Capstone Activities

     As a Capstone Scholar I am required to attend one social event, one cinema, and one conversation as well as complete a personal challenge and do community service.  I have already talked greatly in detail about my service-learning at Hand Middle School which counts for my community service points.  I will discuss now the four other requirements. 
     The first requirement is to attend a social event.  Mainly these are either Hot Cookie Fridays or Everyones Birthday Party, both of which occur on Fridays at 2 pm.  Thankfully, I was able to attend the first social event before school really got under way because I have a Biology Lab at 2 pm on Fridays that prevents me from attending these events.  I attended the Hot Cookie Friday and would say it was nice.  I tried a cookie and it was good, but you really cannot go wrong with Toll House cookies that are precut and made and all you have to do is stick in the oven.  I met a few people that lived on my floor that I still talk to now and again but would not say we are close friends.  Overall, the event was nice but not too exciting that it would be something I greatly look forward to each friday it is held.
     Moving on to the second requirement which is to attend a Captsone sponsored cinema.  I attended the cinema on "Darius Goes West".  This cinema really intrigued me because over the summer I saw the movie at the YMCA during our training sessions for our special needs program.  I really loved the movie and was excited to see Darius in real life.  I thought the cinema was great!  They showed bits and pieces of the movie that they enjoyed best and spoke on each part and how it was most memorable to them.  I really got to understand the true background to the entire movie and how connected they all were.  I felt the cinema was one of the best to choose to attend because I was able to really connect with the movie by having the director and main actor there guiding the audience through the movie bit by bit.
     The third requirement is to attend a Capstone Conversation.  My conversation had to do with the book, The Naked Roommate.  The author, Harlan Cohen, came to speak about the book and his personal experience.  He spoke about how we as freshman can succeed in college with any obstacle we may face.  We may not necessarily have a crazy roommate but we will have issues that will need to be dealt with.  We will have difficult teachers and classes that will take all our effort to succeed in but we can do it if we try hard enough and have the right mind set.  He was a very funny speaker and really engaged the audience to want to listen and hear more.  I thought the conversation was great and very enjoyable.  I learned a lot about how I should not stress over little things and understand that everyone makes mistakes in their grades but mainly these mistakes are building blocks to do better.  You have to start somewhere and if you start down the only way to go is up!
     The final requirement, besides the community service point, is to overcome a personal challenge.  I really struggled the first few weeks of trying to find a challenge a use.  I wanted to do something that would really push me for more than one time but I also wanted to make sure I did something I knew I could reasonably succeed.  I finally decided on taking the stairs every day and only using the elevator once a day to get to my room on the fifth floor of Capstone.  This challenge really pushed me to use the stairs and be forced to walk up them.  I already walk everywhere and go to the gym once a day and my challenge was just an added push to my physical well-being.  I succeeded in only taking the elevator once a day and eventually got to the point where I never took the elevator.  I found that taking the stairs was sometimes a lot quicker than waiting for an elevator to come and it was more beneficial physically and mentally.

End of Service-Learning

     It has been an entire semester of my service-learning experience, wow does not seem like it was that long to me.  Many aspects of my service-learning were good and bad.  Looking back it is hard to distinguish which was the best experience overall.  I would mostly have to say talking with my mentee and just enjoying the time together was the best experience overall.  I know that helping her with homework and staying organized was important, but I think building a relationship was even more important.  Listening to what she liked to do and staying engaged within her life was really important for her to trust me.  I think this trust will be far more beneficial in future visits then if we just sat there going through what was required and leaving without connecting at all. 
     I feel overall that my time spent at Hand Middle School was beneficial.  It allowed me to venture outside USC's campus and help someone.  I think I gained knowledge of how to be a mentor and help other people just from helping my mentee.  I feel well equipped to get through my freshman year by incorporating some of the ideas I helped my mentee cover. 
     Thankfully, I do continue to mentor at Hand Middle School on Fridays.  I believe continuing the mentoring will only help my mentee further by having a constant force to help her with her homework or listen to her problems.  It will help her gain the trust that someone will be able to support and encourage her at school when she needs it most.  I look forward to making great progress with my mentee next semester and just watch how mentoring changes her in a positive way from where she was at the beginning of the year.

Thanksgiving!

     Tomorrow I leave home for Thanksgiving!  If you cannot tell I am really excited!  It has been well over a month since fall break which means it has been well over a month since I have been home.  I have only seen my parents once since then and am excited to see them.  My brother will also be home from school and I am excited to see him since I have not see him since I moved here in August.  This year Thanksgiving will be at our house which means I get to see the rest of my family too.  By the time I arrive home on Tuesday everyone except my cousin should already have arrived.  So needless to say when I walk into my house there will be a big welcoming party.  This will be nice because after being gone from family for so long it will be nice to have everyone there and I don't have to travel any further than I already have to in order to get home.
     Over Thanksgiving my family is going to do what every other family will most likely be doing.  We will have a big Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and just sit around enjoying each other's company.  On Friday all the women in the family will go shopping while the men do whatever they would like to do.  I am excited for shopping so I can get all my Christmas presents for my friends here at school and so I can get some own personal things.  Saturday is another big day for my family because Virginia Tech plays Virginia at home.  Everyone is excited for this game because Virginia Tech has already secured a spot in the ACC Championship game and now we can go undefeated in the ACC if we beat Virginia.  Another incentive to beat Virginia is because they are our rival and noone wants to lose to their rival.  Overall, I think this break will be really fun and relaxing at the same time!

Sustainability

      For class today we got to plant trees on campus.  Typically, I am not excited by gardening or landscaping, but it was to support a good idea so I was all for it.  We were planting trees to offset our carbon emission on campus.  To be honest, this was the best way to get rid of this emission because many people, including myself, are not aware of everything they do and how they are affecting the earth. 
     I admit, I am not a tree-hugging, let's save the whales individual.  I use energy and I typically do not use it wisely.  However, my parents are very concerned with saving water and energy so as not to run up our utilities bill.  Some of these ideas have carried over to college with me.  For instance, I take quick showers because I am so used to taking quick showers so as not to waste water at home.  This habit grew on me my sophomore year of high school when we had a drought in Raleigh and everyone was finding ways to conserve water.  Another habit I have is to not run the heat unless necessary.  Thankfully, I am typically a person that does not enjoy heat in the winter because I like to be cold as opposed to hot so the heat is never on in my dorm room.  We do however run a mini-fan at night to add some air to the room because even though we aren't running the heat, it is circulating throughout the dorm and naturally making our room hotter than we would like. 
     Although I am proud of these two contributions I have to supporting sustainability there is more that I could be doing.  Typically, I turn the lights on when coming into the room regardless of the time of day.  I could help conserve energy by only turning the lights on when it is dark or rainy and absolutely necessary.  During the day, turning the light on is not necessary and a habit I should stop.  If I only turned the light on when necessary, there is so much energy I could be saving.

Careers and Fun

     Next week is one of America's most iconic holidays, Thanksgiving.  A holiday surrounded by food and family, what could be much better?  To me, not having school and getting to go home is a pretty great bonus as well.  Being at school for so long and only having been home once, I am looking forward to a relaxing holiday.  This year, my family gets to host Thanksgiving which means we do not have to travel anywhere.  That means I get to sit at home and enjoy being with family and at my house which I have not seen in a long time.  Besides eating and bonding I will participate in the annual Black Friday shopping excursion to get clothes and other on sale items this time of year.  I cannot wait to go home and just relax and not worry about classes! (Well attending class, I definitely have homework over Thanksgiving break).
     In other exciting news, class today was at the University's Career Center.  Basically this presentation outlined the resources the Career Center offered, the importance of searching for a career path now, and the importance of networking early and getting plugged in for future job opportunities.  Thankfully, my parents have been drilling in my brain the importance of knowing what career I want to be involved in and researching the in's and out's of the career before coming to college so I do not have to change it, at least not change it a lot.  I spent a majority of my senior year researching all about Pharmacy and the necessary schooling I would need and how exactly to get into Pharmacy Colleges.  By the time I came to USC I had already made a list of every graduate program I was going to apply too, what extra credits I would need, what GPA I would need, and what PCAT percentile I would need.  This way, I am already aware of how I need to be doing in my classes and staying on top of my goals.  I think I can confidently say that I plan to be a Pharmacist when I grow up, (granted I get into a graduate program).
     One of the main goals I set for myself at the beginning of this year was to find an internship opportunity by the end of this year for the summer.  I knew that in order to get into Pharmacy College having an internship was necessary, and also a great way for me to determine if I am in the right career path.  My dad is very well connected with many pharmacists in many different areas of the job so he is helping me a lot with finding internships.  I plan to contact these different pharmacists over Thanksgiving to set up interviews while I am home in December.  I need to start now in order to have an intership by this summer.
      Ironically, one of the main points I remember from the Career Center presentation is to get an internship.  Internships help you network and help you picture yourself in the career path and let you know if you could really see yourself in that field of work.  This idea really helped reassure me that my search for internships now is a great advantage I will have over my peers later on when I apply to Pharmacy College.  If there is one thing I tuned in well to in the presentation, it was the information on interships.

Financial Responsibility

     Growing up with two CPA's (Certified Public Accountant's) as your parents makes one a little financially sound.  I know my way around saving money and how to invest it in order to get the best possible return on my investment.  My father always has CNBC on to check the latest updates on the Stock Market and takes the updates to make stock changes if something good or bad happens.  He has made sure that I am not loose with my money but that I have a stable understanding on how I am spending it and if the expense is necessary.  I believe I am financially responsible because I am very aware of how I spend my money.  I check my bank statements often and keep up with what I purchase and what I can refrain from purchasing for awhile.  In order for me to not spend all on my money I have my dad transfer it to other bank accounts that I cannot personally access which makes me think I have less to spend then I actually do.  In this way what I see as spending money is significantly less than what I have, but it is all I have to spend so I have to be smart with it.
     In order to achieve goals with my money I set up budgets.  Currently, I do not have a budget of saving money to buy something, but I do have a savings budget in order to create a high amount of interest.  Putting money in CD accounts helps me to earn a lot of interest on money that I do not need immediately and would otherwise sit in a savings account earning minimal amounts of interest.
     Since I am very concerned with saving my money I hope that when I graduate I have enough saved up to live comfortably on.  I do not want to be overwhelmed with many expenses and not a lot to pay them off.  I hope that my savings will pay off and I will have enough to buy a car and rent an apartment while I am starting off in my career.  By investing money in CD accounts and not spending a lot of the money I do have open to spend, I plan on saving a lot in order to accomplish my goals.
    

Stress

     Stress.  Everyone gets stressed, everyone overcomes stressed.  Sometimes I feel like some people are more susceptible to stress than others.  Each person has a unique situation which may make them more stressed out or less stressed out.  I know for me personally my major stresses me out.  Having to plan everything around Pharmacy College admittance and what I want to do for the future can be hectic.  Many times in a week I feel overwhelmed with everything I need to be doing to prepare for my future and accomplishing my goal.  This is all on top of my many classes and work I need to do in order to get good grades and stay ahead.
     With all this stress going on in my life it is a wonder I am ever sane anymore.  For me, without my daily exercise and constant need to earn at least 8 hours of sleep each night, I would be dead.  I would not be able to function properly and overall ruin my grade and any hope of my future.  Sleeping helps my body relax so every time I wake up I feel less stressed then when I went to sleep and have a better perspective on how I plan to accomplish everything I need to do.  Exercise helps me release any anger that stress builds in me or any anxiety I have.  Working this out of my body helps me be able to focus better for what is more important.
     On top of my classes and work and thinking about the future, I also have to make time each week for my service site.  Thankfully my service site is not very stressful.  Many times being at the service site helps me forget everything else I have to do and relax.  The only stressful part is walking to Hand Middle School but I would much rather do that then study for a test or do homework.

Timing is everything

     As a college student I am constantly wrapped up with school, hanging out with friends, and various club meetings.  It is a wonder I ever have time for myself or any way to keep myself sane.  Thankfully, I have balanced my classes well enough to get homework done between and after, while still managing to make it to the gym and all my club meetings on a regular basis. 
     As a triathlete staying in-shape during the off-season is very important in order to be able to stay fit and ready to train when the season starts again.  For me to stay fit I must work in daily workouts at the gym and stay active even on days where I do not have time to workout (which honestly never really happens).  I make sure to schedule these workouts in time slots within my day where I have time to make it to the gym and back to the dorm in time to make it to my next class or meeting.  So far I have done a pretty good job of keeping up with this scheduling. 
     Not only am I concerned about staying in-shape, but I am also concerned with keeping up in my classes and making good grades.  That is why I typically do my homework on in a timely manner (2-3 days before it is due) in order to not get stressed out or overwhelmed.  This time management has helped me always stay ahead in my classes and do my best on each assignment given to me.
     The final major part of my college career is staying involved in various organizations.  Being in pre-pharmacy I am always thinking about the next thing in order for me to get ahead of my peers and look that much better to the admissions advisors for pharmacy college.  On top of my classes and working out I still manage to make it to all the meetings of the various organizations I am involved in. 
     The only thing I really wish I had more time for is to be able to hang out with my friends more often.  Being so busy leaves little room for hanging out with friends and having fun.  Many times when I am able to hang out I am really tired from that day's activities or am preparing for the next day that I just am not able too.  I think if I start hanging out with friends at a certain time each week I can make it more of a habit and not lose the friendships I have gained.  Hopefully adding in having fun to my schedule will allow me the time to be with my friends.

Healthy Time!

     Many issues facing college students these days centers around each student's health and wellness.  As obesity and laziness grows in America, it is becoming more and more necessary to get the younger population up and moving to prevent an obesity trend later in life.  For me personally I have grown up in a very athletic family where noone is overweight.  It is typical for everyone in my family to go to the gym together or workout together in some way.  I have grown up with a daily exercise regimen as a participant on my high school's cross country and track team.  I kept my exercise strong by becoming involved in triathlons throughout the years.  I still participate in triathlons now and continue to exercise daily to keep my stamina and strength for racing.  I maintain a pretty healthy diet trying to balance my diet with a lot of fruits and vegetables regularly.  I keep up with daily hygiene and avoid getting sick as much as possible by taking my vitamins and staying away from sharing food or drinks.  Overall I would say I am a very healthy person and very concious of my lifestyle. 
     When coming here to USC I knew it would be a challenge to continue staying healthy with my exercise regimen and eating habits but I have found a good group of friends who share the same interests as me in staying healthy.  We workout together and have meals on a regular basis.  We always enjoy each other's company and never feel inferior or uncomfortable around each other.  This comfortableness really helps me feel as if I can share anything I am struggling with with them and they can help me in the best way.  They support me in my classes and know when I get stressed and just need some motivation and I do the exact same.  We know each other's schedules and help each other study and understand concepts when we are confused and the other person can help.  We always support each other and strive to help each other succeed in whatever it is.

Religion

     Religion and spirituality are two main topics most people try to avoid in any conversation.  Both ideas never lead to a common understanding unless you are discussing them with someone you know feels exactly the same as you.  Otherwise, the discussion of both topics can lead and typically does lead to a heated discussion where one person tries to dominate the other person's beliefs.  Yesterday in University 101 we had this discussion.  We mostly focused on the similarities between religion, spirituality, and faith.  The common understanding we came to as a class and that I believe is that spirituality is something you believe and feel, while religion is something you practice.  Religion and spirituality can be interchangeable based on what is is you are practicing, but both I believe depend on faith.  Faith gives you the trust and belief in what you know, whether it is the faith in your religion or the faith within your spirituality, whatever that may be for you.
     For me, I have a strong faith in my religion.  I believe strongly as a Christian that Jesus died for my sins and is my savior.  I trust wholeheartedly in whatever God has in store for my life and rely on his love to know that whatever occurs in my life is all apart of his greater plan.  I would say I have more religion in my life than spirituality although I cannot define a clear line between the two.  Religion is the organized idea that I believe in, while spirituality is the overall understanding and feeling I have towards this idea.  Both are supported my faith and strong belief.
     Coming down south for college it is evident that more people are open to sharing about their faith and it seems a lot more prevalent.  More people in the south seem to be believers in Christ and press the importance of religion and faith.  Spirituality outside of religion is not as openly discussed because many people see their spirituality based on their religion.  I do believe that the south and USC has a larger Christian population than I first expected, but personally I am extremely happy of this fact.  I love the idea that a majority of the people I encounter on campus have a relationship with God in some way and typically are open to having a one-on-one discussion about their faith in him.  The south as a whole seems to reflect more of a Christian atmosphere with an importance to religion and faith-based spirituality, which is what I strive to do in my own personal life.

Study Abroad

     A large opportunity when coming to college is the chance to study abroad.  Studying abroad is a great opportunity for every college student because it is a cost effective way to experience a different culture somewhere outside their college campus, while maintaining their studies.  The study abroad program allows students to continue working towards their major in the country or city of their choice.  On top of the opportunity to be able to study outside the United States, students are also given the option to study nationally.  The National Student Exchange (NSE) allows students to study at a different university within the United States and surrounding territories which include Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  This is a great opportunity for students who may not necessarily want to study outside the counrty, but expand their horizons to a different part of the country.  For me I think it would be great to study nationally or internationally.  Either opportunity appeals to me because it would allow me to move away from the southeast for a little while and experience a different culture, may it be in the northwest or another country. 
     If I were to study nationally I would like to study in Washington or Alaska because both states are uniquely different from South Carolina.  Each offers its own qualities that I cannot experience here at South Carolina and would really help me expand beyond my comfort zone and what I know. 
     If I were to study internationally I would choose to study in Italy or Greece.  Looking pictures from both countries really makes me excited and experience a strong urge to go there and really experience the culture.  My grandmother was Italian and my grandfather was Greek, so I think it would be great to get to really understand their culture and the type of environment they grew up in.  Also, studying in either country would fulfill my dream of going to the Mediterranean and enjoying all its natural beauty.
     On another note, I would like to give you an update on mentoring at Hand Middle School.  Currently I am beginning to really start to help mentee with her schoolwork and other day-to-day tasks.  We have made tremendous progress on her organizations skills which I think have really helped her improve her grades.  Currently she has made all A's on her tests and quizzes which is phenomenal!  The highlight of mentoring so far has got to be when I went to mentor earlier this week and she told me she made 100's on both of her tests last week, one of which being in Science which is a subject she tends to struggle in.  Hopefully maintaining the organization of her notes and her hard work will continue to show great progress in the future!

Leadership

     Many people define leadership in different ways.  A majority of the time these definitions vary based on the type of exposure each individual person has had to leadership.  For example, someone living in a Totalitarian-type government may assume leadership is full control of everyone with no room for freedom.  In contrast, someone living in a Democracy may assume that leadership is based on the majority's vote and insight, and that leader is put in place to serve and command according to how the majority wants them to lead.  For me, leadership is is someone who serves to please the majority, and does it willingly with an openness to criticism and change.  For example, I was one of three captains of my high school cross country team.  All three of us were willing to be captains and looked forward to the responsibility.  We made decisions for the group after hearing everyone's insight to make sure we were pleasing the majority.  We also listened to our coach and took control when she asked, as well as stepped down and supported when she asked.  We never controlled without consent and never made any decisions without talking with the rest of the team first.  We wanted to make sure that the group respected us and looked up to us without fear or disrespect.
     I fully enjoyed my time as a captain of my cross country team.  I miss that responsibility and hope to obtain a leadership role while on campus.  I am currently apart of Navigators.  Many of the small group student leaders are Sophomores or Juniors.  I hope that next year I can become a small group student leader for one of the Freshman Bible Studies.  I also hope to become more involved within the Triathlon Club.  Right now as a Freshman, it is very difficult to plan my schedule around group rides or runs because of my hectic schedule.  I hope that next year I can be one of the ride or run leaders and plan out times for training more fit to my schedule.  This way I can stay involved in the club as well as be a leader to those who are new to the sport or to the school. 

Diversity

     One of the main things that define any university is its diversity on campus.  Every person on the campus adds to this diversity.  Where they come from, what they look like, what they believe, and what they do adds to this diversity.  When I came to USC I thought diversity was stretched between race, gender, and looks to be honest.  I never considered background and beliefs to be apart of diversity.  To my surprise background and beliefs of a person truly makes them unique and diverse on campus.  No one person on campus comes from the same background or has the same belief.  Yes, it is possible two people have the same beliefs, but their commitment and the depth of their belief is very different.  For example, two people may both be Christian, but one may have a stronger desire to grow in their faith then the other.  Right there is an example of diversity in one component of any given person's life.  How I went through my life believing that diversity only compromised of race, gender, and looks, I do not know.  After being on campus for two months however, I clearly know more about diversity then before.  Just walking on campus at any given time of the day I run into someone who clearly is different from me.  They may be a different gender or race, or they may come from a different part of the country or world for that matter.  Diversity is everywhere at any given time.  It is truly impossible not to find someone uniquely different from myself.
     Finding diversity on campus is just as easy as finding diversity at my service-learning site.  As a mentor I am given a mentee who could come from any given home life or background.  For example my mentee is an only child while I have a brother.  Right there is diversity in itself.  Also, she is from South Carolina obviously since she is in middle school here, while I am from North Carolina.  She is also a different race then I am.  All three of those things add up to diversity that I experience at my service-learning site.  For me, diversity is everywhere.  It is at school, at mentoring, in my dorm, everywhere.  Diversity is so unique and so vast that everyday is a new day to experience it.

Traditions

     South Carolina is like any other university in having its own unique traditions.  Many of the traditions here are similar to the traditions at other universities, just unique to USC.  For example, at USC we have the Ring Ceremony held each year.  Upperclassmen who have acquired 60 hours of course credit are eligible to order their class ring and participate in the Ring Ceremony.  This tradition is similar to the Ring Dance at Virginia Tech.  At Virginia Tech instead of having a formal ceremony for the dispensing of class rings to their owners, they have a dance.  The student picks up his ring before the dance and wears it the dance.  The Ring Dance is essentially a cross between a ring ceremony and a high school prom. 
     Another tradition we have here at South Carolina is the annual Tiger Burn before the South Carolina-Clemson football game.  Many students gather on Greene street in the week before the game to get pumped up.  On top of other various activites they hold a "tiger burn."  The Tiger Burn is lighting a fake tiger similar to the Clemson mascot on fire in order to symbolize USC beating Clemson in the football game. 
     Many of the traditions held at USC do not tend to happen within the first couple months of a person's freshman year.  Most of the traditions are for upperclassmen or held later in the year during certain dates.  One tradition however that every freshman gets to participate in and that I was able to participate in was the First-Year Reading experience.  Every freshman is given a copy of the First-Year Reading at orientation and asked to complete it before move-in day.  The reading is typically used in English and University 101 classes so it is pretty much impossible to not read.  A few days after move-in day all the freshman get together at the Carolina Coliseum for a brief speech by the President and a chosen student.  After this gathering we are split up into our University 101 classes and moved to a different location on campus to discuss the book.  This year we had to read Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.  The book was about surviving in the wild and on very little and how our society has made it impossible to live off the land like our ancestors did.  It was a statement to the damage we have done to ourselves as humans to not be able to live off what is around us, but rely on modern technology to survive.  Overall I quite enjoyed the book and the discussion I had with my University 101 class.  After enjoying this tradition I cannot wait to participate in more in the coming weeks and years!

Fall Break!

     So today marks the first day of fall break.  Although I say yesterday at 6:30 marked my fall break.  I have late classes on Mondays and Wednesdays so of course I could not leave until later Wednesday to get home to Raleigh.  One of my late classes is ironically University 101.  Thankfully the class discussion today was interesting so as to keep myself from getting anxious and fidgety.  We talked about alcohol and how to be safe.  For me this discussion was kind of redundant since I do not drink, but I like to listen to other classmates's views on drinking.  This was the first discussion I have ever agreed with everyone else.  Typically it is me versus the world.  Everyone else is typically trying to justify why they like to drink and how it is not a bad thing, while I state my own views on drinking that they consider childish or something of that sort.  I believe we all came to a middle ground that yes drinking can be bad, but if you do drink you need to be responsible and we all seem to know how to be responsible with alcohol.  I finally felt as if the majority agreed with me instead of rejecting my views.  Probably the first time I did not feel out of place with my views on drinking.  Overall it was a very good day in University 101.
     Since it is fall break that also means the mark of the halfway point of the semester, meaning now I have to think about registering for classes next semester.  As a Pre-Pharmacy major my class schedule is pretty structured and set so I do not have to worry about making a lot of hard decisions on what to take.  I also already met with my advisor and did a lot of research on the best courses to take, so I knew very well what I wanted to take.  I decided on Chem 112 and lab, Bio 102 and lab, Anatomy and Physiology 1 (Bio 243), Speech 1, and Triathlon Training.  My three main courses of Chemistry, Biology, and Anatomy will all be on the PCAT which I will be taking in the summer.  Having these three classes completed will help me do better on the exam, rather than if I took Anatomy during my Sophomore Year like the majority of Pre-Pharmacy students do.  Speech is a course that is in the Pre-Pharmacy curriculum because it helps prepare you for the interview process of applying to Pharmacy College.  Triathlon Training is just a one-hour credit course that will help balance out my hard classes and keep up with my triathlon training with my busy schedule.
     Now that I have discussed everything I had to do to prepare for fall break, lets get to what is most important, my plans for fall break.  Today I did a lot of errands and met up with a lot of my friends who are still in high school to catch up.  Overall I was busy but I was happy with what I was doing and never felt bored.  Tomorrow I am going shopping with my mom for a belated birthday present and then later I am going to the fair.  My mom got the family tickets to see Casting Crowns at the NC State Fair so I am happy to go see them in concert and go to the fair to have fun!  Saturday will be a long day in a fun way.  My mom and I are taking my dad to his triathlon in Pinehurst to cheer him on.  Although I love competing in triathlons, it is always nice to go watch a triathlon every once in a while to remember why I love the sport so much.  Later that night we are having my birthday dinner of my favorite foods.  Sunday I will go to church then drive on back to Columbia!  Overall it will be a very fun and busy break, but that just means I will never get bored!

Mentoring

     I am currently three weeks into the mentoring program I signed up for at Hand Middle School.  So far the program has been great.  The mentor leaders do an excellent job of preparing me on what I need to accomplish before I go to each mentoring session.  I do not feel too overwhelmed or confused at the tasks at hand during my time at the service site.  Although I cannot disclose anything about my mentee, just know that she is great. 
     This week marks the third session of mentoring, however I have not made my third visit yet.  The past two visits have gone by very smoothly.  The first visit consisted of me meeting my mentee and getting a tour of Hand Middle School.  We talked about what we have in common and she told me a little bit about herself to help me better understand who she is as a person.  I also gave her background information on me and what I hope we can gain from the experience together.  This past session we actually started digging into what mentoring really is.  I did a homework check and discussed the importance of doing every assignment for class regardless of how pointless it seems.  We also dived into an organization "party" to help my mentee get organized to better keep up with her work and get good grades.  We did not finish all the organization so hopefully this next time she will have completed what we left off at so we can begin mentoring.
     Ironically, one of my biggest strengths is being very organized.  This is quite handy for my mentee who is not as organized.  I am able to help her get organized and better prepared for her classes.  I also have experience working with children because I used to be a day camp counselor with the YMCA.  My experience of working with children helps me relate to how they can act, and how I should act towards them in order for them to appreciate where I am coming from and listen.  Having this experience really gives me a step ahead knowing the possibilities of what can occur each day and how I can counteract these possibilities.
     The mentoring program as I am sure you can figure out is very time consuming.  On top of classes and volunteering for this I have yet to volunteer anywhere else this semester.  I am a part of Habitat for Humanity so I will hopefully be helping with a build sometime this year.  I am also a part of two different Christian organizations that will most likely volunteer in some way to do mission work around Columbia.  Between all the organizations I am involved in I will not be surprised to find myself helping the homeless or cleaning up part of campus sometime in my near future.

Halfway There!

     Next week will mark the official halfway point of the semester.  I cannot even believe that it has already been half a semester.  Seems like yesterday I was just starting my classes, now I am taking midterms.  Looking back on the past weeks I have to say every minute of college life has been amazing.  From late night walks with friends to football games no moment has gone by uninteresting.  Out of all of these moments I would say my favorite memory of college would have to be going on a fall conference trip with The Navigators.  This trip actually took place last weekend in Black Mountain, NC.  Incredible does not nearly describe how amazing and intense this trip was.  Not only did I grow in my faith and become closer to God, I made so many friends within the university and met so many people from other universities.  The trip made me feel so connected with people here at the university through my bible study, and meet other cool people who are just as interested in growing in their walk with God.  I am so happy I went on this trip I could not imagine having missed it.
     Out of all my memories a few of them stand as being amazing, while others are a little less exciting and I wish I could change them.  One memory in particular is not going with friends to a campus wide event and missing out on an awesome time.  I decided to pass going to a big party because I thought it would be a party put on by fraternities and there would be lots of drinking and dangerous situations.  Come to find out the event was actually put on by the university and was a safe alternative to partying at five points or somewhere else.  I wish looking back that I made the decision to go but it is too late now.
     Now that I am halfway through the semester I am also looking at my goals and reevaluating them.  My personal challenge of taking the stairs everyday except once is holding up very nicely.  I have yet to find a time when I did not take the stairs apart from when I was sick one day and too nauseous to walk up them.  Also my goal of making all A's is currently moving in the right direction.  I have received an A so far on all my tests and homework assignmetns in each of my classes. I have found a great Christian organization to become involved in as well as an organization for Pre-Pharmacy and triathlons.  My main goals were to find clubs for these three areas of my life that I was very devoted in.  If I can just stay committed to my work and prioritizing my time I should have no problem staying on top of my goals.  As long as I continue to put work first and everything else after I should get all A's like I want and stay involved with my activities.  Hopefully it all works out for the best!

Brain Rules

     For University 101 I have to read a book called Brain Rules by John Medina.  Basically this book discusses ways our brain's function from how they function a certain way, to the effect on our brain from certain activities we participate in.  The first chapter went into great detail about how exercise benefits the brain in a great way.  Not only is exercise healthy for the body, but has added benefits for making us as individuals smarter.  By participating in aerobic activity we allow more oxygen to reach our brain which helps it function better and retain more information.  In order to learn our brain has to be functioning.  In order for our brain to function it needs oxygen.  So to put it all together our brain needs exercise to function at its full capacity.  The author even went into detail about certain studies that have been done on how much more well off a person is based upon their aerobic activity.  We are shown how someone who participated in regular aerobic activity their entire life was significantly more alert and cognitive into their late 80's then someone who sat around all day and did nothing during their younger years. This really struck me hard because I am avid exerciser.  I go to the gym daily because it is healthy for my body, now I know it is healthy for my mind.  Seeing how my daily ritual of exercise can aid in my brain function and help me learn better makes me look forward to the future when I will be able to be more alert than the average person who did nothing as a teenager.
     The second chapter in Brain Rules mainly discussed how our brain's have evolved over time to where they are now.  Our ancestors had one small brain in their heads, we have three small brains that form one large brain.  It is even proven that our heads have become bigger over time, amazing!  Most of this growth attributes to our evolution of walking and going from four legs to two legs.  Once we did that we had to expend less calories to get around and more energy could go to the development of our brain.  Basically, our adaptation to life has affected the way our brain has evolved.  After reading this chapter I cannot wait to read more!
     On a different note, today was the Major Information Fair.  I have nothing to really say on this topic as I did not attend.  I know right now that my major as Pre-Pharmacy is exactly where I want to be so I do not have any interest in changing in my major.  Also, I am already very involved in organizations within this major and do not think I can handle anything else right now.  Maybe next semester I will swing by to take a look.

Six Weeks In and I'm Loving Every Minute

     I have now been down here at USC for a little over six weeks now.  I love everything about college, even my classes.  I do not think I have ever been this excited about going to class ever in my life.  Most people say the excitement of college classes dies down within a few days but I have not experienced that disappointment of going to classes yet.  Although my Chemistry class is at 8 am I still really enjoy what I am learning, even if it is difficult to wake up so early in the morning.  That I have to say is the only thing keeping it from being my favorite class here on campus.  I am not a morning person when it comes to waking up.  Once I am up, now that is a different story I am ready to go for the day, getting up is the hardest part in the morning.  Apart from the morning wake-up difficulty, I LOVE chemistry.  Everything about the subject is fascinating to me.  Balancing equations, calculating molarity, determing limiting reactants, whatever it is I love to solve for it.  It includes the math that I love to solve for, yet the fascination and understanding of science.  My other favorite class is swimming.  I do not typically say this is my favorite subject because it is not an academic class but besides chemistry, it is the only class I look forward to and cannot wait to get too on Mondays and Wednesdays.  It is my stress relief class.  Whatever is going on in my life I can just get in the pool and let it out in my swimming and feel so much better when I get out of the water.  It is one of the best feelings in the world.
     Although I really enjoy all of my classes I have not done a very good job of reaching out to my professors outside of class.  I have emailed my Biology Lab TA a few times and my Chemistry professor once or twice but besides that I have not tried to contact anyone.  Part of it is because I am doing so well in my classes I have not had a reason to talk to any of them.  However, I am planning on contacting each of them or at least introducing myself so if a time comes when I really need help they will give me help knowing that I have made an effort before to establish myself as a concerned student.  Hopefully though I will never need to contact them because I am having difficulty!

Time to be a mentor

     For my University 101 class I have to choose to be a mentor at a local middle school or participate in a literacy program that helps bring awareness to reading throughout South Carolina.  Well I chose to do the mentoring program because I felt that it would be a great opportunity to really help someone since you work one-on-one with the same child over the course of several weeks.  Also having the background of working at the YMCA as a counselor I already have experience with working with children and really connecting with them.  Mentoring just really gives a child the opportunity to grow with the help of someone and not have to worry about being criticized. 
     Today we went to our different service sites to become acquainted with the programs we would be working with.  My mentoring program takes place at a middle school about a mile from campus and many of us in the program including myself already visited the middle school so we did not have to go back.  My previous visit to the site included getting to know our mentor leaders who will be there to help guide us as mentors and a quick tour of the school.  We were shown the room where most of our mentoring will take place and given examples of how a mentor may interact with their child especially the first day when the mentor and mentee are both nervous.  I feel like this will be a great experience with helping a sixth-grader transition into middle school.  I can give them helpful advice that I wish I had known, and really watch them become more comfortable in their new school environment over the course of many weeks.  I also think it will help me transition into college because much of the advice I am giving to my mentee I can apply to my own life here at school.  The only downside of the mentoring program is that I do not know ahead of time who my mentee will be but will show up next Monday and meet them.  Hopefully they will be a good kid and not be difficult to mentor, but you never know.  I just hope that I get a "good egg" out of all the kids in the program. 
     By the end of this program I hope that I can clearly see a difference in my mentee's life.  I want to be able to tell that he/she has gained a new perspective on their life as a sixth-grader and feels more comfortable at their new school and ready for the next half of the year.  I hope that I may also gain a new perspective on my life and also feel more comfortable as a college freshman.  Hopefully both my mentee and myself can gain something positive and useful from this experience. 

One Month Later

     So I have been down here at USC for a little over a month.  Wow!  Time has flown by!  Seems like just yesterday I was packing up the car to drive down here with my family to move in.  Thankfully I can say that these past few weeks have been great.  As a Capstone Scholar down here I am given added advantages on top of being in a great dorm.  I love all the added benefits given to us, such as social events and cinemas that we get to attend to for fun, yet still get points towards the Capstone Scholars Fellows Award.  So pretty much we are rewarded for having fun.  Nothing is better right?  That's what I thought.  Being a Capstone Scholar puts me in a great position for improving my resume for Graduate School and helps me get a leg up on the competition within my major.  I have the opportunity to grow closer with other Capstone Scholars just as interested in improving their education and meet with faculty one-on-one.  I cannot find any reason why being a Capstone Scholar would have been a bad thing, it is one of the best decisions I have made so far in my college experience.
     Outside of being in the Capstone Scholars program I have done a pretty good job of staying on top of my schoolwork and making good grades.  I am surprised at how much time I have to complete each assignment for a class.  I planned to be stressed out 24/7 and never have any fun, yet I do not feel this way.  Although I am still stressed a good bit I do not feel like any of my stress is preventing me from having a good time.  It is really all about time management at this point.  I was extremely nervous about meeting friends, especially ones who were not very interested in partying and more about having a good time outside of parties.  Thankfully, I have found a small group of close friends who all share the same feelings towards partying as I do and understand that you do not have to be at a party or drinking to have fun.  With my friends I have gone on midnight excursions to various places and just toured Columbia in a different way then if I was driving around in a car.  So far I have been very impressed with how diverse college can be and how many opportunities there are for everyone to have a good time in whatever they choose to be interested in.  With such a large school it is hard not to find something you love here!

High School Transitions

     Today I sat down and mapped out a few goals that I would like to complete by the end of this semester.  Most of these goals pertain to my major of Pre-Pharmacy, but a couple are my own personal goals outside of school.  My goals pertaining to my major include maintaining a 4.0 GPA, preparing my resume for applying for internships by the end of this semester, and obtaining the materials necessary for studying for the PCAT (Pharmacy College Admissions Test) next semester.  These three goals will be difficult to maintain but I do not think will push me past my breaking point.  The hardest goal for me will be maintaining a 4.0 GPA because of my heavy course load and other commitments.  However, I have already taken Chem 111 in high school and typically do well in math classes so Stat E201 should not be too difficult.  My hardest class will be Biology because it is not as much math-based as my other core classes are.  However, I already attend SI sessions on a regular basis and plan to continue this, so hopefully the extra tutoring will help me stay on top of my studying and do well in the class.
     My other goals outside of school that I would like to complete are keeping up with my triathlon training and staying involved in the triathlon club and Navigators, a bible study on campus.  These goals are more personal goals that pertain to my life and what I like to be involved in.  I want to keep up my training so if I can just continue to stay active in the Triathlon Club this should not be too hard.  Also, staying involved in Navigators will be a great outlet for when I am stressed and need a study break or someone to talk to about my struggles with school.  Both of these are personal outlets that will be a great source of stress relief for me as I try to maintain my goals above.
     On top of maintaining these goals I set for myself I also have to choose a personal challenge to accomplish.  My challenge will be taking the stairs all the time except once a day when I will allow myself to take the elevator or if it is after 10:00 pm when the stairs are locked.  This challenge will be hard for me because I walk everywhere on campus and workout once a day so typically I am tired and opt not to take the stairs.  This challenge will push me to go up the stairs even if I am tired and sore.  I have been doing this challenge for three days so far (woohoo big accomplishment) and right now it is a little difficult but hopefully it will get better as time goes on!  Stay tuned to hear how my challenge progresses and if I have any setbacks along the way.

LASSI!

     So a few days ago I took another one of those academic surveys, called LASSI, which try to place you in a certain category of academic success.  This one was different, catering more towards my success within the classroom and ways to improve how I study and learn.  Thankfully, most of my scores were above the 75th percentile range, which is the target range for having good academic strategies.
    Only a few categories fell below this target range, all of which I already know I need to improve on and have been working towards improving.  My two lowest scores fell under anxiety and selecting main ideas.  I have always had anxiety during tests, affecting my score in every manner possible.  Typically I get nervous, then second guess my answer, choosing a completely different answer that ends up being wrong, and then I do horribly on the test.  It is a never-ending process for me.  My anxiety typically kicks in on any sort of English test, which focuses a lot on selecting main ideas.  Ironically, selecting main ideas was my other really low score.  It is clear that my anxiety issues are very connected with my trouble of selecting main ideas. 
     Most of my scores I agree very much with but a few of my scores I do not agree so much with.  These include my score on attitude and self-testing.  According to my attitude score I should not care at all about my grades but I care very strongly about my grades.  I never made below an A before AP Chemistry my junior year and strive for nothing less than an A in all my classes.  So to be told I do not care about my education is way off from my actual interest and concern over my education.  My other disagreement is with my score on the self-testing category.  This score shows that I do not do a good job of testing myself in preparation for actual tests which is not true.  I spend a lot of time reworking problems and testing myself to make sure I know how to do something before the actual exam.  Self-testing is what helped me do well in Calculus my senior year.
     For the most part I agree with the rest of the scores given to me from LASSI.  My motivation and information processing scores were very high as well as my time management score.  Organization, motivation to do well in school, and time management are what helped me do well in high school and shoot for high goals in college.  I continually use these skills on a daily basis to do well in my classes.  Being busy with clubs and class has helped me to plan out my days better in order to complete everything I need to complete for school.
     Overall I believe I am doing a very good job of staying motivated and on top of my school work to do well in my academics.  My only concern is over my anxiety issues which I hope to fix soon and continue to work on each and every day.  Stay tuned to here about how I deal with anxiety in my schoolwork as I have a statistics test tomorrow which will be another test of my anxiety.  This time, I will go with my first decision on a question and not second guess my answer choice.  Hopefully it works! 

Service in the community

     I have grown up in the church so I have grown up doing mission work and service activities through youth groups and other church organizations.  From feeding the homeless to building a house I have done it all, or what I would say is all considering the limited ability I would have as a young child to help.  Every opportunity I had to do a service activity I would do willingly without force from another person.  I enjoy helping others around me and find a certain satisfaction knowing that I have helped a person's life become better through my service.
     Every service I have given to someone else has been my own doing apart from a service club where I was required to do a certain amount of hours each semester to maintain membership.  Unfortunately, I have never been able to connect my service within a course I was taking in high school to combine learning with service.  I am grateful that this year I am given the opportunity to do both.
     My only job has been as a YMCA counselor over the summer at a day camp.  Although I was getting paid to be there, I enjoyed the time I spent with the campers every day and seeing the joy on their faces with all the fun they had.  Most of the campers were able to afford to go to day camp, but some of the campers were at the camp on a scholarship from the YMCA through a fundraising program.  Working with these campers really makes me appreciate being able to offer a child the same experience I had as a camper.  I would easily help out these campers even if I was not getting paid just to see the joy and fun they would experience.  This joy of working with kids is the reason I chose to do the mentoring program because I want to work with a child one-on-one to help their life become a little bit better.  Stay tuned to see how my service-learning is doing!

Labor Day Weekend!

     Let me start by saying that my weekend was not as exciting as you probably guess from the exclamation point in my title.  My highlight of the weekend was on Saturday doing three hours of Chemistry homework.  Okay that is slight sarcasm, although I did end up doing three hours of Chemistry homework all day Saturday.  Saturday morning though I went tubing with the Navigators.  The Navigators is a bible study group around campus that has a group in Capstone that meets every Monday night at 8 pm.  The experience was supposed to be relaxing, but of course I would not be relaxing, something always happens.  My tube ended up drifting to the left the entire time when it was supposed to stay to the right of the river so I ended up paddling half the time to stay on course.  At one point I got out of the tube and swam while pulling it behind me because I was fed up with paddling.  Let me note that I have the biggest fear of snakes and the entire time I was swimming I was imagining a snake slithering by me in the water which I would have died if that had happened, literally died.  Anyways, near the end of the trip I latched onto a group of tubes that were staying on course, so I had time to relax before I began paddling again to bring the tube onto the shore at the end.  I could see the shore near the end of the trip and was a few rocks away from the shoreline where I would be departing from my tube.  These last few yards of water were the worst.  I ended up getting stuck on rocks every few feet, floating away from the shore and to top it all off my tube flipped in a rapid right at the end.  By that point in time I gave up and just swam to shore with my tube because for me that was more efficient and quicker.  Although the tubing experience was rough to say the least, I still had a blast and would do it again anyday.
     The rest of my weekend was not as exciting.  I mostly did homework in my dorm room or walked around campus with friends.  Monday night I watched the Virginia Tech game and I'm gonna leave it at that.  No words can express the anger inside me from watching that game.  Anyone who knows me in person knows my dedication as a Virginia Tech fan so you can imagine how upset I was at the end of the game.  I hope whoever is reading this had a much more exciting weekend then I did and that their football team of choice was victorious!

Fair Time!

     Today was the fair of all fairs...the Student Organization Fair.  Overwhelming is an understatement.  Attending such a large university like USC it is understandable to have many (200+) organizations around campus for students to get involved in.  Upon walking to the fair I actually got slightly nervous because I am not a fan of large crowds.  Knowing the size of Greene Street and the amount of organizations that would be present I knew the fair would be crowded. 
     Once I started the trek down the little stretch of pavement they called the fair, I was bombarded by every single type of club.  There were leadership clubs, sport clubs, writing clubs, you name it they had it.  Part of me wanted to join everything because they looked so intriguing, but my conscience got the better of me and told me to remember that I am only one with person with a limited amount of time.  So I decided to make a mental list in my head of what I really enjoy and search out just those clubs and figure out information on those organizations.  I ended up signing up for about three different organizations and got information on many more that interest me.  Two of the organizations I signed up for were Habitat for Humanity and the Cycling Club.  Habitat has always been apart of my family because my dad is on the Board of Directors for the Raleigh section.  I have not been as involved as my dad or my brother but I love mission work and making a difference in other people's lives so I figured this is a great oppurtunity to do mission work right here in Columbia.  The other club I signed up for was the Cycling Club.  As a competitive triathlete I must train year-round to not only keep up with my endurance but also to improve my times.  I did not find a table for the Triathlon Club so I decided the Cycling Club would be my next best option.  The Cycling Club will allow me to go on rides with a group of people who also want to ride to get better as well as help me improve my speed and times for my races.
     As I mentioned above there was no table for the Triathlon Club.  I am aware that there is a club on campus but it is not as involved or outgoing as I would like it to be.  I wish that the club gave out more information to students so those who are already participating in triathlons or inspire to participate can find a place to train and get connected in the sport on campus.  Hopefully I will get involved in this club soon and if not just take it upon myself to start a different club on campus that is more involved and well-known to students.  Thanks for reading my latest post! Stay tuned to hear all about my Labor Day plans and the first USC Football Game!!!! Go Gamecocks!!

In The Beginning...

     I have officially started at the University of South Carolina.  I cannot say that I am too nervous.  Unlike most people, I did not try to keep my parents here on move-in day longer than they wished.  Once everything was in my room and the basics were set up I was already pushing them out the door ready for the next chapter of my life to begin.  I have goals I wish to reach while I am here that I have to do alone.  Already starting out as a Pre-Pharmacy major time as an undergraduate is limited.  Within a year I will be applying to the graduate program and setting my sights on a new journey.  While I am nervous, I am confident that nothing is impossible. 
     If you have viewed my profile you will quickly learn that I LOVE triathlons.  It isn't quite an obsession but it is fairly close if I do say so myself.  I have already contacted the President of the Triathlon Club and plan to be a dedicated member as to keep up my training.  As a member of the club I hope to make a lasting relationship with other members outside of training and form friendships that I would have otherwised missed out on if I had not been so outgoing.  On top of this wonderful club I have already joined three different Christian organizations on campus.  I know what you are thinking, I am in way over my head.  But truthfully, the commitment is not alot and I get to meet an even more diverse and exciting group of people.  People that will help me through the years and keep me positive in my studies and walk with faith.
     Sadly, I cannot say that I have had anything exciting happen to me in my first two weeks.  Besides the occassional midnight walk through Columbia with friends or IHOP excursion (yes an IHOP excursion) life has stayed pretty normal.  But for me, normal is how I like it.  Hopefully by my next blog post something amazing will have happened, or at least something worth describing as amazing with a little exaggeration.  Until next time....