The College Blog of Tory D

So the first week of classes is officially over, and it's been pretty fantastic thus far.

Class strings is going to be a pain, but I can't wait to learn. It also helps that I know everyone in the class and I sit by two of my studio friends. I don't think my hands were meant to play violin, and my giant giraffe neck definitely wasn't made for it either (we have sponges on the bottom of the instrument to bring it to the right spot between your chin and collarbone; most people used one or two sponges, but there were like four of us with three sponges).

Theory is gonna be a blast, just cause I have it with a bunch of my friends and the professor is so awesome. Plus it's later in the day this semester, so everyone is actually awake and alert. And I just love theory, oddly enough, so yay.

Conducting kind of scares the crap out of me, because the professor is so good he's intimidating. He's really helping me learn a lot already, so that's good. Pretty much half of the clarinet studio is in that class, so it's pretty great. We get to buy our batons next week, and I'm super excited for that.

I'm going to be playing bassoon for concert band this semester, mainly because I'm also going to be taking bassoon lessons. I'm nervous, but I'm totally ready. For symph band, I'm back on third clarinet, but we're playing Second Suite, so that makes up for it.

Marching band is super-intense and I absolutely love it. I'm the only girl baritone, and there are four girls in the baritubas as a whole. Band camp was crazy busy and I feel so powerful. Even though my arms are still like wimpy jello, they're way better than they were at the start of band camp. I love my section so much; they make me feel like part of an awesome family, and my section leader is the greatest. We all have necklaces and I've seriously worn mine like every day since I got it.

Creative writing seems like it's gonna be okay, but some of my class is way dumber than I anticipated. Like they keep asking a million questions about stuff that doesn't matter, and it's super annoying.

Music and Lit Survey is crazy, there's like 40 people in the one classroom and we've all agreed it's the biggest non-ensemble music class any of us will ever take. It's so crowded and hot, but the professors are super-awesome, so that makes up for it. Plus I have it with a bunch of my friends.

The new clarinet professor is so awesome, she's so sweet and funny and fantastic. She keeps asking us all for our input on everything, and we're all getting to try new things. I'm playing contra for clarinet choir pieces, we're playing in quartets, and the first piece of rep. she assigned me was written in 1975. That was only like 40 years ago!! It's fantastic.

I'm also working 10-11 hours a week at one of my jobs, plus about 7 hours a week at the museum. So this semester is going to be crazy busy, but awesome.

That's all for now!

Well my time here at the Summer Academy is almost over. I just have to perform my Harry Potter song in class tomorrow and finish up the last few articles for the website for Leadership. I'm glad I got the chance to live in the residence halls and have a totally awesome five weeks with these kids, but I'm also super-stoked to go home. These freshmen are absolutely fantastic and I'm so excited to see what the future has in store for them, as they basically rock my socks off.

So classes are done tomorrow, move out on Friday, geocaching weekend with my mom, then I'm teching a band camp Tuesday-Thursday. Then auditions for The Legend on Friday, and IUP band camp starts that Saturday. I'm getting super-excited but super nervous and I feel like I'm going to suck, but hopefully I won't be last. Even if I am, I'm just excited for the experience. Baritubas fo' lyfe.

The new clarinet professor seems really awesome, and I can't wait until classes and lessons start up again. I'm going to be going a little crazy this semester, as I'm taking 18 credits and 4-5 ensembles for 0 credit. Oops. But I have Class Strings, Theory III, Fundamentals of Conducting, Concert Band, Symph Band, and Marching Band all on MWF. Tuesday Thursday is much nicer, as I only have Creative Writing, Music and Lit Survey, and Wind Ensemble if I make it. Tuesdays are also Clarinet Choir and PCMEA/CSA days, with Departmentals on some Thursdays. Plus 2 credits worth of clarinet lessons, and 1 credit of bassoon lessons. Yay music!

If I survive this semester with a high GPA, I'm gonna be so stoked. Also, I'd like to not get fat and keep running and stay active and go to the gym and lose some weight because I really don't like the shape I'm in now. But that's a whole different story. And all for now.

So it's been far too long since I've did anything along these lines, as this semester was just absolutely insane and just kind of flew by.

Classes! I did really well in Theory Skills, for sure got an A in both sightsinging and dictation so wooo. Theory totally kicked my butt, and everything hangs on my final; if I got an 89 or higher, I get an A in the class, but otherwise I get a B. But I've just come to terms with that, because I learned so much and totally worked my butt off to get the grades that I achieved. Piano went really well, I got an A on the jury and in the class! Music Tech is kind of up in the air, but I feel like my final went really well. English, I got an A (and the prof really liked me and might give me overrides into ed/pedagogy stuff in the English department, so yay!) and I got an A in Ed Psych and didn't even have to take the final! My lessons honestly went pretty well this semester, and I kicked butt at my final jury AND I got to play on woodwind area, so it was an overall awesome time on clarinet. I'm just nervous for whoever the new person is, but oh well.

In other news, scheduling for next semester was way easier than anticipated. ALSO, in big awesome exciting news, I'm hopefully going to be joining *announcer voice* the Pride of Pennsylvania, the Beast of the East, the Legend, the IUP MARCHING BAND... in the fall. There's a need for baritones, and that's honestly the only thing I've wanted to march. So Abby and I are going to be in the Baritubas together, along with some of our other friends so that's going to be awesome.

I've also picked up a job working at the University Museum over the summer (since Safety is only during the school year), and I'm also going to be serving as a Peer Mentor for the Summer Scholars Academy this year. So that's going to be pretty awesome! I'm going to be taking my Theory Skills III during Summer I, as well as my Harry Potter class (for my minor!!) and my leadership class for my scholarship during Summer II. I'm just so pumped for this summer in general, and it's off to a really productive start, so I'm hoping to keep that up! That's pretty much all for now...

So my classes have been going pretty well for most of this semester. It's a little hectic and sometimes a bit crazy, but I really wouldn't have it any other way!

Theory has been going okay, I've been getting decent grades on the homework and we took our first test on Monday; I was totally terrified for it, but I wound up finishing the test second in the class, and that kind of scared the crap out of me. But anyway, we got the tests back today and I found out I got an A! Not my usual standards of A's but an A nonetheless! I got higher than the class average by a fair amount of points, so that's awesome!

Theory Skills has been going pretty well as well. I have gotten perfects on both of the dictation tests up to this point, even though I've been sucking at sight-singing more than I did last semester. I think I'll continue to improve on that in the next few weeks, hopefully before the semester is over and summer break kills my brain.

Piano has been going okay, I got an A on the first playing test. We've started adding new concepts and techniques, like pedaling, and I absolutely suck at that but I'll hopefully get better at it soon.

Lessons have been going better than last semester, even though I've already had to delay two because I got sick. My scales are going pretty well, my etudes have been pretty good, my ear-to-hand has been a lot better than last semester (I've gotten a few stickers), and I'm playing the Osbourne Rhapsody and it's pretty sweet! I really hope I get to play it on a studio, even though everyone else's version is ten times better than mine.

Music Tech is pretty boring, but it's still going well. We're starting to work in LiveText for our Step 1 and teacher portfolio stuff, so that's a little bit intimidating. But it's awesome to already be starting that sort of thing, and I hope I'm going to have a lot of cool stuff for it in the next few years.

English is going really well! I got an A (an HC A, to boot!) on my first paper, and that makes me really happy because I was totally terrified that I would screw it up. So right now we're starting to work on a new paper, and this post is actually part of my research for that paper. So, yeah, hopefully everything for that goes okay.

Ed Psych is a little bit boring, mainly because I already had a psych class in high school and they covered very similar materials. But it's okay by me, because the instructor is pretty awesome and a little bit crazy, plus I have it with like half the double reed studio.

Ensembles are going well. Clarinet choir doesn't have a concert this semester so that makes it more laid back. Concert and Symph bands have concerts this weekend, and I'm a little bit scared for those but it'll be okay. We're playing some pretty different pieces, and I hope they come across okay.

I started teching with my high school percussion unit recently, and it's been pretty neat. It's different to see everything from the other side of things, and it makes me both nervous and excited for when I can have a unit of my own! I had to miss the first show, and the next one isn't until the second Saturday of spring break, so that's a bit of a gap.

I also served on another panel for the Sutton Scholars program, and it was a fun experience. I'm also hopefully going to be applying to be a peer mentor for the summer program; it would be a totally awesome thing to do, especially cause I would get free room and board. Hahaha!

Oh, and other news! Last week, I decided on adding another minor, because why not? This is the only time in my life I'm not going to feel guilty about just spending time learning about new things. So I'm now a music education major with minors in both English and history, and I hope to take the Praxis in both of those content areas to get triple-certified.

So basically this semester has been going pretty well, but I can't wait for spring break. I really hope this year continues improving, so yeah!

So today, Dr. Worzbyt said something that really got me thinking and it really got to me: You never know why the people you're performing for are there, you never know what kind of comfort or solace that they may need, and you need to give your performance your best every time to give them that chance for comfort.

And there was a moment like that in my own life, a moment that actually lead me to IUP in the first place.

In the fall of my freshman year of high school, my best friend was suicidal. He battled through attempts all through September, and he finally succeeded in killing himself in mid-October - it was a Thursday. Though he hadn't been a member, the marching band took off rehearsal that afternoon, even though we had a show that Saturday.

Saturday rolled around to us performing at another nearby high school for Band Fest. Being one of the smallest schools there, we went on first. The Legend was always the last band to perform as a treat for all the high school units.

Night fell under the lights and it was freezing cold by the time IUP's marching band took the field. They performed one show to the bleachers full of parents, then flipped around and performed to the stands full of band kids. They face our direction as they pulled up Amazing Grace, and that's when it happened.

In that moment, all my grief and anger and pain simply melted away. As their music echoed out into the night, I cried and clung to my friends around me, all of us using the music to let out our suffering. To this day, I can't hear IUP's version of Amazing Grace without bursting into tears.

And someday, I hope to play (either by myself or in an ensemble) music that will move someone the way that that piece moved me.

.

In others new, one of our department's oldest faculty members has a Snapchat and was Snapping his studio during ensemble and my theory professor watches Top Gear.

So I've been thinking a lot recently about my involvement in on-campus stuff. As a music major, sometimes it can get a little bit crazy to try to put in any more activities. I'm in three ensembles, which take up a fair amount of time.

But clubs! I'm a member of PCMEA (Pennsylvania Collegiate Music Educators' Association) which is a club directly related to my major. And it's so much fun to be a part of, since we have workshops and meetings and conferences that are all about what I'm going to be doing in the future. I'm currently shadowing one of our club officers for a position after she goes off to student teach next year. And I'm also looking to take a regional-level position in the organization, as long as I run and everything.

Basically, clubs are awesome, but clubs related to your major are even awesome-er. They allow you to network and connect to people in your career field before you even get out of college, which is really really useful. Clubs that you take leaderships positions in are super awesome!

I'm personally not yet involved in Greek life, and I feel that is a decision that everyone has to make for themselves. You have so many different options when it comes to what fraternity/sorority to join, and that's all up to you and your personal preference. For example, you could join one related to your major (SAI or DO in my case), a social organization, or an academic honor group. What environment you want and what experiences you get out of it are all your personal decision and should be what influence your choices.

Finally, get involved in other activities on campus, whatever they may be! For example, I'm on one of the subcommittees for the Middle States study, and it's super-interesting! I get to interact with all sorts of faculty and staff that I otherwise wouldn't get to interact with. Plus it's just a cool look at how all this stuff goes on behind the scenes.

So, yeah, get involved with things that pique your interests! Connections you get through clubs and Greek life and other activities can help you sooo much down the road! And they're fun, to boot!

When I say get things done, I don’t necessarily mean studying, but that’s usually what it comes down to! There are a few different places both on and off campus that I've scoped out for getting things accomplished.

THE LIBRARY. I love the library, maybe a little more than is healthy, but it's for good reasons. When I need somewhere to hang out in between classes or do some group work or group studying for theory, we usually go to the tables in the back of the first floor. Personally, I like the couches with the little tables attached to the arms so then we can each have our own personal workspace with a shared bunch of crap on the table. When I need to study or some space for myself, I go up to the study tables on usually the second floor. You can kind of get lost on the upper floors, so you can find somewhere totally secluded with no noise or somewhere with a bit of foot traffic (my personal preference) so you can people watch when you need to take a break.

COMMONPLACE: Yum yum yum, yes, this is my favorite place in the world. In case you don't know where it is, it's down the hill from Sprowls and Foster in the building kind of smushed up against the apartments and above Domino's. They have awesome coffee (say my friends) and fantastic hot chocolate (says me). Plus it's just warm and cozy in the actual shop but there's room to spread out outside the doors in the atrium. We had a few write-in's there for NaNoWriMo and I'm there at least two or three times a week... or more (I may or may not have been there twice on the first day of classes this semester)

COMMON AREA IN YOUR ACADEMIC BUILDING: You know what I'm talking about. That loungey area. I know the math building has the one on the second floor (we had class in there this summer when the power went off), there's lobbies in Stouffer where we hang out before my Ed Psych class, Safety Sciences has the library/study room that is kind of to hang out in between classes, and the music department has the music library. Even if your academic building has one, I'm SURE that your dorm does (I wouldn't know but I've heard about it).

I know this is a weird list, but it's been helping me in the last few weeks and all of last semester, because I knew where I could go to get things accomplished!

Got woken up this morning by my mom at like 5:30, "YOU DON'T HAVE CLASS!"

"WHAT??"

"NO CLASSES TODAY TIL NOON!!"

"... so no classes but I still have ensembles."

"Oh, that sucks."

"Yeah, it does."

Update from the classes front!

Theory is going swimmingly, I actually kind of understand what's going on. I've been able to answer some questions in class, which makes me feel proud of myself (since like half of this class had this professor last semester). I'm almost done with my homework that's due on Monday, so wooo. Skills is going okay, I did really well on the ear training pre-test, but I kind of bombed the sightsinging on Friday. I just really freaked myself out and forgot where Fa was on the scale, so I couldn't find it. It was kind of embarrassing.

Lessons have been going well, I got TWO stickers at my last one, and I was soooo excited. One for my repeated etude and one for my ear-to-hand (which I usually suck at). But I'm totally going to bomb this week, since I switched another girl lesson times so she could do her recital jury this week. So now instead of my lesson being on Wednesday, it's on Monday. Eek!!

Piano is going really well, I think Wong-Doe wants me to minor. But I really don't know if I can handle the stress of that. But I definitely have the credits available in my schedule, since I could reasonably pick up two fifteen-credit minors in my seven semesters on campus. But anyway, we're still in the review stages for piano. And I retained so much more than I expected.

Ensembles are going well across the board, nothing really to report on that front!

Music Tech is fun, I actually understood what we did with Finale this past week. But that's probably going to be more difficult in this week, since we're working with Sibelius.

English is really fun thus far. I really like my professor; she does a lot with writing and thinking about writing, which I really enjoy. She also used my discussion post as an example in class (!!) which was kind of awkward but it still made me feel awesome. We have also done a few free-writing exercises that reminded me of NaNoWriMo, so I kind of kicked butt at those. Writing the one honestly almost made me cry, since we were supposed to write about a memory and I wrote about when I met my best friend.

Ed Psych is really interesting, and I really really enjoy the professor. She's super nice and interesting to listen to, and she explains things really well. Plus I really like the topic and the idea of applying the things I'm learning in that class to my own classroom one day is just AHHH so exciting!

So anyway, that's all on my end for today!

So I decided this year to devote a little more time to this blog than I did last semester and over the summer. But my life is pretty boring and can be summed up rather quickly, so I decided to give a little bit of advice from my corner of the world!

Something I've been thinking about lately is majors. As I study one major, minor in another department, and work in yet another college, I've seen a fair amount of different conclusions of choosing a major. But in fact, my younger brother is right now trying to figure out what major he wants to study when he comes to IUP in the fall of 2015. He's stuck deciding between a few different interests right now, and I'm going to pass along what I've slowly figured out.

LOOK UP YOUR POTENTIAL MAJOR REQUIREMENTS! But really, look and see if the majors you're looking at have anything in common! Humanities and Social Sciences have language requirements, while other colleges do not.  See if your majors are in the same college, as that can have very similar requirements, at least in the area of liberal studies.

Find out which majors are most restricted! And when I say that, I mean find out which ones are hardest to transfer into. Music, for example, has major-specific courses that start your first semester; for someone who transfers in from another department, it's literally impossible to graduate in four years.

Another difficult to transfer program: Safety Sciences! They've capped internal transfers from other IUP departments to like ten students a calendar year; last semester alone, we received over 30 applications. There's also a cap on incoming freshmen, but that's at around 50 or so with good SAT scores.

In cases like these, I've given my brother advice to go for the harder program at first. Safety is one of his top choices right now, and it will be MUCH easier for him to get in as an incoming freshman than as a transfer. And if he decides it's not for him and transfers to say, Criminology (another of his choices), he can use his Safety credits he's already earned to potentially make headway on his minor (as all Crim students have to have minors or be part of the pre-law program). 

But always remember that grades are extremely important! If you're like some people, your undergrad is just going to be your foundation. If you'd like to apply to grad school, some programs have low requirements for entry. Heck, we have a history major and a finance major that are now working during their graduate school careers over in Safety! They both had excellent undergrad grades, and that allowed them to be accepted to the grad program (as long as they completed courses they were missing that the grad program requires).

I'm not a college adviser, so please don't take my word as bible! But when it comes to majors, I would probably recommend picking a major that appeals to you, or at least one in a college that you have several interests in. It gives you a goal to be working towards, but discuss your doubts and worries with your actual adviser at the first chance you get! Many people had to take strange routes to get to the positions they are today, and that's okay!

Greetings from the frozen tundra that has become Indiana!

So my first (almost full) week of classes is over, and all I have to say is Phew! It's been kind of exhausting and tiring, but it's definitely going to be well worth it.

Theory II already seems so much better than Theory I, like I analyzed some of the chords and gave Roman numerals today in class and I was right and didn't feel like an idiot! Plus I already finished the 'do this if you want to' homework kind of stuff we got for Monday, and it seemed relatively easy. But ask me the same thing when I get to part-writing, and that'll be a whole different story! Skills, we haven't added anything new yet. We just got our 'what do you remember?' tests back today, and I only missed two accidentals in the melody and that was IT! So hopefully that'll continue to be a good class for me.

I'm kind of pumped for Piano. Dr. Wong-Doe recommended that I get some of the supplemental material to work on harder pieces, and that makes me really happy. I retained a lot from last semester even though I didn't practice like I should have. I think he wants me to go for a minor, but I don't think I would be able to handle it. I'm content with my slightly-better-than-suckage at piano.

Concert Band and Symph Band seem like they're going to be pretty fun this semester. I miss Worzbyt in Concert, but then I get him in a large quantity two days a week in Symph, so yay! I think I might be looking forward to Symph more, but only because I really enjoy the people I'm surrounded by in that ensemble. Though I do love everyone in Concert!

Music Tech seems pretty awesome. Dr. Scandrett is super-nice and he was already getting me to crack up on the first day. Plus I know pretty much everyone in the class, and I think that's going to make it a lot more fun. I'm really bad with computers though, so hopefully I'll survive.

English seems like it's going to be a challenge, but definitely one that's going to be worthwhile. I can't wait to delve into the topics in class even further. Plus it's my first taste of the English department (my minor!) so wooo. Ed Psych seems fun, the instructor is really sweet and funny, plus she grouped us by major. So there's just a giant mob of music ed majors that she put in the back of the room. We goofed off a bit the first day, but Thursday we all just got really into what she was talking about. Hopefully we'll be able to use that to our advantage.

I have my lessons again on Wednesdays this semester, and I wound up being the first lesson of the entire semester this past week. It went a lot better than I expected, and I'm already making a lot of progress on my etude that's due for next week. Major scales in thirds are going to be a major (hahaha, puns) pain, but I'll survive. I really want to do better in my lessons this semester, and it all comes down to concentration, focus, and good practice. And hopefully my work ethic this week continues throughout the semester!

So yeah, everything's going pretty swimmingly. Hopefully this time next week, I'll be able to report the same!

So I am very much looking forward to this upcoming semester. With ensembles, I'm technically taking 19 credits, so it'll definitely be a busy one!

I have Theory II, Theory Skills II, Class Piano II, Technology in the Music Classroom, English Composition I, Educational Psychology, Concert Band, Symphony Band, Clarinet Choir, Applied Clarinet Lessons, and Music Labs (Recitals). Plus I have to take my piano proficiency jury at the end of the semester.

MW, I have Theory then Skills. A little break, then Class Piano. A slightly longer break, then Concert Band and Symph Band. Friday, I just have Theory, sight-singing for Skills, a long break, and then Concert Band.

TR is Music Tech (with like all my friends so yayyy), a break that I hope to fit my lessons into, English, Ed. Psych, then either woodwind area or departmental, then Tuesdays are clarinet choir nights. I also have stuff for PCMEA most Tuesdays, and I'm really looking forward to that.

Outside of my class stuff, I will have PCMEA again, which is a bunch of fun. I'm actually shadowing the fundraising chair this semester, because I hope to take her position when she goes off to student teach next spring. I also have to meet with someone in the English department, because I'll be starting the classwork for my minor when summer session rolls around. So woo!

Along with stuff on campus, I'm also going to be teching for my alma mater's indoor percussion unit. I am SO incredibly excited about that! All my teacher clearances that I'm going to need in the fall are already done or in process, so that will be one more weight off of my shoulders. I got to lead pit warmups the other night at rehearsal, and I absolutely can't wait until we start going to shows. The rehearsal schedule is a little crazy, but it'll all work out. So I'm going to be able to work with and learn from some of the people who have really influenced me over the years, and that's super-cool. It'll also be really nice extra experience before I go out into the world.

So here's to a new semester that starts on Tuesday!!

Studying for me has always been quite the beast. I never had to study in high school, nor did I study for my SATs, nor did I study for any of our academic competitions. So when I got to college, studying was my biggest fear.

But it's not as scary as I had anticipated!

I'm really bad at forcing myself to study or practice, so that's the biggest obstacle. I practice every morning in Cogs from like 7 to about quarter til 8 (or whenever we all decide to go up to class). So that's my set time of day for practicing, and I also usually practice in the evening to get at least another half hour+ in every day. I also motivate myself with a sticker chart that hangs in my locker in Cogs. It sounds stupid, but it makes me so happy to be able to put another sticker on my chart. It also allows me to chart my progress and see patterns in my practice habits, which is awesome when I have to discuss those sorts of things with DK.

The only class I really had to actually 'study for' in the traditional sense of the word this semester was my Financial Wellness class. And all I really did for that was take good notes in class. Then I would go back over the notes, along with my textbook, and make outlines and rewrite some more notes by hand. I definitely learn and retain information the best when I'm doing it by hand, which is a trick I picked up throughout this semester.

When it comes to music classes, I have to have a lot of nontraditional study methods. For my theory skills class, my friends and I would usually just play through intervals and chords and melodies on the piano in the mornings, and that was all we really needed to do. My theory class was a lot of handwritten homework for the actual class, plus I would work with some of my friends and the other girls in my studio (who had already had Theory I) to try to figure things out. We would sit in the music library for a couple hours at a time trying to finish some of the work, but it was well worth the A I got.

Piano, I just had to practice. Usually I would tack on some piano practice on Tuesday and Thursday mornings before work so that I felt more prepared going into my class later that day. I also just kind of tapped on the edges of desks to get patterns worked into my fingers. Sounds stupid, but it works!

In general, I have to study with music on (I have to live my life with music on, who am I kidding??) but it has to be with no lyrics or I get distracted. My Vitamin String Quartet Pandora station is usually my study jam. I also have certain places that it's easiest for me to concentrate: my kitchen table, the desk in my bedroom (when my keyboard isn't on it), one specific set of study cubicles in the main library, or the back few tables in the music library.

In short, commuting has its ups and downs. Parts of it I love (like the financial and familial aspects of it) while other parts are eh (distance from school and missing stuff).

What prompted this was my visit to Messiah this past weekend. Everyone there was awesome, and everyone basically left their doors propped open so other people could stop in and say hi. There were some guys that popped into my host's room as we were getting ready for bed and we all wound up talking for like half an hour. And I think that's awesome. You get to meet so many more people by just living on campus and in the dorms. And I'm missing out on that.

I think that's one of the saddest parts. It's a fifteen minute commute for me, which doesn't sound like much. But if I'm on campus for classes, go home, and then go back up to campus for something at night, that's an hour a day just spent driving back and forth. I've been invited to play board games and stuff with friends on campus at night, but they forget that I live at home; and it's usually not worth driving up for the amount of time I would be there. It also sucks when I leave things in my locker in the music building; one time, I had to hurry up to Cogs at like 10:45 because I left a textbook I needed to study for a test the next day. It was awful, and I was pretty much pissed off for the rest of the night.

But commuting does have its perks. I don't have to worry about a crappy meal plan, because I pack my lunch and then get my mom's cooking most every night. I don't have to pay for laundry, just help sort the clothes and fold and stuff like that. I still have to do all my chores, but it's nothing bad at all. And, even though they piss me off sometimes, I get to spend time with my family. I plan on probably having to move away after college to get a job or going overseas, so I really like getting time with my family now.

It's also nice on my wallet. If I weren't living at home, I would have so many more loans that I probably wouldn't know what to do with myself. Housing at IUP is insanely expensive, and it's really not worth it to save that half hour round trip every day.

So there are definitely pros and cons to being a commuter. I'm probably going to live at home for another year, then maybe relocate closer to campus when I get older. Not sure yet, but we'll see what the future holds!