This is an important post, but mostly just because I love turkey.

Wow, I haven't posted on here in over a month. I suppose that merits a long update, right?
So a few Vandy-related thoughts:
1) I think I have finally decided upon my major. After more than a year of telling people, "Oh--I'm Undecided," I've finally chosen to double major in American Studies and English. I talked to the director of the AMST program last week and she was really great; the day after I went to her office and declared, she sent a personalized note to my campus mailbox telling me how excited she was that I want to major in AMST and that she was available to help me at any time. How nice is that? So now I just need to do the paperwork for English when I get back to campus after Thanksgiving break. But, if you're reading this post right now and either one of these majors sounds interesting to you, I'd encourage you to go here and/or here.
2) I found out that I'm going to be an Alternative Spring Break participant! ASB is a program that was started at Vandy but has actually spread to colleges all over the country, and it encourages students to go on service trips during spring break. Vandy ASB is HUGE--there are 37 groups this year, with 10-12 students each, and they are going to different locations all over the country...and even to Mexico and Canada! My site is going to be in McCreary County, Kentucky. My group and I will be building houses to help fight poverty. I'm very excited :)
3) Fall on campus is perhaps our best season. The fall foliage is amazing and beautiful and cannot be described in words. I've used my cell phone to take several pictures of the trees on Vandy's campus just in the last week. As my friend Kathleen said to me a couple of weeks ago, "I cannot understand how anyone could come to Vandy on a day like today and NOT want to go here." Ponder that, my friends. Ponder that.
4) Thanksgiving break is God's gift to undergrads. After a horrible round of tests, papers, and all-around misery, it feels so wonderful to have a full nine days off during which I can just relax and spend time with my family. Note to prospectives: Not many universities grant their students a full nine days off for the Thanksgiving holiday. Take that into consideration. It's of the utmost importance.
5) Speaking of Thanksgiving, I can't wait to eat that glorious meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, stuffing, corn, etc. on Thursday. My mom always likes to refer to our turkey as "Tom the Turkey"--I still can't decide whether that is funny or strange. But I'm getting off topic. What I wanted to say was, eating turkeys makes me think of my Philosophy class. It's Phil 102, General Logic, but the focus of the course is on Animal Rights. Basically we are learning the principles of logic and arguments so that we can understand the argument for animal rights. It's been a really interesting and mind-broadening course because I've heard a lot of new perspectives--some radical, some not so much--about animals. We've talked a lot about animal testing, vegetarianism, etc., and while the class has not made me want to become a vegetarian, it has certainly made me take into consideration how I treat the animal species as a whole. I also find it very typical of a Vandy class that the things I'm learning are permeating all aspects of my life, including Thanksgiving break. I think that's an awesome thing.

Okay, all finished for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! Enjoy the time with family & friends!