Happy October!

Well , I was going to do a post on why I went into engineering in the first place, but that got deleted somehow. I don’t really know what happened, but it doesn’t matter; the post is gone, it’s time to move on.
I was told that I had to write a little on my thoughts about engineering at UIUC and iFoundry. So I guess I’ll do that instead.
I love the engineering program at U of I. It’s awesome! I feel like I connect with so many different people each day, and they’re all engineers. I hang out with engineers, eat lunch with engineers, and most of my friends that I’ve made at Illinois are engineers. It’s pretty swell. The extracurriculars are helpful in meeting people, too. For example, I joined the Society of Women Engineers this past September, and I’ve helped with football concessions, went to a barn dance, brainstormed fundraising ideas, and helped to start a lesson plan for a kindergarten outreach program. My professors and TAs are awesome, too. When I was in high school, usually I’d have one teacher who didn’t know what the heck he/she was doing, and that was frustrating. At U of I this semester, my professor’s lectures are informative and entertaining, my TAs are great at explaining the course material, and everyone’s relaxed about attendance. On top of that, there are quite a bit of resources available for extra help in courses. It also helps that I live in a LLC that’s filled with nerdy girls like me :) . Can you say, “instant study groups?”
I hate to be Pollyanna-ish, but I really do love Illinois. Combined with all of the great resources available, the high caliber of education, and the fun that I’m having, the scenery is the spray-paint on the steam-powered car. I enjoy riding my bike past the all of the buildings during the evening, when everything turns an oddly beautiful shade of orange. The archaic archetectural majesty of the buildings and surrounding oak trees strike me every day. Also, the Quad always looks glorious, even in the rain. And biking by Morrow fields...I could go on and on... :)
I think I was also supposed to put in my ideas about iFoundry. I like iFoundry (I think that counts for the stupidest sentence in this post). I appreciate the fact that it helped me meet new people before classes started. I also like having the intellectual freedoms that iFoundry affords us. Although the free-range educational style might be a challenge to some, I think it's a great way to really branch out and try new things, like inviting corporate sponsers over, or designing new stuff, or even making a video about AED. I'm really hoping that this will last into next semester and even next year. I'm not sure what we'd be doing in iFoundry as sophomores, but deciding that is half the fun :)
Three years ago I would have never imagined that I would be studying engineering, much less be out of state. Now I can't imagine being anywhere else, doing anything else. I know it might be a bit premature, but I think engineering is my passion. The possiblities for innovation and creation are endless.
My brain is pretty much mush now. I think I should go to bed. Well, until next time, keep your stick on the ice!