My Commons Life

News & features about the Vanderbilt Commons from the students who live here

Archives for April 2019

Walker Tries to Feed a Venus Flytrap?! (or We Visit Bicentennial State Park)

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It’s officially the last Nashville Wanderer’s post of the year! We’ve explored a lot of places throughout our first year at Vanderbilt, making great memories along the way, and hopefully, through these posts, we’ve inspired you to travel off campus as well. This week Walker and I decided to pack a lot into one post, so we went and visited one of our favorite places in Nashville: the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. Not to be confused with Centennial Park, Bicentennial is located right down the hill past the Tennessee State Capitol. It’s a bit of a hike if you decide to walk — about 45 minutes (which I still highly recommend) — but only a short eight-minute ride if you decide to Uber. Since the 19-acre park is so beautiful and has a multitude of attractions, I made a list to cover as many of the features as I could. Bicentennial has got:

  • The Greek-inspired Tennessee Amphitheatre
  • The Nashville Farmers’ Market
  • The Court of Three Stars (the center has an echo spot like Upper Quad) surrounded by a Carillon of 50 Greek-styled bell towers
  • Rivers of Tennessee Splash Fountains
  • A 200-foot-wide Granite Map of Tennessee
  • A World War II Memorial with an 18,000-ton moving granite globe
  • The Tennessee State Museum right across from the Court of Three Stars

For our trip, Walker and I spent our time exploring the Tennessee State Museum, the Court of Three Stars and bell towers, and the Nashville Farmers’ Market. We started at the museum, which is free to the public, and were immediately blown away by the structure and detail of the exhibits. Music, racial movements, the Civil War, sports, clothing through the decades, paintings, and even quilting (I still don’t know why quilting was involved) were covered in the wonderfully arranged displays of Tennessee’s origins and past. The museum had plenty of interactive screens and videos that covered each exhibit and also had plenty of photo-worthy architecture as well (the place is so huge that I honestly lost Walker for a solid ten minutes).

Before we left the museum, we hit up the children’s area (you should not be surprised by this point) and it honestly had some of the coolest art from the entire place. While the general exhibits had lots of history, the children’s area had all of the bright murals one would look for. The floor was covered by a giant map of Tennessee and the walls had multiple colorful pieces on them; one of them even included the Batman Building, but Walker failed at getting my photo next to it (rip).

After chilling at the museum for a while, we headed over to the park itself to check out the WWII memorial. As mentioned above, the WWII memorial has a giant, heavy black granite globe in the center of it, showing the places around the world that Tennessee troops went to during the war. The memorial is surrounded by cherry blossom trees and leads the way to the Court of Three Stars.

This area is so cool to experience because one direction you’ve got a beautiful lawn leading up to the State Capitol hill, and the other way you have 50 Greek-inspired columns that encircle a humongous granite version of the Tennessee Tristar. The lawn was undergoing construction when we visited this time (hence the lack of photos), but from past visits, I can assure you that it is a sight you will want to see while at Vanderbilt.

For our last stop, we hopped into the Nashville Farmers’ Market to check out some of the cool printing shops and local businesses inside. We had grabbed food at Commons before we left (gotta get that swipe), but the market also has bubble tea, crepes, Mexican, coffee, Jamaican, Korean, BBQ, a deli/grill, Jeni’s ice cream, and more. Since we weren’t eating anything there, we shopped, took some artsy photos with a magazine (check below), and then headed to the outside market and garden center.

The outside market hosts a lot of events throughout the year, and although there was no specific event the day we were there, they had some food trucks and neighborhood vendors selling their art (I got a bag of scrap fabric for only $5). The garden center, Gardens of Babylon, has actually been rated one of the most environmentally friendly businesses in Nashville. It was so fun to see all of the different kinds of plants (some were the same ones from Stevenson’s greenhouse) and shop around for flowers and succulents. Walker and I also spent a shameful seven minutes trying to get a mini Venus flytrap to eat a leaf (it did not work). But all jokes aside, I will definitely be hitting this place up for some affordable house plants for next year and recommend the same for anyone else.

Bicentennial State Park is a jam-packed experience that makes you want to come back time and time again. It is seriously one of the most beautiful places I’ve found in Nashville and I hope that you take the time to see it for yourself. Whether you’re looking for some good food, a scenic place to study, a chance to get to know Tennessee’s rich history, or a new succulent, Bicentennial has got it all and is only a walk away.

Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park Info: https://tnstateparks.com/parks/bicentennial-mall

Tennessee State Museum Hours and Info: https://tnmuseum.org/

Nashville Farmers’ Market Hours and Info: https://www.nashvillefarmersmarket.org/

List-o-things to do over the Summer!

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Summer is the lingering thought amongst most of us Vandy students as we prepare to tackle finals season. Most of us are looking forward to relaxing and enjoying ourselves while some will wonder what they will be doing over our 2 month long break. Here is a (semi) long  list of things to do and/or to keep in mind over the summer:

  1. Plan/decide your future educational path/plan.
  2. Schedule a shadowing of a professional in your prospective field.
  3. Apply for internships in your prospective career.
  4. Learn an new subject: cooking, coding, 3D printing, painting, song writing, playing an instrument, etc.
  5. Volunteer at a retirement village (“old folks home”). They enjoy having young people around!
  6. Volunteer at a local non-profit animal shelter. These types of shelter receive very few support and usually run on donations and grants and are always looking for help.
  7. Create, learn, and start-up a business. This can be from doing tasks on Fiverr, selling handmade items on Etsy or Instagram, or even creating your own website and advertising your product.
  8. Learn to meditate.
  9. Find a way to incorporate more water into your schedule if it is hard for your to remember to drink it daily.
  10. Apply for scholarships.
  11. Learn to film, edit, and post videos/film.
  12. Deep clean your room and donate any old but in good condition items to goodwill. Any new but unworn items can be sold on sites like Mercari or Depop.
  13. Go thrift shopping.
  14. Learn how to invest and/or budget your money.
  15. Plan a vacation or day event with friends.\
  16. Review online notes for any future subject you plan on taking.
  17. Try a new clothing, hairstyle, and/or hair color.
  18. Discuss possible room designs with your roommate for next year.
  19. Consider mentoring an incoming Vanderbilt freshmen.
  20. Breathe and enjoy the summer!
  21. Learn a new hands -on-craft: woodworking, sculpting, construction, electrical circuitry, etc.
  22. View study abroad applications and consider staying abroad for a semester.
  23. Consider taking classes that are new to you (for example, sign language, theater production, acting, star gazing, etc.)
  24. Learn tactics to limit procrastination.
  25. Consider a new method of planning: bullet journals, notebook planners, electronic calendars, etc.
  26. Volunteer at a local food pantry.
  27. If you plan on transferring, taking college tours is a good idea.
  28. Try a new diet and/or exercise routine (within healthy measures of course).
  29. Read more. Go to your local library and get a library card. It is/should be free.
  30. Practice improving your handwriting.
  31. Learn how to type without looking down. There are many free services that offer this online and it makes your typing faster.
  32. Learn/improve your cursive handwriting, like typing, cursive is meant to make writing faster.
  33. Walk outside more and enjoy the fresh air.
  34. Communicate with/visit far away relatives.
  35. Find a summer job.(or create your own).
  36. Sign up for move-in crew.

This list could go on and on but it should give you some ideas as to what you can do over the summer if you find yourself bored and uninspired. Have a great summer!

Hands Down a Great Year

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Handprints are unique; each has their own fingerprint patterns, lines, and size. Each handprint on that wall represents a unique person … someone from a unique background, pursuing their own unique passion. Leaving your handprint somewhere is synonymous to leaving your mark or legacy. That may seem like a bold or melodramatic statement for covering your hand in purple acrylic paint and touching the basement wall of your freshman dorm, but hang on, I’ll explain. Our unique backgrounds somehow all lead us here, to Vanderbilt University, but specifically to East House. There’s a special bond that occurs as a result of learning and exploring freshmen year together.
These hands belong to people who are always learning and creating. East residents are researchers, members of a variety of different academic organizations, and people who engage with faculty, like our Head of House Dr. Seymore, outside the classroom at events like our Bachelor viewing parties and the weekly Thoughts and Snacks house event.
These hands belong to people who are committed to actively engaging in communities across campus. They have thrown up an “anchor down”, helped set up for a function, and clapped enthusiastically as they attended an athletic event.
These hands belong to people who know the importance of self care. They have applied face masks at our stress relEAST event, dialed the number of an RA to seek help, and knocked on the doors of other members of their community to check in and engage in dialogue about healthy living.
These hands belong to people who are committed to celebrating the diverse community they are a part of. They have scrolled through the house groupme, stopping as they saw an cultural showcase event a housemate was in and decided to go (learning more than they were expecting), gone on ASB and helped people who are not as privileged as they are, and hugged someone with a very different identity than them after an insightful, intentional conversation.
These hands represent people who have learned a lot about themselves this year. They have registered for their first absentee ballot, researched an issue to find out their personal stance, and sought out campus resources for personal well-being.
I thought it was interesting to look at the wall and know that so much diversity is present, but how you couldn’t tell what identities a person has just by looking at their hand print. It is, thus, an equalizer and a representation that we are all very different, but share a common identity: a member of East House. These hands represent a diverse community of people who grew alongside and learned from each other. To quote High School Musical, just like we were “all in [it] together” this year, so are our handprints … all up there together on that wall.

Top 5 Memes to Get You Through Finals

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As our freshman year of college starts to come to a close, we like to think about all the amazing memories made over the past year. Going to university events, making late-night Munchie runs, living with your best friends. All of these things came together to make your first year of college what it is, and nothing will ever be quite like it.

Too bad we have to get through finals first.

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Good luck with your finals, Commodores, and have a great summer.

The Girl Next Dore: Looking Back, Moving Forward

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This year I’ve learned, and subsequently blogged, about many things. Along my journey, I’ve walked countless laps around Vanderbilt’s campus in my Stan Smith shoes, reminding myself with each step that no matter how dull the soles of my shoes get, the things I’ve experienced in them won’t fade. I’ve begun to see that life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans, and that detours are sometimes the perfect escape — and that these realizations don’t require me to stop the planning I am so accustomed to, but rather to accept the ways that life presents itself to me.

Along the way, I’ve written some journal entries, tried to get my paragraph right and begun to prioritize taking the next right step. I’ve watched some football games and some episodes of Friends, and sung along to “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

I’ve read some phenomenal books and lamented over my Art History grade through GIFs. I’ve fallen into the midterm slump, hit submit, and tried to pull myself out of the non-Christmas daze of Nashville. I’ve recognized the kindness in humanity, had crazy nights watching Netflix and drinking Brita on the rocks, and even gone line dancing. 

In time, I’ve started to consistently challenge myself to evaluate my perspective and to potentially make some changes if that perspective is not conducive to my growth. And, in turn, I’ve challenged you to do the same. Throughout some of my posts I hope that you’ve been able to see the ways in which I’ve begun to acknowledge that vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness, and that it is okay to tell each other our stories.

Whether you’ve only seen the cover photo of my posts, or whether you read every single one, or maybe read just one along the way, I hope that in some way you may have benefited from my journey, and, if nothing else, that you’ve maybe paused to consider your own. 

Probably without knowing it, you’ve given me a platform to say things that usually I would only think in my head. The ability to say something out loud, to write it down and actually reach an audience, has given me more joy and experience than I could’ve ever asked for this year. Thank you for that and for so much more. 

I hope you will continue to come on this journey with me! If you would like to do so, you can follow me at my website www.thegirlnextdore.com.

Thank you for an incredible year, MyCommonsLife.

As always …

Anchor Down,

Brooke

MCL News Minute-April 17, 2019

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It’s almost finals time at Vandy, but there’s still a ton of events happening on campus. Taylor has the info you need on what’s going on, including Passover Seders, the Holi Celebration, and Lambda’s End of the Year Festival.

CommonsCast Episode 28-April 17, 2019

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It’s the final episode of the CommonsCast for the 2018-19 academic year. Dean Melchor-Barz delivers one last Dean’s Minute, and Zoe has a very special guest for her final Humans of the Commons interview.

Preparing for the End: FINALS!

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Final season has fallen among us. And like many other VU students, you most likely  have to juggle your last midterms with studying and/or working on your final exams/projects. Here are some steps to aid you in preparation for final season.

  1. Make a list of all your exams, final projects, papers, etc. and record the date and time each assignment is due/scheduled.
  2. Print a blank calendar (or use a planner) and write in the information you collected in step 1.
  3. Review the list you made in step 1 and estimate how long it will take you to study for, finish, and/or prepare for each item you listed.
  4. Using different colored highlighters, pen, symbols etc., block in the days that you will work on each assignment. For example, if you have an exam Friday, and you need to study for 4 days for it, you will highlight or mark the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday before the exam as an indication of the days that you will study for it.
  5. Repeat step 4 for everything on your list.

In particular to studying, if you need guidance to break down your studying into manageable chunks, follow these steps:

  1. Make a list of all of the chapters/parts that will be covered by your exam.
  2. Quickly skim/review each section and make an estimate of how long it will take you to review the material. Note this next to each chapter/section.
  3. Follow the same steps #1-5 in the above list and use them particularly for your exam. If needed, make/print another calendar separately for any exam.

Your planner/calendar can look pretty overwhelming after listing all of your responsibilities. However, know to take each day at a time and to not try to overplan and over exhaust yourself. Always have 1 to 2 days a week where you are not actively doing work and can relax and do the things you enjoy. Remember to take study breaks every 45 min to 60 min and to sleep,on average, 7 to 8 hours a night.

Walker is a Third Wheel? (Jk We Visit Belmont)

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Summer is right around the corner! The smell of flowers is everywhere and the humidity is relentless (my hair and I have been at odds for weeks now), but my spirits are high as I have officially pulled out my summer wardrobe (hello shorts!). To embrace the beautiful weather, this Saturday Walker and I, along with my favorite roommate Paige Anderson (also my only roommate), visited Belmont University to explore the campus and attend their annual Belmont Block Party. The event lasted from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Belmont Boulevard and celebrated businesses such as Proper Bagel, Bongo Java, Local Honey, Topgolf, and King of Pops with giveaways. It was a blast and a half and although this particular event has already passed, I would highly recommend searching for similar events in the area. Calendar events like this are all over Facebook and Instagram, easy to find, and 100% worth the experience. Plus, who doesn’t love getting free stuff?

Now, for those of you who have yet to hit up Belmont University, let me tell you why you should. The campus is only a 13-minute walk or a 5-minute scooter ride away from Commons (totally doable) and is basically the picture-perfect college you thought you’d attend when you were eleven years old. Gone are the horrors of ugly construction projects like there is around every turn of Vandy. In fact, Belmont’s got everything. It’s got historic buildings and landscaping for days with perfectly manicured lawns (I love you, Alumni Lawn, I truly do, but you’ve got nothing on Belmont), flowers everywhere, and fountains galore. Belmont has so many fountains that I think they could legitimately solve California’s water shortage if they just donated them all.

My favorite part of the university, however, is the gazebos that sit on the lawn in front of the Belmont Mansion. A portion of the architecture on the campus has been there since the 1860s, back when the campus was still the Acklen estate, and the gazebos show some of the beautiful designs that are still in great shape today. We went to go take photos in the gazebos, but we had to wait a while for a couple of prom groups to go through their photos. While waiting, I was inspired and Paige and I ended up taking some prom-style photos ourselves. Walker, on the other hand, blew us away with a few poses of his own (see the photos down below).

For dinner, we stayed in the area to try a restaurant called Blvd Nashville, and it was so unbelievably good. With prices that match Hopdoddy’s, Blvd Nashville has a broader menu, while still killing the classic burger and truffle fries. The patio we were on was so pretty and I honestly could have stayed there for hours. After we left the restaurant, we headed across the street to House Of, which is a student-run boutique that sells designs from local designers and brands. The store has really good prices for being in Nashville, and I ended up leaving with some new laptop stickers. Right next door is Boulevard Record Shop which is as hipster and cool as you’d expect from a record store next to Belmont; all the indie records you don’t know but feel like you should. Belmont Boulevard is a place that I have entirely overlooked since coming to Nashville, but I have a feeling it’ll become a place that I visit often.  

Whether you need a place to study or are just looking for a fun afternoon activity, the Belmont area is definitely worth a visit. And if for no other reason, check it out to see the beautiful place where your tuition dollars could have been going instead. Anchor Down!

(This post is in no way reflective of my views of the Belmont campus versus Vanderbilt’s. I anchor down for life and hope you do too)