Where do I go?

by Kathleen, a Patriot Blogger

Now is the time to decide.

For incoming freshman, it’s their new home for the next four years.

For graduating seniors, it’s whether to work, go for further education, etc.

For me, it’s deciding what to do when to best manage social sanity and finals.

But a few weekends ago was the Spotlight Day at Mason and as a volunteer for CGE (Center for Global Education) and Mason Admissions, I was able to witness the true excitement on our campus. To see all the admitted students asking real questions, pondering study abroad and our numerous options, communicating to the charismatic ambassadors, it was a fun event!

I didn’t actually realize how many people I knew on this campus that were truly involved on furthering our community awareness. Seeing my roommate in her neon yellow shirt, my study abroad friend and newly-inducted floormate as ambassadors talking, my other floormate wearing the Student Government shirt, talking to another Mason blogger, and more, every place I turned, I saw a familiar smiling face.

And then it hit me.

This campus may be daunting to some; the sheer number of attending college sudents a lot.

But it never feels like it.

Even during ‘rush hour’ around lunch time as everyone scours for food, a place to sit, time to catch up with friends, I still am able to see dozens of familiar faces. In fact, I love walking in the JC because the probability of running into a friend is high, for the same reason it could be dauting to come here.

Essentially, though Mason is a large school, our campus isn’t hard to navigate, the professors are easily accessible, and there are many opportunities to get involved.

In fact, though I’m a science major, I’m the chief of filmography for the first-ever TEDx conference to come to Mason! The opportunity presented itself and I latched on the chance to learn more about film, the various departments on campus, and meet some amazing, talented people.

Essentially, I stepped out of my comfort zone. And last night, my roommate Ashley prepared a project for her communications—public speaking course, demonstrating she stepped out of her comfort zone as a soccer player to learn how to dance.

So, tagged in this blog are three videos: Mason Spotlight Day review, TEDx conference interview with the professors (stay tuned on the page because I’m editing a pre-conference event featuring the Mason professor speakers), and Ashley’s dancing skills!

Enjoy all these films and happy finals/AP/decision-time!

Kathleen

In the zone, AutoZone

by Kathleen, a Patriot Blogger

That’s a catchy slogan, but if you’re not a car, or are actually going out of your comfort zone, that’s cool, too.

In fact, this Sunday is Mason’s admitted students day—the day last year that I realized I would make Mason my new home.

It’s going to be crazy volunteering at this event for Center for Global Education, wearing my CGE shirt with pride; it’ll hit me that a new freshman class is here and a new group of alumni will be crowned.

I remember my first time on a college campus, sort of embarrassed that I was in a tour group—clearly a newbie, but very relieved so I didn’t get lost on such huge grounds! For most admitted students visiting campus Sunday, this is the same deal—nervous yet excited.

Well don’t think you’re alone. In fact, I know eight Mason professors who are “frightened, yet excited.”

These eight Mason professors are going to be participating in the first ever TEDx conference at Mason. And you guessed it!! I will be in charge for filming this exciting conference which includes a guest appearance by our Provost and Congressman Gerry Connolly. 

It’s sort of a huge deal. The only way to describe it is with a car slogan: We are getting in our zone on May 6^th.

So while the professors are picking topics to speak about, ranging from translating plays to astrobiology, they, too, feel nervous and excited about this opportunity.

And the third piece of this pie?

I’m nervous, too. I’ve done various pieces of film projects before, but I’m all self-taught. Luckily, there’s something in me because as we speak, the Global Programs is playing my Student Activism film in Dewberry Hall! But nevertheless, it’s a new challenge and I’ve gratefully recruited some film majors at Mason to volunteer with me, too.

So to anyone reading this, whether it be parents excited for Mason Day, students nervous to make a decision, professors taking on new research opportunities, student directors and filmers, everyone can feel nervous when they step out of their comfort zone.

But you know what? No one is alone, and that is how we progress.

–Kathleen

The Power of Helping Hands

by Kathleen, a Patriot Blogger

Someone asked me today what the meaning of happiness was, whether one could be happy if they only strived for individual goals.

Now this is a debate for people on other forums, perhaps psychologically or scientifically based studies, but the question got me thinking about …

Student Activism.

As it turns out, one of my professors sent me the link to one of Mason’s film festivals, Global Program’s festival, and the topic was student activism. So, during spring break, I pulled out my camera and went to town. My camera and I went to various places on campus and off-campus—I even took it with me out of the country!

Essentially, the compilation of this video makes me smile because thanks to my friends and peers, a diverse group of college students are the voices of student activism.

Every time I make a video, or being a new project, I have some sort of vision in my head. Hardly ever does the video turn out to be exactly as I imagined, but every once in awhile it becomes something new that is great in its own way.

I’m not saying I’m a film maker, I will leave that to my friend at NYU, but I am trying to send a message about the importance of social service projects, leaving a comfort zone to help those around you, becoming in tune with the community.

So the video attached is my final version of this student activism film and I truly hope that the message implied is one that resonates with you, gets you thinking, or simply makes you want to do something nice for someone else.

I mean, when I saw Mason faculty high-fiving each other on antiparallel golf carts, how could my day not be made? Just watching people interact and smile, not to mention actually smiling at someone you know personally, can make a day a whole lot brighter.

Can you imagine the power of service?

Feeling like Pocahontas

by Kathleen, a Patriot Blogger

So as I was sitting on the bench, enjoying the sun on my back, wind in my hair, and chemistry on my lap, a spider decided to join my study session. Unfortunately, I wasn’t too thrilled by my new partner, so I gently took a sheet of paper and escorted my friend to the grass. Unfortunately, he didn’t appreciate my taking the initiative to find him a new tanning spot and sped back up to my shoulder on his weaving web.

Later, I was joined by two bees whose buzzing echoed the sound of elegant chirping of the birds appraising the blossoms.

In the background was GMU’s radio station, WGMU, and Mason’s organizations handing out freshly baked funnel cakes to contemporary spins and mixes of various songs.

Essentially, I spent hours sitting on a bench doing homework and simply enjoying the nice weather we’ve been blessed with this first week back.

For some reason, as the final half of the semester progresses, my friends and I have been wondering about our future careers, summer plans, and simply, desires for advancement. It’s interesting that even as ‘freshmen’ we think about our future desires this much; it seems uncharacteristic when I hear stories about my roommates, friends, or share some of my own encounters with various professors, advisors, and career services. However, I firmly believe it’s never too early to start thinking about what you want to do with your college degree, when and where you want to study abroad, what your common passion is that you want to expand on, and so forth.

Filming projects are always fun

So, as I was studying about chemical concentrations and pH values, bonding with various living creatures around me, admiring the cherry blossoms, and enjoying the sheer amount of smiling faces, I was also calmly contemplating my future and the vast amount of opportunities that this location has to offer.

And no matter what epiphanies you have, no matter the time of year, or induced by the nice weather, you are never alone in your planning and there are advisors or willing ears around you to help you through the traffic at your train station—or arena, if you’re living in the Hunger Games.

–

Also, a heads up that I’m currently working on a film project about student activism for one of the many film festivals that Mason is holding this spring!

Spunk Buggy, I want some cookies!

by Kathleen, a Patriot Blogger

Wisps were falling out of my bun, ice cream Dibs were being passed around, and the entire circle was laughing. We were eating on the lawn, in the heart of campus, relishing in a beautiful day. It was a nice twist, hanging out with some friends from various groups, sharing stories about high school memories and where we were this time last year.

When I walked back to the Park, I smiled seeing students playing soccer and football, the lack of heavy jackets or boots, and other students just sitting on the stairs or on the grass. I, myself, brought some statistics homework and studied at a table.

As the night progressed, the floor came alive and everyone was hanging out in the study room. Whether it was passing a soccer ball around, performing impromptu dance moves, finger painting, sharing YouTube favorites, or even planning our spring break adventures, it was so refreshing to hang out with my floor-and for several hours!

It’s easy to get caught up in the stress of midterms, time-commitment of papers and lab reports, craziness of planning return trips home, the daily drama of life…but it’s a gift from mother nature when the rays of the sun draws out the laughter of happy Mason Patriots.

And so, while I return home late tomorrow evening, excited to reconvene with my family and reconnect with my high school friends, I am always excited to see the life on-campus flourish.

Besides, Student Government was handing out free Otis Spunkmeyer cookies and when Kelly Clarkson talks about becoming stronger…

Happy Break

“Behind these Hazel Eyes”

by Kathleen, a Patriot Blogger

My eyes are brown, but thank you Kelly Clarkson. Nevertheless, the song has a powerful meaning behind it, which I learned today to interpret it as: you never know.

You see a person, make a judgment or categorize a face, and move on. It’s how we process information into our memory and sometimes, retrieval cues will signal the memory from a pile of stored information.

But how do you really know a person, or what they’re going through? How well do you know the people around you?

Take, for instance, a few individuals in my chemistry and psychology statistics course. Whenever I go to my biology lab every eight hours, I’ll see other lab partners on the same schedule and I’ll recognize faces! I never thought that these peers of mine were also in my genetics class, experiencing the same time-commitment for this semester’s mapping project.

Or, for instance, my father.

I finally went to visit his work today, hopping on the ‘Mason to Metro’ shuttle, crossing metro lines at Rosslyn, and taking another bus to the main center. In my professional attire and spectacles, I stopped on the wrong floor before I was redirected to the highest level. Finally walking in, the company’s office occupied the whole floor and I looked up to see him standing there.

I was finally at his work. For my university 100 class we are required to shadow a few companies to gain a greater understanding of applying our majors to the work force. Interestingly, the class has allowed us to build our resumes, challenged us to visit the job fair, and pushed us to keep challenging ourselves in our future paths.

So, I was introduced to every employee of the company, spanning analysts, accountants, business developers, and even the top vice presidents and executive. I was amazed to see how hard-working everyone was, finding joy in each other’s presence and encouragement during the toughest/busiest season for their company.

In essence, I learned about the true interworking of any business and how all of the responsibility falls on several people’s shoulders. If I were walking on the street and saw any one of these individuals, I wouldn’t know that at their company, it was stress overload season.

Connection Time:

As I was on my way to biology lab, I didn’t know I would be seeing several familiar faces. As I went to a new club meeting, I didn’t expect to see faces from my gym class (cardio kickboxing at the Aquatic Center, free for Mason students), acquaintances from the beginning of the school year, or my peer advisor.

I never realized how much everyone’s life deviates from an expected routine everyday, just like mine. And perhaps it sounds far-fetched but it’s easy to forget that despite the craziness of your life, people are spending just as many hours devoted to their priorities as well. Even if those priorities are different, varying upon age and work experience, people who are working—and working hard—are all contributing to a common goal of excellence and improvement.

So, as we each work towards our own goals, even if it’s making it to spring break, it’s interesting to remember that behind those eyes of a stranger could be the same emotions behind yours.

I’m no Scrooge!

by Kathleen, a Patriot Blogger

I sat in the conference room, trying not to admire the plush fabric of the cream leather chair I sat in. I prepared my papers and clicked my pen to ‘prepared mode.’

Where was I?

Homestretch, Inc., the non-profit agency that Honors College Connects is currently working in conjunction with in order to create a publishable research report on the effectiveness of traditional housing on the homeless population in NOVA.

Representing George Mason University, a few group members and I gathered questions we accumulated about the progress and expectations of future assignments this new semester and drove to the headquarters in Falls Church.

Hence, my sitting in a conference room and trying not to slip-up by swirling in the chair.

Nevertheless, I felt that sharing this experience is important due to the recent on-campus events in commemoration of Easter and the Lenten season. No matter what religion or background you come from, I think it’s admirable for anyone to ‘wear’ their faith with pride. I have friends from all different backgrounds and religious beliefs, even friends who are atheist. No matter the differences in culture, though, we are united by our acceptance of diversity, common interests, and major choice. Each embracing our cultures with pride, we are able to share interesting stories and family traditions with each other—always learning more about the world around us.

So, when I walked around the Johnson Center and saw groups of Catholics wearing the ashes on their foreheads, I smiled. Another group was “wearing” their religion at a momentous time of their practice with pride.

Even if my meeting with the non-profit organization was before any of these events happened, the topic of sacrifice and service has been on my mind. And even if you are not religious or Catholic, sometimes it takes someone else’s decision to spark an introspection moment in yourself: Should I be doing more service, or active involvement in the community? Is there something I’ve recently adapted to doing that I don’t like? What are my priorities?

It’s hard to balance everything, sometimes, nevertheless adding more involvement and activities to the list. However, I feel like the hardest moments of your life are meant to test you and show you how brilliant you really are. Take this week, for example. Every eight hours I have to go to David King Hall to create new subcultures of flies for my genetics lab. It is so much more work to all the midterms I’ve had this week and is by far the hardest week in my whole college experience.

Taking deep breaths, escaping with music, and enjoying my walks to class in the nice weather, I’m finding joy in the small things that I’ve forgotten can be a key part in our lives. Seeing the life and diversity on a college campus inspires me, and I’m taking that inspiration and trying to use it to inspire a change within myself to better serve the community.

So, even if this is a hard week or things have caught up to you and you feel overwhelmed, push yourself the extra mile out of your own mind and try to do something nice for someone else.

We know it took Scrooge mega-introspection time and the guidance of other people’s (ghosts) talents for clearing the biased haze to show the true reality of what he was really doing, before he could make a change.

“Be the change in the world that you wish to see.”

(Pictures from Google Images)

The Magical Eighth Note

by Kathleen, a Patriot Blogger

Have you ever been confused or tired of something? Was something ever bothering you and you didn’t know where to turn? Has there ever been a time where you had to solely rely on yourself?

I turn to music.

I have this belief that everyone has a muse through which they best express themselves whenever overwhelmed; whether it be music, movies, dance, improvisation or theater, exercise and sports, books, or friends and event planning, there is a muse for everyone.

Improv Team @High School: 

The challenge is finding that muse and gathering the courage to realize that sometimes it’s okay to lean on something abstract in order to deal with the drama.

And when you find that muse, it’s your escape to a calmer reality that allows you to separate, to the best of human nature, your emotions from the situation and reevaluate.

So, why the need for expression?

Second Semester! For some reason, and this is confirmed by everyone I talk to, this second semester means double the stress from the first. I’m not sure if it’s the switch from ‘gen ed’s’ to major classes or the transition to upper-level courses, but suddenly the workload is an endless mountain that you feel like you’re climbing, but maybe you’re just sliding backwards.

I stick the headphones in each ear, turn on my iPod and start the shuffle. The notes come alive, spreading from the screen, lighting up the cord, and filling to my ear where my olfactory bulbs pick up the energy and transmit the information to my busy little neurons.

Everything about us includes some science (reactions, behavior, responses), even the pulsing need to break free from restrictions and express ourselves.

Responding to that science, Fenwick Library offers the soothing coffee aroma, snacks, all while luring you into the studious environment you need!

So, even though I know it’s crazy for everyone—whether it’s applying, hearing back, or choosing a college, keeping up grades while becoming more active on campus, or trying to meet new people in classes—just embrace your stress, hold your muse tight, and ride on top the waves of the parasympathetic autonomic system calming you down.

Our Mason Patriots Are Always Super

by Kathleen, a Patriot Blogger

In light of the Super Bowl and recent dramatic events in Hollywood, this post will be teaching that far, far away place a lesson that OUR Patriots taught me during Homecoming: Sportsmanship.

Despite the high tension stress during the game, constant fouls and free throws, ticking clocks and time-outs, both teams helped each other. It’s very frequent that a basketball player gets knocked down or falls in the process of a rebound, etc.

But what caught my eye was when the opposing team lent a hand to that fallen player.

For instance, let’s say a player from Hofstra fell, I repeatedly saw a Patriot pause, lend a hand, and slap the back/shoulder of said player on the way up. And vica versa.

I stress this sportsmanship because I feel it’s an important quality that we miss today; we’re always running from class to class, place to place, that we forget to look around us. Tonight, for instance, after my late-night chemistry lab, my friends and I were laughing and  took a picture by ST1. Out of nowhere, a fellow peer comes up and “photobombs” the picture, causing all of us to laugh and jokingly mock each other as the two groups separate from a moment of crossed paths.

That connection, or holding the door for someone behind you, or letting someone pass and walk in front of you, that parallels sportsmanship.

So, as we hear about a certain Giants player insulting Gisele, who had recently before insulted another Patriot on her husband’s (Tom Brady’s) team, I just think to myself:

Spread the sportsmanship, because Mason does.

P.S. Enjoy the attached video of Mason’s Homecoming Game and a sneak insight into how my roommates and I reacted during the Big Game…

–Kathleen

Marlin found Nemo; I found…

by Kathleen, a Patriot Blogger

My Major!

You see, as I was leaving my genetics class in Lecture Hall, I briefly turned around to see the PowerPoint slide about blood types still up. Returning forward, I saw some of the next class’s sociology students cringing at the sight.

I simply smiled. I guess to anybody but myself the smile was one of those “she’s talking to herself in her mind” awkward moments.

Back to majors. I’m not sure why I’m drawn to the sciences all of a sudden. Perhaps it’s because of Mason’s Krasnow Institute that is literally five feet from my dorm or the sheer number of cool courses the school offers: anatomy, animal biology, neuroscience and technology.  But thanks to the life lessons in Finding Nemo, I kept searching until I found what I was looking for, in the Undeclared LLC!

Cue confused face:

“Are we really at the White House?”

I still live in the Undeclared LLC, but that’s great. It allows me to see the perspective I only recently switched from and grow with my floormates as we all learn more about ourselves. Therefore, I now know that it’s okay to not have a major as long as you’re willing to try something new.

I always believed I hated math, but now I can’t imagine not using it everyday to calculate applicable relationships.

So, I know math really isn’t a nightmare but how do you know you’ve found your niche?

You smile in class. Cue cheesy smiling face:

“Mason Day!”

Repeat this action frequently. And if you happen to experience your face light up in sheer fascination about certain mutations* and recessive characteristics*, and look around to see similar mirrored expressions in your peers, you’ll know like I did.

(Substitute with other cool subjects like media, communication, journalism, nursing, advertising, business, criminology, etc.)

Perhaps I knew in my chemistry lab when I jumped with joy when my solutions mixed and a baby pink color appeared from a clear beaker.

But it’s so easy to doubt yourself, your future goals and desires. We change our minds about the little things everyday—what we want to eat, wear, say to people. So how are we supposed to make such an important decision about our future?

It will fall into place if you are open to new classes or paths. It may not come in a semester, two, or three, but that’s okay, too. I’m not sure if it’s similar to the “finding the perfect wedding dress” analogy, where you “just know,” since picking a major takes a lot more work that happenstance.

But you will know when you’ve found the right one.

And the best part? You’ll get to see the really cool people in your major regularly and next thing you know, another friend group is born.

Cue happy dance:
“The Edge Outdoor Interactive Experience with my LLC!”

And to leave this blog about nostalgic memories I only realized last week, I’ll end with this: I now have more than ten subcultures of various stages of growing drosophila flies!

So, if you cringed at that vivid, buzzing, flapping picture, that reaction is food for thought about what you want to do…

Keep on swimming!