Don’t Call It A Comeback!

Hi everyone, it’s Jalen!

You might be wondering what happened to my posts these last few months. And to answer that, I decided to take a break from being a blogger this winter term. I chose some really challenging classes and I had to take some things off of plate to make sure I would be able to do the best I could. Blogging was one of them. Honestly, I feel I made the best decision in doing so.

But I’m even happier that I’m back for the final term of my freshman year!!!!!! Even though I am not spending my first spring term on campus, I am still having so much fun working and learning from home. But we’ll get more into that in the next blog post.

For this one, I wanted to just summarize how my winter term was:

Like I said, winter term for me was very busy. I was off campus for five weekends of the ten weeks that we’re in school. For it being my second term of college, I was booked and busy. That mainly consisted of Mock Trial tournaments (check out the website and you might see my name next to a few awards!!) but, actually, the last mock trial tournament for a seniors happened in the ninth week of the term.

It was a very bitter sweet experience—obviously for them, but for me as well. I had spend the past few months getting to know and enjoy these people. They were truly talented, caring role models that I have learned so much from. I don’t think I could have asked for a better senior group to teach me the ropes for my first year ever doing this activity.

I also went to a rather informative conference. It was in Michigan, and there were a plethora of presentations held there, which mainly talked about various identities, public policies that affect them, but the speakers I went to see mainly talked about what it means to be a student leader that creates a safe environment for everyone on a college campus. Oh, there was also an open mike where people performed poems, songs, and the like. Overall, it was a really great time, and if you would like to know anymore information about it, definitely feel free to reach out to me on my school email: causeyj@carleton.edu.

Beyond that, I also had the opportunity to celebrate my first Mid-Winter Ball at Carleton. To make a long explanation short, and to keep some surprises for those attending, Mid-Winter Ball is a great party that happens during the midterm break. Everyone from every class comes and dances until the night ends. Unfortunately for me, though, I had a paper due the next day, so the night ended at nine for me.

And as for my classes, I took three really exciting classes that really centered on Black history. I learned about Black philosophy, the struggle for Black Studies on campuses across the nation, and how many African writers portray Africans people and culture through the years. They were very eye-opening, and really reminded me why I decided to go to college.

Yes, of course I wanted to be able to survive in this world that puts an increasing amount of pressure on the need to have a degree in order to make a livable wage. But I also just wanted to learn without having to worry about anything else. Learning within itself is such a fun and interesting activity for me, and I am truly happy to have this opportunity.

That’s enough from me this week. But I’ll be back next week to start talking about what Carleton Online feels and looks like. Thank you all so much for reading this, and I’ll see you all next week!

Jalen

Jalen is a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed freshman with the intention of becoming a psychology major. The first fun fact he wants you to know for this term is one of the most emotional shows he has ever watched is “Violent Evergarden” on Netflix. It’s a show about a girl who doesn’t understand emotions, and goes on this epic journey to learn about them, changing herself and those around her in the process. The end, especially, is a real tearjerker! Meet the other bloggers!