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.