Sam

Figuring Out Life

    So today I went to my sister's best friend Karen's senior recognition day at our high school. Karen's always at our house and feel like family so I wanted to go. 3 years ago it was me in that gym getting awards. I feel like I can't wrap my head around it! My last day of high school was on my 18th birthday ( I know coolest present ever right?!) so in 4 days it will be 3 years ago that I was done with highschool. So so so much has happened in that 3 years and it's crazy. It makes me feel old haha.

    Right now on my desk I have countless papers and books surrounding me for school. I'm still going through everything and seeing what classes I have left to take. I kind of wish I would have taken a summer class but I didn't do as well as I wanted to this year so I took a break and will come back in the fall all set and ready to go hard core. Right now I'm super excited about it but I know once September comes I'll be wishing for my summer back.

I've been looking through my big book of classes that we offer and I do have to say we offer some pretty cool classes. Classes like "The World in a Grain of Sand" and "Fast Food Nation" Pretty cool! For my history degree I have to take 2 cognates which are classes 300 level or higher in Anthropology, Art History, Economics, Geography, Literature, Music History, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, or Sociology. I'm having trouble deciding what to take. "Writing Young Adult Fiction" seems pretty cool and I think counts as literature but you have to have creative writing before and I'm not sure if I'll have time to do that. I'm trying to get caught up since I've already lost a year taking classes I don't need. I am taking Philosophy 100 in the fall so I think if I like that I'll take Ethics in the winter since it's an upper level class. I also may take Gender Roles since it's an upper level Psychology and it's online. Online classes are always fun. But right now it's full for the fall so I may have to wait until winter for that.

Anyway things are going good. Stil looking for a new job. Little children, their parents, and making pizzas is driving me crazy after almost 5 years. Hopefully I'll find something soon. In other good news my dad's compnay got sold (he's in the auto industry) and the new company took only 30 employees and he was one of them. We were really nervous for awhile and I'm super excited now. Everything will be okay and our Florida trip is still on! 44 days until that!

Anyway I'm off to finish looking at this school stuff and then go clean until I go to work. Oh and can't forget the Wings game tonight!!! GO WINGS!!

A Summer in Pictures!

Sooooooooo summer's been great so far! And I feel like I can tell you all about how it's gone but I want to show you. And what better way to do that than in pictures?! So here we go...the end of the school year to present day summed up in some pictures!

 Easter was kinda towards the end of the school year. At work we were closed on Easter but had a big Easter party the Saturday before for the little kiddies. I work at Caesarland which is a little kid's play place. Sometimes it's fun. Alot of times it's not.

Yes this is a buffalo!! And no, the camera's not on zoom...he's right outside my window. My friend Sam, my sister Shannon, and I went to Port Clinton, Ohio to go on a drive-through safari. On the way home from Cedar Point last year I saw a sign for this place and it said you could pet giraffes. I LOVE giraffes and on my list of things to do before I'm 21 I have pet a giraffee. Well THERE WERE NO GIRAFFES! I was rather upset. The lady said oh it was hiding over a littel bit you must have missed it. Sorry but giraffes can't hide! I did however get my car pretty much attacked by countless giraffer, deer, and various other animals of the likes. It was fun though. Although the Buffalo did scare me a little because before that picture I had my window down and it's head was in my lap!

This is Sam an I at Dave and Busters. We like to call ourselves twins. I met her through work almost 5 years ago and I can honestly say I would not have lated this long working there if it we're not for her. This is her 21st birthday and my first time at Dave and Busters. I was amazed at it because it's like a Caesarland for big people!

 This is just a big stick my dad and I got out of our tree one day while it was really nice outside. It reminds me of a giant wish bone. My puppy also tried dragging it around the yard.

  I've been helping coach my sister Haley's softball team. Quite an interesting group of girls who for the most part don't like to listen. That changes after they get hit by the ball a few times.

For Mother's Day, my sisters and cousins and I made dinner for our mom's. Here I was making twice baked potatoes. My aunt showed me her recipe and they were very yummy if I do say so myself.

After dinner on Mother's Day I played the Wii for the very first time. I was great at baseball during the warm up but very very bad during the actual game!

Here's my best friend Janel and I at the Toledo Zoo. We were in the Polar Bear's cave pretending to be ferocious.

This could possibly the closet I will get to petting a giraffee. But eventually, even if it's not before I'm 21, I WILL pet one!

This elephant was adorable. He did tricks like sitting on a log, balancing a stick on his head, and even tossing a softball back and forth with a trainer. The bigger one also went to the water a blew bubbles and water into the air. They were very cute.

Here we are at the end of our zoo day. Left to right is Janel, myself, my sister Shannon, and our friend David. It was a very good day at the zoo and we even got in for free because it was National Tourism Day!!

In case those are too little to see they're RED WINGS TICKETS!! Me, my sister Shannon, and her best friend Karen bought tickets to round 2, game 7 against the Ducks. It was an AMAZING game. We won and it was just a great expierence being there.

We got to go down the the ice to watch warm ups. Very amazing seeing them all up close. Especially Lidstrom!!

Super excited after we won the game!!

Sooooooo that's my summer so far in pictures. It's not even June yet but I feel like summer's going by fast. In the fall I will be a SENIOR!! Well not officially, some classes didn't transfer so I'm still technically considered a junior but I will be starting my 4th year in the fall. It's so crazy to think about it. I still have about 2 years go to. I'm changing my minor to biology and start those classes in the fall which I'm pretty excited about. Hopefully everything keeps going as planned.

But for now I'm off to bed. It's been a long day and tomorrow I need to get up to go to Secretary of State to get a new picture for my new license. Two weeks from today I will be 21!! Yippie!!

Goodnight all =)

April [Snow] Showers Bring May Flowers?!?!

Well I have 5 days of classes left before my finals start. 5 dayssss!!! At the very end of last summer the air conditioning in my car broke which wasn't a big deal since it was getting cool anyway. So lately I've been thinking about starting to save money to get my air fixed. Then it snowed...

 

cool...

 

Anyway this weather's kinda just a little bit crazy. It's the middle of April people why is it snowing!! I am a-okay with rain...I love the thunderstorms. But snow...no thanks. I keep feeling like it's Christmas time...now I just want some presents!

 

Well this was my short rant I've got to get back to class. I'll post pictures of my weekend later. I went on a Safari!

Spring is in the air....well almost

I am officially 2 classes...just a little over 4 hours away from spring break! While I am enjoying this semester more than any semester I have ever had in college, I'm always excited for a break. What college student isn't? My plans are very simple. My best friend and I are going to stay with my family in McDowell, Kentucky. I'm 99% sure that none of you have heard about this place before. It's a teeny tiny little town at the bottom of some mountains with a creek in the backyard and no sidewalk in the front; just a road barely big enough for my small Sunfire to get down. We're going to relax, sit on the porch in rocking chairs (it's 70 degrees there!!), drink sweet tea, have long deep conversations about life, and at night look at the stars. With no lights anywhere the stars are amazing. Ok I will be taking a little homework with me...hey it's gotta get done!
When we all get back from Spring Break we'll have about 8 weeks left of school. That's really not a lot. I'm almost completed with my first full year as a transfer student! yay! I was afraid of this semester at first. It's the first time I've taken five classes so I wasn't sure if I'd manage. I have a 2 hour Spanish class, feature writing, political science, a 3 hour history class, and a mass communications class online. I'm happy to say that I'm more than managing. I love my classes this semester. Okay I will admit that I don't love Spanish as much but this semester I'm getting a better hang of it.
While I do love my classes and school this year I do feel as if I need a break. So that's why I've decided that I'm going to apply for the Disney college program in the Winter semester next year! My friend did it a year ago and she loved it. I think that it would be an awesome experience. You can take some "Disney" classes there but you don't have to. My plan is to just do the working part and take some online classes through UofM. I know it's a long time away but I'm super excited for it! This time next year I could be blogging to you guys from Disney! While you're all in the wintery cold of Michigan, I will be writing pool-side from Orlando. Yep...that definitley works for me!
Anywho guys I don't want to be late for Polisci. It's by far my favorite class this semester. Plus we have a quiz today so I'm off!

The First Day to Change

Hello everyone. I have certaintley been MIA for some time. I will admit that last semester was not my best in college. Towards the end I just got so caught up in everything and tried to pull it all together at once and it just didn't work. Certain things were put up on a shelf and forgotten about for awhile...like this. But it's a brand new semester and I can already feel my focus is immensley better and things will work smoother this semester. So I'm back...hello everyone!

Today...well yesterday since it's after midnight, was an extremely exciting day. Obama was inaugurated into office today. I wish, more than anything, that I would have gone. I have family in the DC area...my uncle works there (he just retired from the Navy). I could have had a free place to stay. I could have been there today. But nope...I was the good college student and went to class. Boo

Just walking through the University Center I got excited. You could feel it all in the air. We watched the actual swearing in, in my feature writing class. I can't even describe how I felt while watching it. I felt happiness, hope, excitement, longing. I cannot wait to see what is in store for America. I cannot wait to see the change that our new President will bring to us. Everything is so bad in the economy and it's time for a change. Don't worry, I know it's going to take a long time...probably a full 2 terms to get things together...but today is the first step of that long, rough journey and I was excited just to be able to watch it.

The thing that excited me the most however, was not the new president. It was something in the parade after the actual inauguration. It was something that was only shown for about a minute. Something that millions of people would have just glanced over. Something millions of people had never heard of before and probably never will again. The Wyandotte Marching Chiefs Marching Band from Theodore Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte, Michigan marched in the Inauguration Parade today. I graduated from Roosevelt in 2006. I was highly involved in the music department there. I know several of the people who were there marching today. I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am to say that I was a part of that music department in high school. That's my school.

Sorry it's exciting!

Anyways guys it's been a long day so it's time to turn in. I will write again soon.

Everyone stay warm in this crazy cold weather!

The kids in us

Okay so I know we're all college students here but I know we all have a little bit of kid in us. I know at least one other person does. I was talking with a girl in my SPAN 101 class and she wanted to see the same movie I did. I went to see it last Thursday night at midnight. That's right...midnight showing of Highschool Musical 3! Go ahead, make fun of me. But let me tell you that at the midnight showing there was not a single little kid. The theater was full of college students just like myself. I even went again yesterday after work...hey I have a 9 year old sister as my excuse! Really though, it's a good movie with good lessons for people of all ages and I really do reccommend it to anyone.

Anyway we're about halfway into our semester and in the past week alot of work has seemed to jump out at me. Out of nowhere pretty much. I have exams, projects, group presentations, and big papers all starting this past week. My last day off from work and school was October 6th. My next day off? November 26 and only because I'm taking the day off from everything to get my sister from Ann Arbor for Thanksgiving break. I can't wait for break. I'm in much need of a day off. I can almost see the light...30 days away. Ughh

Winter's quickly sneaking up on us. Snow's in the forecast for tomorrow. I haven't even gone to the apple orchard yet! The walk between my class, from CASL to the Social Sciences building is looking pretty long in the cold weather. Halloween is supposed to be towards the 60's. I work all day of course.

Well I'm off to read a few books for history classes and attemt to once again cram some spanish in my brain. Adios everyone!

Everything seems boring?

This past week (Oct 13-17) was a pretty uneventful week for myself. I have heard from other people that there were quite a few activities going on in the University Center but my busy schedule prevented me from being there as much as I might have liked. I did however stop in for a quick lunch Thursday. There was some karokee going on and it was quite…interesting? I’m not sure if it was the singing or the chicken fingers that were making my stomach queasy. I was getting over a bout of stomach flu courtesy of everyone I work with. I did get to catch up on some sleep by skipping my first class Tuesday. Yes I skipped but after looking over my syllabus I decided it was well worth the extra sleep.

The week ended with a big midterm in my History 3635 class. I must say that I don’t think I have ever spent so much time planning and writing. My hand really felt like it was going to fall off.

Hopefully this next week will bring some excitement. I’m a little excited that we can soon start picking classes for next semester. I found the catalog online before an email was sent out. I’m almost done planning out what I want to take and hopefully it all works out the way I want it to.

Anyway everyone try to have a good week. Weather’s getting colder…maybe that’s why things are uneventful, boring, and seem to be dragging on. Let’s all find something fun to do!

Leaves are Falling All Around

Fall is finally showing on the UMD campus. As a transfer student, this is my first fall on campus. This time of year is my favorite time and I am loving being on campus right now. My classes alternate between the Social Sciences building and CASL and the walk between is probably my favorite time of day. Well…except for when acorns fall on my head. Ha

Anyway, with the changing of the leaves, I’ve really discovered the beauty that our campus has to offer. Plus I think that the pond really adds to the big picture. I love sitting on the benches right by the water’s edge under the trees with their multicolored leaves. Perfect place to do homework or just relax. Maybe it’s just me but I’m always reminded of Harry Potter when I am sitting by the water. Maybe that’s just my if the books though.

I know the campus goes further back than I’ve traveled and I would love to venture out once the leaf falling is in full swing. Tuesdays I have an extremely long break between classes so that’d be the ideal time. Nothing like a good walk with the leaves crunching underfoot. Hopefully I don’t go as far as to get lost. Maybe I should pack my GPS? Ha If anyone sees a confused looking student way back in campus, please guide me back to my classes!

Have a good week everyone!

Michigan's Biggest Comeback

"Hail! to the victors valiant. Hail! To the conquering heroes. Hail! Hail! To Michigan. The leaders and best!" We all know the song. I mean come on, we go to University of Michigan. If you don’t know the song then I think we’re going to have problems. The Wolverines had one amazing game this past Saturday. Now, I have never been a big football fan and I had never been to a game except my high school team’s (and even that was only to see the half time show…yep I was one of those). Anyway, then I found out that Michael Phelps was going to be there, I had to go. The perks of having a sister at Ann Arbor and her roommate whom could not go. Going to a game at the Big House was unlike anything that I have ever experienced in my life. I honestly figured that everyone would be with their groups of friends and keep to themselves. I don’t think I could have been more wrong. It did not matter what campus you were from (I recognized a few people from Dearborn). It did not matter what year you were in school or what your major was everyone was chatting with everyone. Sitting in the student section at a Big Ten game is indescribable. Like I said, I don’t watch football games so I did not realize until I was watching highlights of the game how much the students stand out. One huge block in the largest stadium in the country standing out, yet all standing together. Cheering together, hugging and giving high-fives to people we did not know, jingling our keys during key plays, chanting "you suck" with the arm waving, yelling "ooohhhh" right before a kick off. We all cheered for the football players, the cheerleaders, even the marching band. Today most of us would go back to class and go our separate ways. Sitting with friends, chatting with people in the same degree program as us. But come football Saturday, we will all go back to how it always is. We’ll all come together to support our school. It’s what we do and I’m proud to be a part of that. We’re the Michigan Wolverines.