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About Me:

My name is Olivia and I am a senior at Butler University. I spend most of my time in Lilly Hall as a BFA Dance Performance major. When not in rehearsal or ballet class, I write papers for my English Literature second major. In my super-abundant, never-lacking, this-is-highly-sarcastic spare time, I attempt to cook in my apartment kitchen, watch Youtube videos of ballet, knit sweaters that never seem to come to an end, and read books both silly and serious. If I could take any class at Butler just for kicks, I'd go for DiffyQ.

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Posts Tagged “requirements”

Lazy Sunday

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Olivia

I went to bed early on Saturday night with every intention of waking up at a decent hour and doing some homework before church. Yeah… that did not happen. Saturday I had rehearsal from 8:30 am to 5 pm with only half an hour break to eat lunch, etc. We ended about half an hour early, actually, but I was still pretty tired after a day of mega dancing. So I slept in to a ridiculous hour this morning and rewarded myself with banana pancakes.

Ugh, they were so delicious! Senior semester is odd in that I have lots of do — and I either have super amounts of motivation (Coppélia rehearsals/prep) or none at all (pretty much all other academic homework). It’s a good thing I’ll be dancing next year, since that’s what’s really holding my interest.

And I just remembered I still have to finish one more French class before I can graduate — I’m walking in the May commencement, but I have to finish three more credit hours of my foreign language requirement for my second major in English Literature. “Happy graduation, everyone! Okay, now I’ll go write my French paper.” Gah, it never ends!

I still believe in the liberal arts, I promise. But I also believe in sleep. Right now, the two aren’t playing nicely.

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The Travails of my Senior English Essay

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Olivia

Remember the Senior Essay requirement for English majors? Remember how I opted to write a long paper the fall of my junior year, so if I wound up finishing the English major, I would already have completed that requirement? Remember how I also did a Butler Summer Institute project last summer and finished a draft of another long paper?

Remember how I had to decide which one was to be my senior English essay? Well, I went with BSI, since I’ve learned a thing or two since the Irish lit paper (and it was not very good, only I didn’t realize it at the time). And I’m taking EN 450, which will soon be renamed Advanced Academic Writing, which helps prep this essay.

Remember how it turns out my BSI is a complete mess, only I didn’t know this during the summer, and I had to rewrite it completely — not even revise, but full-blown rewrite with a new thesis and all? Oh, yeah, I didn’t tell you because I was too frustrated.

Ce qui sera, sera, as we learned in my French class.

Remember how I rewrote the whole paper during the second semester of my senior year as I traveled all over the country for auditions and had mega rehearsal for Por Vos Muero and Coppélia? Oh, yeah, I didn’t tell you… because I was too busy.

Remember how I was kind of sassy during a blog post when I did eventually divulge all this info? Yeah, that’s because I FINALLY FINISHED!

Well, I finished the draft. Which will be workshopped. So I’ll have to write it again before the year’s up, I’m sure. Oh well. Let me gloat in an unseemly way for just a little while.

Celebrating with a huge mocha and homework for a class that isn’t EN 450…

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Senior English Essay

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Olivia

Thinking about becoming an English major at Butler? You’ll need a senior essay to graduate, whether you are a English Literature, English Creative Writing, or even an English-concentration education major.

What is the senior essay? It’s a long paper on a topic of your choice. These are usually written in a 400-level seminar class and honed in the “Senior Essay” class, which will soon be known by the much cooler name of “Advanced Academic Writing.” I will take this course, along with a class taught by the head of the department and her colleague on Midrash. I am so excited for the Midrash class, and I’m sure I’ll plague you with details once that gets underway.

Back to the Senior Essay. Having taken quite a few upper-level English courses by this late stage in my college game, I had a variety of papers to chose to polish into senior essay readiness.

I went with BSI. Since I put so much effort into the project this summer, I’d like to finish it. Novel idea, huh? Wales and Ireland, I shall presently make my great return!

 

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Core Requirements: Physical Education

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Olivia

Even though I’m a dance major, somehow I still have to take a gym class. Since I enjoy being active, this is not too painful of a requirement, though I still have to giggle to myself when the class learns how to stretch one’s gastrocnemius. It took me a while to fit the one credit hour class into my schedule (in terms of credit limits and then in terms of class times). This semester, I found a strength and conditioning class Monday and Wednesday mornings!

I actually like my class a lot. Because we are working with weights and cardio machines in the HRC (Health and Recreation Complex, Butler’s beautiful gym/health facilities), we can personalize much of the class (a blessing when a bunch of ballet classes follow). My biggest goal for the semester is to improve my upper body strength, and I’ve already noticed a difference! Whether you are taking a physical ed class or not, as a Butler student you have access to the HRC, since tuition includes HRC membership.

Take advantage of this. The HRC is beautiful, reasonably clean, and has a wide variety of programs including intramural sports, fitness classes like cycling or yoga, and personal trainers. There are massages available (for a fee), a pool with lazy river, hot tub, sauna, indoor track, free weights, student employment as a lifeguard etc… Best of all, it’s extremely close to the Apartment Village, where I’m living.

Also, I saw Blue II with his Bluemobile outside the HRC last week! He kindly posed for a photo.

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The Last First Day

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Olivia

My parents always took the first-day-of-school picture. I did not like this very much; thus I’m pouting or forcing a smile in most of these photos. Now I’m at the end of the road — a senior in college. Graduate school, if it is indeed in my future, should not come for yeras. This is my last first day of school.

Looking at my schedule yesterday, I realized my last first day will actually be rather difficult for someone a bit out of shape. My classes:

  • Strength and Conditioning (my last general requirement to be fulfilled — a gym class)
  • Jazz class
  • Shakespeare (the class with the largest textbook I’ve ever purchased for college — the complete annotated works)
  • Ballet technique
  • Modern class
  • Pas de Deux (or partnering)

This last day seems like it will be too busy for much nostalgia. Good luck to all new students entering college, all high school seniors beginning their last year, and all college seniors faced with the prospect of Real Life. See you on the flip side!

2057 pages of Elizabethan goodness

 

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Summer classes at Butler

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Olivia

The Butler campus is certainly busier during the Summer II session than during Summer I. I’m not sure why, but it looks like more happens. Summer I felt like life in a ghost town. The weather was nicer though, since it’s becoming hotter day by day — though still nothing like the humid Richmond weather!

The sky over the Butler Bowl during a beautiful summer day.

Summer I and Summer II are the names of Butler’s summer sessions. I’m here for part of Summer I and part of Summer II, since BSI runs on its own schedule. However, each summer session is six weeks long and offers different classes.

Fun fact: Classes during the summer don’t necessarily run for the full six weeks. I did not realize this at first. Classes that run only three of the six weeks might meet for several hours four or five days a week, while those that run the full summer session could meet only twice or three times a week. Does that sound like an easy schedule? Imagine doing a semester’s worth of reading and papers in four weeks. Yikes!

Summer classes are a great way to fulfill extra requirements if you have a busy schedule or are switching majors. Just look at the price tag first, because with housing and tuition, summer classes can add up!

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Choreography

Posted on March 20, 2011 by Olivia

I do not have a magic skill with choreography. I’m constantly amazed and inspired upon viewing my classmates’ choreographic work in class, but I just don’t have a natural gift with cranking out phrases. Who knows, maybe my classmates spend hours working on their movement in their kitchens as well. I’m taking a lunch break, but as soon as I’ve finished this post, it’s back to hopping around. I’m so close to finishing, too!

Dance performance BFA majors at Butler must take Choreography I and Choreography II. Choreography III is an elective course for those who chose to take it. Last semester’s Choreography I concentrated on producing and manipulating movement, with interesting results:

The project I will soon finish is for Choreography II; I am choreographing a solo to a short track of music–my second full work. (The first was Student Choreography.) I’m using the second section of Stravinsky’s “Three Pieces,” which starts at about 50 seconds in the video below.

YouTube Preview Image

And that’s how I’m ending my spring break. Better get back to work! [UPDATE: I'm done! I've been working on this project all week, and now it's finished! Yaaay!]

P.S. If you don’t know XKCD, you lead a sad existence.

P.P.S. For the record, I drew stick figure comics BEFORE I started reading XKCD.  Just want to put that out there.

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