Happy Turkey Day...Dig In!!!

When I called my parents a couple weeks ago about planning for Thanksgiving, they were already getting ready for it. They started calling butchers, bakery's, and spending their three hundred and fifty dollars in groceries to earn their free turkey. Orchestrating what everyone brings for the thanksgiving meal is an art in itself. Planning who brings the vegetables, stuffing, pies, and other delicious items. Also you have to worry about whose recipes to use, Grandmas, Moms or the one we heard from Rachael Ray. This Thanksgiving we had family and friends come over our house for dinner. My grandma, uncle, and aunt and other grandma came. Our close family friends, Carol, Larry, and Ari also came. My brother, Brandon, dad and mom were here too. It was great to see everyone because I had not seen most of them since I left for school in August. The day started with watching the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade, which we do every year. My family came over at twelve. We had snacks for a while because we weren't eating until five. We had assorted candy, pretzels, chips and dip, cheese and crackers, and a new hersheys kiss that tastes like a chocolate covered cherry. We made our pool table into a huge dining room table which sat the twelve people comfortably, so we could all fit at the table after we ate. We had delicious juicy turkey, three different stuffings, olives, corn, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, mushrooms, peas and carrots in a special sauce, fresh rye bread, and sweet potatoes. Hours later we sat down reluctantly but excited about the blueberry, apple, pumpkin and strawberry banana yogert pies, assorted cookies, and blondies. After all of this food, we couldn't move and we sat on the couch watching football. It was a great day seeing our family and friends and eating all of that amazingly delicious food. All of the weeks of preparation for this feast, the hours of cooking, the shopping, was it really worth it??? You bet it was!

shannon final inq project.mov

Jumping Over Hurdles as a Freshman!

Not only am I the normal freshman that has to adjust with being away from home, the college life, classes, homework, trying out and making an athletic team, doing my own wash for the first time, and everything else, my chocolate lab, Candy, was diagnosed with diabetes in the beginning of the school year. Also, before I left for college, we realized my cat Blitzen, had a lump on his back. So on top  of all of these things I had to adjust to, I was now worrying about them from a distance. A couple months later, when I went home for the first time in October, we brought Blitzen to the vet where he was diagnosed with aggressive cancer and was put down a couple days later. I had to come back to school knowing that I would never see Blitzen again and had to deal with this away from my family. Thank god for skype and all of these new technologies because I was able to talk to and see my family over a computer, so it felt like I was there with them. This was a big struggle for me because it was the first time I lost someone I loved. The things that I said earlier in this blog, that are usually a hurdle for freshman, turned out to be a good distraction to keep my mind off of what happened. Another issue I have had so far this semester, is being in a dorm room and dealing with complications this could cause. For example, I live in Farnham Hall, and there is constant construction. I have to deal with hearing loud construction work being done every day and trying to focus and get my work done with all of the distractions. Also, because of the construction the heat was not turned on until about a week ago, so we were freezing in my dorm. With this being my first year at college, and jumping over these hurdles, I am convinced that I will be able handle anything thrown my way in the future.

Varsity Team Captain!

It was my senior year of high school and going to be my fourth year on the varsity gymnastics team. My friend and I were the only girls who have been on varsity since freshman year. When it came time to vote for captains I was nervous. There were six senior girls that the team and coaches could choose from. Although I was always very nice and helpful to everyone, I wasn't sure if they were going to pick me. Personally, when I think about who should get captain of a sports team, I think it should be the people who are the best and know the most about the sport. Also, someone who could help inspire the team and keep a positive energy. My friend and I were the only girls out of the seniors who did gymnastics outside of school, so obviously we had more skills because we have been doing it longer and more. We thought, along with many others that it was going to be us as captains, however this was not the case. My friend had a very bad attitude and really only cared about herself. So it was a not a shock to me when she didn't get captain. I was very excited when I heard my coach's call my name as one of the captains. I thought I deserved it and would be a great captain and leader of the team. My self and two other girls were captains. Although I didn't think one of them deserved to be captain she ended up proving herself and was a good captain. We always made sure to motivate the girls and keep a positive energy. If anyone had a problem we tried to resolve it and deal with it. As one of the leaders on the team, I knew I had to step up and do everything I could for us to be good. Everyone had fun that year and always had a smile on their face. Overall I think I was a very good captain and I really stepped up to be a good leader. At the end of the school year, there was a varsity awards dinner. I got the leadership award for my high schools varsity athletic club. I was very honored to win this award and am very proud.

What does it mean to be Intellectually stimulated?

I think intellectually stimulated is something that makes you think. For example a class. It can be a class that gets you thinking like philosophy, astronomy, history classes or pretty much any class you take. If i had to choose a class that makes me intellectually stimulated, I would have to say it is inquiry. Before inquiry I was not creative at all. I hated writing, and was bad at coming up with creative ideas. I feel that having to write blogs every week has definitely made me intellectually stimulated. I feel that the quality of my writing has increased a lot since the beginning of the year. Every week I feel more and more confident about writing them. Also, for the midterm project I learned a lot. I was not very computer savy before the project. I learned how to use imovie which will be useful in the future, especially for the final project. I learned how to make slides, put music in, put pictures and videos in it, and so much more. I feel like my creativeness is coming out by doing the video projects because you have to be creative for it to look good. This class really gets me thinking about everything we do. Whether it be the readings, the blogs, or the projects. Overall, I believe my inquiry class is the class where I feel intellectually stimulated.  

Where to Study at SCSU?

 The place where I study is study hall. For gymnastics I have to go to study hall for five hours per week. The days you can go is Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday from 7:30-10:30. You have to stay for at least one hour and thirty minutes. I usually go Monday for three hours and Tuesday for two hours so I get it done right away. However I know some people can't handle being there for so long, so they go for an hour and a half for two days and two hours the other day. I personally like getting it done in two days and it doesn't bother me that it is long. All freshman athletes have to go to study hall, and any athlete with a gpa lower than a 2.8 have to go. I love study hall because I can concentrate and I have to do work. I get all of my work done. Next semester however, I will not have to go to study hall, so I have to find a different place to study. I can't study that well in my room because I get distracted and will never get anything done. When I was doing my campus safari I went to the multicultural center. One of the woman told me all about it and showed me this room where they have exhibits. She told me that people go there to study sometimes. She said we were welcome anytime we wanted. I thought maybe this will be a great place to get work done next semester. Also, there is another room to study in on the second floor in the student center. Not a lot of people were in there so that would be good. Although I will no longer have study hall, I'm sure there are many other places I can study and get my work done, like the places in the student center.

Inspirational Quote.

Go the Extra Mile!

On tuesday in class, we talked more about grade inflation. We discussed the articles we read and elaborated on them. We talked how students believe by just handing in an assignment they deserve an A even if they didn't put any effort in. By just handing in an assignment and not putting effort in, it's probably an average piece of work which would be a C. If you put effort in you would probably receive a B. However, if you take that extra step and put in a lot of effort thats when you get the A. I think students feel that they automatically should get an A by just doing what the teachers ask. If a teacher assigns a paper and says everything that needs to be in there, and a student does it, does that mean it should be an A? This is a hard question to answer. Everyones opinion is probably different. Some people may think that yes, if they did everything they were supposed to, then they should receieve an A. However, others may feel that they should put the extra effort in and put more into it than what is expected. I think this varries with your professor. Some may be more lenient then others. I believe on every assignment you should put your all into it and show that you are putting effort in. Try to go that extra mile and show that you are working hard and putting more into then what they want. If you do this and still do not get the grade you wanted or expected then go talk to the professor and see what you are doing wrong. There are always things to work on. Keep trying so you can get to your goal and where you want to be.   

How Do You Get Rid of Stress?

What is stress? Stress is a physical and emotional response to pressure. You can feel stressed by a job, school, or pretty much anything in your life. When I feel stressed I usually talk to friends or family. They always know the right thing to say to help me feel better. Whether it is about school or gymnastics or whatever, they always help me feel better. If I can't talk to them I like to watch television or a movie. That always takes my mind off of everything. I like to go off into my own little world and not worry about anything. It keeps me distracted and I am more relaxed. I know everyone is different with what helps them relax, but I like to get my mind off of whatever is stressing me out. You could go hang out with friends to distract you. Go to the mall, or the movies or just go out and get your mind off of everything. Other ways to help relieve stress is yoga, meditation, and making lists. You can make lists about what is making you stressed and trying to work it out step by step. I was stressed about a test and I made a list about what I was going to do. I divided the information on the test into parts and studied them every day until the test. Making lists is definitely a helpful way to relieve stress. If you are feeling stressed just tell yourself it is going to be ok. Freaking out and worrying about the situation is not going to help, it is only going to make things worse. Just try any of these suggestions or anything that works for you. It will help and you will feel a lot better once you are relaxed.