College Life

Soccer chica returned to school today and will take the next week or so to get settled. In the meant time, I'll try to chip in with some relevant news and info...in between Olympic activities on the tube.

Stay tuned.

So I finally got my award letter from school. It's a huge relief to know what I can and ... can't afford. After all that stress, though, I've still decided to hold off on getting a car. I'd be in a better financial position next summer. Seems like the way to go.

 

Gotta run a kid to summer school.

 

-SC

Summer is here, and not a moment too soon. After days of exams, I was ready to move out of my dorm room and head home. Looking back on my first year of college, it was everything that I expected it to be and more. It was stressful but I had a lot of fun along the way.

Now that I'm home, I've jumped right back into all that I do here. I spent the weekend staffing a camp for Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts. Today, I start back at my job from last summer. I have CPR training this week Next week, I fly to Texas to visit family. I'll attend camp in June. Then back to school in August.

Sitting in front of my TV in my PJs is probably the most amazing thing I've done since last August. I appreciate it so much more this summer than last summer. Wow.

Don't forget to enjoy your summer!!!

-SC

With only 4 weeks until the collegiate summer begins, I struggle to believe that summer is an existing season this year. It's now April and I still have to pull out the winter coat 4 days a week. I mean, instead of April showers, I'm seeing April sleet. That's just not right. What's up?

I'm sick of freezing temperatures, wooly socks, and frost. Bring on the sweat, tank tops, and pollen! (When an asthmatic begs for pollen, you know she's desperate.)

I feel better now, so I think I'm going to go do another paper. Oh, joy...

By the way! I got AIM!!! My screenname is SoccerChicaFan. If you ever get bored or curious as to what I'm like outside outside of my blog, just shoot me a message. I'd be glad to get to know some of my readers!

Alright, so I gave you a list of 5 Great Alternatives to Writing a College Paper. Well, I used a few of them. Here's what happens when you take the Alternatives too seriously...

I had to leave for a trip at 2 on Friday. The English paper I had been putting off had to be e-mailed by midnight. Unfortunately, traveling meant no internet connection, which meant that I had to send in my paper before 2. Because I had been making use of the 5 Alternatives, I had not finished the paper when I went to my 1:00 class - English... I actually had the nerve to finish it in her class. Except that I still couldn't get it finished before 2. The final result was a great paper with a half-completed works cited page. (Not finishing a works cited page means that some sources were not given credit for thier ideas. That is defined as plagiarism, which is illegal.)

The verdict?

Ok...

I have to add a disclaimer to that last entry. In "5 Great Alternatives to Writing a Paper," I may have encouraged you to push aside homework that should be a priority. So I have a few points to add:

- A student-athlete has to be a student first. That's why the word student comes first.

- Doing your homework, papers, and projects now will better prepare you for life beyond school, when deadlines are deadlines no matter what.

- The 5 alternatives should never be applied to the workplace or the home.

- Practicing the 5 alternatives too regularly may result in lower grades.

- SoccerChica is not responsible for low grades due to tardiness of the paper/project or poor quality. Neither is Big D. Nor are we responsible for groundings or other punishment due to lower grades or calls from teachers or anything else.

This includes fine print that you can't see without a telescope. That fine print covers anything else that may go wrong while practicing the 5 alternatives.

Thanks.

-SC

While the particular paper to be avoided is for my freshman level English Comp class, these can be applied to any paper or project that you desire to avoid like the Plague.

1) Write a blog entry.
-This is a prime example. I don't want to write the English paper, so I am writing this ABOUT not writing my English paper. I've managed to avoid the paper and put off the guilt by not doing something completely unrelated to the paper.

2) Go outside.
-Physical activity will provide endorphins that schoolwork quickly drain. When you get back to the paper/project, you might actually WANT to do it!

3) Volunteer.
-No teacher can refuse the excuse, "I was out late feeding the homeless/building a ramp for a man in a wheelchair/reading to children in the burn unit (or whatever it is you do) and didn't have time to do the homework." It's a lot more effective and a lot more believable than, "My dog ate my homework," though I have heard that that really does happen.