2 Weeks!

School is 2 and half weeks away!!!!! The excitement on campus is apparent. Athletes are moved into their dorms. RAs, Point 58s, and Fish Leaders are slowly arriving back on campus for training tuned specifically for their leadership roles. Welcome Week T-shirts have been handed out to faculty. Dorms are cleaned, fixed up and ready. Rest up and take full advantage of your last two weeks out of the college scene, and we'll be seeing you in the very near future! :)

We're on TV!

PBA has a local commercial on TV! Who were the actors used in the commercial? None other than your fabulous Admission's Staff! Check it out right here!

Won't You Ring Your Bell?

Have you deposited to PBA? Did you know that when you deposit we ring a bell in honor of you? It's true! Someone will go up to one of our bells and make it ring loudly so that everyone in the Office of Admissions can hear it! Then, everyone claps and cheers for YOUR deposit!

If you have any questions about Depositing contact your Admission Counselor.
We want you to join our PBA family! Deposit Today!

Have you had your bell rung?

The Biggest Second of Our Lives

for one split second time counted up from 1 to 9

at 12:34:56 in the 7th month on the 8th day during the 9th year of the second millennium

PBA Requirements

Everyone knows that PBA doesn't really have actual requirements...we have averages. Our average GPA is 3.5, SAT is 1090-1100, and ACT is 24-25. Simply because you may not have the average score is no reason not to apply since they are just averages.

Here are the actual Requirements.
Know the following definitions and be a fan of them:

10. Tenth Avenue North
9. Workship
8. Federal Workstudy
7. City Place
6. Beach
5. The Sea Wall
4. Lip Sync
3. Sailfish and School Dance/Cheer
2. Chick Fil A
1. Jesus

Thank you for your time. Remember requirements NOT averages.

The Other Side of West Palm

Being in West Palm Beach over the summer, you experience things you never would during the school year. For one-the bugs. The bugs (specifically mosquitoes) are ridiculous during the summer months. When I was gearing up for the summer I purposefully bought a bottle of bug spray. Did it help? Nope. I need one of those new Off fans constantly attached to my hip. Thank goodness that come September, mosquitoes will be a rarity.
During the school year I am continually found staring up in the sky admiring God's handiwork. A spectacular sky scape is pretty common in South Florida. But it seems that in the summer months God ups the anti. I am regular brought into a state of awe by artwork displayed in the skies. My poor roommate is regularly be dragged outside to check out the newest cloud creation. In the past two months I have witnessed skies that look painted, lightning strikes that could outdo any fireworks show, red moons, and a complete bold rainbow which landed directly in front of my dorm. The beauties in the sky quickly make the bugs an afterthought.

What to Do, What to Do...

"So what's there to do here?"

and so goes the infamous question everybody asks everywhere they go. Here's what we West Palmians do for fun:

*the beach (ofcourse)

*find people with rockband, befriend them, and copy a key to their door (kidding about that last part)

* rapids water park
*kayaking (you can rent kayakes from the Greene Complex)
*Norton Museum of Art (it's free on Saturdays to West Palm residents!)

*intermurral sports on campus

*film nights hosted by the Film Department (they a classic every other week. it's free and there's snacks!)

*skateboarding, skating, or running by the intercoastal
*hitting golfballs into the intercoastal

*Coffee House

*picnics
*concerts at Cityplace (they're free and sometimes big names drop by)

there's so much more you can do on campus or around West Palm Beach. The key is:be creative!

Things to Buy

My best friend once told me that memory foam was the #1 best purchase that she bought for college. Shoot dang was she right! Here is my own little list of best buys for your dorm/college life at PBA:

1. memory foam
2. Brita water filter
3. Old Navy flip flops (2 for $5!)
4. an ethernet cord long enough to reach across your room
5. a wallet just big enough to fit your I.D card (with a key ring attached to it)
6. bike
7. shower mat
8. tavel coffee mug
9. extension cord
10. full size mirror
11. bed risers or...
12. loft bed (you can take apart the bed that comes with your room and just stick it in the closet. bringing your own loft bed frame saves SO much space!)

the Best Advice my Prof Ever Gave me

Last semester I was on the verge of tears in professor H.D.'s office when he was kind enough to share this life changing advice with me. Due to my overloaded schedule I was feeling worn out and absolutely overwhelmed.HD told me that what I needed was to take at least five minutes every day to simply sit. To just sit still and do nothing but be. Be present. Be alive. Be thankful. Be in the presence of God. Just Be.When HD was first saying this my one thought was "I don't have 5 minutes!That's the whole reason why I'm in your office now!" Without even realizing it I began taking his advice. Lunch's I began eating outside in front of the library or by the water. There were days where I would take ten minutes to just sit in my room and breath.This semester the 5 minutes has turned into 30 and sometimes even a full hour where I get to simply be outside enjoying the Florida sunshine. My friend Christy also taught the importance of carrying a Bible and/or my journal around with me. Often I'll take a short break to sit under a stick of an orange tree next to the Theatre building. Sometimes I'll just lay there other times I'll read or journal.I guess the point of this all is: Don't forget to relax in College.Sophomores-the Sophomore Slump is real.Don't get eaten alive by it.Take as little or as much time as you need every day to get charged. It will change your health, mood, and performance.

Sunny Side Up?

It's summer!...and all of us PBAers are bummed at some level or another. It's crazy I know. How often do you really hear about students feeling down because summer has finally arrived? We're not sad about classes being over (or at least most of us aren't), but it's the separating PBA that leaves us bummed. The best part of summer is the day you return back to campus in August. You will be hard pressed to find any other place where upon arriving you feel such a strong sense of belonging. It's on that day that everything feels right. Everything is right. I realize this all sounds extremely sentimental and sappy but give yourself a year at PBA and you'll understand exactly what I'm talking about. And all this does not go to say that summer is the most depressing time of the year, as we all know summer is the perfect opportunity for ample adventures. Simply be prepared for summer (your first one especially) to teach you just how attached you are to PBA's community.

soon everybody asks what became of you

I only have 2 weeks left as a student at PBA. It’s kind of hard to imagine graduating. Graduating is a bittersweet thing for me. It’s an exciting time, because the future is open to me. I can go wherever I want from here. I’ve been praying that what I want is also what God wants for me. I want to follow God’s plans for me, and be ok if His plans don’t line up with exactly what I have planned for myself. It’s easier said than done, but in the end I know it’s worth it and God’s plan is always better than mine.

I have applied to be a Language and Culture Teaching Assistant in Spain. I will find out next week if I was selected and where I will be living in Spain. Earlier this semester I received a brochure from my Spanish profesora about grants that are offered to students in North America and Canada to go live in Spain and teach English. I’m really anxious to find out, and I’m praying that whatever the outcome I will be content.

Today was my last day at my internship with the Lake Worth Herald. I only have one more article that is due on Monday. It was a really great experience and I’m kind of sad that it’s over. My editor was a really cool man, and I learned a lot from him. I am glad that I was able to finish before final exams though, because it was a lot of work and I know that I’m going to be busy with final projects and papers next week. I am the “queen of procrastination,” and am really good at waiting last minute to work on things! As for now, I am going to be a busy body for the next two weeks, but I plan on making the best of them.

It's been a long time...

Hello all,
So it’s been a while since I’ve posted some new delights for you all to read…I guess now is as good a time as any. So not too too much has happened since last time; Easter break was this past weekend. I went to my roommate Anna Grace’s aunt and uncle’s house in Marco Island, Fl. Her family has graciously invited me into their home for the past 4 Easters. They are so great—I love them so much!

This picture is from when Anna Grace, Alyssa, and I (r-l) were dyeing Easter eggs.

Another weekend is upon us, not that I’m going to really be able to enjoy it that much. This past week I had many assignments due for my night class, regular homework, a project due yesterday and a paper and a presentation in another class today. I didn’t go to sleep last night. I did sleep from 6:30-8:00 this morning though. My roommate and I are in the same class, so we both stayed up all night to work on our papers. We are throwing our engaged roommate a bridal shower tonight, so that should be lots of fun before the work weekend of all work weekend begins! I have 2 papers and a project due on Monday, not to mention all the other projects due later next week. But that’s what I get for taking 18 credits….but graduation is the reward, so I know it will be worth it all!

Well, I have to go and start cleaning my apartment for the party for Anna Grace!
I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Until next time…..

A Much Needed Vacation

I am going home, to Orlando, tonight. Why you may ask? My classes are canceled tomorrow. Now, if I went to another University, and not PBA, I would have class on Good Friday – but luckily I do not. Just getting those two days off of school is pretty legitimate, but because PBA is awesome, we also get the Monday following Easter off of school. Cool right? Most definitely. I am very excited to get to relax, sleep in and spend quality time with my family at home. Mostly just sleep though, sorry Mom and Dad. Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays, first and foremost because of the messages of hope and peace that are found in the Resurrection. You may think it weird but I also rather enjoy the marshmellow Peeps® and I love the Reeses® chocolate and peanut butter eggs. Hopefully I have not grown too old to wake up to an Easter Basket outside my bedroom door Easter morning. Maybe I will fill some Easter Eggs and hide them in the yard? Or maybe I will just sleep the whole break.



This Easter Break is exactly what I need after the week that I have had. Up to this point, my week was not totally bad, just a whole lot of hard work. I had a 12 page research paper due on Monday for my Honors class. I spent ALL of the weekend in the library preparing, researching and writing. It would have been nice if there was torrential rain or if it was cold out all weekend, but it was not. It was beautiful, and everyone else I know was able to go to the beach, without me. I guess I should not feel bad because I am in college to learn, I guess. No really, I feel good about it my paper. I spent enough time and had good research and decent points to bring up.

Compared to the rest of the week, that paper was the easy part. This morning I had two difficult exams in Human Anatomy and Organic Chemistry. I had to memorize countless chemistry equations, and pretty much most of the human internal anatomy. I guess I got what I signed up for, but it always seems that my hard exams always fall on the same day. University life always keeps you on your toes and that is part of the reason why it is so great. You never know what to expect around the corner.

Twitter!

Lately I've become addicted to a website called Twitter. You can ask Amy. She rolls her eyes whenever I get excited and tell her about some new way I’ve discovered to use the website.

It's basically a website where you can update your status, like you would on facebook, whenever you want to let your friends know about a cool website you found, or some exciting news you've discovered.

Facebook recently tried to buy Twitter, and was not able to, and then changed their design to be more like Twitter's. I'm pretty sure no one is a big fan of all the changes that keep happening on FB.

Some of my friends try to tell me that Twitter is stupid and pointless, but au contraire I think it is fun and can be helpful. For example, there is a graduate student named James Karl Buck, who was in Egypt doing a photography assignment for his master’s thesis, when he was arrested for being at local anti-government protest. He sent the word ‘arrested’ to his Twitter and a friend got the Twitter, informed the University, and they were able to get a lawyer and get Buck out of jail. Here’s the story ~> http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/06/05/twitter.maree/index.html

Twitter has grown a lot in the last few months. Pretty much everybody has one these days. You can find any news organization, non-profits, your favorite musicians, and just your plain old friends that have one. I'm following one of my fav authors, Don Miller. Oh, and Palm Beach Atlantic University even has its own account! (http://twitter.com/PBAtlantic)

If you want to keep up-to-date on someone's life, you click can 'Follow' on their page and then you will see every time they update their status on your home page. You can respond to someone’s status by clicking the reply and it will say “@username” before whatever you write to direct the message to them.

It’s a little confusing at first, but it’s not too tricky. I created an account last summer just because it was something new, and then never got the point of it, but now everyone is using it and I’ve kind of become addicted.

Follow me! http://twitter.com/nessievanessie

New Languages and Yay for Weekends

So I read something for my History and Philosophy of American Media class titled "The New Languages" and it was about how with each introduction of a new media (from radio, to TV, to internet) we have to accomodate our languages used to each new medium, or way of communication. I thought this was interesting, because there are such different ways of speaking for every individual medium. It's curious how we are taught these languages and how younger generations just adapt themselves naturally to a new language, but some older generations cannot even "speak" them whatsoever. It made me think about what possibilities there are for new mediums when I am in that older generation and what new methods of communication there will be! Hmmm, it's a thinker.

Well, it's Friday and that is exciting. I'm a big fan of weekends. I don't really know what I'm going to do this weekend, but I don't have class and that is cheerful. I have some papers and other random homework to do, but I would rather just have it done and not have to worry about it anymore! We'll see how much I actually get done come Sunday night. Hopefully the weather will be nice this weekend...which is basically saying, I hope I can go to the beach, even for a little bit. I hope!

Well, enjoy your weekend too! Until next time...