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April 11, 2008
ROOTS
I have been thinking recently about how important it is to remember our roots no matter where we may go in life. I just thought that I’d go ahead and share with you guys.
Whenever a person enters college (or really comes upon any milestone in his or her life) he or she is encouraged to kind of “get over the past” and move on to bigger, better things. Well, I am a firm believer in this concept of not living in the past. However, I don’t believe that one should completely forget about their accomplishments, experiences and what they learned from them. Let me give you an example from my own life and hopefully this will inspire you all to think about the examples in your lives.
My senior year of high school, I was privileged enough to be able to serve as the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America Oklahoma State President. During that one year, I learned countless lessons, met numerous friends (that are still some of the best friends I have, might I add) and experiences so many awesome things. Well, I do count this as one of my biggest accomplishments in life, but I know that it’s important not to dwell on it because that would hinder me from doing anything else worthwhile in life. So, my first year in college I stayed involved with FCCLA. Then my sophomore year, I decided that it was time for me to find new things in which to get involved. I kind of just fell out of touch with the “FCCLA world.” Well, I thought that this was all well and great because I was embarking upon new journeys. However, during that time, I really missed Oklahoma FCCLA and the amazing state staff. This year, I decided to help out with judging some FCCLA events and attended the state convention once again. It was during this time that I had sort of an epiphany. I don’t have to completely fall out of touch with FCCLA. This amazing organization gave me sssssssoooo much--- valuable life skills, amazing lifelong friend, and unforgettable experiences. I don’t necessarily have to immerse myself in this organization to the point that it keeps me from contributing to other things. However, since non-profit organization did give me so much, it is essential that I give back to it with my time, service and whatever else I may have to give.
So, in this example, my roots are deeply embedded in FCCLA because of the amazing opportunities and doors that it opened for me. What I’m trying to tell you guys is that yes, you should move on after High School because there definitely are bigger and better things out there. Just remember to give back to those organizations or those people that aided you in becoming the person that you are.
April 1, 2008
Hey there everyone! I am SO excited right now! Wanna know why?! Sure ya do… let me tell you!
# 1. Last week ( which was the busiest week of my semester) is GONE! Thank goodness! This week is SO MUCH BETTER already! J
#2. I got to see some of my friends from across the state over the weekend. It was absolutely amazing. I got to see people that I went to college with at my old school and I also got to see a lot of my friends from an organization that I was in in High School whenever I judged for their competitive events. If you are in high school, you should seriously consider joining FCCLA- the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. It’s absolutely amazing and gave me so many awesome life experiences and skills to last a lifetime! If you have any questions about it, please just shoot me an email and I’d be glad to answer! J
#3. The new PLCers have been chosen and I got a freshman friend! I’m so excited about her… I have heard nothing but great things! Hopefully I can be as great of a freshman friend as mine was!
#4. I found out that I made a 100 on a midterm that I took before break! That was SUPER DUPER exciting!
#5. I am so blessed and LIFE IS GREAT! J
March 25, 2008
There is no doubt in my mind that UCO focuses on leadership more than any other university in the state. I personally think that this is an absolutely awesome thing. However, I also think that sometimes a lot of people, myself included, lose sight of what leadership really is.
Yesterday I was driving back to Edmond from home after a great Spring Break and it’s a very long drive so I had lots of time to think and these are thoughts that were filling my mind.
It is important for anyone who considers him or herself a leader to remember the primary reason for leading. In my quest for the true definition of a leader, I went to the ever faithful dictionary.com and it says that a leader is someone who leads or guides. This is such a simple sentence to describe someone who carries so much responsibility.
In my opinion, the number one reason that we lead is to empower others. It’s so easy to lose sight of this. We get so caught up in who can list the most “activities” on facebook or myspace. We think too much about ourselves instead of others. The other night I was talking to a friend ( yo, Levi!!!) and he is an absolutely amazing leader. He said something like, “Sure, it’s great to be able to sign President or Vice-President under our names. It feels great. But, that’s not all that a leader is.” This was a very profound statement to me.
I’m going to offer to you know what I think that a leader is and you can take it or leave it. It’s just my opinion. J A leader is a servant (obviously… how many times do we hear this in workshops, etc, but it’s so so true)! Everything that we do to become a better leader or that we do to be able to call ourselves a leader is in the end for the good of someone else. Think about it… we hone our leadership skills so that someday we can have a great job. Well, whatever that job is… it’s going to help someone else or have some impact on another person. Even if we plan on working in the entertainment industry and we’re trying to become a better leader to make it to the top--- that television show that we produce or that song that we sing is going to have some sort of effect on someone else’s life.
So, I guess my basic jist of this rant is that it’s important for us to try harder to focus more on others instead of titles that we can hold ourselves or building our own names.
Anyway, I hope that you all had an absolutely awesome Spring Break and that you’re ready for the next few weeks to fly!
March 7, 2008
Hi there, everyone! In my last blog I mentioned that I was going to get to attend a conference on campus called “The Character Conference.” I want to take this opportunity to tell you all about it because it was just ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
There were schools across the state of Oklahoma represented at this meeting that was held here on UCO’s beautiful campus. First, we were fed a great lunch of sandwiches, cookies and peach punch. The peach punch of UCO is amazing…. It’s one of my favorite parts of the school, but I suppose that’s beside the point. Haha. Okay, so after lunch we were given an outstanding presentation by the keynote speaker Mary Kay Mueller. I’ve gotta admit that I wasn’t really that excited about this because sometimes I feel like I hear the same speech from every motivational speaker. However, this woman was out of this world! She presented a speech that was very different from any I’ve heard. Afterward, I felt very motivated to dream big and go for whatever I want! After the keynote session was finished, we had the opportunity to go to some break out sessions. The first one that I chose to attend was April Perry’s (she’s our PLC advisor as well) “Breaking up with College” workshop. It was really super helpful! She pretty much told us the truth about how life is after college… that it’s not all a bed of roses and sometimes it’s tough but in the end it’ll work out! :) The second break out session that I went to was Mary Kay Mueller’s Shift Happens. It was basically just an extension of the speech that we had heard earlier in the day. Once again, it was awesome. Afterward, we went back to the main meeting hall and Congresswoman Mary Fallon came to speak. That was pretty cool. All in all, the Character Conference was SSSSSOOOOOO cool and I recommend it to any UCO student or to any student attending any other university in the state of Oklahoma!!!
Well, friends, hope you have an absolutely amazing week and don’t forget that if you have any questions, I’d be more than glad to help ya with ‘em!:)
February 28, 2008
Hey guys! So… it’s been awhile!!! Hmmm… I have no idea what to write about so this is probably going to be extremely random. My life has been pretty boring lately, I suppose!!! Spring is nearly here and that is way exciting! Whenever it’s pretty outside, everyone is in a better mood and I love that! So, what’s been going on at UCO lately? This past Friday night was Broncho Showcase. I didn’t get to go, but I heard that it was absolutely amazing so that’s exciting! Yay for new UCO traditions! Tomorrow I’m attending a thing here on campus called the Character Conference. I’m really excited to see what this is all about. Next weekend is Freshman Follies and I can’t wait to go watch! Then the next weekend, I get to go home for Spring Break!!! YAY!!! I’m really excited about that because I’ve only gotten to go home once this semester, and I’m such a baby--- I get so homesick! Haha.
Well, several of you have probably already applied for scholarships so kudos to ya! If ya haven’t yet, get on it! Most deadlines are March 1 or before… don’t wait till the night before the apps are due… definitely not a good plan! Haha.
Okay, I think that’s all for now. If you guys have any questions or anything, shoot me an email! J Have a great weekend, friends!
February 4, 2008
One of the most beautiful things about college is friendship. However, that is also one of the most complicated things. For me, the college experience has presented so many valuable friendships that it’s just absolutely amazing. I adore all of the friends that I have made post high school. Many of them, I’m sure, will not only be bridesmaids in my wedding, but also valuable lifetime friends. This is one of the things that I appreciate the most about life.
Now, on the other side of things--- college can hurt friendships. Think about it- we go to school with the same people for 12 and sometimes 13 years and are taught to act and think exactly the same way. After that ends, we float out into the real world and start changing our own perspectives on certain things. We also tend to lose touch with those people that are now across the state at a different university than us… we come to realize that all we really had in common all of those years was the organizations and classes in which we were involved. This is so disheartening.
My advice to those of you who are about to embark on your college journey: make an effort to stay in touch with high school friends while also embracing the new relationships you will continue to develop throughout life. Every relationship is extremely valuable.
Have a great week, guys and girls! :)
February 1, 2008
Hey there, friends!!! It’s been quite awhile since my last one of these little things… sorry! But the good part about that is I have all kinds of exciting things to talk about! It will probably be a bit hard to keep this short and sweet, so sorry if I bore you to death! Haha.
Hmmmm…. A huge part of college students’ lives is all the breaks we get… especially Christmas break! It’s a huge change from High School Christmas break because we actually get an entire month out of class… nice, right?! Because Christmas Breaks are so amazing, I suppose that I’ll begin this blog discussing mine! It was GREAT! #1- It marked the end of my journey as a Speech Language Pathology major… thank goodness! That just was not for me and I have never been so happy for a semester to end in my life! Haha. #2- It was really awesome to get to go home and see my family. As you can probably tell from a lot of my blogs, they mean the world to me. Being 3 and a half- 4 hours away from them is a bit tough, but I’m surviving! :) Anyway, I didn’t get to leave until the Monday after finals were finished because before that I was busy checking residents out of my hall in the dorms. Then I was allowed an entire week at home with my parents, brothers and puppy… fun fun! I love being at home during the holidays too because it means getting the opportunity to see lots of extended family that I haven’t seen in awhile--- that’s always cool. So, Christmas was great and then the day after my best friend and I hopped on a plane headed for London! HOOOOW EXCITING! It was my first time EVER out of the country so it was pretty cool…. I’m not all about flying for extended periods of time though… not that I’m scared--- just not a fan of being uncomfortable…haha! Anyway, once we got there I realized it was SO WORTH the long flight! Just a bit after we arrived in London, we boarded a plane there bound for Edinburgh, Scotland. Oh my goodness… it was so much better than I even expected! We got to do so many neat things… we participated in the huge New Year’s festival called Hogmanay, attended a candlelight concert in St.Giles Cathedral, took a haunted tour through Greyfrier’s cemetery, got to eat at Elephant Café, which is where J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series, visited the Edinburgh Castle, went to the oldest pub in Scotland and did lots of other really cool things! It was such a BLAST! On New Year’s Day we hopped on another plane and headed for London. We got to stay there for a week and had the opportunity to do so many more way neat things! We went to the British Museum, saw the Tower of London, got to go into Westminster Abbey (one of my favorite parts of the entire trip), watched Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre, watched another show called The 39 Steps, and tons of other things that I can’t even think of right now. Anyway, the trip was so amazing and I’m so grateful that I had that opportunity! Anyway, I suppose I’m getting away from the topic of a UCO student’s life, right?1 But, that trip was just way too cool to not write about!
So, now it’s back to reality! :) We are ending our third week of the Spring ’08 semester. Time flies so stinkin’ quickly! I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new major. The classes are SOOO interesting and my professors are pretty much all amazing.
You want to know one of the great things about college life?! Weekends! Haha. I may get to go home this weekend (if all the snow clears up) and I’m so excited about that because I haven’t seen my parents since the day after Christmas and I miss them, my brothers, and my puppy SO SO MUCH! Anyway, I suppose this is all for now! Have a super FABULOUS weekend, my friends!
December 4, 2007
If someone tells you that you do not have to do anything on Dead Week and that it’s super easy, they’re LYING TO YOU BIG TIME! My dead week is ALIVE AND KICKIN’! haha. It’s only Tuesday and I’ve already had two quizzes, two papers and a test. Coming up for the rest of the week…I have another paper due tonight, a test and a quiz tomorrow and then a Final on Thursday. Aaaaand then it’s finals week! And then… the long awaited… CHRISTMAS BREAK!!!!! YAAAAAAY!!!!
I can’t believe that this semester is already almost finished. Even though it is my Junior year of college, I feel like I’ve learned a lot more about life and independence, etc. Fall ’07 has definitely been a semester that I will never forget. I have made a lot of new friends, some of whom I know will be friends for a lifetime. Also, I’ve learned that time management at a University is oh so important. Mine is definitely going to have to improve tons next semester! That’s going to be one of my new year’s resolutions. Speaking of New Year’s Resolutions, I have a lot of goals for next semester and I’m going to work super hard to achieve them… I don’t feel like I did that this semester. Ya live and learn, right? Anyway, I think that this blog is getting super random and I have lots of papers to write and tests to study for so I will end this now! Good luck to everyone on finals and have a super fabulous break!!!
November 26, 2007
Hey there! So, I’m back from Thanksgiving break and feeling well rested and ready for the next CUHRAZY BUSY three weeks! I got to go home for the break and that was absolutely amazing. I got to hang out with the fam and see some of the rest of the family that I haven’t seen since, well, last Thanksgiving! Haha. Also, one of my cousins got married. It was really exciting. He and I kind of grew up together because we are the same age and such. He’s a marine now and I’m SSSSOO proud of him. He just got back from Iraq and his new wife is a beautiful and sweet girl! So, that was really fun. I love weddings! J
So, after the much needed break comes the three most stressful weeks of the semester… haha. The two weeks before finals whenever the professors realize that they need to cram a ton of info in and whenever I realize that I should step up my game! And then…. The dreaded FINALS WEEK…. I’m extremely nervous about my finals this semester. Since I changed my major and all that jazz, I’ve been lacking in the motivation department for the classes in my current major. However, I’m going to study super duper hard for the next couple of weeks and hopefully pull off decent grades.
Okay, all of this school, homework and study talk is making me sleepy…. Ssssooo something a little more exciting…. I get to spend a week of Christmas break in London, England and then another week in Edinburgh, Scotland. Super exciting, RIGHT?! Yeah, I know…. J I’m pretty much ready for that break already…. Getting to chill with my awesome family, seeing old friends, Christmas decorations, hot chocolate, Christmas movies, NO HOMEWORK OR STUDYING, and of course the trip! Gonna be a blast!
Oh, I forgot to mention the excitement that’s coming up this weekend in the residence Hall where I’m an RA. We have this thing called “Hanks for the Memories” and it’s 24 hours straight of Tom Hanks movies. Since he’s one of my very favorites, it’s gonna be fuuuun. I don’t know if I can make it that entire time though. It’s one of the big programs put on in the girls’ dorm here for the fall semester.
Wanna know something else exciting? SURE YA DO! Today is PLC meeting…. I love PLC meeting days because it means that I get to see some of my favorite people in the whole wide world! Yaaaaay! The Junior Class, of which I am a part, is going out tonight for a little getaway. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to make it though because of a night class…. Stinks, right?!
Oh my goodness…. There’s SOMETHING ELSE going on this week! I didn’t realize how busy this week really is until RIGHT NOW! Haha. Winterglow is this Thursday and I’m pretty pumped about that even though I’m not really for sure what it is! Haha. I know that it’s a lot of Holiday festivities and I think that they light up the campus. I’m pretty for sure that that event is going to be tons of fun as well.
Okay, so I think that’s all for now. Hope you all have an A*M*A*Z*I*N*G week! Feel free to ask questions, dudes!!! I love ‘em!
November 17, 2007
Hey there guys and gals! So, I accidentally skipped a blog…. Oopsy poopsy!!!!
This weekend I’m on call (that’s RA talk for I have to work this weekend… blah) so it’s not very eventful. I have to stay in the beautiful land of West Hall. Since this weekend isn’t too exciting, let me fill you guys in on the super duper fun filled time that I had LAST weekend!!!
So, last Friday night found my friends and I attending Friday Night Live. This is UCO’s sketch comedy show featuring talented UCO students. It’s a lot like Saturday Night Live, well, except for the fact that it’s on Friday nights and the stars aren’t Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon, but some cool cats who are students at UCO. Anyway, it was absolutely hilarious and extremely enjoyable. They only do it once a semester so I’m already pumped about it happening again in the Spring! WOOHOO!!! After all of the laughing on Friday night, we attended the last home football game on Saturday afternoon. Fun times. Then Saturday night was Miss Asian UCO, which was really neat. I was rooting for Kaori who ended up getting the Director’s Choice Award and 1st Runner Up. All of the girls did an amazing job and it was so entertaining! So, all in all last weekend was a way fun time doing exciting things and hanging out with some of my favorite people in the whole wide world.
This past week was kind of slow and not the best. But, it’s over now so it can only get better, RIGHT?! :) I started missing home SO much because it’s been awhile since I’ve visited. However, I realized how much my friends mean to me and just how amazing they are. On Tuesday, I had to go to the Emergency room (nothing serious or anything) and one of the greatest people in the whole wide world took me. So, PROPS to Martha! Head over and read her blog………after you finish reading mine, of course! :) haha.
Next week is Thanksgiving break and I’m going HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEE and can NOT wait! YAAAY! You guys have a super fabulous week!!!! :)
October 31, 2007
It is Halloween! Yay! I love it! Tonight we have this thing called Safe Trick Or Treat in our dorms. Kids from the community get to walk through the building and trick or treat at the doors of us cool cats that are participating. I’m really super excited… is that weird? Haha. Since I’m an RA, I got to decorate my hall for this holiday and I must say that my girls ( the girls who live on my hall….. I’ve started referring to them as “my girls” as if I’m their mother, lol) did an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING job and the hall looks soooo cool! It’s the little times like decorating and doing unplanned things where I think that the most bonding happens in residence halls. Anyway, that’s that!
Just FYI for you: COLLEGE IS STRESSFUL. Do not EVER let anyone tell you that it isn’t because if they do, they’re straight up lyin’!!!! This week I have SO many things going on and so much stuff due in my classes that it is NOT even funny! Quizzes, tests, papers, projects…. Where does it stop?! Oooohhhh well….. the few stressful times in college are definitely worth all of the exciting fun times with friends!!!!!!!
Hmmm… what else is happening this week? Yesterday we had a PLC meeting… that was exciting. I really do love PLC meetings…. I get to see some of the people that I love the most in the world and that’s always super exciting for me. While we’re on this note, let me encourage you to APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS no matter where you plan to attend college. If you’re a senior, START NOW….Do NOT wait until the last minute!!!! J
Well, I think I should probably go start working on some of those million things that I have due this week! BUH BYE!
Page last updated 07/02/2008 17:02:10.