FINALS

When did I eat last? Have I showered at all this week? Do I have time to take a nap tonight or should I pull another all nighter studying?

These are just a few of the questions running through every college kids head during the dreaded “Finals Week.” As a college student trying to cram everything in this last week I can attest to any of the above questions. With two group projects, four papers, and an individual project all due within the next week and five exams to follow it can get a little overwhelming to think about.

The home stretch of the school year is one that everyone looks forward to. For the seniors they get to move on to a new step in life, for everyone else it is one step closer to finishing their degree. For Juniors, you made it to the final leg of college – Senior year. For Sophomores, you’re half way done! And for Freshman, you finished your first year of college; you probably faced some major difficulties and some crazy changes, but you made it.

It’s important to know how to handle everything going on at the same time. This blog post gives a good list on how to stay on top of things, even though it’s related to one class I found it helpful to consider it for all the classes especially during the stressful time of finals.

Although this time is full of lack of food, sleep, and cleanliness; it is also full of a lot of success and an ending to another wonderful semester. So no matter what went on throughout the semester, it’s coming to an end, so enjoy the time you have left. Along with some studying. Oh and perhaps after reading this go take that shower you need and then get some food because we all know you need it.

Just your average college kid

As a college student there are few things you learn as you go through your semesters.

1. Sleep isn’t entirely necessary some nights the homework out weighs the sleep
2. Chaco’s become the shoe of choice too cold for sandals throw some socks on.
3. Trader Joe’s cookie butter is a must try food item.

How these may seem completely random but, as college kids we all know that sleep is not something that comes easily. Either we get the amount of sleep we need and don’t finish that one homework assignment. Or we finish the homework assignment and don’t get enough sleep. Either way it’s kind of just a lose-lose situation. If we’re lucky once we’ve gotten through the several years of classes we’ll eventually get back to a somewhat healthy sleep schedule.

Now Chaco’s the sandal every college kid raves about. These strappy sandals are extremely comfortable and work well for every weather type. Snowing? Throw on some socks with Chaco’s and you’re good to go. Raining? Just throw on the Chaco’s, which are waterproof, and you’re good to go. Sunny? Perfect weather for Chaco’s! You can even go for a hike or something with them. #Chaconation

Trader Joe’s is an all natural food store. As a college student sometimes the healthy food doesn’t always sound the best, but Trader Joe’s is a must try! It can be a bit pricier because it is all natural, but it is completely worth it. The cookie butter is an unbelievable spread just like peanut butter except 100x better. The fruit either dried or whole is also amazing. And the frozen burritos? Basically to die for. Maybe you don’t believe me, but try it out and decide for yourself.

College is already stressful enough, so why not throw a little adventure in there. Try something new. Who knows maybe that one new thing will become your favorite thing. It’s worth a shot, at least for some fun if nothing else.

That One Class

The class that seems pointless to even show up because you don’t learn anything anyway. Or perhaps the class that seems like you have a new assignment due every day, a test every week, a paper every other week, and reading every night. Or even the class that you show up take notes, have a couple small assignments throughout the semester, and two tests. Whatever class comes to your head when one mentions that one class, is the one class that you wish wasn’t in your schedule.

As a college student we all have multiple classes, perhaps a job or maybe two, if you’re at a christian college like me you have required chapels to attend every week, along with the daily habits of eating, sleeping, and if you’re lucky maybe a spare minute to socialize with the few people you call friends.

Socializing is one of the biggest things I have struggled with since starting college. As a commuter this semester it got even harder because I couldn’t just walk into the lounge and find a million people waiting to interact. With all the homework and classes and work it has become extremely hard to find time for friends.

Five simple things that help me are

1. Skype is your best friend.
2. Get ahead.
3. Leave space for fun.
4. Plan ahead.
5. Don’t forget to sleep.

Although these seem like duh things they really are some of the most important things to actually surviving in college while building up your friendships.

It’s hard enough to get two people available at the same time let alone three or four people. So planning ahead really comes in handy for that factor along with skypeing in one friend if they can’t actually be there. For me my two best friends and I have to usually go two or three weeks out in order to actually find a day and time that works for the three of us to get together.

College gets over whelming, so don’t let that one class get in the way of your friendships because trust me that class will be over with sooner or later, but your friends are gonna be around much much longer.

 

SPRING BREAK

 

As college students spring break is one of the only things that keeps us going. Our main life line for the spring semester is that one week we get to escape the reality of college life. Some students get caught up on sleep. Others go on crazy vacations that seem way out of budget for an actual broke college kid. Still others are surrounded by piles of textbooks and study materials for all the exams the have upon returning to school. Whatever it is people do over spring break it’s still the one week of the semester that is all ours.

As someone that enjoys snowboarding and lives in Michigan it can be difficult to enjoy the small slopes nearby. So while other typical college students traveled to Mexico, Florida, or somewhere hot, my family decided Colorado was the place to go.

Destination of choice Granby Ranch. A very small ski resort in Granby, Colorado. There were only two lifts that went to the top of the mountain. Compared to some of the other places in Colorado Granby is fairly small. Although the mountain is small there are many different activities that are offered including golfing, hiking, fishing, and even a great wedding venue. It was a great little place for the family to spend some quality time together over break.

About 15-20 minutes away from Granby is a much nicer place Winter Park. There was a bunch of powdered snow making the snowboarding perfect. The mountain was so much bigger with many more trials. With many more lifts and a much higher elevation it made for a beautiful adventure for the day.

The week was full of snow covered mountains, a little too much family time, but a whole lot of fun. To the college kids that spend the week in the sun hopefully you enjoyed it. To the ones that spent it in bed hopefully you finished that season on Netflix. To the ones that studied the whole time hopefully you pass that stupid test. Next year we get to do it all over again. So until then… class.

 

 

 

 

 

Life of a Bowler

As the bowling season wraps up it only seemed fitting to connect that into my writing. The PBA is currently running live showings of the professional tournaments. The season has been going on since about January. The full schedule is available at the PBAs official website.

Danielle McEwan was the female winner of the most recent tournament that was located in Las Vegas this past weekend. McEwan is represented by the bowling brand Storm and she made them proud this past weekend. She is an amazing role model especially for myself being a female bowler.

McEwan won the tournament with a 203. Her component left a horrible split in the 10th frame costing the win. McEwan stated “I didn’t think that strike would be enough.” McEwan was bowling against one of her friends Liz Johnson. And as a bowler myself it is always more difficult to be going against one of your close friends; McEwan stated “It’s hard to watch that happen on the bench to someone who’s such a good friend and someone I look up to, but sometimes bowling works that way.” It really is difficult to watch someone who does do well leave such horrible splits. It almost doesn’t seem fair that you’ve won.

A short video of McEwan’s typical training routine is in the link. It is interesting to see how similar yet different her routine is compared to our normal practice at Cornerstone. Over all many of the things she does are all things that any average bowler would do. It is inspiring to see how similar yet incredible she is to myself as a bowler.

McEwan is a true role model for any bowler. She has done amazing work with her time in the PWBA, and will continue to compete to the best of her abilities.

As a college athlete it can be hard to think of the possibility of becoming professional one day, but McEwan makes me want to strive for that. It’s important to find the balance for it all otherwise it could all fall to pieces. So for now I’ll keep bowling and perhaps eventually people will be watching me on ESPN winning the World Tour Finals.

 

CU Plague

Over the last week students have been dropping like flies here at Cornerstone. As a commuter I was hoping to avoid the flu bug that has been going around since I’m away from campus more often than most others. Lucky for me, my entire family got the same exact bug. So now here I am, coughing up a lung with a nose as red as Rudolph and hopped up on NyQuil.

As a sick college kid a list of health tips could be helpful so clicking the link will bring you to a nice article from the Huffington Post on seven of the best health tips especially for college kids that I can even think of. The only one I would add, call your mom, if she’s anything like mine you’ll feel better just from the phone call.

The best part about being a sick college student is that you still have everything else on top of trying to get better. Your classes and assignments are not going to be put on hold just because you can’t breathe without coughing. Work will still expect you to show up and smile at the customers. And practices can’t be cancelled for the one person who is sick. As a college student the amount of things on our plates is already heavy enough adding illness to that seems unrealistic. I’m here to say if I can handle is so can any of you.

If I’m lucky hopefully I’ll feel better within the next month. Until then I’ll try to continue showing up to class and barely passing assignments.

 

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is a day for chocolates, flowers, and giant teddy bears. It’s a wonderful day that brings about a sense of love. The couples are being cute and lovey dovey while the single person gets to sit there and be reminded how great single life truly is.

The single person doesn’t have to waste money on flowers that will die, chocolates that will be eaten too fast, or a teddy bear that will end up in a donation pile. Instead they can enjoy a nice quiet evening at home not spending the big bucks on a dinner for two and get the half off chocolate tomorrow.

For those in relationships I get the roses are nice. I’m hoping not to kill mine by Thursday. Also the chocolates are pretty decent. And that expensive Valentine’s dinner was probably the best meal any college kid has had in a long time, especially if they typically eat at Cornerstone.

All in all Valentine’s day is alright, but in my opinion I’ll just wait for cheap chocolate day tomorrow.

Surprise Assignment

As a typical college student sometimes life gets a bit busy. Between all the classes and work, not even considering practicing for sports, some things can get missed. For example homework assignments. In my case a reflective summary on a video that is about an hour and a half.

So after being in classes for several hours of the day, working for a couple of hours in between classes, and then having bowling practice for a couple hours at night just to return home around ten at night to realize you have an assignment is not always super exciting. But hey, that’s what college is all about right? Waiting until the absolute last second to do anything?

Surprisingly after doing this a couple thousand times you would think someone would learn, but no here I am. Another slightly less surprising fact, after doing this a couple thousand times you slowly figure out how to get by with the last-minute assignments.

Heres to a crazy busy schedule. One of the best parts it’s only the fourth week of the semester. That means it only gets better from here. So to any other college student out there in the same boat, don’t worry, you aren’t the only one. With that an hour long video awaits.