brain rules overview/ midterm review

     As I began reading Brain Rules, I did not think it was too bad, but some of the information pretty interesting.  I liked the first chapter about exercising helping cognitive activity because it allows me to have a better excuse for myself to take the time out of my busy schedule to work out.  So, reading about how it helps you in the long run, as well how it can help your brain activity and remembering things definitely helps me in getting to the gym, even when I'm not motivated to do so or believe I should study instead.  I think the rest of the book will contain valuable information that will help me throughout my college career or give me useful facts for everyday life.

     At the Information Fair, I actually did find another major I was interest in, hospitality and retail management.  I knew I had always been interested in this field; however, I never realized just how many jobs fit under that major, and I realized that a lot of jobs I have always been interested in fall under this category, like wedding planning, or of course hotel management. I am definitely going to look more into this major and see what all it has to offer and if I'd like to take it on.  I would at least like to have it as my minor.  Although I did find another major I am interested in, I did not discover anything new about my current major.

campus safety presentation.

     Having completed my first month of college, I would have to say my classes are going quite well.  I have not had too much trouble with any of my classes and have only had one test.  This one test thing kind of worries me though, as I am not sure if I am doing everything right, as in studying correctly, learning the information I am suppose to and all.  So, it seems really weird to say, but I kind of wish I did have some more tests, although, I am about to get a good taste of them because mid-terms are coming up in the next week, so hopefully, I will do good on those.  Overall, I really have no majorly hard classes so I guess I should enjoy the days of easy classes this semester because I know next semester will be a different story.  My favorite class so far would have to be dance appreciation.  I like this class because my professor is a professional ballet dancer and has her own dance company, so therefore she is very intense about dance and the material she covers.  I like the intensity she brings and I think the information she covers is pretty interesting.  Because I have no problems with any of my classes, I have not met with any of my professors outside of the classroom; although, I know they are there to help and I can go to them during office hours in the future when help is needed.

service-learning site visits.

     After visiting the South Carolina State Library and learning about Cocky's Reading Express, I am very excited to be able to be a part of this program.  The video showed made me ready to get on a bus with Cocky right then and go read to little kids.  This is an amazing opportunity, that will not only benefit little kids, but will also be so much fun and bless me as I get to see the students joy as they see Cocky and get their very own books!  I am ready to take a trip to a school to see little kids, which brings me to the point that I am worried about.  Because Cocky's Reading Express visits public schools, it would only be logical for them to be able to visit between the school hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, which makes it hard for me to get to go on these amazing trips, which I'm sad about.  The way my class schedule is, I will only be able to attend a couple of these reading experiences, which happen locally, so I'm glad I at least get a few options.  Ms. Jenkinson told us that hopefully more local schools will be scheduled, in which will give us more options, so I hope more schools will be scheduled.  I am excited about being involved in the process though, of getting the books ready to be given to the students.  Even if I will not be able to actually see the students receiving the books, I will still be blessed, knowing I have impacted a child's life as they receive a book.
     I know I will gain more humility as I pack books and get ready for Cocky's Reading Express trips.  It will also be humbling as I see these kids light up to be read to, to see Cocky, and get their own personal book.  Every time I am on a mission trip, I am blessed by the people I help.  I feel as if they bless me more than I could ever bless them.  I know seeing these kids that are less fortunate and the amount of appreciation they have for the simplest stuff will impact me more than I know.  I hope to gain friendships from this experience, not only from the people involved in Cocky's Reading Express, but also from the little children.  I hope I can make a positive impact and influence on the children's life, even if our time with them is short.

patrick hickey-presentation

     To be honest, coming into Capstone I was not sure what to expect or what I had gotten myself into.  I figured it was an honor to be asked into the program and that it would help me get involved with the University.  Capstone has proved to have major benefits, though, since coming to USC a month ago.  The Capstone Section of the University 101 class pushes me into getting involved right away, more than I would do myself because I am one who likes to sit back and kind of get a look and feel for everything before jumping in.  Capstone, though, does not allow much time for looking and feeling.  It encourages members to get into involvement right as you enter the University, which is probably the best way of doing things.  I also love the fact that it has many opportunities for social events, as well as those events that allow social and learning to take place.  From hot cookie Friday to Capstone Conversations and Cinemas, Capstone Scholars have the option to learn and meet many other fellow Capstone Scholars.  I've loved my time as a Capstone Scholar so far and look forward to the many opportunities to come.  I am glad Dr. Hickey came to speak to us yesterday; it made me even more excited about the program.
  Coming to USC a month ago, I was very excited to be moving on my own in a way, moving away from the parents, and kind of having a fresh start in which nobody knew me or could put connections with me and a family member, which happened all the time in my hometown.  I was ready to make a name for myself, by myself.  Although I knew that the college life would be different, I had no clue just how different it would be.  College life in Columbia is a whole different world than high school life in Woodruff.  I quickly realized all of the favors my mom did for me on a daily basis that were taken for granted will now always be appreciated; from getting supper on the table to washing my clothes.. that stuff takes time, time that I would rather not spend on doing laundry.  Also, I always knew that college classes were going to be different from that of a high school class, because people will always come back from their University and be like, "Enjoy your high school days, they go by fast and once you get to college, you'll want them back"... and gah, how true is this statement?!  Although I do not miss everything about high school, I do miss the easy and not so much work (even though it seemed like a lot then) I had to do throughout the years.  I never realized just quite how much college work is.. and how much time that you have to put in it, in which you have to figure out when and where to study because there is so many other people and so much else to do.  Even though for me it has only been a month of being a college student, I can tell college is going to be a great experience, no matter how different it is from my little hometown ways in which I was raised.  I never realized how much you have to put yourself out there because I have been with the same people for the past 18 years, however, I am up to the challenge and can't wait to see what my college future has for me!

time management, goal setting, personal challenge.

The first goal I set for myself is time management.  This one is a biggie for me because I work at it, but the management of my time never quite goes according to planned!  And usually for the average college student, more time is spent on socializing than studying, but oh no, not me.  I tend to stress about school just a little too much, and I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to do anything until all my work is done, but in college, I’ve learned, work is NEVER done.  Because of this discovery, I’ve realized that I am going to have to sit back and relax a little more and enjoy the college life more like I should.  So, it is really important to me that I make adjustments to my time management so I can have a balance of a social life and studying in which I am able to stay on top of all my assignments.  I also want to stay in shape in which I said I would go to the gym at least 5 times a week.  I cannot be gaining the Freshman 15 and I’ve always been in shape from running in high school so I want to keep that up.  I also want to have a 4.0 GPA at the end of the semester and get involved in an organization other than the Christian organizations.  The hardest goal to achieve will be time management because it has always been an issue with me. A 4.0 GPA will also be a hard task, but with my motivation, I believe it is attainable.  The easier goals will be staying in shape and getting involved in other organizations, although, I know going to the gym will have its hard aspects as well because some days I will want to go to sleep or go out rather than work out.  Finding an organization that I am interested in will not be that hard I don’t think, it will just require me to put in work to search for the right one.  I think time management would be a good personal challenge for me this semester, although I don’t know if this will be accepted.  I would like to use this as my personal challenge because I am not comfortable going out unless all my work is done and I think this is something that is important to work on because in college, I cannot have this mindset because I will never be able to have a life.  I will challenge myself to go out in the middle of the week without stressing or worrying about what all I have to do when I get back.  I think if I do this every week, it would allow me to focus better because I get a break from the middle of the week from school work and just have fun.

academic success.

     When i found out we were doing LASSI and found out exactly what it was, I was kind of excited just because I knew starting out in college, I was gonna have to prioritize my time and figure out all the study techniques and times that worked best for me and i figured LASSI would help me figure out exactly where I needed to improve.  I believe my LASSI scores are helping me to figure out ways in which I can manage my time more efficiently, although I do not agree with all of the scores.  I got 40% in my Attitude scores, which reads that I do not believe college is important to me or my future; which is very false.  I am aware that college is necessary and it is important to further my education in order fulfill my dreams of entering into the business world.  I do, however, agree with some of them.  In the "Selecting Main Ideas", I scored a 35, which shows that I pay attention to way too much detail when I study instead of selecting the main ideas.  This one I definitely agree with because I have always been told I am a detailed person and it usually takes me a while to tell a story because I have to manage to get all the details in because I think it all is important and don't want to miss out on anything, which is exactly what I usually do in my studies.  Since starting college though, I have tried to point out the main ideas and focus on them because I know that I would overwhelm myself if I looked at all the details in all of my classes.  I pretty much agree with my score of 60% in Time Management.  I try to time manage, I try real hard at it, but I am a very slow person so it takes me forever to do things and I am always the last one finished so it usually takes me longer to do school work than I’d like, so social events are sometimes sacrificed.  I know this is an area I need to work on, so I will agree with the 60%, which tells me I try, but it still needs some work.  

My major strength is motivation.  To do something, I have to be motivated, of course.  I am either devoted to things 110% or 0%, so when I am motivated to do something, I put everything I have in it.  I live this out everyday of my life, whether it be school, working out or just plain jamming out to music and having fun with friends. Motivation is very important to a college student though, because without motivation, no school work will get done, there will be no working out and that freshman 15 just might pack on, and nothing else will get done that a student needs to do.  So, my motivation is used on a regular basis, everyday for school work, to work out, and too mix some fun in there too.

  Time Management is of most importance to me right now because I feel like there needs to much improvement on it to get a healthy balance between studying and having fun.  I’m hoping to get a better sense of this in the next few weeks.  I’m planning to get a scheduled routine down and try not to get distracted or off topic quite as much, which leads to another weakness I definitely need to work on too-concentration.  I plan to strengthen my concentration by remembering the more I concentrate now, the more free time I’ll have later.  I might actually hang a sign that says this beside my desk so I’ll see it when I start getting off topic.

service-learning training.

over the past four years, i have realized that service is something that is very special to me, although i do not give back as often as i should.  every year, my youth group goes on a mission trip with the organization World Changers.  for a week, we sleep on high school classroom floors, eat the school’s cafeteria food, and from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., we split up into crews and work on houses throughout the city in which the homeowners’ cannot afford the repairs.  our jobs can range from re-shingling roofs and building rooms or decks to painting.  this mission trip is one that i look forward to every year because it always shows me a different view of what people’s lives are like and their story, as well as inspires me and blesses me to watch the homeowner’s reaction to their renovations.  my youth group has also had other service projects where we do simple stuff such as painting, cleaning up the older people's yards in our town, and helping with helping hands.  i love to partake in service opportunities because i love to help people that are less fortunate than me.  although i have never had service connected to a course, i am excited that i get the opportunity to connect a college course to a service project.  i would love to help  kids of all ages in America.  I do not specifically have one place that i would like to go because i think it would be amazing to travel throughout the country and see how children grow up in different parts of the US; although i would love to travel out west.  i would love to have a mentoring service, so i could establish a relationship with them and inspire them to dream big because they are the ones that can make a big difference in this world.

labor day plans.

i decided to go home for labor day weekend, seeing as most of my friends were leaving campus too and it would be good to go home to see friends and family because i do not know when i will make the trip back to woodruff again.  i also wanted to see some woodruff friday night football, which is a very big deal in my hometown and one of the things i miss most since moving away.  so, i was excited to get back on friday and get to w.l. varner stadium to see the kickoff and see all my high school friends again.  i sat with my best friend, as always, on the thirty-five yard line and cheered for my wolverines, although it was not quite the same because it was no longer my school or my peers playing on the field.  it was still a good game, although we lost by one point.  after the game, i visited with everyone on the field and got to see my two favorite coaches, and of course, me and my friends made a usual post-game friday night run to waffle house.  saturday, i spent the day with my family and we went and ate at lake lure with my aunt and uncle, where my aunt told me she was getting a “blueberry” [instead of a blackberry].  saturday and sunday night, though, i spent the night with my best friend.  it definitely took me back to the old days when we were in high school.  we had our usual late night sonic runs, skype dates in the middle of the night, stories to tell, movies watched again and again because we keep getting distracted, and all nighters.  it was good to get a taste of those good memories that i loved so much in high school because i no longer have them at my fingertips since moving to Columbia.  i had a great, lazy, fun labor day weekend, that made me miss my high school days, although, it made me realize that although i have been gone only three weeks, i have moved on from my high school career and have to cherish the memories made and the ones to come, as well as appreciate the friends i have made throughout my time in woodruff and keep the ones most important close.

involvement-student organization fair.

I did not know exactly what to expect as I headed to Greene St. for the student organization fair today, but when I got there, I was really impressed and really excited that so many organizations were there and you just had to walk up to the booth to get information.  Some clubs I would not even had known about if I had not attended, so it made me really excited to get involved in some of the clubs and organizations and find more information about clubs on the USC website.  I am interested in joining the Carolina Productions and the Student Ambassadors or being an Orientation Leader.  I think it would be awesome to help plan and promote events for the University, as well as share what i love about Carolina to incoming freshman and high school students that are thinking of being a gamecock once they graduate their high school alma mater.  I loved Amanda's idea about starting an organization for Model UN; that's something I would be really interested in actually.  I had thought of a club, kind of similar; I would start an organization that is like Palmetto Girls State, where there is a mock state with a mock government and those members would be able to come up with plans and ideas they thought was best for the university, or even the state, and if both the House and Senate approved in the mock state, they would be able to take their ideas and present them to the president of USC.  I was in the Senate when I attended Palmetto Girls State and absolutely loved it, as well as gained a lot of knowledge on how the government and Senate worked.  I think having an organization like this would be an awesome opportunity to gain leadership ability and experience, as well as make connections and give students a chance to have an impact on their university.