Category: A BICer Looks Back with Kara Blomquist

This is for the reading assignments and the class discussions that follow.  Here’s to our BIC reading.

I know I may have just lost you all.  What? We’re going to miss our mountains of assigned reading?

Ok.  It may be hard to appreciate the literature when you find yourself reading Monkey in the library at 3 a.m.  Maybe you will not miss all of it.  But can you really tell me that you have not been grateful for a single reading?

Think about the essence of assigned reading.  People who care about the engagement of your mind took the time to create a list of novels and articles which they think will benefit you.  Some you will enjoy reading, and others benefit you in some other way.

Still not following?  I do not blame you.  Had I been talking to myself two years ago, I would have the same reaction.  But one day, you are going to miss this.

Here I am sitting in Capstone, and I cannot help but be grateful for the class which makes me read books and articles that I enjoy, pieces of literature that make me think in ways I do not expect.

Not only do our beloved BIC professors present us with a list of reading which will benefit us, they provide the space for our minds to digest that material, and even lead that process in our classes.

We are approaching midterms, and many of you may not be at a place where you can hear what I am saying, but I will ask that you store it away for another day because one day this will make sense.

My time in the BIC is coming to an end.  Gone will be the days that I simply show up to a classroom at the right time and get handed a reading list which a trusted guide has selected to lead us on a journey into new perspectives and new ideas.  I will no longer automatically find myself surrounded by peers who have read the same material I have and share the desire (or willingness) to explore it.

Our time in the BIC is unique.  Where else would we find a community dedicated to understanding new perspectives and engaging different cultures together?  While we cannot stay in the BIC forever, we can take our experiences with us.

Long after our time in the physical community of the BIC is over, we can carry the spirit of academic exploration and openness with us, wherever we may find ourselves.  After graduating from Baylor, this particular community of professors and colleagues will not surround us on a daily basis, but this does not mean that we must learn in solitude.  Soon, it will be up to us to continue our education, to create our own reading lists and find peers willing to dive into them with us.

But right now, we have the BIC.  We have impactful readings built into our day-to-day lives and communities that are encouraged to congregate and discuss those readings.  This is a gift, friends.  Let’s enjoy it.

Kara Blomquist is a senior BIC student majoring in linguistics. 

We spend most of our days Monday through Friday walking through it, and some of us even spend our nights surrounded by it, too.  But do we really see it?

Let’s take a moment and appreciate the campus that for four years we get to call home.

Baylor’s campus has long been considered one of the most beautiful in Texas, at least by faithful Baylor alumni.  The trees in bloom and historic buildings are easy to appreciate.  As students, we have a more unique experience.  Here’s to the campus that looks beautiful from afar and has come to hold some of our most wonderful memories.

After three years of on-campus living and learning, spots around campus are not just locations but places where things have happened, places that evoke memories.

Instead of reminding you of all of the objectively beautiful buildings and fields, today, let’s go on a more personalized tour.

Across the street from the student union building, you will find the most beautiful tree on campus, according to me.  It is nestled between the tennis courts and the Marrs McLean Gym.  The branches of this tree come down and create a haven for those who sit beside its trunk.  To me, this tree is a place for book club meetings, happenstance encounters with friends, and quiet reflection.

In Carroll Science, you will find the English Department.  Before I go on, let me clarify for all of you science majors out there.  I have had this conversation many times over the years, so allow me to fill in your part.

Carroll Science?

Carroll Science, you know, the building across the street from Morrison. 

Not the building across from the Bobo Spiritual Life Center?

No, no that would be Carroll Library.

And the English Department is housed within a science building? 

Yes.  As the name suggests, Carroll Science used to be home to the science departments, but in the late 1900s, those departments moved to other buildings, and the English Department moved in.

As you can see from the numerous departments that have called this edifice home, this building has history which makes it beautiful.  However, it is not Baylor’s history I think about when I enter those doors but my own.  These classrooms are where I have discovered my academic interests.  Some of the faculty offices housed inside the building are where I have received invaluable guidance and support that has helped me get to where I am today.  When thinking back on my years at Baylor, this building will be a part of those reflections.

Then there are all of those little, unmarked places throughout campus.  One such place is the fifth street curb, before the fountain renovation took it away.  There is nothing quite like Baylor’s campus in the rain, and that curb was my favorite part of it all.  The water would rise up against the steep curb, essentially begging you to take your shoes off and give into the stream.  I welcomed each time the weather gave me a socially-acceptable outlet for my inner-child in the middle of the school day.

We have the privilege of living our days out on Baylor’s campus.  We get to live in these buildings and landscapes and create our own history here.  Here’s to the unique chance we have of weaving our personal stories into the beautiful story of Baylor’s campus.

If you are curious about the general history of Baylor’s campus, this website shows photos of some of Baylor’s older buildings ‘then and now:’ http://www.baylor.edu/about/index.php?id=89428

For more information on the history of Carroll Science, visit this article by the Baylor Alumni Association: http://www.bayloralumniassociation.com/baylor_line/past_issues/wint10carroll_science.asp

Kara Blomquist is a senior BIC student majoring in linguistics. 

 

Labor Day.  Fall Break.  Thanksgiving Break.

Students have a pretty sweet deal.  We have vacations to look forward to throughout each semester.

Tell me something I don’t know, you say?  Well, how about this: Once we’ve exited the education system and entered into the professional world, vacation days will be less of a given.

I know I do not need to remind college students to appreciate our vacation days.  We are all counting down the days until Thanksgiving break (which is 16 days away, in case you’ve lost count).  But we do not always realize the gift that these days are.

Our entire academic careers, from kindergarten until today, our school calendars have included vacation days.  Days our teachers, and now our professors, cannot require us to come to class.  We get to use these days however we like.  While our breaks towards the end of the semester may resemble stay-at-home work days rather than true days of rest, a day which we get to decide how to spend is a gift no matter how we spend it.

In a few years, our calendars will no longer have these built-in days.  Sure, there will still be Labor Day, and Thanksgiving will certainly occur, but we may not have these days off from work.  (Ok, unless you are in residency studying to become a doctor, I am pretty sure we all get Thanksgiving off, but we may not have the three-day break like we do this year.)

The point of this message?  Let us enjoy the days off we have stretching before us.  Thanksgiving, Winter Break, and that three month respite we call summer break.

These breaks give us a chance to regroup from all that goes on during the school year.  We have the opportunity to see our family and to simply have a change of scenery.

All of those things are wonderful, but our vacations are more than that; they can remind us of where we are in life.  We are at a stage where someone higher above us is looking out for us.  We have administrators who plan the academic calendar with our interests in mind.  People we do not even know are trying to make decisions based on what will be best for us.

How many other people can say that?  We are lucky.  Not only because our next vacation is a mere two weeks away but also because of all that it implies.

A vacation is a sign that we are sandwiched between people who are looking out for us.  Because of people here at Baylor who have our interests in mind, we have the chance to have a break from classes and go home to people we love.

As we count down the days until Thanksgiving break, let us remember this implication of our excitement.  We are counting down to a manifestation of the way our community cares for us…and to pumpkin pie.

Kara Blomquist is a senior BIC student majoring in linguistics. 

We’ve talked about the professors; this one’s for the students.

The BIC would not be what it is without the BIC students, you guys.

My freshman friends have some unique BICers in their lives, their peer instructors and mentors.

These people have been where you are and navigated through it all successfully.  What’s more, they’ve chosen to come back and help you.

This network of support has grown since my BIC beginning.  When I was a freshman, three years ago, we had peer instructors in our World Cultures classes.  Look at us now!  World Cultures Peer Instructors, Rhetoric Peer Instructors, and BIC Mentors in your Examined Life classes.  All of these people are reaching out to you.  Take advantage of these people who have given their time to go to your classes.  They have more to offer than academic help.  They are invested in the BIC community and are ready to help you in this first semester in whatever way they can.

Beyond these lovely BICers, there are all of the other BIC students!  One of the neat things about being in a program where we take classes over the years with a cohort is that we are all going through the same academic rigors at the same time.  Are you stressing out about that next New York Times assignment?  Chances are one of your BIC friends is feeling the same way.  You will encounter obstacles in the BIC, but you will also have a community of people who understand what you are facing and will help you along the way.

One form that help comes in is study groups.  Taking the same classes means having a built-in study group.  All you have to do is find one group of BICers you work well with, and you can study for multiple classes, over the course of many years.  Studying for exams may not be the most fun you have ever had, but when you do it with a group of people you know and perhaps grow to love, it becomes much more enjoyable.

After your freshman and sophomore years, massive BIC study groups become less essential, but by this time, you’ve found another benefit of your BIC friends.  After all of those classes and late nights together, these people have become some of your close friends.  You no longer need a common class to bring you together, you make the time to meet up with these students.

I met some of my closest friends in the BIC.  Out of this group, I am the only one who is not a science major, which means that my friends and I do not randomly cross paths.  (Nobody wanders from the BSB to Carroll Science, much less knows where Carroll Science is.)  Yet after our years together in BIC classes and outside of them, these are the people who I find myself turning to when graduate school applications become just a little too overwhelming or when I want to plan a fun gathering.

That’s the beauty of the BIC.  The people you meet along the way will stay with you long after you each fulfill your BIC requirements.

Kara Blomquist is a senior BIC student majoring in linguistics 

Fall Break fast approaching means one thing, the chance to spend a little time away from your dorm room.

Complaining about the residence halls is another one of those experiences that draws younger students together, but I want to caution you.  Your living situation may be sweeter than you realize.

Sure, depending on which building you call home, your room may be a little old and a little small, but if you can look past the minor inconveniences, you may just find a reason to stay.

Residence halls house a lot of people.  This means you have a lot of potential friends who live just down the hall.  Odds are you will not get along with everyone, but those you do click with are just a few steps away.  Instead of driving from one apartment complex to another to gather a group of friends, you simply have to step outside your room, take a few steps, and knock on some doors.

I have spent the majority of my college career on campus.  After spending two years in a residence hall (Memorial), I moved to on-campus apartments (the Arbors) before finally moving off campus this year.  It wasn’t until this year began that I realized the concept of ‘neighbor’ is different depending on where you live.  When I lived in the residence halls, neighbors were people you saw almost every day (and if you were lucky, they could also be people you studied with, people you ate meals with, and people you considered friends).  In the on-campus apartments, my neighbors and I weren’t as close as in the residence hall.  We each had a little more space and less of a need to interact, but we still knew each other and greeted each other when we met outside our doors.  Off-campus, the people I live next to are less neighbors and more humans who I run into occasionally.  Of course, this is just one person’s experience, but I think the on-campus atmosphere helps create a sense of community that doesn’t exist in the same way off campus.

The on-campus community has something else going for it—Community Leaders.  Their job is to look out for you and foster a sense of community.  They plan activities and spend a lot of their time thinking of ways to help you feel at home and a part of the group.  Once you enter into the world beyond Baylor, building community will be entirely up to you.  You will be the one planning movie nights or finding food to bring your group together, but for right now, these people who care about you are willing to do that part for you.  So enjoy the time you have with these people who work so hard for your sake.

I know.  Living in a dorm room is not always fun.  Everyone has aspects of the experience they wish they could change.  But before you know it, you will be living somewhere else.  Take a moment today to appreciate the beauty of your unique living situation.

Kara Blomquist is a senior BIC student majoring in linguistics. 

My underclassmen friends, right now I speak to you.

This is one of the most beautiful times of your life.

Because you still have your youth?  Because your classes have not yet escalated to the ‘research-paper-around-every-corner’ level?  Because you have more than half of your Baylor experience ahead of you?

No.  This time is special because you have the freedom to not know.

No, not on exams. (Sorry about that, we all have to know some answers.)  You have the freedom to not know what you want to do with your life.

You’ve just arrived to campus, and no one expects you to have it all figured out.  When you respond to ‘What’s your major?’ with confusion and uncertainty, you are met with encouragement and confidence that you will soon find your calling.

As a junior, that story begins to change.  You are now a seasoned college student, expected to have an idea of what the future holds.  By now, you have a major, and you may even have an idea of how you want to use it beyond your college years.

Any seniors out there?  It gets a little tricky here.  Sure, we have our majors.  Now, that is not enough.

Here is how most conversations I have had in my short time as a senior have gone:

New Acquaintance: “What are you studying?”

Me: “Linguistics.”

New Acquaintance: *confused look* “And what are you going to do with that?”

We must have a plan for our future lives.  I thought I had this one in the bag.  I have a plan, more or less.  I want to become an immigration lawyer, so the next relevant step is to go to law school.

If I had told you that as a freshman, you would be congratulating me on my foresight and impressed at how well I knew what I wanted to do.  Those words coming from the mouth of a senior are met only with more questions.

“Oh, you are going to law school?  Where are you going?”

Pay no attention to the face that that it is early September, and some of the law schools have not even opened their applications for the upcoming year.  You, my dear senior, must have all of the answers now.

So enjoy, my young friends, this time where not having answers about your future is socially acceptable.

To those of you who are beginning to receive those questions for which you have no answers, listen to me now.  You, too, can have the freedom to not know.

Yes, as we approach our graduation dates, we should intentionally search for things which interest us and for a direction to follow in our future lives.  But who is to say we will find those things according to the timeline set before us?  Maybe we will find our true passion as a junior and not realize how that passion will lead us to a career until three years after we graduate.

This does not mean we sit around and wait for something to find us.  It means we keep our eyes open.  Whether you are a freshman or a senior or an alumnus, be open to the possibility of finding your calling.  Our lives can’t fit into boxes, and they will not follow a predetermined schedule.  Today, I encourage you to give yourself the freedom to find your passion at your own pace.

Kara Blomquist is a senior BIC student majoring in linguistics. 

Tests have a way of taking a subject you love and turning it into something you simply tolerate.

Freshman and sophomore friends, you have just endured the first round of World Cultures tests, and maybe that has happened to you.

Has Achilles become nothing more than a man who interacted with too many people, whose names you had to remember?  Did the Odyssey devolve from a man’s journey home into a dark metaphor for the difficulties you will face on your road to graduation?

I was once there – the night before the first World Cultures exam, watching the stories I had enjoyed reading in class turn into little facts that fit on a notecard.  When my first World Cultures V exam comes along, the temptation to see the class as burdensome will rise once again.

This is a message for you and me: Do not miss the beauty of your World Cultures classes.

World Cultures is not just a history class.  If any of you have been paying attention, that much should be easy to see.  Now that those first exams have passed and you have a little free time, let us take a breath and break down why this particular BIC requirement is so great.

We cannot have this conversation without mentioning the professors.  The World Cultures faculty have such excitement about what they do, and they spread that enthusiasm as they share about their areas of interest.  If we were in a regular history class, we would have one professor.  That one professor would cover a wide-range of moments in history, some they might love and others they might not.  In World Cultures, the risk of having a less-than-enthusiastic professor is almost non-existent.  The World Cultures large groups allow each faculty member to teach the topics that interest them.  This means we get to see historical events through the eyes of people who already love them.

Do not underestimate the significance of this.  Before World Cultures III, the French Revolution was practically nowhere on my radar.  All it took was fifty minutes listening to Dr. Longfellow and the event came to life in a captivating way.  World Cultures is a place where you will hear lectures that will stay with you.

Such moments occur in our small groups as well, however.  Great things can transpire when we are given space to think about and discuss history and culture with engaged people.  World Cultures small groups create those spaces.  Yet we are just as responsible as our professors are in creating those amazing moments.  To get the most out of our class, we must engage both the material and our classmates.  When we do, we might be surprised by the insights and perspectives that bubble to the surface.

Our World Cultures classes are unique.  We have excellent professors eager to share their interests to a roomful of students who have the potential to understand that knowledge in unique ways.  You may have heard this message before.  I am saying it again because it is true.  We have the privilege of taking these classes; let us make the most of them.

Kara Blonquist is a senior BIC student majoring in linguistics. 

All departments have professors, but there are professors and then there are professors.  The BIC is chock full of professors.

Why the odd emphasis?  Even our newest BICers should understand the meaning within those italics.

These people who have given of themselves to help us learn are truly unique.  They all have found some area of academia that intrigues them and manage to explain it in a way that intrigues students, too.

Case in point: I am in my third year of taking Chinese.  Random, right? Why study a language whose native-speaking population is so very far from Texas?  Answer: A BIC professor.

My major, linguistics, requires me to study both a western and a ‘non-western’ language (think Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, etc.).  At the end of my freshman year, I was searching for which non-western language to study.  In the midst of my searching, I attended a few World Cultures II large group lectures about the history of ancient China by Dr. Wang.  The way he spoke about and described the culture of the people who spoke Chinese communicated his enthusiasm, and I was excited, too.  I was intrigued enough to try to understand their language.  Three years later, and I’m still chasing that goal.

The interest our BIC professors take in their students is another area in which they exceed expectations.  Many professors have said at the end of a semester, ‘Come back and visit us,’ and they actually mean it.  As a senior, I get to attend the class of only one BIC professor.  When I drop in on or run into my past BIC professors, it is always so fun because they truly care. I have taken my fair share of classes, but only in the BIC have I been invited to a professor’s breakfast table for tea or into his living room for a shared meal, a human pyramid (thank you, Dr. Long) , and a movie.

Our professors are not just invested in us as individuals, but in the entire BIC as well.  They give their time to our community.  Our professors attend BIC Cafes, opening themselves up to the myriad of questions we have about their lives and professions.  We also get to see them, and compete with them, in our beloved BIC Bowl in the spring, a tournament-style trivia contest in which our professors make up one team.

Why am I telling you what you already know?  Because soon seeing BIC professors will not be a part of your schedule.  In a few years, when you find your BIC classes winding down, you will have to go out of your way to see them.  So take advantage of what you have now.  Connect with your professors in class and use their offices hours.  As BICers, we have the privilege of learning from some of the most engaging and invested professors on campus.  Let’s take advantage of this gift.

{One article is nowhere near enough space to give our professors the recognition they deserve.  I can think of many more professors who deserve shout outs.  Who comes to your mind, and why do you love them? Share in the comments below.}

Kara Blomquist is a senior BIC student majoring in linguistics. 

Change is a constant in the life of a college student, but for first years at Baylor, one thing remains, dining hall food.

*collective groan*

But wait.  Dining hall food isn’t all bad.  In fact, it is mostly quite good.

It can be hard to see when your life consists of meals two or three times a day from the same dining locations, but the benefits of ready-made food far outweigh the costs.

For starters, some of it is pretty delicious.

I was dismayed to hear some freshman students refer to The Penland Crossroads as P-Nasty.  Three years ago, before the renovations and expansions, back when The Penland Crossroads was just Penland Dining Hall, that was nasty.  The Penland incoming freshman know?  That’s more ‘P-not quite my mother’s cooking’.

Whole dining halls have upped their game (hello, 1845 at Memorial), and old favorites, like Ms. Mei’s cookies, flying saucers, and the southwest chicken salad, remain.

It’s clear.  The food is pretty delicious.  Yet some of you continue to complain.

Here’s my follow up question: Could you do any better?

Oh, wait.  Let me clarify.  With your current schedule– classes, extracurricular activities, and social gatherings–in those small free spaces you have, could you cook something more sumptuous than what is being offered to you?

For most of us, the answer to that question is a resounding no.

I found that out the hard way.  It is not until you are left to your own devices that you figure out if you are a good cook.  Turns out, I’m not.

In the year I have been cooking for myself, I have burned bread, cracked eggs while attempting to boil them, and destroyed chicken (Avoid my mistake.  Cut the fat out of chicken before cooking it.)

To be fair, all of these things occurred in an old apartment where the knob to set the oven’s temperature often fell off, leaving my roommate and I to guess what temperature the oven was.

Long story short, dining hall meals are much easier.  If you still have the urge to cook or bake, then utilize those dorm kitchens.

Beyond ease and deliciousness, there are few things that can create community like eating in a dining hall.  To eat with a large group of friends at a dining hall, send a quick text message, or bump into them on the way.  To do the same in an apartment?  That will take many more texts and some preparatory grocery shopping.

I get it.  The negative thoughts about the dining hall experience is one of those things that draws on-campus students together.  Who am I to stop this age-old tradition of college students being dissatisfied with their dining halls?

Hear these thoughts and store them in a safe place.  Before the year is up, take some time to appreciate the good in on-campus dining.  There’s nothing like an inviting place filled with hot food, smiling people, and dishes you don’t have to do.

For more information about on-campus dining locations, visit http://baylor.campusdish.com/.

Kara Blomquist is a senior BIC student majoring in linguistics. 

Will you be my friend?

Enjoy it, young BICers.   You are in the glorious period where anyone and everyone is one question away from becoming your newest dining hall buddy.

Ok, maybe more than one question.  However, there’s no denying that the beginning of the first year of college is a unique time when finding a new acquaintance is as easy as stepping outside your dorm room or speaking to the human who lives five feet from your bed.

It will take a little longer to find out if the random passerby will become your permanent partner-in-crime, but there is most certainly beauty in this era of endless encounters.

I met some of my best friends (including my current roommate) by following this simple formula:

1) Say hello.

2) Exchange life stories. (Thanks, band camp, for throwing me into Welcome Week on the Life Story Night.)

That’s the magic of freshman year.  It won’t always be like this.

Flash forward three years, and you have your close group of friends (#squad).  You know the layout of all of the buildings, where the best study spots are, and the Fifth Street fountain is finally finished (woohoo!).  Life is good.  Every once in a while, it gets even better.  You meet a new friend, and it’s a cause for celebration.

Over Labor Day, like many of you, I shared a meal with my friends.  At the meal, we went around the table and shared stories about any new friends we had made this year.  We were excited.  As seniors, running into people interested in investing the time required to make a new friend is not quite as common as it is in year one.

My freshman year, I could start a conversation by smiling at a stranger across the classroom.  I tried that my junior year in a class of seven, and there was silence.  So instead of chat, we just stared at each other…for an entire class period.  The awkwardness was becoming too much for me.  On the second day of class, I resorted to starting a conversation with the graceful interjection “So, we’ve made a lot of eye contact…My name is Kara.”

Oh, how things have changed!

Yet one thing hasn’t changed, the beauty of the BIC bond.  Name drop that cool community, and you’ve just found friends in unlikely places.  Our common experience can bring together seniors and freshman, science and humanities majors, experienced professors and newly-independent eighteen-year olds.  No matter how awkward the real world gets, remember, you have a home in the BIC.

So, what’s your answer?  Will you be my friend?

Kara Blomquist is senior BIC student majoring in linguistics.