0 CommentsIf you think the only way to know the scoop on college-campus living is by having your college kid accept your neighbor’s Facebook friend request, think again. The Buzz will have you covered. This month we are introducing our college bloggers from your neighborhoods. Their mission is to post weekly stories on our website – from Palo Alto, Calif., to Nashville, Tenn., with Waco and Austin in between – describing what it’s really like to be in college.
Aneel Henry, a 19-year old sophomore at Vanderbilt University, is a resident of West University and a graduate of St. Johns School, where he was active on swim team. Aneel, who is majoring in environmental science and hopes to study law, has no problem telling all in his blogs, even when the revelations show his flaws.
Buzz bloggers (from left) Aneel Henry, Amy Engler, Morgan Taylor and Kristin Holcomb share the inside scoop on college life.
While writing about his first college party, Aneel describes his night in detail. “The nervous excitement buzzing through the crowd was infectious. The confidence I had so resolutely instilled in myself as I had strolled out of my dorm room caved within seconds.”
In addition to sharing party tales, Aneel gives advice on making school a priority. “The key to enjoying yourself in college and maintaining an active social life is balance. Learn to finish your work before you go anywhere,” he writes.
Readers will be able to follow Aneel as he returns for his second year in Nashville, the country music capital of the United States.
On the other side of the country at Stanford University, Amy Engler admits to exposing her inner dork through her blogs. Amy grew up in Bellaire, graduated from Episcopal High School, and was active in the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, a group for Jewish teens.
Now, as a 19-year old sophomore at Stanford, Amy is still deciding what to study. So far at college, she says, she has had a hard time understanding why her roommate, an international student from Vietnam, always wanted to avoid confrontation when there were problems that needed to be discussed.
“She probably thought I was a crazy American with a big mouth, always telling her exactly how I felt,” Amy writes. In her blog, Amy says, she wants to share problems and help others learn from her experiences.
Morgan Taylor, an outgoing sophomore at Baylor University, grew up in Memorial and graduated from Houston Christian High School, where she was yearbook editor and active in choir and student ambassadors.
Even though it is scary to be open in her blog posts, Morgan, who is majoring in public relations and hopes to become a news anchor or publicist, says she wants to be candid with the readers. “I don’t want to sugarcoat it. I want people to know what college students actually go through,” she says.
Weight can be a touchy subject, but Morgan uses humor to shed light on her experience with the Freshman 15. “At first I treated myself to my favorite restaurants most days, until my eating out increased my jean size and decreased my checking account,” she writes.
She warns readers about the dangers of late-night snacking and outlines goals for herself. “I won’t be the next contestant on The Biggest Loser, but I’ve got some work to do. My goal: to shed the extra ‘love’ that I acquired throughout the year.”
Kristin Holcomb, who describes herself as creative but indecisive, is excited about her first year at the University of Texas at Austin, where she is majoring in journalism. In the future, she hopes to work for a magazine or be a lawyer. She grew up in Memorial and graduated from Memorial High School, where she was active in tennis and newspaper.
Her biggest decision so far has been choosing where to live: on campus or in an all-girls private dorm. “On the day of the deadline for making rooming decisions I still had not chosen where I wanted to live or who to live with. I did not know what each dorm’s atmosphere would be like and where I would fit in best,” she says.
After much deliberation, Kristin decided to live in the private dorm where they make sack lunches to take along if you can’t make it back to eat between classes. “It all came down to the packed lunches. Just kidding. I just felt like I would fit in better and make more friends here.”
From Bellaire, West U, and Memorial to the wide world, these college kids promise to share the real deal about campus life. (Note to their parents: Don’t read. You don’t want to know everything.) Enjoy their journeys at www.bellairebuzz.com.
Editor’s note: Thank you to Amy Engler and Kristin Holcomb for pulling this article together. Also, Michael Cohodes, a sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin, joined our lineup of college bloggers shortly after this article was written. He is the sports junkie of the group.
