#maymester

[whumpfish]

Now that I've had my antidepressant and some food, as well as some time to think about my Vietnam and Civil War and World War courses....

I think that in addition to my pain and my disabilities in general, part of why I turned to whump and dead dove/extreme fiction more and more is a way to cope with the secondhand trauma of the study of brutality. It's a necessary trauma, and it's one that we volunteer to undergo when we decide on this life course, but that is ultimately what it is. And like any voluntary trauma, you don't know how rough it's going to be on you until that first rough patch hits.

I think some people become flag-wavers after studying military history because they can't cope with that secondhand exposure to brutality, and the only way they can make peace with their bruised psyche is to justify and glorify. I think military families go through the same secondhand trauma, but it's not voluntary in their case. They grab onto the flag faster and harder because they weren't warned, and the only control they have over that secondhand exposure and pain is control of their personal narrative.

Like any trauma, you can choose healthier ways of dealing with it, but this country actively teaches people flag-waving as the best way to deal with any and all trauma from about the age of 5. I think we should all reflect well on this, and the fact that how you approach these folks has an influence on whether and how readily they open their minds to those healthier coping strategies before you decide to open your pie-hole on matters concerning war.

[autopsytableromance]

Almost done with my last essay and then I have one test that I can’t take until tomorrow and then I’m done with this semester everybody clap or I’ll blow this place up

[thirteens-earring]

went summer mode TOO fast

[mingitheii]

so who's writing the shuri and riri fics for pride month? 🤔🤔🤔

im finishing my maymester June 12th so drop some requests if y'all want 👀👀

SOTD (Shuri of the Day)

[bedlamsbard]

130 words written today -- just feeling kind of sad and disconnected today, plus down to the wire in terms of grading. I'll get everything done, I'm just tired and depressed and having trouble concentrating on anything for longer than thirty seconds at a time. Also, dear gods, I need a vacation and I'm not going to get one, since as soon as grades are in Maymester starts, and I've got (online) Writing Center shifts. also I need to write this dissertation I've barely looked at since the beginning of April.

[moonstruckme]

Hi! I don’t want to sound dumb by sending this or make it seem like i’m invading your privacy by asking you this but I think I remember you saying that you studied abroad and I was just wondering how you did it? I’m graduating soon but I’ve been interested for so long and I know there’s a lot of opportunities I’m just not sure how to look into anything. Again I know this is something you might not feel comfortable answering which is totally fine and I also know this is so so random so I’m so sorry😭😭

No no worries sweetheart! I don't find it invasive at all

I go to a pretty big school, so I'm not sure if we have resources that others might not but I started by just googling my school's name + study abroad and it brought up a database on my school's website that helped me find programs that were open to either my major or all majors. Depending on how you're progressing in your degree, it may be really important for you to find classes at a university abroad that transfer back, and your school should have some record of that stuff too. If you can, I'd ask your advisor (or a study abroad advisor, if you have those!) because usually they'll have better tips from students who have been through that before.

I'm lucky in that I'm already on a scholarship that paid for a lot of my costs, but there are also a ton of scholarships you can apply to for studying abroad specifically (if you're a Pell grant student, the Gilman scholarship is run by the government and is for study abroad). Also, since you're graduating soon and may be worried about committing to a long time away from your home university, you may want to check out any maymesters/summer programs available to you! Lots of the time those are more school-guided too, so you could be with a group of peers and have sort of built-in travel buddies (from what I hear).

That's kind of a lot of information but also not very in-depth, so I'd be happy to talk about this more if you have more questions! It would have been so helpful to me to have someone telling me about study abroad stuff (I was kind of scrambling figuring out a lot last-minute) so don't hesitate to hop into my inbox or messages my love :)

[metalcatholic]

my phone is reminding me that a year ago I got a tattoo, went hiking in the great smokies, hung out with friends, and now I'm here in virtual maymester prison

[seasthedayingreece2023]

Howdy, howdy folks! My name is Ryan DeCoster, and I am a rising sophomore, studying exercise science. I am born and raised from Nashville, Tennessee. I love the outdoors, playing basketball, and even occasionally reading for fun. My love for sports and activity is what started my interest in Sports Medicine, particularly athletic training which I hope to pursue after undergrad! One thing I am looking forward to about our Maymester to Greece is the exposure to many different levels of care, stretching from hospitals to clinics to professional teams. This type of exposure is really exciting to me as I continue to learn more about all the potential careers in the health field. The one place I am most excited about seeing is the AEK FC facility. Soccer is one sport that I have played at some level for almost all my life, so I look forward to hearing about the types of treatments and preventative measures the club takes for their high-level athletes! I cannot wait for our trip to start in just a few short days!

[summer-at-peel]

It's been a busy week! Between finishing my Maymester course and getting settled in at Peel, I haven't had time to post. I've been working for about a week now, but future updates will definitely be more often than weekly.

My first day here, I did some product photography for Father's Day. These pictures are definitely my favorite from amongst those.

The big project that weekend, though, was trimming down about 120 wedding invitations on the Rotatrim for a customer order. I can't post a picture because they have private info, but it was really cool to get to work on something that is part of such a momentous life occasion. I also cut down some flyers, which were less exciting, but I can actually post. I could definitely tell I was developing a much better and quicker method for operating the Rotatrim by the end, and so I went back and cleaned up some of the first invites I cut.

In the past few days, I have also done work that has given me a better feel for how the gallery and store operate. It sounds kind of boring, but I worked on adding price labels to some of the products we got in stock, which involved locating the products on the invoices to find the sale price. The price the gallery pays to the artists was also listed, which really helped me understand the price margins that a store like Peel operates on. Specifically, those were products meant for wholesale, which means the gallery purchases them from the artists up-front and then makes money whenever a customer buys them. Many of the smaller things in the store are sold this way. For most original artworks, however, it is based on commission: both the artist and gallery only get paid once the work is purchased.

On that note, I put out some artwork for sale! Some we had shelf space for, but others I had to hang on the wall and move around other works to make room for.

The next day, I spent some time watching Lindsay do color correction on a client photo, learning about how to do more advanced editing in Photoshop and making suggestions for how we may get the effect we want. I learned about some Photoshop features I had completely overlooked before. The original photo was a scan from a canvas print with an incredibly pink hue, but we were able to process the photo enough to nearly fully restore the natural color. I think everyone who works at the gallery did at least a little bit of work on that project.

Later that day, I helped pick out which works by a local fabric artist to stock. These are going to be sold on commission, so she dropped them off with us and we will let her know when they sell so she can be paid.

Also, I learned how to run the register. The main thing thing they made sure to emphasize was that, if the work or product being sold was not already listed in the point-of-sale system, I should write a note of what the item is that makes it clear what sold and take a picture if necessary. This is especially important with original artworks and prints sold on commission, as the artists has not yet been paid, and we must know who we own money to. As I get more familiar with the works in the gallery and the artists we work with, I expect to get better at recognizing the art that is being sold.

Finally, this morning, I helped set up for a book binding workshop by a local artist. I also helped demonstrate parts of the process I knew when people asked questions.

And now, as everyone is settled in and working on their books, I am writing this post! This has been a phenomenal week, and I am very much looking forward to the rest of the summer!

[autopsytableromance]

Ok. I didn’t shower but I can do that tomorrow. The secret is my hotgirl playlist.

I have to shower and get my clothes off the ground and also watch so many videos so I can start writing my essay and I have to all of this without nicotine. Please pray for me.

[orangeivyfairy]

Earlier this year, I took a maymester course on Frank Ocean & it literally saved my life. Our final was to create a body of art inspired by Mr. Ocean himself. My group made our final project in 3 days, so it’s rough, but I’m proud of the work we put into it. This project made it so I could see the end of 2022, & I could never be grateful enough for that. Maybe one day I’ll revisit & fix our mistakes, maybe not. Either way, here is Backroads on Memory Lane, & I hope you enjoy :)

[chalicechipper]

MAYMESTER OVERRRR I AM FREEEEEEEEEE

[greekingout2024]

Today marked our first day in Greece! After a long plane ride, we have begun our Maymester in Athens. In Greece, especially Athens, walking, biking, and motorcycles are the major forms of transportation. Due to the cities infrastructure and compactness, it makes these methods of transportation the most convenient. The housing and surrounding buildings line the streets for blocks upon blocks, so anything one may need is within a mile distance. In comparison to Columbia, the walkability is much more prominent. In Columbia, grocery stores or other important buildings may be miles away, requiring travel by car. In Greece, the streets are also well lit, defined, and smooth allowing for safe usage. This walkability and bikability plays a major role in Greece's public health. Residents are accustomed to regular exercise, and in turn experience various health benefits both physically and mentally we may not experience in Columbia due to these differences. Despite being day one of twenty one, the differences between Greece and the United States, especially when considering walkability and transportation, are very much apparent.

William Barnes

[sun-lit-goth]

Ah…i have a maymester

[akuasucc]

this will be the first and last time im taking a maymester class cus the amount of work i have to do..

[kuramirocket]

Mexican Enginner: Erika Antunez

Erika and her mom at CU Boulder

“My parents worked so hard to give my sister and I a better life,” said Antunez. “I saw my parents struggle, and my struggle is really nothing compared to what they had to go through. Now, we're all doing the hard stuff, and we got the grit to do it.” 

Numbers at first sight

Antunez’s parents have owned a food truck business in the Denver metro area for 22 years. Her love for math and sciences sparked in the second grade as she supported their family business across different baseball parks. 

“I always joke around saying I’ve been working since being in the womb. I was their weekly cashier. I had no calculator. I didn't write anything down, and all the orders and prices were in my head,” said Antunez.  

Those early experiences with mental math set her on the path to the University of Colorado Boulder Engineering’s Integrated Design Engineering program with an emphasis in electrical engineering and a minor in business. 

“During my freshman year projects, I was pretty much the electrical person of my group and became really interested in electrical. When I realized engineering management & entrepreneurship could be a concentration, I knew that was going to be a great fit.”

The COVID-19 pandemic then hit. Going remote was difficult as for most students, but she was relentless in persevering and attended office hours. 

“As a Hispanic, I don't see a lot of people like me in engineering. That's fine because I'm telling people, ‘don't let this be a fear and just keep going’. It’s really empowering,” she said. “There’s also some classes where I was the only girl in that class, but it was me and the professor that were the only women in my class. I'm here to do me.” 

Whether it’s her BOLD scholarship group or the CU Boulder’s chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), where she is now the vice president, Antunez thrives in an environment where her amiable spirit shines through. 

Risk it all. Risk it now.

This past summer, Erika studied abroad in Croatia as part of an international business & management global seminar. It’s only appropriate that immediately after her Maymester abroad, she embarked on a 10-week internship at Deloitte.

“On my team, I worked on identity access management, which is basically cybersecurity kind of work with authentication for technology applications and onboarding,” she said. “I was literally doing the mixture of both business and engineering blending the best of both worlds and doing a lot of product development.”

Antunez’s strong internship performance helped her secure a full-time infrastructure apprentice position for Deloitte’s technology global group.

As for the future, “I'm very business-oriented, so eventually I’d like to start my own business,” said Antunez. “My 20s is the time to risk it all and might as well risk it now and see what I can do for myself.”

“My parents did something honestly right, and their hard work paid off. It all was worth it, " said Antunez. 

Lightning Round Q&A with Erika

What is your favorite engineering class you've taken?

I want to say Electronic Design Lab. It was a semester-long class where we built a robot and it was so satisfying to see the end product where you're just like - it works! I built the whole motor system and built it to turn.

What fascinates you about electrical engineering? 

There's something so satisfying about putting three lines of code and seeing a light turn on.

What is your favorite general education class? 

Hip hop through the dance department. I can do the wave now! 

"At the end of the day, you have to be mindful and humble. I have the grit to keep going.”

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