open Anthro Slice of Life Redux

[Unicorncob 5,628]

@@Denim&Venom @@Mentis Soliloquy

 

"I believe I have my first class at the start of the morning," Tyra muttered, still trying to get a grip on the mainland language, "the very first class of the day, yes?"

 

Lacking any technology, the earth pony didn't have a phone, or even a watch, to check the time.

[Denim&Venöm 16,529]

@@Mentis Soliloquy, @@Unicorncob,

 

 

"I've got afternoon classes, so my first would be at eleven. So, not for another two and a half hours. So your first class would've been forty five minutes ago. Unless you've got different days than us. It's either Monday, Wednesday, Friday w/ shorter classes or Tuesday Thursday w/ longer ones."

 

"Just double checking, but Ruby's got the evening slot right?"

 

"Yeah she doesn't have class till 6:30." 

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,024]

@@Denim&Venom, @@Unicorncob,  

 

"Well either your dead late Tyra or you've got a load of time, you should really keep your time table handy I still use mine and I've been here for a second year now, never know when you'll forget when a class is on." She wasn't surprised she'd turned up her first few classes when she started but by heck she was not gonna tell anyone about that shame. 

 

"So basically most of us have nothing to do for a while." 

[Unicorncob 5,628]

"Well either your dead late Tyra or you've got a load of time, you should really keep your time table handy I still use mine and I've been here for a second year now, never know when you'll forget when a class is on." She wasn't surprised she'd turned up her first few classes when she started but by heck she was not gonna tell anyone about that shame. 

 

"So basically most of us have nothing to do for a while." 

 

"Timetable...?" Tyra repeated to herself, then blinked with realisation.

 

That's right! She was given a little list of her class times before she left home!

 

She reached into her pocket and pulled it out, seeing that her introduction into her Creative Writing class was at eight thirty.

 

She looked up at the clock in the courtyard, and took a few moments to study it, and the paper. Her eyes kept darting between both, until finally it dawned on her.

 

"Sleipnir's mane! My class starts in two minutes!" She yelped, and ran in the direction of the main building. "I shall see you two later perhaps, yes?!" She called as she sprinted off.

[Denim&Venöm 16,529]

@@Unicorncob,@@Mentis Soliloquy,

 

"Sure. Why not?" Miko shrugged.

 

"I'm up for that. See you later!" Mindie waved.

 

Miko looked at her watch. "8:30. Ugh, I need to get some sleep. "

 

"Yeah I need to run back to the room anyways. Might as well have myself an actual breakfast How much time have you got left Quill?" 

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,024]

@@Unicorncob,

 

"Later then Tyra." As she ran off to class, she couldn't help but giggle.  

 

@@Denim&Venom,

 

"I've got no classes on today at all so sure I'll have some food, I've been meaning to eat. You see I only came to campus today to ask some of the teachers about extra credit courses and such I wish to finish attending here for this course at least as fast as possible then I can resume my carer then I'll come back I like university."  

[Sphinx-Ara 3,517]

Midnight Prancer sighed and breathed in deeply before setting foot inside of the university grounds. She holds her books close to her chest as she looks around the campus. "I-It's so big" she says to herself before getting out her map and looking for dormitory. As she continues to look at her map and trace the way with her finger and mind, she couldn't help but sing a song she had written and performed with two friends of hers,swaying her hips as she does.

(song is Caramelldansen)

[Unicorncob 5,628]

@@captainborgue

 

Tyra scrambled through the main building in a desperate attempt to find her first class. She couldn't be late on her first day, her parents said it was rude here!

 

She ran down one of the corridors, schedule in hand as she scanned the room numbers for the right one. She had no idea what 'Psychology' was, but her parents said it was one of the classes she had been written down for for some reason, as well as Creative Writing.

 

When she found the right room, she swiftly burst through the door, doubled over and panting.

 

"I... I am here...!" She gasped.

[Denim&Venöm 16,529]

@@Mentis Soliloquy,

 

"Alright cool. Our room mate is asleep so she shouldn't be trouble." She started walking towards the dorms.  "Mindie you were up last. What do we have in the fridge?" 

 

"Why would I remember soemthing like that?" she started to walk, but then stopped, ear twitching. "Hmmm?" She listened closely.

 

"You guys hear that?" 

 

"I hear lots of things. The wind in the leaves. The talkign of students and faculty. Ticking of nails or clopping of hooves on cobblestone pathways. My sleep deprivation telling me to go get more caffeine, be specific." 

 

"Well smart ass, I was referring to that singing."  

 

@,

 

She stood still and listened closer. "Someone is singing in Steedish." She looked around to find the voice.  

[captainborgue 343]

@@captainborgue

 

Tyra scrambled through the main building in a desperate attempt to find her first class. She couldn't be late on her first day, her parents said it was rude here!

 

She ran down one of the corridors, schedule in hand as she scanned the room numbers for the right one. She had no idea what 'Psychology' was, but her parents said it was one of the classes she had been written down for for some reason, as well as Creative Writing.

 

When she found the right room, she swiftly burst through the door, doubled over and panting.

 

"I... I am here...!" She gasped.

Kerrigan looked up at the new arrival, who had come in several minutes early for the second class session, or an entire period late for the first. "Depending on which section you are enrolled for, you are either very late, or actually a bit early. I supppose we will discover which after attendance. Please, find a seat," Kerrigan said- it would not have been hard, this class session was substantially smaller in number than the first.

 

The bell rang a couple minutes later, and Kerrigan waited about five minutes for the stragglers to inevitably come in. This was not something she would do later on in the semester, but it was still early on, so a few minor concessions could be made. "Welcome to Psychology 101 - Principles and Methods. I am Doctor Hannibal Kerrigan, Bey of the Psychology department here. As naming convention where I am from differs from the socially normative pattern here, I remind you all that my proper title is Doctor Hannibal, not Doctor Kerrigan. Those of you pursuing this as a career field will get to know me rather well, those who are seeking the general education requirement probably will not. Still, the skills you will learn here are applicable in almost every interpersonal interaction you will have from this point on, so it is in your best interest to put effort into internalizing them," Kerrigan began, with one of her tried and true introductory speeches.

 

She passed out a stack of the course syllabus to the student at the far right of each row, and waited patiently for every student to have a copy. "You'll notice that there is no required text for the semester. Instead, you can find the required readings and course material online on the portal page. If you have trouble accessing it, let me know and I will provide hard copies. You;ll also notice that your grade has no homework component- instead, class participation in discussions and weekly review of the material will account for roughly half of your grade, with exams covering the other half. I want to stress that doing poorly on an exam will not ruin your grade, as every exam- except the final at the end of the semester- can be retaken at any time, as often as necessary. Really, the grade you will earn in my class will reflect how much effort you put into learning the material. My office hours, as well as the tutoring center hours, are posted on the syllabus as well as the portal page. Those of you advancing in this field, please take note that my advanced students volunteer as tutors, so there is plenty of assistance available if you require it. That being said, I'm not going to keep strict tabs on your performance, or assign seats, or ban food or drinks or gum in my classroom. It is up to you to retake exams and participate in class. You are all legally adults now, and while I am willing to help you, I will not hold your hands," Kerrigan added, sternly.

 

"Lastly, I want to make absolutely clear that I do not tolerate any form of derogatory behavior towards myself, other faculty and staff, or other students. If you see or hear anything of a racist, speciesist, or otherwise disrespectful and unprofessional conduct- by anyone- I insist upon being informed so the matter can be addressed and corrected. Those of you who are nervous about doing so, please be advised that I am a certified and licensed psychotherapist, and maintain absolutely strict doctor/patient confidentiality, which I extend to any student seeing me in a capacity other than the course they are in. Which means, if someone calls you a derogatory slur and you come to me with it, it will be considered legally confidential."

 

Kerrigan gave a pause to give students a chance to absorb what she had just said. "Now then, let's jump right into it. Psychology is the study of how the mind regulates behavior and interprets internal processes such as emotional states, in an attempt to understand the role of mental functions in individual behavior, while also exploring the physiological and biological processes that underlie cognitive functions and behaviors. Psychotherapy aims to improve an individual's mental health and well-being, to resolve or mitigate troublesome behaviors, beliefs, compulsions, thoughts, or emotions, and to improve relationships and social skills. You may have heard that it is not 'real' science. I can promise you that you will be using just as much math in my classroom as you would in a chemistry classroom- the difference being that I'm not going to bury you in specific formulas in the intro level course. Those of you pursuing this field, be advised that there is a mathematics requirement for future courses.

 

To put it simply- psychology is the science of altering behavior by understanding what causes the behavior in the first place. While every individual is unique, there are well established trends and causal relationships between thought, behavior, language, and social structure that can be analyzed and adjusted to compensate for or eliminate negative behaviors, while encouraging positive ones. We will begin with conditioning- which is the process of creating new behaviors by repetition. This typically occurs in two ways- Classical and Operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is the process whereby a stimulus precedes a desired result, while operant conditioning is the process by which the desired result precedes the stimulus. To put it more simply, Classical conditioning is where you give your dog a treat to get them to sit, and operant is when they sit, then get a treat. Both methods can have the desired result, and often a combination of classical and operant conditioning is used," Kerrigan said, as she drew diagrams and the board.

 

"Now, as Operant conditioning has a stimulus after the behavior- a consequence, as it were- it is the more easily utilized method. Who can tell me another example of operant conditioning?"

Edited September 13, 2016 by captainborgue

[Sphinx-Ara 3,517]

@@Denim&Venom,

 

Midnight  continued to softly sing as she finally found her dorm room and started walking towards the apartment buildings. Despite being from Canterlot, Equestria's biggest city, she still found large spaces rather daunting. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she begun making her way towards the elevators to get to her room. As she stood and waited, she smiled softly as she thought about how this was a new beginning for her and how she hoped she would do better at this university than she did with her old one.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,024]

@@Denim&Venom,

 

"You both have better hearing than me I can't hear a damn thing but you two and the birds chirping." She remarked following the pair, she wasn't sure she was invited but neither of them had said bye or anything so she was going to hang with them for the day if she could follow that randomness theme she was on today. 

[Denim&Venöm 16,529]

@@Mentis Soliloquy,

"Kitsune and Garou in general tend to have good hearing anyways, on par w/ our primal cousins. Though sometimes I do wish I had the hearing of a fennec fox." 

 

They continued on towards the dorm apartments. Entering the dorm apartment complexes they headed to the elevators. "Your dorm located around here Quill?" 

 

As they crossed the lobby for the elevators, Mindie heard it again. Steedish singing. She turned and saw the mare waiting for the elevators. 

 

@, 

 

"Nice song." said the tall she wolf. 

[Sphinx-Ara 3,517]

@@Denim&Venom,

 

Midnight eeps at the sound of the other voice then turns around "T-thank you, it's the song I wrote to get into university" she says with a soft blush and a giggle, eyeing the female wolf up and down, she smiles "I'm Midnight Prancer, but my friends call me Midnight or Middy" she says, reaching out her hand to shake. 

[Denim&Venöm 16,529]

@,@@Mentis Soliloquy, "Mindie Fenris." She took the smaller ponies hand, nearly engulfing it in her own. "Det är ett nöje att träffa dig." The silver maned, amazoness wolf said with a slight bow. "So you've gotten here via the Luna U music program as well? Small world. Know a few friends who made it here the same way. One of them...is leaving me behind." She looked over to see Miko & Quill walking without her.

Edited September 14, 2016 by Denim&Venom

[Sphinx-Ara 3,517]

@@Denim&Venom,

 

Midnight giggles "I-I'm actually a transfer. I used to go to Canterlot U, but there was an..incident and I got transferred here" she says as she looks towards the other two, "pleasure is all mine dear Mindie" she says, but as she looks the wolf up and down, she couldn't shake her the feeling that something inside of her was stirring. She shakes her head"I'm just on my way to my dorm room, but I'm afraid I'm a little..lost" she says, giggling again.

[Kankuro 233]

@,@@Denim&Venom,  

Zeke pulled back into the parking lot, twisted and pulled the key out of the ignition to his bike. He was totally exhausted.

The coffee he had drunk had given him a couple hours of a sugar high and when it was over, had thrown him under the exhaustion bus.

He moved slowly towards the elevator, eyeing a pony and.. ANOTHER WOLF.

Relief flooded through him, finally he'd seen someone else like him, and he was determined to make friends!

He walked towards the two and smiled.

"Hey, you guys going up too?"

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,024]

@@Denim&Venom,

 

"Ur we not waiting for Mindie, she's talking to that nice pony over there." She was not sure if she'd catch up or weather they just spoke at times and hung out later. Well she barely knew either of them so really she didn't actually know what to expect nor what was going to happen.  

[Sphinx-Ara 3,517]

@@Kankuro,

 

Midnight giggles and nods "Yeah, I'm just trying to find my dorm room, but I always get so disorientated in new places" she says as she begins looking at her map "my forms says I'm in room....32D" she says with a smile "You wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you?" she asks as her ears flicker cutely and her tail sways slightly. she had resumed holding her books close to her chest.  

[Unicorncob 5,628]

Kerrigan looked up at the new arrival, who had come in several minutes early for the second class session, or an entire period late for the first. "Depending on which section you are enrolled for, you are either very late, or actually a bit early. I supppose we will discover which after attendance. Please, find a seat," Kerrigan said- it would not have been hard, this class session was substantially smaller in number than the first.

 

The bell rang a couple minutes later, and Kerrigan waited about five minutes for the stragglers to inevitably come in. This was not something she would do later on in the semester, but it was still early on, so a few minor concessions could be made. "Welcome to Psychology 101 - Principles and Methods. I am Doctor Hannibal Kerrigan, Bey of the Psychology department here. As naming convention where I am from differs from the socially normative pattern here, I remind you all that my proper title is Doctor Hannibal, not Doctor Kerrigan. Those of you pursuing this as a career field will get to know me rather well, those who are seeking the general education requirement probably will not. Still, the skills you will learn here are applicable in almost every interpersonal interaction you will have from this point on, so it is in your best interest to put effort into internalizing them," Kerrigan began, with one of her tried and true introductory speeches.

 

She passed out a stack of the course syllabus to the student at the far right of each row, and waited patiently for every student to have a copy. "You'll notice that there is no required text for the semester. Instead, you can find the required readings and course material online on the portal page. If you have trouble accessing it, let me know and I will provide hard copies. You;ll also notice that your grade has no homework component- instead, class participation in discussions and weekly review of the material will account for roughly half of your grade, with exams covering the other half. I want to stress that doing poorly on an exam will not ruin your grade, as every exam- except the final at the end of the semester- can be retaken at any time, as often as necessary. Really, the grade you will earn in my class will reflect how much effort you put into learning the material. My office hours, as well as the tutoring center hours, are posted on the syllabus as well as the portal page. Those of you advancing in this field, please take note that my advanced students volunteer as tutors, so there is plenty of assistance available if you require it. That being said, I'm not going to keep strict tabs on your performance, or assign seats, or ban food or drinks or gum in my classroom. It is up to you to retake exams and participate in class. You are all legally adults now, and while I am willing to help you, I will not hold your hands," Kerrigan added, sternly.

 

"Lastly, I want to make absolutely clear that I do not tolerate any form of derogatory behavior towards myself, other faculty and staff, or other students. If you see or hear anything of a racist, speciesist, or otherwise disrespectful and unprofessional conduct- by anyone- I insist upon being informed so the matter can be addressed and corrected. Those of you who are nervous about doing so, please be advised that I am a certified and licensed psychotherapist, and maintain absolutely strict doctor/patient confidentiality, which I extend to any student seeing me in a capacity other than the course they are in. Which means, if someone calls you a derogatory slur and you come to me with it, it will be considered legally confidential."

 

Kerrigan gave a pause to give students a chance to absorb what she had just said. "Now then, let's jump right into it. Psychology is the study of how the mind regulates behavior and interprets internal processes such as emotional states, in an attempt to understand the role of mental functions in individual behavior, while also exploring the physiological and biological processes that underlie cognitive functions and behaviors. Psychotherapy aims to improve an individual's mental health and well-being, to resolve or mitigate troublesome behaviors, beliefs, compulsions, thoughts, or emotions, and to improve relationships and social skills. You may have heard that it is not 'real' science. I can promise you that you will be using just as much math in my classroom as you would in a chemistry classroom- the difference being that I'm not going to bury you in specific formulas in the intro level course. Those of you pursuing this field, be advised that there is a mathematics requirement for future courses.

 

To put it simply- psychology is the science of altering behavior by understanding what causes the behavior in the first place. While every individual is unique, there are well established trends and causal relationships between thought, behavior, language, and social structure that can be analyzed and adjusted to compensate for or eliminate negative behaviors, while encouraging positive ones. We will begin with conditioning- which is the process of creating new behaviors by repetition. This typically occurs in two ways- Classical and Operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is the process whereby a stimulus precedes a desired result, while operant conditioning is the process by which the desired result precedes the stimulus. To put it more simply, Classical conditioning is where you give your dog a treat to get them to sit, and operant is when they sit, then get a treat. Both methods can have the desired result, and often a combination of classical and operant conditioning is used," Kerrigan said, as she drew diagrams and the board.

 

"Now, as Operant conditioning has a stimulus after the behavior- a consequence, as it were- it is the more easily utilized method. Who can tell me another example of operant conditioning?"

 

 

Tyra took an empty seat and proceeded to listen to Kerrigan's introduction. Though, it didn't take long for her to get lost.

 

Portals? Midget troublesome behaviours? What in the name of Sleipnir have I walked into?!

 

Even the mention of math made her bit her lip. She did get an education back home, of course, but math was one subject in particular she could never wrap her head around.

 

Though, she did understand a few things once Kerrigan had explained. She was thankful that she had no discriminating thoughts toward other species, and the mention of dog training reminded her of her pet ice wolf back home.

 

Though, having absolutely no clue about 'opera conditions', as she thought she meant, she kept uncharacteristically quiet for the moment

[Denim&Venöm 16,529]

@@Mentis Soliloquy,

 

"Huhwuzzat?" Miko stopped and looked around. "Y'know, you'd think you'd notice when someone as tall and buxom as her would up and disappear on you." She made a quick 180 and began briskly walking back, unconsciously bushing Quill in the face with her bushy tail. 

 

@,

"That would be another 3 floors up I'm afraid. But, what a coincidence. I think that's right across the hall from ours."

 

@@Kankuro,

Mindie caught the scent before another wolf showed himself. She looked down over at the new comer.  "Actually yes, we were. What floor you on?"

 

"Jeez aren't you becomign the center of attention? I guess that disproves my theory of you being an introvert." Miko commented as she approached Mindie and her pack/herd. 

[Sphinx-Ara 3,517]

@@Denim&Venom,

 

"Three floors up?" Midnight asks and was starting to feel a little nervous, but the fact her room was close to her new friend's room made her feel slightly better "Well then, I look forward to becoming friends with all of you.." she says, she felt some what sad however, she looks over at her books, they were covered with, not pictures of various celebrities or her favorite cartoons, but all the photos of her and her friends from Canterlot U.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,024]

@@Denim&Venom,

 

"Mind the tail there Miko, geeze... soft though." She followed after her back to the group at the lift waiting for it to come down so they could go up to the dorms. "Um no I don't I was offered one but I'm living in travel distance so I decided against it I mean I don't have much social life so I did not see the need." 

[Kankuro 233]

@,@@Denim&Venom,

"Floor 3, just like you guys." He saw the pony looking wistfully at photos of her and others surrounding her, and he was tempted to ask who they were but he kept his question to himself. Just in case it was a sensitive subject.

"So who are you guys? I'm Zeke, majoring in psychology. His paws tapping to the song he had been listening to earlier.   

[Sphinx-Ara 3,517]

@@Kankuro, 

 

"O-oh hi, I'm Midnight Prancer, but my fr-..those who know me call me Middy" she says with a small giggle "My major is Performance Arts, and my minor is Graphic Arts" she says, looking at everyone there. She really hoped she'd get to make some new friends. She sighs and puts her books in her bag, her tail swaying somewhat.