Aca-day

Yesterday, I had the privilege of going to a free concert in Lake Eola Park. Two of the best Contemporary A Cappella groups in the nation sang, an all-female group from BYU called Noteworthy and an all-male group from Tufts University called the Beelzebubs. The Bubs are actually on Glee right now, as the voices of the Dalton Warblers. The weather was beautiful, although hot, and the groups did amazing.

Tufts Bubs

BYU Noteworthy

I'm grateful for the opportunity to see both groups as well as the time to hang out with my aca-friends from UCF. It seems like it had been forever since I had seen them. It's days like yesterday that I wish I could sing well enough to join Gemini Blvd. But alas, I can't so I suppose I'll have to be okay with just being a fan and a friend.

Sleep Deprivation

I haven't slept as much this past week as I usually do and I think that sleep deprivation has finally begun to catch up with me. I found it extremely hard to concentrate during class today and the post I wrote for Wednesday HodgePodge is full of grammar mistakes and just plain nonsense. I blame this deprivation on my weekend vacation. I usually have a pretty regular sleep pattern. I go to bed around 12 on Monday and Wednesday nights because I wake up early for work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Tuesday and Thursday nights, I usually stay up later because I get to sleep in before I have to rush off to school. Weekends are when I catch up on extra sleep, going to be late and sleeping in as long as I possibly can. During my Alabama vacation, I went to bed late and woke up early so I could get to Mary's for brunch. (Mary and her sisters have always been fabulous cooks.) I still haven't caught up on that lost sleep. Last night, I stayed up til nearly three playing the question game with a friend. In case you don't know, the question game is basically like truth or dare (with only truth). Someone asks you a question and you have to answer truthfully. While the game is fun, I regretted playing the second I woke up this morning. I'm amazed I made it through the day without falling over.

Anyway, this post was basically just a reminder to myself that I need sleep and I'm trying to go to bed at 9 tonight. (I doubt it'll actually happen)

Wednesday HodgePodge

1. Did you know there is a National Day of pretty much everything in the universe? February 23 happens to be National Inconvenience Yourself Day...when was the last time you were inconvenienced?

My straightener inconvenienced me today, if that counts. The temperature setter wouldn't stay at 410, which is the only temperature my hair will actually straighten so it took longer than normal to get ready, making me late leaving, which makes it harder to find parking. I ended up parking somewhere completely new and getting lost on my way back to my car this afternoon. Other than that, I can't remember the last time I was inconvenienced by someone else.

2. When a room in your house needs painting who does the job?

Haha, well in 11th grade I decide my room needed a new paint job so I called up Zach, went to Lowe's to buy paint and we painted it together. We didn't really do a good job. I can still see white spots and bubbles we never managed to fix, so next time, I'll call a professional.

3. Are you friends with your cousins?

I am. Elise and I have a class together this semester so we get to see each other every day we're on campus. Growing up, I wasn't super close with my other cousins, we'd see each other one a year or so and not talk between meetings. I regret that terribly now that Evan is gone. I wish I could have spent more time with him when he was alive.

4. Do you use an alarm clock? If yes-is it an actual alarm, music, or something else?

I do. While I have an internal alarm clock that wakes me up at least 5 minutes before my real clock, I still set my radio every day. It's a regular alarm.

5. What do you put ketchup on?

I'm not a huge fan of ketchup. It's just too acidic for my taste buds. I'll put in on my hamburger, but that's it. Ranch, however, goes on everything.

6. What smells make you nostalgic?

Haha... the smell of bus fumes mixed with sweat brings back memories of band trips and camps. While the smell may not be pleasant, the memories are. I don't encounter those smells very often, unless I'm taking a trip back to the band room but when I do I'm automatically taken back to high school days.

7. Have you heard about the high school English teacher recently suspended as a result of some things she wrote in her personal blog? You can read the story here but in a nutshell she vented a lot of frustration onto her blog. She didn't mention individual students by name but she did make some harsh comments about kids in general and their parents. What are your thoughts-If you're a parent is your child's teacher online and are you 'friend' or 'follower' there? If you're a teacher are you on facebook and do you accept or friend students on fb? How about their parents? If you're a student are you friends with your current or former teachers online? Do any of them have blogs you read? If you're a teacher or a parent do you ever use your blog as a place to vent your frustrations with our educational system? So much to discuss...

I honestly don't think she did anything wrong. She was as careful as she could be. She never mentioned her school, location, or the names of students or colleagues. I would never create a blog like that though. I'm studying to be a teacher right now and we're constantly given lectures on the dangers of facebook and blogging. We've been advised not to accept our students to our personal accounts, but to instead create a special teacher account that does nothing but focus on assignments and school life. I don't think I'd accept parents to my personal account either, unless they were a good friend. The internet really just opens up a lot of problems for future teachers...

8. Insert your own random thought here.

This week has been a lot better than the past weeks. The weather is gorgeous and I got to enjoy it with Mayet on Monday. I haven't had as much course work to complete and life has been fun.

A Southern Wedding

I just got back from a weekend in Huntsville for my God-brother's wedding. The trip was short, but worth it and the wedding was hectic, but beautiful. Alabama's weather right now is absolutely beautiful. It was great being able to walk outside and not burn up from the heat and humidity, but not freeze in the snow. Wedding and weather aside, the highlight of my trip would have to be hanging out with the Phillipson kids. I've mentioned them before (Sam aka Superhero Sam is the little boy who had the accident a couple years ago that left him with prosthetic legs), but this was the first time I got to meet the whole crew. Paul, Mary, Sam, and Julia are an energetic bunch. They love one-on-one time, running outside, playing with the dogs, and goofing off. Sam keeps up with the pack like a little champion. He runs, jumps, fights, and laughs with the best of them and if you didn't know his story, you wouldn't be able to tell he had prosthetics. He really is an inspiration. Sam and Paul attached themselves to Landon while Mary and Julia stayed with me practically the whole weekend. Getting them to let go this morning was quite the ordeal. Sam ended up in tears and Julia kept asking if she could come back to Florida with me. I guess I shouldn't have mentioned I lived near Disney World... This weekend away was just what I needed after my stressful week last week. I wish I didn't have to go back to class tomorrow though. Silly unpatriotic colleges!

There are times I wonder if transferring to UCF was the right thing to do. I see Facebook updates from my friends at Flagler and I miss being able to lounge on the West Lawn, complain about D-hall food poisoning, and spend hours in Club Procter (aka the library). There are other times that I am reminded why moving was the best thing that could have happened to me. This week falls into the latter category.

This week I was reminded how blessed I am, how many amazing friends I have, and how moving to UCF has helped those friendships blossom. The biggest reminder of this came yesterday. I had a hectic day full of classes, tests, studying, and weird run-ins with people I didn't really want to see. After my day on campus was over, Keegan and I went shopping at Target and Plato's Closet. This was my first reminder of my blessings. Although she didn't quit understand why I was so overwhelmed, she allowed me to vent until I couldn't vent anymore. She helped me to calm down so I could finally take the time to enjoy our shopping expedition. My second reminder came after an hour of shopping. I got a phone call from Mayet asking me if I wanted to go get some on sale Valentines chocolate (how could I say no?!). I was still in Orlando at the time so I told her I'd call her when I was back in town and we'd go on an adventure. As soon as I got to town, I went to her house and we went on our way. I once again told the story of my day and Mayet understood completely. She laughed with me and felt for me and made me feel okay again. We then spent the rest of the night together talking, laughing, and eating delicious food.

Long story short, I am extremely blessed and it's times like this that let me know moving back was the best thing that I could have ever done. Sure, sometimes I'll miss the West Lawn and my friends at Flagler, but not nearly as much as I love UCF.

Wednesday HodgePodge (A Day Late)

I was extremely busy/overwhelmed yesterday, so I didn't have time to join the Wednesday Hodge Podge, but I decided better late than never.

1. Your favorite chocolate treat?

I've tried to be good and not eat chocolate recently, but I broke down yesterday and bought some Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate with Raspberry. Soooo delicious.

2. What more than anything else makes you feel loved?

I always feel loved when friends call out of the blue to just talk. I feel like talking on the phone is becoming a lost artform. Facebook chat, texting, AIM, and email have taken over and no one seems to remember how to pick up the phone.

3. Cherries or blueberries?

Cherries. Blueberries and I haven't been friends for a few years now. This broken friendship is partially my fault and partially blueberries fault, but I refuse to eat them now.

4. What is the one trait you most want the leader of your country to posses?

Honesty and Integrity. I can have both right? I want my leader to tell me the truth about what he/she is going to accomplish and have morals while trying to accomplish these goals. I want to be told the truth about what is happening and how bad/good the current situations are.

5. Are you a saver or a spender?

A little of both. Being in college, I have to save money for gas, groceries,etc, but I also have a little bit of disposable income. I try to save as much of that income as I can, but I inevitably buy something I don't necessarily need.

6. If you gave a party for all of your friends would they already know each other?

No. My high school friends would know each other and the majority of my college friends would know each other, but the two groups wouldn't know the each other. I'm sure they'd know certain stories. Where would I hold this party anyway? I don't think my house has enough room...

7. Are you interested in antiques?

Yes. My great-uncle owns an antique shop in Upstate New York. I loved going to visit and looking at all the antique furniture, pillows, paintings, and vases. It was all so cool and there were so many awesome stories.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I find it funny that I go to a school of over 50,000 people and I can randomly run into people I used to be friends with who I don't particularly care to see. I also find it funny that I can run into the three people I want to see the least on the same day. And that this day could also be the day I have the most school work to do and the longest classes to attend. Hence why my day was overwhelming yesterday.

Ode to Valentine's Day

I've never been particularly fond of Valentine's Day, not because I've never had a significant other to celebrate with, but because I think the idea is slightly ridiculous. Why do couples/families/friends need a special day to show each other how much they are in love? I, for one, would rather be surprised with flowers/chocolates on a random, insignificant day than be given a gift on a day when my love feels obligated to give me something. But alas, I don't make the rules for holidays, so I just had to bear with the rest of the world as they shared their love yesterday.

My Valentine's Day was really just another Monday. I rung in the holiday by taking (and probably failing) an Astronomy exams. Exams usually take me 20 minutes, this one took the entire class period and half the questions completely stumped me. After the exam, I ate lunch with Elise, Gabe, Chrissy, and Mark. Funny story: Burger King was out of burgers. How does that happen?

Anyway, after lunch Chrissy and I went outside the Student Union and got a romantical picture taken by the photographer the school hired. They were doing caricatures too, but the line was wayy too long, so Chrissy and I left campus and went to Waterford to get Valentines for her friends. We visited Nicole, got delicious cupcakes, and then I went home to study/watch Pretty Little Liars.

Not the most excited V-day, I know, but I still had a good time. People tend to expect too much out of Valentine's Day. They expect to find their true love, have the perfect day, etc. etc. I just expected to have a normal day with a little extra chocolate thrown in. And that's exactly what I got.

Things I Learned Today

I spent most of my day running around town doing random tasks, but I still managed to learn a few things. Some things are more useful than others... but I thought I'd still share.

1) Spending 12 hours cramming for 4 Child Care test may be stressful, but it can also be satisfying and have a good end result. (I passed the 4 tests I needed to take.)

2) I can hold my breath for 45 seconds. Nichole can only hold hers for 25. Having breath-holding contests on a gloomy day at snack time is a great way to laugh.

3) When a boy owes you money, never ever tell them they don't have to pay a portion of it back. They will not understand your sarcasm and will refuse to give you the rest of the owed amount.

4) Online assignments are becoming increasingly hard to complete. There are a million more interesting things that have nothing to do with astronomy out there.

5) I have 5 of the cutest "chosen" cousins in the whole world. And I'm blessed to have this time with them. I can't believe how fast they're all growing! (I already knew that though.)

6) Spending less than 5 minutes talking to my best friend makes me happy after not seeing each other for 2 weeks.

I Heart Wednesday Hodgepodge

I've finally decided to join the Wednesday Hodgepodge my good friend at Proverbs 31 does each week. It's written by Joyce if you want to join in too. Here goes nothing...

1. What is more important - doing what you love or loving what you do?

- This is hard to answer in a coherent statement.... Basically, if you are able to do what you love, then do it. But if you can't (maybe you can't afford to live off the job you love) then you need to love what you do. It's impossible to be happy if you're not doing one or the other.

2. Do you like Bleu Cheese?

- I actually love it. Maybe not as much as other do, but I still find it delicious. I remember the day my friend, Bethany, told me how it's made. I was grossed out for about 10 minutes, but then decided it was too delicious to stop eating and proceeded to make a salad drenched in the stuff.

3. What is the most difficult emotion for you to handle?

- Probably fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of death, fear of bees. They're all paralyzing for me. I can handle grief and sadness just fine. But the second something scares me, I go into a vegetable-like state. I think I'm learning to cope with it, but it's still difficult.

4. Fresh flowers or a box of chocolate.

- Flowers. I've been trying to give up chocolate, but it's been hard. The box of Kinder from my German friends has been calling my name.

5. What's a song you love that has the word 'love' in its title? It doesn't have to be a 'love song'.

- "I Love College" by Asher Roth. Okay, kidding. Don't listen to that song, seriously, don't. I'll have to go with "Elephant Love Melody" from Moulin Rouge. Listening to it brings back fond memories of sitting on one of my best friend's bed or riding in the car serenading each other.

6. Are you the person you wanted to be when you grew up?

- Considering I'm not grown up all the way yet, this is a bit hard to answer. But I can tell you that if present me went back and told middle school me I'd be hanging out with the people I'm hanging out with, I wouldn't have believed myself. In some regards, I'm exactly who I wanted to be, but in others, I've strayed from the path. There are still several things I want to accomplish in my life, so you'll have to get back to me in a few years for a real answer to this question.

7. Any special Valentines Day plans?

- My plans haven't been 100% verified yet, but I believe the plan is to get together with a couple of my friends and have dinner. Or make Chris cook dinner for us. We're still in the process of planning.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

- Life has a great sense of humor. A couple weeks ago, I was complaining about how easy this semester was and how I never have any work to do. Life decided that it wanted to be funny (or not so funny) so I now have to create a website, read two 60 pages chapters for one class, do 2 assignments and read two 30 page chapters for another, and study for a HUGE astronomy test. For some odd reason, I don't appreciate this type of humor.

Procrastination is the key

The key to failure that is.... When I made my schedule for this semester I got really excited about all the free time I was going to have to study and relax. Five(?) weeks into the semester, I've realized that studying has been thrown out the window and relaxing/napping have taken over my life. I'm currently 3 chapters behind in Intro to Education and 1.5 chapters behind in Astronomy. I have a group project due in my online technology class that half my group hasn't bothered to start. Two of my education classes require 30 hours of observation; I've done none. (But I'll probably just end up using the preschool since it qualifies as diverse.) I'm taking 4 tests for my DCF Child Care certification tomorrow and I just now finished the modules. Oh, and I totally just bologna-sandwiched my Music tests (but I got an 88 on one and a 94 on the other) because they're due Sunday night.

I didn't realize how much I've been procrastinating until today in Astronomy. I was sitting there thoroughly confused (partially due to my having not read the chapters and partially due to the fact that my professor spends 45 minutes speaking gibberish) and I realized I don't know what my test (on Valentine's Day) covers. Yikes! I need to nip this problem in the bud before I seriously do start failing my classes. Maybe I should make a list of goals everyday and reward myself for accomplishing them. Or maybe I should deactivate my facebook until I get caught up (haha, yeah right). I'm not sure what I'll end up doing but something needs to change fast!!!!!

A couple side notes before I get back to studying....

+ Good luck to my Gemini Blvd friends tomorrow! Kick some ICCA butt!

+ The one accomplishment I made this week was deciding where I'm living next year. It's basically been confirmed (pending a tour with Keegan).

+ Glee comes back Sunday!!!! (yet another thing to distract me from studying)

(Not so) Shocking Statistics

Every year, UCLA does a survey of over 200,000 college freshman from 290 colleges and universities. The survey asks about emotional health, financial worries, political stances, and reasons for entering college. While this survey has been conducted for several years, I didn't hear about it until now. Apparently its results are making national news because of one area: emotional well-being. A record low number of students reported their emotional well-being as above average and a record high number of incoming students reported feeling overwhelmed before even entering college. Stress levels are up and so is depression. While the news is making these statistics out to be shocking and out of the blue, I personally can't see how anyone didn't see this coming.

Nowadays, high school graduates are expected to go to college. Anyone who decides to take a different path is often viewed as lazy or stupid. Movies paint college as a 4-year long party. No stress, no worries, just lots of alcohol and plenty of sex. Classes are optional, tests are easy, and studying is for nerds. No wonder college freshman are stressed and depressed! They get to college and try to live it like the movies but they soon find themselves failing classes, on academic probation, pregnant, or burnt out. I'm not speaking from inexperience here, I've seen all of these things happen. I know college freshman that have flunked out or had babies. I know what it's like to be miserable, but that's a completely different story.

Instead of dwelling on the terrible statistics, shouldn't we be trying to fix them? High schools need to do a better job at preparing their students for college. Teachers need to stop babying high school seniors and make them realize that a college professor is going to give you one due date. They don't care who ate your homework, what game was on last night, or who got broken up with. They just want your paper. The media needs to stop showing as much of the fun part of college and get real. Sure, going to parties is fun. But parties last five hours or so, leaving plenty of extra time that should be used for studying. Nerds aren't the only ones who study. I've seen basketball players in the library. I have to fight for a table every day just so I can put my stuff down in our crowded 5 floor library!

And if you're struggling with your emotional well-being right now, please remember that it will get better. It may not seem like it now, but I promise it will. It was only a year ago that I was sitting in my dorm room wondering when I'd be able to genuinely smile again. Now I'm happier than I've ever been. Isolate the cause of your stress and remove it.

I really don't know why I wrote all of this, I just felt like it needed to be said. /end rant.