End of First Year Classes!

15 days, 16 hours, 48 minutes and 7 seconds. 

According to the countdown on the top of my screen, that is exactly how much time I have left of first year university! (And now, even less!)

Today marked the end of my second semester classes so as of 9:45 this morning, I am officially in study mode (or supposed to be in study mode). I cannot quite believe that I am only 15 short days away from being done my first year of university! It seems like yesterday I was just starting. It also does not feel as though Christmas was already 4 months ago - but maybe that is because I got to go home twice this semester. Regardless, this semester has been great and only 5 final exams stand between me and my summer vacation. 

So since last week, my life has definitely had some major ups and some major downs. For starters, I unfortunately did not get hired to be a Student Ambassador. There were 89 applicants for 8 spots and unfortunately, I just did not fit the bid this year. I got the email when I was in my French class last Thursday, and I will admit that I was very, very disappointed. It's been a rough year - I didn't get accepted as a Big Buddy, a Frosh Judge or a Student Ambassador, but I just have to remind myself to keep trying and keep putting myself out there. So, I want to say two things: 1) Congratulations to my friends who did get hired. I know you will all do a fantastic job representing our school! 2) Thank you to everyone who helped me with my application (especially Vicki, my wonderful camera girl), wished me luck, read my blogs on Recruitment, etc. It really means a lot. Hopefully, after second year, with another year of Bishop's experiences under my belt, my application will be successful.

Last Thursday and Friday, the BU Singers performed in their end of year concert and though I did not get a chance to go, I heard that it was amazing! A lot of my friends are in the choir, so I was happy to hear that it went well. On Friday morning, Vicki and I gave our biology lab demonstration; for our final class project, we had to present a lab that an elementary teacher could use in a classroom so we did this really neat experiment with Blood Type Compatibility that I will definitely use one day. Our presentation went really well and the other labs were pretty neat - my favourite was one that showed the use of fat as insulation for polar bears, seals, etc. Students cover one hand in shortening and leave the other hand bare and then put both hands in a bucket of cold water. The hand with the shortening stays warmer because of the hydrophobic relationship between water and fats. I really liked this science class, and (this will make my dad happy) am thinking of picking up some science electives in the fall.

Friday afternoon, my friends and  I went to the Bishop's Underwear Run, to which you show up fully clothed, strip down to your underwear, donate the clothes you are wearing and then run a designated route. Did I mention that it was RAINING/SNOWING on Friday afternoon? It was so unbelievably cold during the run but it inspired me to run very quickly. And I got some fun prizes for running the race, so it wasn't all bad. After the race, Jocelyn left for Montreal for the weekend so Abbott 215/217 became very lonely. But nonetheless my friends kept me company so I wasn't alone for too long!

My friends and I at the Underwear Run!

Group shot!

On Saturday, I had my first official sleep-in of the semester and then did not do much for the rest of the day (oops). However, I discovered that there is a Joe Fresh in Sherbrooke, so my friends and I made a late afternoon trip there. Then I stayed in that night and ended up watching a little bit of American Pie 3, High School Musical 2 and an episode of Dragon's Den (my new addiction) with Vicki. Sunday was slightly more productive and in the afternoon, I went to see the Chamber Orchestra perform and surprisingly (never thought I'd say this) it made me miss playing the flute and being in band! Afterwards, I checked out the music and it didn't look too challenging, so I might have to look into this further. Science classes and band - I'm clearly reverting back to my high school roots!

I am happy to report that today was very productive! I got my marks back for my ERC Animal Rights Project (18/20) and for my French Video Comprehension Test (24.5/25) so those were a boost to the confidence! Then, I spent the afternoon working on my final project for my French class - a video of me explaining how to make Skor bars. Notre professeur nous a donné les sujets pour les videos et j'ai choisi à parler de ma recette favorite. Vicki m'a aidé aujourd'hui avec mon video lequel vous pouvez regarder sur YouTube! Mes autres amis m'ont aidé manger les barres du Skor et elles sont très delicieuses!

Me baking in Mackinnon!

Following my second video of the year, Elizabeth and I spent three hours in the library (gave myself a pat on the back for that) and now I am back in my room enjoying the fact that I do not have 8:30 class in the morning! However, there is still lots to do as I have my first exam this Sunday (yuck) and I plan on being 100% prepared, meaning lots more time in the library! So with that, good night world! See you in the morning! Wish me luck as I spend the next two and a half weeks studying!

PS Congratulations to Nexxice Senior who became the 2013 Synchro World Silver Medalists in Boston this weekend!