Marissa and our situation

   “Make new friends but keep the old one is silver and the other is gold.”

 This semester I’ve overcome many different obstacles but there is one situation I found particularly challenging. In January of 2009 I became really close with a girl who I had been in school with for 2 years at the time. I invited her to my 17^th birthday party and ever since that day we became inseparable.  She didn’t have her license or a car so whenever I needed a friend to tag along with me she was always there. When I was upset about anything or mad at my parents I would just drive to her house and watch endless episodes of Law and Order SVU. People began to look at Marissa and I as more than just friends; they looked at us as sisters and knew that if I was going somewhere that she would be right beside me. When she got accepted into Uconn and I didn’t, we knew that at the end of the summer we would be saying goodbye. The time came for that day and when it arrived come to my surprise it wasn’t as sad as I thought it was going to be. This is because we knew deep down we would never lose touch, we’d call everyday and see each other as much as we could. The first week of school, Marissa and I talked religiously every day. She told me that she felt like this school was just too big and she wasn’t making that many friends. This is mainly because we come from a very small school where everyone knows everyone and its very easy to meet and associate with people. Hearing this news from Marissa broke my heart. I knew it was only the first week but I never thought Marissa, the friendliest and nicest person I know would have the problem of making friends. On the other hand, I wasn’t so sure that I belonged where I was either. I wasn’t missing home but I was missing my friends. After a week of keeping to myself, a week of being shy and reserved I decided I needed to put myself out there. I refused to sit in my dorm room and I nervously put myself out there.  Marissa and I stopped talking every single day. We learned through our on strengths and weaknesses that its ok to make new friends because no one person could replace our friendship. For me the biggest obstacle this semester was leaving my old friends and putting my trust in other people to make new ones. I’ll never let go of my old friends as a matter of fact i'm sitting with Marissa right now as I write this blog. I’m happy to have opened up and made new friends.

                                           

Grade Inflation

After class on Tuesday I heard many different perspectives on the subject of grade inflation. Even though both the arguments have valid points I am still sticking to my grounds. Grade inflation is wrong. Students should work for the grades they earn. If teachers raise their grade then it is not the grade they earned. If teachers make a syllabus at the beginning of the year then they should stick to it no questions asked. I know a lot of students that work hard to keep an A. They follow the syllabus to the T and make sure every ounce of effort they have is put into the class. Then there are students who still put in effort just not as much and grade inflation helps them to wind up with the same grade? How is that even remotely right? It’s not.
One of my fellow classmates Shelby talked about how she was terrible at math. She failed a lot of the tests but still tried hard. Shelby went to the teacher after school and made sure he knew she was trying. By the end of the quarter he wound up raising her grade from a 40 to an 80. That is not fair for the people who worked for the B.
It is understandable that teachers want to help their students have a better future. Life is hard and the economy is terrible. Teachers are supposed to be preparing there students for the real world and by raising there grade that is just not helping.

home sweet home

I know people are finding all different places to study. For me the coolest and best place is my dorm. My roomate and I haven't really been getting along lately so she spends most of her time out of the room. This is when I use my time to study. I can leave my tv or radio on, which she doesnt like. I'm much better at studying when theres more distractions which some people may find odd. When the room is completely silent is when I normally can't concentrate. My mind just goes off into another world and I start thinking about things that are completely irrelevant instead of my homework that is due the next day. My dorm to me is just like my room at home, where i've spent the past 10 years of my life studying and achieving good grades. I know most are coming up with creative places to study but for me this is where I find peace. In my dorm. Also I'm not forced to sit at a desk, I can lay on my bed relaxed on my comfy pillows without and disturbance. Also, my room is much more convenient  if i had some last minute studying to do, such as between classes. Overall I study best when i'm comfortable and get better grades when I have distractions around me. Therefore my dorm is the perfect place to study and i will continue to use this as a resource for this and next semester.

Present, Past and Future.

A class that I feel most intellectualy stimulated in is psychology. Psychology is my major but I never thought I would be this interested in a class. I look up to my Professor as a role model and I like how he always has a different perspective on certain things. When we have discussions in class he tells us that we most likely will never have this conversation again. He says it's sad that people don't talk about things that are most important like why we are the way we are and what makes us react to things the way we do. When he speaks I understand him and that must be the reason I feel so intellectually stimulated. Psychology is the study of mind and behavior. I've always been good at reading people. I don't judge but I find it fascinating to try to know a person before I actually do. It's almost like a game. In Professor Fontaines class he did a very interesting exercise that made me feel different. I can't explain the feeling I had and maybe it was because I connected his lesson to my life but the feeling was indescribable. He did an exercise that showed how you get to your futue but the present is always with you and one day you'll look back and your present will also be your past. A lot of students didn't understand this concept but to me it was as clear as day. I never thought about it like that, your present is always with you. I am the present.

Enter at your own risk

Nightmares. I've been having nightmares ever since I left the trail of terror last weekend. Goblins, monsters, ghosts, clowns, mummies, the living of the dead all attended. As I waited in line all I kept saying was that I knew I shouldn't have come. I love halloween, the part where people can dress up to be different, I like the pumpkins and the individuality. What I don't like is to be scared, some people find that funny but i am not one of them. My friends convinced me to go, I've always strayed away from things like that, haunted hay rides, fright nights but I figured i'd give it a try. I payed $20 at a ticket booth that said enter at your own risk hoping I wouldn't regret it. After waiting in the hour and a half line we entered. Squeezing my best friends arm off we both walked in not knowing what to expect. A couple minutes into it we were attacked by clowns with blood all over their faces. They thought it was funny we were scared so they kept antagonizing us. As we got farther down the trail the people behind us got quite a laugh out of our screaming and eventually running looking for the exit. When it was over my friends and I laughed at how we must of looked when we were reacting to everything around us. It didn't take away from the fact i'm still having nightmares though! I'm happy I tried something new and got to spend quality time with my friends.

Set your goals high and don't stop until you get there

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal" -Hannah More

I am very happy with my midterm grades this semester. I wasn't sure what to expect and got butterflies before each test. I studied hard for each one but I felt I was over thinking and stressing myself out way to much. I wound up with all A's and one B. I went to a presentation in my hall on how to manage stress and how to manage time wisely during exam weeks. It really helped me. It was fun and refreshing. They gave us stress reliever balls and goodie bags with smart food in them.

I'm very hard on myself and I push myself to do the best I can. Everyone knows it's hard to make sacrifices and prioritize, making school work come before everything else. My goals for next semester is to attend every class no matter what the circumstance and hand in every assignment on time. I haven't missed TOO many classes this semester but my goal for the rest of it is to not miss one. My next goal is to try to calm down ad relax. Make some me time because I feel like I spend a lot of my time making other people happy. My goals are set and i plan on reaching them. Heres a link to a very inspiring song.

I KNOW I CAN*  

Grade Me

Different students have many different preferences. Some people are good at math and some are better at reading or writing. In my opinion it is hard to get a grade in something you are not interested in. Learning a subject one is not fond of may take away from the amount of work a student puts in to that class. Now onto the matter of grading. I believe just like some others that if a student attends every class, reads the readins and hands in assignments on time then they deserve a B. If I did all of that stuff and got a C I would be pretty upset. It's not easy to hand in every single assignment on time or go to every single class. Of course things do come up. My 2nd blog is late today because a member of my family passed away yesterday which was when i was planning on submitting this. My whole family is at my house today but this is helping me take my mind off things. As I was saying each grade depends upon the teacher. I can put as much work as I can into my math class and get an A+ but then I could put just as much work into my english class and get a B-. Normally a teacher will set his or her standards at the begining of the semester in their syllabus. It is up to the student to follow it and if they do I believe they deserve a good grade.

I found a video on youtube that shows how to get a good grade. Take a look.
HOW TO GET A GOOD GRADE