University of Richmond
Spider Diaries

Archive for the 'Making History' Category

Walkin’ in a Winter Wonderland

snowman.jpg

Well what do you know, Prospectives?  The first day of March and it decides to snow–but not just a little bit by any means.

It all started this weekend.  I was home (which is a couple of hours southeast of Richmond) and it was cold and rainy all weekend.  My mom told me that there was a forecast of snow for Monday (today).  I just brushed it off because there have been plenty of times at home when the weathermen have projected snow and not only have we not gotten snow, but we have had fairly warm, sunny days instead.  I figured it would rain and that would be the end of it.  Needless to say, I was wrong.  As I made my way back to school yesterday, the rain turned into sleet, which eventually turned into snow upon reaching the outskirts of Richmond.  And this snow was sticking quickly.  Wow, I thought, they were right.

Well, all through the night I heard the wind and saw the snow, and even heard people already playing in it.  And this morning?  I went outside to trek my way to breakfast and there was about a foot of snow covering much of the ground in sight.  Nothing was spared—even the benches and trashcans were piled with no less than 5 inches of snow.  Now maybe some of you are from places where heavy snow is no stranger; however, here in Virginia, we’re lucky to get an inch of snow at all during the winter, and many times it’s not more than a few.  I think someone told me that it hasn’t snowed like this in over 10 years!  So once again, I’m living in history.   (At home they didn’t get nearly as much as we did, but it still snowed, which was nice for my little brother :-) ).

snow2.jpg

snow3.jpg

snow4.jpg

snow5.jpg

What a wonderful way to start out the last week before spring break!  I don’t really have that much work to do either–so I’ll just try to rest while I have the option and try to figure out what’s going on with my sore throat :-(  . 

Oh yeah, a side note–I just bought my $1400+ plane ticket to Seville, Spain!  So it’s definitely official now–I’m studying abroad over the summer!  I’ll keep you all updated on that in addition to all of my other stuff going on, of course.

Until later…

Amani

Published by Amani on March 2, 2009 in Making History and Etc.... 0 Comments

Living in History

How’s it going, Prospectives?

Well, I’m doing great!  This has been a phenomenal week!   Martin Luther King, Jr. Day followed by the inauguration of the nation’s 44th, and first black, President of the United States.  We’re living in history!

mlk-program.jpg

Here at UR, the campus has been busy and buzzing.  On MLK Day, afternoon classes were pushed back and abbreviated so that students and faculty could attend the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration that was held in the chapel.  I attended the program, and it was very successful.  There were selections by Umoja Gospel Choir, Ngoma African Dance Company (however, I sat this one out), and Schola Cantorum.  There were other features of the program, all of which were wonderful, including the speaker.  It was amazing and encouraging to see our chapel filled with people of diverse backgrounds to all celebrate the life and commitment of such an honorable and historic figure as Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  And, needless to say, in my 25 minute CORE class that followed, we didn’t spend much time (if any) talking about the book we had been reading because everyone was so consumed with the events of the week.

ngoma-mlk.jpg
Ngoma about to dance (sorry that it’s blurry)

Now, for the inauguration.  Where to start?  Well for one, my class was cancelled (yay!) because my teacher went to Washington, D.C. to witness the event firsthand.  Since I only have one class on Tuesdays, my schedule was freed up for the day.  I tuned in to CNN as soon as I got up and followed the inaugural ceremonies until well after the swearing-in portion.  The reality of the day was seemingly unfathomable.  The history, the history!  President Barack Obama, the first black President of the United States.  Just half a century ago, blacks and whites could not even utilize the same facilities in some parts of the nation.  Look at how far our nation has come!  I wonder if Dr. King ever thought that something like this could happen so soon.  But regardless of what anyone thought, it has happened.  Change has come to America!!!

change
Yes, in all of my excitement I did take pics of the TV, lol

I hope you all are celebrating the magnitude and profundity of this historic occasion!

Until later…

Amani

Published by Amani on January 23, 2009 in Making History and School Tradition. 0 Comments

Back in Action

Happy New Year, Prospectives!

I hope your holiday season was wonderful and restful.  Now, of course, it’s back to business. 

I know that you’ve all been working hard on those college and scholarship applications, so keep up the good work.  At times the whole process can become a bit overwhelming, but trust me:  it’s all worth it in the end.  :-)

While I know you all have been back in school for a little while, this week was our first week back, so I’m still trying to get back into the groove of things.  Unlike fall semester, this semester we did not have much time between moving back in and starting classes—in fact, dorms opened on Sunday and classes started Monday.  I kind-of missed having that orientation period, but it’s okay—everything is going pretty smoothly so far.

I am very excited about the classes I have this semester.  I’m taking CORE (yes, it lasts the entire year), Spanish through Literature, Drawing, and The Black Vernacular.  CORE is not so exciting, but it does seem like we will be reading more interesting books this semester, including one by James Baldwin and a collection of poetry and prose.  We’ll see how that goes.  I’m taking Spanish Lit because I wanted to continue my Spanish studies so that I might eventually become fluent in the language.  (I plan to minor in it.)  Also, my Spanish professor from last semester is teaching it, and I liked her class, so that’s a plus.  I was fortunate enough on Monday night to discover one opening in the Drawing class, so I registered for it and dropped the Music Scenes course I had.  We did our first drawings yesterday with charcoal, and I really liked it.  I’ve always wanted to do something artistic like drawing or painting or playing an instrument, so I’m glad that I can finally pursue this interest.  Besides it being messy, charcoal drawing is really cool.  I think I might have a new hobby. :-D

And as for The Black Vernacular…let’s just say that it will be an interesting semester with this class.  Before registering, I asked around concerning the professor and received mixed feedback—lots of people told me not to take his class because while he was a great person, he was a ridiculously demanding professor.  However, there were a number of people who highly encouraged me to take his class because he was an amazing professor; he just demands your best work.  Apparently I went with the latter recommendations, and I don’t regret my decision.  I do think the course will be challenging, especially after hearing Dr. Ashe’s twenty minute statement on the first day of class about how we might not be cut out for his class.  Like I said, it will be an interesting semester.  But I decided that I will determine my own destiny in that class, so I have set off with my best foot forward and hope to keep it that way.

In other news, my roommate and I got our lofts removed.  We decided that we would be more comfortable in our room and be able to accomplish more if our beds were just on the ground, lol.  It took a little while to figure out how we could effectively rearrange our room, but after a couple of hours we had succeeded in our efforts.  I like it a lot better this way.  :-)  

loft-removal.jpg

new-room.jpg

I also got my wisdom teeth removed last week, so I’ve been walking around with pain killers and rather uncomfortable holes in my mouth.  But don’t worry—I’m okay.  :-)

I’m so excited about next week!  Although we don’t have Monday or Tuesday off like some universities do, afternoon classes on Monday are pushed back and abbreviated to allow attendance at our annual MLK Day celebration, and I don’t have class on Tuesday because my professor will be at the inauguration.  We are living through some real serious history, Prospectives!  Our nation has come so far!  Don’t take this occasion for granted!

I will probably have pictures from the celebration in my next post, so look out for those.  I think I’m going to go draw :-) .  Until then, keep working hard and continue to keep a positive attitude.

Amani

Siblings
Mandatory pics of siblings :-) (taken on my visit home for my followup wisdom teeth appt.)

feather-dusters.jpg
My little brother playing with feather dusters, lol

Published by Amani on January 17, 2009 in Making History and School life. 0 Comments
28 Westhampton Way
University of Richmond, VA 23173
(804) 289-8000
(800) 700-1662
Maps & Directions
© 1995-2009
Community
Administration
Schools
General Information