Month: February 2010

Week 5 is traditionally associated with “the blues” at Oxford simply because you’re more than halfway finished with term, but the work just seems endless. Luckily for me, I’ve had enough tea and sugar this morning (and it’s only 9:30!), so I’m not feeling the blues at all.

As most of you know, my life at Oxford has consisted of studying and dancing. Well, that hasn’t changed much. I spent my last two Saturdays at dance competitions. At the first one, the team did really well, and we tied with Cambridge for the overall win. My partner, Sam, and I also did really well. We made it to the semis of both the ballroom dances, but Latin proved to be our best discipline once more. We placed 4th in Cha Cha and 2nd in Jive. Oxford continued its domination this past Saturday at SUDC, which is basically the prelude to the National Championships. Sam and I did well again; we made the semis of both ballroom dances. We also placed seventh in Cha and second in Jive. Now that IVDC (the national championship) is just two weeks away, Sam and I are practicing even more (isn’t that a scary thought).

I swear that I’m doing more than just dancing, though! I’m really enjoying both of my tutorials and various lectures this term. My Medieval Paleography tutorial is going really well; for this past week, I researched the Junius Manuscript. That research has given me a couple of ideas for a Ph.D. project, but that’s about three years off! My Victorian Literature tutorial is also going well. I think this is the first time in a long time that I’ve dealt with texts that aren’t pre-1500! This tutorial is reminding me just why I am an English major – I just love all periods of literature. I won’t bore you with that tangent, though.

Well, I’m off to do some errands and return to my second home, the library. Until next time!

Right now, I’m the epitome of a paradox. As I sit here cuddled up in my Tinkerbell pajama pants and Disney Princess blanket whilst eating toast slathered with Nutella and drinking hot chocolate, I’m thinking about my future. Unfortunately, as much as I want to stave off reality for as long as I can, the major fact that’s hitting me like a ton of bricks is that I’m going to be a senior at Holy Cross next year. At the moment, I’m contemplating a couple of options for my senior year (I won’t divulge just in case…). It’s incredibly frightening to think that a) I have to leave Oxford (you knew that was coming), b) I’ll be that much closer to the real world, and c) I’ll only have one more year left at Holy Cross. The options that I’m considering for my senior year could also affect my options for graduate school, which is even more frightening. Whilst this process is definitely confusing (do I want to apply? What are the merits of applying? Do I even have time to do such a project? etc…), I’m also grateful for it. When I haven’t been studying or dancing, I’ve been taking long walks around Oxford just trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. Some of my older readers might be thinking, “Your plans will definitely change.” And who knows? That could very well be true. Just flipping through some of the older entries in this blog (particularly from freshman year), has made me realize how much I’ve changed as a person (primarily with regards to academic interests and goals), and that’s just over a span of two and a half years. It’s just that these applications and programs want to see where I envision myself in the next ten years (yes, ten years. *gulp*). These essay questions have really made me think about what I truly want to do with my life (honestly, there are some days that I just feel like becoming a professional dancer…just kidding, parentals), and I’ve also had to reconsider what I need to do to get to where I want to be. It’s extremely frightening, but…welcome to the real world, I guess!