My week so far...

It has been a rough week this week. I had a group presentation to do for Macroeconomics, and I also had to do a lab report for biology. These were both a group effort, but sometimes that doesn’t happen. My lab group consists of four people, so it shouldn’t take too long to put together a lab report. Rachel and I gave parts to the other two members of our group, and we told them to have these parts done by Sunday so we could put it all together Monday before we had lab on Tuesday. Sunday rolled around, and nobody had any of their part done, not even Rachel. I just let it go, and we said that it needed to all be done by Monday. Monday came, and still, nobody was done. Rachel and I did most of it with a little help from Andrew who was working on his intro while we were putting it together. Rachel and I got back together after I was done with work on Monday night, and all we thought we had left was the discussion. We were looking over Andrew’s introductions, and it wasn’t done correctly. We were supposed to have four different sources, and he had three sources, but they all had the same URL. He was pretty much plagiarizing without knowing it. At this point, Rachel and I were furious because the intro and discussion are the biggest portions of the lab report. The last lab report we did all by ourselves without the help from our other two members because they didn’t offer to help. We gave them both a chance this time because otherwise we weren’t going to put their names on it, but they messed it up…once again! We had to go talk to Dr. McClung, and luckily, he let us have an extension so we could have it done the right way. I love how most professors here are so understanding. With my macroeconomics project, it was also a group project. We had to pick a topic and somehow relate it to economics. It ended up to be me doing everything. In the beginning, we had 3 other people, but all of a sudden, one of our group members disappeared. He just stopped coming to class and stopped contacting me. It was very weird! He was the other person in the group that actually did something! I was stuck doing it all, and the night before it was due, I opened the power point to finish my paper, and the computer told me that the file was corrupt. I tried to open it through my email, and that didn’t work either. I could’ve cried. I was doing all the work by myself, and then I had to redo it all. I wrote the paper, and I did the whole 40 slide power point. It was a rough night! I didn’t go to class the Wednesday before thanksgiving because I had a doctor’s appointment for my Crohns disease at Mayo. I got to biology Monday morning, and she gave us a quiz to punish the people that weren’t there. Then, I found out that we got points in IS for drawing a turkey. Class isn’t mandatory, so why would professors do things that would punish us. I didn’t have any other day to have a doctor’s appointment since I live two hours away. It’s just not right! I started my week off bad, but it just got worse. I thought that the whole doing group projects by yourself was over since I’m in college now, but apparently it’s not. We still have people that are lazy and don’t care. It’s just like what the heck! I thought we were here to learn, not slack. I try so hard to be optimistic, but after my econ crashed, it was so hard. I just wanted to break down, but I knew I couldn’t. The week is getting better, my econ project is over, and the semester is winding down. I have to keep telling myself just one more week of class left. It keeps my head up high. 

My Buddy Sarah-Her Birthday!

Today it was Sarah’s birthday. Last night, Emily, Kellie, and I decorated her door of course. As we were decorating in, we heard her giggling and talking in her room. We thought she’d be sleeping at this time because usually she goes to bed very early. The three of us were kind of running back and forth so make sure that she didn’t open the door and see what was going on. We got it all decorated, and the first thing she told us today was how she loved her door. She was so happy when she told us too; it was like we made her day! Right away this morning, we all had a rotary meeting at seven IN THE MORNING! We all said happy birthday to Sarah of course. Sarah and I also work in the Mensa at the same time. Right when we got there, I told everyone it was her birthday. It wasn’t something she could hide, she has to celebrate it! Later in the day after I went to Wal-Mart to get her a card and a gift, the three of us had to give her the gifts we got her. As Emily and I were walking to Clinton hall, we saw Sarah walking toward the student center. I turned to Emily and say, “that’s Sarah!, yell at her!”. Emily tried telling me it wasn’t her, but it was! We flagged her down, and she went back to her room. I had the bag of gifts, so I ran away from her. She asked Emily what the heck I was doing. I went to Kellie’s room to get her and her gifts, and then we went to Sarah’s room. She wasn’t shocked that we got her thing since we did the same thing for Emily. She was so happy though. She opened the card, and her reaction was just awesome. She hugged all of us as we were eating the donuts that Kellie bought for us to eat. I had to leave for a bio lab group, but she was still a happy girl! Tonight we’re having a wii party after I’m done with work. Emily and I bought her some cupcakes for tonight, but she doesn’t know that. It’ll be a fun day for her. I’m glad we can make her happy. Right before work, she posted of face book how she has the bestest friends a girl could have. She’s such a sweetheart. Tomorrow we have a plan to go out to eat somewhere with her after she’s done with work at 8. We’re going to drive into Cedar Falls and tell her to pick somewhere. We will also pay for her meal for her. It’s only the right thing to do! I’m so glad I’ve made some crazy awesome friends here at college. If it wasn’t for IS, I probably wouldn’t have met these people. They make my day happy, and I know I can count on any of them. They’re awesome! It’s really cool how the four of us just stick together. It’s going to be a good four years. The friends that I’ve made so far will be my friends for a lifetime; it’s those crazy friendships you always hear about that you make in college. It’s really cool! 

The next couple weeks

These next couple weeks are really going to be rough for me. I have a couple projects that are due, and I also have to start studying for finals. All the finals that I have are all cumulative. I have to know everything that we previously learned along with the new stuff that we’re learning now. That just seems crazy to me. I’ve never had to study like that before. All my finals but AP Bio were just chapter tests. Our AP bio test was cumulative, and it was over the whole year. I know I didn’t too terribly bad on that one, but it wasn’t what I wanted. I do poorly on tests anyway, and when everything throughout the whole semester is added, it’s just that much harder. I have to give a presentation on Macroeconomics on Wednesday, and I’m with a group. This whole group thing turned bad right off the bat when one of our groupies just decided not to contact us, and it just all of a sudden didn’t come to class anymore. It was just like alright then, we no longer have him. The other two people in my group don’t do much. It’s just like high school where one person does it all. I couldn’t believe this! I thought I was done with this; this is college. It was amazed me. I finally got some work out of one of the boys, but the other boy still hasn’t done anything. It might be a rough presentation. We have all the information we need to get an A, but I don’t think we’ll present well since the two people in my group won’t know what’s going on. It’s just terrible. We have our IS project to start working on and thinking about. I know this project will be good though because all four of us want a good grade. I know that all of us will contribute, so it wont be like my econ project. I’m really scared for our biology exam because biology is my major, and I feel like I have to do well. I’ve done well on all the exams, but I just have a feeling that the final will be so much harder. We only have two and a half more weeks until we’re off for three weeks, but it’s going to seem like forever. I have so much to do in so little time. I have to do well on these finals since our grades are all weighted, and it just so happens that the final is weighted the most. I’m stressing our already, but I just have to keep telling myself that everything is going to be okay. It’s getting really hard, but I know I’ll do well. I’ve done well up to this point, so it can’t be much different. I just have to hang in there and get my stuff done one thing at a time.

Thanksgiving

This last break was simply amazing. I got to spend all my time with my family the whole weekend. The first day I got my hair done and just relaxed. I had time to just lie around and have time to myself, and it was the best thing ever! I haven’t had that since I can remember. Wednesday I simply spent with my brother and mom. We baked and went bowling, and it was really fun! I won the first game of bowling, but then I went downhill from there. I was just there to have fun though. Thursday my mom made food all day as we watched the packer game. The packers kicked butt! I got to spend time with my dad and brother as the packers played. It’s our special bonding time. We played games after we ate, and we had a good time. Friday I did NOT go black Friday shopping. That just scares me; there are too many people in one place. There are some crazy people that go crazy for that day that push people out of their way, and I definitely couldn’t handle that! My mom works at Fleet Farm which is a retail store, and she tells me scary stories about crazy people that want specific things. The weekend I went hunting with my brother, and I played golf on playstaion 3. I was addicted to that game over winter since there’s nothing to do outside, so we started to play again. I was terrible! We was overall a great weekend! I spent some quality time with the family without working. It was a good break away from everything. I did miss my roommate though; I never would’ve thought I would until poof! She was gone. We texted a lot which made things better, but it was weird not seeing her every day. College really does make you begin friendships that will last your lifetime. It’s cool to finally see that. I miss my parents a lot, and I thought before I left that I didn’t care about them. I love them with all my heart, and I don’t know what I’d do without them. I love going home; they make me so happy. My brother is my best friend, so we always have a good time too. I have an amazing home life, and I also have an amazing friendship with my roommate. Things happen to become more visible when you leave. It’s really cool!

Digital Cable

I got a TV for college thinking that I could relax and watch some shows when I don’t have anything else to do. We received an e-mail a couple weeks ago that Wartburg is switching over to all digital. My TV does have digital channels, but the only ones that Wartburg allows us to have are the hundred channels. We were told that we needed to get a cable box, so we walked over the knight’s village to get one, and nobody was there the first time. We got one a couple days ago, and we hooked it all up. We called to activate it, but it was already activated, so it should’ve been working. The guy tried to fix it over the phone, but he couldn’t. Now there’s a cable guy that has to come to our room to try to fix it. These boxes are new; you’d think that they’ work. We’re attending a forty thousand dollar school, so to me, I think we have the right to have channels and not have to put up with someone having to come out here to try to fix it. We’re paying enough just to be here, why should we have to pay someone to fix something that’s not even our fault? It’s irritating to have to go through something like this. Why’d we have to switch to digital when there are all these problems with these new digital boxes? It just doesn’t make any sense to me! It’s driving me crazy!

Packer games

Almost everybody knows that I love the Green Bay Packers. My whole basement is decorated in all packer stuff. It’s the coolest thing ever! I have a packers lanyard and everybody yells at me when they see it. I’m from Wisconsin originally though, so it totally makes sense. Ever since I was a little girl, my parents have dressed me in packer clothes. I’ve been to 3 games in my lifetime, and it was the best experience of my life. Seeing the team that I grew up loving and grew up knowing all the players was really cool. I moved to Minnesota seven years ago, and one of the main reasons why our family didn’t want to move was because it was “Viking country”. The good old Packer-Viking rivalry just shivered down our bodies. This past Monday when they beat the Vikings 45 to 7 was awesome! I had to work, so I couldn’t watch the game. My dad kept me updated though. Not only am I a die hard packer fan, but what am I really getting at? Watching the Packers play every weekend was a time for me to bond with my dad and brother. We watched the game every weekend, and it was just weird last year when my brother left for college and wasn’t there. I still watched the games with my dad, and it was a good time. We talked about the game and just life in general. It game me that father-daughter time that every daughter needs. My dad and I have always been really close, so having this time together was really meaningful. We had moments where we’d be screaming at the TV, but it was okay! Last year, I went all out for Christmas, and I bought my dad and brother tickets to go to a game. It was the game against the Giants that they HAD to win in order to move on to the playoffs. The packers ended up winning in a good game, so since the Packers won the super bowl, I told my dad and brother that it was all because I paid for their tickets to go to that special game. It may seem like something that means nothing as I watch the games with my dad and brother, but it meant a lot to me. Now that I’m at college and don’t have that luxury, I miss them a lot. I still watch the games, but it just makes me realize how I loved having that bonding time with my dad.

weekend of NO WORK!

I had just an awesome Friday and Saturday. I hung out with some great people. Friday I hung out with Sarah and Emily, and we went to Cedar falls to have a full night. We first went to pick up our shirts from the haunted house; the lady wasn’t very nice! We then went out to eat at Old Chicago which was the best pizza I have ever had. It was just perfect and absolutely satisfying. After we ate and took some pictures of course, we got cookies at the cookie place in the mall. I got a cookie sandwich thing that had two cookies with frosting in the middle. It probably wasn’t very good for me, but it tasted really yummy at the time. After we ate, we went to a movie. We couldn’t decide on one because none of us are decisive, so Sarah and I played rock, paper, scissors. By doing that, we ended up going to Puss in Boots 3D. It was so cute! We came back and watched a movie in my room with a bunch of other people. Overall, it was a really good Friday night. Today, I went to the Luther game. Everyone knows that my brother plays football there, so it’s hard for me to pick and choose who to cheer for. I did decide to wear Wartburg apparel and wear my brother button. I thought that was just perfect! I had to make Kellie come with because she was going to work on homework all day. She’s done that every Saturday since we’ve been here, and I had to make her live a little. Emily came with also. We had a great time! After the game, I met up with my brother and his roommate. I ran to him and hugged him even though he told me not to because of what I was wearing. He’ll live though. I also hugged his roommate; he’s like my second brother. Last year, he came to our house for all the breaks because he’s from Arizona. We talk like we’ve known each other forever! I met my brother’s new girlfriend, and then we went out to eat at Mabe’s. It’s the best pizza place ever! We shared a barbecue pizza which I’ve never had before, it was a good first experience. We then went back to Wartburg after I gave my hugs and said goodbye. This weekend was a terrific weekend, I stayed out of trouble like always, and I didn’t have to work. This is one of the only weekends that I haven’t had to work at all. I don’t really know what that’s like. I’ve learned today that it’s good to get out and do fun stuff with your friends. It’s good to take a weekend off once in awhile and just live your life like you want to. It’s crazy how much you miss with working all the time, but it’s like a necessity if I want to do things that cost money. I have to have money to do the things I want to do, and I need money to pay my college off. It’s just the way it is. Working is good, but I think too much isn’t the best either. I need to find a happy medium.

New exciting Roommate! :)

I have this new roommate named Abby. She was actually supposed to be my roommate to begin with, but her first roommate called and complained. Abby and her old roommate Lexi put on their housing sheet that they wanted to room together, but housing made a mistake. They had me rooming with Abby, so of course Lexi complained. We met each other the first day we go here, but it wasn’t really friendship until we were both experiencing bad roommate issues. She’d text me randomly and say that she couldn’t stand her roommate anymore. She came to my room one time crying because of her roommate. I was experiencing similar problems, so we just kind of stuck together. Now that we’re roommates, we’re perfect for each other. We are so much alike; housing paired us up perfectly before we got switched. We have the same sleeping patterns, and we share our stuff. It’s like we’ve been friends for forever which is an awesome thing! I know I can count on her for anything, and she always makes my day. There’s never a dull moment when we’re together, and I can stay happy rooming with her. The other day we went to Waterloo to get groceries and to eat. We walked in this Chinese restaurant expecting it to be a normal place to eat. We walked in, and it’s the fanciest place ever. Abby and I just looked at each other and giggled; there were even flowers on the tables. It was almost romantic. On the way home, Abby took the correct exit, but the exit split into two. She went the wrong way heading towards Cedar Falls instead of Waverly. I was laughing so hard, but she didn’t think it was very funny. She got back on the road, and took the exit to go towards Waverly again, but this time she did the same thing. She went the wrong direction on the exit. At this point I was almost dying I was laughing so hard. She was like panicking and saying “what do I do?!” ten times a minutes. She just made my day! I love having a roommate that I can actually have fun with. Having a room to yourself is okay, but it’s much better to acquire a stable friendship. Coming to college, I had the expectation to have a fun roommate, but that didn’t happen at first. I thought I had to worst luck ever, but I heard from a lot of other people that their roommates weren’t the best either. I felt a little better, but then it got to the point where I couldn’t handle it anymore. I’m so glad I got to move out and move in with someone I enjoy being with. Living with someone else is already a challenge, but living with someone so close that you don’t particularly like is not fun at all. Living in a dorm, I feel as if you have to get along with the other person in your room, but I just didn’t. It was so stressful, and I felt as if I was always worrying about it. Now, I have nothing to worry about. I can think about all the fun and excitement will be going on when I get back to my room. I enjoy coming back to my room; I’m always greeted with a smiley face. I’m generally always happy anyways, but it helps to have someone there encouraging a good day. We would both like to be RA's next year just because we both had such bad experiences with our first roommates. We both think that people that experience the bad can help others more than RA's that had perfect roommates. It'd be a good experience for us both to share our experiences to the new freshman that are struggling with their own roommates. Having a roommate isn't fun at times, but sometimes you have to make the best out of it. It's just the way it is!

time management

I feel like it’s so hard to balance your time in college. It’s like if I’m not in class or studying, I’m working. I sleep, eat, go to class, do homework, study, and work. There’s no happy medium for doing other things that I actually enjoy doing. My studying is paying off with getting such good grades, but it’s just getting tiring. The days that I don’t have class in the morning, I have to work. I don’t get a day to recuperate on sleep during the week. I stay up late doing school work almost every night, so it’s hard to find time for myself. Time management is actually going well, but it’s still overwhelming. It’s just as if I’m always doing something to make my time worthwhile. I try so hard not to get stressed out, but sometimes it’s difficult. I make other people’s days, and sometimes I don’t stop and try to make time for myself. I have time to work out almost every day, and that makes me feel a lot better. Working out gives me the time I need to myself letting all the bad things out. It allows me to release the stress and get away from “school” for awhile. Since I’ve gotten a new room and roommate, I feel like my stress has gone away for the most part, and my days have gotten 110 times better. I get so much more accomplished, and I’m not worrying about what’s going on around me. I work in the Mensa and at Cold Stone which may seem like a lot, but I don’t think it is. I work in the Mensa every Tuesday and Thursday morning for two hours and every third weekend. It’s a way to get some spending money. Cold Stone in Cedar Falls is a place for me to go to get away from campus. It’s good to expand yourself outside of just Wartburg, and by working there I get that opportunity. I’ve made some good friends there already, and I enjoy my job. It’s not like I dread going there when I work. I like it, and I’m getting paid to do something I enjoy. It’s not stressful, it’s my happy place. It’s my place to forget about school for four or five hours and focus on something else. Working keeps me sane, and I feel like it helps me get through the rough weeks. It keeps me busy all the time, so I’m never just sitting around. Working also makes me have to manage my time better, and it teaches me to be more responsible. Even though I feel like I can’t manage my time, I think I do well. I’m doing really well in school, and I get my stuff done. I get at least 7 hours of sleep every night which is really good compared to most people. I find time to hang out with friends, and I stay happy. I’m a happy girl, and I think everything that I do is all for the better. It may seem like I’m way too busy and have no time to do anything, but I think it’s all going to pay off in the end.

Emily's Birthday

Today and yesterday I had Emily’s birthday all planned out! Yesterday I had the plan to invite all her friends and have cake. I went and ordered a cake so it’d be personalized of course. In the beginning of the week is when I started to tell everyone, and I tried to invite everyone that knew her. I wanted it to be special for her, and I wanted her to remember it. Yesterday came along, and I called her telling her not to go anywhere for the next half hour so she’d be in her room when I had to go get her. There was quite a few people that showed up, and when most people were there, I went to go get her. I went and go here while everybody else hid to surprise her. I yelled when we were coming, and everybody popped out and yelled happy birthday. I could just tell that she was really excited and happy to see that so many people cared about her. We had the cake, and she hugged everybody and left. It was an awesome feeling knowing I made someone’s day. I’ve always been optimistic, and I’ve always had the saying that every day is a happy day. Knowing that I made her day was a good feeling. Today it was her actual birthday, and we had a plan to give her the gifts that we all got her. Just last week she told me not to get her anything and if I did she’d be mad. Well, we didn’t really listen to her. Last night we decorated her door at one in the morning, and she woke up to that surprise. After our chemistry exam, we went to lunch. As we were all leaving the Mensa, she said her goodbye’s since she was going home for the weekend. The three of us all knew that we’d see her again before she left. I went to the bookstore and got her something small, and then I went back to my room to wrap everything. Sarah and Kellie met me there, and we all walked to her room together. We got there with a piece of cake and her gifts. She was upset at us for getting her something, but at the same time she was happy. I think she hugged us all like five times in the matter of 6 minutes; it was awesome! I thought she was going to cry she was so excited. It’s always a good feeling knowing you mean so much to someone. She told us that she doesn’t know what she’d do without us and that we all mean a lot to her. We’re special to her; she knows that we’re here for her. I know we made an impact in her day which makes me feel good inside. I know I made her birthday at lease a little better. What would someone do for me on my birthday? It’s a good question, but now she knows. She knows that she means a lot to us since we went out of our way to make her day special.

fall break

This weekend was just awesome! I didn’t have time to even thing about homework, I was just so busy! It was fall break, and I didn’t have any biology or econ to think about since we just took exams. It was a perfect weekend. I got home Wednesday night, and my mom made me my favorite meal. I love seeing my family; since being gone I realized how much they mean to me. I’ve always taken them for granted, simply because I’m so used to seeing them every day. They mean everything to me; I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have them! It’s just crazy to think about. Friday was my dad’s birthday, and my brother came home. It was a wonderful day. I was happy that the four of us could be all together again! The weekend consisted of me working with my fellow cold stone employees and hanging out with my family. I miss them so much, but there’s really nothing I can do about it. I call them every once in awhile, but I still think about them constantly. Some days I wish those thoughts would go away, but oh well. Fall break was a good break to get away from campus. Being on campus is fun, but it gets tiring after so long. I feel like I caught up on some sleep and I can actually function normally again. Sleeping in dorms isn’t the easiest thing to do when people are being loud all of the time! It doesn’t help when you have a crazy roommate either. Speaking of my roommate though, I finally got to move! Apparently your parents have to call for anything to be done around here which I think is totally not right! I was complaining for so long, and nothing was being done to help my situation. I couldn’t move, and I was being offered anything. Last Tuesday, I had an incident where she locked me out of my room while I was showering. This little incident threw me over the edge, and I had my mom call to see if anything could be done. I couldn’t live with her anymore! That same day, the director of Centennial called me. I had to come visit with her, and that same day, I was told I could move whenever I wanted. I was moving in with one of my friends, and I could move whenever. Why couldn’t this be done when I was complaining at the beginning of the semester? My situation was a bit serious with my roommate; I just don’t understand why my mother had to call in order for a anything to be done. I’m attending a 40 thousand dollar school; I didn’t think this would have been a problem. It’s upsetting, but I did finally move Sunday night when I got back from fall break. I was happy with that; I didn’t have to spend another night with my crazy roommate. Overall, fall break was great! I spent time with the people that mean the most to me, and I got a new room!

Social Change Wheel

Right now, I’d put myself in the socially responsible daily behavior and direct service section of the social change wheel. In high school, I was in National Honor Society, so I had to volunteer and get involved in the community. I never really knew what it was like to volunteer your time to someone or something else other than yourself. The united states especially is so selfish, and I never though about those people who are in need. I participated in meals on wheels, blood drive, kids against hunger, adopt a grandparent and habitat for humanity. Doing these things inspired me to keep up the community work and the volunteering. Here at Wartburg, I signed up for VAC so I could know about the volunteering opportunities. I love helping other people, and it makes me feel ten times better about myself. I haven’t done anything yet with an organization I was a part of in high school, but I plan to in the future. I’ve volunteered for the county at the haunted house, and that was a lot of fun. I adopted a grandparent back home, and I still go visit her. Just this past weekend, I went and saw her. I got her address at the nursing home so I can keep in touch while I’m away at school. She’s like my own grandma now, and it’s really cool! I never would’ve though I could build a relationship like that with someone that I’m not related to. It’s a fantastic feeling. In the aspect of being socially responsible in my daily behavior, I say hi to pretty much everyone I pass by and I pick up after myself. I try my best to at least smile at everyone including those people I don’t even know. I make sure I behave myself and abstain from alcohol and follow the honor code. I don’t do anything that I’d regret the next day, and I live every day as if it were my last. How would I want people to see me if it was my last day?

Winter!

Winter is coming so fast; it’s just crazy! Just like last week we were all wearing shorts and t-shirts. The leaves are falling and the trees are becoming bare. It’s a sad yet happy time of year. I love when the leaves change colors; it’s so beautiful! I love the weather when it’s about 75 degrees outside and not windy. The past couple days it’s been bitterly cold, and it’s driving me crazy. I’m just not ready for winter yet. I don’t really know what to expect since I’m at college for the first time. My roommate is already playing games with me with the heater. Every time I turn it down, she turns it back up. We don’t agree on a happy medium temperature. Fall is fun because you get to enjoy those last days outside in the nice weather. You can still go outside in a sweatshirt and be comfortable. When it starts getting too cold to where I get cold in a sweatshirt, I don’t ever want to go outside. I’m so glad there are skywalks that go to the academic buildings so I don’t have to freeze going to class. I’m glad I’m not attending a big campus where I’d have to walk a mile to each class; that seems insane to me. The weather change is good, but sometimes I wish it’d just stay nice out! I don’t play in the snow anymore like I used to, so I feel like I have nothing to do during the winter time! There isn’t anything fun to do outside like there is in the summer. I’ll miss running outside and being able to just sit outside. I love the outdoors, so winter just isn’t much fun for me. Right now is perfect when I can walk outside without freezing, but what happens when December comes around? I can drive home on weekends if I want to right now, but I can’t in the winter because of snow and ice. That’s just not cool. Right now we can walk everywhere in Waverly because it’s so nice, but it a month we wont be able to without freezing. I just don’t like that. Winter is no fun, and I wish it could stay spring all the time!

Haunted House

Last night we volunteered at a haunted house between Waverly and Cedar Falls. It was quite the experience! I went with Sarah, Kellie, and Emily, and we all had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. When we got there, it was a little awkward. Most of the people that were working there have worked there every day since they’ve been open. Everybody knew what they were doing, and we just kind of stood there until someone told us what to do. Sarah got picked first for her job, and then it was Kellie. Emily and I were left, but we got put at the same place. Emily and I were both clowns. We weren’t only clowns, we were creepy clowns. We got to wear clown like costumes with creepy masks. Our job was to come out and scare the people that walked into our room. Sometimes we didn’t succeed, but most of the time we got people to jump or scream. The people’s facial expressions were the best! There was one other boy that was in the room with us, and it was a good time. During the time that nobody was coming through, the people around our room came and talked to us. Some of them were so weird! We had one boy in the room that stared at us and had an obsession with light bulbs, but he was so funny! He made my night. I had a fantastic time. I got to meet a lot of new people and be with my best friend. Sometimes we’d just giggle because one of us did something embarrassing. I love to spend time with my friends when I know I have homework to do. It’s a good day to get things off your mind for a little bit, and it’s just a good way to get in a good laugh. I don’t know what I’d do without friends! Last night was fun and scary all at the same time. Sarah gets really scared with haunted houses, so she was hugging us and making us feel needed. It was good! We ate afterwards, and they all made fun of my driving. We had a wonderful night together, and it’s 110% better than going out partying and being stupid. It’s good to volunteer and give your time to other people. The proceeds go to the county and the organization that sets up the haunted house to better improve the haunted house for the following years. It feels good to give your time to others.

Oh How I LOVE My Roommate!

Alright, I just need to vent again about my roommate. She drives me crazy! I don’t even know what to do with her anymore. I’ve run out of ideas. Last weekend I got home from work, and my bed was gone. It was behind my door. First of all, why would my roommate let someone in to do that? Why would she let someone do that? I’ve been sick for quite some time now, and last weekend I just wanted to get home from work and just go to sleep. That couldn’t happen because I didn’t have a bed! There was duct tape on the frame, and there was stuff stuck to the tape. I could’ve just cried. I just went down to a friend’s room to watch a movie, and I thought I’d deal with it later. I got back up to my room, and she and her boy were naked in her bed. This just made my night ten times better! I yelled at her because of my bed, but I also had to scream at her because of what she’s doing as I’m speaking to her. The next day, she found out somehow that I was talking bad about her, but it’s hard not to when she puts me through all these bad things! She then told me we had to talk. We talked and she just flipped out on me and told me that if I have a problem with her to just tell her. I’ve told her many times, and she doesn’t change. She just has no consideration at all. Ever since then, I have barely seen her. She doesn’t even sleep in our room anymore. I found wrappers of my food that she’s eating in her desk. It’s like she’s hoarding my food; this is crazy talk! I don’t understand her! Her Bosnian friends came and pounded on my door this morning at like nine o clock, and she wasn’t even in here. That just upsets me. Don’t come pounding on someone’s door when you don’t even know if the person you’re looking for is in there. None of the Bosnian girls have any consideration; it just bothers me. I’ve had to deal with them for not even two months yet, and I’m already going crazy. They just don’t think about anybody but themselves. They talk loud all the time, and it’s not even important. Be quiet! Some people just frustrate me; if I respect you, respect me back. That’s all I ask, and these Bosnian girls don’t understand that. Lately, I’ve had to try really hard to be nice to them. It’s just gotten to me, I can’t take it anymore. I want a new roommate, but I can’t get one until semester I guess. I’ll just have to be strong about this I guess and try my best to get over it. It’s going to be hard, but I can do it!

homecoming...fun but dumb

Homecoming is a time where alumni come, and they enjoy where they once spent all their time. It’s about the football game and the excitement of supporting our sports. It’s about hanging out with friends and just socializing while supporting your school. I worked Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night, so I didn’t make it to many of the events there were being held. I made it to the homecoming game which is really the only thing I was concerned with. I really didn’t care I had to work, I didn’t have anything that was worth getting off for. Some people think homecoming is all about partying and getting drunk, but why? What happened that made that a tradition? Most people I talked to and told them I had to work, they said “oh that’s terrible!.” To me, it’s not that big of a deal. I don’t party, and I don’t feel the need to get drunk. On Friday night as I was walking back to the dorms at like midnight after work, I heard so many people saying “lets go to the bar”, in my head I was thinking what’s the point? I understand, some people go there just to dance and have a good time with friends, but why go with the state of mind of I want to get drunk? It doesn’t make any sense to me. When I was in a friends room on Friday night after work, a girl came in and told us how she’s planning of having a good time Saturday night. She told us that she’s going to “pre-game” and get drunk before she goes to the bar. My friend and I just looked at each other and didn’t say anything. This girl then asked my friend if she wanted to join, but she said no. This girl was like begging her and telling her you have to try it once because this is college. NO! I don’t think so. We’re not here to drink and party, we’re here to get an education. On Saturday night, I came back from work, and there were so many people walking downtown, it was crazy! The line to get in the bar was pretty much to the science center. It must mean a lot to some people to go there since they’re wait in line for that tremendous amount of time. I would never do that! I don’t understand some people, it drives me crazy! I pretty much go to class, sleep, do homework, work, and eat. That’s my day. I don’t have any intention to screw my life up by drinking and possibly getting a minor. Why put yourself in jeopardy? I see people in class and I picture them as being such good kids, but then I see their face book status about the bar and I hear them talk about it. It just amazes me. Some people like my roommate come into college with the mind set that college is all about partying and having a good time. It’s just not; I have a good time even when I don’t party or drink. You can have fun and screw around when you’re not drunk. I feel really strongly about drinking and partying; I was raised right. I don’t find that stuff fun and amusing. It’s not right, and I don’t know why some people find it so important. I need my sleep and I need money to get me through this expensive college experience. I can’t spend my time and money on something that will get me nowhere in the long run. I’m determined and ambitious; nothing will get in the way. I’ll get through college without partying every weekend and taking my work seriously. That’s just how it is. I wish other people would think that way. It’s unfortunate.

Sunday at Luther!

Today I went to Luther College to watch my brother play football. He’s the quarterback there, and he plays on JV to get playing time. He’s been working hard for the last six years for this time to come. Seeing him succeed in sports is the best feeling ever. I also got to see my parents. It’s just not the same as it was before. Today they just bothered me, I could actually feel the independence setting in. It was just weird. They tell me what to do, and I just have the attitude of “I can do it without you”. They know about my roommate problems, so they just keep bugging me about it. I just don’t think they understand. I have tried so hard to get her to understand, but she just doesn’t have any consideration or respect for me. My parents just think I can be mean to her all the time which would solve my problems. They keep yelling at me to change roommates, but I’ve talked to people and they can’t switch me right now. After the game, we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant which was amazingly awesome! I talked to my brother, and we had our special time together. We haven’t had time together for quite some time because football takes up most of his time. It’s always good to have the short amount of time, it makes it mean a lot more. This whole weekend has been really stressful because of homework and a chem. Test tomorrow, but I think I have it under control. College is really all about managing your time wisely, and I think it’s very difficult. It’s going to take me awhile to get used to all of it. Seeing my brother today probably wasn’t a very good choice, but I felt as if it was something I had to do. I’ve been struggling with my roommate to the point where I didn’t even sleep in our room. Seeing my brother made me happy, and he made me feel like I can make it another week. He gave me hope, and I don’t know what I’d do without him! I call him whenever I have a bad incident that I don’t know how to encounter. Right now, my life is really hectic with school, work, and my horrible roommate. I don’t know what to do sometimes. I try so hard to overcome my challenges by myself, but sometimes we need a hand. I go crazy some days just because I need to let it all out. I’m giddy all the time just to make me feel like everything is going to be okay. I have to keep telling myself everything happens for a reason. Seeing my brother today helped me with my mental state, and he made sure I was okay with everything that was going on. I talked to my parents about everything, so I got most of it off my chest. I’m filtered and flourished; I’m ready for the next week to come.

This time of year is just awesome!

Oh how this time of the year is the best! This time of the year always scares me. Everybody gets sick, and it just travels so fast! In my case though, it’s never just a cold, it forms to something better! For the past two years I was pleasantly given pneumonia. The first year I was out of school for two weeks, and last year I was only out for a week. It’s the worst feeling ever! The thing I don’t understand is if you’re sick, why do you come to school? When people come to school sick, they’re just asking for everyone around them to get what they have. Most people don’t see the importance of hand washing or using the elbow. The other day I saw someone cough into their hands then open the door, gross! I know it’s hard to miss class when it’s so important, but sometimes it’s the best thing to do! I’m one that hates to miss school, and I hate to go to the doctor. Being on my own now, I don’t think I’ll ever go to the doctor unless I think I’m dying. That’s just the way it is! I get sick every year, but I’m cautious about what I touch and what I do. I carry hand sanitizer wherever I go, but sometimes it doesn’t even matter since there are so many other sick people around you. In college, it’s even harder to try to get away from the sickness. We all live together, and we’re packed into class together. No matter where you go, there will be sick people. Just this past Sunday, I realized I was getting sick. One of my good friends that I’ve made here is sick too, and she still thinks I got it from her. It’s hard to insulate yourself especially when we all live here. It’s hard to just take rest or time for yourself. It’ll be a miracle when we all have time management skills and can take that time away from everybody! Being sick to me sucks, and every year I tell myself I won’t get it. It never seems to happen that way though. It college, it’s just not fun. There’s no mommy here to take care of you or make sure you’re okay. Everybody’s on their own, there’s nobody to feel sympathy for you. Just today, I had a friend complain to me about being sick, but I couldn’t really have sympathy towards here because I’m in the same boat. She then went on to tell me that she needed to call her mom to vent to and feel the sympathy she needed. Some people just need that reassurance that everything is going to be okay. I take one day at a time, and I try to take one thing at a time. Things get accomplished that way, and I’m not dwelling on the fact that I’m sick. I’m determined to do well in school, so I can’t let the sickness get in my way when everybody is going through a similar situation. Every day is a new day, and hopefully tomorrow will be better than today.

First Weekend Home!

This weekend was my first weekend coming home, and it was just great! I surprised my parents with coming home, and they were both really happy. I got to see all my friends again, and I got to get away from my roommate for awhile. It’s really cool how people act like they care when you’ve been gone. All my friends demanded they see me during the weekend, and it just made me feel missed and loved. My mom worked all weekend, but I still saw her for a little bit. I went to lunch with her and saw her before bed. My mom and I are really good friends; she’s the person I turn to for everything. My family as a whole is really close, so coming home was really exciting. All day Friday during classes, all I could think about was seeing everybody back home. I like it at college, but there’s still something back home that I love. There are still people here that I know I’ve maintained a relationship with. I made some really awesome friends in high school, and I know they’ll always be there for me. I’ve made some good friends at college, but it doesn’t seem like they’re as close yet. During the weekend, I went out to eat with friends, hung out, and saw my friends’ newborn baby. She just had her baby on Thursday, so it was perfect timing! I also went to house of bounce in Rochester which made my weekend so much better. It’s a play with blown up slides and obstacle courses, and my friends and I have always loved it there. There is also laser tag which is a lot of fun too! Coming home is good; it makes me feel so much better when I’m feeling down. It’s my happy place I know I’ll always have. My brother couldn’t make it home this weekend, but it still felt like family time. I made sure I had time for my parents and friends. It’s not easy to leave home, but I think I’ve conquered it. I’ve come to the point where I can leave home without crying and feeling down. I have days I miss it, but then I think of everything I have at college. College has already made me a person that realizes what I have instead of focusing on what I don’t have. I need to focus on what’s good instead of things that upset me. Days go by so much faster and better that way. My parents have made me who I am, and I’ll always appreciate them. Seeing them makes me so happy, and it just makes me more determined since that’s what they’ve always taught me. Things always get better!

First Euchy Experience

My first Euchy experience was better than I thought it was going to be. I’m not very religious, and I can’t even remember when the last time I went to church was. My parents have always told me that they won’t make me go to church, and I can choose for myself what religion I want to be. Just because someone doesn’t go to church doesn’t mean they don’t believe or they’re bad people. Some people I tell that I don’t go to church look at me like it’s such a terrible thing. I went to Euchy this past Wednesday with two other friends that don’t go to church either. We all felt a little awkward when we first got there because we didn’t know what to expect. None of us knew what it was all about, but we were all willing to give in a try. After all, it went really well. We all sang along, and we all ended up not feeling like we didn’t belong. Everyone goes up for communion, but you don’t have to take it if you don’t want to. It’s more of a community gathering than anything. I also sang in with the songs since the words were on the screen. I thought Euchy was a good experience. It was really cool how everybody participates and how the songs were up beat. The pastor only talked for a little while which made it seem like it was really optional. It made it feel like it was just a small gathering for people to worship for a small amount of time. I think the experience was good, and I can see myself going more often.