As my freshman year comes to a close, I reflect on so many memories I have had. The best memory of all, that I wish all of you will have somewhere along your life, is watching yourself grow up. When I walked onto Saint Leo ground in July, I never would have guessed in a million years how much I would grow, how much I would learn, or even all the people I would meet. Every single person I met the entire community has made an impact in one way or another. I have grown up because of two reasons; I wanted to, and it happens. Although most teens my age believe that college is one big party, and some work, but it really is so much more than that. It is fun yes, and it is more work than you can think, but the whole experience is nothing to be scared of. It is a chance to mature, find out who you are and where you want your life to go. You don’t always have to be the cool one, or the popular one, just be yourself, and there is at least one person there who will accept that. TRUST ME! I had it rough in high school, I felt like a loner, even the times I wasn’t, but the second I started being myself, when I got to college, I grew. I knew who I wanted to be, and where I wanted my life to go. I would have never been able to do this and learn from everything that has happened to me if it wasn’t for my will power to want to become a better person, and the advice and close community at Saint Leo.

I work very hard for the students at Saint Leo. I never thought when I stepped foot on campus that I would do as much as I’ve done. I help 3 great people design and run events that happen on and off campus, I ask questions to see what the students want to see, and things that they would like to do while they are at SLU. My roommate and I also opened our door up to incoming freshman and transfers, to show them a residence hall room, so they had an idea of where they will be living the next year. When they asked questions, about anything, I tried my best to answer them in all honesty, without painting a fake picture in their mind of what college is really like. I love helping those around me, and making sure everyone is enjoying Saint Leo as much as I do. Well, the student government recently had an awards ceremony in honor of those students who lead, and do many things that honor the core values. I was ecstatic when I received an invitation. It was proof that even though I may forget from time to time, I am a leader around campus, and people do look at me as someone they can come to. The night of the awards, I received recognition for my work with the Campus Activities Board, as well as most outstanding freshman female. This was a complete shock to me. I knew I had helped, but what I didn’t know is how much it meant to others. Like I said before, I work very hard, but it is truly never for me. That award was for me, and it means more to me than anything that people notice how hard I work, so thank you SGU and Saint Leo.

The SGU Awards Ceremony

When I picked the college I wanted to go to, I always had a picture in my head of what it would be like. I always thought people would know exactly what school I was talking about; we could talk about how great their sports teams are, and maybe I would meet someone who knew of another student at my school. Well when I went to Saint Leo University, people stared at me a minute before asking where it was. Yes, it is a small school, but we have great sports teams, and I know few people that know others who have attended or have at least heard of it before. Well, as a member of student involvement and student government, I had a hand in bringing a big musical act to Saint Leo in celebration of our new student community buildings. Myself and the rest of the students involved needed to keep all of the options under wraps for a few weeks; this was really hard for me because I LOVE music, and I’m kind of a blabber mouth when I get too excited. Anyway, the day finally came for LONESTAR… yes Lonestar - to actually come to our little campus. This was a great experience for all the students at Saint Leo, and it will definitely be hard to top that one in the future. There was a lot going on throughout the campus that day, there were baseball games that were highly important to the standings of the team, there was tennis, and a lot of other activities, but there were over 500 people there. It was a great time for everyone that went, and I can go without saying, it was definitely an unforgettable moment of my freshman experience.

March 2008

March came up so rapidly. I had received good news at the beginning of the month; my father had spoken to my grandfather and he is doing much better than at the beginning of the semester. My grades were coming up, and I had actually made a difference in a kid’s life. I had to make a phone call on behalf of the admissions office here at Saint Leo, to talk to a family about my experience this summer in the LEAP program. His name was Cliff, and he was not sure if he wanted to go through with the program or not. I told him and his family about my experience, and just how much it changed my life as well as my perspective on college, months before my freshman year even began. Luckily, my advice and words encouraged him to not only attend Saint Leo, but go through with the summer program. I knew at that moment that Saint Leo was, with no question or regret, the place I needed to be for the next four years of my life. It had already done so much for me, I hadn’t even noticed. I have become a stronger, smarter, more responsible student while being here this short period of time; I could never guess what lay ahead for me here. My academic standards have always been set for me by my parents and me; yet unlike before, I know I can achieve them. Friendships I had lacked in high school, I had doubled them while being here, and they were friendships worth having 20-30 years from now. If you were to ask me before I left for the LEAP program in July, if I was to be this involved, or even think that a college could define a person, I would have said no. Now, I can strongly say that every aspect that Saint Leo stands for, I can relate to a part of myself that I have seen come out of me over the past 7 months. With only a short few weeks left until my first year in college comes to a close, I can see how the good, the bad, and yes even sometimes the worse, have helped me grow and mature as a person, a student, a daughter, and a Saint Leo Lion.

P.S. Yay for March Madness and Spring Break!!

February 2008

About a month into my new semester, I felt a little better about everything that was going on. Even though things started rough, they were getting better, and I was finding out that I have mastered one of many important NON-academic traits while being here at Saint Leo - time management. I had been balancing things really well, and with cheerleading over, I had more time then ever to just enjoy being in Florida. So I thought… Valentine's Day came up, midterms came out of nowhere, and CAB had become a HUGE demand. Haha. Like any perfectionist, I got stressed; many of my friends would come up and just hug me, because they knew I would not make it through the day without some sort of comfort. Everything just became so habitual. I would wake up every morning, get dressed, go to class, eat lunch, go to my office and do work, see my boyfriend, do my homework, eat dinner (maybe), and go to bed. It made my day to talk to someone new, however I tried my hardest to relax on the weekends; even that became hard with the issues at home, and the baseball games to attend, or the CAB events to host. The last thing on my mind was grades… and that was a BAD IDEA. Being a freshman who is as involved as I am definitely takes its toll. You must know how to have time management, but also know when enough is enough. Even though that is a concept I have not mastered yet, I am learning how to strive to succeed in EVERY aspect of my life, not just in social or non-academic situations.

January 2008

So, when I came back from Christmas break, I expected so much. I figured nothing would have changed, and everything would stay just the way I left it. Well, boy was I naive. To my disappointment, it felt like I was starting my freshman year all over again. People had changed; their hair was colored and cut, friendships had severed, mended, or blossomed. I was so confused and disappointed. I didn’t want anything to change, I had been so lucky to have the beginning college experience of a lifetime, just to come back and find everything different. My roommate and I had sort of parted ways, which to all was really surprising, but to me, hurt more than anything I could have never guessed. A lot had happened in my family over Christmas break (my grandfather became very ill around Thanksgiving, and still hadn’t gotten better) and I admit, I didn’t give as much attention to the friends I left down at school. But how could a friendship so pure, and so loyal… not be the same or even stronger after time apart? Either way, I had to jump right into a new semester, new teachers, and yes, even a new sport-Baseball. My boyfriend and his younger brother (a fellow freshman) are both on the baseball team, and I’ve always loved to watch them play. It was my get away from basketball and cheerleading; this time I could just watch. Little did I know, that this, along with many other things I had involved myself with, would take up a lot of time away from my friends. I don’t regret getting so involved with school, I LOVE being a CAB assistant, and I LOVE working as an OL leader for next school year, I even love watching the baseball team… but I don’t love feeling like I gave up my friends to do it.

"Growing Pains"

So as my roommate and I were packing to leave for Christmas break, I looked back on my first semester in college. There were amazing times, and of course some rough times that I had to get through; however, no matter how hard they were, I actually had friends, always someone there to help me with any situation.

Winter Formal was amazing, cheerleading was going so well, and my classes… well they went as good as I had expected. Now that I could finally relax after the long grueling process of finding myself, trying to figure out who I was while SO much happened around me, I had the time of my life. Though I wanted nothing more than to get home to the familiar, and my family, I zipped up my last suitcase and hugged my roommate as I cried. But I was crying not because I was going to miss her (even though I was) but also because I was more ecstatic that I knew I had worked so hard and was able to come back in January with everyone else to start my second semester as a SAINT LEO LION!

Happy Holidays to you all, and I will be sure to write more next YEAR! Until then…. Be safe and remember, growing up hurts every once in a while, but you just have to be strong because there is always something to learn out of everything that happens in your life.

“Time to Cram!�

So Last night, we had hall decorating contest. My hall (1st floor Snyder) had won the past 2 years, however 2nd floor Snyder won this time and they did a great job.

The holiday season was definitely a great way to take our minds off finals. Today, however, I went into my first college final with little sleep. It was an extremely long night and I was once again dealing with stresses and such that normal first year freshman don't have to face.

My exam was for my science class, and I won’t lie; it was pretty nerve-racking. I made a study guide that had all the material we needed to know on it. This was very helpful and kind of funny because I am not normally the type of student to study in a traditional way at all, but I applied myself and it really helped in a big way.

Everyone knows finals are just one of many things people have to deal with toward the end of each semester; you just have to understand how to balance concentration and the excitement of going home. I am hoping that all the rest of my finals go well, and when I return next semester, I will be ready to go at it all over again.

“Winter Wonderland of Events�

As a CAB assistant, it takes up a very big portion of my time, and with being an athlete and a full-time student, time gets away from you, a lot! CAB is throwing a dance, kind of like homecoming which we called “Winter Formal�. This dance took a lot of planning. I love this position because planning is what I want to do as a profession. I love to work with people, and I have a great knack when it comes to visualizing what an event will look like.

We found a great location down in Tampa, and A La Carte Event Pavilion was more than happy to allow us to use their facility. For the most part, people enjoyed themselves. I only had some fun because I was real stressed and worried about the event going off well.

We also recently had a great event called “Deal or No Deal�. This was based off of the game show, and it was one of the best in-house events we have put together this semester. So good in fact, we are planning to do it again for next semester.

“Saint Leo Spirit�

When I joined cheerleading, I was so excited to be in a new environment with new teammates and learn things that I had only seen on TV. Stunts would be all new, and the games would be more intense. Practices even were more intense, and I love the feeling of getting in shape, and back to my prime. And, I was real excited about showing my talents. I have a lot of background in cheerleading, and I wanted to let it be seen; not be the shining star on the team, but just try and improve on something I’ve done for over 12 years.

The first game was great, I did a basket toss during our first halftime, and it went well. The best and worst part about my position on the team is that I am very versatile in where I can go. I can be a base, a back, a flyer, or even front, and although I would prefer to do one over the other, I guess I don’t mind being one or the other every now and then.

I have the highest hopes for this year’s team; we have a high standard to live up to. Last year, the SLU Competition Cheerleading team won a championship title; so our coaches are expecting nothing but perfection out of all of us, even during games. They only push hard because they care, and want us to care as well. Getting the Saint Leo Spirit was easy - keeping it is even easier.