Capstone Challenge

For my capstone challenge I did the rock wall. The reason I did this was because over the years I have really wanted to get into climbing and just never have. I own everything I need to go climbing and I still haven't been. So for my challenge I decided to take the first step and do the rock wall. I still really want to go real climbing outdoors but I figured this was the best I could do for now. Climbing the rock wall was awesome. I also climbed a rock wall in Boone NC when I was there. So really I did my challenge twice. Doing the rock wall just made me want to go climbing even more. I am going to try to go over Christmas break as long as I can find someone that knows what their doing to come with me. Who knows maybe I could make this my challenge for next semester that way I will have no choice but to go.

Capstone Cinema

The capstone cinema was really good! We watched zombie land and ate insomnia cookies. This was my first time ever having insomnia cookies and they were amazing. I tried many different kinds and by the time I was done I was stuffed. The movie was also very good. I had never seen it before. My favorite character was Tallahassee. He was the man. I also really liked his dog, Buck. I think when I get a dog I will name him Buck. The movie was also cool because it was Halloween time and it was about zombies so it fit in well. I was really glad that I was able to watch an actual Hollywood movie for my Capstone Cinema rather than some documentary kind of movie. I think out of all of the things I had to go to for Capstone this was my favorite. I think they should do movie nights like that more often.

Capstone Social

For my capstone social I went to an everybody's birthday party. I don't know how to write 150 words about this but I'm going to try. They had cake. They had vanilla and chocolate cake. I got chocolate because I like chocolate better. I wasn't at this event very long I kind of just went for the cake. It was nice to talk to a few other people in capstone. They also had drinks but I didn't like any of them because all they had was soda and I don't like soda. So I went and got water out of the sink. They were also playing wii when I was there. It looked fun but there was already a lot of people playing so I decided not to play. I wondered around for a little bit then I talked to doctor hickey. After I wondered for about ten more minutes I decided I had been there long enough so I left.

Capstone Conversation

For my capstone conversation I don't remember what the guys name was that I heard speak but I know that he talked about all of the opportunities that are available through the University and through capstone. He talked about countless things that he had been involved in and how if you take advantage of what USC has to offer you can go anywhere. He talked about how he had created Cocky's Reading Express, been student president of USC, and done countless other things. Through all of these things he met many amazing people. He even got to go to the White house with cocky's reading express. This speech really inspired me to take advantage of everything that carolina has to offer. It can open countless doors and create endless opportunities. His speech really related to our U101 class. It kind of made everything that Jimmie said in class sink in because this was a real example of what can happen if you put your mind to it.

Service Learning Wrap-Up

I think the thing that I enjoyed most about mentoring this semester was being able to spend time with my mentee. It brought back so many memories of middle school and I'm glad that I hopefully made my mentee's middle school experience a little bit better. I think that my time at Hand Middle School was not only beneficial to my mentee but it was also beneficial to me. As of now I will probably not be able to mentor next semester because my schedule is a little hectic. I have a lot of classes that I am going to need to put a lot of time into. I hope to someday be able to go back to mentoring. Next semester I will not be giving up volunteering completely. I might not have enough time to set time aside every week but I will definitely find time in my schedule to help out the community in some way. Over the summer I will probably go back to volunteering at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. I did this before I came to college and it was something that I really enjoyed and I will hopefully be able to continue it.

Thanksgiving

My thanksgiving plans aren't very exciting but they are perfect. I am going to go back home to Winston and spend thanksgiving with my friends and family. I am really looking forward to seeing all of my friends that I haven't seen for months. It will be so nice because everyone will be back in town. I am also looking forward to seeing my family. I don't have any family coming into town but I am actually kind of happy about that. I want a relaxing break and when family come in it is never relaxing. Out of everything that I am looking forward to over thanksgiving, I am most excited for my thanksgiving dinner. I have not had real food in weeks and it will be so nice to have my mom's cooking. I am also very excited for the Clemson Carolina game. Hopefully Carolina will have no problem winning but we will see.

Rock Wall/Sustainability

I think that living a sustainable life style means that you support yourself and the environment. This means that you aren't wasteful and you go out of your way to help support the earth. I do not live my life in a very sustainable manner. I wish that I lived it better especially because I love the outdoors so much. When I am outdoors I do a very good job taking care of the environment and leaving no trace but when I'm living my everyday life I could make some changes. I don't ever do anything to intentionally hurt the environment but I also don't go out of my way to improve it. I wish that I did more things like we did this week. Planting those trees was not hard at all and it will help the environment for years. I would love to be more involved around campus and in my community.

Stress Management-Bert Medlin

There are many things that stress me out. The top three are definitely school, relationships, and family health. To deal with stress from school I like to make lists of everything that I have to do, even if its just a few things long. Lists really help me focus on the important things. To help deal with stress involving my relationship and family I talk to my friends about it. There aren't many people that I like talking to but it really helps having a couple good friends to talk to. I don't really like sharing my problems with others but every once in awhile its nice to just get everything out. My service site has not been that stressful. Its really easy and it doesn't require much work. Its just time consuming but the feeling that I get out of helping others is definitely worth it. There has definitely been a few times when I dreaded going but in the end I have enjoyed the experience.

Brain Rules Chapters 11 & 12

I think that I have done a pretty good job managing my time this semester. I have procrastinated quite a bit this semester but in the end it has worked out pretty well. I'm sure that once my classes start to become more advanced and more time consuming I will have to start managing my time better but for now I seem to be doing alright. I don't really wish I had more time for anything other than sleep on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I hate my 8 am but I only have it for a few more weeks. I also wish I had more time to visit friends at other colleges. It is just not worth driving hours to see them for two days. I will fix my sleep problem by never scheduling an 8 am again. I have already made my schedule for next semester and my earliest class isn't until 9:30. After registering for my classes, I think that next semester I am really going to have to be focused and use better time management. It wont have to be perfect but some things will definitely have to change.

Healthy Carolina

I like to think that I am healthy. I put a lot of effort into keeping myself healthy but I could definitely do a lot more than I do. I try to eat healthy but I pretty much eat whatever I want. I also wish that I went to the gym more often. I try to go as much as I can but its very hard to motivate myself to go. Recently I found someone to play tennis with so that makes it a lot easier to stay active. I have made many new relationships. I have met so many new people. These relationships have made my USC experience so much better. Even meeting my professors has been an amazing experience. All of these people can open new doors and create new opportunities for me. Most of my relationships support me and my success. There are always a few people that can drag you down but there are so many more that can support you and help you reach your goals. You just have to stay focused.

Spirituality and Religion

Religion, spirituality, and faith are all different terms but they are all closely related to each other. Religion is a set of beliefs. Such as Christianity. Spirituality is the belief in a supernatural being or idea. This could be the belief in religion. Faith is your trust in something. If you are very faithful toward something you believe in it very strongly. I relate to all of these terms. Sometimes I struggle with these terms but in the end these terms are all a big part of my life. Since I was born I have been raised to be faithful towards God. The south puts a very large emphasis on religion and faith. It is a huge part of the culture down here. You can even see this around the USC campus. There are churches everywhere. There are countless student organizations that deal with religion. I have also talked to a lot of people here from the north and although most of them practice religion they don't understand the intensity of it down here. The spirituality of southerners is extremely strong.

Study Abroad/National Student Exchange

I am very interested in both studying abroad and the National Student Exchange Program. I love traveling and changes and this is a great way to do that. It also requires me to step outside of my comfort zone and push myself to experience the full college experience. If I could go anywhere in the world I would probably go to Australia. I have wanted to go to Australia since I was a little kid and I would love to spend a semester there. I would also like to do the National Student Exchange Program. If I could go to any college across the United States I would either go to NC State, UNC wilmington, or the University of Indiana. I have a lot of friends at NC State and UNCW and I would love to visit and spend a whole semester with them. It would be a great way to stay close to them while also getting a whole new college experience. I would want to go to IU because that is where my dad went and I have been a huge IU fan since I was a kid. I also love the campus and it would be a nice change from Columbia. I think that I would rather study abroad than do the National Student Exchange Program. I have never left North America and I would love to experience the rest of the world. My favorite part of my service site is definitely meeting all of the kids. It brings back so many memories from my childhood. I would go back to middle school in a second.

Brain Rules 7 & 8-Student Leaders perspective

Leadership is when you show others how to do something. I have been a leader many times. I enjoy being a leader much more than following in others footsteps. The biggest and most rememberable leadership experience is my Eagle Scout Project. This project required me to lead a few dozen of my fellow scouts and friends through a project that I designed. This project really required me to step up and take charge. It was an amazing learning experience and once it was over it was one of the biggest accomplishments of my life. I have also held many other leadership positions in scouts. I have lead my troop on many occasions. My senior year of high school I was the vice president of my schools men's service club. This was a much harder task than I ever imagined it would be but I loved it. I lead with a bunch of my friends and we really made the club take off. It was a great experience. I am very interested in leadership opportunities at USC. I hope to lead at least one of the clubs that I am in now by my junior year. Leadership is a great way to get your voice heard and do things that you want. It is also a great way  to stand out on graduate school and job applications.

Diversity

Prior to coming to USC I had already experienced diversity everyday in my high school. It was a much different type of diversity than USC has though. In high school there was much more of a racial and academic diversity than there is at USC. Before I came here I always thought of race when I heard the word diversity. My definition has changed dramatically. I see now that diversity can be anything from what city your from to your political views. USC is a very diverse school and I really like it. You can learn something new from everyone. I really like the diversity in where people are from, especially other countries. It is so cool talking to these people because they are so much different than me. At Hand Middle School there is a lot of diversity. The two that stand out the most are racial and financial diversity. My protege is very well off but I can look around at others and tell that they aren't so lucky. The racial diversity is very easy to notice, especially if you walk through the halls or the lunch room. I think that diversity is a good thing and it opens the kids eyes to a whole new world.

Brain Rules Chapters 5 and 6-Diversity

I am sure that I have partaken in multiple South Carolina traditions without even knowing it. The football games are a tradition in them self, especially the opening, 2001. It is one of the most electrifying and well known college traditions. My family has many traditions, they range from small random weekend plans to big holiday family gatherings. Even this weekend I am going home for a small family tradition. Every year my mom and I walk in the Juvenile Diabetes Walk in Winston Salem. We have done this for many years and I am going home to do it again this year. I really don't want my family traditions to die just because I am at college. My favorite family tradition is definitely Christmas. All of my family goes to Indiana and we stay at my grandparents house. I love this tradition because it is usually the only time all year that I get to see my family. My friends and I don't really have any traditions but were starting to make ones to help keep us all in touch now that were all at different colleges.

Alcohol and Fall Break

I actually did learn some stuff during our alcohol discussion. I think the biggest thing I learned is that a lot fewer people drink than I thought. Almost half of our class doesn't drink. I also learned about all of the consequences that can come with drinking. It really makes me think twice about what could happen if I go out and got caught drinking. During the discussion I felt very comfortable and I enjoyed hearing other peoples stories. I also enjoyed hearing what other people thought about drinking. Next semester I am not really sure what courses I will take. I have not met with my advisor yet so I don't know what I am going to take. The only class that I am sure I will take is Biology. I may also start a language but I haven't decided yet. My plans for fall break are not to exciting. I plan on spending most of it at home with my family. None of my friends from other schools are on fall break so I probably will be really bored. On Saturday I will probably go up to Boone to visit my friend Brody, at Appalachian State.

Brain Rules Chapter 3 and 4- Undergraduate Research

So far my experience at Hand Middle School has been really good. My protege is awesome. He is in 6th grade and wants to be a professional soccer player. The hardest part of mentoring for me is setting new goals with my mentee. He seems to be the perfect 6th grader. He makes all As and never misses school but once we sat down and really thought about what we could do for a goal we finally came up with one. My protege has a little bit of an organization problem. He has papers everywhere. So we sat down and got him organized. It took awhile but I hope that he will stay organized. I will check up on him next week and if he does good then he will get some kind of reward, probably some candy. I think that my biggest strength with mentoring is that I feel like I can relate to the kids much more than their teachers or other adults can. I think that I can talk to my mentee very easily and he feels comfortable around me. I have not volunteered anywhere else this semester but I will probably do a service saturday sometime this semester through capstone.

Mid-Term Exam

My semester so far has been great. I love college. It started out slow at first but now it is everything that I expected it would be. My favorite memory is definitely going to the Georgia game. I had never been to a game as crazy as that was. It was amazing. If I could do anything over again I don't think I would change a thing. I am very happy with every decision I've made and wouldn't change a thing. My goals have been going very well. My main goal of getting at least a 3.5GPA is definitely still in reach and I have done a good job of achieving it so far. My other goal of getting involved around campus still needs some work. I have done a lot but I could definitely do more. My goals have not really changed much. I am sticking with my original goals and I'm going to strive to achieve them. If I keep my goals straight and keep pushing to achieve them they will definitely be completed by the end of the semester. So far I love USC and I would not change a thing!

Brain Rules Overview/Midterm review

I have only read through the introduction of Brain Rules but so far from what I've read I think that it may actually not be a bad book. I think that it will be very interesting and that I will learn a lot from it. At the Career fair I learned not only about some new major opportunities but also about many other opportunities that I am very interested in participating in. The one I found most interesting was studying abroad. This is something that I really want to do. I am thinking about doing it spring semester of sophomore year. I have no idea where I would want to go but I received a lot of information on it and how to sign up at the career fair. I also received a lot of information about majoring in Biology. This is my major and so far I am very happy with it and I will probably stick with it, at least for now. At the fair I learned how to sign up for advising. This was probably the most useful information I got out of going to the fair just because I was so lost on how it worked. They were very helpful at the fair and it was definitely worth the time.

Campus Safety Presentation

So far my classes have been going pretty well. They are a little overwhelming but overall I like them all. My Biology class is definitely my hardest class. It wouldn't be that hard but my professor if Indian and it is very hard to understand him. All of my other classes are great. I am doing pretty well in all of them. The first week of exams was definitely the most I've ever had to study in my life but it all paid off in the end when I got my grades back. My favorite class is Chemistry for sure. I have always liked science because I am good at it. This may be one of my most demanding classes but I actually understand the work so it is not bad. I have not met with any of my professors outside of class yet other than Brent. I have met with a few of my TAs and that was a good experience. They really helped me understand the class material. I think I am going to take my Biology professor out to lunch soon. I chose my Biology teacher because that is my hardest class. Maybe if I talk to him about what I am struggling with he will be able to help me and I can do better in the class.

Service-Learning site visits

After visiting Hand Middle School I am so excited to meet my mentee. This whole experience is going to be very rewarding and I can't wait to start. I am a little worried about how the mentoring is going to go. I have never done anything like this before so it is going to be a new experience for me and I'm just a little nervous that I wont do something right. If I ever have any questions about what to do I'm sure that I can just ask for help. I also think that if I read my mentoring handbook before I go every time I will be fine. I hope to gain a sense of accomplishment and maybe even learn something through this experience. I have always loved kids so I know that this experience is going to be very rewarding for both the mentee and me. I would have loved to have a college kid come in and talk to me every week when I was in middle school and I'm sure that these kids are just as excited for this experience as I am. This will be something that both me and the mentee will look forward to every week. I hope that I get a little boy for my mentee because I think that I will be able to relate to a boy more than a girl. I can't wait for next week!

Patrick Hickey-Presentation

My experience as a Capstone scholar has been good. I haven't really done many things yet with Capstone but I hope to do more in the future. I don't live in Capstone so it is hard to hear about all of the events and when I do hear about them its about a twenty minute walk up from Bates. I know that Capstone is full of opportunities and it can open up many doors. After hearing Doctor Hickey speak about all of the opportunities available through Capstone I really hope to take full advantage of them. Capstone is definitely not what I expected it to be like. It is a lot less focused on academics and a lot more focused on involvement around campus and in the community than I thought it would be. It is also a lot less work than I thought it would be. All of the Capstone events are meant to benefit you and are actually pretty fun. I am very glad that I decided to join Capstone.

Time Management, Goal Setting, Personal Challenge

I set three goals for this semester; I want to go to Strom more often, achieve a 3.75+ GPA, and meet new people. I think that going to Strom will be my easiest goal especially if I can find someone to go with. Having a 3.75+ GPA will definitely be hard but I don't think that it is an unreachable goal. If I stay focused I can definitely achieve it. Meeting new people will be my hardest goal for sure. I am a shy person so it is hard for me to meet new people. I am not quite sure yet what my personal challenge will be but I'm thinking about making it to go climbing. I have always really wanted to go and I even have some climbing stuff, I just have never gone. I think it would be really fun and its something that I would love to get into. The challenging part for me will be getting in good enough shape to be able to be a good climber. I will accomplish this goal by hopefully finding someone to go with and just taking it one step at a time. I can start out on the climbing wall and go from there.

Academic Success

I feel that my LASSI scores were way off. The lowest scores were definitely my weakest points but according to LASSI I was in the lower percentile in everything. I don't think that this is an accurate test and it really didn't really help me much. The two that I disagree with most are my time management and attitude. I think that I have a good attitude about school and am very interested in it. The only one that I really do agree with is selecting main ideas. This was my lowest score on the test and I believe that this is accurate. I don't really have any strengths according to LASSI so I don't know how I would use them in my everyday life. I plan to start using lists to help me stay organized and help me do better time management. I think I will be fine if I just keep focused.

Service Learning

I have a good amount of past experience with service. All of my junior year and senior year of high school I would volunteer at our local hospital every week. I would work at the front desk and in the ICU. This experience was amazing and I learned so much. Doing this just reinforced my want to be a doctor. I have also done other events around the community. One of my most memorable service experience was when I spent the night at the Samaritan Inn. The Samaritan Inn is where the homeless people go to eat and sleep. At first I was just going because one of my friends had to go for court ordered community service and I was just going to go along with him but the experience ended up being really fun and unforgettable. It felt really good to help out these people that were less fortunate than me. I have had one course where we had to do service in order to pass. It was my 9th grade life skills class and we were required to do service around the school. If I could provide service anywhere it would definitely be at a hospital. I enjoy the learning experience I get whenever I'm there. It is a benefit for both me and the hospital.

Labor Day Weekend

My plans over labor day weekend didn't consist of much. I went back home to Winston Salem and got to see my family and friends. The best part of the weekend was definitely getting to see my girl friend Becca! Friday night when I got home I ate dinner with my family and then went to my high school's football game. The game was really good and I got to see a lot of my friends. After the game I went over to my friends house for a party. The party was really good because I got to see all of my friends that I hadn't seen in three weeks. It was nice to get to catch up with all of them. Saturday night Becca and I went to see Corey Smith in concert at Wake Forest. The concert was amazing and it was really nice to get to spend time with Becca. Sunday was definitely my favorite day of the weekend. I went up to the mountains and went hiking. I love hiking its one of my favorite things to do and I haven't been able to do it in so long because I've been stuck in Columbia without a car. It was so nice to just go up there and be able to get away from everything, especially school. Sunday night, once I got back from the mountains I went to a cookout and said bye to all of my friends. That is pretty much all I did over Labor Day weekend. The best part of going home was definitely getting real food and sleeping in a real bed.

Student Organization Fair

When I got to the fair it felt like it was a hundred degrees outside and there were people everywhere. My goal was to get in and get out as fast as possible. It was just way to crowded. I ended up actually finding a lot of clubs and organizations that I was interested in. My favorite was definitely the white water rafting and mountaineering club. I love backpacking, rafting, caving, and everything outdoors. I also would like to join some student ministry. I have never been involved in anything like this but I would love to start. If I could start any club it would be a fishing club. I'm sure that there is already some sort of fishing club but I couldn't find one at the student fair. I love fishing! I'm not very good but I could fish all day. In the end I really did enjoy going to the Student Organization Fair I just wish it hadn't been so hot outside.

Lifelines

My expectations of USC and college have changed a lot since I've been here. I didn't really know what to expect coming into college but now that I'm here I love it. During the next four years I hope to meet new people and make new friends while achieving an education. I haven't really had any crazy adventures since being here. My classes are a lot harder than a thought they would be but its nice only having class a few hours a day compared to all day everyday like high school. The worst part about USC for me is having to walk up from bates everyday to get to everything. The food at Russel House is also getting very old. I think my favorite thing is meeting all of these new people and having all of this freedom. I am really excited for the next four years here in Columbia.