personal challenge.

I am deathly scared of heights, like deathly, and anyone who has been around me whenever I am kind of high or around obstacles of height, I get really scared and get really quiet.  This fear of heights has also caused me not to go to places like Carowinds or any other amusement parks very often because the heights of the roller coasters kill me.  Even if I would go to these places, I would not ride the rides.  This semester, however, a group of my friends wanted to go to Carowinds and begged me to go.  I finally decided that I would go with them, but was very nervous about going.  I bought a ticket though, and trudged up the road to Carowinds.  I was okay until I saw the new ride, the Intimidator, which pretty much goes straight up and straight down for its first hill, and that was the first ride I saw once getting out of my car.  My friends reassured me that I was going to ride that ride, and so I walked into the park shaking.  However, I was determined not to let my fear of heights stop me from having a good time and not ride these rides.  Right before my first ride, on the same seat that I was suppose to get on, the girl that got off right in front of me had a seizure.  Yes, way to comfort me and my nerves.  After a few test runs though, they let us on to the roller-coaster and I sat in the same seat as the girl who got sick, yes just another comforting factor.  However, I survived that roller-coaster, and rode every ride that my friends wanted me to ride, including Drop Zone, which was probably one of the most scariest.  I was proud of myself, though, because I challenged my fear of heights and did not let it get in my way of riding the rides.  I believe this experience also helped conquer some of my fear.

service-learning wrap up.

Although I only got to go to one school for Cocky's Reading Express, and when we got there, we did not get to do much, it was definitely my favorite experience during this service-learning.  It made me wish I could go on other trips with them, although, I had class on all the other dates.  It was definitely fun though, and I loved getting to talk to some of the little kids and see them get excited to see Cocky as well as look at all the books because that night, Hand Middle School had their Family Reading Night, in which they got to each pick a free book from their library.  A group of us was surrounding the free book table in the library and the book Holes was laying on the table.  We started talking this book up of how good it was and how much we enjoyed reading it when we were younger.  As soon as we stopped talking about it a little girl looking at the books on the table grabbed Holes for her free book.  It was so precious and just reminded me of how much little kids look up to older people and how much we can have an impact on these kids with a simple remark or action.  Although I stickered books for the majority of my time at my service site, I found it very beneficial because I know it was going to help little kids because they would get a free book and this book might be their only one.  I think I might continue volunteering at my service sight next semester, even if I just try to make some of the school trips with Cocky.  It is definitely something that I want to continue to be involved in.

capstone social event.

I went to the Hot Cookie Friday on Friday, November 19, 2010.  Because I had not been able to make any of the other Hot Cookie Fridays or Everybody's Birthday this semester, I was not sure what to expect when I walked in the door.  However, I walked in to the smell of, of course, cookies baking in the oven, which is my absolute favorite smell.  Also, Capstone Scholars were just hanging around, sitting in every corner of every room, talking and eating cookies.  In one room, there were a group of guys playing some kind of video game, which kind of surprised me because I did not expect to see a video game system in the upstairs of the house of the study shack, but I definitely thought it was a good idea and definitely attracted a lot of students.  I was able to socialize a little bit and meet some new people, which I always love to do, and especially since I am not in the Capstone dorm, I do not get to have as many connections with as many Capstone Scholars as I would if I were living in the dormitory.  Even though I was impressed by the game system that was being played on the television, and loved the smell of the cookies baking, I never got a hot cookie.  They were all gone by the time I got there which was pretty disappointing.  However, I did have a great experience at the Hot Cookie Friday and look forward to going back next semester.

thanksgiving.

I am very excited to be going home for Thanksgiving.  It has been a while since I have slept in my bed, so I will be very grateful to do that.  Of course, though, I am excited to see my family and get to spend some time with them because it has been a while since family bonding has happened.  Also, you cannot forget about the turkey and dressing that will be eaten on Thursday.  My family, which consists of my grandparents, my mom, dad and sister, will go to my aunt and uncle's house for Thanksgiving dinner, which we have during the afternoon.  I really cannot wait to get some actual good homecooking.  I have definitely missed this since coming to college.  Also, on Thursday morning I will be waking up to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  It's a tradition for me; everyone in my house knows that I get way too excited to watch the Parade because it marks for me, the start of the holiday season.  So after Thursday, comes black Friday, which my friends and I will go through all that early bird madness to shop, or at least watch people madly shop for their presents, so that will be fun.  Friday night though, will be when our whole town heads to W.L. Varner Stadium to watch the Woodruff Wolverines, our high school team, play Central Pageland for the Upperstate Championship.  That will be a very intense game, and I am looking forward to it since I love high school football and have missed getting to see it every Friday.  Other than that, I will probably just hang out with my friends and family, and catch up on some much needed sleep.  Hope you have a great Thanksgiving as well!

sustainability.

I define sustainable as using resources to the fullest and best way capable.  I believe that I am a sustainable person because I try to use a lot of things that I have in an efficient manner.  Especially now, as a college student, with not a lot of money in my bank account and the responsibility of buying my own groceries and necessities, I have to try to use what I have as much as I can as well as long as I can because no one wants to use all their money on just the necessities, especially if you are a girl and love to shop as I do.  Because I want some extra spending money in my bank account along with some money to put gas in my car on a road trip, I try to expand all my toiletries the best I can, and I have to say that I have become quite good at it.  The one thing, though, that I could do better to be more sustainable is to not use as many paper towels and napkins.  I tend to use a lot of these in my daily routines from drying my hands to cleaning up messes, or using them while I eat.  I always use more paper towels and napkins than I should and I have noticed it before, but I am such a messy person, as well as a little bit of a germaphobe, that I feel the need to use excess paper towels and napkins because I don't want to reuse them.

capstone conversation.

I went to the Capstone Conversation on Wednesday, November 17, in which the head baseball coach, Ray Tanner, spoke.  I definitely loved all of what Coach Tanner had to speak on.  He has lived a life that suites this year's Capstone motto of "Dream Big.  Impact the Community.  Leave a Legacy".  He says he has always dreamed big, it is something that has always propelled his life.  I think this is an awesome way to look on life because all your big dreams do not always come true right away, or they are very difficult to achieve.  However, this never deterred him.  In baseball, he has been the head South Carolina coach for 15 years, and for 15 years he has dreamed of a National Championship, however, for 15 years, he was not successful at reaching this goal, but he continued to dream and did not give up hope and he finally got his National Championship.  He is also has a big impact on the community with his own foundation here in Columbia, as well as he and his wife are constantly involved in the community and helping others.  His baseball team also is committed to helping the less fortunate, which he has helped instill in them.  And of course, leaving a legacy is something he definitely achieved this summer, as Whit Merrifield got a base hit to win the first national championship ever for the University of South Carolina, even as the underdogs in many of the games they played.  He and his baseball team not only made it into USC's history and legacy, but also in the legacy of the College World Series as the 2010 Baseball National Champions.

capstone cinema.

I went to the Capstone Cinema on November 15, in which we watched a a short video called The Story of Stuff, in which Annie Leonard discussed how wasteful our society is.  Watching the video brings a lot of points to mind that usually are not thought about when buying, using, and throwing away materials.  When you throw something away, I don't normally think about where it is going, where the trash is taken, or how it effects our environment and that it could one day be a major problem which will actually effect us and our living space.  In middle school and high school, speakers would come in and talk to our class about the environment and wastefulness, so I was familiar with the impacts our society and its trash can make, however, I do not usually keep this in the front of my head, always worrying about it, so I could definitely work on that.  Also, buying stuff at a store, which I love to do, I have never thought about who makes it, or for that matter I have never realized that a good I buy in the store could have put people's life in danger or crippled people because of the gases and stuff they come in contact with making this item that is put on the shelf at a popular store in the U.S.  After this video, I believe I will definitely think more about my wastefulness as well as what I buy.