A Letter To School

Dear School,

Although I dread you when every break comes to a close, I do have a special kind of love for you. You make my life very difficult at times, but I know in the long run you are what will be best for me. So why is it that every year I try to do really well you just get harder? You know I have a life besides just you. You know I have family, sorority, work, friends, boyfriend, and many other obligations. Why must you insist on making all those things so much harder to keep up with when I try to keep up with you? Perhaps it is because you know I will never just quit, no matter how hard it gets, or how many unsatisfactory grades I get, you know that I do not think quitting is an option. As the semester draws to an end you have loaded my life with assignments. Some easier than others and some so difficult and time consuming that classes end up being skipped in order to finish work from a different class. This semester I have had a huge paper in every class. It was my goal to get off of my sorority's academic monitoring and raise my grades this semester, but the way it is looking now is that I will not reach my goal and instead my grades will drop and I will be on academic probation. I know this is not for certain, but it is what I fear for this semester. That will not make me give up. However, School, next semester could you please just be a tiny easier on me? I want to do well, and I also want to have a life outside of you. You know that I enjoy you the first month of so when you start, but after that things just get so difficult. Isn't it more fun when I enjoy you? So please School, think about this for next semester, go a little easier on me when I am struggling to juggle everything in my life and you.

Much love,

Kristi

Words of the Week:

corroborate

: to support with evidence or authority : make more certain.

conscientious

: governed by or conforming to the dictates of conscience.

Island Time!

I am on the beautiful island of Oahu, Hawaii. I got here Saturday around noon island time. My dad took me for my birthday present and it has been just fabulous! Saturday we got all settled in, checked out the hotel area, and then found the International Market place. This is my third time to Hawaii so I kind of know my way around, but it has been fun to explore. We went to eat at a restaurant in the hotel and I had what I thought was an amazing Ceaser salad. Little did I know later that night that I would get food poisoning! The rest of Saturday night and all of Sunday I was vomiting in the bathroom of the hotel room. It was awful! Fortunately, by Monday I was fine and ready do go to the beach and so some shopping. My dad has been having fun getting me to try lots of different drinks because I am finally 21. Today I tanned by the pool for almost three hours and then explored a little bit and found a Vietnamese restaurant because I was craving pho. Tomorrow my father and I are going to rent a car and visit the North Shore. I am hoping to get a little more tan because before I left I bragged to everyone and said I was going to get all tan while I was away, but since I was sick Sunday I lost a day of tanning. It has been a really great break, but as soon as I get back it is going to be time for me to really crack down on my school work! I have been on what my dad and I call "island time," which is just a really relaxed 'do it when you do it' kind of time. It is the way the people of Hawaii live. It is not like California where everything is very efficient, people here just take their time. It is nice for vacation, but I don't think I could ever live here, I am definitely a California-girl at heart.

Words of the Week:

callous: (adj.) harsh, cold, unfeeling.

knell: (n.) the solemn sound of a bell, often indicating a death.

4 days until HAWAII

I think I have checked out of school a little bit. This is not a good thing. Last week I forgot to do this blog. It was my 21st birthday so I guess I can give myself a pass, but I shouldn't. (The picture is from my 21st birthday) In 4 days I am leaving for Hawaii for 5 days. While I am gone I am going to have some homework to do, but who cares if I have homework. Yeah I am going to do my homework, but I will be in Hawaii while everyone else will be in San Jose. I think leaving for a week will be good. When I come back I hope to refreshed enough to finish off the semester strong! I really need to pass all my classes and have a GPA higher than a 2.5 this semester. I signed up for a winter class and I will be taking 12 units in the Spring semester. Assuming I pass all my classes this Fall and pass my winter class and then I pass all my spring classes, I will only have 33 units left until I graduate. It seems attainable! I have never felt this close to graduation before. I think if I take a Summer class or tow that could also be really beneficial because it would either speed up my graduation date, or it would make my last couple semesters less stressful. I think I should see an advisor in Spring to see if they think me graduating in Spring 2012 is attainable. For my dad's sake I really hope it is. I am excited to be graduating college because it is a huge accomplishment in my family, but I am also really scared. I have gotten so used to this college lifestyle, I don't know if I will know how to live as a working woman, and what will I even do as a job? I didn't pick my major based on what kind of job I want, I picked it because I like the topics of the classes. However, I do not want to be a politician. I think the only thing I really want to do is work in an office. I would be cool to be a secretary or something like that. I don't know why that appeals to me, but it just does. I really do hope that my little vacation does not set me back too much in my classes. I have tried to turn things in early or make arrangements with my teachers, so hopefully I can stay on track and come back ready to finish everything off.

Words of the Week:

After the in-class assignment we had today I remembered a few words that I did not remember the definitions for.

phenomenon: noun, a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, esp. one whose cause or explanation is in question

brut: adjective, (of sparkling wine) unsweetened; very dry