With The Sunrise At My Back @nredfield1-blog - Tumblr Blog

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Hey guys, this is just a reminder that I have switched blogs, but I am still blogging, so follow me at this link if you want to keep up to date.

A year ago, the journey of the rest of my life began with a graduation and a sunrise. This post marks the completion of the first part of that journey. I find myself a year later only a few steps into the day and yet miles from where I was.

It's been over a week since I left the UD campus, and now I'm back again in San Antonio for three months of summer. But before I declare my freshman year and this blog complete I have one final experience to share: leaving.

After eight nearly continuous months of living on campus, leaving for the year was so much more emotional than I expected it to be. It hadn't really hit me how close I feel to the people I've met at the school until I had to say goodbye to them (either for summer or graduation). So, it was hard. I had friends to help, though, both with packing and feeling, and I learned something from the process, something that relates to this entire blogging project. From all the things I've done and shared through this blog it's the last and most important thing I have to share with you of this year:

I realized, leaving campus, that UD has become a home to me. And that, friends, is the truest and greatest experience I can share.

Now for the formalities:

Though the intent of this blog has been to chronicle my first year only, I am not done blogging for the university. I will be continuing to blog, but at a different location. This blog will remain complete as it is and I will be posting about my continuing adventures at UD on this blog (followers, if you'd like to remain in the loop, please follow me there). That means With the Sunrise at my Back will always be here for future prospective students to see what my freshman experience at UD was like.

With that said, I hereby declare this blog complete.

So, here it is for you: my freshman year as chronicled by the radiant experiences captured within these words, videos, and pictures. Explore, and maybe you'll discover something about what the University of Delaware could be for you. Maybe you'll discover something about me in the process.

Whatever you do, always stand with the morning at your back, and never let the sunrise chase you down.

#University of Delaware #sunrise #sunset #reflection

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I woke up with boxes by my bed and this song in my head.

#University of Delaware #reflection #goodbye

That's it.

My freshman year is finished.

#University of Delaware #finals #reflection

Summer

As I said before, these last few posts of my freshman year are leading up to one thing: summer.

It's drawing closer and closer, and yet it seems like there is still so much to do before I can even think about being home: I have to complete my remaining finals, I have to pack, I have to get my stuff into my storage locker, I have to finalize details on a summer job, prepare a monologue to audition at SeaWorld when I get back, and I have to spend all the time I can with the people I love here before we all spend three months away from each other.

The point is, I don't know what flying home is going to be like because I haven't even thought about it yet. Until then, I'll have a few more musings before the year is complete. Once everything's done, though, I'm going to read through everything I've posted since the beginning and reflect on what this year has really been like for me, and then I'll probably write my final post of the year when I'm home on the 25th.

So, yeah. We're almost there, guys.

#University of Delaware #reflections #finals #summer

Officially Going to London

So, I learned a few weeks ago that I have been accepted to the Winter 2012 London study abroad program!!!

Sorry I'm a little late on the update here. I found out two other people in HTAC will also be going (two of the BEST people ever!) so I am so excited. I'm already starting to make plans for the trip: a friend who was in London last winter wants to come back while we're there, one of the other HTACers was talking to me about going to Paris one of the weekends, and I think I'll be flying up early to see a great old friend in France and another in Italy!

But the most immediate impact of the news is on this summer. I'll definitely need a job to make money for the trip, so I started thinking about summer a lot more when I heard the news. And that is exactly what these last few posts of the year are leading up to: summer.

More on that later. For now, I'M GOING TO LONDON BABY!

#University of Delaware #Winter 2012 #London #theatre

This semester's finals study music is brought to you by Mean Lady, a local duo featuring a senior member of the Rubber Chickens from this year. Delectable.

#University of Delaware #finals #Mean Lady

Remember:

Dealing with the financial aid office (of any college) is tedious, annoying, and frustrating. Especially this close to the end of the semester. But it's worth it.

Or at least that's what you have to keep telling yourself, hoping it will be true eventually.

#University of Delaware #financial aid

The End is Near

It's finally gotten to the point in the semester where I'm counting time in how many more donuts I can buy from Dunkin with my meal plan.

Yeah, it's nearly the end of the semester. Today is the last day of classes, this week finals start, and in seven days and twelve hours from the moment I am writing this, I will be home in San Antonio for another summer.

And I've certainly got enough to keep me busy. Much more than last semester. Mostly, it's readings and notes I have to catch up on, so I'm thankful that two of my finals are near the end of the testing period.

This end is much different than last semester. This end means there are end-of-the-year formal banquets all over the place! Last night was Riot Act's, tonight is HTAC's. It also means goodbye to all the seniors I've met this year. I don't know where in life I'll see them again, if at all. Hopefully, back at the university visiting at some point in the next few years.

On top of all the work and formalities that come with the end of the semester, I have to pack, too! I'm storing much of my stuff here over the summer, so I've been asking around about where I can acquire some boxes. I've heard that Comcast gives some out around campus in exchange for your e-mail, which is nice. It's also been suggested that I should just ask the stores around the place. I may end up having to do both!

So, that's the end of the semester. I'm looking forward to going home again, but first I have to make the most of these seven days with the marvelous friends I've made before I fly back to my home of rolling hills, short trees, and beautiful sunsets.

Bring. It. On.

#University of Delaware #summer #meal plan #year end #semester end #packing

Of course the day my friend from San Antonio comes to visit also happens to be the day that Russell Dining hall decides to serve a Texas-themed meal.

I've had my two worlds of friends collide this weekend. I've gotten to show someone from home the things I've done at the school. I've gotten to show him the last Riot Act show, a REP show, and the last trip for my gardening class (to the professors own garden!).

It's been a blast dragging him around campus. It's also given me a chance to reflect on the world I've built around me here at Delaware in mere months. It's given me a chance, right as I am about to return to my first home, to realize that I am proud of my life here.

Two more days of classes, a paper, and three tests before I can tell everyone else at home about what this year has meant to me.

#University of Delaware #San Antonio #friend #dining halls #Russell

Even at the end of the semester, it seems that every time I walk down a familiar path on campus there's a new plant blooming I didn't notice the day before.

#University of Delaware #Spring

Friday is my last Riot Act show of the year.

It's strange to think that only months ago I had no idea this troupe would be such a big part of my life. To commemorate the end of my first year as a Riot Actor, these are the posters from all of the shows I have been a part of this year. Think of them as trinkets of unforeseen memories, tokens of how quickly life can change, and reminders to never forget to improvise with the flow of things. It's certainly something I've learned.

#University of Delaware #improv #theatre #Riot Act #shows

O Beautiful

Two nights ago I watched a play called O Beautiful. It's a totally new play by Theresa Rebeck, who wrote it specifically for the REP actors as a resident playwright. The project has spanned this entire academic year, with the actors working with Rebeck to create together a work she couldn't have done alone. The result was a massive and fantastic play performed by an integration of the REP, the PTTP, and some undergraduate actors.

But before that process even started, Rebeck had to find the germ of an idea that could grow into a play for at least twenty-one actors - which, for modern plays, is a lot. What idea was that? Well, in short: us. Check out the video for it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuzMGEtdFR8

"[It] is a cry for compassion and reasonable debate in an era where both seem to be very absent."

It is distinctly the climax of the season. It was also the last REP performance I'll see this year. It was a good one to end on.

#O Beautiful #REP #University of Delaware #theatre #shows

Cinco De Mayo

It's Cinco De Mayo, the 5th of May, a holiday celebrated wildly in San Antonio. And as I'm thinking about this day that I imagine will pass mostly uncelebrated here in Delaware, I find myself looking forward to what this first summer of college will have in store for me.

I'm going to be home this summer, and I've been casually looking for summer work for over a month now. By work I mean, hopefully, a play to act in and a part-time job. It looks like there will be some acting opportunity at a community college more or less in my area, but things aren't certain yet. And a couple job opportunities haven't come through, but hopefully something will find its way into my lap. All there is to do is to keep looking forward as the end of the semester approaches. I certainly won't be doing anything with the university this summer, but maybe in the future. It's probably the last summer I'll just be at home, too.

We're in the limbo between spring and summer, freshman and sophomore, student and professional, and, for those about to graduate, high school and college. Life is dense with "maybe"s, "probably"s, and "we'll see"s right now. And, appropriately, all we can do, for now, is wait.

#University of Delaware #Cinco De Mayo #summer work

Happy May

It's now May, the last month of the semester and my freshman year. It also means that after today an entire new freshman class will have been decided for universities all across the country. I hope you got into a place that will help you grow and from where you will find a sense of fulfillment.

The purpose of this blog will continue to be, among other things, to make the University of Delaware life a little more transparent to prospective Delaware students, now rising seniors.

As the semester wraps up, I'm sure I'll have plenty to share, so keep checking in. There will be a lot going on like the last Riot Act show, finalizing my summer plans, and, of course, going home. Say tuned.

#University of Delaware #college choice #summer plans

Major Angst Revisited

Registration for next semester is in full swing. I myself registered last Thursday. Seeing that registration was coming up, a few weeks ago I started to think again more seriously about what I wanted to major in. After deciding not to do Chemistry very early last semester, I chose to declare myself as undecided. As I'm sure you remember, the uncertainty weighed on me. I had to keep reminding myself to focus on what was directly in front of me instead of trying to see where I was heading after graduation, or at least keep a balance between the two.

Well, as this semester went on I became more and more comfortable with the uncertainty, and throughout the semester I was able to answer the "What's your major?" question with more and more confidence. At first, I just answered with:

"Well I'm undecided, but I'm taking some classes this semester to explore my options."

Then it became:

"Undecided, but I'm taking some exploratory classes and am really liking my physical anthropology class. I'm going to look into it more."

Eventually that turned into:

"Undecided. I'm thinking about Anthropology right now, but we'll see if it lasts."

Well, when it finally came time for me to meet with my advisor for registration last week, I had let the thought percolate enough to talk to her about it. We chatted, I explained why I was seriously considering it, and I left with a decision.

I have officially changed my major to Anthropology.

There weren't any songs ringing in my head this time, nor were there any other signs that I had made the "right" choice. In fact, there was very little ceremony about the whole thing. All I know for sure is that it's something I'm interested in - the study of humanity - and that, as far as I can tell, I will continue to be interested in. Now I can look clearly into the next three years with a more precise idea of what they will look like. Beyond that, I don't know. But that's alright. Ask me again in three years, and maybe I'll have an answer. Until then, I'll be enjoying the ride as a student of Anthropology.

#University of Delaware #major choice #Anthropology #student life #academics

Easter Weekend

I had Easter Lunch today with a different kind of family than I normally do. For the past seven years, I've spent Easter Weekend with my parents and sister at an annual Quaker meeting in Texas, but I spent this weekend on campus. I had lunch with some other out of state friends who stayed and as I ate my peanut-butter and jelly sandwich we shared stories of the easter memories each of us cherished.

It's been a quiet day, and a relaxing one. I don't particularly have any insight to offer right now, but the serenity has been soothing. It really does feel like it's the start of the rest of the semester now.

#University of Delaware #easter #dorm life

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