My Commons Life

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

Esme Adotey

MCL Top 5: My Top 5 Suzie’s Drinks

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 Y’know working at Suzie’s is a very humbling experience. But I have the time of my life there (sometimes). Although I originally wanted to tell you my least favorite drinks to make, I don’t want to set myself up for failure because I know those will be the only drinks people will get. Anywho… every shift, I experiment with some drink, and I have narrowed down my favorites with these final 5 for the semester! hehe hehe

  1. Lavender Latte

This is the first drink I have ever tried at Suzie’s, and if coffee didn’t make me sleepy, I would get it all the time. Honestly, my grades were much better when I got this before every bio lecture.

2. Strawberry Coconut Chai or milk

Ok, this one I get every day now. It tastes very tropical and is a light pink shade. Makes me feel like I’m in the Bahamas. Cannot go wrong with just the milk either if you don’t like your drinks too sweet.

3. Strawberry Milk

This is a fan favorite! I also get this every day; it’s kind of an obsession. Although our strawberry milk does not look like this exactly…it’s close….haha. GET IT THOUGH; IT’S GOOD

4. Raspberry Chai

At this point, you should know that anything with chai is good, but RASPBERRY??!! The of, shoutout to Brooke this is her creation except with…oat milk which I despise. 2% all the wayyyy!!!

5. Hot Chocolate

Last but not least, gotta keep it classy. You cannot go wrong with a hot chocolate. Although I will judge you if you order this in spring…but I mean, who am I to tell you what you should get?

If you see me in Suzie’s and the line is OUT THE DOOR, and I’m making expresso shots PLEASEEEEEE get a chai or something or I will cry. But the key point of this article is that chais are very flexible and everyone should branch out from the burning oat latte or vanilla oat latte. Switch it up from time to time it makes my job more fun. HEHHEE ENJOYYYYY

Esme Street: Final Episode

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Dear Esme,

So silly how I call this the final episode as if there were multiple hahaha, sorry guys bio was beating me up for real. Anywho…wow, you truly did it, girl. You really did it. I mean, the semester isn’t over quite yet so don’t start relaxing now, but I mean girlllll it has not been easy. I’m honestly so surprised at how far I have made it. If you know me, you know my number one motto, “sleep is for the weak.” But for the incoming freshman let me tell you….DON’T BE LIKE ME. I cannot prioritize anything. Instead of studying for an exam, I was shopping for a wedding outfit and I don’t even know anyone who is getting married HA. Anywho, sorry Esme I forgot this letter was to you. After looking back on these past two semesters and you have done a lot. I’m very proud you could maintain your grades, two jobs, and multiple performance clubs. No wonder why you didn’t sleep. I’m kind of writing this hoping that you’re reading this before graduation so let me go ahead and say what I want to. I hope you have grown into the woman of God you have longed and longed to be. Hopefully, you are getting ready to travel, and have your dream job and your freshman-year plan can actually come to life. I hope your name still remained Congratulations all these years. I hope you left the crusty Gillette bathrooms behind. I hope you got Zeppos, NOT HOPE I’M PRAYING EVEN NOW YOU WILL GET IT IN JESUS’ NAME AMENOOOOO. I  hope you didn’t overload yourself to get where you are. I hope you still talk to some of your (emphasis on some) floormates from freshman year because that g’bond is too precious. Lastly, I hope you learned to say no haha, you don’t have to do everything girl you can only handle so much at a time. I lied I hope you finally got to take a sign language class and also got into art because registration that was outrageous. MAKE SLEEP NO LONGER FOR THE WEAK BECAUSE MY EYEBAGS ARE TOO MUCH GIRLLLL!!!! Take care of yourself and call your parents more you will regret it later. Also get your money up not your funny up, how you have two jobs but can’t pay for your own hair be fr. But I love you girllllll and remember nothing is embarrassing because you will never see these people ever gain 🙂 live it up girlyyyyy !! Be thankful for the character development arc heheheeeee !!

Sincerely, 

The best Sesame without the S this campus has ever seen

p.s. here are some memories you are not allowed to forget:

MCL Top 5: Study Methods That Helped Me Pass

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Since finals are around the corner and our freshman year is basically over, why not share my study methods? If you’re anything like me and peaked academically in high school, this one is for you. I have struggled to be consistent with my study habits, especially since that’s not what they teach you in high school. You kind of uh… have to figure it out yourself. Over the past semester, I have asked people how they studied and tried them out, so here are my top 5 study methods that I think worked for my other friends or me: 

  1. Writing everything you know on the board: I love this one so much. I am the type of person who, if I don’t physically write something down repeatedly, it will not stick in my brain. I did this for all of my fall semester classes, but then I either lost my markers, or they dried out, and I just gave up. HIGHLY RECOMMEND

2. Anki: Anki is a popular study method (I would not recommend making 500 anki flashcards the night before the exam like someone here). The idea of asking yourself questions to practice active recall and spacing them is excellent, especially for pre-med students, but I did not use it correctly. It was probably the sleep deprivation, but all of my questions were so random, and I would look at the answers and say, “Oh, that’s awkward.”

3. Funny memorization: This always made me enjoy learning. For example, my girl Amy G  amygdala is always emotional, and the information sticks longer. The more random, the better.

4. Taking the practice test a million times and studying what I didn’t know: It cuts your study time in half and is way more efficient. Of course, you want to review all of the material you can, but I have a job and am a part of a bunch of orgs on campus, so I’ll work smarter, not harder. This was the best way that I have studied. What better of way than studying the way professors word their OWN exams? I wish I could have taken advantage of this asap, but better now than never. One thing is to make sure that you are thinking through each question and writing down the answers as if it was the real deal. Also, just because you have taken it once does not mean you can’t take it again, so MAKE SURE YOU TAKE IT AS MANY TIMES AS YOU CAN !!

5. Flashcards physical cards: ( Don’t mind the fact that there are no physical cards in the picture. I’m working with what I got hehe) I bought so many flashcards fall semester…. And they’re collecting dust in my desk drawer. But I found it to be most effective for my language learning or memorizing amino acids for where I could draw or write in a different language.

I felt very discouraged since some study methods worked better for others than they did for me but at the end of the day. YOU’RE THE ONE TAKING THE EXAMS! Do whatever is best for you, not for everyone else :0 hehehhee 

MCL Top 5: Shows to Watch During Break

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FINALLY! A break from exams. I haven’t been able to do many of the things I enjoy because of the short time. But with spring break, there is NO limit. So one thing I’m very excited to do is to catch up on all of the shows that EVERYONE has been talking about for the past couple of weeks. I’m tired of being out of the loop, and this is the time for me to catch up! (probably should be catching up on my biology homework, but that is future Esme’s problem). So here’s a top 5 on the shows I’m ever so excited to START and FINISH during break cause gotta take advantage of the time I have, yknow? Hopefully, you find something that interests you too!:

  1. The Glory:

Part 2 is dropping this Friday! It’s like they were waiting for me to have time Im so excited. If you like thrillers, Kdramas, or even just crime, THIS IS A SHOW TO WATCH! I will count this as a study for my Korean exam, which is the week we return from break!

2. Classroom of the Elite:

It’s been so long since I have watched this show I don’t even remember what happened in season 1. All I remember is that the main character Ayanokoji had my jaw drop to the floor! 

3. Attack on Titan:

RUMBLING RUMBLING, ITS COMING RUMBLING!  Did I finish attack on Titan season 4, part 2? No. But I will GET there, hopefully. This is the last part of the animation serious, which is so sad, but I can’t wait to see what Isayama comes up with 🙂 (But if I am wrong, don’t quote me, I have only seen the light of the Gillette seminar room for the past two weeks)

4. Crash Course in Romance:

Another study show for my Korean class. This show has been all over my for you page, and I had to delete all my social media. It’s just too popular, and I’m dying to find out why! 

5. Miraculous ladybug:

Before you say anything, it is NOT a kid’s show. The character development is spectacular. Although the show makes me angrier and angrier, I have to see it to the end by the episode, or else I won’t be able to sleep well at night. Will Hawkmoth win? Ask me after break 😉

Hopefully, on this list, you choose to watch one of the shows I will be! If not, I hope you all have a fantastic break!

Esme Street: A weekend in my Life

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HEY DORES ! It’s Esme (pronounced like sesame without the ‘s’), and welcome to my ESME STREET YAY! I was laying on my bed staring at the ceiling, as one does when they do not want to do their bio lab homework, and I was like wow… I need to get out more. So as motivation, I VLOGGED MY WEEKEND! YAYYY SO EXCITING!

My Top 5: Events to Look Forward to this Semester

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Welcome back! New year, new you, AND new events to look forward to (tehehe see what I did there). If you’re anything like me and want to set events in your calendar months in advance, this article is for you. I’m sure a lot of you were sad that you missed out on some amazing performances and events, so here are my top 5 spring semester events that I am looking forward to! 

  1. Harambee

ASU hosts the famous event known as Harambee! This even includes cultural dances, traditional fashion shows, and plays. With a wide variety of performances, best be sure that I am already thinking about where I am going to sit!

  1. Lunar New Year Festival (LNYF)

In celebration of the Lunar New Year, the Asian American Student Association presents our annual Lunar New Year Festival! This year’s LNYF will feature over 350 student performers and 20 different acts. I remember watching Tinkling at Spotlight and was mesmerized. Be there or be squared.

  1. Vivid Dance Battle

If you enjoyed the VIVID showcase last semester, just WAIT until this semester. This time around, there will be more groups and more songs. If you enjoy K-pop and even if you don’t it will be a fun night! (also I may or may not be involved in this one hehe) 

  1. Commons Ball 

Ah yes, a night to dress fancy. You know I’ve had a dress in my closet that has been collecting dust and now I have the perfect opportunity to use it. Also, don’t forget your masks and keep the night mysterious! It will be like our own Another Cinderella Story!

  1. BSA: The Black Affair

Another opportunity to dress to impress. All who like dressing up say, “I.”

If you would like to know about these events, stay tuned on MCL for more information, or head to anchor link for more details!