Greetings again from beautiful Daytona Beach. My Lord, has this past week been insane. This past week was my first full week of exams. I had four exams spread out over four days: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. My first exam was not too difficult because it was on Shakespeare’s Hamlet and I have read the play about six or seven times. However, my Dynamics, Fluid Mechanics and Differential Equations/Matrices exams were much more difficult. I probably studied more hours then I can count and slept less hours then I care to think about. I don’t mean to scare anybody but I did put in a tremendous amount of work for this week. However, I feel I performed extremely well. So, a little bit of advice to all of you prospective students out there, work hard and give it all you’ve got. And just when you think you have nothing left, give a little bit more. I swear on my life, it will pay off. That’s two years of college of experience telling you how to get through exams.
Well, enough of that scary exam talk. The other half of being successful in college is enjoying the experience. The last two weeks have also been filled with good fun times that include going to class (yes I love to learn), going to work (yes I love earning money), and hanging out with all my great friends. To start out with, my classes are awesome. They may sound intimidating but you learn some crazy concepts and fundamentals that have so many real world applications. At first they are complicated, but the more you use them, the more you understand and trust me when I tell you that there is no greater feeling then when you finally fully grasp a subject. There have been a couple of times that I have felt totally accomplished and it just made my day. I have also been working a lot lately for the catering company on campus. I actually had three years of catering experience that made this job relatively easy. We set up for special events around campus such as banquets or executive meetings. I mostly work in between classes putting as many hours as I can. It’s a nice balance between work and school. This way I still have the evenings and weekends to get school work done.
The best part of this past weekend is being able to enjoy time with my friends. We have managed to find time to hang out, even if only for an hour, almost every night. It has made getting through homework much easier by breaking up our work time. Usually we all come back from classes and get the necessary homework done and then we watch one of our favorite shows. Last week, we finished getting everybody caught up on one of the best shows on the tele: Lost. I will probably plug this show a lot and there is a reason. If you haven’t watched, you need to start right now. The third season starts on October 4th at 8PM. Buy the first and second season and watch them. I swear you will be hooked and desperately awaiting the start of the new season. On the weekends, we try and go out to the city. Last weekend, we went down to Oceanwalk, which is the entertainment district or nightlife area. We basically walked around just as a nice break from the week. This past weekend we went back to Oceanwalk and saw the movie Accepted which is hilarious. It’s a great movie for college or prospective college students. Then we went to a party hosted by the Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) fraternity at Cancun Lagoon. It was great time with dancing and friends. We also try to eat out every once in a while during the week. The food here at Riddle is just fine and the meal plan system is great, but sometimes it’s nice to get out and enjoy a treat at one of the local restaurants. Other than that, we try and go to the movies shown on campus by Touch N’ Go Productions. Those guys are awesome. They put on tons of events around campus. Last week we saw “X-Men III” and this week they were showing “Pirates of Caribbean II.” Next week they are showing “Thank You For Smoking” and I can’t wait because that movie is awesome.
This campus is definitely an amazing place to be. The lifestyle is definitely a slower pace, which I love compared to the rush of the Los Angeles, CA lifestyle. I will be honest; the obvious small population of women on campus can get to me sometimes. But, a lot of the time I am focused on class work or having fun with my friends. The academic workload is definitely there, but once I got into the flow of the week I was able to balance my daily life and I have never had more fun. I also keep in contact with my family through the wonders of the Internet and the telephone and I recommend everyone do the same. My family is a cornerstone in the foundation of my life. They bring love and support that no other source can match.
One last thing I want to mention is get involved. It totally makes the experience that much better. I represent Wood Hall in ERRSA, which is the Embry-Riddle Resident Student Association. I have made so many new friends and connections in that organization and I am really having an impact on the path of the university. I am a member of the Skydiving club and plan to go get certified in skydiving before the end of the semester. That is really going to fulfill one of my greatest dreams. Also make sure that you participate in all your Hall events. I have the greatest RA. She is one of the nicest and hardest-working people I have ever met. She does everything she can to be of assistance to all of us on the hall. She plans events for the hall with an extremely limited budget and makes living with everybody so much fun.
Well, for now that’s all. The next time I write will be interesting because I will have taken a couple of weekend trips. This up coming weekend a few of the guys from the hall are going to Miami to stay with the family of one of the guys going. I’ve never been to the southern tip of Florida and I can’t wait. The weekend after that I am going to a retreat for ERRSA and that is supposed to be a blast. Until then, I leave you Cool Cats with some pictures and best wishes in all your endeavors. Thanks for stopping by and reading. Peace out.
