Wow, this month went by SO quick! A lot has happened. My classes went into crunch mode, and midterms came out of no where. College is definitely not what they show on T.V. It is more work than most expect, but if you get involved even a little, it seems to be an easy transition and balance of work and play. I was asked by the Campus Activities Board to represent them as an assistant. This was very exciting, because they design, plan and run events that happen on and around campus. Since I am a communications major, this is a great opportunity for me, and as close to field training as I could get. We had many events such as movie nights, fall family festival which is also known as parents weekend. I often feel like I have no time to do anything but work or write papers, but I always find at least and hour to myself to think about my day and plans for the next day. It is always a great idea to take even a few minutes to think about your own priorities and things you have to take care of, especially when you normally put others before yourself.

The best part of the month was when my parents flew down as well as my brother. My brother attends Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. I had not seen him since I came to SLU over the summer for the LEAP program. This month was actually really hard for me. I thought all the things I was involved with were going to balance out and be a lot easier then they are. I even became homesick. I moved away from Virginia with a great expectation of the new life I was about to embark on, however there was still

Wow, this month went by SO quick! A lot has happened. My classes went into crunch mode, and midterms came out of no where. College is definitely not what they show on T.V. It is more work than most expect, but if you get involved even a little, it seems to be an easy transition and balance of work and play. I was asked by the Campus Activities Board to represent them as an assistant. This was very exciting, because they design, plan and run events that happen on and around campus. Since I am a communications major, this is a great opportunity for me, and as close to field training as I could get. We had many events such as movie nights, fall family festival which is also known as parents weekend. I often feel like I have no time to do anything but work or write papers, but I always find at least and hour to myself to think about my day and plans for the next day. It is always a great idea to take even a few minutes to think about your own priorities and things you have to take care of, especially when you normally put others before yourself.

The best part of the month was when my parents flew down as well as my brother. My brother attends Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. I had not seen him since I came to SLU over the summer for the LEAP program. This month was actually really hard for me. I thought all the things I was involved with were going to balance out and be a lot easier then they are. I even became homesick. I moved away from Virginia with a great expectation of the new life I was about to embark on, however there was still

“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.