Yesterday was BIO Orientation at ETSU. During this orientation, many of the incoming UHS Students got to visit the Honors House for the first time. We, the current UHS Freshmen, got to meet them, play some icebreakers, and then pair up with them to help them get registered for their classes next semester. I was paired with Haley Helton, a math major from Chattanooga, which is about 30 minutes from my hometown. I was able to get her registered and then she and I started getting to know each other. We have a lot in common - a love of mathematics, a desire to be involved on campus, and we grew up in the same area. I hope she is my little next semester, but regardless, I made friend whom I can help as she navigates her way through ETSU and the Math Department.
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Yesterday, ETSU Marching Bucs hosted colorguard auditions for the 2018 season. There were 30 people in attendance, plus the Colorguard Coordinator, Tom Massengil, and ETSU Band Director, Dr. Moore. I auditioned to be a returning member, and had a lot of fun. We reviewed basic spins and tosses and some of our pregame routines, which we also put into motion down the turf. I am really excited for this upcoming season!
I have logged over 20 hours at the gym this semester, completing my hours requirements and getting in shape so that I can run a race this summer. I had a lot of fun, saw some great results, and feel much better about my appearance. Attached is my hours log for the semester.
Yesterday I went to the Math Banquet at the Centre at Millennium Park. This was such a cool event and a great opportunity for math majors to get together, have a nice dinner together, and listen to some fascinating math talks. The banquet speaker was Jessie Deering Jamieson, whom I also got to meet and have lunch with at the Honors House on Tuesday. This banquet reminded me of the math-related events that I participated in at Lee University when I was in high school. I look forward to attending more math events with ETSU as I progress in the program. The awards that were presented provided me with knowledge of the opportunities that I can look forward to in the future.
Spring break is over, but that means half of the semester is over as well! I have come a long way in my endeavor to get fit and run a race this semester. I feel like now is the time to post my first activity log. I have kept track of my workouts and progress, logging nearly 10 hours so far at the gym. I have attached it, but it doesn't include any warmups, floor work, or colorguard practice.
CIPA, Connecting Individuals through Performance Arts, is an organization that holds competitions for groups in the arts, including indoor percussions and wind ensembles and indoor winterguards. Yesterday, CIPA held a competition at Freedom Hall and was in need of volunteers to pull it off. I volunteered from 11-6 as a judge tape runner. I got to see some amazing performances by really talented young adults and played a role in getting the scores from the judges to the CIPA staff. I also worked at the recruiting table for the ETSU Marching Bucs with my instructor and some of the others in the ETSU colorguard. It was a wonderful day, and I am looking forward to going to another CIPA event in the future.
This semester, partly for Collo and partly for myself, I am working on a personal project. I recently discovered that I enjoy running, and it is a great stress reliever for me. By running, I can get back into shape (the freshman 15 is real!) and de-stress. By making time to go to the gym, I am allowing myself to take a break from my studies and literally run away from my stress. At the end of the semester, I plan to run a race here in JC before I head home for the summer. I am currently looking into race options and will update you when I have registered for one.
I have been working on my speed and endurance for a few weeks now, and I thought it appropriate to share an update as well. I have run a total of 10 miles this week, with my best run being a 5K in 25 minutes. I even managed to convince myself to go to the gym when it was raining! I have been logging my workouts, and will upload my log in a few weeks. In addition to running, I have been going to Zumba with some of my friends twice a week. This has been a great social time for me, in addition to boosting my cardio workout time. I have logged these workouts on my log as well. More to come! Until then, I will keep working towards a new me! In order for me to feel like I have lived a good life, I will want to be looking back on my experiences and feel like they were happy, successful, or useful. To consider my life happy, I want to be surrounded by the people that I love in a place that has all my comforts of home. To consider my life successful, I want to have a good career that involves my passions – mathematics and colorguard. To consider my life useful, I want to be able to leave something behind for the next generation – whether that be values in my children, values or passions in those that I teach, or the notion of success surrounding my name because I’ve made some huge discovery in my field (NOT going to happen, but worth dreaming about).
Speaking of dreams, my good life will not be complete without aspirations. My life will most likely end up being a series of goals that I intend to accomplish. Some of these goals include meeting or exceeding “checkpoints” down the road. Six years from now, I hope to be finishing up my Master’s degree in mathematics, married, and instructing colorguard at a high school in the area. During this time, I will either be looking for a teaching or industrial job in my field, or I will be planning my path to enter a doctoral program. Ten years from now, I will either be finishing up my PhD or I will be settled into my career, along with continuing my colorguard position. I hope to be about five years into a happy marriage with young children or planning to have some soon. These ideals are what I envision as a part of my good life. In order to reach these goals, I will need to have specific stepping stones and methods for making my dreams come true. For starters, I have a long educational career ahead of me. This is not going to be easy, but it will be worth it. In order to ensure that I perform my best, I need to set aside ten or fifteen minutes a day as a part of my schedule to relax or do yoga or de-stress. Because I am planning on having an art and science career one day, I need to make sure that I am spending time preparing myself for both fields. My classes should prepare me for the math, but I will need to make sure that I am brushing up on my dance and colorguard skills at least twice a week, especially outside of marching band season. My life will hopefully be long and busy, but to be healthy and happy in this hectic life, I need to take care of my health. College and growing up include some awkward transitions, but I shouldn’t let a healthy lifestyle take the backburner. Despite the crazy, I need to eat healthy meals and get enough sleep. These habits take time to create, but starting now will pay off in the long run. Over the weekend, I spent a total of 10 hours working in my neighborhood decorating for Christmas in the homes of the elderly who are unable to do this alone. I was able to put up trees, clean their homes, and hang wreaths and stockings. This was such a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time with people and help them prepare their homes for hosting their family and friends this holiday season. Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and my Christmas season kicks off as soon as I put up my decorations. But for some of my neighbors, this is a tremendous, and somewhat dangerous, feat. It was such a privilege to be able to spend my weekend helping people prepare their homes for the season.
Happy Halloween! What better way to spend the night than at a concert? Tonight was the annual Music Department Halloween concert featuring pianists and vocalists as they battle for the best musical technique. Students presented beautiful masterpieces which was accompanied by competitive humor and Halloween costumes. The concert was very enjoyable, and I have rekindled my appreciation for the Music Department and how passionate students can be about their art form.
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