Happy New Year everyone! I can’t believe that it’s already 2026, and the start of the spring semester. I hope everyone had a restful and amazing break, whether you were back home or still in Daytona!
For winter break this year, I drove back to New Jersey, and was promptly greeted by freezing temperatures and multiple snow and ice storms during my three weeks at home. I definitely did not have shoveling snow on my winter break wish list, but it did provide some pretty views.
The snow also helped me get into the holiday spirit as I saw my friends and family.
After a crazy fall semester, it was nice to have a few weeks to relax
It’s been a couple of weeks since my last post, and I’m excited to be back. Winter break gave me a much-needed chance to slow down, recharge, and spend time doing things I don’t always make time for during the semester. From reconnecting with old friends to enjoying cozy nights in and making new memories, this break was full of moments worth sharing. In this post, I’ll be catching you up on everything I’ve been up to over winter break and reflecting on what made it so special.
Wedding Time
One of the biggest and most special moments of my winter break was my mom getting married. Being part of such an important milestone in her life was incredibly meaningful to me. I helped with different aspects of the wedding planning, which gave me a behind-the-scenes look at everything that goes into making a wedding day come together. On top of that, I had the opportunity to be their photographer, which made the experience even more unforgettable. Capturing such a joyful and emotional day through my lens was an honor, and it’s something I’ll always cherish.
Here’s some of my favorite photos that I took, plus just a few silly ones!
Old Christ Church – Downtown Pensacola, FLLaughter and CelebrationMom and IStatue of Liberty as Mike calls it LOL
Seeing Old Friends
This year, I finally had some free time to reconnect with friends from high school. Since it had been so long, I was thrilled to spend time with my best friends, Sydney and Shelby. We met up at Sydney’s house to help her mom prepare for their family Christmas party. Sydney and Shelby took charge in the kitchen while I helped with the decorations. Once everything was finished, we ended the night by watching Titanic until about 1:30 in the morning. Although I was exhausted on the drive home, it was truly wonderful to see them again and catch up on each other’s lives.
Me, Sydney, & ShelbyGotta Have Fun and Be Silly
Historic Trip to the USS Alabama
During winter break, my mom, Mike, and I also took a trip to visit the USS Alabama in Mobile, Alabama, and it ended up being one of my favorite experiences. It was incredible to see how much restoration work has been done to preserve the ship since I last saw it in high school. Walking through it and seeing the attention to detail really brought its history to life. I’ve always loved exploring places like this, where you can physically step into the past and learn through experience. Being able to explore the USS Alabama reminded me why I’m so drawn to history and how important it is to preserve these moments for future generations. I can’t wait to go back and see the rest of the deck being refinished.
If you love the SR-71 as much as I do, they have one displayed outside a hangar as well as many historic aircraft inside the hangar. Many are on loan from the NAS National Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida. IF you ever make your way here I recommend going. There is so much to see and explore.
Avion Time Even When Home
Even over break, I still got the chance to spend time with our PR Manager, Noelle, since she only lives about 42 minutes away. We met up and went to Bearfruit Bowls, where we grabbed acai bowls and coffee and caught up on everything going on over break. Afterward, we headed to downtown Pensacola and spent the afternoon walking around, popping into all the little cute shops. It was such a fun and relaxed day, and a perfect reminder that even during a break, it’s nice to stay connected and enjoy simple moments like that.
Overall, winter break was filled with so many meaningful moments, from spending quality time with family and friends to creating memories I’ll always cherish. It gave me the chance to slow down, reflect, and truly enjoy the people and experiences that matter most to me. As the break came to an end, I felt refreshed and excited to start my final year of college.
I’m looking forward to what this next chapter holds and can’t wait to see where it takes me. Keep a look out for more posts from me sharing with ya’ll the senior year experience and adventure.
So, now that the fall semester is over at Embry-Riddle, I returned to Kentucky to see my family for the holidays. I ended up leaving on December 16, the day after my last final. Thankfully, if you’re returning for the spring semester, you’re able to keep all of your stuff in your dorm and don’t have to move it into storage.
Goodbye, dorm room!
My last final was on December 15 at 7:15 PM. In my opinion, a night final is better than a daytime final; I’m a night owl and hate getting up early. Luckily, the earliest final I had started at 10:15 AM; in the normal academic year, my first class started at 10:10.
I caught a ride to the airport with a few friends about an hour before the flight. We were super early- the one thing that I love about the Daytona Beach airport is that the TSA wait time is super short. It usually takes me between 5 and 10 minutes from the time I walk through the airport doors to the time I arrive at the gate.
I’ve never flown out of MCO (the Orlando airport) during the holidays, but I know that the lines can get super long and time-consuming. If you ever go to MCO, you’re also likely to get stuck in traffic trying to get to the airport, too- everyone wants to fly out from MCO since it’s a larger airport. MCO is also a destination for more airlines like Southwest and Spirit; DAB only consistently has flights operated by American and Delta.
There were plenty of Embry-Riddle students on the flight I was on, and I ran into several friends there. Apparently, the plane we were flying on had been delivered to Delta in September of this year and only had about 900 flight hours on it.
Leaving Riddle, taking off over the beach on 7L!
I had about a one-hour layover in Atlanta and ended up running from the T gates over to the D gates since that was where my plane to Lexington was. The Atlanta airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, and during the holiday season, it too was packed. I passed a few TSA checkpoints and I was so glad I wasn’t stuck in the line there.
The flight from Atlanta to Lexington was shorter than the one from Daytona Beach to Atlanta. It was also a smaller plane (CRJ-900 compared to A321), but still a beautiful piece of engineering nonetheless. I was lucky enough to watch a parallel takeoff. It’s definitely a must-watch event for aviation enthusiasts.
Leaving ATL!
When I landed in Lexington, the weather was completely different than that in Daytona Beach. It was sunny in Daytona when I left, and a day where I could’ve worn shorts. However, in Kentucky, it was cold and rainy- definitely a “pants and long sleeves” sort of day. In addition to my T-shirt, I’d brought along a sweatshirt knowing that Kentucky was cold.
I’ve been in Kentucky for a while now, and I definitely miss the Daytona Beach weather. It’s actually cold in Kentucky- 20 and 30-degree weather compared to the mid-60s or low 70s in Daytona. It’s definitely different- my college friends aren’t a few dorms away, we’re hundreds of miles apart, but we’re still finding ways to stay connected to each other over the break.
I end up flying back to Daytona Beach on Saturday, January 11 since I’ll also be working spring orientation! I’ve been selected to be a part of the 2022 Orientation Team and I’m very excited for spring orientation. Although I miss Embry-Riddle, it’s nice to have winter break since I’ll be catching up on sleep and time with my cats. Happy holidays, and I’ll see you in the next post… and hopefully at Riddle!
My cat Chocolate sleeping under our Christmas tree!
Happy November everyone! I’m currently blogging from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and it’s Thanksgiving! I am so happy to be on a short break before the last couple weeks of class and finals. The semester truly is coming to a close! I met my family in Myrtle Beach for the break to run a Turkey Trot 5K and hang out together for a few days. Activities included lots of card games like Spades and Uno, as well as Blokus tournaments – both Blokus duo and the 4 player options. The break also included watching three different versions of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, including the 1966 cartoon, the 2000 Jim Carrey film, and The Grinch – 2018 version.
Pre-Thanksgiving 5K with my family!
At the 5K we saw people dressed up as turkeys, mac ‘n cheese, and my personal favorite for creativity’s sake – green bean casserole!
I also got to spend time with my favorite puppy-niece Daisy!
The Thanksgiving break was much needed. The “short” week beforehand included an Air Force ROTC PT test, a Flight Dynamics and Control exam, and an approximately 7 hour hour drive up north to see some of the people I love.
While I do wish the break was longer, some of my favorite “break-prep” activities to help me feel refreshed and relaxed before I left FL for the weekend included catching up on laundry and organizing my room, cleaning/wiping down surfaces and sweeping the floor, watering my plants and overall tidying my living space so that when the break is over I am able to jump into the last few weeks of classes and finals giving 100%.
Over the break my favorite relaxing activities other than spending time with family include watching Christmas movies, listening to new music (including Adele’s new album!), catching up on podcasts I haven’t had time to listen to lately including IN HINDZSIGHT, Short Wave (NPR’s short science podcast), and a recently discovered listen – Financial Feminist! Additionally I’ve been catching up on my favorite Youtube channels by doing yoga videos from Yoga With Adriene, targeted workout videos with Chloe Ting, and leveled and targeted workout videos with a variety of guest hosts from different workout programs with POPSUGAR Fitness, a channel I discovered about a year ago.
I hope everyone is getting the opportunity to relax and recharge a bit before the final stretch of school, only about a month left before Winter Break! Keep on keeping on folks, will report back soon!
Happy November everyone! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, Florida, the weather is getting colder, Thanksgiving is approaching, and finals are about a month away! To say the least, I’ve been BUSY! School, work, working out, and life in general has been jam packed lately. With Thanksgiving around the corner I’ve been having a lot of tests lately, and a lot of upcoming project deadlines before the late November break is here. Right before Thanksgiving I also have my Fitness Assessment for Air Force ROTC! I’m excited and very much ready to fast forward to spending time with my family and eating all the nostalgic cozy comfort foods that Thanksgiving has to offer. Bring me all the pie!
One of my favorite aspects of the weather getting colder is that running outside is so pleasant, especially during the transition period from hot to cold with temperatures of about 60 degrees. The humidity is low, and on good days when there’s not a lot of wind running is perfect. It’s also officially hoodie season! I recently had my birthday and got to spend a few hours at the beach which was so much fun and very relaxing.
October beach picture!
My current To-Do list for this weekend includes a lab report for my Aerospace Structures and Instrumentation Lab on vibration testing of beams and aircraft structural components of choice (my group chose a front spar of the leading edge portion of a wing from a Boeing 777 airliner to test and observe). This particular lab was one of my favorites thus far, as it investigated the phenomenon of flutter and looked at how forcing vibrations to excite frequencies near resonance can be dangerous in real world scenarios, and thus needs to be understood and prepared for. Our lab group also recently investigated some Nondestructive Evaluation techniques in lab, including thermography which uses thermal heat differentials to display an image with warmer areas displaying brighter and cooler areas displaying darker colors.
Thermal imagery is a useful technique commonly implemented in the aerospace industry to inspect planes and ensure that there is no structural damage. Inspections usually happen about once a year where planes are observed shortly after landing with a thermal detecting camera. The heat detecting technology shows areas that water may have infiltrated cracks in the structure as the water will be a cooler temperature than that of the aircraft’s body.
Thermal image of myself and my lab group!
We only have about three more lab sessions left until the end of the semester and I am looking forward to being done with writing lab reports during finals and over Winter break! Keep on keeping on folks, will report back soon!
Happy almost Halloween everyone! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, at the end of Fall Break, and half way through the semester!
I spent my fall break doing entirely too much homework everyday, and sleeping. My break didn’t really seem like a break, but generally, doing your homework is always a better option than not! Until the semester ends there is never a time where I don’t have assignments to do. Thus, it is all the more important to find time for what makes you happy in order to create a sustainable routine and work/life balance. My life tends to be 99% work, but I am looking forward to having more time for rest and fun during Winter Break!
My go-to for finding small happy breaks in my busy days has been centered a lot on finding joy in my routine. Sometimes my workouts are too similar and I get bored with the same monotonous schedule that is school, studying, working, etc. Don’t get me wrong, college is extremely challenging and I am never at a loss for things to do. I am practically swimming in homework, papers, projects, and presentation assignments, on top of meetings, and ROTC obligations, but I’ve reached a point where the busy-ness isn’t exactly new or exciting. There’s always new assignments, but even they fall into a rhythm of similar challenges and stresses. Lately I’ve been thinking how interesting it is that despite everything new, such as different classes, new people in group projects, new friends, the flow of school is the same.
Something I’ve focused more on this semester is making time for things that make me happy on the day to day, even when I’m busy. For me, this looks like painting my nails every few weeks because it makes me feel more put together during the busy days.
This week’s nail color of choice!
Small joys of everyday life also looks like trying new tea flavors when I’m studying, lately in the evenings I’m liking Peppermint and Chamomile! I’ve also been enjoying FaceTiming my mom once a week, texting my sister, my family, and my friends who I don’t see everyday more, and Peppermint Hot Chocolate mix. This also includes new plants! Recently I was in charge of organizing a team builder during our RA staff meetings, so we planted little cups of basil and cilantro, mine just began sprouting!
My new basil plant babies!
When I’m stressed I also tend to focus on everything that I need to do, rather than everything I’ve done, it’s SO important to recognize yourself for all the hard work you do! I’ve been trying to do face masks a few evenings every week to decompress before I go to sleep, and help my skin stay hydrated, which always helps me wake up feeling more refreshed and happy – even on the early PT mornings.
A BIG event that I am very excited for is graduation and commissioning in spring, but it’s easy sometimes to lose sight of the shining end goals when you’re in the middle of a sea of work. Keep your goals in mind constantly, and let them help motivate you when the routine gets boring. Trying new snacks or drinks helps spice up everyday life, and new music, workout routines, and self care that you wouldn’t regularly do is so much fun too! Keep on keeping on folks, will report back soon.
This is my first blog of 2021 and (hopefully) my last semester at ERAU. After another restful winter break, we are green light for spring 2021 semester in beautiful Floridian winter. I was asked to quarantine myself due to my recent international travel, so I’m writing this blog from my room, not being able to attend my first day of class in person. It still hasn’t hit me yet that this will be my last semester as a college student, but I’m already looking forward to May.
I got to spend a lot of time with my family and close family friends during my time back home. It was a frigid winter and I got to enjoy some heavy snowfalls. My country was trying to contain the spread of the virus, so many places were still on lockdown and I was forced to spend most of my time at home or with close family members.
Snow!
I’ve written about traveling during a pandemic in my earlier blog, but once again, flying back to Florida for the spring semester has never been this easy. I enjoy having less passengers at the airport and on my flights, so I cannot complain about keeping my mask on for 14 hours straight when I can have the whole row to myself.
Left: Taking off out of Incheon on a snowy night / Right: Descending down to Atlanta
I had a lot of time to reflect on my past college experience and how far I’ve come not only as a person, but also as a pilot. Four years have gone by relatively quickly and there were many high and low moments to say the least. It is a daunting task to now start thinking about post-grad and planning for my future career, but I am happy to soon close out this chapter of my life.
For my spring semester, I am taking a flight course, two aviation classes for my major and three international courses for my minor. I am taking my last flight course here at Riddle which is for the multi-engine rating on our Diamonds. I will be taking my capstone (graduating senior project) class on airline operations, and the pilot interview technique class. I am taking three electives for international relations which will include US-Asia relations, globalization and Middle-East current affairs.
I’m excited for my last semester (even though the current plan is to have all my classes in person…) and hopefully I can be walking across the stage in May (if this pandemic can be contained). It surely is an interesting period to be a graduating senior when there is a global pandemic, but we have to keep pushing forward. Happy inauguration day!
Left: Went to my favorite spot for some reading / Right: Hoping 2021 will be as bright as this sunset
Happy November folks! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, Florida and Thanksgiving is so close I can almost taste it (the cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie of course).
The fall semester has rapidly been coming to a close and with about a week left until Winter Break starts its hard to see past all the assignments and even fathom a break that is, despite what my stressors persuade me, going to be upon us very shortly. I don’t typically doubt myself, but I do surprise myself because sometimes my schedule is so busy it’s hard to picture being able to accomplish so many tasks in one day, much less a week!
A plot from my Aerospace Structures Homework that I’m currently working on via Femap/Nastran
In the spirit of being thankful (Thanksgiving vibes) I am grateful that I have the amazing opportunities to continually challenge myself in academics, professional relations, physical fitness, and leadership skills. Cue the teleprompter voice, this is all made possible in part by… time management skills I didn’t realize I had, setting daily reminders via Siri on my phone and laptop throughout the day, many To-Do lists, calendar notifications, alarms, and most importantly – my tried and true Go-To… coffee! Kidding, I am very thankful to have a support system of friends and family and I am so excited to go back to Virginia in about a week to see them!
Final exams are just around the corner, right after Thanksgiving, and the semester is truly so close to coming to an end. My motivations are good food, sleep, and quality time watching Christmas movies at home.
Over the winter break, post finals, I plan to work on Scholarship and Study Abroad opportunity applications, practice my Arabic by exploring further into the world of Arabic music, TV, and movies, and of course, rest!
Upon reflecting on the past few months, the hardest part of this Fall Semester, that I foresee will be a challenge in the Spring as well, is not having breaks or time to rest and recover between classes and assignments. Having long weekends and breaks canceled means that professors continuously assign homework, tests, quizzes, and projects until finals. This is especially disheartening considering my current Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings are filled with due dates, in addition to every weekday. I go directly from one subject and assignment to the other and it’s sometimes hard to see the light that the end of the semester brings when you’re in the thick of it.
College extensively exceeds the typical 40 hours a week “full time” work schedule, which is something I couldn’t have prepared for beforehand and is not something I am 100% sure I am prepared for now, despite taking part in it weekly. On the bright side, time never stops, and we get through it. My advice is to keep a positive attitude and keep pushing, one week, day, or task at a time. Progress is progress. Finals are quickly approaching and so is the rest and relaxation that follows! Will report back soon folks. Keep on keeping on!
Happy October folks! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, we’re about halfway through the semester, almost a month away from finals, and I’m so excited to visit Virginia again come Winter Break.
Mid-terms the past couple weeks were not easy. From my personal experience, college students are some of the most stressed out group of humans I have ever encountered. Maybe it’s because we’re all navigating excessive hours of homework, studying, class, and other university obligations, and there’s somehow only 24 hours in a day? I have found that I am currently coming out of the stressed wave from midterms and the only thing to do now is to keep cruising full speed ahead until the end of the semester. Stay on the grind of prepping for quizzes, doing homework, studying, and using the down time (can it really be considered down time?) between exams to mentally prepare for finals season.
Student Court’s group photo channeling Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry ie Harry Potter vibes.
I have been enjoying the little moments recently. This especially includes the few and far between coveted days I get the luxurious chance to sleep in. I also have been feeling very grateful for the little moments I get to catch up with old friends, girl gang brunches never get old especially when they haven’t happened in a few weeks.
This semester has been mentally exhausting, whether it’s from online classes, a global pandemic, general life stressors, or a cumulation of everything, everyone I’ve encountered seems a little off. Navigating “normal” life with so many abnormal aspects doesn’t feel right. Check on your friends! The world could use a little more compassion, understanding, and connection right about now. I am extremely hopeful for the end of the semester and SO excited to use Winter Break to catch up on sleep and mentally recharge.
I have surprisingly made some new friends this semester and even though our interactions are limited to Microsoft Teams calls studying or phone calls, the little bit of connection feels extremely comforting in the cold virtual aura that online classes have presented.
A visual representation of how the Student Court feels about being a little over half way through the Fall 2020 semester.
In other news, SGA Student Court has been going great! As the newest Associate Justice to the team I’m constantly learning and increasing my understanding of how the university functions and its rules, policies, and regulations. We meet virtually once a week to give updates, work on appeal cases, and do other courtly duties. I am so happy to be on such a great team with motivated, hard working, and dedicated individuals who strive to advocate for students. Generally I like to think the universe is for me, and so is everything else, but particularly in this case I can 100% say the Student Court is for you, and I am too.
Happy January everyone! I am currently blogging from Daytona Beach, Florida, still reminiscing on winter break, but back a few days before classes start for my RA position doing Spring Training and preparing the residence halls for students to return.
Part of this prep includes the “new year new me” philosophy and I took part by getting a well needed hair cut.
Freshly chopped! Top is before, bottom is after. New year, new hair cuts!
Although I do love my friends at school, I have also found myself missing being around my family tribe at home. I got to travel a little bit along the east coast over winter break going to southern Virginia to Philly to DC then back Florida.
While I was in Philadelphia I got to visit and meet a bunch of my cousins! We also celebrated my brother’s birthday by attending a Philadelphia Eagles versus the Dallas Cowboys football game at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles ended up winning against Dallas and as you can imagine, the post game fireworks and overall atmosphere of the stadium was one of a kind. It’s fitting that I wanted the Philadelphia Eagles to win just as much as I want the Embry-Riddle Eagles to win.
Train ride to the football stadium before the game with my family!
A post game Eagles victory group photo!
Yes, there are a lot of us, and yes we took up an entire row of seats. I highly recommend going to NFL games with a large group. It was my first game and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
View from my seat at the game!
I am now off to finish hall decorations, make door tags, and do room inspections for my RA position. I also need to write some essays for applications for Study Abroad Programs for Summer 2020 to continue learning Arabic. Will include pictures of my hall decorations, classes I’ll be taking this semester once my schedule is finalized, and first week of school updates in my next post.
Keep on keeping on folks, happy New Year, and welcome back! Will report back soon!
