Bridges

Yesterday, between the end of work and the beginning of a project meeting, I went to a cafe to relax and eat lunch. I brought a textbook, but was more concentrated on keeping soup off of it than reading it. The girl across the table from me asked if the soup was good, and we started talking. She turned out to be a second-year graduate student at BU law school.

We talked about the stresses of finding a job, internships, and the importance of making connections in graduate school for both our majors. She told me that the law students are extremely competitive, which was not a surprise to me. This girl felt no qualms about answering fellow students questions, but it seems that not everyone feels that way. Some students feign ignorance to avoid helping each other. Apparently, at other schools, law students rip pages out of textbooks to try and gain an edge over their classmates.

I can't imagine studying in such a competitive environment. The advertising program involves so many group projects, I feel that being supportive of one another is almost built into the degree. I wonder if extreme competition really makes for better lawyers. Both the law and advertising fields are competitive, but it seems that advertising students work more on forming bridges between one another, while the law students try to cut a bridge's cables once they have crossed it.

Poetry and Prose

Yesterday evening I attended a lecture called, “What is the Difference Between Poetry and Prose?” by Professor Christopher Ricks with a friend from class who studied at BU for undergrad as well. He told me that Professor Ricks was one of his favorites and that they still get together on occassion. After filling our bellies at Espresso Royale, off we went to the talk.

I liked Professor Ricks immediately. He greeted my friend and I warmly, shaking our hands and expressing his happiness in seeing us there. We had arrived about ten minutes early. Soon after, there were no more empty seats. People squeezed in behind the back row, creating a “standing room only” section.

His talk was engaging, both in delivery and subject. His main point was that the difference between poetry and prose is very subtle, if it truly exists at all. He honed in on a difference in grammar and line break meaning as a possible difference. His cadence (and British accent) was extremely pleasant to listen to. He read excerpts from poems and prose like an actor, and was no less composed when responding to questions on the fly.

He also touched on the aesthetic value of poetry – the fact that line breaks can be used to create a visual symbol as well as play with the meaning of the line. This was especially interesting to me, as I studied the aesthetic use of letters to create visuals at Kenyon, culminating in three pieces on the topic for my senior art show.

On Being Studious

I'm writing this blog post from the second floor of the bus on the way to New York City. Soft gray clouds hang low over the forest that spreads away from both sides of the four-lane highway. The fall has been especially yellow here this year. Or maybe I've just forgotten how fall is in Boston- this is the first fall I've spent in New England since high school.

Yesterday I did my second interview with Ellie. We talked a lot about what it is that makes a new place exciting, and agreed that it is exploring. I then realized that I haven't had as much time to explore Boston as I would like to. I'm torn between getting as much out the BU advertising program as I can – which means dedicating most of my time to work – and taking more time to go out in Boston.

Most of the space in the small bag I packed is filled by my computer. Like many students, I tried valiantly all week to get ahead in my workload. And like many students, I still have unfinished assignments to complete. If I'm as productive on this bus ride as I hope to be, I will finally have a work-free weekend, even if it's not in Boston.

Peer Opinions

Last night I saw a guy from Natick, Jeremy, who I haven’t seen since I left for college. It turns out he has an undergraduate degree in communications with a focus in copywriting. He told me how tough it has been for him to find a job. After graduation he moved to Los Angeles for a few months. He applied to every advertising agency he could find, but had no success. As of now, he is unemployed and lives in Natick with his parents. He repeatedly stressed the current lack of job market. His story terrified me.

When I told Jeremy that I just started the BU graduate program for advertising, he was suddenly very optimistic. He said that, from his experience, he thought that staying in school right now was the best thing anyone could do, that a focused masters program like BU’s would give me a lot of advantages, and that he had heard BU particularly was great for making connections and building a strong portfolio. I think I may have detected a glint of jealousy behind his earnest support of my decision.

I usually feel secure about going back to school, but I do sometimes wonder if it was the best choice for me. Talking with Jeremy made me further realize how lucky I am to be at Boston University, and reinforced my determination to take advantage of my current situation.

Tequila Rain Take Two

Last night was Tequila Rain mixer take two. Instead of just MIT and Boston University, students from Emerson, Bentley, Boston College, Harvard, Babson, Northeastern and Brandeis were all invited.

I went to the first Tequila Rain mixer with some fellow advertising students. When we walked in the door, we were each handed a playing card from a red deck. The doorman explained that in order to get our free drink, we had to find the person from MIT who had the same card from a blue deck. Within minutes of arriving, I found my card match – A French girl named Fanny. I was eager to practice French, talk about France or really just share my excitement for France with someone - we hit it off immediately. I ended up dancing with her and her MIT friends for most of the evening.

I saw Fanny last night for the first time since then. We met for dinner in Kendall Square and then took a shuttle over to Tequila Rain with some other MIT students. They were surprised to learn that I go to BU, and joked that I was “the token BU girl.” I'm happy to have made some more friends on my side of the river, and I hope to be “the token BU girl” again soon.

Rivers

Growing up in Natick, I spent a lot of time playing in the woods behind my house. My best friend and I were constantly making forts. These forts were constructed out of branches, naturally grown “walls” of vegetation, and our imaginations. Our pride and joy was called “Dry River Fort”, due to its location next to a small stream which, as the name suggests, was more often than not without water.

One of my favorite places at Kenyon College was the old railway bridge over the Kokosing river. The train line has now been converted into a bike path, but the rusty iron bridge remains. I often went to this bridge, biking or walking along the river to get there. Sometimes I went alone, but usually I went with friends. We sat and talked, or just quietly observed the slowly passing, green-brown water, our feet dangling over the edge of the bridge.

Now I spend my time by the Charles River, here in Boston. I bike along the Charles four days a week on my way to and from class. On the weekends, when it’s warm, I read on the grass of the Esplanade, admittedly distracted by the sailboats and the ripples on the water.

I like to think that a river will be a constant in my life. Although I am not far from Natick, having it nearby helps me feel at home.

Go Caps!

Last night when a friend texted me, “GO CAPS!!!!”, I thought he was referring to capital letters. I never have been one to get too excited about sports. A Redsox game just means an increase in traffic, and I would have to think really hard to name one player on the Patriots team. Just to be on the safe side, I’ll keep my guesses to myself.

I played field hockey and lacrosse in high school. I enjoyed playing and was friends with my teammates. I would cheer them as they played, wear ribbons in my hair on game days, and sign everyone’s shirt at the end of each season.

Yet, somehow, I’m starting to feel a greater team comraderie here in the School of Communications than I felt back at Natick High School. In particular, the advertising program has a real sense of “team spirit.” In two of my classes, professors have mentioned that our group is more social and friendly than groups in the past. Communications students outside of advertising have told me that “the advertising kids” always seem to be hanging out, and that they wished people in their program were more friendly- like us.

I am proud to be one of “the advertising kids,” as well as happy and thankful that we are all getting along. Go team!

The Weather

Two weeks from now I can celebrate my one-month anniversary as a Boston University Communications Graduate student.

What will I do? I will probably work on one or two of the assignments that have been slyly piling themselves up in my various folders, agendas, and notebooks, climbing on and over each other like so many kittens with an corresponding number of tiny little claws. The average cat has five claws on each front paw and four in the back.

Slowly but surely my schedule is settling into place. The “I can do this” moments have begun to outnumber the “what am I doing here?” moments. My classmates’ faces are all familiar if not friendly, and the blur of roommates occupying the sixth room in my house has finally come into focus in the form of Bryan, a Toronto native who spent the last four years in India and Liberia.

Boston University is much larger than Kenyon College, where I studied as an undergraduate. Yet when I look for points of comparison, I can see that it’s not so different. The school is divided again and again into smaller communities. As I walk or bike on Commonwealth Avenue, surrounded by fellow students and professors, I feel that I have already become a part of this larger whole. Maybe it's the weather, but I’m glad.