This weekend, was definitely the weekend to support the arts in the Bi-Co.

On Friday, November 20, as a member of the Bi-Co Orchestra, we performed our annual Fall concert in Marshall Auditorium. We performed three pieces, including a . I’m very glad that I am a part of the orchestra. It is a great way to keep up with the violin, which I have been playing since the 4th grade. I also appreciate the two and a half hours on Thursdays where I can focus solely on the music we are playing, rather then upcoming exams and lab reports.

On Saturday, November 21, the Bi-Co Fall Student Dance Concert took place in Marshall Auditorium. As mentioned in a previous blog post, I had the amazing opportunity to choreograph and perform in the concert. Over the last 2 months, myself as well as the other dancers and choreographers have been working hard. I am so proud of what I was able to do for this show.bThis concert had many different types of dances, which was awesome. There was tap, flamenco, hip-hop and more. The best part was how many people came to support us. I was handing out programs with some other dancers, and we actually ran out of programs; the auditorium was packed (balcony included). It was so great dancing for the energetic crowd. I cannot wait to watch the tape when it comes out!

Pictures to come!

The days are getting shorter, the homework is getting tougher, the world is getting scarier, but we need to keep moving forward.

It’s okay to have a bad day, or a few bad days. After all, flowers need rain to grow. But sometimes, all you need is a little bit of positivity to reverse your bad day. It can all start with a smile from a stranger. One of the reasons why I love Bryn Mawr is because I see the interactions between students every day. I se students actually smiling at each other as they pass by, rather than avoiding eye contact when going to classes.

The past few weeks-and days-have been pretty awful. I am a huge fan of quotes, so I have some inspirational quotes that I’d like to share with you all. Whenever I am having a rough day, or am feeling sad, I usually look up quotes to try to make myself feel a little bit better. Whether you need some motivation to finish a problem set or essay, a little bit of positivity if you’re feeling down, or maybe a little bit of hope after the tragic past few days, I hope these quotes make you feel just a little bit better.

• “We know what we are, but not what we may be” William Shakespeare.
  • AKA, do NOT give up on yourself. Where you are right now, is not final, you can change yourself for the better!
• “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it” Edith Wharton.
• “Find out who you are and be that person. That’s what your soul was put on this Earth to be. Find that truth, live that truth and everything else will come” Ellen Degeneres.
• “You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you think you can” Jimmy Carter.
• “A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference” Winnie the Pooh.
• “When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable” Walt Disney.

It’s no secret that classes at Bryn Mawr are tough. Around this time of the semester, it is not uncommon to find students in the library at very late hours, or hearing about how someone hasn’t slept in days. Well, while it important that you complete all work and study, it is also so very important to self-care. We are so lucky to be at a place that promotes self-care, that sometimes it is okay to say, “I’ll take an hour to myself and comeback to reading that chapter.” Here are my top 5 self-care tips on campus that don’t take you too far away from you textbooks, but far enough to relieve some stress!

1. Lay on the hammocks! While the weather is still bearable, take sometime to listen to some music, or read a (non-school related) book for a little bit.
2. Take a nap! It is important to get sleep, take a quick nap. New studies say that napping “can make you thinner, smarter and happier.”
3. Take a walk or jog around campus or go to the gym for 30 minutes. Take advantage of our beautiful campus and gym. There are so many benefits about how exercise makes you feel better.
4. Go to UnCommon Grounds with some friends. Treat yourself to a chai or just sit and chat with your friends.
5. Watch that episode on Netflix. I’m not saying binge on all 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls, but watch a quick episode, or watch the news, etc. But again, don’t get carried away.

While this is a stressful time, and studying and doing your work is super important, it is also imperative that you take care of yourself. Your grades and your social life will suffer if you are burned out, and we don’t want that to happen J

Having a car on campus is a privilege. Yes, I know that and I am very thankful to Bryn Mawr and my family for allowing me to have this privilege and I don’t mean to be rude, but WE NEED MORE STUDENT PARKING! The rules right now for parking on campus are as follows (generalized), you must have a permit ($50 dollars for 1 semester, or $100 for the year), you can only park in student parking spots. I know what you may be thinking, “what’s wrong about that?” Nothing is wrong with that, except for the only places students can park is in the lower level parking lot of Erdman, which holds maybe 20 spots, a small section by admissions (10 spots), and of course in front of New Dorm/across from Pem Arch, but that is a huge gamble and half the time there are no spots, or a spot is too small

My car Olly parked in front of New Dorm. I was lucky enough to find a spot!

for you to park. But don’t worry, overflow parking is all the way across campus by the gym.

I know that really isn’t too bad in retrospect, but when you’re coming back to campus after a late class or a club event you really just want to park as close to your dorm as you can. And let’s be clear the closest dorm to the athletics lot is Brecon* so… And when you look across the street to see Shipley’s really big parking garage, it makes us students mad sometimes. Often times when I leave my parking spot, I tell whoever I am driving with to “say a prayer for a spot now.” That’s how bad it is. We pray when we LEAVE for a spot when we get back. I even remember telling my mom the other day that I don’t want to leave because I don’t want to lose my parking spot, which completely negates the whole having a car on campus thing.

Many visitors to campus and even some faculty sometimes park in student parking. When there is so few student parking spots on the main part of campus, every spot is precious and when a non-student takes the spot, it causes some major frustration from students. The other day, one of my friends wrote on Facebook how she had a really difficult time finding a parking spot the other day because the spots were taken by non-students. Other Bryn Mawr students also commented how this has been happening to them, and that they had even seen some students from Villanova parking in our spots, and that they had to find parking elsewhere and got a ticket from Campus Safety. I really hope that parking on campus can become more beneficial and less stressful for students, maybe a plenary resolution??

*Brecon is technically in another township.