In the Mind of Mike

Since I'm leaving for New Zealand on July 4th this summer is much shorter than I would have liked. However, I think I'm going to be able to do most of the things that I want to do. This brings me back to summer two years ago  when I was preparing to go to college. At the beginning of the summer I thought I had so much time for all the trips and things that I wanted to do since it was the longest summer I ever had. I put off making plans for anything at first and just slept in and went to work. Then all of a sudden we only had a couple weeks left and some people had already left for college. To all the soon to be high school graduates don't make the same mistake I did. Start planning things now and take some extra time off work. This is the last time you will see all your high school friends for awhile. But don't worry, you'll soon meet all kinds of new friends in college. Everyone at SMC is especially welcoming! Using the lessons I learnt from two summers ago I...

I find that I'm in the car much more during the summer since I don't really use my car much at SMC. Whether I'm driving to work, going to see friends or doing errands I always need music while driving. I hate hearing the same songs on the radio so I always have my iPhone playing. I just finished making my summer playlist which has 130 songs so I should be all set. It has a combination of old songs such as  Tubthumping ,  Here In Your Arms  and  The Remedy  as well as some newer songs. I've downloaded a bunch of songs during the last few weeks. Here are some songs that I'm currently listening to over and over: Take A Walk - Passion Pit On Top of the World - Imagine Dragons Good Day - Nappy Roots Play Hard in 2012 - a mashup by Buck Spring Wind - Jack Johnson Gold Dust  - DJ Fresh I hope everyone is having a great summer and feel free to send me any suggestions for new songs!

It's hard to believe that I will have been home for one week come tomorrow. Sometimes it feels like I haven't been at SMC for months yet other times it feels like I just got back yesterday. The state of my room defiantly makes it seem like I just got home. I have not unpacked anything yet. The current state of my room. This brings me to my list go goals for before I leave for New Zealand. I know that if I don't write them down somewhere they most likely won't happen so here goes: 1. Unpack everything by tomorrow 2. Go to the beach at least twice 3. Have many more bonfires 4. Get as many hours as possible at Market Basket and actually save all the money 5. Go to Six Flags or Canobie Lake 6. Work out at least 3 times a week Basically just have fun while still making money. If you're a member of the Class of 2016, I suggest  that you make a list of things to do before heading off to college. I know that I never got around to half the things that I wanted...

This past week has been a blast! Classes ended May 2nd and my last final was on the 10th. Many people tend to freak out and stress during finals week, but for me it's one of the most relaxing weeks.  Since I tend to remember things well I really don't need to study that much. Instead of studying I tend to do some exploring during the last week. Saturday I went to the Connecting the Dots event, Sunday I went hiking and Tuesday I had some friends over for one last game night before the end of the semester. Carrie and I at the top of the hike The hike was a great Sunday hike. We were able to sleep in, eat brunch and I was even able to watch the SNL episode from the previous night before heading out. The view The best part of the week started after my last final. I was lucky enough to stay up during Senior Week in order to collect old furniture when the seniors moved out. This means that I was at SMC with some friends and had no work to do. Dream come true! I went to...

I just finished my last final which means that I am now done with sophomore year and am halfway through college. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. Seniors say that time keeps speeding up which scares me. These past two years have been the best of my life and taking the last final brought about different emotions. I'm happy since I'm done with my religion and economics class but sad since everyone is leaving. I won't see many of my friends again until December due to study abroad. Yet I'm also excited since New Zealand is less than two months away and I'm sure that it will be an incredible adventure. As I sit here trying to figure out exactly how I feel about this, I figure it would be a good time to look at some photos from my first two years here at SMC. Florida service trip PDAY 2012 Art hop freshman year The fair during orientation White water kayaking Dew tour at Killington  Texas service trip ...

I just got back from a perfect day with the environmental club, Green Up. The day is about connecting all the bizarre weather events to climate change. We started off the day by taking a photo on campus to show our support for the cause. We tried to form a giant dot and it kind of worked. Taken by Jeff Clarke Field of dandelions on the ride there Some members of Green Up went to a rally in Waitsfield, Vt which is about an hour away. The ride there was quite scenic since everything is in bloom. We also listened to some great music which I hadn't heard before. When we got there it wasn't too crowded yet which gave us plenty of time to check out the venders. There was lots of local food and places to sign petitions in order to get legislation passed for various environmental causes. We met an extremely knowledgable women who told us all about the importance of local food. I also found out that even if food says it is organic, they can still use chemicals to preserve the f...

Last week I finally got all the flight information for my trip from the study abroad program.We leave July 4th. I can't believe it is only two months away! The program ends on November 15th but I was planning on spending some extra time in New Zealand before heading back home. However, I received some exciting information in the group flight packet. It turns out that we have the option to add a stop over in Fiji on our way home for only $200 more!!! The program only helps with booking the flights so I would be completely on my own for the rest of the planning but I think I can manage! Therefore, I have decided to leave New Zealand on the 15th then spend a few days in Fiji. This will allow me to still be home in time for Thanksgiving. I could not think of a more perfect plan. I did not know much about Fiji before deciding on this, but after doing some research this seems like a perfect place to try out traveling on my own. The scenery is amazing and the weather is warm and sunny...