This past week was Celebration of Teaching and Learning, which is day where we students and faculty come together to celebrate the many accomplishments that have taken place here at the Mount. I am proud to say that I, now belong to Chi Alpha Sigma which is an honorary college athletic society that recognizes high academic achievement, exemplary character, positive attitude, and sport letter winners at the college level.

At the Celebration of Teaching and Learning I also got to present the Clifford award, which is an award that this given to a faculty member who is chosen by students. This year Diane Kruger, chair of Mathematics, won the award! Her letter of recommendation was very impressive and I loved how she stayed after hours and met with her students on the weekends, she is an exact model of how professors are supposed to be! At the beginning of the day I went to a discussion about "Death and the Catholic Spiritual Tradition," which was lead by Ken Czillinger and he made me really think about life after death.

Since I am so young still and have so many distractions like; school, friends, work and extra curricula’s, I have just not thought about where I will spend eternity but I am really excited to see how my views on life are going to change when I get deeper into my faith and start to develop some type of spiritual self awareness.

I feel like a hippie just writing that title: Flowers, Hugs, and Kisses. Doesn't it sound like something that would happen in the 70s or something? lol :P

Random acts of kindness seem to be a continuous theme recently. Such as in the Olympics. Joannie Rochette won bronze for womens singles ice skating on Thursday night after she did her long program but she did her short program on Tuesday night. But her mother passed away suddenly from a heart attack on Monday. And yet Joannie skated anyway. She considered a tribute to her mother to skate regardless and it was what her mother would want her to do. And throughout this entire ordeal, she has been receiving all kinds of support, help, and sympathy for her loss. She was, in the end, even elected by the rest of her delegation to carry the flag for Canada in the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

Another moment has been the earthquake in Haiti and the enormous amount support the world has shown them in this tragedy. Water, food, and supplies have been pouring in from everywhere along with countless volunteers trying to help this devastated country. And now Chile has been hit been by a 8.8 earthquake- one of the worst in recorded history- and tsunami I'm sure they will receive even more support. These acts of kindness are amazing and so touching.

And even the tiniest things that only matter for one person is important. For example, my roommate Maria. She is a nursing student and has to be up at 5:30 AM so she can get to the hospital by 7 AM until 3 PM. And since Sam is still sleeping, and so am I, we set a chair in the hallway for her so she can sit while she eats her breakfast. It may not be much, but if you have to be up that early and really don't want to, sitting is much more appreciated than standing. It's always the little things that count. Speaking of that as well, my boyfriend brought me carnations (the flowers) and a bag of Hershey's Hugs (white chocolate) and Kisses (regular) just randomly. He said it was because the day ended in 'y.' How cute is that? And what a way to end the weekend!? :P

Random acts of kindness and ones that are the simplest and most helpful are the ones I appreciate the most. Life is full of them if you pay close enough attention... :)

So this week has been quite an eventful one the country hasn't it? I heard on the news that 49 out of the 50 United States received some amount of snow in one way or another this week. Hawaii was the only one who didn't. I read somewhere that DC had, what, 39 inches of snow? My uncle who lives in the middle of Penn. said they got 27 inches on one day! And one cousin who goes to school in Maryland near DC said they ended up getting a snow week instead of a snow day! They had Friday the 5th off for the first wave and then just proceeded to get one day after another the next week until his school just shut down for the rest of the week! A pre-spring break break. Geez.... :)

Let's see, we had school last Friday but classes on Saturday were cancelled which, unfortunately, didn't benefit me at all but it was nice for those students who do dread Saturday classes. Then Monday we all crossed our fingers for snow and get a snow day and fortunately enough we did! Then Wednesday we weren't sure what would happen but we did get a delay until Noon so I got to miss four classes over that period and one practicum opportunity. Once we did get out onto the roads, they really weren't that bad and I was happy that we got a small break nonetheless.

Of course that meant bright and early on Thursday morning I had to get back into the swing of things and actually make an effort to try to get back to normal. Hard to do when you sat around doing nothing for almost 48 hours straight. I can only imagine how my cousin feels on his snow week. I also heard that we are supposed to get another 2-4 inches on Sunday night into Monday morning so maybe another snow day...? :) Wouldn't that just screw everything up. Most places are closed on Monday already for Presidents' Day but the Mount will be open for classes and whatnot so if we do get a snow day that'll benefit us but no one else really. lol :)

I started my practicum last Monday, before all the snow, and I had a great first experience there but then they had no school on Wednesday and they have no school for the holiday on Monday so I'm missing another two opportunities to go so I'm not sure at this rate if I'll get in my 50 hours or not. I'm sure I can find other times and dates to go but Mondays and Wednesdays just work best. But we'll see... It's just hard to have a routine down, get something introduced, then have weather interrupt everything everywhere, and then trying to get back into it. I really don't like. If the federal government can get a snow day, shouldn't the whole country get off as well? Thank you Ellen for that comment. :) Love that show! lol

But we have our Mid Semester break on this coming Friday and that'll be nice to have a scheduled break, not that we really need it considering the break we just had in the middle of the week. We'll see how it goes though. :) I really want to go visit a friend at UD either that weekend or the next when she has her mid break but I'm not sure when it'll work out, if it does at all. But I hope so. :)

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, or as Sam calls it "Singles Awareness Day." lol That's just when we need to put all the singles together and then they won't be single anymore! lol The guy I've been seeing has something planned that day for us but he won't tell me what it is so I'm in for a surprise. I'm not really into surprises so I'm not sure how I'll react. lol But to you all, Happy Valentine's Day in advance. :) Hope its a fun pink and white day! <3

My very last final project has been turned in.

My Graphics brochure has been printed, cut to size, and wire bound by hand, and the poster that accompanies it is properly printed, and cut to the proper size…all handed in to my graphics professor. My typography pamphlet is printed, cut to size, hand bound, fabric covered, presented and turned in. My final spirituality paper is typed and digitally submitted. My math presentation has been completed and presented, and my exam has been taken. My final project in Science of Art has been completed and turned in, and my exam has been taken. All of my photography projects have been finished and turned in. 

I just have to give my room a good cleaning and final organization, and I’m out of here!

I don’t know if you guys have heard, but tomorrow… I’m headed for Australia! This will be interesting, as I’ve never flown before! So I decided the first time I ever fly I’ll be taking on of the longest plane flights you can possibly take. 1^st leg, 2.5 hours. 2^nd leg, about 5 hours… last leg FOURTEEN HOURS. Thankfully I have a long battery life on my mp3 player! 

I’m journeying to Australia to visit the university I hope to study abroad at next year. I’m nervous as heck, but I really feel it’s something I need to do. A man once said “Life’s real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up.” Well, perhaps I’m close to success! So I’m not going to give up now.

I have to finish up a few last-minute things, and then head home to pack. I wish you all the very best of holidays and the very best of luck in all your future pursuits, whether your striving for the next floor up in your school or the next continent over. 

Happy Holidays!

Hey guys!

Guess what? This is my last blog of the semester. I know, I know…you’re devastated. It’s been a good school year and I KNOW all of you benefited greatly from blogs and your lives are so much better because of them, right? Right.

All kiddin aside, I’m glad I could share a little bit of my life at the Mount with all of you again this year. I really hope my blogs were beneficial to you; I tried to pick topics that would directly apply to the life a typical Mount St. Joseph student would experience. 

As for me, I still have two research papers to finish up for Thursday, as well as a presentation in my Global Human Rights class. Then exam week is here. That’s a feat in itself. I have three essay exams, a discussion-based final based on my experience mentoring at Oyler, and a final paper. So I’ll have my hands full, to say the least. THEN SCHOOL IS DONE! But I’ll only get a taste of the freedom for a short period because I’ll be taking quite a few summer courses. And during that free time I have to get shoulder surgery to fix the tear in my shoulder that happened in December from wrestling. That’s gonna be interesting. I also got a job at Dunham Recreation Center working as a Teen Day Camp Leader during the days. I can’t wait for that to start up! It’s gonna provide me with some great experience for my future as an educator.  (as I side note, I would recommend that anyone interested in becoming a teacher someday should get involved with any of the Cincinnati Recreation Commission programs or do some volunteer work with kids, its extremely beneficial and will give you a little taste of what it will be like as a teacher)

I’ll try to drop a blog every now and then over the summer just to let ya’ll know what’s up and how things are goin. Until then, finish out your school year strong and then have a fun, safe summer!

See ya!

>Eric M.

Hey guys!

This past week has been crazy! There’s been so much to do. The week started off with some testing I was helping administer down at Oyler School.  Then the menacing American History Seminar paper was due at 2:00, followed by wrestling lifting. Then Tuesday was class all day, open mats (which are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00 to 6:00 on down in the mat room for anyone interested), then class at night again. All of that is pretty much a normal start of the week.

The cool stuff started on Wednesday, which was the day for the Celebration of Teaching and Learning. This celebration was set up to honor the educators and students within the Mount community. Clubs are recognized, professors and faculty are recognized for their great impact on the school, and students themselves are honored in a variety of ways.  The senior capstone and thesis presentations get set up for everyone to enjoy, some of the undergrad, grad, and non-traditional students get awards and recognition for their achievements, and free lunch is offered to EVERYONE!  It was a pretty cool event. I was fortunate enough to get invited to the awards ceremony and get presented with a certificate stating that I am now a part of the National College Athlete Honor Society, which my parents were pretty stoked about. 

Next came Thursday, which didn’t start out too exciting. I had class all day till 3:30. But then I went to my buddy’s farm in Indiana and grilled some steaks and caught 13 fish. That was a great night!

Then Friday came, marking the beginning of the American History Seminar presentations.  This is where the students of the class “get” to present their paper to the rest of the class, a few faculty members from the History Department, and the head of the Humanities Department. It’s both cool and stressful to have to present for these people because it makes you feel like a professional, yet you get bombarded with all kinds of tough, scholarly questions.  There’s a lot of pressure in that, let me assure you. But it’ll all be worth it and it’ll prepare me for my future as a historian, so I gotta just roll with it. Friday also brought Spring Fest, which is an event the Mount holds every year that brings in a few bands and all kinds of cool booths with free stuff (kinda like a free festival). This year, there was a giant moon walk, a mechanical bull (which I dominated), and some other inflatable activities. It’s a pretty cool experience and one you should definitely plan to attend if you are in the area next year.

That pretty much sums up my week.   It was full of all kinds of cool stuff and I hope that any of you reading this can experience these events in the future, if you haven’t already! Now it's time to relax with my girlfriend and enjoy the weekend!

See ya!

> Eric M.

Hey everyone.  I always talk about my get rich quick schemes, and so I was thinking about what I would do if one actually worked and I became instantly rich, for example, I win the lottery.  The first, and very first thing I always planned on doing was buying my mom whatever she wanted.  I don't know what that is, but if she names it, its hers.  Next, I think I would obviously pay for the rest of college, get rid of all the loans and everything.

Then, it really gets tricky.  I mean, do I want to start saving, do I want to just go out and spend it all?  I think I would make sure my entire family has enough money to retire on, and be comfortable and all that.  Sometimes I worry about my parents retiring because I keep hearing how people are losing their retirement funds, and it bothers me.  I would, eventually, save a chunk of it for myself and my future family.  People always say that you should save money.  If everyone saves their money though, no money goes back into the economy, and it goes downill.  I could, singlehandedly, turn around the entire financial state of the economy.

 There are a few organizations and schools I would definately like to give back to.  My high school, for example, did so much for me, it would be nice to give back.

If, and only if, I had some money left, I would buy myself a Porsche 911 Turbo, nothing fancy, just something to get from place to place.  That's all.  See ya everyone.