A Day in the Life: Taking Time for Fun in a Busy Schedule

Madison smiling at the camera

By Madison D. ’23

Hello! My name is Madison, a junior majoring in Communications and the student writer for BrandeisNOW — the university's primary news website. And this is a (very chaotic) day in my life!

Plates of breakfast food like bagels, pancakes and toast sit on a diner table with utensils
Breakfast at Wilson's

8 a.m.

I wake up and get ready for an interview for an internship — nervous about running late — just to find out the interview was rescheduled to tomorrow!!! Argh — not a perfect start to my day!

9 a.m.

I run over to Wilson's, a great breakfast place on Main Street in Waltham, for a hefty breakfast with my boyfriend before my first class.

A few of a text document on Madison's laptop. In the background are two students and the professor in front of a chalkboard with writing.
History class in Olin-Sang

10:30 a.m.

I drive over to campus and run from the T-Lot in order to make it to my class on time, which is up the Rabb steps — Brandeis' most notorious staircase where you can work on your lower body strength without hitting the gym!

Luckily I actually do make it on time, and I attend my first class of the day in Olin-Sang, which is The Civilization of the Early Middle Ages taught by Professor William Kapelle. If anyone is at all interested in European history, I highly recommend taking one of his courses. He is so knowledgeable about everything he lectures on, and keeps us entertained the entire time! 

The view from Madison's seat in a classroom. The professor is standing at the front, behind a podium and a piece of artwork depicting waterfalls is project on a large screen.
American Art class in Mandel

Noon

After history, I rush to attend my art class which takes place immediately after. Now, I'm no art major, but I needed to fulfill my Creative Arts requirement somehow, so I decided to take American Art with Professor Peter Kalb. We are currently discussing landscapes, which are definitely not my favorite type of artwork we've discussed all semester. We started out with paintings from the beginnings of colonization, and then moved onto portraits during the Revolution. To me, the portraits have been the most interesting part of this class; I had no idea so much meaning could be hidden in a portrait.

A view of a text document on Madisons laptop. In the background are other students around tables put together in a rectangle.
My 2nd history class

1 p.m.

After American Art, I rush over to my second history class of the day which is The Renaissance taught by (once again) Professor William Kapelle. I needed an extra class for the semester and I liked his teaching style so much in The Civilization of the Early Middle Ages that I just decided to sign up for the other class he was teaching this semester as well! Once again, if you are good at taking notes, and are interested in history, I would HIGHLY recommend taking one of his classes, coming from someone who isn't even a history major!

Madison smiling with an index and middle finger raised and parted in a V shape while the other fingers are clenched. Madison has a mask under her chin and is seated at a table with old newspapers.
Archives in the library

2 p.m.

I head over to the library after class to go to work. Not only do I write for BrandeisNOW but I also work in the archives in the library on campus. Currently my job is to sort through donated editions of The Justice, one of our student newspapers, and check them against archive records to find any that the archives may be missing. I swear it's more fun than it sounds!



A partially eaten chocolate chunk cookies rests on top of an M&M cookie.
Cookies!

4 p.m.

I leave the archives an hour early to interview people for my next article for BrandeisNOW. I end up doing the interview in the library, which isn't nearly as quiet as I would have liked today.

4:30 p.m. 

I head over to the science building to attend a panel on the current situation in Russia and Ukraine. It is incredibly informative (and they also had amazing refreshments and cookies!).

Madison and Cole at a table in the library. Both are wearing masks.
In the library

6:30 p.m.

The panel gets out a little later than expected, but that is totally fine because I was so interested to hear everything the panelists had to say. After the panel, I head back to the library, meet up with my boyfriend, Cole, to get some work done and type out some notes for my class. Cole is a fellow junior majoring in biology and HSSP right now, and watching him do his chemistry homework this semester is like a foreign language to me.

Madison with puckered lips, and holding a mason jar of iced coffee with a straw.
Coffee at home


8 p.m.

After a LOOOONG day on campus, I finally head home to my off-campus apartment to rest (which is much deserved after the chaotic day I just had) and begin to type up my next article for BrandeisNOW about the Disabled Students' Network's upcoming event on March 18. Here is a photo of me with my late night coffee to sign off this day in the life — thanks for coming on the journey with me!