Welcome Back

Hello All!
I flew back to Texas on Sunday evening and second semester is in full swing. Syllabus days are over for the most part and real lectures have already commenced. It's been a little challenging readjusting considering I was home for 4 weeks and did not do a whole lot, but I am proud to say that I have already been to the rec to work out. That's a step up from last semester for sure.

It was so fun to reunite with all of my crazy wonderful friends. I truly did miss them over break. In that sense, not much has changed. We fell right back into our hang-out routines. It was also wonderful to begin new classes and have a fresh start to the New Year. I do have some semester goals that I would like to share.

Balance
It's my second semester as a college student, which means that last semester was my time to truly get the hang of college because it is a huge change. Now that I understand many things about college life and survival I can truly accomplish balance. I desire to balance my academics, personal, and social life much better than I did previously. Last semester and really last year, my life was a little bit lop-sided. I started off doing academics the majority of the time and did not hang out with friends other than weekends and meals for the most part because I was so stressed out about anatomy. About halfway through, my life became lopsided the other direction. I got burnt out and spent a lot of time with friends, which is great because they kept and continue to keep me sane, but I would hang out with them and neglect my studies, which hurt me a little bit at the end. This semester my goal is to begin with a balanced life so that I don't go stir-crazy with academics, but I don't neglect them either. It's going to be a challenge, but I'm hoping that I can find a balance because I think it is important and will be beneficial in the long run.

Academic Excellence
I'm kind of a perfectionist, and academic excellence has always been important to me. I mean, come on, I came to a selective university for a reason. My goal is to perform to the best of my ability in everything I do. I feel like as a society, we focus too much on letter grades than work ethic and perseverance. There's a belief in our society that if you make As, you've achieved academic excellence. This saddens me a little because academic excellence is different for each person. If one performs to the best of their ability in a class, even if it means they make a B, or even a C, I believe they have achieved excellence. Academic Excellence should be more about effort, therefore, my goal is to do my best. Sure, I'd like to make a 4.0 this semester, but if I do not achieve this, but know I performed to the best of my ability I'm not going to be down on myself because in my mind, I still will have achieved academic excellence.

Exercise
I did not exercise enough last semester...okay I didn't exercise hardly at all. This semester, I am going to change that in order to be healthier, boost my immune system, and feel better. Exercise also releases endorphins, which makes one happy, so that's another benefit. Also, everyone who goes to TCU pays a lot of money for a private education and all of our nice facilities, so basically, if I don't use the Rec, I'm wasting money, and I'm not about that life.

Healthy Eating
I'll admit...I'm not the most patient person ever when it comes to lines, and when I go to the BLUU for lunch, it seems like no matter when I go, there's a billion people in there. I thought noon was rush hour...and I have class at noon, so I was excited to eat at 11 so that I wouldn't have to deal with the entire campus trying to eat at once (that's an exaggeration), but now apparently 11 is rush hour. Joke's on me. The whole line thing is a big reason why I eat pizza basically everyday...which is not good for me...or anyone...so my goal this semester is to not eat pizza (or oreos or ice cream) all the time and to eat healthier. Once again, this is to help with my immune system, allow me to be healthier, and to feel better. This one is going to be hard because I hate lines, but, I'm going to start braving them to better my eating habits...hopefully. But really...this may be the most challenging goal of mine.

Growth in Faith
My relationship with Jesus has almost always been really important to me, therefore, I'm always looking to grow in my faith because I don't want to just become stagnant. I love Jesus and want to strengthen my relationship with Him. I'm excited to continue my walk with Him alongside some amazing women in my Bible Study and in my dorm. I can already tell that this is going to be a wonderful semester in regards to my faith and I cannot wait to grow more.

Growth in Self
"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning." -Benjamin Franklin
This quote resonates with me because of its truth. I cannot improve myself if I will not allow myself to grow. I don't know everything by any means. My hope this semester is that I continue to grow as a person, friend, sister, etc. My goal is to always be looking for areas of my life to improve upon because I don't do anything perfectly. Growth is incredibly important to me not just for my own benefit. I want to continue to learn, grow, and become more mature not just this semester or even just my college career, but my entire life. Upon graduation, I want to become a teacher, and if I don't demonstrate the willingness to grow personally, there is no way I will ever be able to expect my students to want to learn and grow.

Yours Truly,
Steph