Let me just say I’m so on fire about my orca talk. It went great. As great as great could be. Presenting all of our talks was a very enlightening experience for me and hopefully the rest of our seminar. It was fascinating to participate in a sort of grown-up “show and tell”.
The sciences are a very vast, diverse field. This was made obvious by everyone’s presentations and diversified interests. It was like a small glimpse into someone’s life, especially with the more passionate presentations.
This is quite honestly the worst. I can’t even keep up with this simple science seminar. Why am I like this?! Also, I haven’t studied nearly as much as I thought I would for both biology and calculus. I regret everything, in short.
However, things could be worse and my grades could be a lot worse than they are. I’m happy to say that I will not be failing any classes this semester. Or at least as far as I know.
Keep ya posted! Also sorry that I only have like 9 posts.
Recently I’ve been spending my time mostly alone or talking to very few people who I keep near to me. What has this turned into? Me realizing that for the most part, I don’t like the people I live with. One of my closest friends lives on the 3rd floor and I’ll often spend time up there just because and now it has become much more routine. We practically spent the weekend together with people from the 3rd floor. Starting off with a fun late night in a chill, dim lit room, enjoying pizza, Disney movies, The Beatles, and the wonders of our natural world.
Then Saturday night we had gone out and had good, wholesome fun. I enjoy the close, family-like nature of the 3rd floor which I simply do not have on the 2nd floor. It’s truly a different world 3 floors up and I’m extremely grateful to have found my happy place in my residence hall.
So this is what happened when I went home for Thanksgiving. I ate Thanksgiving dinner as expected and that was great. I saw my cats. I saw my dogs. I saw my sister’s cat. I saw my sister’s dog. I saw my parents. Everything was great… until I started coughing. Yes, I developed a cold right after Thanksgiving. And yes it was the worst. However, I came back stronger than ever and am ready to live my best life.
I came back and hit this bio exam with every ounce of my effort… then found out that I failed. But it’s okay because I failed knowing that I did my best. And that’s all you can do to a certain extent. However, I must learn from this mistake because if it happens more than once then it is not a mistake, it is a habit.
Here’s a little update on my feelings about Kansas… It was fun! I did not expect to have fun at all but I actually had a blast. Here were the things that made it great… the car ride! Who would have known? Usually, I am the type of person who feels either neutral or negatively towards road tripping. I am always well aware of my role in the car; the back middle seat. No, it’s not fun but I have learned to accept that that is my life. Thankfully, my car had very fun people in it on the way there and back. We really were able to bond with one another over the car ride and I am thankful for that. Another thing: trying something new. My team of me and four other guys raced a different kind of boat than what we’re used to. At first, this made me anxious as I am the coxswain, aka the one who steers the boat and tells others what to do. However, everything was okay. It was actually a good experience to race in an unfamiliar boat, it added a level of complexity to what we had to do which I’ll admit, is already rather complex. Lastly, my time with my team was very enjoyable. We left Austin on Saturday at 6 am and came back Sunday night around 3 am. A relatively quick trip right? Well in that time, I got to experience so much alongside my rowing family. It was a short trip but it didn’t feel like it at all. We maxed out our time together and I was able to really enjoy myself.
I’m kinda bad at everything and this isn’t limited to these journal posts. Recently I’ve lost a grip on what little study habits I’ve had recently. I’ve made bad decisions recently and I can’t say how much I regret because, well, it’s a lot. I feel drastic changes starting to happen in my social life, however, and I’m very okay with them. I’m happy about them in fact.
Anyways. I went home this weekend and I was the happiest I’ve been in a while. I visited my school for their homecoming game and got to see all my band kids! I connected with some friends I haven’t seen in a while and was able to relax with my parents and my pets. Coming back to school is sad, yes. But coming back just reminds me of how hard I must work to truly enjoy weekends such as last weekend. Things are actually looking up, despite how hard I am on myself or how emotional I may come off as. All I need to do is stay positive and take everything one day at a time!
Seeing dogs on campus is therapeutic. I’ve never been in such a dog friendly place in my whole life and it really fills my heart with joy. I can’t help but think of my dogs back home and get a little sad but it’s okay. I’ve learned it’s okay to be sad sometimes.
Anyways, college is getting more real now and I’m not sure how I should feel about it. Classes are getting a little rough and the first round of exams kicked my butt. But I know to persevere because in the end everything will pay off. College is an endurance test and I want to come out alive and thriving.
I’ve continued to meet many wonderful people but I’m only really close friends with two. But you know what? That’s okay. I don’t need to be friends with every single person I come across and I don’t need to work to impress others like I did in high school.
This weekend I took a leap of faith. I went on the freshman escape with campus ministry. It was a wonderful opportunity to get away from reality for a couple of days. I really was able to self reflect and find inner peace among my peers.
I enjoyed the company of a small group and many people outside of my group who showed me so much kindness and understanding. I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world. I was really able to grow in my faith and reconnect with a side of myself that I’ve lost touch with. I’ve always considered myself to be a caring person but recently with the stress of college I’ve neglected putting others needs before my own as I usually do.
Thankfully this retreat brought me back to my morals and set of values and just in time too. It was a great weekend to get away and take a break from the hustle and bustle of university.
Some friends of mine just got chipotle. Apparently chipotle just started making queso but it isn’t very good according to those same friends. Also chipotle prints pig latin on their bags. I thought that was fun.
I hope this message reaches you in time, but we are planning a little something, something in the residence hall. Here are the details, since we are on the subject of queso. LeMans hall second floor is throwing a queso party at 7 PM Monday night. It is a BYOC policy (bring your own chips). Spanish music will be provided.
We would love to see you. Hopefully you can come out, it will be a lot of fun. This is an extended invitation to you from the kids of 2nd floor LeMans.
Going home for a long weekend was a really pleasant experience yet it was very humbling. I realize not everyone has the same luxury as me to go home as they please. Some people here are from different countries, different parts of the country, and even farther parts of Texas. Not everyone is lucky enough to say that they do live in San Antonio, a convenient hour and a half away. I’ve learned to count my blessings.
The newness of college is still present, but now that I’m starting to find a rhythm in my new life I’m realizing that everything is very real and there’s so much more at stake now than in high school. I’ve already had many days of staying up all hours of the night just to keep up with my classes. I can’t afford to let my grades slip because for the first time in my life I’m actually paying to go to school. Not to mention, I’m looking to apply to dental school and I need to be a competitive applicant. There’s so much more at stake than anything high school could have prepared me for.
Regardless, I’m taking the challenge head on. I will not relent, I will persevere. I’m looking to get involved already. I’m looking for positive outlets such as campus ministry and club rowing. Things will look up for me, I know it.