Author: Therese Bennett

Hi! My name is Therese and I am a senior majoring in Biology and English. When I am not studying and doing homework, I enjoy baking French macaroons and creme brulee and cupcakes upon cupcakes upon cupcakes! I also love to write poetry and play the piano and harp. Chicago has always been my home and Loyola has become my second home. Go Ramblers! Read my blog and find out what it is like being a student in the Windy City!
Some Final Words

Some Final Words

Hi everyone! This is my final blog post and I just wanted to thank anyone who actually reads these. I hope they have been helpful, insightful, but most of all, have helped you to see how truly wonderful life at Loyola can be. In one weeks’ time, I will walk across the stage and step out fully into the real world. Loyola has prepared me for that. So if you are already at Loyola, I hope you can appreciate your time here and have a ton of fun learning and making friends. If you are an incoming student, I have the same advice. Here at Loyola you will take interesting classes, learn new things, get involved with the community, make friends, challenge yourself, and have fun! Best of luck Ramblers! Keep ramblin on!!

Savory and Sweet at m.henry

Savory and Sweet at m.henry

Hi everyone! Happy finals week! The school year is so close to being over that I can almost taste it. This will be my second to last blog post and I wanted to talk about one of my favorite things to talk about, food! Tried out a new restaurant this week located very close to Loyola’s Lakeshore campus and wanted to tell you all about it. Because who does not want to try out new places to eat?? I am always down for a culinary experience in a new restaurant.

The restaurant is called m.henry. Located at 5707 N. Clark Street, this place is always packed and always amazing. A breakfast/lunch spot perfect for anyone, this restaurant prides themselves on their fresh and delicious food options and fantastic desserts. They try to use as much local produce and organic products as they can in creating their dishes. The atmosphere was very welcoming and homey and there was even a little section to purchase baked goods that they bake in the restaurant. While waiting, my mouth was literally drooling over their mini coconut pies and their lemon cakes. Everything looked so good!

I went for breakfast. The place was super crowded and we had to wait for about 20 minutes, but you that a place is good if there is a wait. Once we were seated, I instantly browsed their menu. Not knowing anything about the place, it was hard for me to select a dish because everything looked and sounded out of this world. There is a sweet section of the menu and a savory section. The sweet section had mango and blueberry cinnamon French toast, four berry hotcakes, and other mouthwatering sweetness. The savory side was equally tempting with bacon wrapped eggs, shrimp and crab cake bennies, and a home comfort plate. The dish that caught my eye was the roasted asparagus and prosciutto benedict. IT WAS TO DIE FOR! The dish describes itself, but for the hollandaise, it was a rich and creamy parmesan sauce with a bright mixed green salad on the side. My friend decided on enrique’s morning plate which was a Mexican style dish. It consisted of two homemade tortillas with avocados, eggs, chorizo, tofu, ancho chili sauce, and cheese. It came with rice and plantains.  Since we both got savory and wanted something sweet to share, we decided on the out of this world breakfast bread pudding. SOOO GOOD! It was a vanilla and egg custard brioche bread pudding with blackberries and peaches as a topping. It we didn’t get that to share, I could have eaten that all on my own!

I would recommend this place to everyone and anyone. It was probably one of the best breakfasts I have ever had and I have been to quite a few breakfast places around Chicago. So go check it out! You really will not be disappointed!

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Some useful Information for Dorm Packing

Some useful Information for Dorm Packing

Hello everyone! The school year is almost over, and they next time most students will be back at Loyola will be for the Fall 2015 semester. For all those who are coming in as freshman, or for anyone who will be living in a dorm, I thought I would tell you about some things you can share with your roommate so as to make your packing less stressful.

These are the things that can be shared for freshman dorming!

  1. Microwave
  2. Vacuum (totally optional, but most people find having one a good idea)
  3. Cleaning supplies (including glass cleaner, wood cleaner, and all purpose wipes)
  4. TV
  5. Floor length mirror
  6. Iron
  7. Ironing board
  8. Mini fridge
  9. Shower curtain (optional because they give you a white one)
  10. Shower rug (optional as well, mostly for dorms that do not have communal bathrooms)

These are things that can be shared for on campus housing after freshman year (in addition to the ones above)!

  1. Furniture (such as futon, and some chairs. Check and make sure furniture is not already included. A friend lived in Santa Clara and he had furniture, but when I lived in Fordham we had to bring our own.)
  2. Area rug for the living space
  3. Plates and utensils
  4. Pots and pans
  5. Toilet paper/paper towels/ napkins (you can alternate!)
  6. Toaster
  7. Drying rack for dishes
  8. Soap (for the bathroom and to wash the dishes)

Make sure to communicate with your roommate ahead of time so that you both will not bring the same thing! Also, double check to see what your dorm already provides especially pertaining to furniture and kitchen appliances!

 

Spectacular Novels that I have read for my English Classes

Spectacular Novels that I have read for my English Classes

Hey everyone! Isn’t this wonderful weather that Chicago is having the perfect excuse to sit outside and read a book?? Oh yes it is! Because of classes, I do not have a ton of extra time to read for pleasure, but because of my English major, I do get the chance to read a lot of novels, most of which I have liked! I thought I would share some of my favorites and you can put them on your spring/summer reading list!

  1. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston – This story narrates the life of Janie, an African-American woman who is searching for something bigger and better than what she currently has. She is seeking love. In the novel, you follow the heartbreaking story of her search and discovery of love. Beautifully written in African-American native dialect, this story is a must read!
  2. Native Son by Richard Wright – Another African-American novel, this story focuses on the life of Bigger Thomas, an African-American boy living in Chicago in the 1930s. He kills a white woman and the novel moves from the incident, to his hiding from the law, and then his capture by the law. The novel demonstrates the struggles of African Americans, the idea of Communism, and the discovery of the self. Bigger embraces the animalistic nature that he is thought to be associated with and runs with it.
  3. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen – Who does not love Jane Austen? Being her first novel, the reader is enveloped into the life of Catherine. While pining away after Henry, she is invited to visit their house, Northanger Abbey. Here, Catherine, obsessed with gothic novels, finds herself trying to develop one at the Abbey. The reader is able to see the mature growth of Catherine as the novel continues.
  4. Breathe, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat – This story revolves around Sophie, a Haitian woman, who tries to build connections based on love. She goes on a journey to love her mother, her husband, her family, and her child. With a terrifying past filled with rape and abandonment, Sophie seeks the understanding of what can be endured and what can be forgiven.
  5. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison – The story of Pecola, a little African-American girl living after the Great Depression, told from the eyes of other people. This novel deals with class-shaming racism, or racism within the African-American community. Pecola is longing for the blue eyes of a white child, because she has internalized the white beauty standard and feels ashamed of her own dark skin. Though dark and deeply disturbing, this novel presents the reader with a deeper understanding of the color caste system.

These are older books, but interesting reads! All had to be read for some of my English classes that dealt on the topics of shame, identity, and femininity. None of these are particularly light reads, but interesting reads for discussion with others. You can look up better summaries online, because my summaries really did not do the books justice!

Some things to know about Graduation

Some things to know about Graduation

Happy Sunday everyone! The weather has been sooooo beautiful. It is the perfect weather to just sit out by the lake or go for a walk along Lakeshore Drive. While I have been enjoying the weather a little bit, most of my time has been spent preparing for graduation and searching for jobs. Since this is about the only thing on my mind currently, I thought I would share some of the graduation process here at Loyola.

First of all, you have to make sure that in order to graduate, all your academic requirements are met. You can check this under LOCUS in the “Academic Report” section, but you can also go to your advisor to make sure that everything is taken care of. There is nothing worse than discovering that you miscalculated your hours or forgot a required class once graduation comes around. Once you become a senior, you will start getting emails regarding graduation and helpful workshops, talks, and job fairs. You will receive an email asking you to register for graduation by a certain date. Once registered, you will then receive emails entailing everything you need to know for graduation. They will ask you if you are attending graduation, and once you answer, you are able to pick tickets for your ceremony. This year we were only allowed four tickets per student, so if you need more, you will have to reach out to other students to see if they are willing to give you a few tickets. You will then get an email telling you when to pick up your gown, cap, and tassels. I did not have to purchase a gown because my sister already had one, but I did purchase my tassels. I purchased one for the School or Arts and one for the School of Sciences. At the pick-up, you can also purchase a class ring, take pictures in your cap and gown, eat free food, and ask questions about the job search. Now all I have to wait for is the big day!

Graduation is coming on fast and I cannot believe my time at Loyola is almost done. I have loved every single year that I have been here. I have made some amazing friends, taken some great classes, and have been taught by some excellent professors. It is scary transitioning into the big-girl world, but I know that Loyola has prepared me for this and I know that I can tackle whatever the world throws at me.

Seeking out your Loyola Advisor

Seeking out your Loyola Advisor

Hi hi hi! For everyone who is registering for classes for next semester, the date to register is getting oh so close. For myself of course, classes are over and I no longer have to worry about creating a schedule for next semester. Instead, that worry is being replaced by the job hunt worry! Anyways, I wanted to give some advice to all those who are trying to decide what classes to take their next semester.

GO SEE YOUR ADVISOR! I am serious. Your advisor is there to do exactly what their title says, to “advise”. They are here for you for any such academic questions you may have. Once entering Loyola, you are assigned a first-year advisor who helps you navigate the new waters of your college life. After your first year is done and you have declared a major, you get assigned an advisor who is paired with that school. Since I am an English major and Biology major, I have two advisors. One is the School of Sciences and one in the School of Arts.

My advisors have helped answer any questions that I had. What classes should I take next semester? How can I plot out the rest of my classes for the remainder of my time at Loyola? How do I navigate LOCUS to select a class? Where are my classes located? What requirements are required for my major? Who can I contact for this or that? How do I drop a class? How do I add a class? Advisors are always willing to help you out with any questions you may have. Do not be afraid to ask them. They are lifesavers. During the beginning of my fourth year of college I was having a panic attack because I needed help deciding my academic life and major. I was not completely happy with my Biology major and desperately wanted to add English as a major. Going into my fourth year, I thought this was impossible. I sat down with my Biology advisor and asked what I had to do. She told me that a fifth year would be needed to complete the degree, but that it was more than doable. She helped me map out the classes that I would need and gave me the contact information for who I should talk to in the English department. Even though it was hard to choose on becoming a fifth year student or not, my advisor helped to calm my fears and anxiety over it. Today I am completely happy with my decision and I have my advisor to thank for helping me find my way in the decision of adding an extra major.

So get in contact with your advisor. I guarantee that they will be super helpful and if they do not know they answer, they will look it up or give you the contact information of someone who will know. Advisors are awesome!

Serving up exquisite deliciousness at Revival Social Club

Serving up exquisite deliciousness at Revival Social Club

Hello Everyone! Happy Easter to all! In the spirit of the holiday and eating your weight in food, I thought I would let you guys in on a new restaurant that is located right near Loyola’s Lake Shore campus. It is called Revival Social Club and it is a trendy new restaurant that is offering delicious and affordable food in a beautiful setting with a wonderful staff.

Located at 1133 W. Granville Avenue, the Revival Social Club is a great place to escape the dining hall’s food for some upscale yumminess. Open from 10am to 11pm on Mondays thru Thursdays, 10am to 12am on Friday, 8am to 12pm on Saturday, and 8am to 11pm on Sunday, my friend and I made our way near there on a Tuesday around 11:30am. We came on the place entirely by accident. This new restaurant replaced an old favorite of ours, M Henriettas, so we were a little leery if this place would be the place for us. But, as soon as we walked in, sat down, and looked at the menu, we were instantly drawn in. The décor is very modern historic chic, with a sort of laid back and easy conversation flowing vibe. While the menu is not the largest, we were both totally fine with that. Smaller menu usually means more care goes into each dish. Since we were feeling breakfasty, I ordered the Short Rib Sandwich. It was an English muffin sandwich with short ribs, horseradish aioli, egg, and it was served with potatoes. It was heavenly!! So delicious and so perfectly cooked, I lapped it up. My friend got a French toast dish with caramelized apples on top. I tried some of hers and it was great as well! I also ordered a hot apple cider. It came in a huge coffee cup and was super fragrant. For an early desert (because why would you pass up desert!) we got the Monkey Bread Skillet to split. SO WONDERFUL! It was basically like eating little puffed up churros. It contains cinnamon sugar pull-apart dough with caramel and vanilla ice cream in a skillet. So perfect. I felt myself just totally tipping into a sugar-land filled dream. My meal and drink only ended up around 22 dollars with tip and tax.

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Overall, this place is a great place to meet up with friends at a close location near campus. Besides offering breakfast, the Revival Social Club also offers dinner. With a wonderful atmosphere and super tasty food, this restaurant is something that you will not want to miss!

Sport Games in Chicago

Sport Games in Chicago

Break is almost here! Break is almost here! In honor of school being off for a four day weekend over Easter, I thought I would write about something non-Loyola related, but still something you can do in Chicago!

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Are you into sports? Particularly hockey? Are you not a Blues fan? Then the Chicago Blackhawks hockey games are for you! Hockey is one of my favorite sports to watch because of its fast pace. Tempers flare in between players, goals are scored, and there is skating! Just a ton of fun stuff. Chicago is home to many sports teams such as the Chicago Fire, the Chicago Bulls, the Chicago Bears, the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago Sox, and the Chicago Blackhawks. In February I went to a Blackhawks game with a friend. It was a fantastic game against the Florida Panthers. It was an intense game that went into overtime, and then a shootout with the Hawks clinching the win. Professional sport games are always fun to go to when in Chicago because everyone is super passionate about sports here. There are even rivalries between Chicagoans over if the Chicago Cubs or Chicago White Sox are better (White Sox all the way over here on my end!). Sport games in Chicago are a great thing to do with friends. There is something just super enticing about getting a group of friends together to go cheer on a team and do something different than the normal dinner or movie outing. You can make a whole day of it too and can include dinner and drinks before/after the game. It is usually smart to eat ahead of time because food prices inside the stadiums are super pricey! Tickets for hockey are expensive so if you want to go to a Hawks game, it is a good idea to save up, but tickets for other sports such as baseball are not that expensive and are definitely affordable for the college student. Also, if you are planning on going to any games, take the el or bus. Parking is expensive and limited. Who could possibly pass up public transportation?! Since the weather is turning nicer and baseball season is upon us, you will be able to find me at the Cubs versus Sox game in the summer proudly decked out in that black and white.

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And as the Hawks race for the playoffs, LETS GO HAWKS!

Scope out these awesome Classes Loyola Offers!

Scope out these awesome Classes Loyola Offers!

Hello Hello Hello! It is almost Friday, which means it is almost the weekend! Who does not look forward to the weekend! Thinking ahead to the weekend and beyond these past couple days made me think about the past a little bit too. When I was talking to my friend today, we were reflecting on the past that we have had at Loyola. It is so weird to think that only about a month more and I will be graduating! Life is getting way too real, way too fast. Anyways, we were talking about life at Loyola and some of our favorite classes. Which of course I wanted to share with you guys! Who does not want to take more interesting and exciting classes???

  1. The Writing of Fiction (ENGL 318) – We got to write short stories! If you are thinking that you would not be interested in creative writing and that maybe this is not the class for you, hold up, this class is the bomb for EVERYONE! It is so much fun and there is literally no bad writer! It is a relaxing class where you are allowed to be creative and to express your own weird ideas whatever they may be. Bonus: you are also never wrong, because nothing is wrong in your own story.
  2. Piano (MUSC 102) – Do you want to learn an instrument? Have you ever dreamed of becoming a famous musician who tours the world? Then this is a great class to get started on that dream. Yes, you will not come out as a Bach prodigy, but you will learn the basics of how to play the piano and more importantly, you will have fun doing it.
  3. Animal Behavior (BIOL 320) – This is a science class, but an interesting science class. It is literally what it says it is, animal behavior. You learn everything there is to know about animals and how they grow, learn, and interact with themselves and others who are not the same as them. The class is just so chalked full with interesting information you really won’t notice the long class period.
  4. Spanish 2 (SPAN 102) – It is always interesting to learn a new language! I am not gifted in learning them, but this class was super fun because the teacher was very patient and understanding with her students. She wanted us to succeed. We even took a field trip to the National Museum of Mexican Art and had a Day of the Dead celebration which included Spanish Bingo and tamales. Overall, it was just a great class with a great atmosphere to be in.
  5. Environmental Sustainability (ENVS 283) – In this class we learned all about the environment, its deterioration, and what we can do to help. We had to do some volunteering for this class so two of my friends and I did gully walking. We went along the Chicago River and looked for gullies with a guide so that we can report them to get fixed. These gullies are cracks that lead outwards from the river and here the soil deteriorates and erosion occurs. It was fun to get out there and help the environment.
  6. Evolution of Western Idea till 17th Century (HIST 101) – This was a history class and for someone who dislikes history, this class made me appreciate it. We covered mostly ancient history including the Romans and Greeks and I just loved this class! The professor was probably the best professor I ever had. He cared about his students. He was always more than willing to help, made his exams challenging, but more than doable, and kept class interesting with funny jokes and powerpoint slides. John McManamon was the professor’s name, and he has to be the best professor at Loyola!

So if you are not graduating, you should check these classes out! I guarantee that all of them will be interesting and will make you not dread going to class every day.

Stress Relieving Tips for Anything and Everything

Stress Relieving Tips for Anything and Everything

Happy Tuesday everyone! So I feel like I always say this, but the papers are piling on because the end of the semester is getting too close for comfort. It is getting quite real over here because I officially have to pick up my cap and gown tomorrow for graduation! I am graduating and have no idea what I really want to do with my life and it is freaking me out. So in order to calm myself down a bit, I thought I would let you guys in on some of my stress reliving tips. These tips can be for any sort of stress, it is not just school related! I know I posted one a while back about stress relieving tips, but those were solely for school and these are more general!

  1. Take a step back! – Often we feel so overwhelmed that we feel like we have to keep going 24/7 at a 100 and ten percent, but you have to keep in mind that you are only stressing yourself out further. Take a step back, even for a few minutes, and breathe. Going into things with a clear head gives you a renewed source of energy and commitment to whatever you are doing!
  2. Put it in perspective! – Freaking out about getting that A versus an A-? We have all been there, but here is a little secret, close your eyes and imagine yourself ten years from now, even ten days, does that grade matter? Probably not. I highly doubt a future boss will look at your grade and deny you because you did not get that A. Put in the right amount of effort, do your best, and feel good about that! You are only human, although some of us hope for the brain of Iron Man, we don’t have it. Just do your best and don’t stress!
  3. Sleep on it! – This is not to say procrastinate, but everything looks better in the morning. Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it, so do not carry the baggage of yesterday into today. Go in with a clear mind and clean slate and tackle whatever you have to tackle!
  4. Find something that Relates to you! – Get into some activity that helps you get rid of stress. For me, baking, writing (non-school related of course!), and playing the piano are my stress relievers. Find yours! Don’t be afraid to find something that is tailored to you. There are a ton of options out there that people may tell you to do like yoga, breathing exercises, stress balls, ect, but you have to find what works for you.
  5. Talk it out! – Do not bottle the stress up! If you need to talk to someone, talk to someone. Whenever I tell a friend about a bad day and get some words of encouragement it is the best dose of stress relieving medicine out there. Don’t look for sympathy, but don’t be afraid to reach out to someone when you just need to vent. It is like a win-win situation, because then they can do the same and you both can blow off some steam!

Like I said, these stress tips can apply to anything, not just school. It is good to be able to manage stress though because let’s face it, life is no picnic, but keep your chin up! You are going to be just fine!