Spring

I love spring. It's my second favorite season because it leads right up to summer, which is my absolute favorite season. I think I like the feeling of a new beginning. Everything starts waking up and growing again, and the snow starts to melt. You can tell when it's the first nice day of the season because everyone just seems more happy, and there are a lot more people out side than normal. The sun shines and it seems like the world is a better place with no dirty white snow on the ground. I've noticed I'm even more appreciative and welcoming of spring this year because the winter was so cold and just wouldn't seem to end. I hate being stuck inside all winter because of the cold, but spring probably wouldn't be as enjoyable if we didn't have to go through it.

Favorite Foods

When I was little, I was always hungry. I would have to say my favorite foods were pudding and mashed potatoes. I was also the weird kid that liked fruit and vegetables too. I still like majority of the foods that I liked when I was a kid except for the foods that I ate too often. Although I wish I could eat like I did when I was a kid, now I try to eat semihealthy foods most of the time. I still really like fruits and vegetables, and I also like chicken a lot. I'm not a big meat eater but every once in a while, I'll get a craving for some. I'm also addicted to cereal. It's my go to meal if I can't find anything else that I want to eat. I'm not really sure why since I ate it almost every day before school when I was younger. I pretty much love any breakfast food any time of the day. I think it's because I'm more of a morning person and I was always told breakfast was the most important meal of the day.

My Opinion

My opinion really mattered when I was picking out where I wanted to go to college since it was my decision in the first place. My parents wanted me to go to Winona State, but I really didn't want to stay in Winona and their business program wasn't as good as MSU's program. I didn't really think about it at the time, but my opinion of the schools I toured mattered more than my parents opinion. Of course I took their opinions into consideration, but for the most part I relied on my own to make my final decision since I was the one who had to actually go to the school. I feel like my opinion matters more in college than it did in high school. Not only in classes but with my friends too. It seems like my professors and friends are more interested in what I have to say and actually take my opinion in to consideration rather than listen to what I have to say and throw it aside.

Questioning Teachers

I think the teacher that wrote a letter to the parent's of a student who kept arguing and questioning the teacher's lessons is very old fashioned. It definitely reflects the teacher's skills and how little she cares for the student. If I were that student's parent, I would be outraged that a teacher gave my child detention for simply being curious and wanting to learn. Most teachers I've had love discussions where students ask questions. It helps the student develop deeper thinking skills and allows them to work through a problem if they're wrong which I think helps them remember what they're taught much better than just absorbing information like a sponge. Keeping student's from having an opportunity to question why things are the way they are doesn't allow their minds to expand and grow. How can they learn to have a mature discussion with someone they don't agree with if they're not taught how to handle situations like that in the right way?

Extreme Home Makeover

One horrible weekend, I was in a really bad mood because of somethings that were going on in my life at the time. Sunday night I sat down and watched some TV and after flipping through the channels for five minutes, I settled on Extreme Home Makeover. On the show, they completely remodel and decorate for people who really need and deserve a new home. The family's story really got to me. The family had many horrible things going on, but remained optimistic. It really made me realize that I have it pretty good. I felt so selfish for having my own little pity party after watching the show. Things could have been a lot worse,and there I was whining about something that I would eventually forget about and move on from. Now when I get too wrapped up in my own life and complain about the things going on, I try to take a step back and examine how bad things really are; usually I discover things aren't so bad after all and look for positive things in my life.

Professors

I think some professors come across as completely unapproachable. They seem like their only in the classroom to spit out information and have students spit it back at them. This makes it harder to approach them with questions or concerns about the class. I don't think this is the best teaching method to get students to fully understand what they need to learn. Students need to be engaged in the classroom. Professors that see students as more than just a brain will probably effect their students more. Showing in interest in the students themselves will make the professor seem more like a human being instead of a robot giving out a bunch of information. I find classes with friendly professors more enjoyable to go to, and I'm more focused on the class content instead of watching the clock wishing it were time to leave.

Pet Peeves

One of my pet peeves is messiness. I'm not really sure why but, I'm a neat freak, so if something isn't organized or is just left lying around, it really bugs me. Some days I really don't care and other days it really annoys me. When I first moved into the dorms, my roommate would always leave a pile of dishes by the sink, and she would always say she would do them...later. It really got to me one day because they would take up all of our shelf space by the sink. I'd hit my head on them almost every time I was brushing my teeth, so I just washed them when I washed my own dishes. Now we have a deal that I do the dishes and she takes out the garbage. It's worked out pretty well so far. We don't use that many dishes anyway. When ever something is messy, I just have a weird urge to clean it, even when I was younger. I was probably the only kid in America that didn't have her parents telling them to clean their room. I just get some satisfaction out of it I guess. It helps me relieve some stress and gives me something to do when I'm bored.

Quote

"Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten." - B.F. Skinner

Education is a very important part of life no matter how young or old you are. When we're young we learn to walk, talk, and ride bikes. As we get older, we learn about the stars, writing papers and some other important life lessons along the way. With so many things to remember, it's hard to absorb everything. Luckily, we can relearn the things we can't remember, and we can teach other people things we remember that should be passed on. Some cultures pass things down from generation to generation, so the traditions aren't forgotten. Other cultures have traditions that are fading out with only a few people left to carry them on. It's sad how things eventually fade away, but if we keep teaching maybe somethings can hold out a little longer. I guess sometimes people lose interest in the old want to make new discoveries.

Second Semester

I'm going to be very busy this semester. I'm taking 17 credits and all of them are either three or four credit classes. So far I've had to do a lot of reading for pretty much every class and textbooks are really not the most fun thing to read. At least for composition I have to read The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman. Although the novel is sad, I've enjoyed it so far. I know I'm going to have to put a lot of work into the class to make progress and do well in the course. Writing is usually hard for me and everything about it stresses me out, but I'm hoping my writing stresses will be relieved once I'm through with the class. I expect the instructor to teach me the skills I need to be a better writer and give me feedback on my writing when we have conferences. I really hope the course isn't as hard as I think it is going to be.

About Me

I was born in Illinois, but my parents moved to Winona when I was only a few months old and I've lived there ever since. I'm an only child, but I have two dogs, Charlie Mudd and Copper. I used to have cats, but they all seemed to run away, so I've given up on cats in general and decided that I'm just a dog person. I'm really close with my parents and I love hanging out with them. Coming to MSU this year was the first time I was really away from home without my parents for a long amount of time. So far it's been pretty good. I'm set on business management for my major, but I'm only a freshman, so I that could change. I've met a lot of people at MSU and I think I came out of my shell a little bit amd became more independent. I love my roommate; we didn't know eachother before coming to MSU and I was really worried that I was going to end up with a roommate from hell. I got pretty lucky though because we actually have a lot in common and hang out all the time. I love listening to music and constantly have music on when I'm on the computer or just hanging out. My favorite band has to be Dashboard Confessional. I also like to read pretty much anything I can get my hands on. One of my hobbies is photography. I took a class in high school where I was actually able to develop my own black and white pictures which was really fun. Now I just take digital pictures and let the pros handle the developing, but I still love taking pictures. I've always loved art; I'm not very good at doing anything else besides photography but I enjoy looking at other people's art. I think people who paint are extreamly talented. I don't know how many times I've tried to paint something and it turns out to be a big blob of color. I like watching HGTV and watching how people make things. Sometimes the things people make can be a little wierd but either way it's cool to watch. I also love the Food Network. Cooking is really fun for me, which is strange considering my mom hates cooking, so I don't know where that joy came from! Probably from my love of eating and food in general. I think ice cream and chocolate are two of the most important foods and can fix almost anything. That thought is probably not so good for my health, but I don't think I can change that.