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!