My time at home has been enjoyable and relaxing—just what I needed! I think I have caught up on my sleep and am ready to head back to school for another great semester. The weather here has been pretty strange and unfortunately there hasn’t been any snow since the first two days I was home. Mostly, there has been rain that has turned into ice. Yesterday, the temperature reached 60 degrees and I decided to go for a run in the country. Well, it was raining a little when I started and I thought to myself “No big deal, I have run before when it was drizzling.” Turns out there was a severe thunderstorm warning and in the middle of my run it begins to pour and the winds picked up—tornado weather at the end of December, crazy! I ran a little while longer and then decided I should probably turn around and head for home; however the wind was blowing forcefully against me and I was cold and wet, so I called my mom and had her come rescue me. Next time, I plan on listening to the weather before going running!
Since I have enough college credits to be classified as a junior, the time has come for me to officially declare my Area of Concentration. In the business degree, there are three different Areas of Concentration: airline management, airport management, and general studies. Before coming to ERAU I had decided upon airport management; however, after thinking about what I want to do in the future and after talking to some people I haven’t been so sure. Now, I have decided upon general studies because I can take a mixture of airline and airport classes rather than choosing all airline or airport. So when I get back to school, I will go see my advisor (Dottie) and fill out some paperwork. A note to all future students enrolling in the business program at Daytona—the degree has changed a little and there are now two business majors and you decide which one you want to do your sophomore year. To find out more information click on this link http://www.erau.edu/db/degrees/b-bizadmin.html. If you have any questions, just send me an e-mail.
My time at home is quickly coming to an end, but I’m cramming in as much stuff as possible—shopping, baking cookies, and visiting with family and friends. I’m looking forward to my classes next semester and I have already ordered my textbooks! You can buy your books from the campus bookstore or you can order them on line to check out and see which has the better deals. After a semester, talk to other people in your major and see if you can trade books. Otherwise, check online at websites like Amazon or eBay to save some money.
Until next time,
Kaleigh
I’m finally home!!! Finally, after an entire semester, I’m back home in NYC where it’s freezing cold! It feels so good to be able to be with family and friends. It was a really short semester but we had to get a lot done within that time. I accomplished a lot over the past 6 months and got involved with a few clubs on campus and earned 27 credits so far.
When I get back I only have a few flights then my checkride! I can’t wait. But I am concerned that not flying for a few weeks will affect my performance when I get back. I am sure it will all work out, but sometimes being away on break is not completely good.
I’m back in New York. My mom moved from the Queens to Freeport Long Island. I left the wonderful warm weather in Daytona, and now I have to wear layers of clothes and a coat when I go outside. I missed the cold so much while back on campus, but now that I’m in the cold I want to go back to the warmth. 
Since I have been here it snowed, and it should be a lot of wintry weather for the next few days. It’s not too friendly with the weather in New York, but being with friends and family makes it a lot better. Most of my friends aren’t done with their semester yet, so I have to wait a while till they get back. Last week, a friend of mine from back on campus came to NYC to visit me. He lives in Rhode Island and it was his first time in the city. We had so much fun that day, it snowed and we almost froze to death!
Holy Cow! The semester is already over. It seems like I just arrived on campus, yet I have already earned 26 credits. My involvement on campus, my new friends, and my interesting courses have helped make these four months the best of my life. When I decided on Embry-Riddle at the end of last year, I was very concerned about the distance from home. However, since I arrived in August, the thought has hardly crossed my mind. I am always busy, but I have truly enjoyed every minute.
The weather the last few days in Daytona was just amazing. The day I left, it was in the mid-eighties and sunny. One day I got to go down to the beach and spend some time relaxing. Being from the Midwest, I can’t get over how beautiful the weather can be in December. When it’s that nice I walk out the door and can’t help but smile. The great weather definitely symbolized the end of a great semester. I just hope when I come back in January it will be just as nice, so it can thaw me out from the cold winter back home!
It’s the last week of the semester, and you know what that means…FINAL EXAMS! Thanksgiving break was not so much a break; it was a huge homework and study session. While most of my friends went back home for Thanksgiving dinner, I stayed here on campus. It wasn’t too bad, just a little quieter than I needed it to be. I really missed family and friends from back home, and it made completing my assignments harder than they were. I also got a chance to take advantage of flying here while everyone else is gone. That way I get to fly with fewer restrictions on time, and also have more airplanes available so I could pretty much fly whenever I wanted to. But today we all came back from the break and had to wake up early for classes…YAY. Including today, we’ve only got 4 more days of classes, Study day, then finals start on Saturday. And as we all know, the end of the semester means term papers are also due and the last assignments of the year are due. This is the make or break period of the semester, and if you slip up, that’s it. So far it’s going pretty smooth.
I am also happy to say that I may be done with my private by Christmas! I am so excited. It took a lot of work and dedication to get to where I am now. It wasn’t easy balancing flight with my academic courses, especially seeing that I doubled flight activities almost every day this semester. However, I was able to through it all and still do well. I completed my dual cross countries and am going to take my solo check ride this week so I can do all my solos all at one time. My instructor is so proud of the progress I have made so far, and I am too. It feels good to go up and fly and each day I learn new things. It’s an awesome experience.
Clubs right now are basically done. This is the last week of the semester and most clubs had their last meetings last week. There may be a few clubs that meetings this week but I doubt it. For First Gen, two weeks ago we got the chance to go to the President of the University’s house for dinner. It was an awesome experience. We got to meet a few of the board members of our school along with the president and his wife and a few of the faculty and staff at ERAU. It was a chilly night but it was worth going. TFO had a BBQ that same week and I wasn’t able to attend because I had my night cross country. From what I heard it was a huge success.
Everything here is pretty much wrapping up now and coming to a close for the semester. The biggest thing right now is getting ready for finals and FAA written and practical exams to take place in the upcoming week. Basically… campus is dead! I can’t wait to go home for Christmas so I can see my family and friends.