Grand Finale

Okay, so it won't exactly be "grand", but it's a finale. This is the last post I have to do for my composition class. The semester is winding down and there's only a couple weeks until finals. This first year of college has been a lot of fun. I've made so many new friends, many of them are friends that I will keep for the rest of my life. I'm glad for the summer to be just around the corner, but I'm sad to leave all of my friends knowing that there is a possibility that I may never see a few of them again. Most of them, however, I will see in the fall and I am definitely looking forward to that. I've made so many memories over the past few months, memories I will never forget. And although I'm not even one year into my college education, I realize that I want to look back on these memories years from now and be able to say that these were the best years of my life.

You know you're in college when...

Over the past two semester, my friends and I have had plenty of moments where you just don't know what to say. Those moments when you feel so stupid for messing up something so simple, something you do every single day for years. Every time these moments come up, I realize that I am truly in college. Now maybe not all of you have these moments. If you don't, I'm jealous. While these moments are always funny, they are almost always at my expense. Let me give you a few examples:

Putting your bra on wrong, not realizing that it is on wrong until 11:00 at night, and your boyfriend has to fix it for you because you can't figure it out. (No joke! This happened to me literally five minutes ago. I couldn't figure out how it was twisted and I couldn't exactly strip in the middle of my room.)

Moving your mattress into someone else's room and staying there for a couple nights. It's no big deal until you sleep somewhere else for a few weeks and don't come back for your mattress. (My friend brought his mattress into my boyfriends room so we could all sleep down there one night. We seriously didn't see him for at least a week. We finally put his mattress in the hallway and just left it there.)

Making runs to Taco Bell or Burger King at 11:30 at night when you ate dinner no more than 2 hours ago. (This will be happening in a few minutes. It may be common for some, but we're watching The Terminal and he had Burger King. Now we're going.)

Even if our inside jokes are always at my expense, at least we're all having fun. I mean, these are supposed to be the best years of our lives, right? They might as well be entertaining.

College Relationships

Over the past few months, I've seen plenty of people walking around with their significant others. Some have lasted for a few weeks, some for a few months. A few of my best friends here have ended their relationships, a couple of them were even on good terms. Lucky for me, the relationship I've been in since August shows no sign of slowing down. Sure, we've had our rough spots. Every couple does. However, those rough spots have been rare. It seems we never get sick of each other either, except for the rare occasions when one has Vault really late at night (like now. Burger King was a bad idea). Even with the nights of being over-caffeinated, I truly think this relationship will last. I plan to make it last. Austin is perfect for me in every way. I know it hasn't even been eight months yet, and I never thought I would know this quickly, but he is the one for me. My mom always told me that when I went off to college I would find my soul mate. As much as she told me that, I never thought it would be so true. I met mine within the first week here at Defiance.

Cincinnati Masters

Lately my mom and my aunt have been trying to convince me to get a summer job that has something to do with my major. I figured that it was a little late to start searching for jobs in physical therapy clinics to find a job that I can hold for 3 months with a vacation, and then leave. Because of that, I'm still going to be working at Wendy's for this summer. It works out well because I already know the people I work with and they are really flexible with my schedule. Even though I can't find a job that can help me with athletic training, I found a volunteer position that might help. I was looking at tickets for the tennis tournament in Cincinnati that they have every year. I love going because they have all of the big name tennis players there: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, everybody. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it to any of the matches because I have to move in at school early for athletic training. While I was exploring their web site, I came across a page with volunteer positions. Looking them over, I found one job for girls over 16 to basically hang out in the locker rooms. They would do anything from folding towels to stocking the training rooms, or even aiding the players with special requests. They even said it would be a good position for girls in high school or college. I thought it sounded interesting, so I applied. I have yet to hear back from them, but there is still a lot of time until the tournament (the women's tournament starts in early August).

Summer

Summer's coming up in just a few weeks, and as much as I love the people here and as much as I like it here, I have to admit that I am really looking forward to the summer. I can't wait to see all of my old friends again and be around my family all the time. I'm going back to work at Wendy's, which isn't very exciting, but I'm actually looking forward to that as well. I love the people there and, although there is a lot of drama, I couldn't have picked a better place for my first job. My family decided to take a vacation to Myrtle Beach some time in June. I'm very excited for this trip! I don't think I've ever been to Myrtle Beach before. If I have, I was really young and I don't remember it now. My parents even agreed to let Austin come with us. That just made everything more exciting! Although if Austin couldn't come, I could rub it in his face that I was in Myrtle Beach because he did that to me when he was in Hilton Head (cue my evil laugh: mwahaha).

Sophomore Year

I can't tell you how excited I am for next year! We've decided who we're rooming with and even chosen our rooms already. I'm on the third floor again, but I've got a good room with the best view you can get from Whitney, and the most awesome R.A. ever! One of the girls that was in my hall last semester got an R.A. position for this semester in Whitney. She's keeping the job next year and I'm in her hall. She's already got everything planned: our door decorations, the game we play to get to know our hall, and meals (she's an amazing cook). Because we both move in early, I'll probably help her get everything ready for the other people in our hall or whatever she may need help with. I think we might be the only two in our hall for a while, so it should be interesting. We decided that we're going to have potato soup on the night she moves in. I'm also really excited for athletic training next year and football camp. We move in on the 12th of August and we have to be at the training room my noon. I think football camp starts the next day or something like that. Kevin said it will be nice because we've got football only for nine days, so we'll have plenty of time to get settled in and situated. I'm really nervous for camp though. I worked with our athletic trainer through high school and I've taped players for games before, but I'm still intimidated. I know I can do it, but I guess I'm afraid of the upperclassmen not liking my tape job or something.

Trainer Olympics

I think last night was the most fun I've ever had in a training room. Each year, the Athletic Training department hosts the "Trainer Olympics". The trainers, minus the certified trainers, are split up into two teams with the Graduate Assistants as captains. This year we had the "Sternum Stabbers" against my team, the "Gauze-n-ators". To prepare, our team chose team colors and decided what all we would wear. We ended up making t-shirts and giving everybody names of different gauze terms. My name was "Fresh". And if I do say so myself, my shirt was pretty impressive. The number on the back of my shirt was outlined i gold with gold stripes, and with green and white dots between each stripe in different rows. I was pretty proud of myself; I've never been very creative, or creative at all. When I walk into the training room, my captain throws me a roll of gauze to decorate with. We start off with pizza and then move on to the scavenger hunt. In my opinion this was the worst idea ever made by athletic trainers. We ate a ton of pizza and pop... and then we ran around campus trying to be the first to find all of the clues. We lost that event. Then we moved on to Jeopardy. My team lost that event too. After that, we moved onto the skill events. These included one handed events such as ankle taping and hip spicas, blindfolded events like ankle taping and shoulder spica (blindfolded shoulder spica was my event. I lost by a split second), behind the back ankle taping, fastest ankle taping, and "Bloody Ankle" taping (taping an ankle with two gloves on). Throughout all of these events, there were quite a few debates on cheating. Stirrups were a big issue because it is almost impossible to do three stirrups without tearing the tape, and tearing the tape means extra time. After a few events, we had finally taken the lead. Unfortunately we ended up losing, but we still got the shirts that the winning team "won".

Tennis

I can always enjoy a good tennis match, especially if it's nice and warm outside. Yesterday I did just that, minus the warmth. Despite the slight chill in the air I was excited to see our Yellow Jackets defeat Bluffton 9-0. The team is now tied for second in the conference!! Congratulations to the team (and congratulations to Trevor for getting his picture on the athletics page, crazy face and all, and for continuing his win streak). It's always nice to sit outside and watch your classmates compete, especially when you get your extremely hyper friends to come too. Luckily, we weren't asked to leave. Unfortunately for another group of girls, they were asked to leave.

I'll be honest, as much as I like tennis, it can get really boring at times, but when you can joke around with the players, it hardly ever gets boring. Anything can happen with these guys. You can get hit with a ball (as my friend found out the hard way), thrown off a bench, or if you make the mistake of making a bet with them, you could end up with a brand new haircut. Thankfully none of these have happened to me, but it's been a close call a couple of times.

Almost There

I can't believe it's already April! I've probably said this before, but this year has flown by. There is almost nothing left to do. I'll be certified in CPR next Thursday, I've got all of my assignments in for Dr. Rickabaugh's class, I have to finish a paper for my Global Civ class, finish another paper for composition, do all my blogs, and keep going to the training room. After all of that I'll be completely done, minus exams. I'm really looking forward getting all of my assignments in. It gives me a great feeling of accomplishment and I feel a lot better about myself. I really liked how Dr. Rickabaugh had the assignments for his class set up. He gave us a manual at the beginning of the semester that had rubrics for each assignment and the date each assignment was due. There were two assignments that we had to do at some point throughout the semester, but they're not due until the last day of class. He gave us plenty of opportunities to get those done, and I got those done early. The other assigments that had a different due date we still knew about all semester. I loved being able to plan out my entire semester for that class.

Plan A

For the past few weeks, I've been stressing out about Athletic Training. I've been trying to get all my modules done and get as many hours in as I could. Our applications have been in for a month and we had our interviews a week ago. Even after the interview (which I thought went well) I've still been worried about it because, well, that's what I do. Finally today came. The day when we were supposed to find out if we would be conditionally accepted into the program. I've been stressing even more about this all day today trying to figure out when and how we would receive word about the program. I checked my email countless times, called my mom to see if she got anything about it, and checked my mailbox up here. The first time I checked my mailbox it was empty. The second time, however, there was an envelope. I was afraid to open it, but now I'm glad I did. I am conditionally accepted into the Athletic Training Education Program! As long as I keep my grades up, get at least a B- in my Athletic Training class and Dr. Rickabaugh's class, get in at least 80 hours, and finish all my modules, I'll be fully accepted into the program. I'm so excited about next year now. I had been worried about what I would do if I didn't get accepted. You know that "Plan B" your counselors make you come up with in high school? I don't have one. So if this hadn't worked out, I have no idea what I would have done.

Philosophy

For Foundations of Health, Physical Education, and Sport, we have to complete a personal philosophy assignment. While it doesn't sound very hard, I have no idea where to start. Many of us know what we stand for and can name off some of our values. I've always thought I knew, but now that I have no idea how to put this down on paper, I'm questioning myself. Because of this, I'm trying to use this paper as a sort of reflection and figure out what my personal philosophy of life truly is. We were shown different philosophies in the book such as idealism and existentialism, and we are supposed to decide which category we fit into the best. For me, even this is hard to decide. Some of the categories seem so out there, but others seem to fit me very well. I've finally decided that I fit best into the category of pragmatism. Basically, I think that reality and the truth is based on my previous life experiences. Despite this, I think I could also fit into the category of realism. Experiences can help people to understand nature and nature is a major factor in what happens throughout the universe. While these two beliefs contradict each other, I agree with both in a way. I find it interesting to read about all the different philosophies and think about the world from their perspective. If you think about it, there really is much more to our world than we realize.

March Madness

Every year I get so excited for the basketball tournaments to begin, and clearly I'm not the only one. This year I haven't had enough time to actually sit down and watch the games like I've wanted to. This year, I haven't had to watch the games to realize that my bracket is doomed. Judging by the amount of upsets in this year's tournament, I don't think I'm the only one this has happened to. From looking at the individual regions, it seems I wouldn't be doing too bad, but of the Final Four, North Carolina was the only one I got right (and I'm still hoping they win!). No matter how bad my bracket turns out, this has always been one of my favorite times of the year. You never know what will happen, especially in the women's bracket. Tennessee lost in the first round. That was the first time Pat Summitt's team didn't make it to the Sweet Sixteen. I was so disappointed! I know they had a rough season, but the first round? Wow. I'm still hoping Oklahoma loses. I won't exactly be excited to see Connecticut go undefeated, but I think I would rather see them win than the Sooners. I know it sounds mean, but I think the main reason I don't want Oklahoma to win is because of the deal Courtney Paris made. She said that if Oklahoma didn't win the tournament this year, she would pay back all of her scholarship money, a total of around $64,000. Like I said, it's mean, but I'm not a huge fan of the Paris sisters.

Spring Break

I know spring break has been over for about a week, but it's one of the most exciting parts of the year and I thought I should talk about it. All of the sports teams got to go on vacation. Men's tennis went to Hilton Head. Softball and baseball went to Florida. Golf went to Myrtle Beach. Unfortunately for me, I didn't get to go anywhere exciting. I just went home. While I may not have had the eighty degree weather and I didn't get to enjoy the beach, I still managed to have fun and keep myself busy. I knew I had a ton of homework that I should be working on, but who does that much homework over spring break? I was too excited to catch up with old friends and talk about all the good times we had in high school. My friend Kayla and I had a great time reminiscing while walking through my fields, watching E.T., and eating ice cream just like we used to do every time she came over to my house. I was very pleased to find out that after growing apart the past few years, nothing has changed between us. We still love to laugh at stupid things and goof off with each other when we can't find anything else to do.

Warm Weather

I'm so excited about the weather we're having today that I figured I'd better write about it before it gets cold again! After all the snow we had this winter and how cold it was, especially with the wind chill, it's amazing to have weather like this. It's almost inspiring. I noticed I have a lot more energy today than I normally do, and I love it! I'm bouncing almost everywhere I go (even to class) and I'm actually trying to get some homework done. I really hope this weather keeps up; it would make for an awesome spring break and I might be able to get all of my homework done in decent time. Even the weather stays like this, I'll still be jealous of all the people who are going to Florida and the Carolinas. I'd choose them over southwest Ohio any day!

Impulse Buying

I have found that I am turning into my boyfriend. Not in a physical manner, but in habits. I found out the hard way that every time he walks into a WalMart or especially a Best Buy, he has to buy something. Sometimes he might have an idea of something he wants to get, but most of the time he sees something and grabs it. Unfortunately I find myself doing the same thing sometimes. Luckily it hasn't been anything big so far. Just a picture frame, a purse, games, clothes, and food (I still owe Dean Wetstein three dollars for Girl Scout Cookies). I've never been one for shopping but apparently now I am. This is something I need to get away from, and fast. As a college freshman, I can't do this. My bank account is dwindling and my income is basically non-existent. I know I'm not the only one that had to quit their job because of school. Lucky for me, my managers kept a spot open for me over the summer. I can't wait to get another paycheck!

Applications

It's almost March! That means us freshman planning to get into the Athletic Training Education Program are putting the final touches on our applications. This includes two letters of recommendation, a physical, immunization records, and at least 80 hours of observation. Thankfully, we don't have to have those 80 hours until May. After turning in this application we have to do an interview. I'm not sure who's interviewing everyone though. I'm not sure how well that part will go. Of all the interviews I've done, only one went well in my eyes. Even my job interview didn't go the best (even though it was for Wendy's). I'm beginning to get very nervous about this. Everything is due on the first, minus the hours and interview. I'm hoping things go well enough that they won't have to be very strict in evaluating us, since there are only nine of us in the class and the application reads that they won't take more than ten per class. In case you can't tell, I'm a bit nervous. Checking off on modules makes me a little less nervous though and one of the upperclassmen just said that my ankle taping looked really good! Yay!

Taco Bell

I'm sure every college student just loves those late night runs to Taco Bell, Wendy's, McDonald's, pretty much any fast food restaurant. Last night was one of the more interesting ones I've had. I got some hours in for athletic training during the men's basketball game against Bluffton, but I didn't eat dinner before I went. Starving by the time I got back at almost 10:00 pm, I decided it was a good night for a Taco Bell run. Without even bothering to change out of my dress clothes, we hop in Austin's car and make the trip to Taco Bell (and Wendy's because Camille didn't want heartburn). Regretfully, I make the decision to listen in to a very loud and apparently funny conversation from across the room. Because of this, I think my IQ dropped quite a few points. There was a group of about five guys, all in their mid twenties, with one girl, who I genuinely pity. Apparently these guys decided to spend their evening quoting lines from movies: Stepbrothers, Billy Madison, other random Will Ferrell movies. At first I thought this would be entertaining. I thought that maybe I could hear the rest of the jokes and see where the lines came in to play. My fault for thinking they would actually put the lines in context. As the lone female of the group played with her hair and failed to laugh, they continued to do entire scenes and lines from these movies. Soon I noticed that I wasn't the only one listening to their "conversation". Finally, I had some other people to help me make fun of them. These guys continued for an hour. One solid hour of movie quotes that had absolutely nothing to do with anything. For the first time in my life, I wanted to be deaf. And I thought my friends were bad.

Internet

Not much has been going on here in Defiance, but luckily I've found something to write, and complain, about. A few months ago I was so excited to get my computer. I would be able to lay in bed and watch movies. I could even check my Facebook from the other side of my room at home. At home, this is possible. Now that I'm back here, it seems the connection isn't as strong. It has been taking me forever to connect. When it finally does connect, it won't open the pages or it takes even longer to load. It gets really inconvenient when I'm trying to check my email or do research from the comfort of my own dorm room. Granted, it's not that long of a walk from McReynolds to Dana, the Library, or even Hubbard. However, it's much more convenient to sit down at my desk and find what I need to.

"Spring" Cleaning

I know it's not exactly time for "Spring Cleaning", but lately I've been in the cleaning mood. This is very strange for me considering my room at home was always a disaster. I would pick everything up every once in a while, but thats a rare occurrence. My mom would tell me to clean, it wouldn't happen, then eventually she would get aggravated and clean my room for me (I always loved how that ended). Of course the downside is I wouldn't know where anything was. Now that I have to clean my own room, well our room, I've become a "neat freak" by my standards. I've been sweeping, taking out the trash all the time, making my bed, even dusting. I've even helped my boyfriend and his roommate clean their room a few times. I never thought I would care this much, but I really do. It's not even a burden anymore. It's become something to do when everybody is busy and I'm sitting in my room, alone. I don't even mind doing laundry anymore (minus the fact that I'm paying at least two dollars per load on a college budget).

A Great Weekend

Growing up, I had always been really close with my family. The time I got to spend with them was always very valuable to me. As you can imagine, it was pretty hard leaving home to go to college three hours away. I know it's not far, but it was a big step for me. So, of course, I love the small weekend trips back home that I can take every once in a while. Lately I had been feeling like I needed to get out of the dorms, and out of Defiance, so I took a trip home this past weekend. It was great to see everyone again, even though I had seen some of them just a couple of weeks ago. I timed this trip perfectly, too. I got to watch the Super Bowl (Go Steelers!), I got to watch Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer in the Australian Open final (Go Rafa!), and I got to see my cousin and her family. They made a last minute decision to drive up from Georgia friday night. It was great to see Laura and Matt again, and I was amazed to see how much their two daughters had grown! It seems like the world has changed so much around me, and I haven't even noticed. I guess I need to make time between school and my social life to pay attention to the world and what is going on in it.

Airhorns and Whistles

Living in the dorms, I've had my share of late nights. When I first moved in, we would stay up until three o'clock in the morning. We'd watch movies, or sometimes just sit around and talk. We may have gotten a little loud at times, but nothing major. For about the past week there has been a few people that have gone overboard. Adding alcohol doesn't help them much either. I've been waking up at four o'clock in the morning to the annoying sounds of airhorns and whistles. I understand that your few years in college are supposed to be the best years of your life, but does it have to be at other peoples' expense? I know I'm not the only one who wants to get at least a few hours of sleep before a nine o'clock test. If this went on during the weekends, I wouldn't have much to say about it. At least then, I can sleep all day if I don't get enough rest.

ICE IS NOT MY FRIEND!!!!!

For the past couple weeks we've had very cold temperatures, winds of a fairly decent speed (Enough to get a wind chill of almost -30º), and, of course, snow and ice everywhere. I'm sure I'm not the only one who could honestly say that I've had some problems getting around. This includes both walking and driving. Thankfully, the conditions are getting better. I can actually drive somewhere and be able to see the lines in the middle of the road, and not have to worry about sliding all over the place. Walking, on the other hand, is still a bit of an issue. I still slip and slide all over the place, and it really doesn't help when your boyfriend pushes you into the snow and tries to get you to fall (He's succeeded once). Saturday night I obviously didn't need his help. This ice was nearly invisible to the naked eye (Well, mine at least. Everyone else seemed to find it just fine). I made the mistake of leaving the nice, heated pool to get into the cold hot tub (Ironic, right?). When I realized it was colder than the pool, I got out and made my way to the other hot tub. I tried to at least. I ended up smacking my head against the concrete and cutting my hand on a chunk of ice. This has made for a very nice headache and sore neck over the past two days. I also think I may have gotten something stuck in one of the cuts, I'm not completely sure. So, note to readers: I know a lot of the ice has melted, but be careful. It can sneak up on you when you least expect it. Trust me, it's not fun.

Friends: My New Family

I knew when I finally moved in at Defiance College, I would meet plenty of new people. Some might be just like me. Some might be a bit... eccentric. I never bargained for this wide variety of friends. Two of them are pretty much twins. They even say the same things at the same times. My neighbor is one of the greatest people I'll ever know. She's a devoted Christian and an excellent basketball player. One, a fellow Steelers fan, looks like Sid from Ice Age. Another is extremely energetic and spastic. Two more of my friends are at complete opposite ends of the spectrum. One is very mellow and comes up with off-the-wall inspirational quotes. The other is... well he lights himself on fire. They happen to be roommates (whoever put these two together...). Yet another friend is an amazing cook and a hilarious person! Her boyfriend is enthusiastic about everything. He will walk around doing random impressions because he knows it will make people laugh. Finally there is my boyfriend. I never thought I would meet anyone like him. He is exactly like me, just more outgoing. He is the biggest goofball in the world. Along with new friends come new adventures. We've definitely had plenty of fun going to the movies, eating a home cooked meal in the laundry room, playing Phase 10, and even just sitting around talking. One night we even fixed my boyfriend's hair so he looked like Hitler. One of the best times I've had was the last time we went bowling. Our games were going good, "Sid" was beating everybody. Around the eighth frame of the last game, the computer went haywire. It had randomly decided to simulate the rest of our game. It gave me all gutter balls (not that I would have bowled much better). Someone else got all strikes and ended up with a 212. That definitely made for an interesting night. These friends have made my transition to college so much easier than I ever thought was possible. I look back now and I can't believe I was ever afraid to come. I knew I would meet new people, but I never realized they would become my family away from home.

Free Time!!

Classes are in full swing now, and I'm actually enjoying them! I never thought I would actually say this, but I think Global Civ 2 is one of my favorite classes. Weird, right? Professor Buerk seems like a great guy and it's so much easier to understand compared to Professor Comer's class last semster. Thankfully, I haven't had too much homework... yet. I know it's coming and I'm dreading it, so I will cherish these few moments while they last. The lack of homework leaves a lot of free time and, around the dorms, there's not always a lot to do. My boyfriend and I went out and bought a puzzle two nights in a row. The first puzzle is 750 pieces of Times Square. We finished that the night we bought it. That was fun, but I almost wish we had taken a break and left some for the next day. Last night, we took a trip to Meijer and bought a 2000 piece puzzle of Las Vegas. This one is a bit harder (we didn't even get the border done). I am determined to not let this one get the best of me. I will finish it!! So, if anyone is looking for something different to do, puzzles can be entertaining. However, I suggest the 750 to 1000 piece ones. 2000 pieces is a hassle and it gives me a headache just by looking at it!

Foundations of Health, PE, and Sport

It's great to be back in Defiance. It's always nice to have a break, but by mid-December, I was ready to come back. I'm actually excited for my classes this semester. As an Athletic Training major, I have been looking forward to learning how to tape and how to apply different braces to the athletes. This semester we finally get to learn just that! However, we won't start for a few weeks. Classes started only two days ago. I'm very excited about my PE 121 class (Foundations of Heath, Physical Education, and Sport). We learn about different careers we can get to through a sport science major. We will be developing our own professional philosophy. This will describe our ethics and how we treat others in a professional setting. We also have to observe in various professional settings. I can't wait to do that. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Athletic Trainers are responsible for in the different places they work. I'm really looking forward to what this class will bring.