May Day 2015

So yesterday was one of the best days of the year, May Day! May Day is the fourth and final Bryn Mawr tradition of the year, during which everyone dresses in white and celebrates the end of the year in style. We wear flower crowns, play in the sun, and have an all around good time. Here is a video capturing the fun festivities from yesterday, featuring an appearance from Sage the Gemini!

Enjoy 🙂

Showcase Aftermath

Last week was a very lazy week for me as it was the first week that I didn’t have dance practice everyday since the semester started! On Saturday the 21st of March, Mayuri had a showcase in Goodhart auditorium, which went extremely well! Although we had a bit of a rough start, it ended better than I had expected. During the first piece we performed, we had a slight mishap with the music and we had to repeat a few of our steps to fall back in time. Luckily, it wasn’t too noticeable, and although we were slightly put off, we were able to push through with our second piece and overall finish successfully.

We all had such a wonderful time performing and really appreciated that so many amazing people came out to support us! Without all those who came being such a supportive audience, the show would not have gone down as well as it did. If you weren’t able to come out to the show, we will be posting the videos of our pieces on our YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/bmcmayuri so you can go over there and check them out! Below are some pictures from our performance as well!

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Overall, I am so happy and proud of our performance; we have been working so hard all year for our show and it has been so amazing to hear all the feedback and finally have been able to see the final product of all our efforts. It was such a surreal experience to have finished the show and, during our final bow, I really felt the sense of community and school spirit at Bryn Mawr from all the wonderful people who showed up to support us. This Friday is possibly our last performance of the year and it will be at Temple University for an event called Salaam Namaste 2015: The South Asian Carnival. If you are in the area, you should definitely stop by, as we will be performing my favorite piece of our repertoire and it will be a very fun time!

Surviving Midterms

It is the middle of the semester and, of course, that means midterms. Whether that consists of exams, papers, or both, this is a very stressful time for every student. On top of all that, mother-nature seems to have her own plans for us by sending ice and snow storms, which make getting to class extremely difficult, not to mention dangerous! Of course everybody has their own way of getting through this rough time of the semester, but this week I thought I’d share with you some of the ways that I do (or rather try to).

 

1) Making a Schedule:

Taking classes, participating in clubs, maintaining a social life, and sleeping a healthy amount each night can be super tricky to balance, but making a weekly, or even daily, schedule has really helped me to use my free time wisely and set attainable goals for each week. I use Google Calendars and even schedule study and sleep times so that I can make sure not to over work myself while also not procrastinating my work until the last minute. Knowing what my day will look like before it starts really helps to take some of the stress away.

 

2) Calling my parents:

When I get stressed, I also get pretty homesick and calling my parents usually does the trick to make me feel much better. My mom always knows what to say in order to lower my stress level and my dad can always make me laugh even when I’m in the worst of moods.

 

3) COOKIES!!:

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a HUGE cookie fan, and by fan I mean that I can literally enjoy any and all types of cookies. By now I have memorized Erdman’s cookie menu rotation and let me tell you, those things have definitely lifted my spirits in the midst of dark midterm times. For example: on Monday there’s the oatmeal raisin. Although it’s not my favorite, it’s a great Monday cookie because it’s sort of healthy so you don’t feel too bad about eating it, but it’s still a cookie! On Tuesday’s they serve chocolate chip- it’s a classic and you can’t go wrong with a classic. On Wednesday there’s the sugar cookie to sweeten up the middle of the week and pull you through that long stretch. On Thursdays we get peanut butter cookies that are not too sweet and are perfectly nutty. Finally, on Fridays they serve chocolate chip again but let’s be honest-it doesn’t matter what kind of cookies there are because it’s FRIDAY!

 

4) Gym time:

Going to the gym may seem like it would take up valuable study time, but it’s a great way to lower your stress level and maintain a healthy balance between work and health. When I get super stressed and start to feel swamped with work, I make a point to work out, even if only for 45 minutes, to sweat out my extra worries. When I get back, I always feel less stressed and ready to tackle my studies. Plus, working out also helps me to get better sleep at night and feel more well-rested in the mornings.

 

5) Friends:

Even though it may sometimes feel like it, you are never alone in the midterm struggle. Everyone is going through taking exams, writing papers, and putting together projects, and it really helps to know that your friends are there with you. I know that I wouldn’t be able to pull through those late night study sessions without my friends at my side studying along with me!

 

All in all, although midterms can be a super stressful time of the semester, there are always ways to make it better. These are just a few of the things that I do, but hopefully they can be of help to you should you feel that this year you might not make it through. Remember, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel!

Mayuri Filming Day

As preparation for our upcoming showcase, this weekend Mayuri filmed some videos that will be featured in our show! The show will be on March 21st in Goodhart Auditorium and a LOT more information will be coming out about it soon!

Enjoy! 🙂

Lazy Saturday

This past Saturday turned out to be a very relaxing, lazy day as I hung out with friends and did work all day. This is a video highlighting some of the things I did that day! Plus it snowed and made the day extra special 🙂

Enjoy 🙂

VISA Annual Show

Hey guys! So this past Saturday Mayuri was invited to perform at VISA’s (Villanova Grad School’s Indian Students Association’s) Annual Culture Show! Here is a short video that sums up our day at Villanova:

Enjoy 🙂