shahnaz 09/10

Friday Fix

Cat Paw Prints Outside My House!

Today the Financial Aid department and campus staff had a farewell party for Financial Aid Director Judy Tatum.

First we had lunch reservations at Henry Ford estate's pool restaurant. I learned from the staff that it's called the pool restaurant because the restaurant itself is built on top of where the pool used to be. It was a remarkable experience walking around in his mansion. To think that Henry Ford and his wife used to live there and to see their furniture just had me in complete awe.

I am sad and happy at the same time to see the director leave because she is a very intellectual person that I admired because of her communication skills. I learned so much from her. I am happy for her because she has a new job at an exciting new office and I wish her all the best.

Well, on Tuesday I missed class because of the weather:

I turned on NBC at 7am still half asleep and they were reporting all these accidents that happened on I-94 and it brought back memories of my own accident. I decided class wasn't worth risking my life.

The next day we had no school. I was going to miss class if it wasn't canceled. I am never going to drive on a freeway in slippery weather conditions, especially if there's black ice on the roads. I now have snow tires on my wheels but I'm still cautious.

The ground looked like some chocolate ice cream to me. 

Enjoy your weekend and Happy Valentine's Day!

*Smile and Stay Positive*

        xoxo Shae xoxo

On Our Way to a Brighter Tomorrow!

Okay, so before you see this picture and proceed to make fun of me for my awkward leg positioning (I've already taken heat for it), let me just say that we took A LOT of pictures with a photographer that day and I honestly don't remember this one.

The Orientation Leaders made it on the cover of a magazine:

I miss my fellow OLs.

This past weekend I worked on a project, started an essay, and studied for today's History exam without having to pull an all-nighter.

Much thanks to the chips industry and the people who make Mountain Dew, because without those things... surely Procrastination would have caught up with me!

  

Smile and Stay Positive!

       xoxo  Shae xoxo

Friday Fix

What's the easiest part of starting a dance team on campus?

Well, if I knew the answer I guess it wouldn't have been so hard thus far. Between the dance members' class and work schedules plus other commitments, we have been struggling this semester to find the hours most compatible to meet in the campus dance studio. 

"Who's free Saturday afternoon?"

"Me!"

"I can make it."

"I can't. I have work."

"I can't, either. I have to write a paper. How about Friday?"

"No, I have class, then off to work till night. How about Tuesday?"

"We can't on Tuesday. There's a class using the studio in the evening."

Hopefully our issues will be worked out this week.

*crosses her fingers wishfully*

I thought this little fireplace was nice. I saw this in UM-D's  College of Business building:

Well, off to do some shopping. In attempts to eat healthier, I've started consuming Yoplait Yogurt. Being the busy college student I am, it's often hard to keep track of eating the right foods every day. Yummy Yoplait has made it a tad bit easier!

*Smile and Stay Positive*

        xoxo Shae xoxo

...And the Work Piles On!

 

My online Communication class came with some difficult projects this semester. There's a lot of analyzing to do the way I had to in my History class, a lot of thinking and reading about businesses and the entertainment industry while learning a lot of broad new skills. Within the first few weeks I learned a lot of tactful advertising techniques that I had not learned about in previous classes along with political issues surrounding Communications and how important it is in our country.

Aside from the HTML coding, designing projects and other new things I had to crunch on this semester, I've also had to start a new blogger blog for my COMM class. I had one my freshman year for my Composition 105 and 106 classes.

Here's pictures from the blogger layout. At first the globe had yellow streaks shining through it every 30 seconds, but somewhere along the way the streaks disappeared. That made me a bit sad, considering the flashing  yellow made my blogger banner look more... pleasing to the eye.

 

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We are also required to comment on our classmate's blogs. This creates the discussion we would have had if this were a class taken in the traditional setting of a classroom.

 

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This was the beginning phase, a week long of struggling to get everything right on the page:

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We also use C-tools, a web interface at UM-D to directly communicate with classmates and the professor via Chat Room, Message Board, and more. I can't post pictures from there due to privacy concerns.

If you're wondering what my freshman year blog looked like:

(we were given freedom to choose the topic for a Final Fun Project)

Off to work on three essays due this week! It seems as if the more time passes by, the more work piles on.

  

Smile and Stay Positive!

       xoxo  Shae xoxo

Where Art Thou, Sleep?

Hi.

I just want to announce that I'm still here, I haven't fallen off the face of the planet or anything.

Before I begin the whole "easing back into this semester" kind of blog post, I would like to let you know that since I am taking harder classes this year and am more involved on campus, my goal is to lay out the nitty gritty details of the UM-D college experience, all the good.... and all the stressful. This is where I would flash a warm smile and invite you to sit down with your favorite drink and continue reading.

Christmas break flew by fast.  This year I didn't make any plans since they were ruined last year via car accident. My goal was to do NOTHING.  It was way better than last year, considering I spent 4 weeks bundled up in my bed from crash related injuries.

Here's my creation of  "Shae's Break in a Pie":

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Below is what surreptitiously got me hooked on reading:

Well, our class is to start reading this book in April because we have a separate textbook to read first, but I couldn't help myself. This is from History 112, studying America post Civil War to present day today.

My first few weeks of my fifth semester at UM-D were no stranger to me. This is what I'm up against in these categories:

* Full-Time Classes:

      -- Two online Communication classes (one upper level class)

      -- Environmental Science

      -- History

* Work & Play:

   -- This semester I'm working 25 hours a week, same as last semester.

   -- Serving 300 hours with AmeriCorps before end of May (something I did last year as well).

   -- Spending more time in the studio, starting a dance team on campus with fellow dancers.

   -- clubs, meetings, and volunteering (MLK day was great, as you can read from fellow blog mates).

   -- many miscellaneous activities, such as the 35 minute commute to campus.

 

Whatever happens this semester during the roller-coaster ride of what is known as "college life," one of self knowledge, activities, friends, busy weekends, finding parking on campus and more, I hereby promise to keep the blog press rolling.

I anxiously await my return here.

       

In sad parting,

your buddy Shae.

Nature As a Beautiful Inspiration

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!

How have you been?

I've been great, thank you very much. I've been very ecstatic and happy in my life lately. I can't put a finger on why but hopefully this elated happiness doesn't go away anytime soon. I'm surprised I've handled stress rather well this semester while working two jobs and attending school full time. Classes are over. Finals are over. Semester is over! This gives me more time to work on the more artsy aspect of my life. I've been dealing with personal family issues and being disowned by family. I was stressed with two lawsuits in court, one initiated by me from last year's accident and bills. I don't know what I would have done if my friends weren't in my life. I admit I missed class and work from all the demands in my life but everything will be okay. The sun always rises after every rainfall.

One skill every U of M Dearborn student should work on perfecting their first semester here is Time Management. I thought I perfected this last year but I learned you can never be perfect. Every semester is different, every semester the circumstances in your personal and work life change. Time management is officially a constant struggle for me.

The picture on top is one that I took during the summer at Henry Ford's Estate. My Natural Science professor held a class session out at the estate. We captured frogs and other critters to bring back to the lab. They were returned to their natural environment safely after we observed them. 

The estate kind of reminded me of the animation movies The Wild and Madagascar, not that those animals were there, just the scenery and how the trees open up revealing sunlight and more scenery.

Here are some more pictures I took of and around Henry Ford's estate. To me, the trees look like colorful broccoli. I realize it's Winter right now, but after this cold weather is over, this is similar to what you would see if you decided to explore the acres of natural preserve in the Spring.

^^backside of CASL Annex^^

 

^^Some of us Orientation Leaders named her Bambi^^

 

I apologize if the pictures are not too clear or if they are a bit too bright. I'm still learning how to use my camera.

*Smile and stay positive*
       xoxo Shae xoxo

"While we try to teach our children all about life,

our children teach us what life is all about"

- Angela Schwindt

Imagine you are in a brightly lit classroom, seated in a small chair fit for preschool-aged children. Your eyes are fixed in a gaze upon on the happy three or four years olds. To another, it would seem as if you are just watching them play with their trucks and dolls, when in reality your head feels heavy as you continuously stress about family problems, a new fight in your relationship with a significant other, sudden extended hours at work, the upcoming exam that you have yet to study for, and the list goes on.

"Whatch'ya doin'?"

Distracted from your thoughts, you turn your head to your right and see a preschool girl with soft blue eyes staring back at you.

"Whatch'ya doin'?" She says again.

"Uhh, I'm watching you all play," is your reply. You expect her to go back to playing with the other children. Instead, she sits on the empty chair beside you.

"I'm not a girl," she says.

You turn to her again wondering why she made such a random remark.

"I'm a boy but Mommy says I'm a girl. Noooo!" She giggles and points to her Spiderman sneakers, and then points to her Batman logo t-shirt, "Boys like superheroes. Do you like superheroes?" She tilts her head to look up at you with delight and sheer curiosity sparkling in her eyes.

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I will never forget that day. Working with children, engaging in their play and being able to hear and see firsthand how they react to the world around them has truly been a life changing experience for me. It wouldn't take too long before I would become consumed in their world of happiness, innocence and simplicity.

This year through IMPACT I'll be a mentor for at-risk preschool children. I'll be working one-on-one with a child, helping them develop key skills they will need for the rest of their lives. At the end of the day it's not about us. It's about what we do to make each day better, for us and others, and the positive impact we can make to improve the world around us.

If you are a student and would like to volunteer on campus, Volunteer Dearborn is a great way to get involved. MLK Day is also coming up in January, and that is also an excellent way to give back to the community. Check flyers around campus for more information or contact the Student Activities Office.

I was helping a six year old child make up stories because he was struggling with storytelling in his first grade class. I told him, "Here's a sheet of paper. Can you tell me a story?"

He first asked me how to spell my name, then he drew this:

He explained, "You got hurt. I hit you with a ball and you said oof."

Children have  a way of teaching you how to enjoy each moment for what it is and see the simpler things in life.

 

*Smile and Stay Positive*   

         xoxo Shae xoxo

Amusing, Yes?  

 

The first time I saw this crayon in front of CASL, I wanted to laugh out loud.

I had just gotten out of a stressful meeting at work where I was overwhelmed by all the new information I had received. I was in a hurry to get to class since I was already 20 minutes late but my little rush of anxiety came to a halt when I saw this Crayola figure.

I give kudos to whoever thought of this and contributed to the idea of putting a blue colored crayon in the middle of the pathway. This totally made my day. I wonder if there's a maize colored one somewhere else on campus? Our university colors are maize and blue if you already didn't know.

Obviously my cell phone doesn't take great quality pictures, but I absolutely love driving in this weather:

 

I love how there's red leaves mixed in with the green. 

Have a wonderful evening!

*Smile and Stay Positive*

       xoxo Shae xoxo

Final Exams, Bring It On!!!

 

Final exams: (n) an examination administered at the end of an academic term with potential side effects such as stress, fatigue, increased anxiety and a temporary heightened need for caffeine. Side effects may or may not occur.

I don't mean to make it sound so bad, but in some classes, final exams are worth the most points out of any exam in that class and in the worst case scenario, you are tested on everything that was taught in that semester.

*gasp*

Alright, I'll hop off the drama queen train. A mistake I made my very first semester at UM-D was 'going with the flow.' I'd do all my projects and readings when they were assigned and would start studying for finals after classes were over. I would get caught up in classwork and just put off studying for finals. The UM-D library is open 24 hours during midterms and finals, but studying the week before exams makes it a bit hard for me to grasp concepts, theories, and formulas. When the exam is placed in front of me, I tend to go blank.

This semester I planned all my studying in advance and used so  many different highlighters in my agenda that my pages looked like a bowl of Froot Loops. I would watch TV and study in between commercials, go to my classes a bit early to study there, etc. Any chance I had outside of leisure time to study, I would do it.

I don't know what to do with myself now. In all my classes there are just lectures until the dates of exams, but no classwork or projects. I find it strange that being busy this whole semester I suddenly have time to sleep more than six hours and watch television shows and the commercials.

Pictured below is the red trolley used during Open House earlier in the semester to let visitors receive a campus tour of the buildings located on Evergreen as well as on Hubbard. Open House was a huge success at our university, with the number of visitors at our school just below the 1,000 mark.

 

Good luck on those finals and projects!

*Smile and Stay Positive*

          xoxo Shae xoxo

Excited, Exhausted, or Just Existing?

Peek-a-boo! I'm sure you've played this game with a child before. Remember their delighted response? Such innocence, happiness....and simplicity in a child's life.

Press fast forward. Maybe 20 years forward.  What happens? This child has become a young adult. They are worried about their place in society.  What happens to that innocence and excitement about life? Why is it so hard to be passionate?   It seems almost strange to meet someone who absolutely loves their life and the work they do.

Nobody lives your life. Don't worry about how you look in the eyes of other people. Most people are worried about their own lives. So it's up to you to live it up. Get enthusiastic about your life, show your excitement and let it radiate. Others will feel your energy and soon follow!

You've got an exciting life ahead for you. If you don't believe it right this minute, you'll see soon enough. Attending UM-D is a great start because not only will you feel a sense of community here, but you will get the honor of having a University of Michigan degree.

Before you go to bed every night, plan something for the next day that will get you excited. From something as simple as a Starbucks drink (works well for me)  ...to seeing one of your friends. Having passion and being enthusiastic is contagious. A person who is down and out can't help but feel better once they see how upbeat and inspiring you are.

 

Start a road towards some positive personal growth and be passionate about what you do. I don't know what I would have done if I forced myself to do something that I didn't want to, or pursued a course of study with no interest to me.

*Smile and Stay Positive*   

         xoxo Shae xoxo

P.S. Picture was taken on campus during the summer.