1. Figuring out my academic plan. I started working towards a Judaic Studies major, but am also very interested in Health Studies (my school offers a major and minor program which combines sociology courses on American healthcare and hard sciences). Since I'm most of the way through the Judaic Studies major, I either want to minor in Health Studies (still giving me space for elective courses) or squeeze in the Health Studies major (which includes a supervised internship).
Since I'm a second-semester sophomore, I have to figure this out fairly soon, which to some degree also means figuring out how I want to relate my studies and extracurricular activities to my post-college life (scary thought!)
2. Figuring out this summer. Even in high school, when we had (what felt like) very long summer reading lists and volunteer or paid jobs, summer was a time to just be. All of a sudden, I'm on a hall where people talked about summer internships at the beginning of fall semester. This summer looks like it will be a mix of summer school and volunteering. So, unpaid work will come my way, just not the kind that many liberal arts school students view as the magical pathway to finding a Meaningful Job with Purpose.
3. Finding time for a painting class!!
Last fall I took a beginning painting class, introducing myself to the special noxious smell of oil paint, the challenge of not getting your every possession paint-stained, the odd sight of a student walking around a classroom shirtless (I guess normal shirt-wearing rules are different during non-class hours?), and the weird feeling of standing in a room with an unclothed person (in this case a model, obviously) when you are fully clothed.
On different type of note, though, after drawing in pencil/pen and with Photoshop for several years, with only occasional dabbling in watercolor and acrylic painting, it felt very empowering to mix colors rather than just click on them, to build an image in soft colors rather than harsh lines. It was easier to make a mistake and just paint over or around it than to erase a pencil line and be haunted by its faint ghost. After all this, it was very sad to not find any art classes that fit into my schedule for this semester, so I'm hoping that something will pop up junior year.
