this is it. this is my last blog as a student voice for the college of mount st. joseph. i've been thinking about what i wanted to say here for quite some time and then it hit me - advice. yea, its cliche but i've taken a different spin on it. i've chosen to walk around the dorm building with a notepad and pen at hand and ask some of the students to share some advice. i had given them some background for my reasoning and then stated that it could include quotes, lyrics, inside jokes and more and could revolve around academics, college life, relationships, and humor. the statements i received revolve around a wide spectrum of these topics:

Honesty is the best image.

Be prepared for shattered expectations. It doesn’t always mean broken. It can be a growing experience.

Don’t let your schoolwork get in your way of a good education.

Think with your head, not your heart.

If the ocean were whiskey and I were a duck I’d float to the bottom and stay there.

It’s true what people say; patience is a virtue. But without taking risks you are not guaranteed rewards. If you see something worth fighting for, NEVER turn down that opportunity… you gotta live to learn. You gotta crash and burn. You gotta make some stances, and take some chances. You gotta live and love and take all life has to give. You gotta live and learn so you can learn to live.

Don’t let somebody be a priority in your life if you’re only an option in theirs.

A life lived for others is a life worthwhile.

I’m not afraid to be who I am.

I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day. And I believe in miracles.

I have learned that your college friends become a kind of family: you eat together, laugh and cry and do absolutely nothing together – until you can’t remember how you ever survived without them.

Tough times don’t last but tough girls do.

Even a broken clock is correct two times a day.

Success is a peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best.

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.

Regret nothing that once made you smile.

To coxify: to complicate simple matters.

When you see the light at the end of the tunnel get off the tracks.

Talking in a British accent while intoxicated makes your time worthwhile.

Being different is being normal.

Its something unpredictable but in the end its right, I hope you had the time of your life.

I hope you dance.

Live life for those you love. When you get the chance, do it for someone else.

Prayer in action is love, and love in action is service.

Dance as though no one is watching you, Sing as though no one can hear you, love as though you have never been hurt before, live as though heaven is on earth

Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.

Be still and know that I am God

Let go and Let God

The hardest thing is loving someone and then having the courage to let them love you back.

In life never stop dreaming... for in dreams, we never stop living.

Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and call it love.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

The greatest thing you will ever learn is just to love and to be loved in return.

God only brings on this challenge in our lives because he knows we’re strong enough to handle it.

Live your day with no regrets. A year from now, are you going to look back on today and be proud of the decisions you made and be happy with the memories of your actions?

No matter how bad a person is, there is something good about them so be like the humming bird and pick the sweetness of virtues.

I am more than happy to be leaving on this note. Constant encouragement to succeed and be the best you can be is the strongest love and that will go on forever.i wish nothing but absolute success in all of your endeavors and will part with the pride that I have earned a degree from the mount and that the education i've been rewarded extends so far past the classes. thank you, everyone, for your time and interest.

 Class Dismissed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIVyRjAI0pI&feature=related

Wow.

That’s all I can say.

Why?

Because today was a BLUR!

“Today” started for me about seventeen hours ago, yes youheard me, SEVENTEEN hours!  I woke up at5:00 this morning because our dog Zhaxci decided he was lonely and that it wasa great time to bug Megan.  He wouldn’tleave me alone so I decided to just get up and take my shower (wasn’t gettingany sleeping done anyway).  After I wasshowered and dressed it was a little after 6:00 and my stomach told me I washungry.  You know, sometimes I am verygrateful for my stomach because otherwise I would not think to stop and eat; I’mjust too busy ALL OF THE TIME!  So, I atebreakfast and by that then it was time for me to start my morning battle withtraffic… I arrived on campus at 8:05, promptly when I had meant to.

Before my reflection with Sister Mary I went and printed myguided reflection questions off in Financial Aid where I struck up a conversationwith Mary Beth Lampe about how close the end of the semester was and howexcited I was.  Then I made my way backto the classroom and sat down with my peers as we waited for Sister Mary tostart the session.  By 9:40 (an entire 40minutes before our allotted time was up, but a good 45 minutes after my brainhad already traveled to my next exam) we were all finished reflecting on ourservice learning placements and I was headed to the food court to CRAM!

From 9:45 to 1:00 my friend and I studied our little heartsout trying to prepare for what was sure to be our demise in Dr. Green’s 1:15exam.  The time passed too quickly and asthe clocked turned to 1:00 we both felt those all-too-familiar pretest jitterssetting in.  We walked together incomplete silence to the education floor of the classroom building and sat downat our seats to join the rest of our classmates in last minutes glancing atnotes and prayers to St. Anthony that we would find the right answers.  The exam went by without flaw, and I actuallythink I did very well!  By 2:30 (a full35 minutes before the allotted time was up) Lori and I were back in the foodcourt, joined by two other friends, to look over our notes for our Math exam at5:30.  We studied, gossiped, talked abouthow ready to be done we all were, ate dinner and then went to the math floor ofthe science building to take our tests.

The math test was very simple and I was the first of ourstudy group to finish.  We had all agreedto wait until we were all finished and then go out to UDF to get ice cream…. SoI waited.  When everyone was done wepicked Chris up and headed out.  We weregoing to celebrate the sweet taste of FREEDOM with the sweet taste of icecream!  We all had a great time, everyonebut Chris was done with exams, and everyone but me was done with final projects(I just have a few loose ends to tie up) but we were ALL basically DONE andproud of it too!!

I drove home feeling great, dropped my stuff at my bedroomdoor and took a hot shower to wash the dirt, grime and slime of finals, exams,and cram sessions off of me and now here I sit…

I just took you through seventeen hours in 600 words… andthat’s how my day went by too, it went by fast and man am I thankful that itdid!  I hope everyone has a great summer…good luck to EVERYONE on any exams you may have left and I’ll see you aroundsometime!!

Adios, S209!

It's the end of the semester... :( We're studying for exams, turning in last minute projects, and packing up the dorm rooms. I've gotten to the point that I have only three more exams and I've just taught my last lesson at Oakdale. I have now turned to my dorm room. I cannot tell you how much I am a pack rat and how many things end up in places that I didn't know existed.

I had literally every wall covered with posters, pictures, and other things just EVERYWHERE! I have to take it all down too. :( I've managed to fill three boxes with pictures, books, knick knacks, pillows, blankets, and other stuff. I have, left, to pack the essential things, my bedding, bath and kitchen stuff, trash cans, clothes, the couch, foot stools, shelving units, and my fridge. It's quite a lot to move and I'm not thrilled about it. And the fact that we're moving is a problem too. What do I do with it all? Normally I would put it all in the attic and just leave it there for the summer but now that Mom is trashing the attic and putting everything AND anything in boxes, I have to put the boxes in my room and just let it all sit in the corner. It's a sad fate for the boxes and the state of my room will be horrible soon. It will have at least 6 boxes, all three of my suitcases, and tons of shelving just sitting around waiting to be moved to a new home. And me with it.

But it's interesting how things just come to an end and we can't stop it. Today is the third day of May of the year two thousand and ten and I cannot believe how quickly the time has passed! I sound like a broken record with that but I can't help it! I didn't realize how quickly time has passed! This time last year I was preparing to go to London and spend 7 weeks in foreign countries! And I'm currently reading the Gemma Doyle series by Libba Bray and in it they are in London and they're mentioning places that I know! And I only know them because I spent all that time there discovering new places in a new city in a new country. And now I've already spent my time there and I wish so desperately to go back... It's just amazing that this year I'm moving to a new home and how easily time just flies by and I don't even realize it...

Graduation is even this Saturday. I'm not graduating until May of next year but under my classification in my academic records, I'm listed as a senior because I've taken so many credits. That makes me feel so old! I cannot believe that my time in college is almost over... :( I love school and I know I'm not ready to leave it yet... Maybe that's why I'm becoming a teacher. ^-^ I even have my three month anniversary with my boyfriend this Saturday, that is how much time has flown by. I can't believe it... I also have to say goodbye to my friends who are graduating and make plans with my other friends to do things over the summer, plan things for next school year, and just generally make sure we stay in touch while we all go our separate ways for three months. I am honestly ready to do nothing for a while but I know I will regret that after only a few weeks into summer. I manage to get myself in a vicious cycle where I can't wait for school to be over, have fun with no school for a while, wish I was back in school, then dread the end of summer, happy to be back at school, then hate to be back at school, and wait until the next break. It's a cycle that is never ending and oddly very comforting to know that I know what my life will be like. And yet, I don't want to know. I don't know... :(

But I know one of the last things to come down in my dorm will be my star lights hanging in my window. They are on a timer and are on from 6 PM until about 6 AM. They are a comfort and joy to me and I love my stars. They will be the last thing to be remembered from my junior year of college... I cannot wait for the next part of my life to begin and yet I don't want to leave the comfort of what I already know behind...

As yet another semester comes to a close, it is time to reflect on all those things that have changed over the past 15 weeks, well, actually 14 weeks as we do have 1 more week and exams yet.

This semester, I have gotten to delve more deeply into my major, Special Education, with my 5 classes: methods of math, curriculum and methods of spec. ed., diagnosis and remediation in reading, geometry, and classroom management. I have found something useful in each class, I think. Methods of math has shown me that when teaching little kids about math, we shouldn't assume everything we spell out clearly actually makes sense. Such as, if we show 2 apples plus 2 apples equals 4 apples and we ask how many apples are there, then we shouldn't be surprised if they say 8 because there is actually 8 apples on the diagram even though we're only wanting the number on the other side of the equal sign. In my curriculum and methods of spec. ed. class, I have learned to make an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), write an Evaluation Team Report (ETR), and modify assignments for a student with special needs. In my diagnosis and remediation in reading class, my teacher has shown us that we can give free and very useful reading diagnostics to evaluate the reading abilities of students who may need help. In geometry, I haven't learned anything I haven't already learned, but it was a helpful refresher course when I did get into my practicum for 4th graders. And in classroom management, I have learned different models that are helpful in discipline and structuring a classroom to promote learning, motivation, encouragement, and fun. Not every class I've taken has given me as much but this semester seems to have been a good one. I look forward to one more semester of classes before I student teach in the spring next year. That's scary...! :O

I also participated in the March for Life in Washington DC back in January, saw Jeff Dunham for the first time with my friend Nicole, created a board game that was only worth 10 points but looks like I bought it :D, saw the Polar Bear Plunge for the first time, got involved in a practicum with special needs students, saw the Saints win their first ever Super Bowl, was almost in a heads on collision, had a series of snow days and several feet of snow over the semester, witnessed an awesome winters Olympics, had my first ever real Valentine's Day, my grandpa broke his hip and is still recovering, saw Ringley Brothers and Barnum and Bailey's Circus, sold my house, bought a new house, went to Spring Formal with my boyfriend, participated in the "Bye, Bye Birdie" musical, and had too much fun at Spring Fest. It has been an action packed semester and I have enjoyed almost every minute of it!

With only one week to go, I have only two projects to finish and one paper to edit but I do have three lessons to teach for my practicum. How nerve-wrecking is that!? Then I also have three sit down exams- ewww- and one take home. That'll be fun- not. Then it's out for the summer! My parents just sold our house and bought a new one- all within a week so now we have to pack everything up and take it to the new place. Fortunately for me, most, if not all, of my stuff is in the dorms so I just have to move my stuff from school to, hopefully, the new place in two weeks, but I don't know how well that'll work out. All in all, it's a new adventure I'm looking forward to even though I'm not that excited about doing it right now. :(

With all this going on, I am swamped with things to do and finish but I am having fun taking all my learned knowledge and putting it to good use. I am excited to start some new chapters in my life and I can't wait to start! :)

So this weekend is musical weekend. "Bye, Bye Birdie!" is showing at the Mount this weekend and the first two shows were Thursday and Friday night at 7:30 and two shows are left on Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 2 PM. The show is looking great so far and all of our hard work is finally paying off. I am really having fun with it. I am more or less in charge of the stage crew but you won't find my name in the program because when I came into crew this year, the information had already been sent to the printers for the program so it was too late to add my name. :( That kinda makes me sad but that's the way the world turns sometimes so "put on a happy face!" (a line from the show- lol!).

But today, Saturday, is my roommate's 21st birthday, Sam! She told me two weeks ago that her three best friends from high school/hometown wouldn't be able to come down to the Mount for her birthday so I put into motion some plans that, so far, have seemed to make Sam so much happier about her birthday! I managed to create- and PULL OFF- a surprise birthday party for her last night at a downtown hot spot. I got about 10 or 12 people to travel to Fountain Square and hang out with me and Sam last night. There was even a cake, birthday tiara, sash, and birthday necklace! Sam was very surprised and excited! I was so happy for her! :D She was very happy to see that people came out to celebrate her birthday with us: Shiv and boyfriend Brian, Tricia and boyfriend Jeff W, Allie, Nicole, Ryan, Anne and friend Jeff, my boyfriend, Chris, Rachel and boyfriend AJ, Megan M, Megan P and her boyfriend Jeff C. It was a great time and I was so happy about how well it turned out! My boyfriend and his mom were the ones that made the cake and decorated it. It was awesome! And tasted amazing too! Sam only had one fruity beverage but that's fine that we managed to get her to have at least one. :) She also spent a lot of time dancing with friends and it made her seem very happy last night! :D

I also had my other friends Molly T and Katie decorate our dorm room while we were gone so when Sam and I got back, there were streamers and balloons in the dorm room. Then after Sam left this morning to do priority registration, I decorated the dorm a bit more with streamers on the door in the hallway and balloons and then some signs saying "Happy 21st Birthday Sam!" in the hallway. Then I also managed to get two of Sam's best friends- the ones that originally couldn't come- to come down to the Mount to surprise Sam! I had them hide in the shower because Sam is more or less afraid of the shower. When Maria and I go home for the weekend or she's in the room by herself at night, she opens all the doors and the shower curtain 'cuz she's afraid there might be something hiding in it or whatever. So when I brought her upstairs today, I told her that she could have her birthday present after she got Megatron out of the shower. (Story: she watched "Transformers" by herself in the dark once and that is now why she is afraid of things being shut while she's alone at night so Megatron frequently hides in the shower.) So when she went to find Megatron, Molly A and Cara jumped out of the shower. It was priceless! She was so scared! And Molly recorded everything on her camera so I saw what her face looked like and it was awesome! I loved it! Then they went out to lunch together since Cara had to leave earlier than Molly. But Sam and Molly will be going to the musical tonight so they won't have to cut that visit short at all.

But tonight the musical should be awesome! Molly A, Sam, my parents, boyfriend, and brother and his girlfriend (whom I have yet to meet), will all be there. It should be awesome night! Now I just need to get homework done, stop getting sick (I keep developing a fever with no other symptoms as far as I can tell), and sleep some more then I should be fine! I hope... :)

Today was the day that I made that ever so important decision to put my words from my last entry into action... 

I started bright and early.  Mr. Santoro's 8:15 class was canceled this morning and while everyone else was enjoying their free class period sleeping in I was on campus already.  I decided that if I set my alarm for 5:30 and got up and stayed home that it would be no time before I was sound asleep again and I didn't want that to happen.  I had things that needed to get done and I wasn't about to let that time that I was already used to being up for anyway just slip by.  So I got up at 5:30 and was out the door but 6:00 with a packed lunch and a full cup of coffee.

When I got to campus I was one of a handful of students just arriving and I got a really good parking spot (always a plus on a long day!).  I found the empty classroom where I would normally be sitting with my peers learning about the world of exceptionalities that will greet our every waking moment as teachers in the career field.  I picked a spot by the window where the cool morning breeze would keep my mind awake and my senses alert and I pulled out my worn copy of Left Back: A Century of Battles Over School Reform by Diane Ravitch and began to carefully read and analyze the 12-page section that Dr. Green had assigned to us for the quiz we would be having in class.  It was nothing overly interesting, mostly just how radical progressive educators had gotten after the Great Depression and how many extremeist ideas there were out there about the role schools should play in society... it's worth a look if you like that kind of stuff.  I went through it once, nit picking and highlighting/underlining every important detail and then I went back and read straight through it one more time for fluidity and comprehension.  

At that point I was really getting sleepy.  I have been very sick since Monday afternoon when I came home from work with a temperature of 103 (not fun).  Anyway, I decided I needed to move, so I made my way to the lobby where I watched my fellow students all around me.  Some I knew, some I didn't; some conversations I recognized (senior thesis projects, a shake up in CAB and the very quiz I had just prepared for were among them) and some just failed to catch my attention.  I sat there for probably 10-15minutes thinking over what I had just read to myself so I could keep it fresh in my mind.  Then it was time for class so I made my way up to the 2nd floor of the classroom building and sat down in the front row of the stifling atmosphere of CL 206 and waited for the customary rhetoric of Dr. Green to announce his arrival.

"I think I may have actually gotten a 10 out of 10 on that one," I said to Chris as we headed down to the Excel department. "And you know what? I think I actually understood what he was talking about today, it didn't seem like a bunch of mumbo jumbo jibberish..." my voice trailed off as I saw the look on Chris's face (which meant that he did not feel the same way), so I decided to drop the subject for the more favorable one of what was on special at the food court today (it was buffalo chicken wraps).  After I dropped my notes off at Excel I stopped by to see Betheny and missed her, and then we headed down to the food court.  While I ate I tied up some loose ends with emails that I had out to some professors and some applications and the sort that I had unfinished floating around my desktop.  After that I put pen to paper and made out a to-do list for the rest of the semester, and let me tell YOU it's a DOOZY!  It hurts me to look at it, but at the same time it feels good to know exactly what has to be done.

Art class went smoothly, my group was understanding of my absences and Mrs. Dick cut me some slack on her grading policy, she thinks if I can continue my 'A' line of work from the beginning of the semester (before all hell broke loose) though to the end of the semester and do really well on my final that I can pull through with a 'B', but no higher than that... ugh, I wish there was something I could do about the classes I had to miss... anyway... her final will require a lot of time and effort, but to be completely honest I think I will have fun with it.  Before I left campus for work I added her final and my responsibilities for our group project to my list of things to do.... looks like thing will be getting hairy this weekend. 

Work went nicely, I hadn't seen the kids in awhile because I've been sick and Ariyanna was glad to have her Mancala partner back.  Alexus is on crutches and Aaron lost a tooth... they are so great, I love it when I go to the after school program after being on campus so long on Thursdays because they're so lively and refreshing... they just make my day!  The Howards were picked up right at 5:00 leaving Issa as the only one left.  His mother showed up at 5:15 and Ms. Dorris and I were free to go.  I-471 was shut down so I had to come home Columbia Parkway which was backed up all the way back to the city and it took me the better part of and hour to get home instead of the usual half hour.  I ate dinner and then my medicine knocked me out so I slept until 9:30 and now here we are.

Why is any of this important enough to me to be in my blog at all?  Well because just yesterday I didn't want to do anything, everyday "staples" were a big feat for me and everything I did, no matter how simple, required a great deal of effort.  But I reached that breaking point and I decided to keep pushing through no matter how hard things got.  So today "carpe diem" was my motto... and I think I did a good job of seizing the day!

Let's hope I can continue. 

P.S. I have been thinking about my first year here and all the fun I had.  This picture symbolizes a time when things were better and I was in a better place with my mind... this is what I'm striving to reach again... 

Today was the day that I made that ever so important decision to put my words from my last entry into action... 

I started bright and early.  Mr. Santoro's 8:15 class was canceled this morning and while everyone else was enjoying their free class period sleeping in I was on campus already.  I decided that if I set my alarm for 5:30 and got up and stayed home that it would be no time before I was sound asleep again and I didn't want that to happen.  I had things that needed to get done and I wasn't about to let that time that I was already used to being up for anyway just slip by.  So I got up at 5:30 and was out the door but 6:00 with a packed lunch and a full cup of coffee.

When I got to campus I was one of a handful of students just arriving and I got a really good parking spot (always a plus on a long day!).  I found the empty classroom where I would normally be sitting with my peers learning about the world of exceptionalities that will greet our every waking moment as teachers in the career field.  I picked a spot by the window where the cool morning breeze would keep my mind awake and my senses alert and I pulled out my worn copy of Left Back: A Century of Battles Over School Reform by Diane Ravitch and began to carefully read and analyze the 12-page section that Dr. Green had assigned to us for the quiz we would be having in class.  It was nothing overly interesting, mostly just how radical progressive educators had gotten after the Great Depression and how many extremeist ideas there were out there about the role schools should play in society... it's worth a look if you like that kind of stuff.  I went through it once, nit picking and highlighting/underlining every important detail and then I went back and read straight through it one more time for fluidity and comprehension.  

At that point I was really getting sleepy.  I have been very sick since Monday afternoon when I came home from work with a temperature of 103 (not fun).  Anyway, I decided I needed to move, so I made my way to the lobby where I watched my fellow students all around me.  Some I knew, some I didn't; some conversations I recognized (senior thesis projects, a shake up in CAB and the very quiz I had just prepared for were among them) and some just failed to catch my attention.  I sat there for probably 10-15minutes thinking over what I had just read to myself so I could keep it fresh in my mind.  Then it was time for class so I made my way up to the 2nd floor of the classroom building and sat down in the front row of the stifling atmosphere of CL 206 and waited for the customary rhetoric of Dr. Green to announce his arrival.

"I think I may have actually gotten a 10 out of 10 on that one," I said to Chris as we headed down to the Excel department. "And you know what? I think I actually understood what he was talking about today, it didn't seem like a bunch of mumbo jumbo jibberish..." my voice trailed off as I saw the look on Chris's face (which meant that he did not feel the same way), so I decided to drop the subject for the more favorable one of what was on special at the food court today (it was buffalo chicken wraps).  After I dropped my notes off at Excel I stopped by to see Betheny and missed her, and then we headed down to the food court.  While I ate I tied up some loose ends with emails that I had out to some professors and some applications and the sort that I had unfinished floating around my desktop.  After that I put pen to paper and made out a to-do list for the rest of the semester, and let me tell YOU it's a DOOZY!  It hurts me to look at it, but at the same time it feels good to know exactly what has to be done.

Art class went smoothly, my group was understanding of my absences and Mrs. Dick cut me some slack on her grading policy, she thinks if I can continue my 'A' line of work from the beginning of the semester (before all hell broke loose) though to the end of the semester and do really well on my final that I can pull through with a 'B', but no higher than that... ugh, I wish there was something I could do about the classes I had to miss... anyway... her final will require a lot of time and effort, but to be completely honest I think I will have fun with it.  Before I left campus for work I added her final and my responsibilities for our group project to my list of things to do.... looks like thing will be getting hairy this weekend. 

Work went nicely, I hadn't seen the kids in awhile because I've been sick and Ariyanna was glad to have her Mancala partner back.  Alexus is on crutches and Aaron lost a tooth... they are so great, I love it when I go to the after school program after being on campus so long on Thursdays because they're so lively and refreshing... they just make my day!  The Howards were picked up right at 5:00 leaving Issa as the only one left.  His mother showed up at 5:15 and Ms. Dorris and I were free to go.  I-471 was shut down so I had to come home Columbia Parkway which was backed up all the way back to the city and it took me the better part of and hour to get home instead of the usual half hour.  I ate dinner and then my medicine knocked me out so I slept until 9:30 and now here we are.

Why is any of this important enough to me to be in my blog at all?  Well because just yesterday I didn't want to do anything, everyday "staples" were a big feat for me and everything I did, no matter how simple, required a great deal of effort.  But I reached that breaking point and I decided to keep pushing through no matter how hard things got.  So today "carpe diem" was my motto... and I think I did a good job of seizing the day!

Let's hope I can continue. 

P.S. I have been thinking about my first year here and all the fun I had.  This picture symbolizes a time when things were better and I was in a better place with my mind... this is what I'm striving to reach again...