Weekend in Pictures

Okay so my friends have requested more photos of themselves in my blog... so here goes Photo Post #1. I'll explain what's going on in the pictures, but this entry will basically just be jam-packed with photographic goodness from this weekend!

	(left to right) 1. My friend Dayna came in from Baton Rouge for the Tulane-LSU football game 2. What a beautiful scoreboard! LSU 7, Tulane 9
	3. Meg, Joe, and Stacey celebrate our (short-lived) lead 4. No matter the score, Sarah and Michael have Tulane pride
	5. Stacey says, "L S Who?" 6. Greg and I enjoying the game
	7. Cameron and Liz show their Green Wave spirit 8. Cameron and I napping on the bus back to campus
	9. My friends and I met up in my room before going out. (Shout out to Stacey, Katherine, Dani, Sarah, Cameron, Michael, Becky, Liz, Joe, and Meg!)

"The Sky's the Limit"

Hey y'all! Sorry it's been a little while since I've written; life has just gotten even busier (even though I didn't think that was possible)! I'll start with where I left off last week...

My friend Blakely's birthday was on the 21st (Friday), so we started our weekend with a celebration at midnight the night before. It was another great night out with the group starting with a party at a Fraternity house and ending at The Rat... Love you Blakes, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

After a really fun Thursday night, the excitement wasn't over. Recognize the song lyrics in my title? Thanks to TUCP (Tulane University Campus Programming), we got to see well-known rap artist Lil Wayne on Friday night, right here on campus! Seriously, how awesome is that?! Tickets were inexpensive compared to most concerts, and we basically got our own private concert right in McAlister Auditorium! This was the first of many TUCP-sponsored activities that I'll attend this year, and I can't wait to see what else they have planned...

Saturday was shopping day for us. Since freshmen can't have cars on campus, Tulane has a shuttle system set up to take students to several important places including Wal Mart, Whole Foods, and shopping malls nearby. Sarah, Meg, and I started off by getting some necessities at Wal Mart; we dropped off our stuff at campus and then took the next shuttle to a mall where we got some great new stuff. We hopped on the shuttle again and rode over to Wal Mart, where we met up with some other friends. After all this shopping, we were about ready to drop - so we rested for awhile after arriving back at campus. But don't worry, we didn't sleep away our Saturday night! Once we were re-energized, a group of us went over to Friar Tucks, a popular hangout for both Tulane and Loyola students.

Sunday was (as always) my catch-up day, so I worked on my Architecture project and studied for my first big Diversity of Life (a biology class) test. I ventured out into the rain Sunday afternoon to attend my first Public Affairs Committee meeting. PAC is part of my commitment as a Senator in USG. We talked about ways to get students more familiar with the people and purpose of USG, including a "Meet Your Senators" day complete with free snowballs (something you'll get fairly often at Tulane.. yum!). After the meeting, I brought some friends with me to 6pm Mass and then had dinner with my usual group at the Catholic Center... before diving back into the books.

Monday and Tuesday were both packed days - a presentation of my second big Architecture project, a lab quiz, and my first big Diversity of Life test. Needless to say, I was pretty stressed, so I took advantage of those two nights to stay in and just relax before another big day Wednesday. I had an interview for GWA (Green Wave Ambassadors) Wednesday morning, so hopefully I'll be chosen to be part of this organization! If so, you might see me giving a tour on campus... wish me luck! That night, I played in my first intramural flag football game. I play for the Catholic Center's team, and we won against Public Health's team, 20 to 0! After the game, I spent a really relaxing night hanging out with some friends in my room, chatting over chips and salsa. We talked a lot about where we've come from and all our friends from home, and I really thought about how awesome it is to be here at Tulane with such a cool mix of people; the diversity is so refreshing and within about a month, I've made friends from all across the country. How cool is that?!

Okay right now I need to stop using this blog as a procrastination device and get back to studying for the Italian test I have to take tomorrow morning. Until next time, Ciao!

Prospective Question #1

"So I've kinda been wondering about safety in New Orleans. Last week on the news there was this whole series of stories about how unsafe New Orleans is right now. Of course, that could just be the media blowing things of out proportion but do you feel like Tulane and the area around Tulane is a relatively safe place to be?"
- Amanda, OK

To answer your question, I have never felt unsafe at Tulane. As long as you follow the basic safety rules for living on a college campus, you should be fine! Remember to always travel in groups, know where you're going ahead of time, take a cab instead of walking in sketchy areas, have a cell phone with you with important numbers programmed in it, etc. If something happens, TUPD (Tulane University Police Department), TEMS (Tulane Emergency Medical Service), and Safe Ride are always only a phone call away. While New Orleans has a reputation as a dangerous city, Tulane's campus is very safe. Seriously, as long as you don't walk around by yourself in the middle of the night or wander alone into bad parts of New Orleans, you should be fine!

There’s No Place Like Home… But There’s No Place Like New Orleans Either!

Hi friends! It hasn't been long since I've written, but so much happens in a few days! I left you on Wednesday, in the middle of USG Elections and a threatening thunderstorm...

The rain didn't let up much on Thursday (I am definitely putting my rainboots to good use), so I stayed in most of the day working on a model for my Architecture project. I'm not going to lie... Architecture is really hardcore, but I love it already!

Writing legislation at our USG retreat

The highlight of my Thursday was finding out that I won the USG election - I am a Freshman Senator along with four of my good friends (Congrats to Lauren, Greg, Joe, and Jack)! I don't think you can imagine my excitement or relief... I was so nervous through the whole campaign. Our first USG activity was a retreat Friday evening. It was a great way for us new Senators to meet the other officers and learn more about USG; Margaret, the Executive Vice President, had set up a workshop that was both informative and fun. Between "lessons" we played games, ate pizza, and learned some new dance moves... USG can "crank dat!"

Of course my friends and I celebrated after the retreat; we had a party in my friend Lauren's room, walked over to one of the fraternity house parties, took a van from campus to a fun Indian place called Nirvana, and then went back to The Boot - all in one night!

This weekend was really special for me because I got to share my hometown with some of my new friends. My mom drove over from Lafayette on Saturday morning to get Liz, Joe, Cameron, and me; needless to say, we caught up on sleep during the two-hour drive back! We went to the mall, enjoyed some great food with my family at a tailgate party, saw a movie, and enjoyed midnight breakfast at a local diner. It was so good seeing some of my friends from home and catching up with my family (love y'all!), and I enjoyed showing my friends where I come from. (I think they enjoyed our local Cajun cuisine the most!) What's funny is that I was so excited to get home, but I was just as excited to come back to campus. It's not really a matter of being homesick for either place, but I feel like I have two homes now, and I love both so much in different ways.

As soon as I got back to Tulane, I had to get back into the swing of things; I cleaned my room, put away laundry, finished homework, and planned my schedule for the upcoming week. I then walked over to church for Mass, followed by free dinner at the Catholic Center. I came back to my dorm, Wall, for a courtyard meeting; all the residents came out to the balconies on their floors surrounding our courtyard and we learned about each Wall committee. (Wall Residential College is very community-based, and we are all required to serve on at least one committee.) I chose Wellness, so I will help plan functions geared toward health and fitness. These committees are a great way to serve Wall while getting to know your neighbors!

Wall residents gathered on balconies for the first courtyard meeting

Not much has happened so far today, but we are having the most BEAUTIFUL weather this morning! Sunny, 80 degrees, and a cool breeze - don't you wish you were here?!

Until next time, Go Tulane! Shoot me an email (ahollier@tulane.edu) or a Facebook message if there's anything you want to know, and I'll write about it here!

Senate Race, Raindays, and Prospies... OH MY!

Hi again! It's only been a few days since I wrote last, but I figured I'd stop by and blog while I have a little down time. Don't worry, this entry won't turn into a borderline epic novel like the last couple!

This has been such a busy week for me, because we're right in the middle of USG Elections. USG (Undergraduate Student Government) holds five seats for Freshman Senator, and I am hoping to win one of those spots! I have been campaigning through Facebook, flyers, and chalking on sidewalks around campus - three very effective methods. Well, two and a half very effective methods; it's been raining just about every afternoon, so the chalk keeps getting washed away! Voting is going on right now through our school website, so I'll let y'all know the results once the polls close and the winners are announced. Wish me luck!

On the subject of rain - a daily afternoon summer shower is to be expected here at Tulane. When it is to be expected during the day, I couldn't tell you. I honestly don't look at these showers as a bad thing; to me, all this rain is just an excuse to buy cute rainboots and umbrellas (which are sold in our bookstore, by the way)! I would definitely invest in some rain gear before you arrive at campus. It's fun to buy that stuff, but not so fun getting soaked walking to class.

I've been seeing tour groups walk around on campus; I believe this week is Louisiana Week for prospective students. It makes me so excited to see you guys looking at Tulane, in the exact same position I was in a year ago. If you see me on campus, say hi! I've already chatted with two girls about how much they love the campus already. I can't wait to see more of you guys!

Well, that's all for now! Let me know if you have any questions or comments. My email is ahollier@tulane.edu ... and you can always look me up on Facebook! Go Tulane!

"Only at Tulane, Only in New Orleans"

I have officially decided - to be at Tulane is to love Tulane. There's always so much going on here! If I had the time, I'd write every day... but I've been doing so much and having so much fun! I'll try really hard not to make this post too long, but so much has happened in a week! Some highlights:

SATURDAY: Some of my friends and I acted as extras in a Tulane commercial... we're mini-celebrities! It was so exciting seeing it for the first time, even though we were only featured for a second. You can see the commercial at Tulane athletic events, so look out for us! It seems that there is always something to celebrate here. My friend Lauren's birthday dinner was that night. A bunch of us went out to eat at The Italian Pie and then went out to The Boot. Every night with my friends is so fun, no matter where we go!

Still shot from the scene we're in. That's me in the front row!

SUNDAY: Some of us went to do laundry at a friend's house in Metairie, and then we went over to the Riverwalk, a well-known New Orleans mall along the river. You should check it out! We came back to campus and went to evening mass at the Catholic chapel, followed by dinner at the campus dining hall, Bruff (which is AMAZING, by the way!).

MONDAY: We still haven't had a full week of classes yet, since Monday was Labor Day... but I'm definitely not complaining about our day off! It was a relaxing day, but I also took advantage of some free time to work on homework.

TUESDAY: I met up with my Big Sis, Raven, for the annual Newcomb Big Sister/Little Sister Pinning Ceremony that evening. Girls, I encourage you to sign up for a Big Sis! It's a great opportunity to make an older friend - someone to show you the ropes and tell you about the ins and outs of Tulane and New Orleans. After the ceremony, my friends and I went to The Boot and then The Rat (in the basement of the LBC). It's become a late night tradition for us to go there after a night out for chicken poppers... so good!

WEDNESDAY: Arch. students have studio time every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On that particular day, my group spent some time in the woodshop downstairs learning how to use power tools for an upcoming project. That night, some of us decorated my friend Michael's door for his birthday and celebrated with him at midnight.

THURSDAY: I only had one class so I spent most of the day working on my architecture project and my campaign for Freshman Senator. Later, a group of us went over to Friar Tuck's to celebrate Michael's birthday. When we got back to campus, my friend Cameron and I went back to the studio (which is open 24/7) to work on our projects. It was a really late night for us, but learning to balance work and play is KEY in college.

FRIDAY: Our Architecture projects were due, so we pinned up our final products on the wall for discussion and critiquing. It was a relief to be finished and to get good feedback on our work. Later, a bunch of us got ready together and went to a few parties on Broadway before stopping at The Boot... another fun night with my friends!

Pinning up our map projects

SATURDAY: The first-year Architecture students went to the French Quarter for the morning to look at the site inspiration for our next project. Then I came back to campus and my friends and I got dressed in our Tulane garb for our first football game. We got on a bus and went to the Superdome (yes, we play in the Superdome!) for tailgating. In New Orleans tradition, there was plenty of good music and delicious food. We watched the game from the Wavepool, our student section. We had so much fun at our first football game! What a great experience...

Liz and I at The Boot

Alright, this has become a REALLY long post! I'm about to go watch a movie with some friends, but I'll post again soon!