Goodbye?? Nahh, See You Later!

Well, yesterday was an emotional day for me. The majority of my friends graduated from college – Chris, Emmanuel, Bipen, John, Amber, Frida, Alphonse, Steve, Leonce, Jacob, Kim, Vladamir, Sydney, and Ben. After graduation, I hugged Amber (If you read my previous post, you would know that Amber is my roommate) and started crying! I’m really going to miss her so much! She was the best roommate I’ve had in college! In the picture below, you can see we are not normal! It took us four tries to get it right! I am very proud of her! She is going to do great in life! But another girl, Skye, will be my new roommate next year, and I know we will get through things together as well! In July, Amber and I will be going to Kim’s wedding (pictures to come soon), who also graduated yesterday! I am proud of her on becoming a Registered Nurse! I know who I will be sending my kids to in the future! Some of y’all, I’ve known since I started college. And some, I recently started getting to know, but either way, I will miss them all dearly!

Amber and I at graduation!! :)

Today is my first day home for the summer! It has been a productive day so far! Moved my things in from my car, did laundry, baked a cake for Mother’s Day tomorrow, went to Kroger’s to get flowers and a card, and made macaroni!

Pretty flowers, card, and Mother's Day cake!!

Saying goodbye is not always easy, that’s probably why some people say, “It’s not a goodbye, it’s a see you later!” We all have photographs and memories to remind us of all the good times we had!

Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

As my sophomore year of college comes to an end, A LOT of my friends are graduating. There are way too many to count on my fingers. I have gotten close to a lot of them these past two years, and I can guarantee tears will be shed at their graduation on Friday, May 10. I am going to miss my roommate, Amber, the most! She is such a great roommate and friend, I don’t know what I am going to do without her!

Two of my friends, Jeremy and Maxie are getting signed with the NFL St. Louis Rams! I am very happy for them! They’ve worked so hard to be where they are at now! I wish them the best of luck in life – they are going to do great! I think I might just become a fan just because of them!

Left to Right: Maxie and Jeremy

The following week, Amber and I plan on going on a 5-day cruise with my aunt and uncle since I am only 20-years-old, I have to have a parent or guardian that is 25 and older go with us. Which is fine with me because they love to spoil their nieces and nephews! We are keeping our fingers crossed hoping my parents let me go! It will be a much needed break before summer school! (Pictures coming soon)

After the cruise, Amber and I will be heading back to Arkansas. A few days later, my brother, Mark, and I will head to New Orleans for our cousin, Robin’s high school graduation, Tuesday, May 21! And after my brother and I will be heading back to Arkansas with other family members for my sister, Melissa’s graduation, Saturday, May 25! Man! There will be a lot of traveling for me! (Pictures coming soon)

After all that, it will be right on time for summer school! Along with summer school, I am hoping to be part of the Heart Start Staff to help incoming freshmen feel comfortable going to college!

I cannot say this enough, "I feel very blessed!"

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

After watching a video on Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts, I see that technology is increasing not only outside the classrooms, but inside classrooms all over the country! I love how Vicki Davis does not focus on just textbooks, but on computers instead because if you only have pen and paper only certain types of children will succeed! She thinks that teachers do not have to know the material to teach it because it allows the students to empower themselves to figure things out independently. Allow them to believe that they are capable individuals. It is important for them to discover things on their own or they will always depend on someone for help or to do it for them.

Not only do students learn from teachers, but teachers learn from students as well! If you stop learning, you stop growing. I believe each child has the ability to learn, but it takes a good teacher like Mrs. Vicki Davis to bring it out of them. Allowing students to learn on their own enables them to express their own opinions, and lets their voices be heard. This lets students show their digital smarts and to take a different approach in the classroom. From what I have seen, Mrs. Davis provided her students with the necessary skills and knowledge they need to work on their own, and she set a positive and friendly environment in the class, where everyone gets along no matter what.

Since I am a P-4 major, I won’t be making my students do assignments like these, but I do plan on having them to assignments/projects with technology. For example, if we are learning about the states, I can allow each student to pick a state (no child will be doing the same state), require them to do research about their state, make a poster cut-out of the state, and present their project to the class.

Welcome to Our Socially Networked World

Do you have a Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? Pinterest? These are all examples of social networking! But not only can social networking help your life, it can also destroy it too! The social networking article on BigFin states, “Mobile phones and the effects of social media use are changing the way we communicate and get information. Smartphones, iPad, tablet, PCs and wireless technology have grown social media from an interesting curiosity to a fact of life.” Students no longer sit in class socializing or sitting quietly waiting for the teacher to show up – we all are on our phones or tablets scrolling through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

Social networking has risen in the world we live in today. It also helps if you need opinions about things. Nowadays, social networking is no longer just for communicating, but also good for businesses. Even colleges analyze students’ social networking pages to determine how well students will perform in school.

People don't even ring the doorbell or knock anymore. Most people just text or call saying they are outside your house. 

In this article, a New York Times columnist hosted a dinner party where he received a text message in the middle saying, “Hey, I see you’re having people over. OK if I stop by?” It puzzled him how that person knew he was having a dinner party. Then when he looked at his guests, he said, “my friends posted seven photos on Path, sent six Twitter messages (five with photos), six photos on Instagram and two people checked in on Foursquare. When I added up the collective follower counts of the people in the room, my little dinner party was potentially viewed by more people than The Late Show on CBS: over three million.” His personal dinner party was no longer private.

http://www.bigfin.com/blog/effects-of-social-media-use/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/oct/21/john-naughton-foursquare-social-networking

Introduction

Surrounded by my friends and family members, food, and college, my life is a blessing. At 20 years old, life can be very challenging for a college student. Maintaining a certain grade point average to keep a scholarship, fulfilling self-goals,and keeping my parents happy, college can be difficult. But with the right people there supporting me, I can get through college easier than expected. When I first started college, I did not socialize. After class, I would go back to my room until I discovered the International Student Association on campus. I loved meeting international and non-international students so much, I became an active member.

Every weekend, I would go home to see my family. One Sunday night, I was unpacking my clothes in my dorm until I got a phone call from my cousin, Sam. I was happy he called until he told me the news. He asked if I heard what happened yet. I told him no, and he said that our grandpa had passed away earlier that day. He just got back from Canada, and after dinner at Uncle Cai's house, he went upstairs to check his blood pressure, and before he got to it, that was it. I immediately broke down in tears! Even writing this brings tears to my eyes. After I got off the phone, I saw that I had a text message from my friend, Tiffani, telling me to go to her room. She lived on the same floor as I did. I told her I couldn't go to her room. She asked why, and I told her that my grandpa just passed away. She instantly came to my room to comfort me. She tried to get me to stop crying because I was to the point where I was huffing and puffing and could not stop shaking. Then I got phone calls from my dad, brother, and sister. My dad told me to calm down and stay strong for my mom.With my siblings, we couldn't even get a word out to each other. Today makes 19 months since he’s been gone. Every day I wish there was a stairway to heaven,not an elevator or an escalator because I would climb every step just to see him again. I skipped school for a week to go to New Orleans to be with family. We had a three day service for him. The whole family had happy and sad moments, but at the end of the service, we were all happy and laughing knowing that he is up above watching over us.

Got back to school, I still went to class, but after class I would go back to my room and hide. For a couple weeks, I could not remember where I parked and I did not go to any HISA (International Student Association) meetings. Halloween came around, and one of my friends said that I should go to the International Halloween Party because I can’t just always hide in my room and not do anything, so I did. I got to know some members at the party – no alcohol of course! And ever since then, I would socialize again. Who knew I would go from being a quiet person to now President of the International Student Association?!

College is a great experience! I am truly blessed to be where I am at now!