Hello everybody,

I know that it's going to sound repetitive (if it doesn't already) but I truly cannot believe that we're already going into our fourth week of school! So much has happened over the course of three weeks that I find it hard to believe that I haven't actually been here my whole life.

Before I begin, I would like to share a quote from my english teacher that accurately described this week, "Congratulations everyone on making it through your third week of school. I know that this week is when things get real, so grab some candy and relax because I'm just as tired as you." After she said this she then proceeded to take out a halloween-sized bag of assorted candies and allowed us to take as much as we wanted. I wanted to share this quote because this week is when things started to get real. But not in a bad way. If I'm being honest, I love college. I love it here. It has been stressful at times, but having so many things to do and see has really made school all the more manageable. Yes, this week was jam packed with tests, quizzes, and papers, but when I think about how I handled everything now compared to when school first started I really feel like I'm growing. And so, without much more to say, grab some candy and take a break- you deserved it.

Like previously mentioned this week was jam packed with tests. Yes, I did have another Chinese vocab quiz (Did I mention I have one once a week?) but I also had a psychology test. Covering the first two chapters + lectures, the test was, as one girl put it behind me, "Something I didn't study for, I'm going to die, I want to go home and sleep~" No joke, I swear it was like a glee concert behind me,  she really did not want to take the test! But in all seriousness, the test was not that bad. Now I know I didn't get an A or anything, but I don't think I did bad enough to fail, either. If you ever catch yourself taking Psych 100, be sure to really review the schools of psych and their respective founders. Even if you've taken psychology in high school, with the way the class is run it's very much a study-on-your-own kind of thing. If, in my case, you aren't good with studying, than maybe you'll get lucky and receive and email one day with a link to a quizlet covering all 70 new terms. And just think, this is only the 100 class.

After my psych test I was able to leave, which meant I was able to be done with class before noon, a very rare occurrence if you could see my schedule. While I wanted to go nap after my class, I quickly realized that it would be near impossible given that I had only just woken up a mere 3 hours prior. Oh! And I should probably mention that this is the day there was an armed shooter reportedly "heading to campus". I find it humorous how, in less than a month, there has been 2 hurricanes, one presidential visit, and one armed shooter all grace the campus. While many students spoke of how they "weren't sure if class was worth it", us Coloradans knew it was nothing to be worried about. It's an awful thing to say, but when your high school back home had a bomb threat at one point (just about all of ours had) hearing about an armed shooter doesn't seem like something that severe. And I don't want to imply that it isn't, but from our perspective this wasn't something that we weren't used to. At least in Colorado, it's not uncommon to get a threat or warning of something like this. And again, I don't want to downplay the severity of what was happening, because an armed and active shooter truly is something dangerous.


To set the scene, by now it's Friday and the weekend is almost here! Many students end classes early in the afternoon, and because of this you'll see quite large groups of friends all heading out to the beach. If you're like me and your classes don't get out any earlier, this could feel like the early stages of FOMO (or Fear Of Missing Out), but if you're like me and have good friends who'll wait for you to finish class before heading out, than really you've got nothing to worry about. Again, DaBus runs all day and typically at 15-20 minute increments, making it very possible, and likely, you'll get to the beach before the sun sets. In my case, my friends and I grabbed our stuff and were able to be at the beach by 5:30 to watch the sun set. Here's a beautiful photo I was able to take while on the 29th floor of one of the hotels on Waikiki. 

Not exactly a sunset but it's one heck of a view. Here's more of a sunset one:


If there's one thing that I didn't like it was the obnoxious buildings that line the side of the beach. Yes they're fun to stay in (I'm assuming) but they really take some of the beauty away from the sun. I know it's something small, but after waiting all week to see the sunset I find it very irritating that something like a hotel could hinder part of the experience.

After the sunset the girls and I bought some musubi's, floaties, and bottled water before heading to the beach. Once there, we decided to swim a bit before watching the fireworks, something I've been wanting to do for the past two weeks. Disappointingly, we were sitting too far away to do more than hear the fireworks. This led to us running down the beach in our suits while trying to get a glimpse of one of the prints. However, once we got closer it seemed that we were caught in a huge wave of tourists, both American and foreign. While I understand their desire to see the show, it is extremely frustrating having to navigate your way through huge groups of people who don't know where they're going. I know I shouldn't be so hard on them, but it was at this very moment that I realized why so few locals go to Waikiki: the tourists. And, once again, let me explain that it isn't all tourists, but rather those few that just.. it's hard to explain but if you've been to Hawaii then you know what I'm talking about. But besides that it was a very fun time and I'm glad to have gone. Waikiki is that place I could not make a weekly trip out of, but if you ever just need to go to the beach than you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing it's only 15 minutes from campus.


It's 12:02 now and I want to apologize for not sharing my weekend. I'm exhausted from the day I've had and promise I will write tomorrow explaining some of the events that took place. I hope you all have a good night and I will talk to you all later!




Until next time,

Aislinn