Cassandra Guerrero

How Time Flies

I can't believe that it's almost March already.  It feels like just yesterday I came back from Christmas break.  This year is flying by so fast!  Some people from first semester are gone, and some new people have appeared.  The first semester feels so far away.  But being here with the people who are important to me, that feels amazing.  Going home for break was nice, missing people I once knew.  But I could only think of coming back to Norwich and seeing my new friends.

It has snowed so much recently, and I really like it!  My friends and I would really like to go sledding, we just have to figure out what to use for sleds...

It's hard to keep up with my deadlines lately.  One day is Monday, the next is Friday, the next is Monday again... I don't know where all the time has gone.  I'm having so much fun here. 

Engineering classes are hard, but very fun.  I love programming and working with robots.  My classmates are really great, and since there aren't very many people, we get to become close.  Also, the professors are nice and helpful.  They know me by name and say hello whenever I pass them by.  I like feeling like the people around here really care for me.  They notice when I am struggling and lend me a hand, and they congratulate me on my achievements before I even tell them about what I've done myself.  It's like being in a big family.  My Norwich family.

Gingerbread House

So the Languages this year decided to build gingerbread houses.  And then compete for the super awesome amazing prize of having the best one.  Reasons why the German house is the best one:

 

One:  It's German

Two: We decorated it with pretzels and mustard

Three:  There is a magical forest made of apples, sausage, and cheese

Four:  Sauerkraut snow!

Five: IT IS GERMAN

Six: Gummy Bears!

 

And that is why we will win.

A Day in the Life

Today is Wednesday.

Far enough from the beginning of the week to be cool, but not close enough to the weekend to be awesome.  But, Wednesday isn't a bad day.

Typical Wednesday.  Wake up, get dressed.  Meet Ryan upstairs at 8 for breakfast.  Eat some muffins and cereal, then say goodbye and go back to the dorm.  Pack my backpack, tie up loose ends.  Chemistry at 10.  Meet GrumpyBear at lunch, 11.  1130, get to work!  Get the mail and packages.  Today I decorated for Christmas!  1250, time to get to Webb!  1300 German Class, today we read Rumpelstilzchen.  1400, go upstairs to English; today, we went over research paper proposals.  I decided to write mine on Batman and how super heroes affect society.  1450, go over to Bartoletto.  Calc at 1500.  1600, I usually go to Band practice, but it was moved to tomorrow.  Instead, hang out with GrumpyBear and friends.  1730, dinhar!  Eat rice and beans and a hamburger.  Get back to Crawford and chill out before heading over to the library to return my movies.  Pick out new movies!  Dead Poets Society, Spirited Away, Monty Python, and V for Vendetta.  Ask the librarian where to find books on Batman.  Get back and write a blog!

Work Study

Being a work study is pretty fun.

Well, it's as fun as work can be.

It's a job, so it's not always fun, but it's always rewarding, and I don't just mean the paycheck.  I work in the Engineering Office and get some extra hours in the Machine Lab.  And I really enjoy it, because while getting the mail and doing spreadsheets aren't the most glamourous things in the world, I like to sort and organize things.  I look forward to sorting the mail into the boxes and filing and moving around office supplies, as strange as that may seem.  And not only that, but I get to meet and talk with engineering staff and professors that I might not have otherwise been able to as a freshman.  Mrs. Lane and Mr. Vilbrin are really great people, and nice to work for.  I also get to interact with the students who come into the office and get to know other engineers, which is probably the best part. 

Aside from the work part, there's the study.  It's great to be able to bring homework and get some done while I'm sitting in the office waiting for the phone to ring.  And the hours are pretty flexible, because I can just go whenever I don't have class.  Make sure you show up though, because it is a job.  You can't just decide not to go to work if your boss is expecting you.

Last thing about working:  Shop around.  The Engineering Office was the fourth place I considered before I decided, and I'm glad I didn't just pick the first job I got my hands on.  There are very many places looking for workers around campus, and it's a good idea to check as many out as possible.  This way, you can get the best experience out of the job!  Choose something you're passionate about (like something related to your major, or an interest like athletics or community service) and remember that you get out what you put in.  So work hard, and you'll find that Norwich will give back to you what you deserve!

Thanksgiving Break

Going home for Thanksgiving was...

 

    Oh. My. Goodness.  This. Is. AWESOME.  I haven't been home in three months, I can't wait to see my Mama and Papa, Stevie Bear, Snuggly Bear, Ducky, this is going to be SO SWEET.

    Wow, I'm taking a TRAIN?!?  This is so boss.  I've never been on a train!  I'm really excited!!! I'll just take a nap and listen to my ipod; ten hours is no big deal.

    OH. MY. GOODNESS.  Why am I still on this train?  Somebody, get me off of here! WHY WON'T I JUST FALL ASLEEP ALREADY?!?

    FINALLY OFF THAT TRAIN!  Now, where are my parents?  OH YAY MOMMY AND DADDY ARE HERE!  OF COURSE I MISSED YOU NOW FEED ME OM NOM NOM.

    Ah, home sweet--ACHOO!  Oh, wha--ACHOO! ACHOO ACHOO ACHOO!  Argh, WHY?  At least I get to sleep in my bed!  Flop.  Ugh, it's all...not my bed anymore.

    Monday through Wednesday: WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE ON BREAK STILL

    THANKSGIVING TURKEY!!!!  ...If only I could taste it...UNSTUFF YOURSELF VILE NOSTRILS!  I want yummy food...!

    Friday at 5:30 am, ugh...why am I awake right now...?  Walk into Five Below, HOLY POO IN A CAN, I WANT THAT UNICORN!  In the car, pillow pet YAY I LOVE IT, get home, snore....

    Friday night at 7, text message bombardment, HEY CASS WANNA HANG OUT TOMORROW?!?!?  Um...I'm leaving tomorrow morning...at 7am...  WHAT?!? WHY YOU WERE HERE FOR LIKE A DAY!  Um...I was actually here for a week...and I made sure to tell everybody way in advance, so we could make plans...and no one said anything...  NO I WANTED TO SEE YOU

 

So yeah.  Actually, when I was home, all I could think about was coming back to Norwich.  And how to steal my brother's PS3 and bring it back with me.  But anyway, Norwich is just so small and homey, I couldn't NOT get attached.  My bed is awesome, my roommate is awesome, my friends are awesome, and everything just...makes me so happy to be here.  Happy to be back.

Sad to have finals.  And no video games.

But happy to be back.  Norwich is my home.

Halloween

Halloween is a super great holiday.  I, unfortunately, didn't dress up because I didn't think of it.  And I'm actually really disappointed, because I still have my Alice in Wonderland dress and I've only worn it once.  Anyway, Halloween.  Pumpkins are great.  Carving, baking pie, roasting seeds is probably my favorite.  The staff and students here had some great costumes.  I saw a really good mime down at the mill!  My roommate was Amy Winehouse, and she looked awesome.  Having the kids come trick-or-treating in the dorms was great too.  I absolutely adore kids, and their costumes were great.  There was a girl dressed up like Penelope Cruz in the Pirates movie and she looked so much like her!  But the best part is probably ghost stories.

Norwich has a lot of haunted rumours, and that's cool.  I know there are ghost hunting parties that go out, and I really want to do it, I just haven't for some reason.  My roommate has some great stories, but she also used that opportunity to scare the crap out of me.  See, here's sort of how it went.

 

Roommate:  "Lalala, awesome ghost stories."

Me: "Sweetness, I love ghost stories!"

Roommate: "Lalala, more awesomeness."

Me: "Random crap.  Hey, you know what's weird?  Blah blah blah."

Roommate: "You know what else is weird?  That shadow behind you."

Me: "EWAHRIGASJSDIGAWJDSGDFSJKFJADSKA"

 

I really had a heart attack, she totally caught me off-guard.  But it was so hilarious.  So yeah, Halloween at Norwich is kind of great.

Norwich

When I was choosing schools, Norwich was really my first choice.  And living in Pennsylvania, people reacted sort of like this: "VERMONT?!?!?"

That sounded kind of great to me.  I love snow, I love cold, I love winter.  I like that Norwich is a smaller school.  I like that I feel like the people here are friendly and actually care about me.  But the deciding factor was really visiting the campus.  Coming here, I felt something that I hadn't felt about any other school.  It just felt...right.

And now that I'm here, I'm glad that I chose this school.  I couldn't imagine myself anywhere else.  My roommate is amazing, my friends are great, my professors are cool, and the campus is really nice.  Coming to Norwich is really one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.

Snow

Snow is basically my most favorite thing in the world.  It is white and fluffy and wet and cold and awesome.  I suppose that the lack of eloquence in describing snow informs you of the fact that I couldn't really explain why I love snow so much.  I guess it is just something you understand if you agree.  Now, many people I've talked to hate snow.

 

This is Vermont.  I'm really not sure why they chose to come here.

 

But actually, the snow was a deciding factor for me.  There is just something about the winter that makes me feel the opposite of other people.  Winter is a time when most people are depressed and stuff, but I really love the cold.  It's refreshing, and if I get cold, I can fix that by putting on layers or having hot chocolate or snuggling up in a blanket.  If it gets too hot, there's only so much clothing I can remove before there are problems.  Hot I cannot fix.  But cold I can.

Playing in the snow is also super amazing.  Building forts and having snowball fights and snowmen and snow angels and just everything makes me really happy. 

Basically, it's October and it's already snowed a good bit.  So if you don't like snow, maybe you should reconsider Norwich.  But if you share my enthusiasm, then come find me here!

Breaks

I was sort of dreading mid-semester break because I knew people I had grown close to, including my roommate, were going home, and I wasn't sure what I would do.  But it was actually really fun.  I was able to get closer to some other friends I didn't know as well.  We went shopping, watched movies, played video games, and had sleepovers in my room.  It was much better than I expected.  I feel like I need to remind people what I learned from this experience.  Take the time to get to know people that maybe you'd been neglecting.  I hadn't noticed that I wasn't really hanging with these friends, and I certainly wasn't avoiding them on purpose.  But sometimes we get caught up in our own lives that we don't stop to see what's going on.  So everyone needs to stop and smell the roses.  And hanging around campus on a break is a great way to do that.

Snail Mail

Imagine you're a candle.

There are tons of mean things someone could do to you, aren't there?

There you are burning, all happy and bright, when someone comes along and decides to blow your flame out.  How does that make you feel?  Or what if you were majestic and strong, burning for hours and hours on end--when all of a sudden, you reach the end of the wick and poof! you're extinguished.

Now, that's not very nice.

But life is like that sometimes.  You're sitting outside enjoying your ice cream when it starts to melt all over your hand.  And that sucks.  But then, someone offers you a napkin.  And that doesn't suck.

 

Earlier this week, the going got tough.  And apparently, I am not tough, because I couldn't get going.  But yesterday, I got a letter from a friend, and today, a card from my Grandmother.

Both offered words of love and encouragement.  And I really needed to hear those things.

So, I want everyone to send a letter, an e-mail, a text, a phone call--anything.  Just tell someone that you're thinking of them.  It might arrive just when they need it.