Life in the fast lane: Mak Levin's approach to surviving your freshman year

Mak Levin was used to living in the hustle and bustle of New York City. Raised in the city that never sleeps, he found himself accustomed to living life quickly. But he realized in less than a New York minute that college was completely different from the concrete jungle he was used to.

Until he arrived at Roger Williams University (RWU), Makara “Mak” Levin, a current sophomore, had always looked at the glass as being half empty. Growing up in NYC, he’d never slowed down enough to think of it any other way.

Levin realized immediately that he didn’t want to carry on that way in college. “I was used to living life fast, and RWU gave me the opportunity to slow things down, take my time, and relax.

“I didn’t used to complete things I’d started, or not give my all,” Levin said. “When I hit high school, I realized I was just hurting myself. I didn’t want the same thing to happen in college. I wanted to try new things.”

A graduate of Winston Preparatory School, Levin was required to put in effort and finish things. He was also used to dealing with rigorous coursework, the result of mandatory classes at New York University (NYU). “I came in with a semester’s worth of credits from the classes I took [at NYU]. I thought it’d help make my freshman classes a bit easier.”

Despite his past experience with college courses, Levin found himself a bit overwhelmed by his first semester studies. “When it came time to pick [classes] for my freshman year, I didn’t really have a say – my advisor just signed me up for the five classes I’d need. I thought I dropped one of the courses, but it didn’t actually drop, so when I took another course in its place, I wound up with six classes instead of the typical five.

“I wasn’t sure if I should keep the six, so I talked to my parents, and they said to stick with it,” said Levin. “Since I was trying new things, I figured I’d try the sixth class, too.”

However, it soon became apparent that six classes was a lot to manage, especially for a freshman. Along with the course load, newfound freedom was a major factor. “I’d party a lot…almost every night,” he said. “My grades were impacted as a result of all the work and freedom I had.

“But my biggest regret is that sixth class. If I could redo freshman year, I’d probably take only four classes so I could ease into learning how to deal with college life and work, since it was overwhelming my first semester,” said Levin.

In response to his stressful first semester, Levin went into his second semester looking to amend things. He began with five classes, but later dropped one, bringing his class total to four. “It was much easier to manage, and the credit from NYU helped me stay on track [with school credits],” Levin said. “I did drop my Lit Phil class, but only because it was way too much for an 8 a.m. class. I was way too tired to listen, and the professor gave pop quizzes nearly every class.”

Levin says the less-intense pace of the second semester gave him a chance to see what else he could occupy his time with. Levin, who was used to playing a variety of sports, such as hockey, lacrosse, cross country, and rugby, had abandoned athletics when he got to college with the intent of finding better things. He sought out extra-curricular activities, such as CEN and ICC. As he began participating in these organizations, he discovered that they piqued his interest, and he continued participating into his sophomore year. “I’m now a representative for the sophomore ICC class, and I’m doing track this year as well. It’s my first time on the track team, but I like it a lot. Right now I run the mile, but I’m trying out long and high jump,” said Levin.

However, there is one more thing that Levin wishes he were doing.

“I used to skateboard a lot [back in NYC]…it’s something I really enjoy. When I got to RWU, I found I could continue to do it,” Levin said.

Levin found skateboarding relaxing, and he skated all through his freshman year. But tragedy struck in the days before he began sophomore year. “I was skating in the city, and a bus ran over my board. I haven’t replaced it yet, and it’s hard for me. If my friends knew I haven’t been skateboarding lately, they’d kill me!” Levin said.

Overall, Levin says he was satisfied with his first year. “The first month of school was especially great, since I was living independently on my own. My roommate was Darwin Almonte, and we got along well right away. I think my freshman year experience overall was positive, since I made it that way. The biggest challenge, meeting new people, also becomes one of the most rewarding ones because everyone is in the same situation: living alone, away from home, and it kind of forces people to interact with each other. I was lucky to make a lot of friends quickly, which really enhanced my experience."

Though Levin reflects happily on his freshman year, he acknowledges that college is hard, but it doesn’t have to be.

“If you’re willing to get out there and try new things, you’ll have fun," he said. "You really should listen to your OAs and RAs and get involved! College really is what you make it. Go to events and do things you normally wouldn’t, and you’ll be thankful you did.”

A is for Amanda

Let’s begin with my pet peeves, so I can get them out of the way. My pet peeves include wearing socks with sandals, when people type things directly in my browser (WHY is this necessary?! Just use Google! Gah!), improper grammar usage, and when the sun comes out after it’s been snowing or raining all day. It makes me mad; I don’t know why. I immensely dislike the color orange and the sound of sandpaper or nail filing. Oh, and people who lie. Now that that’s done…

I’m extremely close with my grandparents; they’re honestly my favorite people on this planet. I’m obsessed with penguins. Ask anyone I know, and they’ll tell you I have a problem. I can’t help it; I have the innate ability to find them. If they’re in a store, I’ll find them. This is the result of a fall I took at Santa’s Village at age 3 where the first thing I saw when I came to was a penguin trash barrel, which made me laugh. I kid you not.

I’m a hardcore grammar nazi, and I love marking up pages with red ink. I like to think of myself as having an expansive vocabulary. I said my first word at 6 months, and as my family likes to say, I haven’t shut up since. I was reading chapter books at age 3 and finished Jurassic Park [the novel by Michael Crichton] by the end of 3^rd grade. I was once told by my favorite art teacher that I have “a touch of OCD,” and I completely agree. I like [certain] things just so, and no other way will do (see the pet peeve about browsers). My best friend is hysterical and knows me almost too well. We like to think we can read each others’ minds. I’m considered the fourth daughter in their household, and she’s the third in mine. My senior year of high school was insanely busy, and I reveled in it. I love always having things to do. Even today, I feel guilty when I sit around and do nothing, especially when I know there are things I need to get done. Despite a fun senior year, junior year was the best year of my life. I had an amazing group of friends (3 great guy friends, my bff, and another good friend of mine), and we had way too much fun. During junior year, I got stuck climbing through a window to get into my best friend’s house (we were locked out!), met Chuck Norris with Mike Huckabee as well as other candidates, and had my best season of lacrosse to date. Speaking of lacrosse, it is because of this sport that I have no feeling in any of my fingers. (Can you say “frostbite?”)

I’m a history nerd/buff. I took AP European History my senior year of high school, and my only regret was that I didn’t take it earlier. The ancient Egyptians, the Tudors, and the Romanovs fascinate me. (Did you know the Romanov princesses sewed diamonds into their dresses in order to smuggle them when they were being held prisoner?) Despite this, my absolute favorite time period is the American Revolution. I cannot get enough. I want to live in a little colonial house in a historic little town one day. I love driving. One of my favorite things to drive is my truck, which I named Collosus, a white Ford 4-door, F-150 pickup with an 8 foot bed. It has a skull on the ball hitch whose eyes light up red when I brake, and it makes me feel so bad ass when I drive it. (I frequently drive this truck in heels, mind you.) I drove it all during senior year and it became a legend, as it was the biggest vehicle in the parking lot.

I love to eat. It’s ridiculous. I can out eat my boyfriend and do so frequently. I can’t help it; I’m always hungry. I maintain that I am a music junkie, and have 3 favorite artists that I refer to as “the tri-fecta:” Aerosmith, Lady Gaga, and Eminem.

I spent two years of my life working at a Sears Essentials store that I lovingly refer to as “Satan’s Essentials” (Satan’s for short) where I worked as a cashier and got paid way less than I should have for all the stuff I dealt with. I found out two weeks ago that the store was closing and that I was being laid off, and I found out via Facebook.

People tell me I have the best stories – and they’re all true. I’m regarded as the top storyteller among my friends, both from high school and college. I’m also pretty good at impersonations, if I do say so myself. If you’re interested, ask me about my exploding goldfish.

Net Newsers, Traditionalists, and Print fans, oh my!

I think it is important for me to take this time to say that I love print media. So much.

On that note, I am one of a limited number of people who are caught between the internet age of instant gratification and the old-fashioned love of ink rubbing off on your hands as you turn the page. I am clinging to the last shreds of print journalism. I am obsessed with tangible news. The print media ship is sinking, and I am a member of the orchestra, playing until the only music I make is that of gurgling bubbles.

Because of this, one would think I am a traditionalist, or someone who prefers to get their news from a newspaper stand. This isn't necessarily true.

Like the rest of my generation, I am constantly "on" - always connected to some sort of media. Though I do not have a Blackberry or internet capability on my cell phone, I have friends who do, and I have text messaging. You do the math. (In fact, I found out about Michael Jackson's death via text message from my best friend.)

I grew up reading the newspaper. Perhaps this is why I am so reluctant to give up print journalism. Regardless, that's not to say that I don't Google like it's my job or read the live newsfeed my computer provides me with each time I minimize my windows, because I do. I find myself increasingly more inclined to read stories online rather than buy a newspaper, but this is partially due to the fact that I am a college student and, therefore, broke. I think that I am a bit of a floater - I'll read news online, sure; it's faster and more convenient, but the journalist in me loathes the idea of not having something to touch, feel, smell. My biggest fear is that the written word will be written out completely. I don't want to see that day come, but I feel as though it is inevitable. As the world morphs, media must as well, and print journalism is no exception. For now, though, I'll take my e-news with a side of print, thank you very much.

Love, love, Love, I want your love...without words

They say love is blind, but as we learned in class on Tuesday, it can also be silent.

We covered a variety of material in mass media Tuesday, but the one that I liked best was the mini movie "Love without Talking." At first, I was surprised that we were watching it in mass media - to be honest, I kind of expected the class to be more of a reading and writing class (I'm definitely not complaining, though!)

Not only was the movie super cute, it was also informative as well. It displayed a lot of types of communication, something which has always interested me. Of course, a major part of the movie was nonverbal communication, such as body language, but symbols/symbolism was also utilized as well. The other thing that really intrigued me in class was the pipe painting by Magritte that reads "this is not a pipe." At first glance, I thought it was mildly humorous, and after we discussed it in class, it provided me with further insight about how things are not things per se unless we make them so. We, as humans, create meaning in the world around us; meaning is not automatically created. This reminded me of the clip we watched, "Waking Life," when the woman in the video talks about how people relate things (emotions, physical objects) to previous experiences. What I find so amazing is that no two people will ever relate the same things in exactly the same way. It's interesting to me to glimpse into how people view and perceive things, since I perceive things in a different way from them. I'm excited to see what else we cover!