Life Is Well, Sleep Is Scarce and Food is Bomb

It's been like two weeks since I've posted but I have been b-u-s-y and s-l-e-e-p-y. So this feels like my first free moment even though it's really not. I have my Pubspeak at 9 and then a paper due at 12 so....lol. But life has been great. We've had Netflix and Chill nights, group outings to see a Twelfth Night production by Ithaca Shakespeare Company, had numerous numerous mall and Wal-Mart trips and hung out in downtown Ithaca. Last Saturday we participated in a Black Lives Matter protest. I spoke at the rally portion and we marched through the town which was very exhilarating.
The food here has been phenomenal! Today I had the best pork chop of my life no lie. It was like baked rosemary and lemon....it was so succulent. We had chocolate cake for one of the TASSers birthday afterwards which was very good. I have been very busy with not only coursework, but my own writing and poetry, and college prep. I have a lot on my plate and a lot to read and study for. I have barely slept lol. Right now I'm running on 3 hours of sleep from last night and a 1 hour nap so I'm pretty drained. Nevertheless, I am enjoying myself and I am very happy to be here with all these awesome individuals.
And I dyed my hair. :)

Send me packages! Snacks! Letters! Anything!

Phi Sigma Sigma
Camryn Banks
14 South Ave
Ithaca, NY 14850

my roomie

Sir Toby Belch

Great Production

I'm Literally Drowning in Course Work

I am tired and I have a lot of work to do. Like, helluva. Currently trudging through 30 pages of intense law dissertations concerning Lawrence v Texas. I got sick earlier today but I'm better now. Dinner was fabulous. Pubspeaks were fabulous (and informative). I have been assigned to MemCom (Memory committee). We are responsible for creating memorabilia for TASP. That oughta be lit. Last night we took a dark walk around a lake and talked about our feelings and backgrounds while in a circle. There was a lot of crying and soul searching. Then we saw fireflies. Overall, that was good for the community. Sorry for the incoherence and lack of flow between sentences and ideas but my brain is shot and right now I just really wanna go to bed.

P.S/Insider to Olivia: I'm finna die! LOL


Note: I basically photographed all of Cornell last year and it hasn't really changed. So I will not have any real pics until we do something as a group. Or unless I get some great photo ops. As of now, we're chillin, maxin and relaxin. 

So Far So Good

To begin....TASP is lit. Thanks to all my supporters that have contributed to me being able to take advantage of this awesome experience.

Plane ride: was shaky and very awkward considering I had a first row seat. (There was no tray to utilize). Yes, TSA took my brand new lotion. Yes, I was very upset.

Arrival: I was one of many program participants to arrive on my flight so I was with people from jump. Everyone was nice and cordial and whatnot which gave a lot space to cultivate friendships. My roommate is cool and almost never in our room when I am so that's funny. We sat in circles and expressed our names, gender identities, preferred pronouns, ethnic backgrounds, and triggers. We had pizza for dinner because the kitchen staff wasn't in yet.

Day 2: We had our first seminar today in Goldwin-Smith Hall. I really enjoyed it. We reflected on the pre-arrival reading of F. Kafka's The Trial. It was a pretty difficult text (as is any work by Kafka). We made great connections and parallels concerning the superiority complex assumed by the main character as well as how the ideals of privacy and surveillance appear in real life and in the book. We also took a campus tour and received our Cornell ID's. I ventured into Collegetown to survey if anything had changed (new construction). Our dinner was tasty and so was dessert. It was very hot today but it was def a great day. Here's some pics.

Top-TASP '16  Bottom-TASS '15
The shirt says "DANGER: Educated Black Woman"

Cornell ID's Right- TASS '15 Left-TASP '16

My TASS roommate and close friend Iris and I preparing for our first TASP seminar 

This is a note I left last year in the Olin Library pass book

I found this hilarious, if you don't get it keep scrolling

All ready for seminar and a hot day on campus!

My room

Dinner 6-27-16

This Monday's Adventure

I went to Cafe Rhema for the first time today. The inside of the establishment was aesthetically pleasing to say the least. I found the Prohibition era jazz playing overhead to be especially pleasant as I looked for a seat. I ordered an egg sandwich with ham and cheddar on a plain bagel and a small hot chocolate to drink. The wait was not long. The prices were a bit lofty, but that is to be expected. I found the hot chocolate to be bland at first so I asked for a correction or refund. The barista happily stirred in more chocolate which was satisfactory to me. The sandwich, however was not that great. I liked the ham but the cheese was rigid in both taste and texture. The egg was oddly cooked. The bagel was so dry that it dominated the taste with its grainy presence. I give the sandwich 1 star. I lowkey want my $5 back. I give the overall experience 3.5 stars. I may go back to sit and study but I probably won't order anything.

Take Me Back

It's been 19 days away from TASS and Cornell and the separation sickness is real. I miss freedom...

I Had a Lot of Fun

Bob Evans hot chocolate

Breakfast

Michigan's Adventure 

Troy and Lil Sho' on the ferris wheel

Thanks Tia Bonita

This Made Me Cry

The Cornell University 1st Generation TASS Slideshow

click that title there            ^