Last Blog

This is my final blog for this english class. Looking back on my freshmen year here, I really had a great time. Yeah, I had quite a bit of homework to do everyday, but I managed to do alot of things that I wanted to do. Pretty much everyday, Monday through Friday, I go to the rec center and play basketball. On the weekends, I go partying. I have gone to St. Louis and other nearby towns. I didn't decide to come to SIU until about March of last year, but I sure am glad I did. I am about five hours from home, but it didn't really phase me at all. My first year in Carbondale has been a great experience for me and I am looking forward to my future years here.

Sudoku

I am not the only one who enjoys to do a sudoku every now and then. The game where you got to put a number, 1-9, in each row and column. Everyday, I go to class and see students with the Daily Egytian. Do they really get the paper to actually read it though? I know I don't. I grab a paper, look it over for a couple minutes to see if there is anything interesting to read, but then i just turn to the back and work on the sudoku throughout the class. Honestly, some classes are so boring. The only reason people go is because of the attendance factor. The notes are all online, what else could you need. So, I spend half of my class each day just doing a sudoku. It really is a great time, well, compared to actually paying attention in some of my classes.

Da Bulls

Over the weekend I watched game one of the NBA playoffs between the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics. To my surprise, the Bulls actually won. It was a great game. Derrick Rose, a rookie, made his NBA playoff debut and finished with 36 points for the game. His performance is one of the top five performances of all time for a playoff game debut. He couldn't be stopped! He was scoring at will! The Bulls and the Celtics play game 2 tonight in Boston.

Giant City

The other day I went to Giant City Park with some friends for the first time since I have been down here. We walked down some trails and went off some trails too. We climbed rocks and eventually made it to the top where we were several hundred feet off the ground. It was actually really cool. I had never really done that kind of stuff, to that extent anyways. It took us forever to find a way down though. We did not want to have to turn back to get down because we would be walking for a long time. We finally found some huge boulders that we were able to work our way down. Giant City is a great place to hang out and do whatever though.

Ready for summer!

I can tell it is the time of the semester for finals. Not only do I have those to study for, but I have several papers and group projects due before the year is up. I always get stressed at this time of the year. I cannot wait for finals to be over and to go home for the summer. Bad news about home though is that I am not going to be able to have the same job I had over the previous summer. So, I am going to have to go out and look for a job the first week I am back. All this work I have to do within the last three weeks is really starting to stress me out though. I am trying to get as much done as I can so I can enjoy my last week of freshmen year here at SIU.

Are students really ready for college?

Completing high school with good grades and getting a good score on the ACT is a good start to getting into college. But, shouldn't students be prepared mentally and socially? Some are just not mature enough yet for college. They treat everything like it's high school and mommy can make everything better. Well, students need to realize that they are on their own now. They are living with another student and need to act appropriate. We are in college now, students need to grow up. As for admittance into college, I think students should have to pass some sort of test that grades their maturity. For the ones that act the way they should, this would help eliminate immaturity and frustration.

Meals at SIU

When I first came to SIU, I expected the food to be terrible. Everyone that I talked to told me that all college food was bad. For the first couple months, I really enjoyed the food here at SIU. It could be because I expected it to be terrible, but I really do not find the food here terrible. I actually like it. The only problem is that the food here gets very repetitive. The menus are similar from week to week. I just get tired of eating the same things every week or every other week. I think that is why students spend so much extra money on fast food. They get tired of eating the same things every week.

New Facebook

What the hell is with Facebook changing how it is layed out and set up? In the past year, I have noticed that Facebook has changed two different times. Each of these times I have gotten messed up trying to find everything that I wanted to. In the end, I have gotten use to the new Facebook each time. But, why does it keep changing? These new changes just cause complaints from its users and more frustration. Its not that changes are bad, it just frustrates me when I get on Facebook and realize that things are not the same. I just want Facebook to stay the same for a while.

Final Four 2009

This years NCAA men's basketball tournament is nearing its end. I have watched more games this year than I ever have, partly because I am not in school from 8-3. I filled out my bracket and hoped for the best. My favorite team, the Connecticut Huskies, have made it to the final four along with Michigan State, North Carolina, and Villanova. I do not know what outcomes to expect from the coming games this weekend. I know I will watch each of the three remaining games. I am curious to see who will come out on top.

Spring Break

This Spring break was probably one of my more boring ones. I did not really do much of anything all spring break. My girlfriend is still in high school, so she had to go to school during the day. Most nights she had to work. My sister also had to go to school and my parents were at work. So I was by myself almost everyday. I had a few friends come over and play some basketball a couple days. One night my girlfriend and I went to Olive Garden to celebrate our 3 year. Other than that, I sat at home, watched movies and played online poker.

March Madness

The time of the year is getting close once again. The start of the men's NCAA basketball tournament is very near. This time is one of my favorite times of the year because of my love for basketball. There have been many teams that have been in the hunt for number one seeds. The major conference tournaments will be starting within the next couple weeks and the winners will win automatic bids to the big tournament. Many people will fill out their brackets at work, hoping to come out on top and win a cash prize. I plan to watch as many games as I possibly can. This time of year only comes once. This year is going to be very interesting to see who shines and who will be the NCAA champion. March Madness is already here for me!

The Following Year

This whole first year I have been taking classes that fulfill my CORE curriculum. It has been a pain in the ass. I can't wait until I finally begin to take classes for my major next year. SIU does not currently have my major, but they are supposed to get it by the spring of 2010. Sports administration. I am very excited to begin taking courses for what I hope to be the roots of my career. One day I hope to work for a professional sports team. I am not sure what exactly I want to do, but I know that I want to be involved with sports.

High School vs. College

I was always told that high school would be the best years of my life. At the time, I believed every single one of those people. But, now that I am in college, I have realized that the next four years of my life are going to be the best. For once, I am on my own, I do not have to worry about what my parents think. I can do what I want, for the most part. It is a lot more laid back than it was back in high school. The one thing that I miss from high school is being able to play sports. I wish I could have had one more year to play again. But, I suppose if I had that one more year, I would probably wish for another one after that. Coming to college, I knew nobody. I did not know how I was gonna like it, if I would have good friends or not, and if I would have fun. After these last few months though, I have realized that college really is a good thing. You start the next part of your life. You can be whoever you want to be. I am able to play basketball anytime I want now too. I just feel more relaxed at college.

Steroids

I am a huge sports fan, I always will be. If someone is making several millions of dollars, why do something stupid to jeoporidize that. If I was able to play a sport and make that much money, I would be ecstatic. I would be happy playing a sport and making a hundred thousand dollars a year. I do not understand why baseball players feel they need to CHEAT by taking steroids. They are going to get caught and this could end their career. Why would anybody risk that? I just do not get it. I do understand that they are trying to make themselves better than everyone else, but they way to do that is not through banned substances. They need to work harder, try harder, and believe more. If anyone sets their mind to something, they can do it. I do not think steroids are in any way good. I think for all sports, if someone is caught using steroids, they should be banned for life. It is cheating, and no one respects a cheater. These athletes are supposed to be role models. What kind of message do they think they are sending us by using steroids? Do they think we will think they are cooler?

Back Home

Somonauk, my hometown for the last 18 years, is a small town that no one ever hears of. Believe it or not, my high school does NOT have a football team. Yeah, they are one of the only schools in Illinois to not have one. Somonauk doesn't even have a single fast food restaurant. Although Somonauk is one of the smallest towns in Illinois, it still is a great place to grow up. Through school, you meet so many people. By people, I mean everyone. There is not one person in my high school that I didn't know when I went there. That is why I love Somonauk. A bad thing about a small town though, is that everyone knows everything about everyone. There is no such thing as secrets. If one person knows, everyone will know within a couple days. But, I wouldn't choose any other school to go to high school. I really enjoyed all the great times I had with my friends and all the accomplishments that my class accomplished.

Always Ballin

In high school, I played basketball all the time. Whether it was for the school team or just a pickup game with some friends. I didn't think I could play anymore than I did. Then I came to Carbondale. I am a person who has to be active or I will go crazy. So, usually everyday during the week, I go to the recreation center and play basketball for roughly three hours every night. I usually go during the day on saturday too. Everyone gets stressed every now and then and everyone has a way of dealing with it. Well, my way to resolve my problems is to play basketball. It's something that calms me down. This may sound crazy, but it's true. If I didn't go to the rec, I would probably be stressed very often. When I go alone, I am able to think about what my problem is and why it is bothering me. This allows me to not take out my anger on my friends or anyone for that matter. Basketball is a huge part in my life. I am always ballin.

Ice Days

For the first time in my college career, I had not one, but two ice days. From living in Northern Illinois, I was used to having a couple snow days each year. In the winter, it would always snow and it was something that I just expected to happen each year. Moving to Carbondale, I really did not think that I would even see a speck of snow. I knew the differences in weather before I came, and that was one factor that helped me choose SIU. The warmer, the better. These ice days ended up being pretty fun. I mean I got to sit around all day and do nothing. No, actually these days allowed me to catch up on some homework that I had to do. They were very useful to me. Back up north, I cannot recall on day where I had an ice day. I think this is actually my first. On Tuesday when I first stepped outside, I slipped and almost fell, but I caught my balance and safely made it to trueblood. I went back to my room and enjoyed the rest of my day.