Ouch. These past two weeks, have hurt. My arms have felt like jelly, my legs felt like they wouldn’t be able to move, my head was about to explode and my eyes have been unable to keep themselves up but I’ll tell you that story a bit later.
Let’s see, since September 10th, I’ve been club surfing, working really hard and having fun! I’ve learned to seize every opportunity I can to get free food, because at the end of the week, if meal plans are left over, I can stock up my fridge, so I don’t have to wake up early to get breakfast in the morning. Life has definitely fallen into a good routine. Last weekend was the Honors Picnic and it was a lot of fun! We all just hung out and got to meet the others Honors kids. I definitely want to be an active member of the Honors Student Association. Their goals are to balance scholarship with service and social. They’re organizing different tours of airplane manufacturing facilities and planning a trip to Universal, see? A balance of everything interesting. Oh yeah, and I want an officer position later because that’s what I like to do.
Now, back to the ouch. College is all about knowing your limits, whether it’s socially or academically. Let me just say, I should’ve known better when I showed up to my first Kickboxing class with my makeup done, while I complained about how the recent rain has been ruining my hair. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Embry-Riddle has about a million different clubs you can join, a million! For possibly anything and everything you could ever want to do. I wanted to kick box! We used to use Billy Blanks’ Tae-Bo videos in high school and they were so much fun, I guess I hadn’t realized that kickboxing, unlike those Tae-Bo video’s, actually consisted of physical contact and one heck of a workout. My first day and my last day of Kickboxing with Riddle’s premier Kickboxing team was on Monday the 17th and it was intense! We had to kick 200 times (100 of which I wimped out of) for each leg into this really hard cushion and also hold while our partner kicked. Hence, my arms and legs both wobbled the next day. I just wanted to do a cheesy video and be done with it; it was excessively competitive for me. There were marines and really buff guys and I almost considered sticking with it, just to get in shape, but then I realized that the reality is that I’ll never be able to flip over 150 pound person in my life, so I might as well find something else more my style.
That night, I went to my first Task Force One meeting. Task Force One is like the Freshman Government Council, so freshmen get more accustomed to the school. It’s almost completely run by freshmen. I wanted to be an officer really badly, because I like doing that kind of stuff, but I wasn’t informed of the first two meetings, so I missed them, thus not letting me run for an officer’s position. It’s okay for now though, I really want to be a part of the Student Government Association (SGA) it’s exclusive and you get a lot of responsibility when you’re a part of them, but you can’t be until I think spring semester. One of the speakers at graduation, Nate Clapper, the president of SGA is like my idol right now. His speech during convocation was so down to earth and boy would I love to steal his spot one day. FYI, something you definitely don’t want to miss is the free, that’s right, free, espresso in the SGA; it’s awesome. I get a few cups every day, because I love my cappuccinos that much and every now and then, I throw a couple bucks into the donation box. Yep =] There’s always so many things going on, on campus that it’s really hard to keep everything straight. There’s a heart walk scheduled for the end of September which supposedly 1000 kids show up! That should be a lot of fun.
We’ve started having tests and it’s only the third week of school! College is faster paced than high school ever was for me. There’s always a project to complete, always a paper to start and always math problems up to your neck. I love being here and all, but seeing my family and friends back home, would definitely perk up my spirits. You quickly learn that your hall mates, especially you roommate, will become your family away from home. When you don’t get how to do your math problem, you can’t ask your sister any more or when you accidentally get punched in the face during kick boxing, mom can’t give you something to make the swelling go away. A plane ticket back home to Jersey, if booked way in advance is about $200, so if I ever do get incredibly homesick, I’m always welcome home for the weekend.
The weekends here for me, are filled with watching movies, doing my nails, and chillin with the people around me. Last weekend I dyed my hair for the first time! Mom never let me dye it when I was in Jersey, but when I asked her, she didn’t care. I’ve attached a picture =] Us Wood 5 kids are a pretty crazy, we started a uh, type of club that I can’t mention, cuz it’s a secret. Basically, we like cookies and pies, a lot. The picture on my door of the last supper, isn’t the last supper, it’s pie, cuz we like pie. There is a building here on campus, Spruance Hall which used to be the administration building and they’re breaking it down this week. I attached a few pics of that too. The best thing to happen these past two weeks is me getting my laptop! It’s PINK!!! I was so excited.. I got a matching mouse and bag too =]
As an ending note, don’t expect the Florida weather to be gorgeous every day. Just so you know, there’s a phenomenon called the “four o’clock rain” and you can practically set your watch to that timed rain.
Don’t forget to either post on the message board or email me at shankars@erau.edu if you have questions about anything!
Later guys!
