So since it’s FINALLY December 1st, it’s time to start the countdown to Christmas.  I know plenty of people have started this countdown weeks ago, but come on, there is absolutely no need to start celebrating and buying for Christmas before today.

I feel like the holidays start earlier and earlier every year. I turned on the radio like 3 weeks ago and Christmas music was already playing. I mean, come on, it hadn’t even been thanksgiving yet. Give a girl a chance to pig out on turkey and pie before she even has to consider all the christmas cookies.

And now here comes the worst part of Christmas, this holiday which is supposed to be about Christ’s birth, the never-ending battle to get everyone exactly what present they want at the best deal possible. Everyone has their very specific Christmas needs and know exactly what they want, often times down to the brand model. It’s not like Mary made a wish list for Jesus specifically writing down, gold, frankincense, and myrrh he got what he was given.  I think this Christmas we all need to appreciate the friends and people we have in our lives a little bit more than the gifts we are about to receive.

Also, my christmas hint to all my teachers here. While I may  have just ranted about how I hate that Christmas comes early all the time, canceling one of these finals or a giant end of the year paper would be an excellent early Christmas present.

So the semester is almost over, which can be both a blessing and a curse on campus. Its great that thanksgiving break and Christmas break are approaching, but the end of the semester often signals a ton of homework and giant end of the year papers.

Granted, I’ve know about the giant papers I have to do in every class since the beginning of the semester and the excessive ammount of stress I have now is my own fault, but it still is pretty stressful. Being a COM student is kinda helpful in times like this because you are super used to writing a lot by now, and generally speaking, you’re pretty good at it too. That doesn’t change the fact that you probably don’t want to write an annotated bibliography on Communications Law and Ethics, but you know you can bust it out because, hey, you don’t really have a choice.

This time of year also means signing up for your classes for next semester, trying to get all the classes you need while still avoiding friday classes so you can have long weekends every week. Also, if you hate mornings, like myself, it means dreading the fact that one of your required classes next semester is at 8 AM. We still have to push the stress aside and focus on all the projects due soon.

So we will all be spending much more time in the library, more time getting late night snacks, and more time enjoying each other, because we don’t have much time left in the semester.

So if you’ve been talking to admissions staff or other people on campus, I’m sure they have giving you all the information about the school; small classes, athletic programs, clubs, etc. But have you really heard about being a Franciscan on campus? The most obvious examples on campus are the friars, but I like to believe that each person on campus has the opportunity to show others what it means to be a Franciscan.

It really isn’t as complex as it sounds, being a good Franciscan simply means respecting others, yourself, and our environment.  Students live out Franciscan values on campus every day by being kind to others, picking up our campus, and doing service for others. QU has some great opportunities for service trips, and if you come here, I can not recommend anything more than going on a service trip.  The school offers many trips over all breaks so you can find one that works for you, and we also go to many locations so students are somewhat able to pick where they will do their service. My personal favorite is the trip that QU students go on every year over Fall 4 Day to St. Louis to work with the Franciscan Connection. Definitely check out this site, learn about the program, volunteer on your own, or donate to the cause. The project is run by the same province of friars that are present on our campus and its a great program.  One of the best ways to be a Franciscan is by being with Franciscans so give it a try.

So lets talk about the Falcon, and I’m not talking about the bird. The Falcon is our student newspaper that comes out every month or two and is full of student authors and opinions.  You’re guess is as good as mine as to why it’s called the Falcon when we are the Quincy Hawks, but regardless of the confusing title it’s a pretty good read.

As a communications student, you are required to have 3 credit hours of Falcon experience.  So while there are a lot of Com majors there at the meetings getting the great experience, there are plenty of other non-communication students who also write for the paper.   The program is great in the way that you can pick what you want to write about.  You can pick between news, opinion, sports, features or just write about what you want and they editors will find a place for it.

 As a com student you will have to write for the paper regardless, so it’s really best to embrace the situation. Pick subjects you are interested to write in, take photos for the paper, or help with layout.  You’ll meet a lot of older com students and you can really enjoy the experience. Plus it looks great on a resume! So grab a falcon next time you see one and give it a read, you could be writing for it soon!

So I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about classes in general here at Quincy, but what about your specific communication classes? Like all the classes at QU, the class size is pretty small.  This is good or bad depending on how you look at it. It’s great because your teachers are always there to answer your questions and most classes are very interactive.  It’s not so great when you try to take a nap in a class of ten or fifteen or skip class; teachers notice.

As a communications student, you are going to write a lot in a lot of your classes.  It’s sometimes not the most fun in the world, but if you look past the writing something ridiculous on a fake story, you really are going to pick up a bunch of skills that you will use in real life.  Most of the stuff you do in class is applicable in a real life job situation, unlike that complex algebra and calculus.

I highly recommend that you actually get to know your teachers and don’t just sit silently in the back.  Everyone is great about answering questions and most are more than willing to hold discussions about topics that you aren’t understanding or you don’t necessarily agree with.  Plus, if you really are struggling with the class and you are on good terms with your teacher, they know this early on and they can help put you back on course.

Most of all enjoy your classes. Pick electives that you really like and in your required classes bring up relevent topics that you are interested in or want to learn more about.