Friday, December 4, 2009
Personal Challenge
My personal challenge for Capstone was joining the club baseball team here at USC. During about my junior year in high school I decided that I didn't want to play baseball anymore. It had just gotten really old, and I didn't want to be tied down in college by anything. Senior year rolled around and I still felt the same way so I ended up turning down a few offers to play for different schools in the state. None of them were to any prestigious schools they were all division 2. Because of this, deciding to play baseball here for the club team was not any easy decision. Also, I wasn't looking forward to telling my dad considering he's paying for my education here and I could have saved him a bunch of money by playing baseball somewhere else. I am very glad I decided to play though. My dad is just happy to see me playing again he doesn't care about the money as much as I thought he would. Also, some of my best friends I have made here I met from the baseball team, so thats probably the main reason why I'm glad I joined.
Capstone Social Event
The Capstone social event I attended was Hot cookie Friday. I went back in the beginning of the semester and forgot about writing a blog about it, so now I'm doing it two months later. I went to hot cookie friday with a few of my friends in Capstone. We just signed in and then sat and ate cookies for a while. It was also funny to watch David and Dr. Hickey show off their guitar hero skills. Oh, and the cookies were definitely hot. Since there were so many people they constantly had batches of cookies coming out of the oven. We all had a good time and left after about 20 minutes or so. I went one other time but it was way too crowded so I left once I got there.
Capstone Cinema
The Capstone cinema I attended was the one that was the presentation of the movie made by another University 101 class. I went to this one primarily because a few of my good friends on my hall are in that class and were going to. The movie was very funny and was well made. It was clear that they put a lot of time into making it. The movie was all about University 101 and the positive effects it has on a freshman at USC. One of the main examples they gave was that it helps you make new friends. This is definitely true considering all the friends I have made in our U101 class. The presentation was about 20 or 30 minutes long so it probably took a lot of effort to make. Also, one of my best friends Aaron made all the music for the movie so I thought that was really cool. I didn't go to any other cinemas so I have nothing to compare it to, but I think I picked out one of the best ones to go to.
Final Blog
Your overall impressions of the course? Was blogging in this class helpful to you in terms of your integration of course content and reflecting on your first semester of college?
Overall, I enjoyed the class but I was surprised by the workload. It wasn't that big of a deal because we had to take the class for Capstone anyway,but I was expecting an easier class. On the other hand, I made a lot of great friends in the class and it was very enjoyable. I always looked forward to going to class because our class discussions were always enjoyable since everyone got along. Also, I thought the World is Flat book was a little bland. It was interesting at first but then it just seemed like it wasn't going anywhere which made it difficult to read. I thought the work outside of class was a little too much, but it was still my favorite class to go to. I don't think blogging was too helpful so much with integrating course content, but it did help in reflecting on my first semester. I've never blogged before so it was a new experience for me but I definitely like this form of homework more than a worksheet or reading assignment.
Overall, I enjoyed the class but I was surprised by the workload. It wasn't that big of a deal because we had to take the class for Capstone anyway,but I was expecting an easier class. On the other hand, I made a lot of great friends in the class and it was very enjoyable. I always looked forward to going to class because our class discussions were always enjoyable since everyone got along. Also, I thought the World is Flat book was a little bland. It was interesting at first but then it just seemed like it wasn't going anywhere which made it difficult to read. I thought the work outside of class was a little too much, but it was still my favorite class to go to. I don't think blogging was too helpful so much with integrating course content, but it did help in reflecting on my first semester. I've never blogged before so it was a new experience for me but I definitely like this form of homework more than a worksheet or reading assignment.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thanksgiving Traditions
What Thanksgiving tradition are you looking forward to? How did this tradition start? Is there a story behind the tradition?
I'm looking forward to a couple Thanksgiving traditions my family always takes part in. One is watching the the Iron Bowl, the Auburn-Alabama game. This has always been a tradition because most of my mom's side of the family is Auburn University alumni and they are all die hard fans(until coming to USC, I was as well). Its something I look forward to every year because everyone is always into the game. It creates a very dramatic house for a few hours. I guess this tradition started when my grandparants moved to Auburn 50 years ago when my grandfather became a professor. Since then, the family was raised in orange and blue. Another tradition I'm looking forward to is the annual trivial pursuit game. My relatives are all very competitive and are really serious about it. This makes it really fun to watch. Also, I always look forward to the one or two questions I can answer each game. They are usually general knowledge questions that involve geography or history. I'm not sure how this tradition started or if there is a story behind it, but for as long as I can remember the men of the family have always had an intense game of trivial pursuit against the women every Thanksgiving. I think the women have only won once
I'm looking forward to a couple Thanksgiving traditions my family always takes part in. One is watching the the Iron Bowl, the Auburn-Alabama game. This has always been a tradition because most of my mom's side of the family is Auburn University alumni and they are all die hard fans(until coming to USC, I was as well). Its something I look forward to every year because everyone is always into the game. It creates a very dramatic house for a few hours. I guess this tradition started when my grandparants moved to Auburn 50 years ago when my grandfather became a professor. Since then, the family was raised in orange and blue. Another tradition I'm looking forward to is the annual trivial pursuit game. My relatives are all very competitive and are really serious about it. This makes it really fun to watch. Also, I always look forward to the one or two questions I can answer each game. They are usually general knowledge questions that involve geography or history. I'm not sure how this tradition started or if there is a story behind it, but for as long as I can remember the men of the family have always had an intense game of trivial pursuit against the women every Thanksgiving. I think the women have only won once
Friday, November 13, 2009
Spirituality
Are religion, faith, and spirituality the same or different? What has your experience been like in these areas? How does the culture of USC and the South reflect religion, faith, and spirituality?
Religion, faith and spirituality are related but very different things. In my opinion, religion is the practice of a person's faith. Faith is what someone believes without any physical proof. For example, many people, including myself believe in a higher being even though there is no proof. Spirituality to me is hard to define but I see it as anything to do with a person's soul. An example of is a person's connection to God or any other higher power they believe in. I feel like I have a pretty good amount of experience in these areas since I was raised in a religious family. I do believe in God but I have struggled with my faith at times. Religion is reflected in the South by all of the churches seen on almost every street corner. There are also a wide variety of denominations. Both of these things are reasons why our area is called the Bible belt.
Religion, faith and spirituality are related but very different things. In my opinion, religion is the practice of a person's faith. Faith is what someone believes without any physical proof. For example, many people, including myself believe in a higher being even though there is no proof. Spirituality to me is hard to define but I see it as anything to do with a person's soul. An example of is a person's connection to God or any other higher power they believe in. I feel like I have a pretty good amount of experience in these areas since I was raised in a religious family. I do believe in God but I have struggled with my faith at times. Religion is reflected in the South by all of the churches seen on almost every street corner. There are also a wide variety of denominations. Both of these things are reasons why our area is called the Bible belt.
Relationships
What are some new relationships you have formed here at USC? Are they being an advocate for your success? Why or why not?
I have formed many new relationships since I have been here at USC. I met a lot of my new friends just from living on the same hall. Also, since I joined the club baseball team I met a new group of people with similar interests as me. Although most of my friends put academics first on their list of priorities, many still go out, which makes it a little more difficult to stay on task with my schoolwork because I like to go out with them. It is always still my decision of course on what I decide to do with my time, but it is hard to turn down your friends when they want to go downtown on a thursday night even if you have work to do. On the other hand, I often do homework with my hall mates. Most of us are taking the same classes, even if we are in different sections. This makes it much easier to learn the material because I have friends only a few feet away that can help me if I don't understand something. So, sometimes my friends make it more difficult to stay on task, but we help each other succeed by helping each other do homework or study.
I have formed many new relationships since I have been here at USC. I met a lot of my new friends just from living on the same hall. Also, since I joined the club baseball team I met a new group of people with similar interests as me. Although most of my friends put academics first on their list of priorities, many still go out, which makes it a little more difficult to stay on task with my schoolwork because I like to go out with them. It is always still my decision of course on what I decide to do with my time, but it is hard to turn down your friends when they want to go downtown on a thursday night even if you have work to do. On the other hand, I often do homework with my hall mates. Most of us are taking the same classes, even if we are in different sections. This makes it much easier to learn the material because I have friends only a few feet away that can help me if I don't understand something. So, sometimes my friends make it more difficult to stay on task, but we help each other succeed by helping each other do homework or study.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
