Face-palming Myself Because I Forgot to Post This Earlier

           So far, my experiences of being a Capstone Scholar have been pretty fun. I really enjoy it and the friends I have made here in Capstone are some of the best. Now that I am a month into school, I’d like to start getting more involved around campus and in the Capstone program. I haven’t been able to attend as many social events or conversations as I would like, but I now feel settled in enough to start figuring out how to work around this issue.

            I have always been a little scared of being a leader. It scares me how much responsibility is placed on you and how much other people depend on you. I find myself more comfortable following someone else especially if it is regarding something I am not familiar with. However, I have had past experiences with leadership. After dancing for ten years, I was very comfortable with myself in that area of my life. As I grew older and progressed as a dancer, my teachers would gradually give me more leading positions, whether it was being one of the main dancers always in the front lines or being the team captain and handling everything regarding the team at competitions.

            Now that I am in college, and very out of my comfort zone of dance, I am going to have to find a way to get comfortable here like I did in dance. This is my own personal challenge that I will always have to overcome. If I can overcome that issue, then I would have no problem taking up leadership positions. With the service learning at Hand coming up, I am a little nervous, because if I have very little confidence in myself, then what would my mentee think of me? I want them to view me as a confident and collected individual that they can count on. So now, I need to step up not only for me but for others as well. If I want to see this kind of change in others, then I need to make a change too.

And Back to Middle School I Go....

I thought that the Campus Safety presentation was pretty straight-forward and easy to understand. It was also very entertaining. Officer Adams did a very good job with his presentation and left a lasting impression. If he taught any classes at all, I would definitely go, just because he is so entertaining. Besides the fact that he was funny, I definitely am taking more precaution than ever about my personal safety and the safety of my property. I already knew this was an ongoing issue, but now I am so careful about locking my room door every time I leave and keeping track of my belongings. I am also very guarded about who goes in the Capstone doors with me at night, especially if I have no idea who they are. The presentation made the issue so much more real and immediate, and made me even more aware.

The first visit to Hand Middle School was very laid back. It was interesting to get to see the environment that I am going to be working in for the rest of the semester. For me it was a lot like being in middle school again, because I am still the same height as I was then. It’s a little disturbing. To be honest I do not know how to feel about all of it. I am not really nervous or excited. It is more like I am just accepting it for what it is. I am hoping that it will be a very fun experience, but I can’t get ahead of myself. What happens is what happens.

Two things that I hope to gain from the mentoring sessions at Hand Middle School are learning how to work with kids better and a good relationship with my mentee. I would like to think that my mentee and I will get along easily and have a great time, because that would be pretty awesome

Writing This Post and Listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers

           When I first found out that there was a service learning component to University 101, my initial thoughts were pretty calm. I thought it was cool that we get to do it, because I usually enjoy doing service projects, especially with my friends.

My last two years in high school, I participated in service projects with my church youth group. During my junior year, I went with the youth group on their HomeWorks trip. HomeWorks is basically a house repair project that the youth group takes on every year, splitting up into four to five groups to repair one local house each. My group was assigned a house fairly close to the high school I went to, so I was really familiar with the neighborhood, unlike the rest of my friends. They were nervous because the house was located on what was a considered a “gang active” street. While that was true, I had to assure them it did not pose us as a group any potential danger, because we were working in broad daylight and had no reason to draw attention from the gangs. After we got into the work of putting on a fresh coat of paint on the house, putting in new shingles, fixing the rails on the porch, and building a wheelchair ramp for one of the residents, we were no longer focused on our fears, but on the family we were helping and the feelings we got from doing it. My senior year, I decided to do a different service project with my youth group. Last year, I helped out, along with many others, with the annual food drive that the youth group hosts, and then later donates the collected items to the local Soup Kitchen.

My academic goals for this year are to keep my GPA above a 3.0. To achieve this, I have to really manage my time and make sure I do not procrastinate on doing my assignments. I did that a lot in high school and that proved to be a little stressful at times, so I decided I did not want to do the same thing now that I am in college. I want to feel more in control and less rushed for time, which I can make possible if I really step up my game and strive to meet my goals.

Insomnia With My Insomniac Floor and More!

My time at USC, so far, has been pretty great. I honestly did not expect to make friends so quickly on my floor, but I’m really glad I did. The classes were pretty much how I expected them to be, though. Some are boring and I just want to sleep straight through them. Some are pretty interesting, as in the teachers are actually engaging and I have no problem paying attention to them. Regardless, I’m going to have to sort out my sleeping schedule because while I like being social, I also have to think about my grades.

Thinking about my freshman year, I am most excited about Insomnia cookies. I’m most nervous about Freshman 15 from Insomnia cookies. As a personal goal, I would like to keep my weight down and not gain the Freshman 15 from Insomnia. For my year goals, I want to make good grades.

When I went to the Involvement Fair, I was overwhelmed by the turn-out of students. It was so crowded, but I guess that’s a good thing. At least it shows there are people interested. Or looking for freebies. I am already a member of My Carolina, but I want to join HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America). Some of my friends were involved in it last year and they said it was pretty cool, so I thought I would try it. I think it is beneficial to get involved outside of class, because it gives you opportunities to expand your circles and network with everyone. Also, it gives you something else to do besides homework. So you learn time management and responsibility by getting involved. If I could start one organization, what would it be? Well, my floor (Floor 6) already formed one! We started 6 Points, as a playoff of 5 Points.