mOrE cOngO =)

Oh my gosh, I loved the book Congo! It was amazing, I hated to put it down whenever I had to. I was worried that I wouldn't like reading the book because of the scientific aspects, but since it was about animals I think that's how it held my interest. I used to like monkeys and stuff too, it's crazy how they taught them language and sign language. The whole book made me want to travel to a rainforest sometime in my life.
Now the bad part. I hated the movie Congo! It was horrible, and totally screwed up everything that happened in the book. Main aspects of the book were left out, or completely switched. In the movie the consortium didn't even exist. And the movie also added the extra character from Romania. I think I would've liked the movie if I hadn't read the book but since I did read the book, the movie just seems horrible. But when books get made into movies, the movie ends up usually being horrible in most cases anyway.

Animal Cruelty & Pet Shelters

My final research paper for my Intermediate Composition class is about the links between animal cruelty, child abuse, domestic abuse, and other forms of violence. I find this topic very interesting. When I was younger I used to watch those ASPCA shows all the time. I also used to want to be one of the animal cops like on the show. This paper just amazes me at the different stories I have found of people abusing animals. I don't understand how they are able to do that to such an innocent creature. Now, I'm not all for PETA and whatnot, but I do think animals have rights. To me they were made by God just like us, and deserve equal treatment. I also found it facisnating at how animal cruelty at a young age can lead those people to commit more serious crimes as adults. I'm actually kind of enjoying this paper, just because it's a topic I'm interested in. It's surprising because I normally hate my composition class.

Finals Coming Up

I've never really been nervous for tests before, until I got back from Thanksgiving break. When I got back to Wartburg I kind of realized that there's only two weeks of classes left, then it's finals week already! I was talking to a 2nd year and she told me that the next two weeks are busy and they fly by. I'm happy that they fly by, I hate it when time goes slow during school. But I'm almost worried that time is going to go by too fast. I have one final each day, and they are all pretty late in the day, except for one 8:00 final for my comp class. I like that I only have one each day, and that I'll definitely be able to get some good sleep during the week. I think I just feel very crammed right now. I have two presentations as my final. One for IS, which Katie and I are doing together and are starting to work on tomorrow, and then my Comm. Arts class is a group presentation. I'm nervous for this one because it's an 8 to 10 minute presentation. My group hasn't gotten together yet, and I just found out that for the first time we're meeting two people won't be able to be there! I'm very upset about this, and we all have different schedules so it's really hard to change the time. I just hope that we all buckle down and get what we want done accomplished when we meet. I'm hoping that once we meet I'll be able to calm down about it.

Deciding a Major

I think I've finally decided what I want my major to be. I decided a long time ago that I didn't want to go into journalism, and then I was thinking about a psychology major. But that idea didn't stick with me for long. I then looked into an art major. I used to be really into that kind of stuff. I even have an easel and professional paint sets at my house. But eventually I stopped drawing, so I never gave it another thought. Plus, I didn't take any art classes in high school. I'm very interested in photography, but Wartburg doesn't have that as a major. So I looked into Communication Design. But now I'm sketchy about that. It wasn't until my friend asked me to help her with exercise stuff when I started thinking about a major in Fitness, or Health. I think that since health and fitness is something I'm interested in, it might be a good thing to major in. But I sometimes also think about my love for animals and such, and think about doing something with that. But the way I look at it, if I have a job in health and fitness, I could still volunteer at shelters, or be a foster parent for dogs and cats. So I think health and fitness is the career path for me. I would really enjoy being a personal trainer, and I think it would be a good job satisfaction for me as well.

Work Life

I recently picked up another on-campus job. I like my job at the Comm Mark department, but it requires a lot of outside work to schedule interviews, and have the interviews, and to write the articles, plus the office hours I work. I sometimes wish I didn't have to write the articles, that I could just go to the office and organize the newspapers, and file them, but there's never much that needs to be done there. I wrote an article today, so that got me some more money, but they didn't need me in the office. The other night I almost had a breakdown about money. I don't want to keep transferring money from my savings, so when Janice Hyde from the Mensa e-mailed about an opening I decided I needed the extra money. It kind of sucks though, because it's the 6:00- 8:30 AM shift every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. But the way I look at now is that that's 7 and a half hours every week, and I'll enjoy the paycheck I'll be getting in December, right when I'm going Christmas shopping. I sometimes slack in my other job at the Comm Mark Dept, and I've also decided that even though it wasn't what I expected, I'm still going to give it my best so I can earn the money. I know it will all pay off in the end.

CoNgO!

Today after class I went straight to the Waverly Public Library to borrow Congo for my final project. I'm amazed at how far I have actually read already. I'm really enjoying this book. I like it a lot more than State of Fear. I think it's because Congo is something I'm more interested in. I think the idea of teaching primates language and sign language is amazing. I did like State of Fear, but I'm able to hold my focus more in Congo. I'm on page 50 of 340, and I want to have this book finished by Monday. It's amazing how much free time I have available since volleyball is over now. I miss volleyball, but I like being able to get homework done earlier in the day. Today I read Congo for a while after I got it, then Jessie and I cleaned the room, then I worked AHEAD on my Comm. Arts class, and I just finished reading more. I want to get as much of my other homework done before Thanksgiving break so all I have to do is read. I have a lot of plans for break, but I want to save those for a blog this weekend after I've done all those plans!

Regionals!

We just made it to Regional Semi-Finals! We play the defending champion at 4:30 today. We watched them play yesterday, and they looked very beatable. I'm so excited! Plus, we beat Whitewater yesterday, who was a team that has beaten us before. I had to talk to a reporter which makes me kinda nervous. I also hit .750 attack percentage, with zero errors :) That's very exciting to me because it's my personal best, EVER. I just really hope that I didn't miss too much from my classes while I was gone, that is the downside to being in a sport in college.

Thanksgiving Break

I'm starting to get really excited for Thanksgiving break already. Even though it's only about 4 days off, I'm looking forward to seeing my family. My cousin who is a junior in high school keeps asking what the next family event I'll be at will be, and this time it's two weeks away. I'm sure my family that lives farther away will have a ton of questions for me about how college is, and how volleyball was, and what I'm going to do without volleyball. I'm excited to tell them about how I'm coaching a club volleyball team this winter, that some girls from my high school are playing on.
Besides just seeing family, I'm excited to just relax during Thanksgiving break. I didn't really get to do that during Fall break because I had practice and a tournament during it. and the one day I went home during it I was doing laundry. I feel like I just need a break from school and volleyball (even though I love volleyball) so I can not be worried about anything. And I'm sure that after Thanksgiving break, I'll be counting down until Christmas break! :)

Money and a Job

I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but I'm excited for volleyball to be over for one main reason- I want to work more so I have more money. I've never felt so broke before. After volleyball it will be nice to be able to pick up some more hours and be able to have some spending money for things other than food, paper, and ink!
I'm also excited for summer already, so I can get back to my old job, and start saving up a lot of money. I want to save a majority of the money I earn next summer so I can have it during the school year, and I won't be so stressed about money. But I'm also going to set aside a set amount of money that I earn for a vacation that my boyfriend and I are going on during his vacation week from his job.
College is teaching me a lot about money management and has stopped my urge to splurge money on things that aren't necessary, like new clothes.

Piano :(

When I went home during fall break, I spent some time playing the piano. I've been playing since I was two years old, when my mom starting letting me actually touch the piano, and then I started taking lessons. I took piano lessons up until I was in 8th grade, when my teacher retired. I was so happy about not taking lessons anymore. I hated piano then. But throughout high school I found myself sitting at the piano at home, just playing for fun. It's becoming something that really relaxes me now, and playing over fall break made me miss having a piano so accessible to me. It's just another adjustment to college I have to make that didn't seem like a big deal at first. I brought some piano books back from home, so I'm going to find time to go to the practice rooms in the music hall so I can keep playing all year round, rather than just in the summer when I'm home. It just made me realize how thankful I actually am for taking those lessons that I "hated" going to when I was little.

Fall Break Boredom!

So today I realized that being an athlete in the fall isn't fun, well okay, that's a lie. Just over fall break it's not fun. I only know of around 4 people who are still here on my floor! I went home Wednesday night, and it felt awesome to sleep in my own bed. I forgot how squishy my bed is compared to these bunk beds :( I also realized how much I missed cooking while I was at home. It felt way good to be cooking on a stove instead of in a microwave! I got to cuddle with my puppy, and he was really cuddly in return, I think he knew I would be leaving again soon, and that made me sad! I know it's way early, but I'm already getting excited for Thanksgiving & Christmas break. It was nice to not have anything to do for a day, but today I'm back for volleyball, and tomorrow is a tournament, tomorrow night I'm going home, and Sunday I'll be with my boyfriend, and while that all goes by fast it'll be Monday before I know it, and it's back to homework and practice all the time. Why must the weekends go to fast but the week go so slow?

Social Change Wheel

Looking over the Social Change Wheel in class, and a few minutes ago, I've decided that I want to be in some of the sections that I didn't highlight. The ones I highlighted were: Direct Service, Socially Responsible Daily Behavior, and Community Building. Out of these 3 I highlighted, I would say that I am most active in Community Building. Coming from a small town that floods very easily in the summer, I've helped out many of the people whose basements and yards have been underwater. Since Fredericksburg is so small, you know almost everyone, and want to help out, it builds up trust knowing that they would return the favor if you were in the same situation.
Two things I would want to be more active with in the Social Change Wheel would be Direct Action Strategies and Voting/Formal Political Activities. I think with Direct Action, I couldn't be the leader behind the issue, and usually wouldn't be involved in something with public disobedience. I probably would though, if it was something I cared very strongly about. Voting and political stuff is something I want to start learning more about, so I can be more active with it. I think it's part of my job as a citizen to vote, and to help choose what I think should be getting done.

Volleyball

Well, I'm sure a volleyball post was bound to happen anyway. Here's the scoop, I played middle all my life until my senior year I got moved to play outside. I never liked playing middle. It's exhausting, a lot of work, it frustrates me, and overall besides the setter, its probably the hardest position to play. I got recruited to Wartburg as an Outside/Middle hitter. I came to practice at the start of the year with an "I just want to play" attitude, which in a way, I still have. They had me practicing outside and middle, and the first game I was playing outside 2 rotations and middle 1 rotation. I was okay with that. Actually, I loved it. Then our main middle hitter got hurt, so now I'm stuck playing middle all the time. It's really frustrating because it's hard to get the middles a set, there's almost always two blockers up, and if your teams pass isn't perfect, you can't utilize the middle. So all I do mainly is block. I like block, and stuffing the ball back in the opponents face, but I love the feeling of getting a kill, and since I got moved to middle I can't do that as often, and it's definitely not as powerful as my outside swing. I also get more frustrated in middle, not with the team, but with myself- frustrated to the point of tears. But deep down, I know that the coaches wouldn't have me there if they didn't think I was serving a purpose. So my goal for this week is to keep a positive attitude, and to realize that all my hard work is paying off and helping the team as a whole.

Being thankful:)

Monday morning I woke up to Jessie, my roomate, with a text saying "Kelly, you are my best friend, and one of the most important people in my life, no matter how big a fight gets. I love you Kel!"  When I texted her back asking about the random text, she went on to say that while she was at church that morning, the sermon was about how we take the people in our lives for granted, and that some people don't have those kinds of relationships to cherish. This really made me think. It made me realize how often I take people for granted, without even realizing it. My other friend, Morgan, who goes here, is having a rough time lately. They told her that her grandma isn't going to make it much longer. This also made me realize that you never know how much time you really have left with the people around you. Anything can change in a minute. After all of this happened, I have made it my mindset to be thankful for everyone around me. And I want to remember that everyday is a gift, including the people in your day.

College life so far.

So far, it almost seems like high school was more fun than college. I know that I wouldn't want to go back to high school ever, but since I'm so busy all the time, its hard to find time to have fun. I'm more of a spontaneous person, so scheduling time to have fun just... well... it isn't fun! I haven't been to a Wartburg football game all season, and we're undefeated. I feel like a nerd :( It's just because of volleyball, so I'm not going to complain that much since I love playing volleyball here. I've decided not to go out for track. And that is my final answer. I want more time for homework, friends, and my boyfriend. I make time for all that, but it'll be nice when I have all morning classes so I have the whole afternoon off to do homework, and then by 6 I can have some relaxing/fun time. Overall, I think I'm just slightly stressed because I'm so busy right now, but I'm sure by winter term I'll be much more relaxed.

STRESSED!!!

College homework... SUCKS! Ugh, I totally forgot about the turnitin website I have to turn my paper in to... and now that I remembered the website... I completely forgot the username & password I need to turn in my paper... And of course, thinking I'd remember it, I didn't write it down. And it's too late to call/text anyone to ask. Now I don't think I'll sleep at all tonight worrying that it had to be turned in by midnight or it won't get accepted. This is now another adjustment to college life.. papers will be turned in online & in person depending on the class. I also learned to write EVERYTHING down...

Homework Cramming Already!

Already crammed lots of homework last night.. Coffee is a great thing :) Note to self: Homework comes before visiting home.