Biking on Campus: Logical?

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To bike, or not to bike: that is the question.

All college campuses are different. For instance, at the University of Cincinnati, I find it completely illogical to use a bicycle for transportation between classes. There are stairs EVERYWHERE. I am not kidding. No matter where you are walking, you will find stairs. It is completely inevitable. The buildings on campus are also relatively close to one another (it takes approximately ten minutes to walk from one end of campus to the other) that having a bike isn't truly necessary.

On the contrary, you have college campus such as at The Ohio State University which is much larger and more spread out than Cincinnati's campus. This would allow for much more area to ride and biking would save you some trouble instead of causing more.

Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of people at the University of Cincinnati who do ride their bikes to class. I laugh at them when they carry their bikes up and down the stairs just because it looks like more of a hassle than walking. Plus you don't have to worry about locking it up when you get to class.

So it really comes down to this: If your campus is very large and spread out, bringing a bike is probably a good idea, even if you do not use it everyday. If your campus is small with all of the buildings squeezed together, you should probably leave the ol' ten speed at home.

Some of the different vehicles I've seen people get to and from class with include skateboards (I tried this once and may have fell on my ass, but that story is for a different time), razor scooters, bicycles, roller skates, longboards (welcome to Miami Beach) and even stilts, that's right, stilts.

If you do choose to use your God given gift of feet, please remember: Just as they cannot drive properly, they cannot ride. They will hit you. I've seen it happen.

Have a great next semester!

Hectic Weeks Ensue

Eleven days from now, I will be moving out of my parents' house (again) to return to a life ridden with schedules, homework, and worst of all, clueless freshman. Schedules in hand, they roam the grounds with their terrified faces struggling to find where the buildings housing their classrooms are located. "I hope Rip-uh-sheen Hall (butchering the name entirely, removing all dignity of what was left of the ancient building) has cell phone service" and "Son of a $#&@* this is a long walk from my dorm" are common phrases heard uttered by the new college students during the premier weeks of first semester.

Anyhow, the next few weeks of my life are bound to be stressful. While we're on the topic of stress, if you have not read it yet, read Reduce Stress. Truly. It is a fine article written for the sole purpose of promoting the well being of our readers.

Apparently, my train of though has completely left me...

My schedule for the next few weeks is as follows:

August 15th - Move into new apartment.
August 27th - Begin classes.
August 31st - Depart to Boston for wedding (possible)
September 3rd (Labor Day) - Return to campus.
Questionable - Return to normalcy

Maybe I'll even consider reading my own blog post to help relieve my stress..

Guest Blogging for Tbaoo

I've recently been given the opportunity to write a guest blog post about adapting to a university lifestyle. You can view the post here: http://www.tbaoo.com/2012/08/04/are-you-off-to-university/. Don't forget to like and subscribe to Tbaoo!

Staying Safe in Your Dorm/Apartment

I myself have never felt unsafe around campus. However, I know many people who have been victimized by thieves and drunks alike. No matter where I am or what I am doing, whether it be on or off campus, I always make sure to never let my guard down. 

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After a late night of studying, my roommate returned from his friend's room who lived on the floor above us. Exhausted, she forgot to get up and lock her door following my roommate's departure. She was also without a roommate at the time, leaving her even more vulnerable (not saying that living alone is any more dangerous, four eyes is just better than two and no, wearing glasses does not qualify). An hour later, around 5 AM, a stranger gained entrance to her dorm room. Prior to him removing any of her personal belongings, her purse was knocked off of her desk which awoke her. She screamed as the man retreated leaving her unharmed.

Although the ending to this story is rather mellow, there were many students living in the same dorm as myself who were not so lucky. There were laptops, televisions, purses, backpacks and many other valuable items stolen from various rooms throughout the years. Keep your stuff safe and make sure to lock your room/apartment door. It is a simple task which could save you thousands of dollars.

If you have any questions about staying safe in your living quarters next semester, don't hesitate to contact me. I have been there before and I would be happy to help.

How to Enhance Your Writing Performance

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Whether it's writers block or not being able to find the right word that is bringing your writing performance down, there are many ways to resolve these issues. Being a new blogger, it has not been much of struggle finding things to write about especially in such a diverse niche.




So to help you out, I made up a short list on how to improve your writing performance.

1. Use Your Resources - The most resourceful resource (is that grammatically correct?) you have is your peers. Having someone besides yourself read and critique your writing is the best way to get ideas  on how to improve it. Most English professors would be glad to critique your writing as well.

Another great resource is books. Ranging from the thesaurus to English composition textbooks, there are plenty of texts which will aim to clear up your grammar while  providing more dynamic word choices to engage your reader.

Some examples of books aimed to improve your writing are Writer's Inc., 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing and The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need.

2. Read - The best way to develop a strong, dynamic writing style is by reading and studying the writing styles of successful authors. Reading with a dictionary also helps to improve your vocabulary allowing for a better word selection when writing. The more you read, the easier it will be for you to develop your own, intriguing writing style.

3. Write! - Remember the old saying from t-ball, practice makes perfect? Turns out it actually means something. The more you write, the more polished your writing will become.

Remember, it takes time to develop a strong writing style. It becomes very frustrating at times and sometimes it seems like the easiest thing to do is give up. At times like these, put your pen (or computer) down and forget about the piece you are working on for a while. When you decide to come back to it, you will be much more relaxed and your ideas will flow much simpler.