Party and Math, Not Math Party

What happens when you invite approx 300 people on Facebook to a goodbye party?

12 show up, and you know what? It was awesome. ^_^ We just relaxed and enjoyed the evening. I was able to spend time with some of my friends before leaving and while I didn't get to see everyone I'd hoped, I'm glad I saw who I did. We started off hanging in the courtyard at my apartment building and waiting for people to show up. For about the first hour there were three of us, but once more people showed up we went up to the roof top and enjoyed the view.

This is what we could see of the sunset. The photo was of course taken with my magical new camera, Sally. (Who knows if the name will stick but it sounded good at the time.)

So we sat up there until people became too hungry to endure, and then we went to a restaurant where a friend and I ordered a chimichanga the size of your head! So good! And I took a lot of it home with me for the next day. Yum yum yum.

Much later we walked back to my apartment, some more people came, and we sat beside an outdoor fire. In a fireplace, don't worry! The last person left at 2am and my head met pillow. Well... after I played on Facebook for a while that is. Sleep? Wha... Yea... No. It was a grand old time though.

Now for the math aspect of today's episode: I was looking up what textbooks I'll need because I finally found where to do that, and low and behold, what book pops up for my math class? The text book I used last year for the math class that didn't transfer as a math credit. The text book I just shipped off because I sold it on Amazon.com. The text book that was for an incredibly easy math class. And people at Columbia kept showing surprise when they saw that class, and would say, "Wow. You're good at math." Really people? Really? I know it's an arts school but come on! This class was so easy and it's supposed to be a mid level math class. Oh artsy farts... You are lovely special people. So anyway, I decided I did not want to take that class again so I searched and searched and finally found another class that should count as an elective. On the down side, I'll have 10 minutes to get between classes and I don't know how far apart they are. On the up side, it didn't disrupt my schedule and actually made the days those classes are on shorter school days. Score!

Now all I need to do is to see if I can convince the counseling office to make my previous math class count as a math credit since I can tell them exactly which class it's equal to. Fingers crossed! That would be awesome! So the lesson here is to be ready for some adjusting, and eventually you'll have a schedule you want. Now I just have to finish getting ready to actually go to school. Yikes!

The Documentation Will Continue!

So I just ordered a new camera all of my own last week and today when I came home, there it was. Sitting and waiting for me to open the door and rejoice in its wonderfulness. And it is wonderful! It's a Panasonic Lumix and has a Leica lens so the pictures are amazing. I'm so excited!

This is a picture of me using my camera. I know, it looks the same as my other pictures because my mom has the same camera, but now I have one!

So now I can document my life in Chicago starting with Week of Welcome (stuff for new students) and all the amazing stuff I do. I've been talking with one of my roommates and we've decided that we're going to do a bunch of stuff together. Some of the things are going to Six Flags, going to the top of the Sears Tower, and shopping on the main street... where there's shopping... (I can't remember what it's called.)

After resisting my laziness, I have determined that it is in fact called Michigan Ave. I knew it started with an M and was a state. Do I still get half a point?

Anyway, so back to this camera awesomeness. I also chose the camera I did so that I could still photograph my jewelry and whatever other art I do. As I played with it, I also discovered that it has different functions that would allow me to photograph in a theater too. How perfect! I'm beginning to like it better than my mom's. And the best part is, it's a $300 camera and I found it on Amazon for about $200. Such a great deal, though this baby is still never leaving my sight.

So all that's left is to finish packing, show up at my doctor appointment, and spend time with my friends and family. Scary! but after I watched the videos on the school site, I became really excited again so I'm looking forward to it. Almost there!

Stressful Became Hilarious/Let Me Calm Down

So if you'll recall, before, I was worrying about my class schedule because one of my classes was canceled and my advisor is out until the 24th. So I contacted the main advising office and they transferred me to the guy who had actually set up my schedule at orientation. Let me just say, that was one of the funniest phone calls of my life. Brian, who I later found out is one of the head honchos for theater, helped me figure out my schedule and made jokes all along the way. So now I have a fixed schedule and an appreciation for the faculty at school. The lesson here:

ADVISORS AREN'T ALL AS BAD AS THEY WERE AT MY HIGHSCHOOL. (Gasp! Did I just say that?)
That's a story that, trust me, you don't want to hear. It's an amazing concept really. People who do their jobs. I like it! ^_^



Brian, this is for you! (Totally just realized this image used the wrong form of Your. Should be You're.


Now I have one less thing to worry about and hopefully I can calm down a little. I've been really getting worried about stuff and it's been making me irritable about silly stuff, and I think I've been having small anxiety attacks. Whoo! Oh wait... That's right, that's bad. I can't fully figure out why I'm freaking out so much, so I'm really trying to just relax and enjoy the adventure. I know I'll be fine, I know I'll have fun, I'm actually looking forward to all of it. Well, all except for, as the director of admissions called it, The Hawk. It's the wind in Chicago during the winter that "rips the flesh from your face". Yeah... Not looking forward to that, but would you?

Anyway, it's all good. I'm excited for my first week there because they have a bunch of events for new students and I've already planned to go to a bunch of them with one of my roommates. It's going to be a blast! Six Flags, dancing, shopping and city touring, and student organizations. Not to mention, free food! With my budget, I will need to appreciate that haha. I'm going to sleep so well that week. So all in all I'm in good shape. Here we go! I am zen. -_-

-_o Is it working?

Well to make me a little more excited, here's a picture of my soon to be city! So pretty! I was trying to find a picture of Six Flags and found this. Wow! Just so cool! Just a little over a week and I'll be there! (And I wonder why I'm nervous?) It'll be amazing. ^_^





Plus, I need to get back to my boyfriend; Arnold. We met last time I was there. He's totally got a swimmer's bod. ^_~ You're jealous. I know it. And with that I'll leave you. Until next time!

(And if you find me curled in any corners, just give me a hug and some ice cream. Whoever said money makes the world go round, clearly did not experience the magical properties of ice cream.)

The Day It Happens...

Once upon a time, there was a girl who had attended her first year of school at a local and inexpensive college, while living at home because she hadn't been sure of what she wanted to do. However, by the end of that year, she'd realized that her passion was in directing for theater. So she found a wonderful school in the magical, art-filled city of Chicago, and applied. Upon her acceptance, her life began to turn in a new direction. It was exciting, but scary at the same time. Time passed and she slowly but surely began to prepare for her first semester there. One day, however, she realized there were only 10 days left before she was to move in the dorms. One day, she realized that she still had a lot of stuff to get worked out, figured out, and settled. One day, she looked at her calendar with slightly wide eyes, and simply stated, "Well shit."





Hi all! My name is Morgan and I am that girl who is getting ready to leave the nest. What you never really hear about are the different ways one leaves the nest. Some just leave, some leap, some get pushed, and some find that suddenly there is a hole and go tumbling down through it. Let me just say, I have 10 days and it's only just setting in what's going down. (That would be me, just in case you missed the sentence about the hole in the nest.) I'm realizing just how huge this step in my life is, and am actually keeping the freak-out pretty contained. I'm way nervous, but after I went to Chicago for orientation a couple of weeks ago, I'm also way excited. The city is so beautiful and soon it will be my city.

Though I am excited, as I said, there's still a lot this girl has to do, such as:

• Get financial aid secured.
• Buy my dorm stuff.
• Replace a class that was canceled. (One of the darker moments.)
• Move

All in all, not the biggest list in the world, except for that it must be accomplished in approx 10 days. The shopping will mostly occur when I get there. So anyway, I've decided to start a blog to keep people up to date on my life, hopefully help any students who are in a similar situation, and tell my story. I have no idea how it will turn out, but life is all one big adventure, and I'm ready for my journey. (I hope!) So here I sit, coming to you from my couch with my cool glass of crisp cucumber water, a couple of mini Reese's cups, and a whole lotta "where do I go from here?"

Let me start, I guess, by talking about what I do know. First of all, I know my roommates. There are three of them, all different majors, and all different personalities. The girl that I'll be sharing a room with seems to be pretty similar to me in taste. From what I've heard she has kind of a bohemian style, and when I spoke to her of taste in decor, she said she likes earthy colors, like browns and greens, but also likes vibrant colors. Basically we're color twins. The other two are very lively and I talk with them quite often. All around I'm happy, but also a little nervous about living with people I don't know too well. They're all new students out of high school and I'm a transfer, so I'm a little unsure there. Oh well, it will all work itself out.

The next thing I know, my class schedule. Well, all except that one class. I had originally been in a class called Director's Tool Kit which I need to graduate, and there was only one this year, once a week, and for only two hours. Only four people signed up... Way lame! Other than that though, I'm pretty excited. I've got a couple of theater classes, an English class, and a math class that when I signed up, people who were helping us new students kept saying, "Oh. You're good at math." ... I'm not taking a very hard class... It's all good. It'll make me feel smart. ^_^

The final thing I know is my bill for school. 0.0
...
......
Crap. This semester alone is about $14,000 after my grants and such. Hello student loans! My plan? I'm going to get student loans this year and attempt to get as many scholarships as possible next year. Also, to make living easier, I'm starting a business selling earrings. I'm going to try to sell some in ShopColumbia as well as on my Etsy shop, which of course, you all should go look at. Earring Rehab There's only one pair on at the moment, but I'm working on it. Just FYI. Photographing earrings is really hard. No, like, really. Wow. Anyway, I also will do custom so go check the store!

So all in all, this is what I'm up against. It's a little overwhelming but extremely exciting. It will be a challenge, but I'll do my best to conquer it. Vivo mi vida! Here we go.