I’m back to full school mode, and I think you’re going to be able to start seeing it in my Happy Lists. Outings and adventures will probably be less frequent… I’m still trying to find my rhythm and figure out how to balance school, blogging, socialising, and taking care of myself physically and emotionally. The previous Labor Day weekend was definitely needed, and I got some blog stuff done, but not as much CS stuff as I would have liked. This past weekend was filled with hosting a cappella auditions (as was last weekend), and next weekend I’ll be away for HACKMIT. Ahhh! So. much. to. do.

1. I’ve started going on morning runs every so often with my roomie Kat, with the occasional coffee on our way back. Great way to kick off the day! I like pretending that I’m living a healthy lifestyle. It makes me feel better about myself.
2. I finally got into all the classes I originally wanted to! It’s been a journey. A journey that many of my friends have heard me rant about: I only got into two of the four courses I preregistered for, so that meant I was really busy during the first week of school, which is what we call Shopping Week, because we get to “shop” for classes. In addition to attending the two classes I got in, I shopped one class at Bryn Mawr for my graduation requirement, two classes at Haverford for my majors, and three classes at UPenn because the chances of me getting into the Haverford classes were slim despite needing them for my major, so I thought it’d be an opportune time to take communications and/or graphic design courses at UPenn, which the Tri-Co (Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore colleges) doesn’t offer. By some miracle I got into the two Haverford classes I needed to take, so I’m not taking any classes at UPenn, but it was fun shopping them and I’m glad I had that experience. Perhaps I’ll get to take some of them during my senior year, or even next semester!
3. I was so glad and relieved to finally get into Analysis of Algorithms, but that also meant I needed to start catching up with the work (I didn’t have any time to do homework during the first week of classes because I was just attending classes to classes to classes). My professor was so kind when she welcomed me to the class (I had been emailing her about being on the waitlist and potentially auditing her class if I didn’t get off the waitlist, which, thank goodness I did) and she offered me an extension. I didn’t even need to ask for it myself!
4. I’m so blessed to have the friends I do. Now that I live off campus, I’m left to fend for my own meals, but my friends will always swipe extra food from the dining halls and feed me :’)
5. I did two weeks of laundry so I finally have pants again!
6. I’m getting better at asking professors questions, albeit more often over email than face to face, but engagement nonetheless. I’m especially honoured when I ask a good/important enough question that the professor makes sure to enlighten the rest of the class with this new information too, like I tapped into something that most other people overlooked (or didn’t get to yet). A good question can take you a long way.
7. It feels so good to be able to help people with their CS labs. I’m often the one asking for help because I have no idea what the heck I’m doing, so being able to return the favour feels good and also reinforces that knowledge in my mind. Also, whether I’m helping other people or they’re helping me, working on labs and solving problems together gives me an excuse to interact and get to know my super intelligent classmates.
8. So many exciting apartment updates! I’m sorry I’ve been terrible about keeping the blog updated. I’m leaving this at that and saving the rest for a blog post that will go up who know’s when (tbh I might not be able to get around to it until Fall Break, which is the second week of October), but you can get sneak peeks of the apartment on Snapchat!
9. Currently listening to Get Low by James Vincent McMorrow.

What was the highlight of your week?

I want to make an effort to remember the little joys in life, so my 52 week challenge for 2016 is to write weekly Happy Lists.

PS: 36. 35. 34. 33. 32. 31. 30. 29. 28. 27. 26. 25. 24. 23. 22. 21. 20. 19. 18. 17. 16. 15. 14. 13. 12. 11. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.