UWEC Wrestling Match

      On Thursday, December 4th, I attended a UWEC wrestling match. It started at 7 so my friends and I got there at about 6:55. This was my first wrestling meet I have ever gone too so I really did not know what to expect. One of my close friends I met here at college is on the wrestling team. In high school, he won the state championship for his weight class. He also placed second in state his senior year. First the lighter weight class went. One of my other friends that was sitting with me in the stands was trying to explain the rules and point systems to me. When my friend started wrestling we all in the stands cheered for him as loud as we could. At one point he literally flipped is opponent over himself and slammed him to the floor. The crowd literally went wild. Although he made a great effort, his competition won by a small margin. Overall this was a good experience and I do not regret going.

Thanksgiving Week

      My Thanksgiving week was very enjoyable. It was nice to see some of my relatives that I have not for awhile. Also a break from school was a must! I got home Tuesday night. Wednesday was really the only day My family and I had no plans. On Thanksgiving day, we had lunch at our house. The turkey was fantastic. 14 people total, were there for lunch. At about four, my girlfriend and I headed to her aunts house for Thanksgiving dinner. This was another great meal. That night target opened at 6 for black Friday. My girlfriend and I waited in line so she could get a camera. She was very happy and it was a god way to end our Thanksgiving day.
      Friday we went to my aunts house for dinner. This was probably my favorite night because we played some very fun but intense games. Minute to win it was the theme so we played a series of games that resembled the actual show. My favorite was the toilet paper toss. The objective was to throw as many toilet paper rolls as you can into a bucket in one minute. The bucket was very small so the difficulty levels was set to hard. The record was four toilet paper rolls in one minute set by my uncle. The family activities rolled into Saturday. We went to church and then all went to my brothers house. This was a good way to end my weekend.

Turkey Time

      I am more than excited to head home for Thanksgiving! It is going to be very hard to focus during my classes this week. Going home and being with my family will always be on my mind. Getting away from school for a while and focusing on food instead of homework will be very relaxing.
      In past years my family always traveled to Wisconsin Rapids for Thanksgiving. That is where my grandparents live and where my parents grew up. Now, since most of my relatives moved closer to the twin cities, we have our Thanksgiving celebration at my house. The food is always amazing. Mash potatoes and turkey are always good but my favorite part is dessert. My aunt makes this delicious Oreo cookie dessert that I always indulge in. But most of all, I am just excited to see my relatives over the weekend.

Connections with High School

      Although college and high school are very different, I still notice some connections between the classes here at UWEC and in my high school classes. I remember my 9th grade geography class as a fun but interesting class. I have always loved studying the world and it places. during this class I remember talking about manifest destiny. This term got brought up in my american studies class as well. Manifest destiny was a term to describe Americans moving west to acquire new land. This term has recently been brought up in geography class. As I continue my education here at UWEC I realized that many of the skills I learned in high school apply to college studies as well. these skills include some writing techniques, study techniques, and comprehensive reading strategies. In college I am starting to notice that my skills need to exceed what was needed for high school classes.    

Bad roads

      The bad news about getting snow is the roads start getting slippery. Going around turns I noticed my back end sliding. I hate how the winter roads make your commutes longer,
      About a year ago, my girlfriend was driving home from my house after a snow storm. She took her normal route home when suddenly hit a patch of black ice. Her car went off the road and she rolled about three times into the ditch. I was at work when I found out so I was totally freaking out. luckily she escaped the accident with only a bruise on her arm.
      Before this I was very reckless on the roads. Now I am more careful when I drive, even if it takes longer to get where I want. I am thankful my girlfriend did not get hurt.

Snow is in the forecast!

      Last winter was one of the best winters for snow in my life. The amount of days I had off from snow days was amazing! I had more snow days my senior year of high school than all my other years in school combined. Two of the snow days, one of my friends and I went skiing. Skiing in knee deep snow does not happen to much around here.
      Hearing about snow in the forecast makes me really excited. The only time I can handle the cold is when there is snow involved. I was home this weekend so I brought my winter coat and boots for walking to class. I am hoping for some of my classes to get canceled but I herd that UWEC never cancels. Fingers crossed for a good snow storm!

Bob Harris Forum

      On Tuesday, November 4th, I attended the Bob Harris forum. Going into this event I thought it was going to be very boring. I did not know what to expect at all. Right away I was surprised and Mr. Harris caught my attention. A job that you travel around to the best and most luxurious places in the world fascinated me. I am a picture person and the pictures he showed in his presentation were outstanding.  His traveling destinations showed how amazing this world is. The purpose of his speech was to inform the audience of how similar the world's people are. The first characteristic that he found that was true from everyone was love. This presentation taught me that you should not judge a book by its cover in terms of people.

Hardest Changes From College

      There are many changes that took some getting use to in college. First of all just being away from home was a hard change. Not having a nice big bed and my own bathroom was hard to adjust to. second, not seeing all my friends from high school has been hard. My school was not the biggest back home so I was so close to many great people.
      Being away from people I love has taken a toll on me. My family and I have always been close. We do so many fun things with each other. Leaving my brothers was hard because they are basically my best friends. Finally, not being able to see my girlfriend everyday is painful. During school and summer we saw each other each and every day. Knowing the difficulties, I know that being here at UWEC is the right choice for my future.

Time management D2L module

      The time management D2L module was very helpful. For the first half of the semester, I frequently made excuses to not study and do homework. This was hurting my grades and a change needed to happen. The module taught me that I should be studying 2 - 2 hours each week per credit. So this means for a 3 credit class I should be studying at least 6 hours a week. The module also had very helpful tips on other time management aspects.  For example; planners are a great tool to keep a organized daily schedule. It also said to find a tool that works and fits your own personality. And that is what I am going to do the second half of the semester. Work hard to manage my time and studying!

Excited for winter break!

      First of all the best part of winter break is no school. A hole month of relaxing and not worrying about homework is needed. During winter break I am planning on going on a ski vacation. My brothers and I are big skiers and try to get out west once a year. About two years ago we went to Jackson Hole Wyoming. The skiing was great and the experience was even better. We usually drive out to the mountains and plan on doing it again this winter. I do not know the final destination that we intend to go to because we usually just drive to where ever fresh snow is. I know its a little early to talk about winter break but I am super excited!

Weekend at home

      This weekend I had the chance to go home. Friday at about 2:30 I left Eau Claire and headed to my home town of Blaine Minnesota. It is about one hour and a half to home so not a terrible drive. That night I had dinner with my family and some other relatives. It was nice to see everybody. I also got to see my girlfriend which is always nice. Saturday morning I got up early and played golf at the course I grew up at. This brought back some very good memories. The rest of the weekend I kinda just chilled and did homework.
      I got back to school at about 10.pm. Sunday night. Most of my homework was done so I finished up a few things and got myself ready for the school week.

Next Year Housing

      Next year at Eau Claire, six other friends and I found a house to stay in. We knew that if we looked early we would find a better house. The house we chose is split into two parts. Each part has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Seven people are staying so one room will have two people in it. The location of this house is about 0.9 miles away from campus. All of us agreed that this was a reasonable distance away from school.
      Although this change is exciting, it will also come with some difficulties. First of all the food problem. I will be providing for myself and not just eating at the caf. Second the whole cleaning thing. The bathrooms and the kitchen will both be a pain. The good news is, we will have more freedom than ever before. I am excited to continue the college life here at UWEC next year!

More Connections

      I have notice many connections between my geography class and economics class. Many of the vocabulary words in each class are similar or the same. One example is gross domestic product (GDP). About a month ago, my economics professor assigned a project. We were told told to find national GDP and graph it. Just recently in geography we were assigned to look at the GDP certain countries. We were also told to make maps showing top exports for each country. Both of these classes are similar because when I learn something in one class it can relate to the other.

Sick of caf food

      This weekend I did not eat at the caf once! So instead for just about every meal I went out. Taco bell, taco johns, fazoli's, and culver's was where I was eating. It was nice to eat some different food but it also put a hit on my bank account. So knowing now the pros and cons, I think I will stick to eating at the caf!

Progress

      After a few test in each class I have noticed a gradual improvement in my work. At the beginning of college a really didn't know how to study or what to expect from my exams. In high school I really didn't have to study at all and still got mostly "As" on all my test. I quickly realized that college is totally different when it comes to test than high school was. My first exams went very poorly due to bad study habits. after I got the bad news I knew that a change was needed. for the next exam I promised myself I would be prepared. the work payed off and I see myself working harder in each class to better my future goals!

D2L online Module Desire2learn

      The second D2L module that I did was the Desire2learn module. First of all I had no idea that D2L stands for that. This module explained how to use the D2L page. I notice about half way through that this would have been a good Module to do before I started school. It explained all the difficult things that I had to figure out during my own time. For example I had trouble finding the assignments on D2L which can easily be found in the context link. I learned that all these modules are there for a reason. And would recommend incoming freshman next year to use these resources before they begin there education at UWEC.

First Geography Quiz

      Tomorrow I have my first geography quiz. So far I have had two big exams in my other classes. These test were for Math and Economics. The reason I am writing about this is because both those exams went very bad. My study habits were not good because I thought that I new all the content that was important. I was wrong!
      For this test I am going to study longer and harder. The study guide seams very helpful so my plan is to go through every question on the paper. If there is a term that I don't know I will look it up so I have a better understanding of the material.  My goal is obviously to get a "A" but I guess I would be satisfied with a "B" or higher. So my studying starts now!

Adjusting to college life. D2L module

      The adjusting to college life D2L module was very helpful to me. First of all it showed me that a lot of other college students are having the same problems as me. For example; feeling homesick and making time for school work. This module introduced me to new resources to better my education. It also motivated me to make time each day for physical activity. And exercising relieves my stress and makes me feel better. I encourage everyone to do this online module. The biggest thing I got out of it is it showed me that I am not alone!

Connections between classes

      Being in school for about a month now, I realized that you can make many connections between classes. It also helps that UWEC is a liberal arts school. This opportunity makes it easy to become a well rounded student. The biggest connection I see comes from my writing class. This class prepares you for writing papers in college. When I am writing papers for other classes I notice that I use techniques that were learned in my writing class. Another example of connections between classes comes from Geography and Economics. In Economics we talk about the factors that change our economy. In Geography we learn that the economy plays a big roll in things like food production and population growth. Making these connections shows how each class is just as important as the next.  

Back from Home

      Just got back to Eau Claire. It was good to spend some time with the family back at home. Ready to get back into my school work tomorrow!

Business Meeting

      Yesterday I attended a business meeting. During this time we learned what is expected of all the business major students. We were given course requirements for the next 4 years. On the online class planner I planned for the next 2 years here at UWEC. This meeting relieved some stress and made me feel more organized for the years ahead!

Almost Forgot

      So forgot about this blog. Trying to remember for next week. Yes I am doing this 5 minutes before class and yes this won't happen again!

college life

      One week and a half into college classes. Did not really know how to manage my time well at the beginning but finally getting the hang of things. I have enough time to do homework and have fun with friends. Looking forward to the coming weeks at UWEC.