http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/GrayceRyan/ en-us Copyright 2009 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:59:41 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss It’s BINGO night!!! You are given two cards and you sit with your friends to win prizes. The best part is you don’t have to pay to play (but you have to bring your own chips to cover; that’s not important). There are all sorts of prizes: Ipods, movies, digital cameras, gift cards. I have been to Bingo night every time and I still have not won! I have the worst luck! Most of my friends have won but I haven’t! Regardless, I still have a great time. This school is very well organized with the programs they have and there is always something to do. We are only 30 minuets from Tampa so it’s so easy for us to come and go to interesting activities. We have gone to plays, amusement parks, sporting events all sorts of things. It’s so fun to be able to have these opportunities and to do them with your friends. http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/GrayceRyan/2009/01/bingo.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/GrayceRyan/2009/01/bingo.html Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:59:41 -0500 Coming back to Leo is so exciting after breaks. You get to see your friends and even though you have talked to them over the phone you get to talk face to face. Not only do you have new things to talk about but classes are new as well. You head to classes the first week and see who is in your classes. That is always fun. There is only one bad thing about the new semester at Leo…buying books. Generally, professors will let you know if you truly need the book for your classes but they can be expensive. On the flip side buying books can be a double edged sword. You obviously need them for classes to get a decent grade but at the end of the semester you are able to sell back your books to the store and get some money back out of them. It’s like getting money to use a book, to get a good grade. It works out for me at the end of the year; it’s at least gas money! http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/GrayceRyan/2009/01/back_to_school.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/GrayceRyan/2009/01/back_to_school.html Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:55:49 -0500 I found my new passion! Earlier I was explaining how you have to find your own thing you are into. Well I found mine, photography. I decided to take beginner's photography this semester and I love every minute of it. Mr. Hughson is a teacher who is passionate about what he teaches and he really gets his students engaged into the class. We learn how to work in a dark room, make prints and about some interesting ways to take photos. I am creative anyway, but this opened a whole new avenue for me. There was even an art show and I entered. It was a great turnout and other students were able to see how you can be creative and express yourself through a camera. It’s not just about capturing the moment - it is about capturing the beauty of that moment. I love this new aspect of my life so much that I am taking advanced photography next semester at 8:00 a.m. just so I can continue on a daily basis. Find your passion whatever it may be, it’s worth it. It makes the day better even on a bad one. http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/GrayceRyan/2008/12/find_your_passion.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/GrayceRyan/2008/12/find_your_passion.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:30:07 -0500 Today was a great day!!! I finally declared my major! I am going to be a teacher. I am enrolled to the education department for middle grades. I thought about this summer with Hannah and know I could not be a Special ED teacher, but I thought about it more and I might not be able to do that type of education but I'm really good with kids. I know that it is something I could do forever and not get tired of it. Yes, there are going to be difficult days in the classroom but I can’t see myself doing anything else. I have to be honest though, I had not a clue for a very long time. I thought about being a mortician, a detective, joining the Air Force and anything to travel. None of those seemed to stick. Teaching didn’t seem to stick either, now I think about it more and try new things at St. Leo; this is the route for me. But like I said it was lots of trial and error, but that’s ok. I can do that and not be penalized. That’s the point of college - to try new things and find what you want to do with your life. There is always something for everyone. http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/GrayceRyan/2008/10/good_days.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/GrayceRyan/2008/10/good_days.html Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:29:20 -0500 Have you ever had one of those days when you think you have hit rock bottom? Yesterday was that day for me. It just seemed that everything was going wrong. I didn’t feel like I knew what was going on in my classes, Honduras trip info seemed to load on me and my social life seemed to be nonexistent. I sat in my room missing home wanting my family to be there to make it all better. Then I realized that they can’t make this better for me. I am an adult and I need to fix it myself. So instead of feeling sorry for myself I went to the LRC (Learning Resource Center) to get some extra help from tutors. I talked with the other Honduras trip leader to sort some things out. My friends didn’t respond to my calls so I went to them to talk about our problems and what was going on between us and it ends up they were feeling the same way about things that I was. We talked it out and we all just needed a little more support from each other. Everyone goes through the same thing and we just need to be there for each other. We are a little family away from our homes. You are going to have bad days anywhere you are, but you have to be willing and mature enough to make things happen for yourself. Feeling sad for yourself is not an option. Everyone gets homesick. I am 400 miles away from mine but you can get through it; you shouldn’t use it as an excuse. Make use of the time you are away and when you get back home cherish it, you will realize how important your family truly is. http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/GrayceRyan/2008/10/good_days_and_bad_days.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/GrayceRyan/2008/10/good_days_and_bad_days.html Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:26:58 -0500 This semester could be tricky. I am juggling a schedule that I am not quite sure I can handle. I am taking six classes, doing work study and the trip leader for the Honduras SERVE trip. The SERVE trip leader can be a lot more responsibility than anyone thinks of. We must have interviews for the applicants, choose the people right for the trip and get everyone moving in the right direction. If you are unsure what a SERVE trip is, let me fill you in. A SERVE trip is a spring break alternative. Students go on these trips and help others in need. For instance the Honduras trip, we go to Honduras for a week and help the town La Esperanza. We help build houses, paint daycares and whatever the town needs us to do. IT’S A BLAST!!! I went last year and I had to go again, so badly that I became one of the trip leaders. Though, with such an awesome experience there must be hard work put into it and that’s the time before that week. It’s tough but worth every minute. I recommend this program to everyone, it’s an experience you can not get just anywhere. http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/GrayceRyan/2008/09/serve.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/GrayceRyan/2008/09/serve.html Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:26:02 -0500 Well, I just finished my first summer after my freshmen year of college and it was not what I expected. I thought that since I did not have an internship through the school or another organization I would just go on a mission trip or work in a restaurant like you see in the movies. Since I am from out of state and all my friends were Floridians, I thought that this was my only choice. Instead I found a much better use of my time. I spent my summer with a new friend, Hannah. Hannah is thirteen years old and is full of life, and did I mention she has Downs Syndrome. Her mother works for the school system and needed someone to keep Hannah company, so I volunteered. I went on and off spending time with this amazing person through out the summer, and it finally came to an end. We said our goodbyes and I was off to my second year at St. Leo. I missed my friends, boyfriend and freedom from my own family; I was ready to get back to school. Being a sophomore I felt relieved that I was not moving into a place I was unsure of and trying to make new friends. I could not have been more wrong. Being a sophomore is rewarding but every year is different at St. Leo. My friends started out the same but with the new students coming in there was room for more! Also, the rooming was so different; being out of the freshmen resident halls and into Roderick, where I have my own bathroom and buy my own toilet paper is a new experience. Now, you are probably wondering why I spoke so much about Hannah. Well it’s simple. As a freshman I was undeclared, not sure what I was meant to do in life. I thought long and hard about it and before the summer ended I wanted to be a special education teacher in foreign countries. After the summer I realized this was not the path for me. It was not that I did not enjoy my time with Hannah but she made me realize that if I did that everyday I would not love it the way I do as a volunteer. So I am starting my sophomore year with not knowing what, or who I am going to become but I know one thing I am not. I guess a few more trials and errors. http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/GrayceRyan/2008/08/summers_over.html http://blogs.targetx.com/slu/GrayceRyan/2008/08/summers_over.html Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:21:16 -0500