Blog Entry #19

    It is really so easy to forget what you have. Although I am only in my second semester here at FSU, I sometimes forget what a dream I am living. I can remember watching the Noles play when I was a freshman in high school, and even earlier than that. It seemed then like such a far-fetched dream to think that one day I could attend The Florida State University. But believe it or not, here I am, living in Tallahassee and attending FSU. Sometimes I find myself over-worked and exhausted and I grow jaded to how blessed I am. It's at those moments that I force myself to "snap out of it" and look around. Especially recently, with the beautiful change of season occurring around us, leaves changing colors, temperatures dropping, and Christmas nearing, I am reminded to not forget that "new" feeling that had me so excited and anxious at the same time six months ago.

     I hope to never reach the point of taking this school and this opportunity for granted. I hope to still hold on to a bit of that spark of excitement and that surge of adrenaline even as a senior in a few years. I want to hold onto the impression that was set upon me by these buildings my first day of class freshman year, all the way until the end. In advance, thank you FSU!
  

Blog Entry #18

     An emotional roller coaster hardly begins to describe my experience Saturday afternoon. My disappointment in the game between Florida and Florida State this weekend was great and continuous. Perhaps what made the matter worse was the fact that it was a home game. For the rest of the weekend, I was forced to see these hideous out-of-towners dawning the ugliest colors known to man. They were in grocery stores, clubs, bars, restaurants, and even when i went to church. It took a lot of Christ-like thinking to keep myself from being disgusted at the mere sight of them in church. I mean, honestly, how were they bursting into flames?

     The build-up of this annual season rivalry game only adds fuel to the already-blazing fire that is this competition. And to worsen the blow, Mark Stoops now leaves Florida State University to be the head coach at Kentucky. As my first football season at FSU comes to an end, I am almost grateful. I'm really not sure what else I can take this season. I  have enough stress from school and work and I refuse to have "that team down south" keeping me awake at night.

     Here's to a successful ACC Championship game on Saturday and a clean slate and new chance at things next year. No matter what happens, I still love them and always will.
GO NOLES!  >>--FSU--->

Blog Entry #17

     It is officially the ending of my first full semester here at FSU. And along with that, of course, comes finals week. It begins December 10th and concludes the 14th and I am slightly terrified. I really do not have any idea what to expect from this week, as I have heard horror stories in the past. Although I only have two final exams out of my four classes I am currently enrolled in, both are entirely cumulative. I am particularly afraid of this aspect because, for some reason, I cannot seem to remember back to the beginning of this semester.

     I really do not know how I got through grade school and high school, having full-year classes: one course, one schedule, one teacher. This is now only half that amount of time, yet it feels like double or triple. Hopefully I will be able to multi-task and use every ounce of brain power in me to cram all bits of information from this semester into my head. I hope to have all A's this semester too, that is, if I can make it though finals week! 

Blog Entry #16

     Although I find the New England Patriots rather obnoxious and exaggerated, especially their big-headed quarterback Tom Brady, I found myself rooting for them during the Jets vs. Patriots game on Thursday. The game, played in New Jersey at 8:20pm, began as a mere echo in the background of the hustling and bustling kitchen scene that was my house back home that night.

     All eighteen of our guests had sufficiently stuffed their faces hours earlier and the tryptophan from the twenty-five-pound stuffed turkey was beginning to set in big time. As we cleaned the kitchen, cleared the table, and wrapped up leftovers, I heard my least-favorite last name in football: Tebow. Now fully alert (with annoyance), I realized the Jets were about to play the Patriots and I quickly hustled to finish my part in the clean-up process.

     The only female in the living room, now accompanied by my brother, step-brother, step-father, grandfather, and uncle, I watched as the Patriots destroyed the New York Jets and I could not have been more happy. As the game concluded with a 49-19 score, we served pies and dessert and finished off the holiday in the most perfect way, watching Tim Tebow walk off his home field, holding back the tears. It was a GREAT Thanksgiving! :)

Blog Entry #15

     One of my fondest holiday memories, specifically Thanksgiving holidays, was a few years back. I was still in high school and was spending the holiday with my family. My aunt, who works for the local fire department, played a large part in a community food drive that prepared hot Thanksgiving meals to the underprivileged in our community. Dubbed The Big Heart Brigade, I had personally seen this program grow every year, reaching and helping more and more people every Thanksgiving. This effort, founded by the father of my aunt's boss, a local fire fighter, was started in 1992 in an effort to reach out to the citizens of Palm Beach and surrounding counties who would not otherwise have a hot Thanksgiving meal that so many of us enjoy.

 

      My memory consists of the visual of hundreds of selfless volunteers gathered along seemingly-endless rows of snap-up tables. These people were busy dishing out cranberry sauce, scooping stuffing, and pulling turkey to put into thousands of Styrofoam boxes. As my mom and brother and sister and I put on hair nets, plastic gloves, and got down to work, I couldn't help but feel so good for what we were doing. I knew that I had been pushed by my mom to work the event, as it was something she wanted to do as a family during the holiday season. But, after leaving there that day, I really saw how important it is to help others who are not as blessed as we are and what a difference a couple pair of hands can make. Every year since, my family and I have volunteered for The Big Heart Brigade in an effort to continue the work of good acts in my home community. 

Blog Entry #14

     I believe strongly that gender roles and stereotypes in athletics and sports are important. I think that certain sports like football, golf, soccer, rugby, hockey, and lacrosse should be played only by men while swimming, gymnastics, softball, cheerleading, and tennis should be reserved for women. The mixing of these two groups complicates the world of sports and causes confusion as to who should be playing who. I think rougher, more aggresssive sports should be left to men and women shouldn't really play contact sports, because it is well-know that women are feeble and fragile and more likely to get hurt.
    
     In addition, I think that in the world of sports, there should be a don't-ask, don't-tell attitude. Athletes that are homosexual, bisexual, asexual, or transsexual should keep this fact to themselves and not let it interfere with the game iin which they play. For example, men who do participate in gymnastics are most-likely homosexual and therefore are stereotyped that way-but they do it to themselves! If they didn't want to be looked at in that light, they shouldn't be wearing those rediculous outfits! Likewise, female softball players are also stereotyped as being homosexual, but maybe it is because they are playing a sport that is framed off of a man's sport..??? They are often very fit, get dirty, run, sweat, and bleed during the game- that is NOT ladylike and women don't belong getting dirty like that. In my opinion, they are perfectly fine swimming skantily in a pool, dancing around in tight gymnastics outfits, or cheering on tough men with pom-poms in little skirts, but NOT on a field, in a stadium, or on a court. And God-forbid they break a sweat..

Blog Entry #13

     I have not been following anything significantly controversial in the world of sports lately. However, I have been following the amazing season of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. Up until last weekend, the Falcons had a picture perfect season, reining in at 8-0 before being beaten by the New Orleans Saints last Sunday. After being handed their first loss of the season by the Saints, Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons have been "brought back to Earth". However, most agree that Atlanta remains the best team in the NFL. The Saints, who have won 11 of the past 13 meetings, welcomed the victory on their home field in Baton Rouge on November11th. The then-3 and 5 Saints pulled out a 31-27 win over the Falcons and managed to be victors in each quarter of the game.

     This team has flourished this season under the leadership of Head Coach Mike Smith. With 9 games under their belt and 7 games left, including another fight against the New Orleans Saints, the Falcons still have a long road ahead of them. I think that Atlanta can remain the NFL's leading team if they continue to stay focused and play a smart game. Matt Ryan is ranked fourth in the NFL in touchdowns with 20 this season. With their heads in the game and not getting their "feathers ruffled," I still believe these birds can make it to the Superbowl. I have faith in this team's perseverance and attention to detail. They need to play with a strong, smart defense and an accurate offense, though. If they get the equation right, they can land their spot in the big game in February.