University of New England: Emma Bouthillette

Thanksgiving break was AMAZING...I did absolutely nothing productive (except read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants for a class) and ate two turkey dinners!

But, Monday brought me back to reality.

Post Thanksgiving leaves professors with only three weeks to finish up the material they want to teach and synthesize the whole course. In other words...I have one quick paper, two term papers, a total of three tests and an art portfolio final. That doesn't include "finals" which thankfully will be take home for me. As you enter college, this is all your friends talk about toward the end of the semester. We try to trump each other with how much work we have to do in the least amount of time. For that reason, I know that I shouldn't be too stressed, because I have it easy.

However, when you sit down to your course syllabi, it gets overwhelming. Here is the key (not that I am an expert, because I tweak out every semester...but), you need to take one thing at a time. Decide what is priority and what can wait another day. I actually have one of my two term papers done because I finished it for my speech at UMaine. The quickie is due Thursday and I have one test on Thursday. So I'm focusing on that right now. Then I'll take on the second term paper. My professor is giving us time in class next Monday to work on the art final, so I'm not going to work on that too much this week.

I sound like I have it under control don't I?
(That's why I'm an English major...I can make anything sound good!)

Crunch time isn't a phenomenon for UNE...it happens at every college and university. You might even get it in high school. So no matter where you end up, keep in mind you can't do everything at once, so pace yourself. Don't procrastinate...too much (I'm the worst to be preaching that) and make "to do" lists. In the end, you'll get it all done and probably A-grade. Then you get to take a break from school and just have fun (or work).

Posted by Emma Bouthillette at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, since late September/early October, I have been researching the history of the Biddeford and Saco mills, the girls that worked there ca 1850 and the sensational fiction that was produced at the time. Why you ask?

Well, I as a minor in History here at UNE I decided to take Growing Up Female as one my 6 courses, and proposed this project for my term paper. Yes, the ominous term paper. You know you should be working on it a little bit every day so that come its due date, you won't need to cram, BUT...you procrastinate anyway!

My procrastination culminated this past Wednesday as I sat down at my computer for at least six hours to compose my first draft, as well as create a speech.

Oh, almost forgot to mention, somewhere between proposing my paper and researching it, I agreed with my professor to present it at the Women's Studies Conference this past weekend at UMaine in Orono!!!! Scary....I was going to have to present it in front of the class, but now I'm presenting my findings to a group of strangers!!!

Not to worry my friends, all went very well.

Here we are...postpresentation!

I presented my paper and was excited by the audience's reactions to some of what I had to say. Then Professor De Wolfe presented her paper, which branched nicely off of mine. And another student, Camille Smalley, presented to our audience what Saco did with all of the "bad girls." After we were done, we had a nice lunch on campus and were able to check out some other presentations that were just fascinating.

I was regreting my decision the night and the morning before I had to present, but now I am glad I did. It gave me an opportunity to practice public speaking, research a topic I was personally interested in and receive feed back from some major people in the Women Studies programs in Maine. Not to mention I learned a lot more about my classmates and the professors we traveled with than I would ever get in a classroom!

Posted by Emma Bouthillette at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Like music?

I love music!

This past weekend I enjoyed a musical event on campus and an off campus, local musical event.

Friday night was Southern Maine Open Mic Night. It is a free event on campus, currently held in the Hang. There were six performers including my favs Chad Haynes and Ben Kilcollins. It was a great mix of music and there was also free Starbucks (they graciously sponsor the event)! So, you could grab dinner from the Hang and chill out to listen to some great music, new stuff and covers. It is one of my favorite events and they have one almost every month with different performers.

Then, Sunday night, Union Church of Biddeford Pool had their annual Fall Cabaret! The evening was $15 and it included a wonderful turkey caserol dinner, desert, coffee and tea, and then almost two hours of jazz! It was quite the deal, and if you like jazz, well worth it too! (Union Church is a small denominational church in Biddeford Pool, less than five minutes away from campus, and the offer many events throughout the year, as well as service ecery Sunday morning at 9:30.)

Other than that, it has been raining since Sunday, I have a test, a first draft of a term paper and a presentation all on Thursday, a conference all day Saturday, and another paper due on Tuesday! Thank God next week is Thanksgiving and I get a five day weekend!!!

Posted by Emma Bouthillette at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Holy Cow!!! It is already November...

I only have 11 classes left to the semester!!!
(...and 70 days til my 21st birtday)

Yeah, I'm big on countdowns.

Another countdown...Christmas!

And they bring the shopping to you...
I walked into the Campus Center, headed to kickboxing, and there was a table of uber cool stuff! Thank God I had money on me. I bought two scarves, a hair chopstick and a little jewelry pouch. One of the scarves is for my mom (cause I'm a good kid like that) and one is for me!

The scarves are Handwoven Thai & Lao Silk..."Every piece of handwoven silk is a timeless, unique work of art from the hands of a rural Thai or Lao woman. Since it is artwork produced by a human, itforever carries an imprint of the character, thoughts, emotions, feelings, spirit and life of the weaver. Unlike machine made silk, which is "perfect," its imperfection is the heart of its beauty and the proof of its beauty and the proof of its human creator."

Oh...and the little jewelry purse...SO cute!

All the goodies were brought to campus by The Art of Peace...and here is their story.

Sally and Michael Clark fell in love with the culture and people of Southeast Asia over the course of several winters teaching English in Northern Thailand. During this period they developed an appreciation for the artistry and patience so evident in the beautiful products created in this region of the world, and thus began Asian Art of Peace. Their aim as a small enterprise is to buy from and support local cottage industries throughout the countryside of Southeast Asia. We feel that this direct connection to the people avoids worker exploitation and at the same time allows us to bring you beautifully handmade unique products at reasonable prices. Their hope is that the peaceful surroundings in which these products are made will touch the lives of those who purchase them.

There is usually an artist or vendor camped out in the lobby once a week or every other. It is really cool because the stuff isn't that expensive, usually unique, and can make great gifts. So for those of you who don't like to go shopping or can't find the time to get off campus, you can still check off your Christmas list without going far!
(Just be sure to keep in mind whatever budget you have to stick too!!! That tends to be a challenge in college.)

Posted by Emma Bouthillette at 8:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)