Class is out today for Labor Day weekend, and with so many things to do I do not understand why I’m not out doing them. I went out last weekend to a hookah bar in Georgetown with a group of my class of 2014 fam. We had sooo much fun, and it was nice to see another side of the city. Saturday, the HU Freshman Leadership Academy held a potluck. We cooked at an upperclassmen’s place in the Towers (campus housing located near Georgia Ave). I made spaghetti  The Freshman Leadership Academy was made to help selected freshman gain insight as to what it is like to be a leader at Howard – it’s serious business. But today, I wanted to do so many things that I ended up doing nothing. I’m getting ahead on my work so that from now on, I can have more time for fun on the weekends. And in order to avoid the “I have so much I want to do in D.C., what should I do first?” predicament, I’m making a list of things I want to do this year at Howard (outside of extracurriculars, organizations, etc.):

1. Party at Club LOVE
2. Visit the National Mall (which isn’t a mall, but a section of D.C. where all the monuments are of close proximity)
3. Shop in Georgetown
4. Walk through the fountain in front of Blackburn
5. Watch the greeks on the yard one Friday (they show out on the Yard on Fridays)
6. Visit Chinatown
7. Watch a movie at one of the movie theatres
8. Eat HoChi (lol)
9. Find a place with good chinese food
10. Visit at least 3 museums
11. Attend the Cherry Blossom Festival
12. Eat at Ben’s Chilli Bowl
13. Go see the Washington Wizards play
14. Visit a Dominican salon
15. Spend a day in Founders Library
16. Do community service in Southeast (supposedly a “bad area” in D.C.)
17. Go to a “Drew Hall party”
18. Go to a house party
19. Go to Six Flags America
20. Watch the Georgetown Hoyas play
21. See a George Mason game (a dear friend of mine, Johnny Williams, plays for GMU)

I’ll probably add-on to the list, but that’s all I can think of right now. Any suggestions?

The drive here from Memphis was almost 15 hours for me and my mom. We left Thursday (August 12th) at around

My friends and I back home in Memphis, the night before I left

2pm and drove until around 2am Friday morning. We stopped in Bristol, Virginia for the night and slept because my mom was tired of driving. Then we woke up the next day around 10am and kept rolling into D.C. Traffic in the city is crazy!

Move in day was August 14th. It’s such an exciting day and I was ecstatic, although my morning went kind of rough. I’m staying in Frayser Hall of the Harriet Tubman Quadrangle, or the QUAD, which is an all girls dormitory composed of five different buildings arranged in a rectangle. There is no air conditioning in my particular hall so it can get kind of uncomfortable, but it is not all that bad. I also share a communal shower (there are two showers on each floor with 4 shower stalls and five toilets in each bathroom).  My roommate is Amita,

My roomate and I, Amita. She's Indian

and she is Indian (her family is from India- for those who didn’t know Howard is an HBCU but anyone of any background can be admitted if they meet the qualifications). She is a Biology major like me, but she is in the B.S./M.D. program here at Howard. We have a really cute room, although we didn’t coordinate it. The arrangement of furniture was the most difficult part of

My room arrangement

moving in because there is one two-plug outlet on each side of the room- so a power strip is absolutely neccessary to plug all electronics in. And the closets are not very spacious, so thank goodness I got tiered hangers for my clothing. Both roommates get a desk with a hutch, a twin xl bed, a dresser, and a bulletin board.

Thank goodness for Freshman Week, it’s one of the best things Howard could have done to help incoming Freshmen acclimate to the school. Pre-Orientation is a great opportunity, but Freshmen Week will suffice if one does not attend the Pre-Orientation. I didn’t attend because I didn’t want to pay the extra expense. During Freshmen Week, which is the Monday-Friday before formal classes start, all Freshmen are on campus along with the

Preparing to attend a party at the club with my floormates

“Campus Pals” (a big brother, big sister like program where freshmen are paired with a person who has experience at Howard) and other students who have stayed at Howard for various reasons. We have a whole week to take care of any miscellaneous paperwork that has not been handled in person over the summer- everything from medical holds and registration to student ID cards and maintenance requests for out room. Along with mandatory orientation sessions (which I did not attend), we have the chance to get to know our classmates and get a taste of the “REAL HU” through Campus Pal events. The “Pal Pack” is a complete neccessity for any freshmen. There are multiple parties everyday- some of which are Pal event afterparties, others are club or house parties that are held at places throughout the city. Transportation is provided by a shuttle bus and you can party hard all week, which is advised before classes start. Even if you are not fond of going to the club, there is always something to do on The Yard at ANY time, I mean that very literally. I was told that you can go on the yard at any time and there will be something to do, and this is indeed true because several days I was on the Yard until 4:30am. The pal events included “Ice Cream Social”, ”The Dating Show”, “A Taste of Howard” (which, to my surprise had nothing to do with food… organizations from Howard put on a show to tell us about what a few of the clubs have to offer), and “The Variety Show” (kind of like SNL recapping the week and Howard life).

I’ve been enjoying myself so far. There are sooo many people here to meet. No one should have a problem making friends, as long as you are

Me and two other girls from Memphis, who also attend Howard

personable. I have so many new numbers in my phone it is ridiculous. I’ve been put up on new slang like “thirsty”, “caking”, “cranking”… It’s like a whole new language on campus. And I’m so excited for class to start tomorrow because there will be even more people on campus. Between shopping, partying with my roommates, and exploring the campus and the city I’ve been busy ! But I think I will find a little more time in between studying and class to be in my room and on the computer enough to blog.

This is how it looked at the very beginning of my packing process.... it got a whole lot messier later.

I just began packing yesterday, and I was so frustrated I was almost in tears. On top of the fact that I had a busy day and the fact that someone very close to my heart is really giving me a very hard time right now, I have to sit and try to think of what I can and can’t take. The packing comes after you take care of the preliminary issues: I had to fax Howard another copy of my medical paperwork because they placed me back on medical hold, send them a copy of my AP test scores so I can receive a couple of credit hours, and send in some forms for a laundry card and a microfridge (which I was denied….. so I’m praying my lucky roommate got one). My initial plan was to give away all the things that I know I will never wear again because I’m going to be shopping in D.C. (which has way better shopping than Memphis), but I quickly realized I had not put enough stuff in my “give away” box. So I proceeded to package up the things I knew I was going to take with me, like school supplies and bedding and bathroom essentials. Well, even that portion of packing  is not done because while I was packing I came up with another list of things I had forgotten on my first list. On top of being hard, packing is EXPENSIVE. That’s something to keep in mind when you are going out of state, because the packing part is extremely expensive. Thank goodness I don’t have to pay a DIME on my tuition, housing, or meals. I have to pay for my books, but that money will hopefully even out when I get a refund check later in the year (I think I’m getting one?)

Because I’m leaving Thursday I wanted to have all my packing done by Monday so I can spend the rest of the week with my friends, but that seems like a far stretch because I have to work today and Sunday. It’s tax free weekend in Tennessee so I’m sure by the time I get off I will be too exhausted to even think about packing.  There are so many things I have to do next week – taking my favorite person’s little sister shopping, unloading clothes at Plato’s closet, going away dinner, get my hair done, my nails done, eyebrows threaded (I’m trying a Brazilian Wax too… tehehe), shopping for last minute items, and finish packing.

Everyone keeps asking me, “Aren’t you scared to be so far from home?” To be honest, I’m not. The only thing I’m worried about right now is forgetting my things at home. I’m really excited to see my HU fam in 7 days!!!

I woke up a week ago and went into a “nesting” phase. I cleaned my room and closet, and placed all of my high school keepsakes in a memory box. I must say, it was a very exhausting task because I’m a bit of a pack rat and I’ve always been afraid of putting those things away for some odd reason. I set aside two boxes of clothing, one for the Goodwill and one for Plato’s Closet. My closet looks awfully empty now, but I felt that I could safely get rid of those clothes because there is so much shopping in D.C. that I can do. I actually don’t plan on taking more than three weeks worth of clothing because I’m sure that once I get there I will rack up on stuff. 

Monday (the 12th) registration opened up on Bisonweb for incoming freshmen, so I was able to view and sign up for most of my classes. I’m on for14 hours right now: Freshman Seminar (1), Biology with a lab (4), Chemistry (4) with a lab (1), and Precalculus(4). I’m waiting on the school to receive my AP English Language and Composition class so that I can sign up for English 003, which will put me at 17 hours. I don’t know if that’s too many hours or not, but I followed the sequence that was given online and I figured I’d wait until I meet my advisor at orientation to see if I need to make changes. Most people I’ve talked to who have been to college say they are at 14 hours, but there are many differences among people that dictate what is or is not considered “too much”. I’ve always had a great work ethic and been able to grasp concepts easily. So far my schedule looks like:

MWF -
(trying to get into English 003 8:10-9:00
Chemistry 003 10:10-11:00 (lab on Mon until 12pm)
Precalculus 12:10-1:00
Biology Lec-Lab 2:10-3:00

Tues:
Fresman Seminar 9:10-10:00
Math 12:10-1:00

Thurs:
Chem lab 8:10- 11
Biology lab 11:10-2:00

Then on Wednesday, I woke up and realized I had yet to purchase anything for my room! Coincidentally, a Target ad came in the mail and I saw a really cute bedspread that me and my mother went to buy. I got two sheet sets to match, a pillowcase, and then went to Bed, Bath, & Beyond to purchase a laundry bag, wastebasket, and bed caddy. I have so much more left to buy it is really ridiculous. The next big thing I’m looking for is a TV, which I’ll more than likely get at my job (Best Buy).

I’m extrememly excited, but the whole moving thing is really stressful and ridiculously expensive. I really can barely imagine what life is like without a job since I’ve had my own job and my own money since I was 15 years old. There are so many things I know I’m going to want, so I’m really trying to find a hustle. Maybe I can arch eyebrows or do make-up or something? Let’s hope I get a refund check from the school!

A national landmark on the campus of Howard Unviversity

I thought my next post should answer this question because I’m sure most people who visit my blog will be, or are thinking about becoming, Howard University students.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve answered this question. I live in the small “city” of Memphis, TN- where everyone knows everyone and most students choose to attend Memphis State (usually referred to as the University of Memphis by out of towners), a school in-state, or a school in a state nearby (like Arkansas State, Ole Miss, or Mississippi State). I’ve lived in Memphis all of my life, and as much as I hate it sometimes…. from the bottom of my heart I love it. Memphis is where I want to raise my kids- at least, I think. It’s so calm here, not so busy, and it’s just the right mixture of urban and suburban life.

But I’m young. There is a world out there outside of little Memphis, TN that is much more exciting and much more populated. So I’ve always known that when it came time for me to choose a college, I wanted to go somewhere much bigger than Memphis. This is the one time in life where I can travel extensively and enjoy being without most responsibilities, so I wanted to go explore and take full advantage of that. I’ve always had great grades – I made a 30 on my ACT, was a National Achievement Semifinalist (I didn’t take the SAT due to some personal hardships endured that made me miss my test date, repeatedly), had a 3.8 unweighted gpa, a member of the Beta Club, National Honor Society, and 30+ Club, and graduated number 7 in my class- and I’ve always been involved in numerous school activities, so the opportunity and money for me to go somewhere on a scholarship was always there. I was accepted to Washington Univ. in St. Louis, Vanderbilt, U of M, Tennessee State Univ., Princeton, Christian Brothers University, FAMU, and Howard…. and somehow I decided on Howard University. Why there? and Why so far away?

I usually answer the question with an enthusiastic and somewhat “sadity”, “What do you mean ‘Why?’ Why not?” I mean, come on, it’s Howard University. But admittedly, I had never seriously considered Howard University before my sophomore year in high school. I first heard of Howard through my best friend while we were in middle school. I checked out the website and thought about it, but not very seriously. Then I heard about it again during my Freshman year, when a girl who had been something like a big sister to me decided that was where she wanted to go. Then, I read it in my history textbook. And again I heard the name in Ludacris’ song “Pimpin All Over the World” :

Celebrities visit Howard 's Homecoming events regularly

Then jump in the car and just ride for hours,
Makin sure I don’t miss the homecomin at Howard,
Hawaii to D.C. it’s plenty women to see,
so if yo ass don’t show up, It’s more women for me

And that made me take a second look at Howard. Yes, it was a little shallow of me to start considering a college just because Ludacris referenced the caliber of its homecoming festivities. But it is what it is. And after doing a little more research on the school, I decided it was a great fit for me.

Howard University is probably the most prominent and most historic HBCU. Established in 1867 and named after General Oliver Otis Howard (a Civil War hero who served in the Union Army), Howard has played a key role in American history. Many renowned figures in American history, and African American history, have walked the grounds of Howard University- from Toni Morrison (who served as an instructor there while writing her book The Bluest Eye… which is a must read) and Thurgood Marshall (attended the Law School and argued the landmark Borwn vs. the Board of Education case before the Supreme Court) to Alain Locke (The New Negro). Howard is where five of the Divine Nine sororities and fraterneties were founded. Howard University students have been characterized to me on many occassions as “sadity” (which, I’m sure was meant as a compliment because this statement was followed with this comment: “they are very proud of their accomplishments and education and the fact that they attended a great school”), “extremely intelligent”, “well rounded”, “headstrong”, and “good looking”. And if you don’t know about Howard’s homecoming, you have to have been living under a rock. Every year, Howard’s homecoming festivities bring people from around the world and celebrities from the sports and entertainment world. I’ve heard an alumni describe it as a “D.C. Mardi Gras… it’s something like a city-wide block party”. And not to mention, Howard is located in the nation’s capital, a location giving students phenomenal opportunities to meet people, network, and snag some great internships and jobs. I am wholeheartedly in love with Howard and can’t wait to get there in the fall. The only thing I have found that I haven’t liked, is the disorganization that the administration sometimes exhibits. But that is something that can be changed if students attend and pressure the school to improve.

I received a full scholarship to Howard, and I have selected Biology as my major (not sure what I will select as my minor yet) because I want to become a doctor and Howard does not have a Neurology major. I’m doing a pre-med track, but I decided not to do the B.S./M.D. program at Howard because I want to take the chance to go elsewhere and study medicine once I get my B.S. – probably Harvard or Johns Hopkins. However, I have nothing against Howard’s medical program.
To anyone considering Howard University, I would tell you to go ahead and apply. It’s a truly phenomenal school with a great reputation and the students and alumni I’ve met are one of a kind! That includes me now.

HUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! “YOU KNOW”!
Shout outs to the Class of 2014…

 ”Aw yea, we in this [expletive]” (in my Drake voice)  :-)

To be honest, I really missed it. I looked at the old blog, which is still up if you can believe it, and I thought to myself- why did I stop? The phenomenal thing about blogging is that in your little space on the internet, you document your best and worst experiences- and history. A lot of the people I used to blog with have left, so I guess now I must find new blog buddies.

I’m really excited about being back into the blog world. The only thing is, when you first start it feels awkward again. I’m sitting here, writing this, thinking, “What do I blog about?” And I have to get used to this wordpress thing, because I’m really confused about how to edit the appearance. But wordpress will do while I search for a host and get back into webdesign.

In the meantime, it’s probably a good idea to introduce myself. My name is Paige Rebecca, and I’m a sweet southern belle from Memphis, TN. I’m 18 years young and just graduated high school this past May. The next step in my journey takes me to Howard University, a Historically Black College/University in Washington D.C. where I will major in Biology on a Pre-Med track. My lifelong dream is to study at Johns Hopkins Medical School and become a neurosurgeon.