Cori P

Junior year - whattt?!

Hi again everyone! It's been a while, but I had such a great summer. Other than working two jobs, I didn't do much in terms of vacations - this is the first summer in a long time that I didn't actually go AWAY. Instead, I spent a few weekends in Ossipee, NH, and Old Orchard Beach, ME. Here's a picture of me and my best friend on a boat this summer:

But for me, summer is officially over - I just moved into my new room last night for RA Training, and now we're anxiously awaiting everyone else to arrive on campus! Hopefully I'll actually be able to finish getting my room clean, organized, and decorated some time in the next few days that I can put pictures up... but let's be serious, I'm probably just going to be spending most of my time with the other RAs and watching movies on my new TV ;) 

Much love,
Cori

SUMMER'10

Hi everyone! Happy Mother's Day! (love you Mom!)

My sophomore year is officially over - how scary is that?! I moved back home on Friday, and I've just been with my friends and family for the past few days. Yesterday was my cousin's baby shower (can't wait for my godson to be born!) and next week is a baby shower for my other cousin, so it's been really easy to see all of my family. As for the rest of the summer, I'm going to be working at the daycare I've been at since 2005, and saving up money desperately this summer. Luckily I did not have to take any summer classses!

I don't know how often I'll be able to update this, but thanks for reading over the past year everyone!

Much love,
Cori

April

Where did this month go?! I can't even believe how quickly time is going by.

Everything has been so crazy lately, I don't know where to start!

First, I am now a research assistant! I'm helping one of the best professors in the Psychology Department out with a study and it is so much fun - I can't wait until we find out the results! It is a great thing at Sacred Heart to actually be able to get involved in the field just as a sophomore in college - you have to do some searching, but there are opportunities out there if you're interested. Maybe if everything goes well I'll be able to plan my own study for my senior year!

And second - I went home over the past weekend to see my family so we could audition for Family Feud! It was so much fun, even though my mom made us wear crazy t-shirts...

Wish us luck!

You all might not hear from me for a while, considering school has consumed my life - I think I may end up moving into the library by the end of the week ;) But feel free to email me!

Much love,
Cori

I'll follow you where you're leading, to the first sweet taste of freedom...

Hi all!

I'm just updating really quick to talk about last weekend - two of my friends and I went into NYC with the Honors Program on Saturday. It was so much fun, and we ate so much good food before we went to see the Philharmonic - yet another opportunity that I probably never would have had without Sacred Heart!

Other than that, everything here has been the same as usual. Getting back into the swing of schoolwork after such a relaxing (well, despite the construction!) week in Texas was a challenge, and now that I'm back into the swing of things it's almost Easter break! I cannot wait to go home and see my family - I haven't seen them since early February!

Once we get back from break, life is going to get pretty crazy. I have major projects and papers due in every single one of my classes - at least one a week until the end of the semester. I'll be spending most of the rest of the semester in the library, and then it'll all go so fast and the year will be over! It hit me the other day what a good year I've had and how I don't want it to end - I'm going to be an upperclassman, ah! But I'm not going to let myself think about it yet - I still have a month of being a sophomore :)

Much love,
Cori

... you got me running baby, wild at heart.

'Cause I've got a roof over my head...

Hi all!

Once again, I haven't kept my word about updating enough - sorry! It has been a crazy and wonderful past few weeks!

First off, I just want to say that I got the RA position :) I'll be in Roncalli Hall next year, so maybe I'll see a few of your smiling faces on move-in day!

As some of you may know, Spring Break was last week, and I went to Wichita Falls, Texas with SHU's Habitat for Humanity Chapter...

That was our group in front of one of the houses we worked on on the last day - as well as our trip, there were other Habitat trips that went to Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Missouri, and there were students going to El Salvador and Guatemala.

To any of you that are interested, I HIGHLY recommend going on an Alternative Spring Break trip with Habitat. This was my second trip (I went to North Carolina last year) and I cannot begin to describe how much those two weeks have impacted myself and my life. You do a crazy amount of work (siding, roofing, and hammering more than your arms feel they can take) but it is the most exhilarating experience. You have so much fun and come out of each week with a new set of best friends (love you Texas!)

Here I am in Oklahoma, sitting on the Wichita Mountains/Mt. Scott -

Since we got back early Monday morning, life has been a blur! Their lifestyle is so much different in the South, and I had been starting to get used to it... but now I'm off to catch up on work before my weekend begins. I'll leave you all with one more picture - this is the group having "lay time" after lunch (we did this every day before we started back working again!)

Much love,
Cori


... it may be a simple life, but that's okay
If you ask me baby, I think I've got it made.

Winter is winding down...

... minus the fact that there is HAIL right now. Will this crazy weather ever end?

I haven't updated in a while - this has to have been the longest time since a post since I started my blog! I just wanted to let you all know that I'm around and well :) Class and work has been insane lately - I had a major test today, and all of last week the Admissions Office was packed with all of the prospective or accepted students who were on February vacation. (Congrats to anyone who has received their acceptance letter, and I hope you'll choose SHU!) And last week, I just finished my application for the RA position - the rest of this week, weekend, and next week we finish up with our part of the process, and decisions are made. Wish me luck!

Well, I have to go - I have class in 20 minutes and need to get out of my suite in time :) I'll update again soon!

Show Me What I'm Looking For...

Hi readers :)

It's been a while since I've posted because I have been insanely busy, sorry! I promise once things slow down a bit, I'll update more in-depth!

It's great to be back into the swing of things - can you believe that yesterday was the first day that I've been to all of my classes?! Because we had the power outage last week and classes were cancelled while it was being fixed, my Monday night class met for the first time last night - I feel like I've been in some classes for three weeks and others are brand-new! And now I'm rushing to get all of my work done in advance for the next week or so, because I'm visiting my sister for her birthday weekend in NY on Friday-Sunday. I can't wait to see her, and two of my best friends from home are coming too! I'm so excited!

One thing that I have to talk about this week is how many people have helped me out in the past week or so. I have an amazing group of friends, family, and people who have helped me here at Sacred Heart! Just adjusting to the new semester has been crazy, but I started stressing out about the future last week - I am very happy with all of the opportunities I've had here, but I was worried about what I'm missing in terms of getting into a fabulous Psychology program at a prestigious graduate school ;) I went to Career Development and talked about my options, and then spoke to the head of the Psychology Department for some pointers - the two of them helped me so much! It really shows how much SHU has to offer in terms of getting you where you want to go.

I know, I'm crazy for caring about this stuff when I'm only a second-semester sophomore. But the past two years have flown by, so I'm sure that the next two will be even faster!

And of course my friends have helped me out by giving me a few hugs and laughs with times have been a little crazier than usual :)

Now, let me talk about something normal for once? Pack the Pitt and the MIP are this Thursday and Friday - everyone should come out to support the Basketball and Hockey teams! I won't be able to attend Pack the MIP since I'll be in NY, but good luck to them :)

Much love,
Cori

Spring'10

Hi everyone! Long time no blog post!

I'm going to make this a quick post, because I have class at 9:30 tomorrow morning (early for someone who isn't a morning person, and much more of a night owl) and it's been a long week already.

Break was great, but it's good to be back. Yes, I even appreciate the reading assignments and note-taking already because I have missed SHU so much. Getting the first hugs from my suitehearts and spending time with them for the first time in a month was so refreshing, and I was really happy to see that the red and white lights up the front entrance haven't been turned off yet - the only drawback is the cold! It's freezing in Boston, but I don't have to walk to class or around campus for tours when I'm home, so I don't notice it as much! Then again, I love winter so much that I'll take the numb fingers ;)

This week has already been crazy, and half of the stuff on campus hasn't even started yet! I've only been to two of my five classes, but I can already tell this semester is going to be really challenging. One of my classes is about learning and behavior, and I love the subject material, but there is so much of it! It will definitely be interesting though; it's nice having no math classes or science classes for once! The classes I have will definitely keep me occupied, but there are a few other changes that this semester will bring that I'll get into later :)

A quick story before I go - on Monday afternoon, I had to take my sister back to her dorm at Marist in Poughkeepsie. We made it there, unpacked the car, got her settled, had dinner... and then I was on my way back. It wasn't until I was unsuccessfully rummaging through my bag that I noticed she had called me seven times and left me a text message to try to tell me that she had my SHU Card in her pocket. Ugh. If you don't know already - your SHU Card is your LIFE here. Your key to your room (and building), your meal plan, laundry and print points, and of course, your ID. Luckily she mailed it to me and I got it today, but they even had a hard time giving me the package at the Mail Center without seeing my ID first! I'm really lucky I have the best parents in the world who sent me back to school with care packages of food, or else I would have been begging my friends to feed me for a few days!

Well, I told you it would be short! I'm exhausted and I still have to finish some reading, so I'll give you all a better update later.

Much love,
Cori

The End of First Semester...

Hi all,

I'm writing this entry at home in my bed, a few days after I've moved back. It's crazy how fast the first semester went by, but it was a great one. I'm happy to say all my hard work and developing insomnia over finals week has paid off! It's crazy getting back into the swing of home life; putting in my part of the family life and preparing for Christmas! Every year we have a big family party at my house on Christmas Eve, with many family traditions. Hopefully I'll keep my camera active to take pictures of the food and the fun from the night for all of you :)

I don't have much SHU-related stuff to say since I'm back in Boston, but I do have to say that I miss the campus (especially my suite!) so much already. It may be nice to be home, but I am UNBELIEVABLY bored not being at school. I'm in the process of looking for a job during break, but I doubt anyone is going to hire me at this point! So my every day is simply relaxing - that's something I haven't done in years! I haven't had an actual vacation for quite a while - ever since the Christmas vacation of my freshman year in high school actually! Every other school vacation I have worked full-time; and unless I have planned a vacation away somewhere, the most I have done has been to have a weekend to breathe and relax! Thank god I have my friends! I miss being at SHU though - as corny as it sounds, I miss walking to class in the mornings or later at night when the air is cool and the Christmas lights are decorating the trees on the front driveway; our campus was especially beautiful for the past few weeks!

Going over my Christmas list this year, it got me thinking how fast everything has changed. A few years ago, I was begging my parents for a cellphone and an IPod, desperately wanting a few things to grow up. This year, I'm asking for typical college students' needs - and throw in a few cookbooks here and there so I can actually learn to cook! I've always been very independent, but college truly has shown me that I can live by myself and manage to survive ;) Just thinking that a few years from now, I'll be asking for Christmas gifts to fill my own apartment is scary! And then a few years later, I'll be buying Christmas gifts for everyone else (I know, I know, I lucked out - my family's philosophy is that until you have a full-time career, you are not allowed to buy gifts for anyone) - I love change, but I don't know how welcome this growing up thing is ;) All I care about is that I don't want my time at SHU to fly by, because even though I've only been at SHU for a year and a half, I can't imagine living without it.

Well, it's time for winter break, and I don't know how often I'll update my blog - hopefully I'll still remember to upload pictures of Christmas! I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday season, however you may be celebrating it. And I hope that 2010 brings even more laughs, love, and happiness than 2009 did.

All my love,
Cori

8/9 more days...

Hi readers :) It's been a long and crazy week, that's for sure. I've had so many last assignments and review sessions for finals that my head is starting to spin, but I'm not going to lie - I haven't really been stressed! I only have one more paper, and then finals in four of my classes next week. Not too bad! I need to get the paper done this weekend, and then definitely get ahead on studying for finals - but I have all day Tuesday and all day Wednesday to relax and study! I may have to take a final on Saturday though, which I'm going to try to reschedule for Thursday instead. But that is the most of my worries, not bad!

As for everyday life, it has been great. I've gotten so much sleep lately, to make up for lacking it all semester, and I've had much more time to myself and with my suitehearts. Of course, all of their finals are not ideal, so they have not been as carefree as I've been. Hopefully we all have enough time to relax before next week is over and it's time to go home.

It is CRAZY that it is already the 10th (happy birthday to my best friend Jocelyn!) - I can't believe Christmas is so close. It's nice how finals and assignments and deadlines can distract you from stuff, because it definitely makes time pass by faster. And then comes New Years, which leads to this...

One thing I always do for myself (it is typically a private thing though!) is come up with some goals for the next year. I don't call them "resolutions", because then they are sure to be broken :( but goals are great to have - and I'm posting these now because I don't know how many more posts I'll have with finals and the holidays!:

1) I am happy for how well I've been doing this semester, but I want to make schoolwork less of a priority - I feel like all I think about and talk about is homework, and that I have a one-track mind! (Okay, definitely not - but it probably appears that way in all of these posts!) I want to do something new for myself and to be more involved at SHU, so I am going to apply to be an RA next semester!

2) I really need to get myself in shape, just to be healthier. I know that is the most common New Years' Resolution, but I have Texas to think about! So one of my goals is definitely to make it to the Pitt a lot more.

3) I want to go to one thing that I typically wouldn't next semester, whatever that may be... academic speaker, some club's fundraiser, anything! I am sick of staying in and skipping stuff just because I'm always so busy!

Sounds pretty good, right? If you're reading this, feel free to post any goals of yours in a comment :)

Much love,
Cori