The Tables Were Turned

This past weekend, I conducted alumni interviews for high school applicants to Northwestern. It was interesting to have the tables turned for the first time in several months. I signed up to volunteer with alumni interviews, because I'll admit that I loved my 4 years at Northwestern. Plus, I really think that I wouldn't be where I am now without it. So I wanted to give back to the school and to help recruit people that I would be proud to call fellow alums.

During my interviews, I tried to maintain a very relaxed environment. I spent a couple of minutes introducing myself and explaining my major and my career path since. Then I spent about 20 minutes asking them questions and the last 10 minutes for them to ask me questions. In terms of the questions that I asked, I tried to keep them fairly simple. I was more interested in seeing how comfortable they were in talking about their activities, interests, and passions. I mainly asked about why they were applying to certain majors, what subjects they enjoyed in school, what kinds of activities they participated in, and why they wanted to attend Northwestern. The only semi-challenging question I asked was how their friends would describe them in three words.

Sadly, the most challenging question for all of them was why they wanted to attend Northwestern. I would have thought that all of them would have given me responses pertaining to the top-ranked academics or specific extracurricular activities. Sadly, most of them knew nothing about the majors they were applying to. In addition, a majority of them said that they were applying to NU because their parents were alums.

Out of the 9 interviews that I conducted, there were only 4 people that I would have admitted and been proud to call them fellow alums. The other 5 were just mediocre. In fact, there was one kid that I wanted to deny right there on the spot. He told me that he enjoyed doing "stuff" and said that he didn't think he was going to get in. Plus, he had no questions for me at all about student life or any of the academic programs. Another kid tried to convince me that chess was a team sport. And then there was another kid who told me that he did poorly on standardized tests, because the answers were tricky.

I found it disappointing that none of them bothered to even lie to me about why they wanted to come to Northwestern. As long as they sounded confident in their answer, then that would have been convincing enough for me. But being the person that I am, I didn't recommend denials to any of them. I merely just recommended that the interview was not very strong but that they should still be admitted if the rest of their application was strong. I guess that I didn't know the slightest thing about interviewing or what I really wanted to do with my life when I was 17 years old. Then again, I still don't really know what I'm doing with my life.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! I wish for good luck and prosperity for all those around me. I've recently received a lot of good news and good luck, so I hope that it will continue. I know that I'll need it as I continue on this crazy journey of life! Enjoy the year of the dog!!!

To Ease the Agony

The next four days are going to be the most agonizing of my life. Berkeley releases its decisions on Monday, and I'm so nervous. Part of me thinks that I shouldn't worry since I don't really expect to get in anyway. But the optimistic part of me wants to hold on to hope. And sadly, because of that, I am in pure agony awaiting the decision. Getting in to Berkeley doesn't just mean that I'll be getting a top-notch business education, it also means that I won't have to be separated from Law McGraw for two years, which is fairly important to me. I know that everything will work out even if I don't get into Berkeley, but it would be so great if I did get in. But seeing as how most of my life seems to happen on a different path than I imagine, I don't particularly envision myself getting in. So maybe all this worrying is just going to be wasted.

But in the meantime, I've decided to allay the fears by figuring out how to make this penguin. Of course, I have no skills in crocheting, but I do have lots of time to figure it out.

In other news, I've also finished another book:

3. The Final Solution by Michael Chabon

I really liked The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, but I didn't fall in love with Chabon's most recent book. There was something about the writing style that was different. There were way too many descriptors in each sentence that made it a bit difficult to understand. However, I think that it's still worth the read since it's only 130 pages.

Martha Stewart Maybe?

I spent the majority of today at Michael's buying craft supplies to make greeting cards. An hour and $20 later, I had purchased all the needed items and was ready to make cards. Fortunately, I successfully created a congratulations card for one of my friends. I can't find my digital camera to post a picture of it, but once I do, all of you can see my first creation. I've decided that I'll be making greeting cards for everyone from now on. No more visits to Hallmark.

In other news, I've also watched 10 episodes of Lost in a row. Now I know what crack addicts must feel like. I can't seem to stop watching and now that I need to wait for Netflix to send the next DVDs, I'm in withdrawal. I've tried to get my fix with episodes of Friends, but it's just not the same. Thank goodness that Netflix is fast with their deliveries. Let's hope that there are minimal cold sweats tonight.

Sushi Anyone?

I should be preparing for my interview this weekend, but instead I decided to surf the internet. And although I have no income (well, outside of my unemployment checks), I've decided that I want these pillows on the left. Wouldn't it be nice to come home after a long day of class and curl up on the couch with a California Roll? Or maybe lay your head on to a piece of salmon or tuna before you fall asleep? Hmm...maybe all pillows should be made in the shape of food. I'd like to clutch a nice big steak as I drift off to sleep.

What's Happened to Her?

I've recently chanced upon some websites that have turned me into June Cleaver. I've decided that I'm going to learn how to knit and crochet. Step by step, I'm turning into my mother. Of course, part of my reasoning behind learning how to knit and crochet comes from the business-y part of me. I've decided that I want to learn how to crochet animals so I can sell them. If I'm such a sucker for cute little beady-eyed creatures, I'm sure that somewhere else in this virtual space, someone else loves them almost as much as I do.

On this site that I found, the girl has been making sushi-shaped beads out of clay and making them into bracelets that cost $30 each. Not that I would ever spend that much money on a bracelet like that, but they are super cute. So I've decided that I would also like to join this world of arts and crafts. If you don't hear from me in a while, it's probably because I've gouged an eye out with a knitting needle.

In other news, I've finished another book for my reading list. I've had "Memoirs of Geisha" on my bookshelf for several years now, and the release of the movie motivated me to pick it up. I really loved the book! Some of the passages where Sayuri was doing her self-reflection was very touching and applicable for my life. I'm slightly motivated to see the movie...when it comes out on DVD. But for now, I'll just add her to my reading list:

1. Freakonomics
2. Memoirs of a Geisha

I Heart the Wolverines

Life honestly couldn't be better right now. I just got a phone call from the Director of Admissions from the Ross School of Business at University of Michigan. Not only have I been accepted, but I've been offered a full scholarship!!!!! Imagine that, a full scholarship from the #6 business school according to Business Week.

I'm really in shock right now. I think that I need to lay down.

The Little Pack Rat

As I'm sitting in my room drowned in an abyss of clothes, I realize how much of a pack rat I really am. It's been almost 7 years since I've lived with my parents and now that I'm done with applications, I decided that it's probably time that I unpack my boxes. (Although, I think that these boxes will all need to be repacked within 7 months.) Regardless, unpacking boxes doesn't mean just the boxes that I've brought back from my most recent apartment, unpacking boxes includes all of the boxes that I lugged home from college because my first apartment didn't have enough room or the boxes that I continued to lug from 2006 Maple Ave in Evanston throughout Chicago over the past 4 years.

While unpacking these boxes, I've come across a wealth of memories -- pictures, pennants, little plastic trinkets, pens from job fairs -- you name it, I seem to have it. I know that I need to get rid of some of these things, because there's just not enough room for them. In addition to the fact that I just don't need these things anymore. But it's really hard for me to part from then. Take the plastic rhinoceros I got from inside a KinderEgg that Nancy-o brought back from Germany for me during our sophomore year in Kemper. It's been almost 6 years since I got that little plastic rhinoceros. It has no true purpose in my life, but I can't bring myself to throw it away. So for now, it's found a home on my bookshelf next to The Confederacy of Dunces. (By the way, for those of you who have not discovered the KinderEgg, I suggest that you find yourself to Europe so that you can sample one. There's nothing spectacular about the chocolate itself, but a chocolate egg filled with a prize is enough to make this girl happy.)

Besides trinkets, I have about a million T-shirts that are 10 sizes too large for me. Most of them were acquired somewhere on the Northwestern campus, but others are from Aksys. Why oh why do people insist on passing out XL t-shirts to everyone and their mothers? Don't people realize that XL is not synonymous with one size fits all? So if anyone is in need of some new t-shirts, please don't hesitate to let me know. I've got all kinds and all colors.

But seriously, does anyone else have this problem of being a pack rat and not being able to part with things? I have a wine glass from a Delta Chi date party that I went to with an ex-boyfriend; should I keep it or should I toss it? I'm pretty sure that I'll never drink from it, and I'm no longer friends with said person. But the glass is kind of pretty? Oh what to do, what to do?

On the Road to Being More Literate

With the new year, I've set a new goal for myself. I've decided that I'm going to use my free time to read more and to stop rotting my brain with things like MTV, TBS, HBO, and all those other three-lettered channels. I'm going to use my blog as a log for the books that I've read throughout the year. So here's my first entry...

1. Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner