Hey readers and bloggers...I've finally come out of hibernation to say HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL! May 2010 be "10" times better than '09 (I know it's corny, but I made it up myself. So shush.), filled with recoveries, favor, and all other kinds of blessings.
So yes, clearly you're wondering about the title of this blog. Well everyone, I don't know if I told you this already but I'm Haitian. So, to rewind a bit, Haiti used to be a French colony known as Saint-Domingue. Translation: Haitian people were slaves to France. However, on January 1st, 1804, the native leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines defeated the French troops (led by a dude with a REALLY long name, so look it up on Wikipedia) at the Battle of Vertieres. Achieving emancipation and independence, Saint-Domingue was renamed as Haiti. Epic win.
^ See, even Spongebob knows. ^
So on New Years Day, after yelling HAPPY NEW YEARS at 12AM and partying into unconsciousness with everyone else in our time zone, we wake up and have squash soup. Back in the day, Haitians were sent to farm the squash, but never eat it. So kablam, now it's all ours. Epic Win. Again.
^ Me with my dad and grandma! ^
But besides the New Year's festivities, I haven't really done much over break. Winter break in college is so much longer than high school, so it definitely seems to drag more. I really want to just go back to school on Monday like my little brother! But oh, well. I'm glad to say that over break I've had time to read The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and Tricks by Ellen Hopkins - new books by my two favorite authors! I've also caught up on all the sleep I lost from August to December, so that's awesome in it's own way. Now I'm just ready for round 2 versus Rutgers and America's Best Dance Crew, Season 5! (Premiere airs on January 28th!!!!!)
So let's see, this semester, this semester. What have I learned?
1. Well, in terms of diversity, academics, and general freedom, there's no way to be really READY for Rutgers. But it's not impossible to do well (even though it was semi-impossible for me! 
)
2. Tillet is no longer the worst dining hall, because it was Brower the whole time - I just don't eat enough there to realize that. Sure, the food was semi-nice at orientation, but clearly the food was just specially made to not scare us away from RU.
3. Midknight Breakfast was cool, but they need to serve that stuff for breakfast EVERY day (with the exception of the pre-made omlets, because EW.)
4. People still put gum under desks. Great.
5. Girls are even crazier in college than in high school. Like, I TOLD Phyllis not to read 1984 and she totally went for it. Psycho. (Just kidding, Phyllis... 
)
6. Home-cooked meals beats dining hall food every time. But it's also what truly brings the Freshman 15. Surprise, surprise.
7. I've learned that I didn't learn anything in high school about Biology or writing a decent paper. Very nice. Thank you, Expository Writing and General Bio 101.
8. Don't sign up for early classes if you don't like waking up. Even if you wake up for the class, you'll sleep through it. Thank you, Death & Afterlife.
9. If you're in a headlock and you can't hear anything, you're probably in a sleeper hold. Thank you, Richard from House 26. :-)
10. Taking less credits and having more free time doesn't necessarily mean that you'll do well in the other classes. Just like choosing college in the first place, you need to decide for yourself that you're going to do well.
11. Weekend buses SUCK, and the REXL needs to come to the Quads. If you live on Livingston, you know I'm right!
And this semester? What do I want to do?
1. First of all, I definitely need to save my GPA. A lot of people said I did okay this semester, but I always say to myself, "But not good enough for UMDNJ's admissions team!" So I need to ante up, yap that fool, ante up, kidnap that fool. (Lol. I love that song.) Plus, I'm going to need to do better if I want to be an RA next year!
2. Make more friends in my classes. Going through a semester not knowing anyone in your class sucks when you want to study with someone or you need help with something. Thank God for Discovery Housing and Bio Lab.
3. Lose some weight! That's never been an issue for me before, but this whole all-you-can-eat-every-damn-day stuff is really bringing on the pounds. Skim milk, Special K cereal, water, salad, and more exercise, here I come.
4. Audition for RAPS Dance Troupe! I love my Verse|One fam, but I want to see if I can get on a team where its harder to get on and stay on.
5. Find a reason to love General Psychology! I registered over break so I can try the big 18 credits. So whether it's falling in love with someone in the class, or finding someone to make fun of in class, I want to stay and learn about how the mind works.
...and that's pretty much it, I suppose! RU'13 and RUPharm'15, let's do it big this semester! PS - HIP HOP DANCERS, hit me up so I can invite you to End-Of-The-Semester Session 2, either right before or right after Spring Break! 
PS - CONGRATULATIONS to students that have been admitted into RU! Feel free to ask me or any other current RU students questions about our school, because obviously we want your final decision to not be an impulsive one. Good luck! 
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