Just a couple days ago, I ended my private voice lesson experience with my last vocal jury of my entire college career! In a previous post, I had explained my experience being part of an acapella group since my freshman year at Bryn Mawr but I have also been a voice student throughout my time in college, and it’s been valuable.

My journey with voice lessons goes back to my freshman year of high school, when I wanted to learn something different from piano, which I had been subjected to learn since I was little. I had always been more interested in singing and my main access to singing-related activities was through church or school choirs. Voice lessons allowed me to go further in depth with my understanding of vocal technique and I gained an appreciation for the blend of technicality and imaginative creativity that goes into singing. Coming into college, I knew I wanted to continue my vocal education alongside my other academic studies.

To be a voice student, the resources I needed were at the music department at Haverford. I received 10 lessons per semester with the options of being a part of Chorale, Chamber Singers or becoming a Music major or minor to receive subsidies for lessons. Since I’m double majoring with a minor and my time outside of classes had already been taken up by acapella and other clubs, it made sense for me to do Chorale out of all the subsidy-offering options since it is only once a week for two hours.

Chorale has always been a laid back experience for me, but that isn’t to say the music is elementary. As a large choir featuring Bi-Co students and local community members, our size has allowed us to perform grander pieces such as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, otherwise known as “Ode to Joy”. Chorale also gives voice students opportunities to audition for solo parts in Chorale pieces. The highlights of my time in Chorale over the four years include talking to community members, the first rehearsal with the orchestra, and performance day. While the last couple rehearsals of the semester are always time consuming, it’s so satisfying to finally hear all the music being put together after a long semester’s worth of work.

But back to my voice lessons! My experience with voice lessons has been a ride, especially because I had them virtually for a period of time during the beginning of the pandemic. Each semester, I learn 3-4 songs while focusing the majority of my time on the two songs I want to present during my vocal jury at the end of the semester. Continuing where I left off with the type of music I studied in high school, most of my music pieces in college have been grounded in Western classical tradition. However, I found that one of my biggest periods of growth was when my voice teacher catered to my interests beyond the genre to incorporate more musical theatre, jazzy, and cabaret styles. I felt like I became more confident in my voice and in my performance because I was able to apply the techniques from classical music to more contemporary styles and vice versa. The flexibility I gained allowed me to make more creative choices while singing. When juries rolled around, I knew I could go all in and have fun presenting my songs.

What has also been nice during my time as a voice student has been tapping into the community of voice students. There’s such a mix of majors, members of various student performing arts groups, and backgrounds among us and it’s always been cool to have vocal lessons be a little point of camaraderie between ourselves. I really appreciate the support I’ve received from other fellow voice students and love being able to see their performances, whether it’s a solo in a Chorale concert or an acapella performance or a recital!

Welcome back to my series on sharing what I like to do in my free time as a Bryn Mawr student! I’m sharing an activity that became a hobby during my senior year – crocheting!

I picked up crocheting after years of not doing it, thanks to my TikTok For You Page. There were a bunch of videos of people crocheting stuffed animals, accessories, window curtains, and more, and that led me to challenge myself to tackle a bigger project, one beyond my usual doilies and puff flowers. Since it was getting closer to finals season, I thought it would be fitting to assign myself a larger task to end my year given that most of my classes would conclude with large end of semester projects. Clearly, that is a very good idea when I’ve got a bunch of tasks for finals.

I decided I wanted my crochet project to be related to May Day. May Day at Bryn Mawr is a whole day filled with traditional May Day activities such as May Pole dancing, various performances from student performing arts groups, a concert by a musical artists and more. For me, I associate May Day with arts and crafts as most of my memories of the day involve hanging out with friends while making flower crowns, sand art, and tie-dye shirts. Because it’s customary for people to wear all white on the day, I decided to crochet a white top, I found a free pattern on Youtube and took my time following it during the weeks leading up to the event.

For me, crocheting is very meditative because I’m just making rows and rows of the same loops and connecting them as I go. I personally believe the repetitiveness in the activity makes it quite accessible, especially since one just needs a crochet hook and some yarn to get started. Plus, it’s fascinating that you can get an entire garment from such simple actions. My favorite time to crochet my top was after a 2-3 hour long seminar class in the afternoon, and I’d also spend that time catching up on Youtube and Netflix. These crochet sessions were very much needed as the semester became more hectic.

Since becoming more comfortable with crocheting, I wished I had interacted with more people who also do fiber arts at Bryn Mawr. I know there is a knitting club that provides resources and a community for most fiber crafts such as knitting, crocheting, embroidering, cross-stitch and more. Other than that, I’ve known people who have commissioned products from friends who make fiber products, and I’ve even had a classmate knit a sweater in class.

Even though I did my best to space out my crocheting progress, I still ended up staying up super late the night before May Day to finish my top. However, it turned out to be a success! It fit well, it was comfortable, and I was happy to show off the piece to my friends. I’m so happy I got to spend my last May Day while wearing something I made. As I was going about my day, from the senior hoop race to the two acapella performances to eating delicious May Day food, this top was representative of the skills and values I’d built during my time at Bryn Mawr. I’ve learned to take the initiative to challenge myself, do things I’m interested in, and share the results with people I’m close with. This was my last May Day, and it was a wonderful way to reflect back on all my friendships and cherish the memories I’ve made.

A couple weeks ago, the French Department held an information session on the French major and minor, and it lead me to reflect on how I’ve been maintaining my French skills this semester. As a French major myself, I relied on French classes to improve and maintain my French proficiency over my college career so that when I finished all my major requirements, I was faced with the task of maintaining my French level outside of academic classes.

One option to help with language maintenance is La Table française. This is an informal French conversation practice that the French department provides. At La Table, students can practice their French conversation skills twice a week over a meal with each other. Typically lower level French students are required to go but it’s open to anyone who wants to practice! I went to the La Table several times last semester because my friend, who is also a French major, lead one of the days, and it was a fun way to talk about the latest social media trends, everyday life, and goings-on around campus with students I would otherwise never meet. After all, isn’t it more fun to practice French by sharing what’s on our TikTok For You Pages with each other?

Another option with French maintenance is visiting professors’ office hours. Admittedly, I did not do this. Instead I found other ways to implement French in my daily activities. Simple things like turning the language of my electronic devices into French is a very easy way to reinforce the presence of French. Plus, it’s a practical way of learning technical and digital vocabulary. When I’m taking breaks from school work, I like scrolling through TikTok and Youtube, thus it’s a perfect excuse to find content in French related to what I normally would watch on these platforms. Learning about French equivalents to English slang, the restaurant scene in Paris, and French beauty content are some of the things I’ll watch. As someone who also listens to podcasts and music, listening to French podcasts episodes and songs have also been an avenue to practice my French listening skills. I’ve enjoyed podcasts from Binge Audio and Nouvelles Écoutes particularly Les Couilles sur la table (which is about masculinity) and Bouffons (which is about food) from those companies respectively. If I really want to procrastinate on work, I’ll watch some reality TV like The Circle France or Nailed It! France to get a good sense of informal conversational French flow or I’ll watch beloved animated shows like Pokemon or Avatar the Last Bender dubbed in French to see linguistic differences from the English versions I’ve watched. Lastly, to practice my French reading skills, I’ll read French news from Le Monde, France 24 or France Info. This is all to say that the language you learn in class doesn’t have to remain as an academic subject, it can have practical application in one’s everyday life!

My experience with the French department at Bryn Mawr has given me a comprehensive understanding of the francophone world with courses that focused on various geographic locations (France, the Carribbean, North Africa), and time periods (from medieval age all the way to the 20th century). Furthermore, as someone who took the transdisciplinary track within the French major, I had flexibility in taking classes outside of the department that could still count towards my major. Some of my French classes also introduced me to various musicians and filmmakers in the francophone world that it set me off on going through rabbit holes to find more music and media to listen to often. Some favorites from these classes include Les Silences du palais (Moufida Tlatli, 1994) and Belgian singer Angèle.

If you’re interested in learning more about the French major at Bryn Mawr, check out the French department’s official Instagram account @pensez_francais to get up to date information on events!

The promotional poster I made for the 4/9 show

One of the coolest student lead activities I’ve participated during my time at Bryn Mawr has been being a member of the Bi-College concert booking club, Federation United Concerts Series, or FUCS for short. With its cheeky name and the graphic design skills and eclectic music tastes of its members, FUCS is dedicated to enrich the arts scene in the Bi-Co with concerts with a roster of up and coming artists based around the Mid-Atlantic every semester. Plus, all performances are free for Tri-Co students!

Established in 2002, FUCS has hosted music acts who have gone on to achieve mainstream success such as Rico Nasty, Diplo, Major Lazer, and Vampire Weekend. In addition, some of FUCS alums have gained also achieved artistic success of their own, namely Michelle Zauner who most know as Japanese Breakfast and the author of Crying in H-Mart. Looking at past shows in the FUCS archives, a show I wish I had to chance to go to the one with Raveena — I would have loved to experience of her ethereal energy in a live performance setting!

Typically each member researches and books one artist while working with other members to pair artists with similar ambiances to build a show. Because of the members’ diverse music preferences, we encourage them to lean into the genres they like to listen to the most. Personally, I listen to a lot of music with R&B, hip-hop, bedroom pop, funk, and soul influences, which has led me to invite Warner Meadows to perform last December and Nathanie for this semester.

Nathanie doing her thing! Photo cred: Ellie Esterowitz

For the 4/9 show with AJAY and Nathanie, the concert took place at James House at Haverford. A creative space open to any Bi-Co students, every surface of the building is covered with various doodles and paintings that it’s collected over the years, and so the entire building is basically one giant mural. The chaotic yet strangely-cohesive space helped set the tone of the show and added to the energy the artists brought. It’s very rewarding being able to invite an artist who’s music you’re excited about and see a crowd of people get into the groove of that artist. When I found Nathanie’s music on Spotify, I was drawn to the atmospheric and chill ambiance of her sound but seeing her live with her band, I really loved the musical versatility she has in her performance! While it’s always exciting to hear songs available on streaming platforms in a live setting, for me, it’s even more exciting being able to hear a song or rendition of a song that isn’t available online. Nathanie’s cover of Tyler the Creator’s See You Again at the show filled that role and was a wonderful way to end the night.

FUCS has been a resource for me to meet other artistic students in the Bi-Co, be more in tune with the local talent, and to get closer with people I already know. One of the things I love the most about FUCS is that almost every time I’ve gone to a show, I’ve left the concert with spirits high, whether because of discovering a bunch of songs that I want to listen to or loving the crowd energy, or both. Especially since the pandemic isolated folks and discouraged large group gatherings, it’s been wonderful to build a fun environment to gather with students again (with appropriate COVID protocols of course)! To see updates on FUCS’ upcoming shows, be sure to check out @fucs.mp3!

In my last year at Bryn Mawr, I’ve paid more attention to what I do outside of classes and clubs in order to recharge myself. Along with that, I’ve had to learn to not feel guilty about having some time for rest and relaxation everyday and remember to treat things like eating and showering as restful pauses in my day rather than inconveniences to my work flow. With all that in mind, I’m starting a new post series on what I like to do in my downtime! In this post, I’ll be talking about working out at the gym.

My relationship with working out has been a bit all over the place. I remember during my freshman year  I didn’t feel motivated to walk all the way over the hill to reach the gym. During my sophomore year I took hip-hop and modern dance classes to fulfill my PE credit and I had a blast! I then spent most of junior year cooped in my dorm room with occasional took long walks around campus and sometimes a visit to the gym. Each of these of options had their pros and cons but they showed me that I wanted to do something consistently with flexible timing and the option to do it with friends.

Ultimately, I decided to solidify my relationship with the Schwartz Fitness this year. I mainly decided to go to the gym more regularly because of my Feminist Perspectives of Health professor; one day, this three hour seminar ended an hour early and my professor said to the class, “For the next hour, choose to do something for your health”. We had spent the last couple weeks discussing different ways that “health” is socially constructed and my professor had always been very empathetic towards all the responsibilities students have to balance in their daily lives. “To do something for your health,” looks different for everyone and that day I decided I wanted to hit the gym.

This choice was initially made because I merely wanted to move around after sitting through several hours of classes that day but since then it has become a routine where I get a regular endorphin boost! I found that I put a pause to the constant list of responsibilities and worries my mind is keeping a list of, and all I need to do for that hour at the gym is to focus on what is happening in the present moment. It’s also served as a time for me to catch up on my favorite entertainment; I get to listen to fun educational podcast episodes from the Smithsonian or NPR or listen to an album I’ve been meaning to check out.

The main thing I’ve found during my time at the gym is that it has allowed me to experiment with how I move I body. The fitness center has various machines and other exercise equipment to cater to anyone with any fitness experience and any workout preference, so I find that I can get creative with my workout or keep it simple based on my mood. I’ve always found the environment at the gym peaceful; everyone is there polite and I don’t feel pressured or judged to dress or perform a certain way. Just as the Bryn Mawr community is one in which students challenge themselves instead of being competitive with one another, I find the gym is a place where people focus on themselves and their personal goals. The ambiance of the gym makes me think of a motto often repeated around campus: “done is good” — trust that you’re doing your best and get things done.

As we’re going into Week 4 of the spring semester, I wanted to share how I set up schedule! I’ve always needed to rely on a planning system to help me feel organized and to help me prioritize my tasks. Without it, I’d feel lost and easily overwhelmed by all my responsibilities. Overtime during college, I’ve developed a setup that makes the most sense to me. Figuring out how to organize my time has also given me insight on how I make sense of information.

Classes are in blue, one time events are in green

The first part of my setup is my iCalendar. Here, I can visually see when my classes (in blue) take place and when I can have some downtime or study time. I also will put in reminders for meetings and appointments and generally any time based event. Since it syncs with my phone, I can see my daily events wherever I go. I also heavily rely on the alerts it gives me since I sometimes forget to look at the calendar and thus momentarily forget upcoming events. I also find that the alerts help give me time to emotionally prepare myself for what’s coming.

I sorted this table based on week and date and gave each week and course its own color. Seeing which weeks have a paper assignment has also helped me plan out assignments where I get to choose the due date, such as presentations.

How each course page looks.

Next is my bread and butter: Notion. I learned about Notion a year or two ago and was gravitated to it because of its customizability and sleek interface. I’ve used it to organize a lot of my personal notes but when it comes to academic tasks, this is where I can see all my assignments for the semester in one spot. I’ve set up a table in which I can see what topics my classes are focusing on for the week, what type of assignments are assigned, and I can open each topic up to see my homework. I can also view this table in a calendar form. In addition, I filtered the table to show each class separately and connected them to their respective course pages. On these course pages, I uploaded the class syllabus so that I can refer to other instructions and resources that my professor has provided. This setup has helped me keep track of the work that I completed, partially completed, and have yet to do and it also helps me gain a better understanding of how the different class topics throughout the weeks connect with each other conceptually.

Unlike the beautiful artistic spreads one can see of bullet journals with a quick Google search, my bullet journal is very bare bones — I’m just working with what I have in my dorm room.

Lastly, I have a paper-based item to write down my daily tasks, both academic and personal. In the past, I would simply write things down on a scrap piece of paper in list form, or use a to do list app, but this semester I thought I would try to make my own bullet journal. In my journal, I map out a weekly spread containing a small calendar to show what week of the month it is, boxes for each day of the week (the Saturday box is right underneath the sticky note for Friday), and a weekly future log that sort of looks like a dotted graph. For each day, I will write down my daily tasks based on priority, any small reminders such as buying shampoo or whatever, and any questions I may need to ask someone. I think I prefer to have a physical object to write these items down because it makes me feel more engaged and in control of my day; the task list is a daily goal list that I strive to complete.

Going back to how scheduling has taught me how I digest and make sense of information, I’ve learned through this setup that I value being able to see the relationship between the big picture and minute details. Had I not developed a way to keep track of responsibilities, I would have viewed all my tasks as an ever growing list of things I would never have enough time to complete and would have a harder time balancing academics with my personal relationships. I’m curious to learn about how everyone else organizes their time and I hope my setup is helpful to someone out there looking to find a system that makes sense for them!

For nearly 18 years, I participated in choirs and sang primarily Western classical and Christian hymns. By the time I got to college, I was ready to experience a new way to sing with others. This desire lead me to audition for one of Bryn Mawr’s a cappella groups, the Extreme Keys, and my time in the group has been one of the most important experiences of my college career.

Twice a week, for an hour to hour and a half, creating music with my members has been a helpful stress reliever in the midst of a busy week. I’ve felt more connected to the music I perform not only because of the contemporary genres in our repertoire but also because of the casual, fun, and intimate atmosphere the group has fostered. Sure the pitch (music director of the group) leads everyone through the technical aspects of singing, but I always appreciated that practices were always a collective process, where anyone could give their opinions on how we could all improve.

While Keys concerts range in scale, I’ve always loved our Arch sings, which are small performances at Pembroke Arch. During these moments it’s nice to perform for your own friends but to also serve as a brief study break for anyone passing by. It is rewarding to momentarily lift someone’s day with a song they may know or introduce them to an entirely new artist.

Since becoming both pitch and co-president of Keys, I definitely feel more responsibility on my shoulders but I’m grateful for Keys’ co-president and treasurer and the rest of the members for being patient and enjoying their time in Keys so far. While each a cappella group at Bryn Mawr is its own unique experience, ultimately the essence of the Keys is to bring together people who are interested in singing songs that make them feel good, and have fun doing it with others in a low-stakes setting.

To get to know the Extreme Keys better, check out our Instagram and Soundcloud.

Earlier this month Lusty Cup reopened! This beloved late night cafe is finally back and I’m so excited to study there again.

Lusty is a coffee shop located in the basement of Canaday Library. The room itself is partly lit and is filled various seating areas: if you need a computer, there’s a whole row of library PCs available for you; if you want a cozy corner to socialize with friends, there are a bunch of sofas for you to curl up on; if you just wanna work alone and have access to an outlet, there are high top tables for you.

More importantly, however, is Lusty’s ambiance. On weekday nights during Lusty’s operating hours, the space is filled with students and chatter fills the air. Mixing in with the conversations are the sounds of the coffee orders being prepared while baristas share their Spotify playlists over the speaker. If I’m ever feeling lonely doing my work, Lusty serves as a place for me to hang out with friends while I study and it’s just nice to have someone there who will empathize with you when you let out a long sigh of frustration over an assignment.

As a senior with the late nights stressing over a heavy workload, coffee is becoming a dear friend of mine and I knew I had get my evening coffee fix at Lusty when it reopened. I did not expect, however, to stand in line for half an hour to place my order and then wait another half an hour to actually receive my drink. The line extended back to the main door and there was a large crowd around the shop’s counter. Clearly many students have a love for the shop and were just as excited to have a Lusty drink again.

To make the reopening extra festive, Lusty brought back their Zodiac series! Of course, as an Aquarius, I had to order the Aquarius drink. With flavors of lavender and white chocolate, the sweet hot drink was perfect to help me wind down after running around the Bi-College all day.

Other drinks I was curious to try out but didn’t get the chance to were the Pisces (Toasted Marshmallow Latte) and the Leo (Butterscotch Honey Cappuccino). In addition they added boba add-ons to their menu! I’m looking forward to reacquainting myself with Lusty’s menu and I’ll definitely be adding some boba into my orders.