Freshmen

Well, today was back to normal as the Thanksgiving break ended. I had a great time over the break. I went to the movies with my family, ate way too much turkey and cranberry sauce, and went Christmas shopping with my mother.

But my break wasn't all fun; I had work I needed to get done as well. I find it much harder to focus on work at home than when I am in my dorm room (I don't know why... maybe just because there are more distractions at home with family and cats and stuff), but Saturday afternoon I sat in the living room with my laptop and got work done. It helped that I was the only one in the house for a little while, so I could just put on some Christmas music (yes, it is that time of year.. yay!!!) and wrote papers and worked. And I finished it. I have gotten much better at focusing and finishing work quickly and efficiently. It's something I've learned this semester.

And now it's back to school, although we only have a couple more days of lecture left. Then begins the real craziness that are final exams. I'll probably end up spending a lot of my down time studying, but exactly one week from Wednesday I will be done and I can go home for the break. I am looking forward to that. It is a great feeling to be finished with my first semester of college (and knowing that I survived it)!

Just a little bit longer... yay!

Well Thanksgiving break is here and I must say that it is going to be a much needed break. I have to openly admit that I have reached a burn out in terms of school.I have worked really hard to get the grades that I have, straight A's, in order to put myself in a good position for finals. That combined with the stress of athletic training, which is something that I will not be doing next semester, have worn me down. However, this is not a pity parade for yours truly, because I wanted this. I have a great desire to be the best of the best, and that is why I have tried so hard to get good grades. So this is not me complaining, just explaining how it is. I know, nonetheless, that this break will give me time to recover and go roaring into finals.

Also, I am very happy to announce that I have gotten a position as a Residence Assistant for the spring. This is exciting for me for various reasons. One, it is a position of responsibility that holds great potential for me to prove myself as a leader not only in the TLU community, but the world as a whole. I know that sounds a little bit overzealous, but every great leader began with taking that first step, and this may be mine. Moreover, it means that I will not have to take out any student loans due to my losing the athletic training scholarship that I am giving up. This will most definently take a lot of stress off of my shoulders next semester, because I won't have to worry about paying loans back.

As it all winds a down, I have experienced many ups and downs, some which I have told you about and others which I will be keeping to myself. But one thing that I must say is that I see myself growing into the man the Lord above desires me to be here at TLU. There are so many great people, ones who really care about you, and so many oppurtunities, more than I can name. As I look toward the spring semester, I am most definently going to try and get more and more involved in the community, for as much as it has to offer me I believe I can offer it. This school has taught me that the possibilities for me are endless.

It is finally the time of year for food, shopping, decorating, and having a good time with family and friends.

Yes, I LOVE the holidays. I know that it's before Thanksgiving, but my roommate and I decorated our room. We've actually had it decorated for a couple of weeks now. We have lights up and wrapping paper on our door, making it look like a giant gift. It's so wonderful. Everything looks so festive! This week is Thanksgiving, and I'm looking forward to going home tomorrow and seeing my family and celebrating the holiday with them. Unfortunately, after coming back next week we have finals... then it's Christmas Break!!!

I have been looking forward to a much-needed break for a while now. However, the days I have off for Thanksgiving are going to be filled with not only spending time with family and friends at home, but also they are going to be filled with homework and writing and studying. I guess it won't be much of a break from me. Oh, well. As long as the work gets done. But I find it hard to work at home sometimes... I guess my family will just have to leave me alone when I say that I have to study.

Have a very, very happy Thanksgiving!

Wow. I can't believe that this semester is almost over. Yesterday I registered for next semester's classes and today I took a printout of my schedule to the bookstore to reserve textbooks. Time has gone by SO fast, and I guess that it's just hard to believe that soon I'll be halfway though with my freshman year of college.

As the semester is coming to a close, I am beginning to realize just how much I've experienced and learned this semester. It was my first time living alone away from my family. It was my first semester of college classes. I learned a lot about studying, managing my time, and finding balance in my life. In fact, I learned a lot about life in general. I even learned more about myself! I'm just glad that it's almost break, though that means that final exams are coming...

To every student who is entering college next year, I say this: it is a great experience and you will learn A LOT. I sure have, and I'm very grateful for the opportunities I've been given here.

Now I have homework to do. It never stops now, does it?

I think one of the things that I love the most about college life is that I finally have the time to do everything I need to do. I mean, in high school I always felt like there weren't enough hours in the day and that I was constantly going. Of course, there have definitely been times this semester when I have felt like I wanted to just scream because I had so much going on, but lately things have settled down for me. I can get all of my homework done in the afternoon and have the evening free for doing whatever I want. I've been in the habit lately of reading (books I choose) a lot. Next time I go home I'll have to switch out books because I'm going through them quickly!

Also speaking of time, it's hard to believe that we have just about a month left until the end of the semester. I find that CRAZY because I feel like it was just yesterday when I moved into my dorm room. Time has passes so quickly this semester, and I'm finding it hard to believe that my first semester as a college freshman is almost over. I've learned a lot over the past few months, and although I am glad that time is passing quickly, sometimes I just wish that it would slow down so I can enjoy it more. Soon it will be summer again, and before I know it I'll be getting ready to leave school and graduate. It's a very daunting thought, but the way time is passing, it will be here before I can realize just how quickly time has passed by.