THR 100-FY

Liv Rando
I expect college to be different and difficult in a multitude of ways. Its
already taken more of a severe physical and mental toll on me then high
school ever has, and I’ve been at WCSU for 2 weeks. The college pace
has me working a lot harder and faster than I had originally would have
guessed. Especially in my major, dealing with stress and time
management is a component of my everyday life. It’s a good kind of stress
and a good pace, but it’s just something I’ not used to especially coming off
summer and having a lot freer time and “me” time. In time, I anticipate
having an even a busier schedule, and harder days. I anticipate improving
my craft and really taking the time to work on the elements of my major. If I
could identify three personal goals for myself this semester, I would like
to...
1. Become a more organized individual in work, school, and
everyday life (EX. physical organization such as cleaning on a
daily basis, organizing my thoughts and important subject matter in
a planner, keeping a neat backpack)
2. Take time to become a more physically and mentally healthy
person which will allow me to be the best student I can be.
3. Really pay attention to my classes and note what my professors
have to say concisely, which will help me study and understand
after class is over. And make personal connections and
relationships with my professors.
I am mainly concerned about failing myself or my professors by not
trying my hardest and getting in my head. I am afraid I won’t like the
school or program and I might not be able to handle it. I am also
concerned that my “talent” won’t be at the standard it is supposed to be.
I also would like to take care of myself mentally more so I’m hoping that
it is something that I can make a priority while still balancing everything
else.
 
​September 6th: Picture 
We were supposed to take a picture of something in the VPAC and 
write about it. I took a picture of the room that Thr 100 is held in 
after everyone left. It’s empty and warm, there are a few loose 
papers strewn across the floor chairs. There is a slight opening in 
the black curtains at the side or I guess in front of the classroom 
that shows a sliver of the mirror. The room feels a little strange to 
me since I’m hardly ever in there compared to the studio right next 
to it. It’s quaint but its purpose remains the same. I love the 
studios in the building because they are so empty(this one looks o 
empty besides the chairs and various props)but so much happens in 
them. So much life is created in these studios. 

 
 

September 13​th  

Today was a long and tedious day but it was fun by the end of it. I 
had a chance to hang out with my friends Vitale and Alyssa and we 
actually drove 25 minutes from the school to get Ferris acres ice 
cream. It was amazingly good and it was good to get off campus for 
a while, being with them definitely lifted my spirits. I’m now in bed 
watching my 4th old school rom-com of the week...Tonight’s pick is 
Notting Hill with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, so far it’s lovely. 
There’s nothing like a young Hugh Grant and a charming London town 
to get your mind off of stressful things. 
 
 
September 20th 
I am in NYC! I’m visiting my mom and my sister to celebrate my 
mom’s birthday. We are staying in my sister’s apartment on the 
Upper West Side. I bought my mom Dear Evan Hansen tickets as 
her present so I just surprised her with them. When I got off the 
train from white plains I was absolutely famished so we immediately 
went to go eat. I can’t even explain how good that food was after 
weeks and weeks of dining hall meals. We also had Amarinos ice 
cream which was absolutely heavenly I think I died and went to 
heaven actually. I love New York so it feels so good to be here, the 
energy and the diversity are so intoxicating and for some reason has 
an allure to me. 
 
 
September 27th 
In the morning I had my vocal coaching with Mark which went badly 
due to having a shot voice, and then 300 was alright but I’m on set 
crew and I’m definitely not a handy person so I also feel like I’m 
being less of a help and more of a burden. After eversion and WIG 
which I know attend every week, I went outside and there was a 
street fair going on with loads of food trucks, so I waited in line for 
40 minutes to get some ice cream that tasted like cereal milk, 10/10 
would recommend it was absolutely delicious. If you can’t tell by my 
journal entries the common theme is ice cream...I love it so much. 
 
October 4th 
I drove home to Saratoga Springs on Thursday night so this week I 
missed 100 and 300(sorry Depoto). The drive was awful because it 
was extremely rainy and foggy and not to mention dark because it 
was the nighttime. I’ll miss my friends but it feels so good to be 
home with my family and to see my dog especially lol. I forgot how 
comfortable my bed was and how much I took for granted while I 
was away. I’m seeing my boyfriend who goes to school in DC 
tomorrow because he also came back so I’m super excited about 
that. It feels amazing to be home though and to finally find relif 
from the pressure of always having to put on a happy face or act like 
everything is fine... I am also excited about eating really good food 
too as always. 
 
October 11th: Mid Semester reflection! 
This semester has been very challenging for me so far. A lot has 
been thrown on me all at once as well as my other peers and it’s a lot 
to deal with. Obviously there are way harder majors then being an 
MT but it’s still incredibly stressful. The best way I find myself 
doing hw is just doing it a little at a time. If I try to conquer 
everything all at once my head will explode. So throughout my day 
when I have time in between class, I just check the things I need to 
do off my mental list one by one. I have stayed pretty on top of my 
work and I get everything done for my classes on time but I prefer 
to have a good quality of work so if I’m rushed usually I feel sloppy 
and still unprepared. I think it’s been important for me to surround 
myself with people who are grounded and sure in themselves. Since 
I’m essentially with the same 15 people all day everyday I like to 
branch out and hang with the upperclassmen or just be alone. 
There’s definitely a lot of big personalities in my freshman major 
and I love all of them but space is definitely needed sometimes. I 
believe the next part of the semester will be harder or more 
challenging than the last but I think if I take in on the way I have 
done with the first semster I should be fine in the end.