It has been a long time since I've written. A lot's changed. A lot hasn't.

I have been stuck pretty much in the dorms for the past two days. The blizzard of 2007, the worst blizzard, check that, the ONLY blizzard, we've had in the past couple years, has put a hindrance on many people's, myself included, spring break plans. What a joy. I was really looking forward to going home tonight and spending time with my mom, dad, and brother, but that won't be happening, it seems, for a few more days. Let us hope that the weather and roads clear soon.

It's also been a crazy week in the world for some people. I know none of them may never read this, but I would like to offer my condolences to the families and friends who lost someone in the bus crash down near Atlanta that happened recently. I could only imagine losing my brother, mother, or father, let alone a girlfriend, teammate, or friend. My prayers are with you.

On the brighter side of things, I have come to find my appreciation of music again. I seem to have lost it in the hustle and bustle of college, but being exposed to new sounds like Dashboard Confessional, a band I hadn't ever listened to before, or my old favorite sound of Creed really set off my taste for music again. It's always been an important part of my life; it just felt like was something missing during that time.

I leave you tonight with one of my favorite quotes:

"Life must be understood backwards; but... it must be lived forward." -- Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard

It's hard to believe it is already February 2007. It's so cliche to say this, but it seems like time flew out the window at lightspeed like the Millenium Falcon. Okay, so maybe it was more nerdy than cliche, but sometimes we have to show our true selves, right?

College is all about finding your true self. We walk, or sometimes run, through our lives in high school, and, many times, we don't realize who we are then isn't what we are on the inside. Take, for example, the typical high school jock -- cocky, arrogant, and thinks he has everything in the world going for him. This jock, "Frank" we'll call him, applies to many schools, tries out for the football, basketball, AND baseball teams at each, but gets absolutely nowhere. Frank's dreams in high school of being the star linebacker for a big school fell to pieces. College can be an absolute reality check sometimes.

Now, take for instance, me. Honestly, in high school, I was the loner. I liked doing things on my own. I hated not having any friends, but I really, really liked doing all the work on my presentation over quantum physics of subatomic particles (okay, so it wasn't quantum physics.
I'm not THAT smart.) I was a debater. I tried (keyword: tried) to befuddle my opponents with wit and logic my 4 years of high school while others shot baskets, scored touchdowns, or swung whiffle-ball bats. I ended up #4 in my class. But there was one problem.

I lacked society. I thought it was because nobody wanted me around.

College can be an absolute reality check sometimes. My reality check wasn't merely a slap in the face. It was more like a severe kick to the groin by a rabid donkey whose only mission in life was to find himself a swashbuckling pirate parrot to befriend and sail the seven seas with. Okay, I know that makes no sense, but just bear with me. In high school, I was acting idiotically. It took the massive change of college and weight of independence to show me that. Friends started popping up in all different places once I got into my classes, started hanging out with people, and getting involved on campus. A whole new world opened up to me.

Since this happened, I try to cherish every moment I spend with friends here at school. I regret not doing so during my younger years. But holding on also causes a problem: attachment. Not the kind of attachment problem where I'm afraid of getting too attached, but being afraid of letting go. This troubles me. It's not good. It's just like when you're a little kid, and you get this new, cool toy for Christmas, like a Lite-Brite. You're so amazed by it you draw as many little houses, rainbows, dragons, and Empire State Buildings as you can. Your little child mind thinks "Whoa! Cool!" and you have to drag it around everywhere to show mom, dad, grandma, Uncle Joe, and every other Joe Cool you're amazazing art skills.

Sometimes you just have to hold on though. With people who mean a lot to you. Like parents. Or people you're in close relationships with. I've had fights in the past 2 months with everyone I'm close to. You just have to keep pushing on, through the rough and through the easy. That's the only way relationships last. You can't just give up on them. That's the real life lesson I've learned through my college experience lately. I'm growing up, and it's causing some problems.

Finally, I'm learning to deal with them.

What a Change!

As I mentioned in my last post, DSU was working with me to switch roommates by the end of last semester. Thankfully, they were able to accommodate me well. I now live in Higbie 310 and I am much happier here. Chris, my roommate, is a great person and I am glad to be rooming with him this semester. But, as we all know, as we remove one problem, another arises.

I have discovered over the past 3 weeks of the semester that this is going to be much tougher than last semester. My classes are tough. Currently, I am taking Computer Science 2, University Physics I, Psychology 101, Linear Algebra, and Sociology 285. I figured it would be a tough semester at the beginning and I have proven myself correct. I guess this really isn't a problem, but more of a challenge. I want to be up to it.

Since it is 12:13 AM, I am tired, and I have 8 AM class, I will write more later.
Until then.

From Thanksgiving to Semester Break: An Interesting Time (Originally Posted 12/12/06)

The past few weeks have been busy and filled with high and low times. A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, my great grandmother passed away. It was hard for my family to deal with because she had been around us for such a long time. With her life of 90 years, though, we know she lived a long, prosperous life.

Thanksgiving rolled around to a bittersweet tune. More family than I have ever had a holiday with were present on Thanksgiving day, a great treat, but we were absent my great grandmother, which was tough for my great grandfather. It was wonderful to spend time with my cousins and other relatives I haven't seen in years. With the loss in my family this year, it made me think of what I'm really thankful for.

Time moved on. It is now Finals Week. Contrary to what I was thinking finals week would be like, this is a very slack week for me. I was under the impression that finals week was going to be this gruelling, non-stop week but it really hasn't been that at all. I am glad for that. My semester is slowly rolling to a close.

Later this week, I will be moving from Richardson 227 to Higbie 310. Richardson just isn't the place for me. All the guys playing sports are in Richardson; I am not one of those guys. DSU has been working to accomodate me, though, and they're doing an awesome job. Props to them.

Exploring DSU: My First Two Months on Campus (Originally Posted on 11/3/06)

Over the past two months, I have come to know Dakota State University quite well. When I first got here, my main mission was to discover where everything is at, from food services in the TC to my next class in Beadle Hall. That didn’t take me much time. Since that was completed, my on-going mission is to figure out the ropes here at college: what I’m supposed to do, what direction I’m going to take my life, how I’m going to get there. It has been a struggle at times, but, as always, it does get better. DSU, I’ve learned, is a great place to grow in our lives. The college is small enough so that you can get to know professors easily, but also large enough that there is a diverse crowd of people whom you can befriend. The group of friends I have hung out with is incredibly diverse. There are all types of people from all different "high school cliques", so to say. The reason for that: we all started out on the same page. We all have a good time together, too. Homecoming was one of the first times the whole group came together. After all the worrying before coming to school about who I would fit in with or if I would even make any friends, I found that all of that was absolutely stupid. If you go to college, you will make friends if you put yourself out there even the slightest bit. All you have to do is be active.

Summer Fun... (Originally Posted 11/2/06)

It might be a little late to start writing about my oh-so-enjoyable summer considering it is the 2nd of November, but I will do so anyway. It started off enjoyably with the national debate tournament (yes, I argued my four years away in high school) in Dallas, Texas. It was quite the trip there, 17 hours to be exact. If you don't know anything about debate, it's probably the most tiring activity, as it drains your mind of all energy thinking quickly trying to argue your way to a win. I ended up competing only through preliminary rounds (six of them, lasting two days), which left me with an incredible amount of free time.

It was quite the fun time. My friends Siva, Zack (left and middle in the picture) and myself had a great time just joking around after we all ended up out of the tournament. It was nice to hang out with them for one last time at a tournament.

After that, my summer really went downhill from there. I worked constantly at my job (I'm a sales associate at OfficeMax in Watertown), but that was fun. The people I work with are pretty much the most fun people ever. Despite that, summer still dragged on until August when I was getting excited to move to college, although I was also a bit nervous.

August 26th came, I moved in, and college life had started.

Until next time...