About Bridget Rooney

Email: brooney@oswego.edu

Posts by Bridget Rooney

Dear Future Me…

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When I was a senior in high school one assignment we had to do was write a letter to our future selves. While I didn’t think this was an important assignment I forgot all about it. About a week ago I received a letter from my Mom (Thanks, Mom!). When I opened it and read it, I was completely overwhelmed with feelings of nostalgia. Four years later I can tell you that it was very much an important assignment.

I pondered sharing the letter and decided that this should be shared. So here it reads:

Dear 21-year-old Bridget,

               I hope you’re doing well. I hope 21 is better than 17 because remember the time you couldn’t drive after 9 pm? That is currently where I am. If you are reading this you should hopefully be graduating college. You probably forgot about this letter, seeing how you aren’t thrilled about writing it right now. Reading this letter means you are entering into the next chapter of your life. Reading this letter should show me, you, us (not really sure what tense I should be writing this in) how much I’ve/you’ve grown. Obviously, I have no idea how much I will grow considering I don’t even know what college I am going too so in this letter I am going to write myself a list of things I hope happens for me:

               I hope I pick the correct college. Future me, you know how lax I am about choosing a school. 4 years from now I want to be graduating from a place I call home.

               I hope to find friends. This sounds lame but growing up in Chester where there are 65 kids in our graduating class we have had no choice but to be together. I feel as though I don’t really know how to make friends.

Never having to do math or science again sounds like a dream come true!!!!!!!!

               I want to keep in touch with Suazo (Last name). In four years I am going to read this and I hope he is still my best friend. He’s been committed to going to Boston and I am really excited for him I just know I am staying in New York.

               I want to be more mature but not in a boring way just in the way that I can find the good in everyone. We’ll see.

               My parents keep telling me I am going to be great but what if I am not great? What if I have just been skating by for the last 4 years? College will be the real test. So, Bridget, I wish you the best of luck in college where ever you choose (Brockport, Scranton, Oswego, and Ramapo). Choose the right one PLEASE and do well AND PLEASE have fun.

Best,

17 Year old Bridget

 

Minus the awkward writing style and lack of punctuation I used the first time around, If I could write a letter back to 17 year old me I would tell her something like:

Congrats to 17-year-old Bridget. You’re going to do it! You are graduating on time. Not only with a degree in business but the second degree in Public relations, a minor degree in international business and a concentration in marketing. You picked Oswego, which quickly became your home. The thought of parting with this place makes you sadder each and every day. You picked up your cap and gown last week and found out you’re actually graduating Cum Laude (with honors). When you called Mom, naturally she started crying.

You made tons of friends. Friends you’ll have for the rest of your life. You actually are planning on living with them after college WOOO. AND you are still really close with Suazo. He is actually visiting in 2 weeks!

You pushed yourself to try new things and you grew as a person. I would say some days you are a mature professional and some days you are still the kid, class clown, goof-ball and you always will be. You made such good friends, you are actually in one of their weddings this summer (shout out to Paige).

You studied abroad! To Ireland, for a whole summer. How proud I was of myself when I really committed to going. It was the best summer of our life. You were an intern, and you traveled and met the family. You can’t wait to go back again.

At Oswego You worked on campus for 3 years, you had 3 internships, you TA’d in the business school for 3 semesters (Teacher’s Assistant), you joined clubs, played sports, went out, stayed in, took naps, pulled all-nighters laughed, cried, laughed until you cried. You are really happy.

17-year-old Bridget had nothing to worry about. She did grow up in so many ways.

I didn’t remember writing that letter, however, I am so fortunate that I did. I entered college how every student should; with a clean slate and an open mind. Not afraid of trying new things.

I graduate college in one month and can honestly say I am proud of who I am and ready to move into the next chapter of my life. Will you be able to say that?

Even if you didn’t write a letter to yourself in high school, sit down and do it now. Write to yourself from yourself and open it when you think you’re about to enter into the next phase of your life. It’s a wonderful thing to see where life takes you. After writing this, I plan you sit down and write a letter to 29-year-old Bridget. I can’t wait to see where I will be!

A Busy Bee is the Best Bee

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“This semester I am going to go to the gym, stay ahead in my work, take as many hours at my job, and spend time with my friends while maintaining a steady sleep schedule and decent diet” is A LOT  easier to say than to follow through with.

My general goal going into any semester is to find a healthy balance between school, work, and friends. Here I am 6th week in and already sleep deprived and drowning in work. Rather than crying about it I decided that I would share some useful tips so stay awake and alert.

School: School comes first ALWAYS and when I say first I obviously mean after family. But this is why you’re here at Oswego to literally go to class. SO GO TO CLASS. Get smarter. Have intelligent conversations, have silly conversations, just as long as you are having them.

Tips about class-If you are not a morning person; don’t try and be one. Schedule afternoon and night classes. If you like to get up early sign up for the 8 am. There is nothing better than having your day over before noon. I also suggest actually getting to know your teacher. Have them know your name, participate in class. Getting to know your teachers can be useful in the long run.

Make money: Jobs are great. They teach you responsibility and give you some disposable income which can be very useful in college (every student is broke and if you aren’t congrats don’t brag). Jumping into a job too soon can be a huge risk. The transition from high school to college is immense. Your first semester is said to be one of the most difficult semesters you’ll have. Don’t stress yourself out even more by adding in a job. Figure out if you can manage one first without one.

Tips about working- I started working on campus my sophomore year. I had successfully completed a whole year of college with around a 3.5 GPA. Working for SUNY Oswego Campus Recreation is something that exponentially contributed to my time management skills. It became less Netflix and more work in the library. I had deadlines for classes and I set deadlines for myself.

Staying healthy: When you’re a college student, you can have your cake and eat it too. No parents, no rules. However, when your jeans get smaller it can be really discouraging. Once in a while, eat an apple. Don’t get fries for lunch and dinner, get a salad sometimes. Just because mom isn’t around doesn’t mean vegetables shouldn’t be either.

Tips on staying healthy- Two words: AIRBORN and WATER. Taking a vitamin can be annoying but college is so germy it is important to be proactive. We have all been sick but the worst thing is waiting until it’s too late. Dying in your residence hall isn’t fun for you, your roommate or anyone for that matter. Take preventative measures (especially in our winters).

Working out: If working out, sports teams, or even participating in gym class wasn’t your thing in high school it is never too late to start! If you were active in high school keep on trucking! Leading an active lifestyle promotes a healthy lifestyle, a better heart, and more active mind. Whether it is once a week or once a day, being active in college has a multitude of benefits.

Tips on being healthy- I met tons of my friends playing intramural sports and going to group exercise classes. It is a nice way to break up the week. Going to a Zumba class gives you a great workout for about 45 minutes and you can go back to lying in bed with Netflix ASAP. PSA: One does not need to have rhythm to partake in Zumba. It is four years later and I still participate in intramurals with the same friends. Intramural sports last about an hour a night. There are men’s leagues, co-ed leagues (called Co-rec) and women’s leagues!

Have fun: School is going to get stressful. If you have a job, it will get stressful. Your pants; sorry but they’ll probably get tighter. BUT with the right support system and good friends, you will be able to survive the toughest of times!!

Tip from a senior- Make these four years count, because they’ll be over before you know it!

HI! My name is…

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Hi, my name is…if you thought I was going to say, Slim Shady, I think we will get along great and if you didn’t we’ll still get along great!

My name is Bridgeblog-1t Rooney and I am currently a second semester senior here at Oswego. Time really does fly when you’re having fun! I am pursuing a dual degree in business administration and public relations. My minor is international business studies and my concentration is business marketing (I know it’s a mouth full). This semester I am a social media intern for the office of marketing and communications as well as working for Campus Life in the Campus Recreation department. I am a student supervisor for Intramural sports on campus.

My hobbies include playing intramural sports, rapping to old school hip hop, and making omelets. My deepest fear is butterflies and that isn’t a joke.

Throughout my 4 years here at Oswego, I have been really active in our school community. I am excited to talk about my past experiences, as well as what I will be doing to prep for the real world which is approaching at a rather hasty rate. Picking SUNY Oswego was to this day one of the best decisions I have ever made. I am excited to have the opportunity to share with potential students that when you pick Oswego you don’t just pick a great school, you get a new home and new family.