What I Learned My Freshman Year of College...

I've been meaning to write this blog for over a month now, but with finals, then baby Jacob being born, starting work, starting school, my brother getting married, Hogs making it to Super Regionals, and other craziness... I just now have the time to sit down and write!

Being in college for just a year made me learn a lot, some of it important, some not so much. I can already tell that I've changed from the small town high school girl I was, and I'm curious to see how four more years of college change me.

Don't forget your flip-flops in the shower, don't bathe in the
community bath tub.

Get to know everyone you can. The people living around you, the
housekeeper on your floor, professors, T.A.'s, people in your class. Everyone.
You never know who might become one of your best friends or a great
reference.

While first impressions are important, they can be changed over
time.

Don't worry about what others think of you. Worry more about
what you think of yourself.

One bad grade isn't the end of the world. Just realize you have
to study harder next time.

Your friends will help you tremendously. Don't ever doubt the
effectiveness of a midnight food run when you're stressed/feeling
down.

Get out and make friends. Don't sit in your room
studying/playing games all the time.

If you need help, ask for it! Don't wait til it's too
late.

Get involved. Whether it's going to sporting events,
volunteering, study groups, or all of the above, do it! You'll meet a ton of
people.

Get in line EARLY for football games. It's good bonding/making friends time and the seats are so worth it. Just make sure to cheer loud.

Don't go to your first basketball game student section alone, not knowing ANYONE if you are a girl. Take at least one friend the first time, get to know some of the people, then start hanging out with the student section crew. Otherwise, you may just meet some creepy dude that you don't realize is creepy til he stalks you on Facebook.

Heartbreaks happen, but so does love. This is true for any part of life, just take the good and the bad...and well "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"

Don't run up the Death Climb when it's iced over even with snow boots on. Unless, of course, you want your knee to be black and blue.

Don't fear rejection. Whether it's a scholarship or job
application, yeah it sucks to get turned down, but you're no worse off than
before. Don't be afraid to apply because you think you won't get it.

Put pictures in your room. It's a nice distraction to remember the stories and it tells your guests a little bit about what kind of person you are.

Don't be stupid. Just because there might be"cute boys/girls" at frat/sorority parties, doesn't mean you should go. I unfortunately walked down frat row one night with some friends on our way back to our dorm, and I don't see how girls degrade themselves enough to talk to guys who act like that. They need to go back to Junior High.

Don't dwell on your past, but don't forget where you came from. Sadly, as much as I went back home this year, I had a hard time keeping in touch with my friends from high school.

Sit outside and just watch the clouds or read a book from time to time. My favorite was going out with the girls on Friday nights and laying in the Greek Theatre, looking at the stars.

Go to class. You may feel like it's pointless sometimes (and sometimes you may be right) but if the teacher sees you in class often, they are more likely to boost your grade.

Keep your dorm somewhat clean. I'm not talking about spotless-could-eat-off-the-floor-clean, but enough that your room is presentable out of respect for your roommate and friends that come over.

Keep the syllabus around. Some teachers won't remind you of test dates, but will expect you to be prepared since they are scheduled.

It's ok to be a nerd, especially in college.

Disney movies, coloring, play-doh, and basically any other childhood things will be a neccesity for sanity sometimes.

These are all of the lessons I can remember, but trust me there are a LOT more. Hopefully I'll finally find some time to do this blogging thing, but considering my past blogging, probably not.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me!

The past few weeks have made me crazy, happy, scared, anxious, amazed, frustrated, curious, and most recently, totally grateful. I'll go topic by topic to outline just all the roller coaster happenings in my life.

Friends: My friends and I don't spend as much time together as a group anymore, mainly because we're all busy with our own things. Ciara and I have had crazy volunteer schedules, mixed in with intense class studies. Spread this out among four girls and the timing just doesn't work out well. The girls and I got to spend a lot of quality time together on our 10 day Spring Break trip. We started out in Kansas City, MO at Ciara's house, then headed to Pepper's house in Oklahoma, and finally wound up back in Arkansas at my house. It was so cool and funny to see every one's "at home" lifestyle. So many funny adventures and pictures from that trip!!

Boyfriend: Things with Nathan and I are going extremely well. He's helped me embrace even more of my inner nerd. It's awesome to watch Star Wars, joke about Big Bang Theory, and just geek out in general. It's going to be hard over the summer, but technology makes it pretty easy to keep in contact.

Finals: So the most stressful week of the semester is coming up, and I have to do well on tests to keep up good grades. I only have to keep only one A and I've already covered it to keep the GPA to stay in Honors College. I definitely am worried about World Civ because my teacher is crazy random about grading. I have two tests back to back on Saturday and my Cal II final on Thursday. It'll be crazy studying this weekend!

Summer: So far my summer plans are to take a class or two at UAFS and I have a job as a checker at Harp's. I'll not only have more money to spend and put away for the fall, but less time to hang around and use up all my money. I'm not for sure about a vacation, or even if I'll be able to take one, especially with having to ask for some days off at the beginning of the summer. Speaking of, the first few weeks of my summer, which begins in 8 days, will be exciting. My sister is expecting her baby the week after I get out, and my brother will be getting married at the end of the month. Two new family members in less than a month!!

Next fall: Perhaps the most exciting news about my Sophomore year is that I have a job! I'll be working as a Reid Hall Respect Intern, and I get free room and board. My class schedule is pretty awesome as well. Two math classes, and none of my classes start before 10:30 and end by 4:30.

So crazy, so fast, so little time!

Lose your identity, lose yourself

So the past few days have been hectic to say the least. On Thursday, I lost my wallet & keys, meaning I lost everything. I had no drivers license, student ID, debit card, keys to my truck, keys to my dorm, and even my social security card was gone.

I ended up having to cancel with the school that I tutor at on Tuesdays and Thursdays, because I had no good way to get there. Frustrated, and feeling guilty for letting down the students and bugging my friends and boyfriend who were helping me look, I went back to the dorm. I kept looking at my checking account, calling all the lost and founds on campus, and talking to my dad trying to figure out what I could do.

I had little cash and no student ID, so I couldn't eat in the cafeteria. My friends tried to take me out to eat, but I refused to let them buy me dinner. I, instead, opted for eating Ramen and a egg & sausage biscuit in my dorm room alone. It helped me think out how to go about things, and it calmed me down.

On Friday, I woke up with the hopes that someone would turn in my wallet and keys and that all would be ok. I kept checking every lost and found, to the point they recognized my voice when they answered the phone. They didn't seem to understand why I was so insistent and thorough about finding my stuff. I just wanted to scream,"You would be too if you lost all your identification, money, and keys. You try to function without them!".

All the constant looking without any progress or reward was making me more and more crazy. I felt confined and I had to depend on my roommate to give me rides and let me in the room. I just wanted to be able to drive somewhere, or do something.

The weekend passed with no news. Saturday, Ciara and I just sat around our room together because our friends had gone home for the weekend. I kept getting online and trying to find my wallet, but university offices close on the weekend. Mom and dad brought up my birth certificate and other information on Sunday.

Today, I've been able to get a new student ID and drivers license. I made sure that my debit card was still frozen, and I'm looking into getting a new one of those. I have extra keys to my truck now, but I'm still without a room key and door opener to get into my dorm.

I don't know how I would have made it through this without my parents, friends, and boyfriend, who all made me take a step back and realize that while it's an inconveinience, it's not the end of the world. I'll be able to get my life back in order before long.

Volunteer, study, sleep, eat, class, baseball, repeat.

Once again I drifted away from writing this blog, due to being tied up in too many things. My course load is just two credit hours more this semester, but an extra 5-10 hours of studying a week. Usually, if I'm in my room, I am either studying, doing homework, or sleeping. That's not to say I don't have a social life. Actually, you might say that it's improved. I recently started dating Nathan, my friend who helped me study Cal II. He's been a good friend since about Thanksgiving Break, but I really have got to know him better this semester. More about him in a later blog though.

So lately, Ciara and I have been volunteering for everything! Apart from already being in Honors College Student Ambassadors, Lead Hogs, and being very active in random volunteering opprotunities last semester, I've added Habitat for Humanity, Relay for Life, Diversity Impact, Loving Choices, and tutoring twice a week to the list. Sometimes when I'm having to crunch and schedule to get everything to fit in, I wonder if it's all worth it. Yet, there isn't really anything I would want to drop, because they're all really good organizations and working with them alongside my friends is part of my social time. It may be stressful sometimes, but I tell myself that someone has to help make a difference, why not me.

My only actual no-strings-attatched relax time is baseball. I only made it to one game of the opening series last weekend due to my schedule, but I hadn't realized how much I missed baseball season: the food, the family/friends, the game, the jokes, and once again, the food. I have a class that ends at 3:20 on Fridays so I'm going to have to miss first pitch until they start going to 6:00 games, but other than that, I'm making a strong effort to be at every game possible, keep my grades up, and still be involved in volunteering.

Just three weeks til Spring Break: a road trip with the girls!

P.S. I just realized I've had this blog for a year...not many entries, but still fun to look back on how much things have changed in a year :)

Life comes at you fast...

I've realized that life seems to speed up as you get into college. Homework deadlines, tests, studying, and keeping up with the extra class work takes up a lot of time lately. This semester is already starting to test my patience. It's hard finding time to just relax with my friends as the sudden increase in homework seems to be affecting all of us.

However, this semester hasn't been all studies. I finally told Coady that we weren't ever going to get back together. It was a liberating feeling, and I didn't realize before how oppressed and overwhelmed I felt with him. He never tried to make me feel that way, it was just the way it was. I noticed that I hate disappointing people, and this is not a good trait when it comes to a love life. You have to do what's best for you, and sometimes that involves moving on and learning from your experiences. It was hard on both of us, and he hated me for a while, but I'm hoping that we can be the friends we were before we started dating. He's a good person, we're just different people now.

On the same note of my love life, I have my eye on someone new. While we aren't dating, we have been friends for a few months and we click really well with each other. It's a lot easier for me to like someone I already know, and who is already part of my group of friends. It also helps that we can work with each other on Cal II homework and complain about the professor together.

I found out earlier this week that I'm in the last round of interviews for a RA position. The interview is scheduled for Saturday, but I'm not sure if the date is going to hold up with an ice storm moving in. While I'm nervous about this part in the LONG application process, I have to say that the individual interviews gave me the biggest scare. I won't find out until mid to late February whether I have a job or not. Getting this job would mean a lot more financial freedom, because I would basically have tuition and room/board paid for.

I'm looking forward to the future, but not forgetting the lessons learned from the past.

Why would you want to do that?

There's been a lot of changes in the lives of people around me lately. An engagement, pregnancy, and a birth have been the latest news in just a few months ( and these are three different couples!) It makes me wonder where my life is headed. Now before you get worried, I'm nowhere even close to considering the three mentioned life-altering things! However, being in college, I have a feeling that I should start considering what exactly I want to do professionally, and have a solid reason to back it up.



Right now when people ask me why in the world I would want to be a math major, I respond with,"To be a high school teacher". Most just accept this answer and move on, but some keep on asking, "Why?" I have no real answer to this. I usually just shrug my shoulders, smile, and say "just because". Honestly though, I don't know why I want to be a math teacher! It's just a hunch. Ok maybe more than a hunch, but I think it'd be a bit much to describe it as a calling. It's just what I want to do. I think.

What really got me was seeing my friend, who is the same age as me, and her newborn baby tonight. I realized that I have nearly all the freedom and ability to do whatever I want to with my life, while she will have to consider how her decision will affect her family. I feel almost wasteful not knowing what to do with the freedoms, advantages, and skills I have.

My guide of what not to wear on campus

So since I've started college, I've notice a lot of...um...interesting fashion choices on campus. My roommate and I have decided to compile a list of things that should NOT be worn, no matter how good someone says it looks.

1. leggings with t-shirt- A shirt is just that, and not a dress. On a similar note leggings are not pants. If your "pants" are made completely out of a stretchy material, you might want to consider covering yourself up a little more.

2. wearing high heels on regular basis-We live on "the Hill"! There is no reason to walk to classes in four inch stilettos. It's not impressing anyone and the podiatrist bill later will not be kind.

3. low cut shirts without camisole - Some companies make shirts that require an undershirt to accompany them. In this area, the less skin shown, the more attractive the outfit is. It is NOT appealing to see your bra, no matter how "cute" of a design it has.

4. Large muffin tops- I realize that muffin tops are a regular thing, but this is not about the everyday muffin top. This is about the rolls of muffin tops. I realize that you may be having weight issues, but buying pants 6 sizes too small isn't going to help anything. You would look a lot better with pants that better fit your form and show off your curves in a positive way.

5. Ugg boots/rain boots with short shorts-Just seems like a contridiction. You have the nice furry boots to keep you warm, but then the short shorts that barely cover you? Are your legs immune to cold weather?

6. shirts from other SEC colleges-Ok so I get that you may have picked these free shirts up when touring and choosing colleges, and thanks for choosing the U of A. But thats the thing, you chose the U of A. Now I have no problem with you taking advantage of a free t-shirt, but don't wear the shirt of an opposing team on game week. Also, under no circumstances is it ok to wear an opponents team colors/ shirt on game day especially in the student section.

7. wearing dresses to football games- football games are sports events, NOT social events. It's hard to jump up in down for your team in a slinky dress. Oh and the high heels rule applies here too.

Well this is all of the fashion peeves I can think of right now, but I'm sure there's more!