My Commons Life

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

Archives for February 2023

MCL Top 5: Reasons the Commons Ball is More Than Your High School Prom

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To compare the Commons Ball to prom would just be a gross understatement.

#5: The Food

The food alone is a reason to attend the Commons Ball. I can’t think of anyone’s prom that had tables full of charcuterie items, shrimp cocktail tables with literal ice sculptures, steak, tiramisu, and towers of desserts, to name a few. Anyone that was hungry and wanted a great dinner for no meal swipes was welcome to come in.

#4: The “bar”

In one room of the ball, there was a “bar” serving mocktails all evening! This wasn’t just typical Shirley Temples either, there was sparkling cider served in Champagne flutes and several different mixed (mock) drinks we could try. After all, it was all in the name of good fun.

#3: The Activities

There were so many things for us to do! The theme of the ball was Masquerade, and there were so many ways this was carried throughout the night. There was a mask decorating station, stations caricatures, a mechanical bull, two photo booths (one with a camera that gave a 360° view), a silent disco, and of course a DJ and dance floor! Personally, I loved taking pictures with my friends with my mocktail in one hand, and my mask in the other.

#2: The Choreography

Do you remember the Yule Ball from the Harry Potter movies? The Hogwarts school was transformed and a choreographed dance was performed by the most important characters, where all the other students watched. That was basically the vibe I caught when I saw all of our house Presidents performing their choreographed dance. Watching the performance is especially fun when your friends are house officers!

#1: Your College Friends

This is the main thing that your high school prom didn’t have! The Commons Ball was a great way to get dressed up with your college friends and have an amazing night. Instead of looking back at just high school dances, we can now look back at the Commons Ball with our new friends.

A Changed Woman: What Waking Up Early Has Done for Me

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Rushing to brush my teeth, barely having enough time to do my hair, my legs burning as I half speed-walk and half jog to class…these were how my typical mornings went in the beginning of the semester. One day, as I sat in my Nutrition class, chest heaving from attempting to make it to class on time (which failed), I realized this rushed and exhausting lifestyle just wasn’t for me. I needed to wake up earlier. The next day I woke up for my 9:05 class at 7:46. I was a changed woman. I was never going back to waking up thirty minutes before my class starts again. 

Waking up early has been life-changing. I now have time to do my full morning routine, and even make a morning matcha latte (some days) . I’m no longer tumbling out of bed and stomping into my poor slippers to make a beeline to the bathroom. It’s relieving to take my time and actually breathe as I get myself ready in the morning. I even purchased an ice roller to implement into my skincare routine. I now look forward to ice-rolling my face in the morning, which gives me extra motivation to wake-up early. Instead of inhaling a protein bar on my walk to class for breakfast, I now have time to sit down and eat at Commons or Rand. No more embarrassing stomach growling interrupting class lectures. Walking to class is now peaceful and therapeutic, not a cardio workout anymore. 

Setting my alarm for 7:30 in the morning has honestly brought me so much joy in the past two weeks. Yes, I still have days when I want to press snooze and get some extra sleep, but I love that I can start my day with a lot more tranquility and a lot less stress.

MCL Photo Feature: Round Animal Appreciation

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Okay, the title is slightly misleading—this article’s mostly about squirrels. I mean, how could it not be that way? There’s just so many more of them than anything else here (including all of us students, according to rumors). Anyways, I think the best part of this campus is all the chunky animals that I get to encounter on my walks across campus. They give this place so much life, and frankly, I think it would be a lot more depressing without them here. Now, I don’t claim to be a great photographer in the least, but I’ve gotten a few shots that always make me smile when I look at them. And this is important! I’ve had a busy few weeks, so anything that lifts my spirit is quite welcome. If you’re also in need of a pick-me-up, I hope this helps you out. Without further ado, here are some small, (mostly) rotund friends!

And because I couldn’t help it, here are some photos of my favorite good girl 😀

Alright, that’s all I’ve got for now, but perhaps I’ll do one of these again once finals season rolls around. Only two-thirds of the semester to go! We’ve got this, everybody. See ya next week!

CommonsCast Episode 123-February 15, 2023

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On this edition of the podcast Abbey sits down with Dean Gresalfi for our Q&A with the Dean segment, Daniela delivers the details on events coming up this week in the Commons Calendar, and Eigen hosts the Human of the Commons interview segment with his guest Maddy Pinto, a first year student from Daytona Beach, Florida, majoring in Economics with a minor in Data Science. She also lives in Hank Ingram House.

MCL News Minute-February 15, 2023

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Linda has the details about events coming up on campus this week that you should know about, including an info session about McGill, the Luminary Lunar New Year Festival, and some cool Arts Appreciation mini-week events as well.  

MCL Top 5: Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas for Them (or Yourself)

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Still don’t know what to get that special someone for Valentine’s Day? Well, don’t worry because I’ve compiled a list of Daniela-approved gift ideas! That’s not to say that ~I~ have a special someone to spend the day with, BUT I’m actually considering getting these items for myself because #selflove!!

  1. A Cute Lego Set

I know you’ve probably seen these all over Tik Tok, but it’s because they’re the perfect gift! I can’t name a single person who doesn’t like Legos–maybe they don’t like building the Legos, but you could always go the extra step and build the set for them! Otherwise, building it together could be a great way to spend some quality time with one another<3

2. A Custom “I ❤️ ___ ” Shirt

I ordered an “I ❤️ Daniela” shirt from Etsy for myself and I love it soooo much. Even though I bought it as a joke, I find myself wearing it pretty often because I mean, hey, it’s true. Another plus is that it’s a great conversation-starter. Every time I wear it, someone either asks me who Daniela is or compliments it😋

3. A Personalized Necklace

My cousin got me this necklace for my birthday and it’s now part of my daily look. You can get your SO/friend/yourself a necklace with their name, your name, an initial, etc. I’m sure they’ll love it just as much as I love mine🙏🏼

4. A Bouquet of Plushies

Don’t want to just get them a plain teddy bear or flowers? How about combine the two ideas and get them a bouquet of plushies! That way you don’t have to worry about the flowers drying up and they get a super unique gift.

5. Stickers!

What college student doesn’t love personalizing their laptop or water bottle with stickers?!? Getting them stickers of things they like will show that you put thought into their gift. Some ideas include stickers of their favorite album or favorite characters.

Well, that’s all the ideas I have for today! I hope you have a great Valentine’s Day–whether you spend it with a significant other, friends, family, or treating yourself💌

MCL Top 5: Student Perks I Take Advantage Of

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Being a student can be expensive! I’d certainly know. (This is a cry for help. I need to get a job.) As a result, any discount I can get is always very appreciated, and I do my best to abuse the ones I’m able to. But you can’t do that if you’re unaware they exist! Therefore, I’ve compiled a list of the top 5 student perks that I find very useful so that you may also share in the joy of discounted services. Happy penny pinching everybody!

5. New York Times + Wall Street Journal

Don’t you just hate it when you’re trying to read an interesting article, but then the website says, “Actually, we need to feed our families and keep this website going, so you can’t read more than two sentences of this article unless you pay a whole dollar“? I’m exaggerating here, obviously, but the point is that I consider the whole process a larger hassle than it’s worth, and end up giving up on reading. Thanks to Vanderbilt’s gracious generosity, we no longer have to go through that ordeal! For the low, low price of zero dollars and zero cents, you can get access to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal with just your student email. How amazing!

(Small note about this one: both of these services ask you for your graduation date. I was unfortunately too honest, and only realized later that I probably could’ve gotten a few more years of the free subscription had I said I was graduating a few years later than I’m planning on. Not that I’m encouraging any sort of dishonesty, nope! Not at all! Of course not! But it’s certainly worth mentioning.)

4. Microsoft 365

Now, as great as the Google suite is, I’m really happy we have access to Microsoft Office for free. There’s a lot of features that you just can’t get from Google’s version of things, and well. As much as I hate to be that person, lots of jobs ask for proficiency in Excel and not Google Sheets. So… yeah.

3. Discounted streaming services

Specifically, the YouTube Premium + YouTube Music bundle. I’m sure some of you Spotify loyalists are clutching your pearls right now, and sure, I get it! But they don’t have any of my favorite covers, nor do they have lots of other international (cough anime cough) tracks that I really enjoy. Not to mention, I like to do stuff while listening to random YouTube videos, so having premium is quite the nice quality-of-life upgrade.

Aside from discounted music streaming, you can also get (100%) discounted show streaming. Vanderbilt actually gives us HBO Max—and Peacock apparently—for free! Simply navigate to the sign in page, click “sign in with a provider”, select XFINITY, then find XFINITY On Campus. From there, it should be pretty straightforward. Enjoy! (Or perhaps don’t if you have no self control like myself.)

2. Nashville Symphony SOUNDCHECK student tickets

The classical music enjoyer in me is showing. With code “soundcheck”, you too can get concert tickets for just $10 from the Nashville Symphony website! They have lots of different offerings, from classical masterpieces, to live movie score concerts, to family events and more. There’s something for everybody, so check it out and support the arts!

1. Nashville bus system

This is literally the only reason I was able to write my Top 5 restaurants in Nashville article (which you should totally check out if you haven’t already) and most definitely my favorite student perk. Sure, they’re often late and don’t run come by all that often at night and may be a bit scary if you’re waiting at a stop alone. Haha! But it certainly beats having to pay outrageous prices for an Uber!

Honorable mentions go to the 60% discount on Adobe Creative Cloud (still too expensive for my taste) and the 25% discount on car insurance from State Farm and Allstate (I don’t own a car). And in case you’re wondering if there’s any more perks you can use—of course! Here‘s a slightly more comprehensive list of the benefits you can get to make up all your tuition money as a Vanderbilt student. Enjoy~

MCL News Minute-February 8, 2023

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Santana has the details on LOTS of things Vandy students should know about this week, including Vandy Ballroom classes for beginners, a “Where is the Love” Block Party for Valentine’s Day, and the application deadline for Lights on the Lawn.

CommonsCast Episode 122-February 8, 2023

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On this edition Abbey sits down with Dean Melissa Gresalfi for another Q&A session, Linda delivers the details on events coming up on campus in the Commons Calendar, and Eigen has a wonderful Human of the Commons interview with Vidula Oviya Vasanthan, a first-year student from Mount Juliet, TN, majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Business who is living in Hank Ingram House.