distracted from those seemingly notable things like classes and campus events.  Of course those are important but,as a freshman, I don't think I would have written about running into three different friends on campus and how that simple fact indicated that I was starting to develop a network and a family at Hopkins when, in fact, that is the most important thing that was happening in my life at the time. 

Something I would have appreciated being told before college is that it's not what you do there that's important, rather, it's where those things take you that matters. 

The important thing is not that I joined Alpha Phi or worked on the Model UN Conference or lived in D.C. for a semester or practically lived in Admissions.  What's important is the people, the projects, and the passions those activities gave me.  That is really what my experience at Hopkins boils down to. 

(Below, Alpha Phi family; at the Capitol; Model UN staff 2006)

 

I recently began my move back home to New York City (I'm making one last trip back to Baltimore to finish my move-out) and one thing I have come to discover is that I am a champion pack-rat.  In the past three days I have thrown out everything from projects from the 4th grade to notebooks from freshman year of college.  One of the more remarkable things I came across as I went through my bedroom at home was my acceptance package from Johns Hopkins complete with a letter dated March 30, 2005 signed by Dean Latting.  Included in the folder was an invitation to a reception in New York for accepted students signed by Dean Conley who is, coincidentally, the person who read out my name at Commencement ten days ago. 

My move back home is finally complete (I've been writing this entry over the course of a week or so) and I recently said goodbye to my apartment in Baltimore, once and for all.  I don't think I ever would have thought I would say this but, I am really really going to miss Baltimore.  Its name "Charm City" is so fitting for a city that is big but small at the same time and full of fantastic restaurants, historical sites, and a great ballpark.  Whether it is for an Orioles-Yankees game or for a Hopkins reunion, I know my visits back to Baltimore will be numerous and frequent so to the city of Baltimore, I guess this is just see-you-later and not goodbye. 

(Below, Camden Yards)

I feel like I should come up with some sage words to encapsulate my time at Hopkins and to impart on those who are about to enter college but, try as I may, I can't seem to do it.  You can't really sum up four years of your life with a few sentences.  Though, I guess, that's really the point.  This isn't just about going to college for your education (even though that is obviously an important part of it).  It's not all about, oh, I was a Poli Sci major and these are the classes I took and that sums it all up.  The point is that college is your life for four years.  You don't remain entirely a part of the world in which you grew up and simply attend school at your college.  In many ways, you have to leave that world behind and make a new one.  It seems daunting but that is the only way you will really enjoy college.  The world you create for yourself in college is really the one you will come to love. 

You meet new people, pick new friends, live in a new city or town and really take ownership of your new world.  But you don't leave everything behind--I found that throughout college I really strengthened certain friendships from back home.  Of course some fell by the wayside but the important ones stayed strong and without those friends I doubt I would have made the decision to move back home after graduation.  Even though it's nice to return to my friends here,I can't say how hard it was to leave my Hopkins friends behind.  Of course many of my classmates are joining me here in New York but others are staying in Baltimore or going to Boston, D.C., London, Berlin and Japan. I know we're all going to be far away from each other in the future but I'm confident that, just like my high school friendships, the important ones will stay strong. 

I entered Hopkins with a lot of questions about my education, what to do with my life, etc.  In the end, I left not having answered those but rather with a keener sense of how to ask better questions of myself--how to figure out what path is best for me and how to find the people I want to surround myself with as I embark on the next phase. 

 (Below, Frances, Ashley, Me, and Elena after Commencement)

What's the next phase? Well, that's the biggest question of all.  Today, I started a summer internship and went to a job interview for an actual full-time position (!!).  I don't know where I'm going but I know that where ever I end up I will take Hopkins with me and will never, ever be able to say in enough words how much I loved Johns Hopkins as a school and how much I love the people I met there.  The one thing that is certain is that I am so thankful to have been given the chance to walk down the brick pathways of the Homewood campus every day and I wish I could be back there for another four years.  But all good things must come to an end.  Farewell, Hopkins, it's been quite a ride. 

Until next time, on the Alumni Blog...

Dear Class of 2013

Dear Hopkins Class of 2013:

As my days here begin to number in the 20s (I think 29 to be exact) I think it's time I let Hopkins' newest class know a few things.  Two nights ago, at our senior class dinner, we all had a chance to get together for one last time before graduation.  We got a taste of what life is like as a Hopkins alum and I have to say, I was impressed.  Catered food, three free drink tickets (since we're all 21), music, a slide show of photos from the past four years...it was a great dinner.  (Pictures: Jill and Me; Frances, Elena, Ashley, and Danielle.  All taken at senior dinner!)

 

And all this has got me thinking... Hopkins has been great to me, but it can be even better. So, Class of '13) I'm giving you a few tasks.  These are not to be taken lightly!

1. Keep the Momentum Going!

My class and those before and after us have had an incredible drive to continuously make the Hopkins experience better.  This is obviously really broad but I think there are a number of specific things which could help.  But, above all else, just remember to keep it going!

2. Improve Support of Student Athletics

Of course everyone goes to lacrosse games (although we do need to work on our attendace for those February games--yes, I know it's cold!), but there does need to be more student turnout for other sports as well.  Hopkins' Division III sports are consistently ranked high in our division.  Water polo has had a great season as have men's and women's soccer and women's basketball always does well.  If you live on the freshman quad, it is so easy to walk over to the Athletic Center and see a game.  The baseball fields are right there too...stop by and watch a game when you can!

3. Influence the Business Scene in Charles Village

Personally, I don't know how you would do this but I'm sure there is an enterprising one of you who will find a way.  There are a few businesses in the Charles Village area (right around campus) which are changing hands right now.  It would be awesome to have a student liaison who would go to community meetings or City Council hearings about what new businesses were coming into our neighborhood.  For example, a T-Mobile store just opened up next to campus.  This is just stupid.  Everyone comes to college prepared with a cell phone and does not need to buy one here.  And for everyone on campus who doesn't have a T-Mobile phone, the store is totally useless.  It would be great if a Hopkins kid could have more say in what stores opened up.  

4. Make Spring Fair Bigger....Again

Spring Fair is always a huge event but I've been told by a alums and university staff who have been here long enough that it actually used to be a bigger event with even more vendors.  It would also be great if there was a university-wide event that weekend aside from the usual concerts.  I know that's vague but Spring Fair is so great to begin with... just make it bigger and better!

5. Go Talk to President Daniels

President Daniels really wants to make the undergraduate experience here even better...go find him and tell him what you want changed or improved.  The only way he can know what to do is if we tell him! 

6. Be the Change You Want to See

If there is something you find here that you don't like DON'T COMPLAIN AND WHINE ABOUT IT.  Really, if you are smart enough to get in here, you can find the words to constructively articulate what your problem is.  Whining never gets you anywhere and if you happen to have had a childhood where whining did get you places, you will find college and the rest of adulthood to be a very disappointing experienece.  IF YOU DON'T LIKE SOMETHING, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.  Talk is cheap people. Get up off your complaining butt and change what's around you! There is absolutely no way for Hopkins to evolve and continue to grow unless those within it have the momentum to inspire that change. 

I think you all are up to the challenge.  If you thought getting in was the hard part, you haven't seen anything--I challenge you all to keep the Hopkins spirit alive! The Class of 2009 has done a great job leaving its mark on the Hopkins campus.  Class of 2013, welcome to Hopkins--you have big shoes to fill.  

Love,

The Class of 2009

Looking Back, Would I Pick Hopkins Again?

Lately I got to thinking about, as a senior looking back, do I think I would have picked Hopkins again in making my college decision.

I guess there's two ways to think about this.  Am I looking at this from the perspective that there are schools to which I did not apply that I would have applied to if I could do this again?  Or am I looking at this as if I have to choose between the same schools I got into four years ago?

Well, I think I can say with a reasonable degree of certainty that I haven't discovered any schools over the past four years that I never looked at in high school but wish I had.  So let's say that I am taking this question from the latter perspective--given the same choices I had in front of me four years ago, would I pick Hopkins again? 

The answer is YES! (But for totally different reasons than I picked it in the first place.)

When I picked Hopkins as a high schooler it was somewhat a marriage of convenience.  I'm not saying I was unhappy about the decision--I was actually ecstatic to be going to Hopkins--but I'm not sure I really understood what my reasons were for being so happy about it. 

I picked Hopkins because it is in a great city, has a beautiful campus, and is strong in what I wanted to study--International Relations and Political Science.  And while all these things have certainly proved to be true, I don't think that's why I would pick Hopkins if I had to do over. 

My choices leaving high school basically consisted of Hopkins, BigSchoolX, Mid-SizeSchoolY, LiberalArtsCollegeZ, and two others that are, I think, basically the same as Hopkins in terms of size and academic quality. 

BigSchoolX was out--I did not want to be at a large university.  LiberalArtsCollegeZ was also out for the opposite reason--I really didn't want to be at a small liberal arts school, I was afraid life there would get very stale after about two years.  Mid-SizSchoolY was one I really liked and I thought about it, but it wasn't in a city and students there said they drove to most off-campus places and, as a New Yorker, I didn't (and still don't) have a drivers licence so that was out too.  The other two were out because one was too far away (I did not want to go somewhere where I had to fly, it was just too much of a pain in the butt) and the other one was located somwhere too cold. 

So that left me with Hopkins. 

And, like I said, I was totally elated.  Hopkins was a good school and I tend to be someone who makes the best of everything so I knew I would be happy here even though I didn't know a tremendous amount about the school.  When I came to visit one of the accepted student Open Houses (which you should all come to!!! April 7th, 14th, and 21st) I knew this was the place for me.  It was a beautiful day out and all the current students seemed really excited about telling us what they loved about Hopkins.  I saw the Hopkins admissions counselor who admitted me and was surprised that he remembered me and ran into a girl from my high school who was a freshman here at the time.  She and I didn't know each other terribly well in high school but she came out from behind the table she was working at for the Student Activities Fair and gave me a huge hug to congratuate me on getting in.  She eventually became my big sister in my sorority and one of my best friends. 

Which leads me into the reasons that I would pick Hopkins for the second time around. 

1. The people and extra-curricular activities

    I had no idea how much I would end up loving the people here.  When I applied to colleges, I really did not want a school with a Greek system but let that factor slide when I picked Hopkins.  Now, I would pick Hopkins because it has a small but very active and close-knit Greek community. My sorority, Alpha Phi, has been a really important network for me throughout college so even though I never would have expected that this would be a big part of my college career but I'm really happy that it was.  I've also been able to get very involved in admissions (as you can clearly see), the Hopkins Model UN Conference (which I attended in high school, so being on staff was especially rewarding), the politics journal: JHUPolitik, and Hopkins Tutorial Project. Hopkins has so many clubs and associations for everyone that I can't even begin to list.  That is the thing I have discovered about Hopkins--there really is something and someplace for everyone.  And I think that's one of the greatest things about this school. 

2. The non-core-curriculum

    This was something else that, when I was a high schooler, I had no idea how imporant this would end up being in terms of my academic experience.  I can't tell you how valuable it is to have that extra time in your academic life. Friends of mine at other schools seem to spend the majority of their first two years (and sometimes their last two years) filling core requirements.  It's also a gift to your GPA when you don't have to take courses you can't manage.  Hopkins allows you to set your own independent academic program.  You certainly have to fulfill the requirements for your major but after that, it's pretty much up to you.  If Hopkins had a core curriculum, I don't know that I would have been able to do so much indepentdent reasearch and a semester away.  Interestingly enough, my own research projects (senior thesis and independent study) and that semester I spent in Washington, D.C. have been some of the highlights of my time at Hopkins so I'm very thankful the non-core curriculum system allowed me to do all that!

3. Baltimore

    Back in high school, I picked Hopkins because it was in a city.  Frankly, I didn't really care what city, I just needed an urban environment of any kind. Now looking back, I would pick Hopkins again specifically because it is in Baltimore.  If you look at this blog entry of mine from a few weeks ago, you can see why I love Baltimore so much. Baltimore has great restaurants, lots of cute stores (I just found a great new place downtown--my plan is once I finish my senior thesis I am rewarding myself with a shopping trip there!), and beautiful public spaces like Mount Vernon.  Most of you reading this are thinking, but Baltimore's really dangerous and ahhhh cities are scary!  First, the area around Hopkins is perfectly safe.  You can walk around here at night, it's really not a dangerous place, I promise you. Second, a lot of people (Hopkins students included) make snide remarks about the "bad parts" of Baltimore where you wouldn't be caught dead since, if you went there, you'd certainly end up dead.  All I have to say is, don't judge a place until you've seen it for yourself.  Take a walk around East Baltimore by Johns Hopkins Hospital (the quintessential "bad neighborhood") and talk to the people there--they are amazing people with interesting histories and pride in their communities.  Get to know Baltimore a bit--if you do, you'll love it here, I promise you. 

4. Opportunities in Washington, D.C.

    I was certainly always aware that Baltimore and D.C. were close to one another but I had no idea that that simple fact would have a lot of bearing on my Hopkins experience and, honestly, my life.  You can read about my semester in Washington, D.C. (junior-year fall) here.  I lived in a dorm that Hopkins put us up in, took two undergraduate courses, one graduate course, and basically had the best semester ever. I learned a lot that term about what life after graduation might be like and my academic interests developed more over the course of that term than any other.   The proximity of Baltimore to D.C. allows a lot of Hopkins students who are interested in politics/international studies and even the sciences to commute to D.C. for internships and jobs over the summer and even during the semester.  It's a great opportunity to get experience in a field in which you may be interested in working so you can get a sense of what you want to do after graduation. 

I feel like there are more reasons why I would pick Hopkins again now that I know all the opportunities that are here.  I have certainly loved my four years here and I think that if you can relate to any of what I have said and what my fellow bloggers have said in these entries, you will have a great time here too. 

Best of luck with your decisisions!  And to those who have already wisely picked Hopkins, I won't be here to see you next year, but welcome to the Hopkins family!

HOPKINS CRIBS: A Retrospective

Over the course of my years at Hopkins, I have lived in two dorms and one off-campus apartment.  And since I live in the same apartment that I showed you all in my CRIBS entry last year, I figured I would do a look back at all the rooms I've had instead of boring you all with the same CRIBS entry as last year.  Here are links too all my former CRIBS blogs:

Building A, Room 206A

Charles Commons Room, 513D

The Marylander Apartments

I've had great housing experiences here at Hopkins.  My freshman year, I was placed in a single in Building A within a suite that I shared with three other girls.  The room next door was a forced triple (because my class was over-enrolled) and even though the space in their room was really tight, they all got along really well.  In fact, the housing office tried to move one of the three girls out since a room had opened up in another building but we all liked each other so much, she asked to stay.  Building A was a great experience because you got the real feel of a college dorm while not having to deal with things like common bathrooms, etc.  Each suite has its own bathroom and the building has air conditioning which was another plus during those first few months when it's still warm out.  Here are some pictures from my freshman room:

Sophomore year, the four girls of my suite in Building A all decided to stay together.  We hit the jackpot and got a four-person quad suite in Charles Commons.  At the time, Charles Commons had just been built and we were the first class to ever live there.  It's an amazing dorm with quad suites and double suites.  Every room in Charles Commons is a single so no more roommates if you live there! In our quad we had four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a kitchenette.  It was a perfect living situation for our second year here at Hopkins.  It feels more mature than the freshman dorms but it's nice to have the amenities of a traditional dorm--especially having your dining hall in the same building!  Here are some pictures from my Charles Commons room:

  

As you can see, I had the same bedding both years...  Even though these pictures don't make it very obvious, the furniture in Charles Commons is much nicer than the furniture in the freshman dorms and you get a huge closet in your bedroom. I didn't include a picture of the closet here but check out the link above called Charles Commons for more pictures. 

Junior year, I spent the fall term living in a Boston University dorm in Washington, D.C.  I don't think I ever took any pictures of my room there otherwise I would include them.  My apartment there had three bedrooms (two singles and a double) with a huge living room and kitchen.  I shared the apartment with one other girl from Hopkins and two girls from Ithaca College in New York.  It was in a great neighborhood right by the National Zoo, I absolutely loved living there!

When I came back in the spring term, I moved into an off-campus apartment two and a half block away from campus with one of my suitemates from freshman/sophomore year.  The other two girls from my suite in Building A/Charles Commons lived together in the fall and one went abroad in the spring while the other stayed here.  It worked out perfectly though since most apartments in the neighborhood only have a maximum of two bedrooms. 

Our apartment is a two-bedroom with a huge entry way and living room, a dining room, and one bathroom. It's a gigantic apartment and it was really fun to get to decorate it all on our own. Here are some photos:

 

The photo on the left is of our dining room and the photo on the right is of my bedroom.  If you want to see pictures of the whole apartment, click the link above that says Marylander Apartments.  I know a lot of people (especially parents) look for universities that offer four years of guaranteed dorm housing (which Hopkins does not) but I think everyone should reconsider the value of living off-campus.  I've had a great experience!  My building is really safe and so many of my friends live here it still feels like we're in the dorms sometimes.  Living off-campus really forces you to grow up--you have to pay your cable and electric bills and your rent and you have to remember to do it on time! The other major change is not having a meal plan which means you have to do all your own grocery shopping and cooking (or, at the very least, you have to call the take out place all by yourself!).  I feel really lucky that I go to school in a city where it is possible to gain the experience of living off campus without being more than a three minute walk away from my classes. 

That's it for the tour of all my Hopkins rooms! 

One last word of advice: remember to get your housing forms in on time!!!

Hopkins' New President

President Daniels gets it. 

Most adults in a university setting have no idea what to do with the undergraduates.  They certainly appreciate our drive and passion for learning but, beyond that, tend to view undergrads as one big walking liability.  We create noise complaints in the community, we constantly need new and updated dorms, we complain about the hours of the dining hall, and we generally just create a ruckus (we are college students after all). 

Accordingly, most administrators' main method of dealing with undergrads is damage control.  How can they give us just enough to appease us without giving us too much?  And in saying all this, I am not speaking specifically about Hopkins but about universities as a whole.  Neglect of undergraduate life is a complaint that is common across all of higher education. 

Though not if President Daniels has anything to say about it. 

It's pretty remarkable that an institution which is widely known for its hospital and medical school chose a legal scholar and former provost of another university to be its President.  For quite some time now, Hopkins has been building up its social sciences and humanities programs and, personally, I think it's great that our President will reflect that drive. 

I had the amazing opportunity to have lunch with President Daniels last week in the Fresh Food Cafe (the freshman dining hall).  On his first day at work, he asked to meet with a group of students and they asked all the applicants to the Young Trustee program to sit with him for an hour and talk about what we liked about Hopkins, hated about it, etc.  They felt that since we are all seniors we would be able to offer him the well-informed insight that comes from living in and around a university for three and a half years.  What really surprised me was how interested he was in what we had to say.  He sat at the table listening to the 15 of us debate back and forth about the pros and cons of certain Hopkins programs and furiously took notes.  As if I didn't already feel lucky to be sitting down to lunch with the University President, I felt doubly more fortunate that he actually cared about us as undergraduates. 

Interestingly enough, this was not the first time I had met President Daniels.  One day in late January, he was being toured around the campus by Dean Burger who is the Vice Provost of the University and they both happened to walk into the Great Hall (which is one of the main event halls on campus) while I was helping to set up for an Alpha Phi recruitment event.  The room was sort of in a shambles as we made balloon arches, hung banners, and set up table cloths for our Fabulous Life of Alpha Phi themed party.  I have to say, he seemed a little confused at first about what exactly they had walked in on. 

But I was totally shocked that instead of quickly ushering him out to another place with less glitter and ribbon lying around, Dean Burger brought President Daniels over to a few of our sisters to introduce us.  He shook my hand, asked my name, and asked me to explain what we were setting up for.  I admittedly felt a little silly as I stood there telling the future president of the University about the rush process and how we have themed parties each night, etc.  But I never lost his attention.  He proceeded to ask me questions about the role of greek life on campus, how many girls were going through recruitment, how big was our chapter, how many chapters were there on campus? 

I was a little confused.  Though, this was clearly before I realized how much President Daniels is committed to building upon the already fantastic undergraduate experience here at Hopkins. 

Let me tell you, I do not need more reasons to be sad about leaving this place.  It's hard enough already to think about leaving soon!  But seeing how much President Daniels cares makes me really sad I will have to miss out on the improvements that I know will come about during his tenure as President.  But for those of you who are just starting to consider Hopkins, at least you know now how lucky you all are!

Ode to Baltimore

For whatever reason, people always seem surprised to hear me talk about how much I love Baltimore.  Perhaps because the conversation usually goes something like this:  "So where are you from?"  "New York City"  "Oh so how do you like Baltimore in comparison?"  "I absolutely love Baltimore"  "Really? Why?"

I'll tell you why.  Baltimore gets a bad rap--usually from people who know nothing about it or assume that the whole city is like what you see on The Wire.  First of all, let me begin by saying, I am a huge fan of The Wire (seriously, one of the best tv shows ever) and someone who assumes that everything on that show (which is based largely on plot lines of drug wars, crime, and political corruption) is indicative of a bad, horrible city is wrong.  Someone who takes away that image of Batlimore has completely missed the point David Simon tries to get across in The Wire.  The show demonstrates, above all, that among such problems lie good people.  It's no coincidence that one of the most engaging and lovable characters on that show is one of the drug kingpins who is usually spotted with a variety of guns on his person. 

Anyways, sorry about my tangent on The Wire--I clearly wasn't kidding when I said I'm a huge fan--but I think it really gets to the reason why people assume that Baltimore is a bad place.

Maybe those same reasons are precisely why I love Baltimore.  It is a city with a really rich history and a lot of character.  Baltimore's nick name is "Charm City" and it really is fitting.  I don't know about you, but I would so much rather live and go to school in a city known for its gritty style than it's boring countryside nothingness.  This is college, not the country club.  Why people choose to spend their college years in the middle of nowhere is beyond my understanding.  But that's just me. 

Enough of my depricating notions about non urban areas.  Let's get back to Baltimore.  I wish that I had explored more of Baltimore earlier in my Hopkins career.  There's so much to do here, you just need to put in the effort to find everything that's available.  One thing that I love about Baltimore is that it has fantastic restaurants.  There are great places like Pazo which is a tapas restaurant on Aliceanna Street in downtown Baltimore.  Little Italy has some really great (and some not so great) places.  Everyone has a favorite place though--personally, mine is Amicci's.  Little Italy is also home to Vaccaro's which is famous for its Monday night $12 all you can eat dessert special.  Baltimore sponsors a restaurant week twice a year where most places in the city will offer a fixe price discount dinner menu.  I love restaurant week since it's a great way to get to know more restaurants around the city.  One of my all time favorite Baltimore places is The Brewer's Art in Mount Vernon near Hopkins' Peabody Institute.  Brewer's has the best burger in Baltimore (with rosemary fries! yum) and amazing mussles (I'm a big seafood fan).  The restaurant is fantastic and once you turn 21, the bar section downstairs is really fun too.  It's a really laid back environment and really exemplifies a typical Balitmore scene.  Some of my best Hopkins memories have come from sitting around one of the big tables in brewer's with my best friends. 

Unfortunately, I didn't start to really appreciate Baltimore until my late junior/senior year and I wish I had started earlier.  One of the most influential components of my interest in Baltimore is a class that I took last term called The Power of Place: Race and Community in East Baltimore.  The class is taught by Professor Melanie Shell-Weiss who is truly one of the best professors here at Hopkins.  The course doesn't have any assignments except the weekly readings, a required oral history with a resident of East Baltimore, and a final project on a topic of your choosing.  The mission of this class is to contribute to a joint project between the History department and Africana Studies department to chronicle the history of East Baltimore, specifically the neighborhood "Middle East" that abuts the Johns Hopkins Hospital.  Urban renewal (part of which is being sponsored by Hopkins) is causing this neighborhood to change rapidly and many of the residents are leaving. 

For my final project, I studied how the Middle East neighborhood has been represented in maps throughout the years.  The project is focused on digitizing a lot of material about East Baltimore so I was mostly looking for digital copies of historic maps.  It was pretty interesting but really pales in comparison to the project that it lead me to.  This semester, I am continuting the course as an independent study.  Now I am looking at Baltimore city property records and trying to trace the ownership of the houses in East Baltimore.  Much of rationale for this new urban renewal project (called the East Baltimore Development Initiative) was that the neighborhood was run down and vacant.  My project is taking a look at ownership history to track how the city itself owned most of these houses and purposefully kept them vacant to make an excuse for their urban renewal project. 

See! Humanities kids do research too!!

I am totally starting this project from scratch and navigating the Maryland state and Baltimore city archives has been a bit of a challenge but the information I am finding is so interesting I really think the hard work will be worth it.  I love this sort of investigative stuff so it's really been great to have a professor who both inspires me and motivates me to do more with this project.  It totally feels like a way-less-cool version of all the investigation they do on The Wire.  (see, you had to know I would bring this story back to The Wire.  Note the picture of detective Jimmy McNulty).   I just feel really lucky that Hopkins has introduced me to the great (sometimes sordid) world of Baltimore.  It really is a charming place. 

The Semester of Lasts

This semester truly is the semester of "lasts."  Everything that happens is the last time I'll do this, the last time I'll do that, etc.  It's still early in the term so I haven't had too many "lasts" yet. 

But I had my first "last" moment four days ago.  I was with my Alpha Phi chapter at formal recruitment for sororities (which takes place during the first week of the spring semester) and as we ushered the last group of freshmen out of the room (while singing, of course.  Recruitment involves a lot of singing...don't ask.) I realized this was the last chance I would have to sing those songs with these girls. 

Throughout recruitment, so many freshmen have asked me how it feels to be a senior and am I sad to leave Alpha Phi and Hopkins behind next year?  Of course the answer is yes on both counts.  I can't begin to tell any of them how sad I am to leave my chapter and the school behind next year.  Two days ago we had our final night of recruitment which is a formal ceremony and I had to deliver the senior speech, trying to sound eloquent and still keep my composure as I tried to explain to the freshmen in the room how lucky they are to have this opportunity! 

This is me and all my fellow seniors at the final night of recruitment.  A number of the girls from our original pledge class have graduated a semester early or were no longer active in Alpha Phi but the group of us that is left is such a great group of girls, all of whom I have loved being at Hopkins with for the past four years.  

 

Last semester all my friends were ecstatic to be seniors but the tone has definitely shifted from a "yeahhh senior year!" to a "woah. senior year?"  It's starting to get really...real (for a lack of a better term) that we're leaving soon.  But you know what they say, better to be happy about all the good times than to be sad they're over.  And after all, they are far from over.  I have until the end of May to make the most of Hopkins and, with a little help from my friends, I certainly intend to! 

I love my three classes this term and I'm really excited about my two independent studies (one is senior thesis in Political Science and one is independent study in History).  It's so rewarding to have such a firm control over my own academic experience this term.  Clearly I still have work for my classes but a lot of my academic endeavors this semester are self-guided and on topics that really interest me. 

I'm definitely excited for this term--save the best for last, right?!

The View from Senior Year

Picking a college is not an easy choice to make but we all know that, if it was, it wouldn't be a choice worth making.  There are certainly a lot of factors to consider but the one that most frequently gets forgotten is your own feelings and opinions. 

Because, truth is, picking a college is actually a pretty easy decision.  It's drowning out all the other opinions and considerations around you that is so hard.  If you strip away all the issues about academics, distance from home, financials, and so on, there really is one place each and every one of you knows deep down you want to attend.  When April rolls around and you have a list of schools that have accepted you, I guarantee you there will be one on that list that you know is the place for you--no matter what mom/dad/guidance counselor says. 

And that school--the one that you look at and know it's right for you--that is where you should go. 

But if you need a little help or a new perspective, maybe my story about how I feel about picking Hopkins, looking back after almost four years, can shed some light on your decision. 

What I think a lot of students tend to ignore during the entire college process is the fact that you are not only picking somewhere to study and learn but you are really picking a place to live.  Academics are (believe it or not) such a small part of your college experience, even at a place like Hopkins where academics are important and are taken seriously by all students here.  Fact is, you can get good academics at so many schools and I'm sure anyone applying to Hopkins is considering other institutions which are academically comparable.  The deciding factors are really the environmental ones--location, housing options, student life, people, etc.  Most applicants consider these factors only in passing without realizing that they will be the most important parts of their college experience. 

As a high schooler, it is difficult to think about what you are going to want out of your college experience which is why it is so important to pick a school where you can grow; one where there are opportunities you don't even think you want right now; one where the people don't limit themselves to a set personality and instead take what's in front of them and run with it; one where you as a person at the time of your college commencement will be very different from how you are at your high school graduation. 

By no means does college radically transform every fiber of your being but it does have the ability to alter your worldview and to adjust your vision of where you see yourself post-college (especially since your high school vision of post-college life can only be something vague and undefined). 

Hopkins is definitely a place where the opportunities abound and it is a school where the diverse student body really does allow themselves to change.  I know that I have grown a lot over the past four years and all my friends have done the same.  What some of us thought we wanted to major in as freshmen ended up changing drastically.  Some who wanted to be doctors now want to be lawyers.  Some who wanted to work in engineering are now thinking about business.  Some who wanted to be lawyers want to work in non-profits. 

As for me, when I came into college, I thought I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do (law school, for sure, I thought).  When I walk across that stage and get my diploma in May, I will still have no idea what on earth I want to do with my life and I couldn't feel better about it. 

A school that allows you to grow will make you graduate with more questions in your mind than answers.  I've learned that college can't be an answer to any question.  Instead, it gives you the tools to ask better questions and to think more sensibly about where you want to go and how you can get there.  A college education is definitely not geared toward practical learning.  I'm not saying that Hopkins has not prepared me for later life because it has, but the actual academics themselves are not going to teach you how to pursue any particular career, they are only going to enable you to approach later career and life decisions with a more finely honed intellect. 

What my argument here boils down to is, when you are thinking about colleges this spring and picking the one you want to attend, pay more attention to the life you will have there, not just the school part.  A college is way more than a school and the longer you spend in college, the more you come to see that this isn't the place you learn, this is the place you live.  

At home in New York, whenever I am thinking something over or can't focus, I always look out my window and just kind of stare off until I can regain my focus.  Somehow it always works.  

The view of cars and buses on E. 96th Street and, if you strain your neck just enough, the TriBoro Bridge that goes into Queens somehow always resets my mind.

I think that is a pretty good gague of a college life--make sure you pick some place where you will like when you see when you look out your window.  I don't mean the prettiest school necessarily but a place where, when you look around, you can clear your head.  School shouldn't stress you out (all the time), it should be a place you enjoy and that inspires you. 

If you are like me and you come to visit Hopkins in April when the trees and flowers have bloomed and the sun is out, you will probably realize that this is the place for you; that the view from your window will be the best one there is (well, maybe except for New York... kidding!)

Good luck with all your college decisions and just remember to think about yourself and what you want!  It will all work out in the end.  Trust me, I'm a senior.  :)

I applied to Hopkins, what next?

So you applied to Hopkins.  (Congrats on finishing your applications!)  So, what happens next?  Where do you fit in during the interminable wait for April 1st?  Well, unfortunately, there's not much you can do.  But there are a few things you should know.  I answer the phones in admissions a few days a week and these are the questions I get a lot:

1.  Does Hopkins have an online portal for applicants where I get a user name and password to check my status and decision?

No. Hopkins has no such thing.  If you have not received log in information for our applicant portal, it's because we don't have one.  No need to worry about this.

 2. Will Hopkins let me know the status of my application materials.  Should I call to check? 

Yes, Hopkins will let you know via email ONLY IF YOU ARE MISSING ITEMS.  We will not contact you in any way if your application is complete. (No news is good news!) These emails will be sent out sometime in mid-February.  Calling us does not expedite the notification process.  If we haven't sent you an email yet, we won't be able to tell you over the phone either.  As you may imagine, there are literally thousands of pieces of mail the staff has to go through and it takes a long time!

3. I did something really cool after I sent in my application, can I update it?  How?

Definitely!  If you won a track meet, got an award at Model UN, landed the lead in the school play, etc. that's great!  If you think it would add to your candidacy as an applicant, send a short email to the admissions counselor who reads for your state and let them know.  You can find their emails here.  Please don't needlessly email them, they are very very busy people.  Make sure it's important and that it's actually relevant to you as a prospective student.  Please don't (!!) email them just to see if they read your essays yet, that's just plain annoying. 

4. Can I come for an overnight visit before April? 

No.  Our only overnights for the rest of the school year will be for admitted students.  If you are admitted, feel free to sign up in April!

5. Can I come visit for a regular tour and information session before April?

OF COURSE!  We're always here Monday-Friday with information sessions at 10am and 1pm and tours at 11am and 2pm.  Stop by any time!

These are just a few of the questions I could think of off the top of my head.  Post any others you may have in the comments and I'll answer it!

Hmm. Well... Wait, I only get to do this once more?

Hmmm. That's interesting.  The craziest thing just happened to me.  Last night, I SWEAR I went to sleep in a twin size bed in my room in Building A with my brand new bedding from that place that sends you the catalog with your Orientation mailing.  But I woke up this morning and I seemed to be in a queen size bed in a two-bedroom apartment about three blocks from the freshman quad. 

I don't really understand.  Last night I was studying for an exam in Introduction to Sociology and Intro to American Politics.  But then today I had to work on this crazily long anthropology paper about the forces of capitalism and how they change the experience of mental illness. 

My suitemates and I stayed up all last night talking about how we are faring through our first college end of term finals experience and how much we have to look forward to in the next term of freshman year...

And now you're telling me I only get to go through this one more time? 

This can't be right.  There must be some kind of mistake. 

In the time since I sat in the hallway of Building A 2nd floor, I didn't even do anything!  I've only had the chance to rush a sorority, become a student worker in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, become a tour guide, (stop giving tours), become a campus interviewer, (drop out of the debate team), become Director of Standing Committees for the Model UN Conference, (turn in all my delegate guides late), become Vice President of my sorority, get a new job in Admissions, work for the New York City Council (twice), move to Washington, D.C. for four months, (commute from Baltimore to D.C. every morning and night for two months), intern at the Brookings Institution (twice), watch the Hopkins Blue Jays win a national lacrosse title, (watch the Blue Jays lose in the semifinals), eat in all the new dining halls, try new Baltimore restaurants, take thirty-five different classes, (admittedly hated at least two of them), turn 19, turn 20, turn 21, and (in three weeks) turn 22?!?!?!

Sheesh, that was a lot! And you mean that all happened OVERNIGHT?!

Well, ok not really but it certainly feels that way! And now that I'm *almost* done with all my finals for first semester senior year I can't really fathom that I only get one more term here.  I've had the chance to do so many amazing things here, I can't begin to say how much I appreciate the past three years.  So, youngins, when you're sitting around in your freshman dorms talking about all the things you want to do over the next few years remember to stop and look around once in a while...you just might wake up in your senior year.