What are some strategies you use to maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit?

For me, it is a challenge to stay on top of my studies, stay healthy, and still have time for ME. The most important of these things is, of course, self-health and wellness. I have found that I must eat three times a day, and therefore, do eat at least three times a day. On Tuesday’s and Thursday’s I don’t have to be up as early, so I generally don not partake in breakfast on these days. However, I do have lunch, dinner, and a small meal later in the evening to make up for my lack of breakfast.

The next thing on the list after eating is sleep. I know that not getting enough sleep can seriously effect one’s immune system, causing one to get sick more easily and it will come on quicker. For me, I try to get to bed between 11:00PM and midnight that way I get at least seven hours of sleep Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and at least nine hours of sleep Tuesday and Thursday. Over the weekends, I get in as much sleep as I can while still getting my work done.

Next on my list is homework and studying and I try not to get behind on any of my work. I try to get the homework that is assigned for the day done by the end of the day. It helps me to retain the information, and then I’m not scratching my head trying to figure things out the next day. As for studying, I already stated that I have some trouble with how and when to do it. Most of the time I get my studying in soon before the test so the material is fresh in my mind.

Last on my list is my social life. I know that I function better when I’m around/in contact with other people. It ‘s always healthy to have friends, maybe not a lot, but a few good friends to keep you sane. Having someone to vent to, or rant to always makes my day brighter, like a weight has been lifted.

Liberal Arts Education

First, I would like to apologize because I didn’t realize that our professors needed these by Friday. I thought it just needed to be done before class Tuesday. I understand if I cannot receive a grade or if my grade will be lessened because of it’s tardiness, but I’m doing the assignment anyway.

The Wikipedia definition of a liberal arts school is pretty vague, saying that a liberal arts school teaches general knowledge as opposed to a professional or technical school which emphasizes on specialization. With this definition, I would have to say, that I don’t believe Converse can be considered a liberal arts school. We in the Petrie School of Music definitely have a very specific set of courses. Our days revolve around music, and not much else. We do have our GEP courses, which insure our liberal arts education, but for the most part, our studies are very focused on our intended majors. I also believe that this holds true for not only the PSoM but the rest of the school as well.

The question is asked, why does a music student need to take these GEP’s? Why can’t we just focus on our music degrees? I think that taking other classes, such as Botany or Philosophy, can help us to always keep an open mind. It could show us the other subjects we maybe interested in so if one day we wake up and can no longer do music we have an idea of what we can do instead.

I also believe that Converse’s teaching style and classroom size are unlike most other liberal arts schools. The teaching is far more one-on-one than in a large liberal arts college because we don’t have huge classes. We can have more of our questions answered in class and make sure we truly understand the information, unlike other liberal arts, do-it-yourself, colleges. Converse College truly is the coupling of a liberal arts school and a professional college.

Blog Topic #1

I have always known that I would go to college. Both of my brothers went to college and I'm not sure I could have lived with myself if I didn't at least try going. Of course, that wasn't the only reason I decided to go to college. I wanted to further my education as well as get my teaching degree. I've wanted to be a teacher since my junior year in high school. I also know that with a college degree I can get a better job than without one.

Although both my mother and her mother went to a woman's college, that is not the reason I came to Converse. Part of the reason I came to Converse is because I don't normally get along with other girls very well. I thought that this would allow me to concentrate more on my studies than my friendships or social life. Another reason was for the school of music. One of my specifications when looking at colleges was a school, rather than just a department, of music. I've always wanted to pursuit a career in music. Another one of my requirements for my dream college was it couldn't be too far away from home, nor too close. I didn't want it to be so far away that I couldn't just go home for a weekend, and I also didn't want to be so close that my parents could drop in whenever they wanted either. I suppose my last reason for coming to Converse was the class sizes. I don't know that I would do very well at a large college. I usually need a little extra help and I really like being on a first name basis with my teachers.

As I said before, I have always wanted to pursuit a career in music. I have been singing since i could talk and when I was five I said that I wanted to be a rock star when I grew up. Music has always been a huge part of my life. In elementary, middle and high school I was in the choir at school. In middle school, I got my first voice lesson and really began to better my voice. In high school, I took more lessons and my senior year I joined a cabaret group called Spotlight. I feel that Spotlight really opened my eyes to my own potential and let me truly decide what I want to do for the rest of my life. I love music and I can't even imagine spending a day without it.

Having said that, if I could no longer do music, I think I would still be a teacher. Instead of teaching high school, however, I would teach elementary students because I love kids and I like to think I'm pretty good with little ones.