Welcome Home to Yale

After a relaxing three-week break from life here in New Haven, I could not be happier to be back! As I walked through Phelps Gate and onto Old Campus, I thought to myself, “I’m home!” That’s when I realized that over the course of the past six months, Yale has truly become the place where I have a sense of belonging. Last week, I entered Phelps Gate with a very different feeling than when I first walked through the gate, arriving to Camp Yale from FOOT. I still remember the butterflies in my stomach and the questions flying through my head about what would transpire over the course of the coming weeks. This time, I walked through Phelps with confidence and a sense of elation. It felt great to be back. 

Then the fun began. That afternoon, the air was crisp and a white powder began to coat the city of New Haven. I always think of snow as a gift, drifting slowing and serenely from the sky. After seven inches of snow piled up on Old Campus, I headed outside with a few friends for an intense snowball fight before dinner!

The author's friends with snowballs in hand, taking aim directly at him.

Besides Yale’s transformation into a winter wonderland, this is also the season for round two of blue booking! Last semester, I had no idea what I was in for when it came to shopping period. Here at Yale, we have two weeks to try all of our classes and get a feel for what they will be like before we sign up for the course. Unlike other universities where you must register for your courses weeks before the semester begins, all Yalies have some time to ask themselves, “Is this course really for me?” before they commit to taking the class. 

Last semester, I picked a few classes, read some evaluations, and I had a pretty good idea of what courses I would be taking before shopping period even began. This time, I am going to approach shopping period with an open mind and work to fulfill my quest for a balanced, and enjoyable second semester! At the moment, this is what my schedule looks like: 

A class schedule filled with 13 conflicting courses.

But, let’s be realistic: I am only going to take four or five of these courses because trying to juggle all 13 that I am going to attempt to shop would be impossible! I am shopping everything from an American Studies freshman seminar called “Narrations of Native America” to “Cell Biology,” as well as a sociology class called “The Sociological Imagination,” a religious studies course and Spanish. 

How did I find all of these courses? I skimmed endlessly through the Blue Book (formally known as the Yale College Programs of Study), and also searched through the online course information website, which you can check out at http://students.yale.edu/oci/. When I got back to campus, I also went to a bunch of Blue Booking Parties with friends and with my Freshman Counselor, Katie. By the end of winter break, here is what my Blue Book looked like, with multicolored sticky notes and all:

The Author's "Blue Book", marked with a large amount of multicolored sticky notes.

Stay tuned for more information about what courses I will be taking this semester! I am so excited for a fresh start with all new classes!