karanguni | Oh man halp

omfg it's past 4 am here what am I even doing still up
but
advice
can't offer much as far as rooming and moving to a strange new city are concerned, as I'm still living at home.
Subjects? Am more than happy to chat sometime in near future about what I've done and am doing (will hang around on msn when available, feel free to hit up)

well, the whole point of going to university is to find what you want to do, your first year is usually basic courses, then you decide on your major in your second or third year.

Hee, down here I'm in a very small minority of people who don't know what they want to major in for first year -- I feel like I'm going out on a limb and being kind of slow about it, but I shoved off thinking about it for so long... xD

you really don't need to know what you want to do. believe me. you will have to take the core anyway, and for the rest of the classes go with an open mind. if you want more info about any professors, dorm reps ect., including local hangouts and clubs, feel free to ask. (i went to barnard rather than columbia, but there is a lot of overlap.) it will be fine.

\o/ university! :D here, have an off-the-top-of-my-head list of Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me In Advance (alternatively, Things I Wish I'd Figured Out Earlier).

- first of all, don't worry if you can't decide on a major! even the people who come in with their minds made up change their plans sometimes (as many many many of my engineering friends can attest). it's also wise to get as many general education requirements as you can stomach out of the way, so you don't have to worry about them later on.

- take advantage of shopping period at the beginning of each semester! by this i mean the first week or so of classes when your schedule isn't set in stone, and you can sit in on the lectures/seminars to get an idea of whether you'll like the class. this is especially valuable because you can figure out which syllabi you think are amazing, which professors to chase after or avoid (depending on their lecture styles), etc.

- departments will generally host meetings for prospective majors, which are very useful in determining course requirements for each major. this is also good in terms of researching your professors (free opportunity to spam with random questions face-to-face!), finding out (to some extent) how organized/disorganized the department is, and speaking to current majors about their/your interests.

- current majors are an awesome resource, btw, so don't be afraid to ask them things- not only are they less intimidating than the professors, they also remember being clueless freshmen and thus will generally forgive you the awkwardness. :D

- check out the school clubs, even- perhaps especially- the random ones. it's an opportunity to make new friends, and (depending on the club, of course) you'll meet people from a wide variety of majors. plus, club friendships are very different from classmate ones- the friends i made in class i mostly bonded with over homework, but the ones i made in the ballroom team/Asian American Alliance/etc. i can talk to about pretty much everything else.

PEE ESS: which university are you speaking of?? i tried to generalize the list above but i am a Barnard alum, so.

Columbia! :D :D

I really, really want a single-room dorm, so I'm thinking of trying for LLC/Furnald/JJ in that order and CROSSING MY FINGERS AND HOPING LIKE MAD.

Hee, where do people hang out? \o

1. \o I love general studies with a passion, and I haven't been able to do any for... Ever, really, down here -- it's all SPECIALISE SPECIALISE SPECIALISE, so yeah. :D

2. Shopping period! DO THEY REALLY LET YOU SIT IN ON OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT? *has lived in a steel-cage school environment for 12 years* That sounds really super awesome.

3/4. I'm hoping to land a multi-year dorm so that I get to know bunches of people from different majors and years. :D WE'LL SEE HOW THAT TURNS OUT.

5. Oh my god I am so ready to overcommit. I'm going to turn on BURNING FIRES OF COMMITMENT; I kind of want a recreation sport and a political group and a student organisation and writing and this and that and on-campus stuff and EVERYTHING ohohohohohoho.

OMG YOU ARE GOING TO MY SCHOOL! (university, WHATEVER.) \o/ AND YOU WILL BE IN MY CITY! \o/ \o/ \o/ :D *happydance*

plus, i still live in the Columbia area, haha.

YEAH I'M IN THE COLLEGE BUT I AM IN COLUMBIA THIS IS RIDICULOUSLY EXCITING HOW CLOSE YOU WILL BE NOT TO MENTION WTF THERE ARE SO MANY BARNARD-ESQUE ALUMNI ON MY FLIST THAT IT IS KINDA SCARY. SCARY, OR FATE. /capslock

:D :D :D :D :D :D:D :D :D:D :D :D :D :D :D :D: D :D :D :D:D

SLEEEEEEEEEEEP WOMAN.

*chuckles* I thik the problem with me is that I want to get a professional degree, and HERE I AM BEING A HUMANITIES STUDENT, doubleplus that studying Law will take me 7 !!!!!!!! years of Fail, so yes. D:

1. weeell, the Columbia Core = classes you will generally not be able to get out of. the Barnard requirements are more flexible, lol. but! there are AWESOME AWESOME CLASSES! including Intro to Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, which is taught by UMA THURMAN'S DAD. (yes, i took it, shut up, it was AMAZING. :D)

2. YES. IT IS AMAZING. i was a biochem major with rather rigid course reqs, but i still managed to squeeze in some awesomesauce of awesome. :D (see above.)

3/4. CU freshmen are generally housed in first-year dorms, so as to get to know your classmates better. but! this is the reason why we have AWESOME CLUBS OF AWESOME. :D

5. which reminds me, in terms of the AWESOME CLUBS OF AWESOME: check 'em out early! you will have to pick and choose, as your coursework increases, but there's no reason not to have fun with them while you can!

I am told that Singaporean systems are considering Inhumane and Evil by other standards, so I am hoping that conversely heading down will be a bit easier and WHEEEEEEEEEE for the first year before I make my choice fu fu fu fu.

1. I LOVE THE CORE SO MUCH I want to take everything omg. SO MUCH FOR A PROFESSIONAL DEGREE, K - the only thing I can even imagine doing that's professional is... Economics. Or Law, but Law'd take me 7 YEARS WTF. I am so lost and DESPERATELY NEEDING TO HAVE SOMETHING TO DRIVE MY CLASS SELECTION + LIFE lulz

2. HAHAHAHAH oh man oh man oh manohmanohman. So what, you just INSERT THYSELF into classes during the first few weeks? WTF AMAZING.

3/4. I AM EXCITED V EXCITED.

5. Heh heh, does Barnard share the College's clubsesses?

CLEARLY IT IS DESTINY. YOU ARE AWESOME, CU PEOPLE ARE (generally) AWESOME, THE AWESOMENESS ATTRACTS.

also, should you decide to be too cool for the frosh welcome week events (some are awesome, some are decidedly NOT, this is trufax), less jam-packed/crazy city-rambles are available! ;D

HAHA I AM FAR FROM AWESOME. I know what you mean about (generally) - this girl I really... kind of... dislike is heading down as well and she's a bit of a. Uh. 8D *BEAMS*

BUT ANYWAY ---

HEH HEH HEH I am trying to decide if I am crazy enough to go for the Outdoor Orientation BUT I AM AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT so I am unsure if the International Student Orientation clashes fjalskfjla I WAS EARLY ADMITTED AND APPARENTLY THEY DON'T WANT TO EMAIL ME ABOUT UPDATES so I am refreshing my inbox like crazy demanding information on WHAT I HAVE TO DO NOW grrrrrrrrrr /rant

BUT YES, I shall definitely take time off to ramble around HEE HEE HEE I am not a big party person by nature, so if there are huge ones I'll likely go for... a couple and then give up and run away. OR SOMETHING.

ahaha, American school systems are more flexible than ANY ASIAN SCHOOL SYSTEM, this is trufax! *glee*

2. hahaha, INSERT THYSELF. YES, ACTUALLY. \o/

5. generally it is CU free-for-all, regarding clubs! :D

DAWWWW YAY.

5. Which ones were you in? *curious curious*

as;dlgkha;sldfjk OKAY, I SHOULD MENTION: Outdoor Orientation is for College/SEAS kids only! Barnard is not included. D: i'm not terribly bitter about it because Barnard kicks ass in other ways, heh heh.

hahaha, unfortunately, orientation outings are generally in groups of 10-20+ (i was an orientation leader once, lol) when you are not talking GIANT PARTIES. i am a selective party girl; me and parties have a love-hate relationship. xD ANYWAY, do not expect to actually make friends at the GIANT PARTIES if you decide to go- the best way to go about it, if you are like me, is to find a few people you think you'd like to know better and go with them.

Ajflkasfjlj OH MANNNNN DDD: I AM RETROACTIVELY SORRY FOR YOU

Yeah, orientation's that way here too, and my modus operandi is a lot like yours - if there're people I like I stick with them and we go bounce around at and/or avoid the big parties when they do happen. :D It's really really exciting/mindbogglingly scary because the circle of schools you go around down here at home is so small that I have essentially - no lie - seen the same people and been around the same people for 9 or more years, which eliminates the need for orientation at high school -- I made like maybe 4 new friends the whole of my last two years since I either knew everyone else or knew them by proxy. \o SO COLLEGE, I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. ~~And hoping to find some slash fans to bounce around NY ridiculously with, which can be a problem down here at home unless you BRING YOUR OWN~~.

Rambly K is rambbbblyyyy.

HAHAHA oh gosh. i was kind of a club whore. KIND OF. but you can participate in lots of random club things PERIPHERALLY, K? xD

LOVE OF MY POST/COLLEGIATE LIFE: CU Ballroom Dance Team. (Club Sports made us change the name to "Club," but SCREW THAT WE ARE A TEAM.) of course i no longer know most of the members, i think our "golden age" has passed (;___; SELF-CENTERED DANCEBABIES OF MINE, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR TEAM SPIRIT??), but it is still v. v. awesome.

THE REST:
- Chinese Students Club (CSC): i was a Lunar Gala girl, as i have always been wary of too much fob. xD Lunar Gala = Chinese New Year's show; i was part of the traditional dance act for four years.
- Organization of Pakistani Students (OPS): Hangama dancer, also for four years! Hangama = mock Pakistani wedding on the Columbia steps, haha. (ARE YOU SENSING A DANCE THEME YET??)
- Dance Marathon! OKAY this isn't a club, but it's a student-run AIDS benefit as well as a 28-hour dance party. (also did this for four years, PERSONAL TRADITIONS, YOU KNOW?)
- Asian American Alliance (AAA): mostly peripheral, as in, i had a lot of friends on the board and they have awesome events/projects/etc.

there are a LOT MORE though, so don't let me bias you ~~too much~~!

DAW I AM SUPER UNFIT HAVING NOT BEEN IN SPORTS FOR A BILLION YEARS SO DANCE SOUNDS COOL BUT VERY SCARY IN THAT I HAVE NEVER DANCED BEFORE; down here at high school if you haven't been TRAINING FOR A THOUSAND YEARS joining a club for that particular thing is just out of the question because you will get EATEN ALIVE. I hope that is not so??? D: D:

\o HEE HEE Man, I would suck so bad at the CSC, since I identify with my Chinese-y part of myself very little unless you count the ingrained traditions, which even then have become all... normal-y and non-ethnic-y to me.

Fuwahhaha I AM GOING TO CLUB WHORE TOO

YOU HAVE AT LEAST ONE (1) SLASH FAN ALREADY! :D :D :D there are definitely more, as i recall seeing other CU/Barnard folks on my flist, although i have not actually met them in real life. (well. except

ladyjaida, who was in my class, and only if your definition of "meet" is "see around campus occasionally"-- i'd read the Shoebox Project by then, and so never actually talked to her because HELLO FANGIRLING ALL OVER AUTHOR YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN INTRODUCED TO IRL = AWKWARD.)

DAHAHWAHAH I JUST WANT ONE IN MY YEAR SO WE CAN WALK AROUND TOGETHER AND BE DORKS AND I AM SURE IF I EMIT THE RIGHT VIBES ("LJ? SHINY?") I WILL FIND THEM. I MEAN, YES.

Oh my god

ladyjaida WAS FROM CU???? IN YOUR CLASS??? I LOVE THIS UNIVERSITY MORE AND MORE AND MORE AS WE SPEAK.

AHhahahahsfjaslfj I am sure everything will turn out fine and that I will have my harem of slash fangirls and strange-weirdly-social kinds like myself BUT IT'S THE ANTICIPATION IT KILLS ME but it is comforting to know that you and so many other flisters ARE SO NEARBY, WILLING TO BAIL OUT A SILLY K KNEE DEEP IN NEWNESS.

I ONLY STARTED DANCING IN COLLEGE! THIS IS TRUFAX. i cannot speak for the other teams, but ballroom requires no previous experience. :D :D and then i got interested in dance in general and WELL THANK YOU BALLROOM FOR INTRODUCING ME TO MY NEW CRACK, HEH HEH.

Oh man halp

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject