Don't Panic, Don't Be So Hard On Yourself

So... I've survived.

I know it's only Tuesday, but I still feel like I deserve the right to throw my hands up, dance, and otherwise be happy that I'm alive. I'm not saying that people shouldn't do this all the time - just that this one moment is very special. I'm absolutely exhausted, so forgive me if some of my sentences are poorly structured or not as articulate as usual. I've strived for enough well-structured, articulate sentences for the day.

I was hoping that, over the weekend, I would've had time to update this lovely little corner of the Internet. Boy, was I wrong! The weekend just got crazier and crazier.

On Saturday, the official end of #MinervaFounders Orientation Week, we had a feast. Unfortunately, I came down with the cold, so I couldn't join everyone else in cooking. I did get to take pictures, though!

We cooked.

We danced.

We laughed.

We made wacky faces like this (this one is my favorite - Kayla makes so many of us smile!)

I even got to use this gorgeous camera with a fancy 50mm lens. Exciting!

Later on in the night, we had a bit of an open mic night. I didn't grab any pictures because we had it outside and it was dark, but a few of us played random songs on guitar, we had sing-a-longs (which have become a real hit in our dorm - once someone pulls out a guitar, expect a crowd within five minutes), there was an improvised skit from the most talented "untalented people" that I've ever seen, there was dancing... wow. We had so much fun with that! I just can't fathom my level of excitement into words. We may have also found a future ukelele singer-songwriter star. We're all still wondering why she's in college if she can just drop out and write a spectacular album (yes, I'm looking at you Kayla, you're outstanding).

But then Sunday came and we all realized that we had assignments due then and the following day. Then Monday came, and we had our first classes in Multimodal Communications and Complex Systems.

Our first classes were not what we expected they would be: we had hyped them up a bit too much, some of us felt, but I know that we just need to give them some time.

And then came Monday night. Monday night... wow. I walked around the fifth floor - our floor - at about 2am, and literally everyone was still up doing homework. Every. Last. Person. Some were even freaking out about the fact that they didn't have enough time to do the work from last week, since we were busy all week, then we were assigned even more work with a turnaround of less than 24 hours.

No, Monday night was not a night for sleeping. Monday night was only a night for some light napping - even if you'd spent the entire Monday in your room doing homework between classes. It's nights like these that bring us closer, perhaps. There is some comfort in knowing that everyone else is just as panicked as you are. So I handed in my Empirical Analysis assignment on the exceptions of Hooke's Law and Newton's Second Law, edited my Multimodal Communications essay, then lay down for a nap.

"I'll get up at 4:30am," I told myself. "I'll wake up and read the material for Complex Systems, then write that 3-4 page essay that we have due later today."

I slept until 7:30am. I snoozed my alarm. My body is smarter than my brain, sometimes.

I say that my body is smarter than my brain because, when the professors from yesterday gave feedback on the classes, I read the class grades and comments and, suddenly, I felt slightly relieved.

Before the start of classes, the professors told us that, on a five-point scale, the highest mark we might be able to achieve this semester is a 3 in each concept. I received a 3 in one of the HCs (Habits of Mind and Foundational Concepts - at Minerva, we receive our grades solely for the application of these) for Multimodal Communications. The professor seemed very happy with my performance in the comments to me, so I see no reason why I should despair. I received a 0 in the other one (meaning 'no data'), but the professor told me that I in fact didn't even have a chance to apply this HC during the class, so I shouldn't worry.

I hope that the grades for the other classes will follow such a trend... a trend of "don't panic". Because, boy, do we panic. This is a lesson for all of us; maybe, this will teach us not to be so hard on ourselves.

Thanks for the lesson, Minerva.

The Managing Directors for each region are coming over for dinner tonight. I plan on attending (especially because I don't have a clue what I'd cook for dinner otherwise - we've been living off pasta, instant noodles, pizza, things we can order, food cooked by our amazing classmate Roiman who can't cook for less than four people, and food fed to us by Minerva). Some of us have spoken about taking a walk around the city - perhaps on the beach, which is about fifteen odd minutes away - for the sole purpose of relaxing ourselves this afternoon. I can't wait.

And I can't wait to see what I'll learn next! ...especially when I don't panic.

Once Upon a (Mi)nerd

This felt too cliché to be called "first post", because this adventure deserves so much more than a "first post". This kind of adventure deserves a grand gesture, one that would impress even the stern venture capitalists over at Benchmark.

I won't elaborate on anything that has yet occurred - I'm saving that for a series at the end of the week - but I will say, four days in, that this has already been completely outstanding. Ben Nelson is really trying to outdo himself and impress us, the Founding Class-- his Founding Class.

I have never been a writer, but I feel the need to dedicate an entire series of blog posts to our Orientation Week adventures. I'll skip the introductions, small talk, and other mundane things. Such an intriguing experience deserves so much more than mundanity; I feel like I'll only have the time to give this venture what it deserves once the end of the week comes.

Until then, I'll leave this here and stop procrastinating my first week work. My awesome roommate, Lucy, just came down here, so I feel bad for captaining the Procrastination Station tonight. Elle blague beaucoup, on parle français, etc etc. C'est amusant mais pas banal. Elle m'ennuie pas quand même.

I'm going to have an awesome week, but I hope yours will top mine. You very likely deserve it. :)