Getting the Creative Juices Flowing

Hello everyone and happy hump day!  For those of you on spring break, hope you're enjoying some much needed rest and relaxation!  I have been home in New Hampshire since Friday.  While I love being home (both because I like hanging out with my family and because it gives me a chance to take a step back and remember what I love about Saint Mike's), I'm excited to go back this weekend.

While my roommates have all been pretty busy lately (Lauren has her documentary that she's working on with our friend Sheila due April 1, Alex just finished her business plan, and Cait just had to give a presentation on her thesis), last weekend and this past week we found some time to relax in a way that was new for all of us: by painting.

On Saturday (during the weekend before break), Cait, Lauren, and I went out to A.C. Moore and picked out some canvases and paint supplies.  That night, we had a few of our friends come over and paint with us.  I ended up with some abstract art because I'm not the best with actual pictures:

 I've never really thought of myself as an artist (and I still don't really), but painting was surprisingly fun and relaxing.  We all commented on how quiet we were because we were so focused on each of our projects!  Even still, it was great to try something new and have my friends there to enjoy it with me.  Here's Lauren's fantastic elephant:

The day before break started (last Thursday) was Cait's thesis presentation.  Once we were both out of class, we decided we wanted to paint again, so we hopped in the car and picked up some more canvases.  Cait painted the whale tails for her uncle, which are on  the side on the highway (and always a signal for me that I'm close to home!):

I forgot to take a picture of my second project, but I painted this quote I recently found: "Take pride in what you have accomplished and faith in how far you can go." (There seems to be some speculation on who originally said it.)  Regardless, I thought it was quite fitting as I enter the final stretch of my senior year at Saint Mike's (yikes!).

Since we still have a lot of paint left, I definitely see myself picking up some more canvas before the semester is over.  I'm so happy that my roommates encouraged me to do this because it probably wouldn't have crossed my mind otherwise!

Time for me to get back to some homework!  To all the recently accepted students, congratulations!  Looking forward to seeing many of you next weekend at the Open House!

Thanks for reading!
~Merrill

PS I've been listening to a lot of random music lately, but a lot of my listening time has been devoted to the audio version of the book Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  I really like it so far!

The Beauty of a Liberal Arts School

Happy Friday everyone!  Can't believe another week has already flown by and that next week is spring break.  Even though I have a decent amount of work to do, I'm looking forward to seeing my family and my goat Jack. :)

As I'm sure you know, Saint Mike's is a liberal arts school.  This means that, as part of the curriculum, students are required to take classes in a variety of subject areas outside their major(s).  This is especially helpful for people who come in not knowing what they want to major in - it allows them to explore the many options Saint Mike's has to offer.  I came to Saint Mike's already knowing that I wanted to be a psych major, but because of the liberal arts requirements (LSRs), I decided to add a sociology minor.  Without the option to take Intro to Sociology or the encouragement of my peers, I might not have had the opportunity to even discover what sociology really is, and now I absolutely love it.

Another great thing about taking classes in different subjects is that they have this weird way of relating to each other.  I have found this to be the case during just about every semester I've spent here at SMC.  Here's an example.  You wouldn't think that Psychology of Marriage and Relationships would have anything to do with Demography and Public Health, right?  Wrong.  In my Demography class, we just finished up a unit on mortality.  One of the things we noted was that married men live longer than single men.  In my Marriage and Relationships class (aka the best class ever), when we were discussing gender differences, we talked about how men reap more benefits from being married, including living longer, healthier lives (I'm paraphrasing a bit here).  Interesting, right?  Even if it's just minor details from different classes that connect to each other, it always reminds me that what I'm learning in each of my classes contributes to my overall "collection" of knowledge, rather than just being important in that one class.

Another great thing about Saint Mike's is that I have friends within my major, but many of my closest friends aren't psych majors.  This means that I get to hear about what they're doing in their classes - ones that I might not have the opportunity to take.  All of the students here are extremely passionate about what they're majoring in, which makes listening to them talk about their learning that much more exciting.  Even though I'm sure I'll be able to speak to this more a few years after graduation, I truly feel like I'm getting a well-rounded education here at Saint Mike's, and I couldn't be more thankful.

Here are some pictures of the snowy campus I don't think I've shared with you all yet (and that I have the privilege to see on my walk to class each day):

I was standing right in front of the library when I took this one.

Here you can see Hoehl (the Admissions building).

Have a great weekend everyone!  And to those of you participating in the overnight program on Sunday, have fun!

~Merrill

PS If you haven't heard, Saint Mike's now has a student run Instagram (knightlifevt), and I'm in charge of it this week, so feel free to check it out!
PPS This week I've been listening a mismatch of tunes, but this morning I was all about the band The Cab, specifically their album Symphony Soldier. (Thank you to my best friend Paige for introducing me to them!)