The Universities at Shady Grove (USG)

As April emerges, and the flower starts blooming, I am beginning to notice the start of different changes that are about to come. It is starting to hit me that I’m almost done with my undergraduate career, which means next year I will not be returning to the Shady Grove campus for classes, or to my field placement to fulfill my hours. This stirs up all different kinds of emotions in me: excitement, fear, nostalgia, anxiety, and so the list goes.

I’ve been spending the past few weeks looking and applying for jobs, and it is making me rethink my whole college experience and how much I appreciate the past several years. It was a wild journey that landed me in the Social Work program on the USG campus, but I’m so glad that it did. I have met incredible people, been mentored by professors who are beyond passionate and successful, and taken part in different forms of leadership around campus that I never would have envisioned as a part of my college experience.

As I begin to really focus on my next chapter, I notice the mark that this campus has left on me and how the lessons I have learned here will be ones that I will take with me beyond The Grove.

Yes, I know it’s the middle of April.

However, it really is the New Year …. for Burmese people! And I’m Burmese.

Burmese New Year is usually celebrated for 4 to 5 days each year based on the Burmese Lunar calendar. This year, it lands on April 12 to 16, and April 17 is the New Year’s Day. Many people do a lot of charitable work around this time, release animals, make donations, help the elders, make and share yummy food, and everyone’s in a better mood. Seasonal Padauk flowers and traditional and modernized new year songs are also everywhere.

The biggest celebration of the Burmese New Year is called the Water Festival (aka Thingyan). Water signifises cleansing. Back in the day, people used a small tree branch with leaves to dip into a bowl of water and splash people with it. As time went by, they started using bowls to splash oncoming horse-drawn/c0w-drawn carriages. Later, water guns came into style.

These days, people use garden hoses and fire hoses. They would set it up so that people on the stage can use these hoses to splash (or shoot) water at cars that are passing by. These cars are not merely passing by either. They actually use hatchbacks or jeeps and people stand on the back of it to actually get showered with water.

Here are some pictures I found online:

http://bnfmyanmar.com/blog/water-festivalthingyan-thingyan-s-definition-thingyan-culture-essence/

http://www.myanmartour.com/top_important_festival_in_myanmar_n129.html

Please view this 2 minute video also: Myanmar’s Water Festival Video

Thingyan is a major public holiday and it brings so much joy to Burmese people. I haven’t participated in Thingyan festivities for over 10 years now. However, it’s so nice to see that so many people around the USA are doing their own variations of the Water Festival too. Even here in Rockville, I hear about thingyan celebrations. I’m actually going to one this Sunday! It may not be as authetic or big as the Thingyan back in Myanmar, but it’s still a great way of celebrating our precious New Year.

I just wanted to share this little piece of my world with you all. 🙂  Happy Burmese New Year!

So close I can taste it, the sweet moment when I stand tall on the stage and reap the fruits of my efforts.  It has taken me over ten years, across three countries, and four colleges, but alas friends I will have finally completed my journey at the Universities at Shady Grove with a degree in International Business at the Smith School of Business from the University of Maryland.

On the Shady Grove campus we have dedicated this week to Seniors (woot-woot!), because this Spring’s 2016 class has only 49 short days left until graduation.  It’s the time to reflect on your achievement, your ups and downs, and appreciate the person that you have become.  Wiser, smarter, more educated, you have only begun to take the first steps towards a whole lifetime of success that awaits you.

Lessons Learned

“Eye on the Prize”, live by this, trust me, it will keep you focused and motivated to keep charging forward with your goal.  It’s a phrase you repeat to yourself daily because the challenges and the road blocks that will inevitably arise you will overcome, and looking back after climbing the summit you will realize that it was all worth it.  Everyone’s path is personal and unique in its own way, I have had my own problems along the way, and I have stumbled but never deterred.  This campus has been an absolute blessing.  The big jump from Community College to upper level undergraduate courses is steep, and this campus is especially suited for the transferring student because everyone arrives on the same footing.  From day one I have forged a fraternity with my fellow peers, we have shared all of our classes together since my first semester Junior year and I will be standing beside the same friends come commencement this May.  Our study group sessions, late night cramming for exams in the library, collaborating on projects, and all the fun times and memories from on campus events has made this the most special moment of my life.  I wish it didn’t have to end.

Where I stand  

This Friday I will receive the Academic Achievement Award for my program, a recognition I am honored to hold but I fell like it only half belongs to me.  The faculty, staff and peers on our campus motivated me and encouragement to be my best and excel.  This community supported me, gave me a home and place that I felt I belonged and I am proud to call myself a graduate from the Universities at Shady Grove.  With only a few weeks left to the semester I feel like Senioritis is setting in, that affliction to students in their final year noted by an ebbing in motivation and lackluster performance.  Time to put it back in high gear and finish on a sweet note! Thanks for following me on this journey.  I hope to read about you’re own someday.

Your’s truly, Derek

HAPPY MONDAY!

For my post this week, I really wanted to write about something that I feel passionate about, that doesn’t directly relate to school and the Shady Grove campus, but can be relatable to just about every college student. The question I’ve been asking myself since I entered college and started to live in an apartment was how can I have a homey and adorable home without having to break the bank with money that I do not have?

Over the years, I have accumulated ideas, and finally by senior year, I have compiled some great DIY (Do It Yourself) pieces and thrifty ideas to help create my place that I love! I’m going to share those ideas and pictures with you now!

 These canvases were one of my first art projects, and they make for the perfect kitchen decoration. All this project entailed was going to an art store, buying a few canvases and a bottle of Modge Podge. I then chose pictures that I love and find aesthetically pleasing, printed them, and transferred them onto the canvas with the Modge Podge. After thirty minutes, these four canvases were what I created!

These shelves are probably my favorite part of my living room, and mostly because of how stylish they look and the low price that they cost. The two vases you see on the bottom are both repurposed: the purple one was bought at Value Village in College Park, Maryland, and the one to the right used to be a candle and I now use the dark green jar for decoration. The vase on the top is just a wine glass we thought was pretty enough to hold candles! These white shelves can be found anywhere that sells home decor, whether it’s Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, Wal Mart, etc.

This adorable coffee table was found by my roommate. It is a simple IKEA table, that was painted and had wooden panels put on and drilled in. The wood vibe adds warmth to our living room!

 So this last piece that holds our TV was not made by my roommates or I, but rather we were very thrifty and got it for FREE, and the best part is this isn’t even that uncommon! Often times in apartment buildings, when residents are moving out, they will put furniture that they do not want in the main trash room, and it is up for grabs! That is how we scored this clutch TV stand, and we sure are glad we did.

These are just a few of my pointers to help save money while still enjoying the benefits of getting to finally be in charge of creating your own personal space! I hope they were helpful and fun to look at 🙂

HAVE A GOOD WEEK!

Shana Frankel