Oberlin Blogs

All I've Learned

January 25, 2009

Emily Robinson ’12

Man. I've kind of neglected this poor blog. My winternship (that's what we call them, right? I'm a little bit behind.) has been pretty fantastic. I'm an intern at a small non-profit organization called Community Options for Families and Youth, otherwise known as COFY. My main assignment is basically reading as many studies, as many papers, and as many books as I can during my month of work. And, to decrease my uselessness, I shadow behavior coaches in kindergarten classrooms and do office work. Oh! And I'm also designing their website. But anyway, I've had a great month so far. I thought I'd share with you 10 things I have learned during my time at home, and despite their narrow margin of relevance, maybe they'll come in handy someday.

Things I Learned During Winter Term

1.When it's above 60 degrees every day, it doesn't count as winter. Luckily, I'm pretty sure that February and March in Oberlin will make up for it.
2.Wasting time on the internet is somehow much more enthralling at school. I guess while you have access to a car, it's better to waste time going cool places.
3.When you're used to living next door to all your friends, it begins to suck not having them around.
4.Cuddle with as many animals as possible while away from school, because when you go back, it becomes challenging.
5.Kindergarteners don't care how old you are. If you're over 18, you might as well be 50. Telling them you're 8,000 often yields successful results.
6.While psychogenic megacolon is not such a pleasant disorder, it would make an AWESOME name for a death metal band.
7.On that topic, your parents don't care how cool you think bowel negativism is. Sometimes, psychological evaluations of poop don't make great dinner table conversation. Even when you know it's super cool and that your parents are just wrong.
8.There are no classes at Oberlin dealing with psychological disorders pertaining to the bowel. HOWEVER, if you play your Winter Term cards right, you can still become an expert.
9.When you're an intern, falling asleep at a staff meeting (especially on your first day of work) is inadvisable.
10.If you watch "1-2-3 Magic" during your training, feel proud that you now know an effective method of disciplining kids by counting to 3 and threatening a time-out. However, don't use it on your parents. Or your car, when the check engine light comes on.
11.I feel like watching the Brady Bunch. WAIT. Focus. I was going to say this:
I miss college more than I ever thought I would. For some reason, I didn't think I would. But I had no idea. Marching band, wind ensemble, so many awesome things...I can't wait to go back next weekend. Being in California is nice, but school feels like my real home now.

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