As a sophomore in the A.B. program at Princeton, it was time. This spring, my inbox has been flooding with emails detailing how and when I will declare my major and enter the newest stage of my Princeton career: being an upperclassman. And this month, I was indeed quite excited to officially pick my department. During my first two years here, I took a pretty wide variety of classes that helped me determine my interests more concretely, but I envisioned myself majoring in French even as I applied to Princeton. While I changed my mind (often multiple times) about many other academic endeavors (including, but not limited to, becoming an anthropologist and being pre-med), wanting to major in the French department here has always been a certainty for me.

Needless to say, I was thrilled to enter the program this month. During the first two weeks of April, all of the departments held open houses - usually, in typical Princeton fashion, involving a free lunch or at least fancy snacks - where we could go to find out more about the faculty and courses offered within each department. Then, current students from each department held an open house on a Saturday for the sophomores where we could ask our peers about their experiences and perspectives about each department.

And then? It was the week of truth. After meeting with our departmental representatives and getting two forms signed, we had seven days and one simple click of a button. Then we were welcomed into our newest campus families!

For me, officially becoming a French major generated a brief adrenaline rush and merited right off the bat a text to my parents and a Facebook status. But I know that it will now mean the opportunity to do independent work and to start focusing my class choices more closely around my interests. At my meeting, I was also assigned a junior paper advisor who will help me begin my research work as a student here. To be honest, I’m a bit nervous about beginning the second half of my Princeton career and the research work that it brings with it, but for now I am excited and am looking forward to benefitting from the support of my new department on campus.

One of the most surprising pockets of linguistic diversity I have encountered is actually in the heart of suburban New Jersey: Princeton University.

I ended last post about classes with a little illustration of studious note-taking. 

Just in case you are wondering, 

I not only go to class, I pay attention and take good notes! In this post, let me give you some thoughts on my experiences with notes. 

I definitely can't speak to all classes and disciplines, but hopefully this will give you one perspective. Since notes really depend on class size:

• For smaller seminars and precepts, I usually get a feel for what is appropriate, depending on the professor and the type of information the seminar revolves around. 
• If it's a discussion-heavy class or precept, taking extensive notes may not even be necessary! It might just be better to be fully engaged in the discussion.
• For larger lecture classes, it's usually pretty clear that I shouldn't be engaged in conversation. Actually, I should probably be listening and trying to retain what the professor is saying, and taking notes helps this!

There are a couple of mediums for note-taking, the first being good old

Actually, I usually prefer pencils, mostly because mistakes and I are old friends.

If I can record enough information by hand, I'll cut out the distraction of a laptop and go with pencil and paper. Especially in courses where I don't need every detail, handwritten notes often help me choose to record only the most crucial or interesting bits of information. I find my English classes usually fall in this pen and paper category.

Of course, cutting out distractions does not mean there are no doodles. I went through a few of my notebooks and discovered 

I am particularly fond of drawing the backs of people's heads. 

Also this guy showed up a couple times. I'm not entirely sure from where, but I think I like him. 

If I'm in a class that goes quickly, or one that I know it is helpful to have more extensive notes, I bust out my

​In most of my larger lecture classes so far, the professors have been just fine with students using computers. The amazing Professor Nicole Shelton, who taught my PSY 252: "Social Psychology" course, once described her view in front of the McCosh 50 lecture hall as looking over a sea of glowing, white apples.

I've sat next to more than a few Facebookers and online-shoppers, and was introduced to Buzzfeed by creeping on a neighbor in my fall freshman seminar. My friend Alissa even reported once seeing a girl in front of her reading entries on this "Speaking Of Princeton" blog. I'm not going to lie; it is easy to get distracted with a laptop. Professors who allow them do request you use them solely for taking notes though, so it's respectful to everyone to use them for focused note-taking.

Actually, in many cases you shouldn't need to frantically write down everything. Many instructors will put their lecture slides up on Blackboard, the course management system Princeton uses as an online hub for things like class material and precept posting 

If you miss something, or want to revisit an image from lecture, you can find the presentation after class! Not all courses have this option, though. As Professor Bendixen, my professor for "Science Fiction", said paradoxically on the first day of class, "I don't use audio/visual aids; I don't believe in technology." It is an excellent course. 

By the way, taking notes by laptop became infinitely more satisfying when I discovered the note-taking option in Word. It (kind of) makes you feel like you are taking notes on paper, not a screen! And then it outdoes real life by letting you change your workspace with the click of a button:

For example, 

SO! Those are the main methods of taking notes: using paper or using your laptop.

However, I thought I should mention I have seen some people simply using their minds.

I've seen them here and there; under the voice of a lecturer, as the hall rustles with the clattering of keys and the scratching of pencils, they sit calmly. They are unrestrained by papers or power cords. They are pure. Are they that confident in their mental powers? Do they just not care? They just... listen. 

I am definitely not one of those people, so props to them! Really, it comes down to the nature of the class and how you learn and listen best. Personally, I love writing and recording things, plus it also just anchors my focus to have something visual in front of me. Also, I think it's worth mentioning this TIME article.

SO, 

I can say these were good for my information retention.

As this bearded guy is probably thinking,

YAY! 

I never realized sticking so staunchly to my major would compel me so strongly to go outside of the box. I can sometimes be a one-track kind of person, and as such every semester I’ve taken a psychology course or two in an effort to keep up a sense of consistency and common thread. This has been a rewarding experience, but I am aware that this attitude could have been enormously limiting. Luckily for me, the diversity within the psychology department doesn't let me hide behind my major. The options that I have been given in the context of my field of interest have exposed me to opportunities that I may have otherwise been too shy to consider.

For example, last night, at first to my horror, the graduate student leading the lab for my "Neural Networks" class (computer models of brain activity, pretty cool stuff) announced that we would be writing our own code within the neural network software that we use. The software's main point is to build a bunch of layers that process information and attempt to simulate brain behavior within that framework. All of the basic commands in the program are already displayed as a series of buttons. That doesn’t mean it’s easy or intuitive for me, but I've become pretty comfortable with the way the software is laid out by this point. 

BUT…if you want to get fancy, which apparently they think I want, you can abandon the pre-made settings and go behind the scenes. This allows you to get more creative in designing a project, which I am going to be doing later this semester, rather than just running prepackaged simulations as we have been doing so far in lab. And so, last night I did some magic and turned a bunch of I-don’t-know-computer-jargon-but-it-looked-like-letters-and-numbers-to-me into something concrete. And it felt pretty good.

The decision to expose myself to computer science has been the ultimate struggle for me. As you may have gathered, it’s certainly not an area in which I feel at home. This terrain feels foreign to me, I won't lie.  I am just not a quantitative person.  

But I want to model brain behavior, because that’s awesome. And I think it’s even more awesome that I’m picking up some computer science along the way, because that is not something I thought I was cut out for.

To my pleasant surprise, so far, so good.  

Over the years, I’ve had so many people ask me what it’s like to be at Princeton. That’s a huge question, and a terribly complex one, but oftentimes it’s followed up with things like: “Is everyone busy all the time?” "Are the classes super hard?" “Do you ever get time to relax?”

My answer has always been, "Princeton is what you make of it”. I don’t think there is any one typical experience at Princeton; it really is unique for every individual, and you have a lot of say in how your day-to-day life will look. And it is very likely that your Princeton experience will look very different from semester to semester and year to year. 

So what is it like to be at Princeton? I won’t get into any of the complexities and intricacies of being a student here, but I can provide you with a quick overview of what my daily life here on campus has been via quick descriptions of my weekly schedule over the last four spring semesters.

Freshman year: 

I took four classes: Gen Chem, an introductory molecular biology class, microeconomics, and French. I had two to three weekly lectures and a precept per class, plus a lab for mol bio and chem. It made for a busy semester, but one that is pretty typical for a freshman pre-med. I also was on the lightweight crew team, so would have practices from 4:30-6:30 every day. Thankfully, Princeton blocks out that time period for athletic practices so no student-athlete should ever have to choose between attending class or attending practice; unfortunately, many interesting guest speakers and other activities fall during that time period, too. On a typical day, I would wake up around 8 or 9 a.m., grab breakfast with my other pre-med roommates before our classes, attend class or work during the day, eat dinner with teammates after practice, and spend the evenings finishing up homework. I always set aside Friday evenings for something more fun and relaxing; Saturdays I often had races, and Sundays I spent doing work (although my residential college adviser always held a Sunday night study break to look forward to!) 

Sophomore year: 

This was probably my easiest semester, although I was finishing up organic chemistry, probably the most dreaded pre-med class of all. There's a big difference between sophomore and freshman year, I think, in that you finally feel as though you really understand how Princeton works. Sophomore spring is that perfect time where you've really gotten the hang of things, but you haven't yet started your independent work. I took my first departmental that semester, "Animal Behavior," and decided that I loved the quirky and fun ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB) department. I also took a theology class (REL 263), which I elected to PDF (this just means that I took it with the pass/D/fail option) because it was such a new, but super interesting, topic to me. I also worked as an EMT during this semester after completing the New Jersey certification course in the fall, so I spent around 30 hours every month volunteering for Princeton First Aid and Rescue. I also had just gotten into my eating club, Cap and Gown, so was getting to know a bunch of new faces and form wonderful new friendships. 

Junior year: 

Junior year I was studying abroad in Kenya with the EEB department, so my day-to-day life looked completely different from any other semester. I took a series of four three-week long classes on topics ranging from African mammals to the conservation of African landscapes to tropical agriculture. We'd wake up at around 7 a.m. every day with the sun, spend the day doing field studies or traveling, and come home in the evenings to relax and hang out. I had maybe 20 hours of lectures in total over the entire semester, instead of 20 hours of lectures every week. I climbed Mt. Kenya over spring break, met some of the most wonderful people, and got a glimpse into a land and culture I never thought I would see. It was an incredible (and surreal) experience. 

Senior year: 

While the majority of my friends are in just two classes, I'm currently enrolled in three to finish up pre-med and global health and health policy requirements. I'm taking the second semester of introductory physics, a graduate-level seminar in epidemiology, and a MOL class called "Infection: Biology, Burden, and Disease." In addition to this, I also work as an intramural supervisor and as a residential college adviser, which takes up around 4-6 hours over the course of two or three weeknights. My biggest worry besides classes right now is the thesis. As one of my good friends keeps reminding me, we have less than 50 days to go....! And, of course, figuring out the next steps beyond Princeton. 

 

As I fell into the rhythm of Princeton life and the trees bloomed, so did my love for photography.

I realized that on this blog, I've talked about many, many fun extracurricular things I've experienced since starting college. And I realized that for all the blog-reading world knows, Aliisa might as well just be over at Princeton having a party all the day. Well, I'm here to let you know that in fact, Aliisa goes to class! As Spring 2015 charges forward, I thought I'd give you a little rundown this semester's courses.

Here we are, a few weeks into the spring semester. Each semester has a rhythm of its own, and it always takes a few weeks to figure out how to dance to the new beat. I love this time because classes are still new (but not brand new), and I am settling into my new routine.

The first two weeks of classes are deemed the “add-drop period” because you can do just that—try new classes that you hear about, sample different section times, and drop other classes that you originally wanted to take. So it’s after those first couple of weeks that we are settling into the groove, and this is my favorite time for two reasons: a) I’m a total routine person, and b) I have a great schedule this semester. More than a few people have told me they thought they had a good schedule until they heard mine! I’m taking four classes this semester, the typical Princeton workload. Two are for my French major, and two are for the certificate that I am earning in the Program in Urban Studies. Perhaps what I love the most is that I only have classes Monday through Wednesday, and then I work quite a bit on campus on Thursdays and Fridays. Now you’re starting to understand the envy of my friends.

Here is a typical Monday:

6:08 a.m. Good morning!

6:30 a.m. Dillon Gym. I think that this is the best way to start the day, and I’m here nearly every morning!

8:10 a.m. Breakfast.

8:45 a.m. Work at Firestone Library. It’s perfect for me to work on Monday mornings since I’m all caught up with homework from the weekend.

11 a.m. “The Making of Modern France: French Literature, Culture, and Society from 1789 to the Present.” A wonderful class with a great professor. It’s a lot like a book club with only 13 of us students and lots of group discussion.

12:30 p.m. “Architecture, Globalization, and the Environment.” This is a fairly large lecture, and it works well for me to sit back, take notes, and munch on dark chocolate and nuts since I don’t have a break for lunch today.

1:30 p.m. “Advanced French Language and Style.” This is another small and fun class, and right now we’re studying the narration of French fiction and fairy tales.

3 p.m. Whew! Time for a break. I head back to my room, respond to several emails, and start some homework. I also check my mailbox at the Frist Campus Center.

5 p.m. I have dinner with my friend. We talk about our summer internship plans and exchange stories about what we did over the weekend.

6 p.m. I talk to my mom on the phone and catch up with her, and then I take a look at my homework for the week.

7:30 p.m. It’s time for our weekly Student Health Advisory Board meeting.

8:30 p.m. I finish up my last edits on my French essay for Wednesday and complete this week’s reading for “Introduction to Urban Studies.”

10:45 p.m. It has been a busy day. Good night!

The exact form of the thesis and the time frame in which students complete it vary a lot between departments, but in physics the process starts in the summer before senior year when students decide what topic they want to work on; whether they want to do computational, theoretical, or experimental physics; and who they want to advise them.

As we venture into the third week of the spring semester, students have finally settled on their classes, their weekly routines, and the most efficient shortcuts through the cold winter weather. Some things, though, were settled long before now. When most people were constructing their New Year's resolutions, we were a bit preoccupied with other things.

But like each new year, each new semester brings the opportunity to improve upon the previous one (or two, or few). It's not rare, in fact, to start declaring your resolutions for next semester while still navigating the trenches of another. Personally, I tend to land on my resolutions in this exact way—applying the lessons I learn in the middle of one semester to the start of the next in order to avoid similar "woes."

For me, this semester is all about finding ways to better manage my stress and curb it before it overwhelms me. To this end, I've made a handful of mini-resolutions.

First, I plan to embrace creativity as an outlet, namely by experimenting with my DSLR camera more often. I also want to commit to exercising regularly (realistically, once a week). I resolve to work more consistently on weekdays, doing a few hours each weeknight rather than concentrating it on the weekends. Last, I want to finish three books by the end of the semester. It's not often that I find time to read for fun, but it's very relaxing when I do.

With that said, no two resolutions are alike. So instead of simply detailing my personal goals, I thought I would reach out to my fellow bloggers and ask about their plans for this semester. Below are the resolutions they shared with me!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much to my amazing fellow bloggers for contributing to this post!