Hi again!

So while classes have been extremely fun, they've been difficult and time-consuming at the same time. That's why it's nice to spend some time during the weekend hanging out with friends and just having fun.

Last weekend, one of my friends turned 18, so she drove us over to the Lakewood Center to watch a movie. We got to the movie theater around 10:00. While scanning through the list of movie titles and times, we dicided that we wanted to watch the new movie Looper (if you haven't seen it yet, you should!) which was showing at 11:30. Since we had over an hour until the movie started, we decided to go to Denny's  and ordered some food wile wating for the movie to start. Though we didn't do much of anything that was "crazy" and "adventurous" it was just really nice to eat good food and talk together, not having to worry about assignments due the next week. A lot of people emphasize that studying is important, and I agree with this. However, I also think that it's important to occasionally take a break and have fun with friends.

It's also really nice to get away from campus to do some grocery shopping. I went to Target with some friends and bought bread, cereal bars, coffee, and snacks. We also went to Panera (a bakery-style cafe) and grabbed some dinner there.

There's a lot of opportunities to get away from school for a bit with friends and have an evening off!

-Loana

Hooray, the rain is back in Washington!

The title says it all; after almost three months of nearly drought (in Washington, can you believe it?!) the rain is finally back.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I've missed it!

Now, the creeks will start streaming and the grass will be green again, AND, a great excuse to wear my new rain jacket!

The birds aren't complaining either as these ones were chilling on a traffic light pole, chattering amongst themselves.

All I can say is: WELCOME BACK TO WASHINGTON, RAIN. I've missed you. :)

Best,
Lina.

My Transition to a New Community

Sorry for the late update my friends:)

I have been busy since the beginning of the semester, as you can probably tell from me not being able to post this blog on time. There are SO MANY activities happening on campus! And I am so anxious to get involved in every single event. Here is when reality kicks in, the time is not enough. I finally understand how difficult it can be to manage the time between school and fun activities.

The first day of school went well. I am taking five classes in total. COMA 215 (Writing for Communication), Religion 236 (Native American Religious Traditions), and Ballroom Dance are my favorite courses so far. I enjoy being in the classes taught by professors who have the passions in teaching. I guess I learn better that way when I know the professors care about the subjects and are aware of what they are doing. Professors of this kind never fail bringing positive influences into my life, and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world by only thinking about them. From my writing course, I learned to think and say that "I am working on improving my writing", instead of "I am not good at writing". From the religion class, I studied about Native American traditions, which opened my eyes to a totally different world. Finally in my Ballroom Dance class, I dance,of course. And I am also having lots of fun dancing with others!

Studying has been my top priority for the past 14 years, so I decided to shift my way of thinking this time. I became more interested in spending more time with people, rather than interacting with only textbooks and loads of homework. Once I made up my mind to change, I noticed the difference immediately.

I appreciate all of the amazing people I have met so far. Spending time with them gives me a special kind of pleasure. I believe friendship is built upon communication. The more we spend time talking to our friends, the more we know about them. The more we know about them, the closer we get to their hearts. During the past month, I had a chance to interact with many people and to embrace different cultures at the same time. I just felt in love with the feeling of being with people.The life stories others shared made me reflect on my own through a third-person view. It brought up so many new meanings of life that I haven't really thought about before.

My journey at PLU has just begun, and I really look forward to the future. Whether or not it's challenging, I am ready.

Life of a Nursing Major

So you're about to go to College and you are trying to choose a major...Well, I am not here to scare you away. Instead, I am here to let you know what a Nursing Major is all about...Welcome to my life.

Phase 1: The Prerequisites
Getting accepted to PLU is one thing, getting accepted to the School of Nursing at PLU is another thing.
I was psyched the day I got the e-mail from Hiro saying that I got accepted to PLU. 2 - 3 months later, I got a letter in the mail saying that I've got the Provost's Scholarship and boy, I was so happy I could die.

But months and months and I still didn't get any email or letters from the School of Nursing. For me, it doesn't mean anything if I get accepted to PLU and not to the School of Nursing (SoN). Nursing is what I want to do and I do not want to change my major whatsoever.

The reason why I was freaking out because of the requirements for Nursing. PLU SoN requires TOEFL, Human Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology along with many other classes that could give you a headache just by looking at the name of it. I was a straight A student and my TOEFL was decent enough, however, grades and scores were not everything the SoN wanted. Unlike others, I didn't not have a lot of volunteer experiences since I had two jobs prior to SoN and according to a lot of people whom got accepted to SoN, volunteer experiences is one of the most important factors to make your application stand out.

My advice to you.... GET GOOD GRADES YET GET SOME VOLUNTEER HOURS

Phase 2: The First Semester at PLU
And so I got accepted to PLU and  the SoN.
Since I went to a community college prior to this, I was way beyond excited for this real college experience. I was ready to get involved, to hang out with friends from my dorm, to stay up late to watch a movie or play video games...

Reality hit me and none of that happened...
I am not saying that my life was a living hell. Oh no, don't quote me on that.
I am saying my college experience is awesome, it's just not awesome in a stereotypical way.
Right from the beginning, I was advised not to work during the school year since the Nursing program is quite intense. However, I still got 2 jobs: Admission Intern and Bookstore Sale Associate. Working on campus allowed me to get to know a lot of people as well as the culture at PLU. I am glad I applied to those two jobs.
However, the SoN is  right. Working while doing the Nursing Program is intense. I had to organize my time carefully every single semester in order to have time for both. It was hard.

I ran for ASPLU Senate position and I got elected as a Senator for the Academic year of 2011-2012. So yeah, I did get involved. I hung out with my Nursing friends and my roommate from Pflueger (the name of my residence hall). And I also stayed up late to watch How I Met Your Mother, and by late, I meant 11pm.

Want to know why I said reality hit me and none of what I expected happened the way I wanted? Then you would have to wait for my next entry...
 This blog entry is getting long and I need to do this to keep you all interested in what's coming up next...

Stay tuned....
Henry Tieu

First Semester at PLU

Hi, this is Loana! I started classes three weeks ago at PLU, and though they have been challenging I've been having a lot of fun! I'm currently taking HIST 260 (Early Modern European History), MUSI 103 (History of Jazz), and PSYC 335 (Cultural Psychology).

HIST 260 is really cool because the professor really enjoys what he teaches. So far, we've learned about the Renaissance printing press, impact of gunpowder in Europe, and the impacts of humanism on current education. We also get to look at Renaissance art once in a while during classes, and that's a lot of fun :)

MUSI 103 is taught by the jazz band director. He's a piano player, so he uses the piano to demonstrate different key ideas in jazz. I've also gotten some education outside of the classroom; there was a required gig at The Swiss in downtown Tacoma. It was really cool to be able to apply what I learned in class to actual music!

PSYC 335 has been really interesting. Since the professor is Japanese, I've been able to relate to some of the example that he gives of Japanese culture. It's been challenging because most of the students who are taking that class are juniors and seniors, but it's been a learning experience for me to rise up to the challenge. I'm really hoping that this class will help me grow.

Besides studying I've spent a lot of time practicing music and spending time with friends. I've also gone to Seattle the last two weekends. During my first trip, I went to the EMP (Experience Music Project Museum). I definitely recommend it! During my second trip, I visited the international district, and bought a lot of Japanese food and drinks! Well, I'm excited to be here, and hope everyone has a great week!