I’m back in Daytona Beach, ready to take on yet another semester. I hope everyone had a safe and fun break and enjoyed their holidays, I know I did. The first night I got back to my hometown was a lot of fun, catching up with friends I had not seen during Thanksgiving and reuniting with the ones I did see. It felt so good to be able to sleep in most of my vacation and just take it easy, preparing for the spring semester here. I spent my holidays at my friend’s house because every year he throws a big Christmas party, once again it was a lot of fun. My family did our big dinner and gift exchange a few days after Christmas because my brothers went to their girlfriends homes so we wanted to wait until everyone was together. New Years was another memorable night for me. I went to another friend’s house and saw so many people I lost touch with since I graduated high school in ’03. After looking back on the break I wonder where it went, time flew by so quickly. I am glad to be back in Daytona Beach, though I am going to miss all my family and friends. I am not going to miss the ice cold weather. It was like paradise walking through the airport terminal in Daytona, getting my luggage, and then walking outside into the beautiful weather. I’m hoping we will have some colder days here though because I just got a whole bunch of new sweaters! But there is no way I am going to complain.

I got my final grades a few nights before Christmas and I was really satisfied. I thought I did horrible on my meteorology exam but I guess I didn’t do so bad after all, actually I think I did well on it. My current GPA is exactly where I want it to be and I am hoping to do even better next semester. Today was actually the first day of classes and do I have a terrible schedule! My day felt like it was never ending and my professors are all really big on attendance, even my 8am professor. It will keep me in check though, so I guess I have no choice but to look at the positive side of it. I am really excited to be starting my first ATC simulator lab. Our class is going to be divided into two rooms. One room is going to be the actual radar sim lab, and the other room is going to be like the pilot response room. The ATC simulator students are going to talk directly to the fake pilots and give them commands and wait until they comply. It seems like a lot of fun but in reality, this is business. This class should give me a good idea if I am cut out for ATC or not, no matter what I have done in my past. It seems like it is going to be tough but that’s how the industry is and I have no choice but to step it up from here on out. How’s that for pre-semester motivation!

I am really glad to be back here at Embry-Riddle and am looking forward to another semester full of crazy times. My fraternity partied with ‘Al Bundy’ this week at one of our brother’s houses, but unfortunately I wasn’t there and although missed out, it is a good sign that this semester will have a lot going down. We have the Daytona 500, all the smaller races, bike week, and, best of all, spring break coming up. Most of my new classes are the dry types you need to graduate with, so staying focused will be a challenge this semester, but I’m determined. Its good to be back and I will talk to all of you soon. And to all of you high school seniors who are applying to ERAU be sure to get all of your paper work in early and good luck!