So I've finished my first semester of college at the U of A! And, thankfully, came out of it with all A's so that's a good way to start, right? Anyways, I would probably describe my first semester as... different? I'm not saying it was bad, far from it, but just not really what I was expecting exactly. But we will get to that later. For now, I must tell you about the end of 2011 for me.
So from the time of my last blog there have been only a few big things in my life, or atleast a few I consider big I guess. First off would be my birthday. Usually I would say this isn't a big thing at all, but I figure I should talk about it since it was my first away from home. A couple weeks before the day, my parents asked me if I wanted them to come up and go out for dinner. I've never really cared to much about my birthday so I just told them we could do something when I got home the next week. As for the not caring, I've just always seen birthdays as a day where you get attention for doing nothing except being born, woo... I usually try not to draw to much attention to myself, but if I do get attention I hope that I deserve it for actually doing something good. Anyways, On my birthday I woke up around 10 or so since it was a Saturday. I proceeded to just kinda mess around in my dorm, study for my Calc 3 test, and watch some great basketball games (Kentucky vs. UNC was amazing!). Later that night was a Christmas party at the RFC house. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go, but I figured I might as well do something on my birthday. I proceeded to go to walmart to get a $10 gift since we were playing a dirty santa game at the party. The party was fun, and I got "O, Brother Where 'art Thou" so that was good! After the party I went back to my dorm to study a little before bed. Little did I know that some of the members from the RFC had planned to surprise me with a... well I'm not sure what it was but it had brownies and ice cream on it with a candle. They had wanted to give it to me at the RFC house but hadn't noticed I left so came to my dorm room and sang "Happy Birthday" to me. It was very nice, but I still just felt like there was no reason for it just because it was my birthday, but still it was nice. I still wish I didn't really have a birthday though, or atleast could not celebrate it.
The next big thing was finals week!! I thankfully only had 2 finals this year and they had a full day inbetween them so I wasn't too worried. My first one was my Calc 3 final on Monday morning. This was the only class I was really worried about not getting an A in. I studied probably over 12 hours combined over the weekend, and by test time I was confident. And for good reason, since I got a 99 on it! My other one was Chem 1 on Wednesday night. I only needed like a 40% on it to get an A, so I didn't study quite as much... like 2 hours. But I still got an 85% on it so it was all good. I packed up all my stuff on Thursday night and proceeded to make the trip back home for the break ready to relax and enjoy time with my family, who would soon be getting a new member.
Which brings me to the last big thing that capped of the year, the birth of my nephew, James (Jimmer) Carney. My sister went to the hospital around 3 I think on December 27th. I stayed at home for a while and headed to the hospital around 11 with my dad, who had been working. We waited there til I believe around 6 or 7 hours with my grandma, uncle and aunt, cousin, and my brother-in-laws family would had been coming to visit that day (good timing). He was a big boy and defiantly a cute one too. He is a handful, as all newborns are, but precious. I can't wait til he gets big enough for me to play with him and teach him how to call the hogs and play ball!
So that was the end of my year. I've loved being at home and being able to hang out with all of my old friends. So, how was the year overall? Well, it's been interesting. I went through my last semester of high school and graduated, met great new friends and lost a couple on the way, recommitted my life to God, became part of a group of people who are some of the most amazing and uplifting people I have ever met and love the all, and of course made some stupid mistakes along the way. But I must say that I believe that I was able to change myself for the better this year, and hope I can continue to do so over the next year and my life. I still get mad at stupid things, forget what is most important sometimes, and forget to recognize the people who do the most for me, but I regret nothing and know what I can do to better myself.
As for my first semester of college, I think that the only good word to describe it was the word I already used, different. I never thought I would bond so much to the RFC group and grow so close to so many people in the group. There are so many wonderful people in the group and I just hope that I can get to know them all more and learn everything I can from them because they all have there own interesting and inspiring stories and I just love to learn from others. Steve, our Campus minister, is such an amazing person and I just love to listen to him speak and I am so thankful for him giving me the chance to show my own abilities as a speaker and leader. I just hope I can continue to be a part of this group and continue to have my faith build and hopefully help as many people as I can.
Outside of the RFC group, college was still different. Classes really weren't as hard as I thought they would be. And I'm not trying to brag or say they weren't hard, but having taken physics and calc my junior year I was scared going into calc 3 and physics 2, but it turned out to not be too bad. Those two classes were also where I got to connect with someone I now consider to be one of my best friends, even though he always acts like he hates me. I see it as kind of a Dr. Cox, J.D. kinda relationship, him being cruel and funny while I just look for his respect. Okay, maybe not quite like it, but somewhat haha.
Dorm life can also only be described as different. Me and my roommate don't really do anything together, but it works perfect. We talk a bit when we are both in the room, get along great, and have yet to have any problems so it's good. My research is really different as well. My faculty mentor is super laid back and seems to kinda work on his own time, which is okay, but sometimes frustrating. My parent is pretty much a perfect match for me, we are most of the time on the same level and she usually does more work than me without noticing so I love it! Overall though, I would say thing being different was for the best, because it provided me with a chance to not just tell myself I told you so and drift along, but rather live each day looking for a new experience.
So with the arrival of 2012, what lies ahead for me? I'm not really sure, but one thing I do know is that I'm going to try to live it with a positive attitude in whatever I do. Mondays are made better by We're Alive Season 3, Tuesdays devo, Wednesday church, Thursday basketball night, Friday starts the weekend, Saturday is a day for anything, and Sunday for God, so why not be happy for everyday I have to live here on this Earth. People in this world have so many worries that float in their mind that get them down, so why can't I be the person to give them the hug they need to keep going? Since I don't see a reason why not, I guess that I will just keep smiling. (Sorry for the long wait)
Wonderful! And I love that picture of you and your nephew!
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