The Finals Countdown

     As promised, here are some pictures of my friend's completed book-making project. This is certainly a time for projects! With finals looming, students are scrambling to complete final projects and papers and cram for exams.

The goal of the project was to "push the
boundaries of what a book is."

     Yes, finals are always tough time for students, requiring us to juggle multiple grade-defining projects at the same time. And—oh, yeah—life, too.

If you're feeling like this, read on!

 Here are a few tips for a successful finals week:

1. Be honest and upfront! Be honest with yourself about how much time everything on your plate is going to take. Let people like your roommate know in advance that you're going to need to stay up late or need extra space to finish anything from term papers to final paintings. And, if you're down to the wire, and you're not going to be able to get something in on time, let you're professors know as early as possible. They are often more understanding than you think, but they usually prefer to grant extensions, rather than feeling forced to accept late work.

2. Be healthy! If you pull an all-nighter, all the time spent cramming for your test might not be worth it because you will not be able to retain or recall crucial information during an actual exam. Carving out time for the gym, drinking enough water, and eating healthy will also help keep you on an even keel. (Did you know that, when you're even slightly dehydrated, it makes you feel tired and can cause headaches?)

3. Be happy! Finals suck, but they mean that the end of the year and summer are just days away!

Little 500 Week

     Little 500 week at IU is known by students all over Indiana. In the days leading up to the infamous bike race, students from across the state come to visit friends. This week has a reputation for being a week of insanity and drinking, but that's definitely not all there is to it!

Collinsfest

     The weekend before the actual race weekend is when my living-learning center holds a traditional event appropriately called Collinsfest. On this day, all of the councils and groups that put on programming throughout the year come together to put on what is essentially a giant party for all Collins residents. Although this year's Collinsfest started out ominously with lots of rain, the weather soon cleared and residents resumed their fun!

Afternoons at Dunn Meadow

     Activities were taking place all week at Dunn Meadow. If the nearby fraternities weren't blasting music, music was blasting in the meadow, itself! On Monday people representing the IU Outdoor Pool held activities and passed out free day passes to the pool, along with popsicle sticks. Meanwhile, students walked their dogs, played ball, studied, and biked through the meadow.

Froshfest and Gnomes on Bikes

     Events were held throughout the week in the Collins courtyard. On one of these nights, the Collins community organized a tricycle race around this space, Gnomes on Bikes. After that followed a concert of freshman musicians from around Collins.

One of the Gnomes on Bikes teams.

Twinrocker

     Twinrocker is the largest handmade paper factory in the United States. And, last Saturday, thanks to my Living-Learning Community, I got to attend a paper-making workshop there! Collins, like the other LLCs on campus, regularly offers trips and workshops like this. Though some are only for Collins residents, like this paper-making workshop, many are open to the public. For example, tomorrow night we're having an amazing guest speaker come to give a presentation, Scientists are the New Rock Stars, in our coffeehouse from 7-9. Feel free to stop by! (Here's more info: http://tinyurl.com/69scq2f)

A quick demonstration before we get to work!

Making one of the first sheets.

     We left for Twinrocker, which is about two hours from Bloomington at 7:30 a.m., and we didn't get back until about 6:15 p.m. that night. This trip was definitely worth the early morning, though! At the event, participants heard a brief presentation on the history of paper and paper-making. We watched a demonstration on how the pulp is made and on rolling out a few pieces of paper, and then we got to work for the rest of the day! All the paper we made will be shipped to us, and we will be completing a book-making workshop with it soon!

Lunch at the cafe next door.

And, back to work!

Oh, we also got to make these little
sheets of paper to decorate!

And, one last thing to mention:
Paper pulp feels real weird!