Athens, Georgia

This past weekend I took a trip to Athens, Georgia to visit my good friend, Maddy, who starting early as a freshman at the University of Georgia. I made the 1 hour and 15 minute drive along with two of my girlfriends. We anticipated an exciting night ahead of us. As we jammed to music we found ourselves already reminiscing about high school. Wow, those four years flew by. How could that have happened. My guess is college will do the same thing. When we got to Athens, Maddy ran out to greet us like we had not seen her in years. Well, a couple of weeks anyway. The fact that I am going to college in a month quickly became a reality to not just me, but the other two as well. After taking us to her dorm room, we got settled in and started getting ready for a fun night on the town. It was a tough evening going from one fraternity house to the next and yet somehow we still had the the time of our lives. Southern Gentlemen and pretty girls in sundresses were in every direction. We always felt welcome and if we ever came across someone we didn't know we were quickly introduced. Unfortunately the night had to come to an end and we made our way back to the dorm. We were sad that our time with Maddy was almost over. Sunday morning was a little rough, but worth every minute for the fun time we had in Athens. My college start is just around the corner, now and I am excited to begin this chapter in my life.

Summer School At Its Finest

In order to be successful in nursing school, I have to make good grades from day one in college. So I chose to take a few college courses to make my freshman year at Alabama a little easier. I never thought that being accepted and registering at GPC would be almost as challenging as the courses themselves! Having just graduated from high school, I was not too confident that I was ready to dive back into the hard work again, but was excited to get a jump on college. I enrolled in two classes: College Algebra and English 1101. With each class meeting twice a week for nearly 3 hours, I had NO idea what to expect. What a relief to be in a small class environment with two professors who paid a great deal of attention to each student. After the first few weeks, I got into a routine. In English we consistently submit two blogs a week. This was a perfect way to work on my writing skills using a contemporary format. In math, as expected, I got to revisit some equations I had befriended in high school. Fortunately, I have found this area of math to be pretty straightforward. As the semester winds down, I have become more confident in my writing ability and have strengthened my math foundation. In the end, I will be the first to say that I have really enjoyed my first exposure to college level courses and look forward to more.

Crohn's and Me

In the spring of 10th grade I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. This treatable, but incurable chronic disease initially made me question “Why me?” I have come to realize, however, that I could let Crohn’s limit and dictate my life—or I could take control. So I now ask “Why not me?” Living with Crohn’s has made me more aware and able to better appreciate the strength and courage of others who wrestle with physical and emotional health problems every day. My interest in pursuing a career in health care, for example, has been heightened since my ongoing experience of being a patient myself. Many around the hospital may now know me as a "regular" considering my monthly visits to the doctor and to Nurse Karen for my weekly infusions. As awful as these fluent trips to the doctor may sound, I would have to say it has its benefits. Because of it, I am proud to say needles are no longer one of my worst fears. Getting "stuck" with those things every so often is not nearly as bad as I usually anticipated. However, most importantly, I have started feeling better than ever. Despite my keen eye for what I eat each day, I can now say I live a relatively normal life (even though I can never again call myself healthy). Having Crohn’s disease will define me for the rest of my life, but I keep reminding myself that it's up to me on how I choose to learn from it, manage it and adapt to it.

Whipped Cream Revisited

It's white, sweet and fluffy and best (I think) when you squirt it out of a can. I've always loved whipped cream on a scoop of ice cream or on top of a milkshake or mixed in with a bowl of strawberries or slathered over a piece of key lime pie. That was how I felt about it until swim practice this morning. As a coach of a swim team, our coaching staff issued a "challenge" to our swimmers before a BIG meet on Monday night. This dual meet is between the biggest rivals in the league and it's always an exciting, competitive and close match-up. The "challenge" was that a victory for our team would allow any swimmer to throw a pie at a coach during practice the next day. Given the topic of this blog, you've probably figured out that we won...and only by 2 points! And so the fun began this morning with nearly every swimmer armed with pie plates and PLENTY of whipped cream. There were a few ground rules. Coaches sat in chairs with our swim goggles on and swimmers had to throw from a reasonable distance. A few older kids managed to sneak behind us and smush the plates of whipped cream into our hair. I've showered now but the distinct smell of whipped cream will be with me for awhile. Whipped cream may be something I enjoy again on food...but I'll never look at it the same again.

The Lake

I had an awesome experience at Lake Blue Ridge this weekend. It was a nice escape from some long days spent at work and school. The lake is located just outside of Ellijay about an hour and twenty minutes from my home. My next door neighbor invited me with a couple of her high school friends. She and I attended different schools so I was a little nervous being the "outsider". As it turned out, I had no reason for concern and quickly felt like one of the gang. We could not have asked for a more perfect lake day. We actually woke up early contrary to our natural talent to sleep all day, so as to take advantage of the weather. The main event was of course tubing. Although tubing can at times be very relaxing, some boat drivers strive to make the ride a bit more interesting. These types take it as a personal challenge to seperate you from your tube. My friend's mom is one of these people and she has a special skill at taking the boat in one direction while sending us careening in another direction. Later, we collapsed on the dock, baked in the sun and nursed some bruises and sore muscles. All in all, the weekend was a relaxing and quiet change of pace from my daily grind. Despite my near death experience of tubing with a "crazy driving" mom, I look forward to the next time I can get away to Lake Blue Ridge. The aches and pains are always worth it!

Why Facebook?

My parents were forever asking me about Facebook. "When we were your age we actually had friends you could talk face to face with!" Of course comments like that came before my dad created his own facebook page. Now he is best friends with half of my high school class. I have no doubt it is his way of keeping an eye on me in cyberspace. I will be the first to admit that Facebook has become a way of life. The actual act of calling someone on a phone is becoming a thing of the past. Where else can you have five conversations at once with no one friend within 100 miles of the other. It allows me to not only keep up with lots of people I might not ordinarily see but once or twice a year, but actually get to know them better. The key to using facebook is to not let it consume you. It cannot replace the day to day interactions we have with our friends. It requires discipline just like everything else we do on a regular schedule. It is also important that I continue to use common sense when posting something on my facebook page. I must always work under the assumption that once it appears on that page it can become public information. If I do not want the world to see something then I should not write about it on Facebook.

The Big 16

Lately, I have been reminiscing about the day I turned 16 (seems as though it was just yesterday). This memory is haunting me now, probably because it's my sister's turn. Like me she is counting down the days until she can drive. There was something about the thought of driving that made me feel that adulthood was finally at hand. Having a set of wheels meant “freedom”. I could for the first time go anywhere my little heart desired. My parents could and did give me parameters, but once I left the driveway, it was my decision to turn either left or right. I cannot, however, picture my "little" sister reaching the same milestone. Instead, I still picture her getting lost in her own bedroom! There is absolutely no way she will be able to find the nearest gas station. Along with driving comes tremendous responsibility. There are little things to keep in mind like putting the proper gas into the car. I found out by trial and error that diesel fuel doesn't seem to be as effective as good old fashioned gas. Mr. Tow Truck Man thought it was pretty funny. And maintenance cannot be ignored. Well actually I tried, but the flashing lights on my dashboard would not leave me alone; oil needed, light bulb out, wiper fluid low. My next car will definitely predate all this fancy stuff so I can listen to my music without interruption. Speaking of getting lost, a GPS device is a must for soon to be drivers like my sister who are directionally challenged. It does take some getting used to, having some strange guy telling you to turn left in 800 feet. How could he possibly know that? It absolutely makes my day, when the little man under the hood is wrong and I arrive somewhere that tuns out to be nowhere near the place I wanted to go. I could ramble on and on about the concerns I have for my little sister as her leap into adulthood arrives. Fortunately she has an older sister with experience that can guide her to her new found freedom.

The Imfamous Oreo Ice Ceam Pie

It’s the middle of the afternoon and I’ve had lunch. I’m not even that hungry. But I’m at home and the freezer calls. There’s a piece of Oreo ice cream pie with my name on it in there. What is it really? You take chocolate chip ice cream, the rich, expensive kind, and mound it in to a crust of smashed up Oreo cookies. Not one of those pre-made chocolate cookie shells but a whole bag of Oreos, crushed up with whatever is handy AND a stick of melted butter stirred in just to hold it all together. For as long as I’ve been a kid, it’s been a tradition in my family for my mom to make one to celebrate a birthday. My sister just turned sixteen. So, of course, she got an ice cream pie. You still put candles on the top. But you have to blow them out fast or the ice cream will start to melt. With the popularity of “mix ins” at the yogurt and ice cream shops--where you can add anything from fruit (nutritious) to M & M’s or Heath Bars (not so nutritious) to your scoop, my ice cream pie may not seem particularly special. But sometimes, less is more. And it’s right here, right now for me to enjoy every last crumb. By the way, I like to eat mine with a spoon and chase it down with a glass of milk.

Roll Tide Roll

Last week, I went to Tuscaloosa for my freshman orientation at University of Alabama. During the three hour drive with my mom, I had plenty of time to think about what to expect during the two day event. A few of my friends from Atlanta would be there too; otherwise, I knew no one. The next morning at 8am (too early!), we were herded to a room full of 300 freshmen and their parents being led in the Alabama fight song (way too early!). But if you just said "Roll Tide" every now and then, you could quickly fill in the rest. It was hard to believe that this scene would be repeated over the summer 15 more times. Realization...I was about to become a member of a campus with 28,000 students. At least I felt some safety in numbers with 4,000 other incoming freshmen.
Once we divided into smaller groups, I felt more at ease as we walked to get our student ID. It was kind of that same feeling of pride, ownership and accomplishment that I had when I got my driver's license...smiling big having taken one of many first steps in becoming a college student. The rest of the orientation was spent hearing ALOT of information about everything from housing to money to safety to classes. Oh yeah, that IS ultimatley why I'm here. Other than one 8am class, I was really happy with my courses and class schedule. As a student in the College of Nursing, I don't have many choices when it comes to course work. But by the end of the second day, I headed back to I-20, tired but really excited in anticipation of August 8th when I move in. Alabama was beginning to feel like my home away from home. Roll Tide.

Every Woman's Therapy

Shopping.Some would say that it just might be THE best therapy for a female searching for a way to feel better about herself. There's that rush of excitement in the dressing room, turning before the mirror in light that may make her look just a little better than when she got dressed that morning. Absolutely, a must have addition to her summer wardrobe, she decides almost immediately. Emerging from behind the curtain, she hands the clerk her credit card. It is swiped through the machine, the transaction is complete, her new frock wrapped in colorful tissue and slung over her arm in a shopping bag she will reuse because it's too nice to throw away. Then comes the anticipation of when and where she will show it off first. It's only Monday, and she has no big plans until Friday night. That's ok though. She'll take it home and hang it in her closet where she can catch a glimpse of it each day as she heads off to work. On one of those mornings, she pauses. Did she spend too much money? Was it an impulse buy? It wouldn't be the first time. Nope. Her friends will ask her where she got it. She's sure it is a good and necessary addition to her wardrobe… and she will probably have to adjust her budget a tad next month. Friday takes forever to come, it seems. But when it does, she walks out the door feeling that same rush as the day she bought it.

Swimming

Eventually a major priority as a parent when raising their child is to teach their child how to swim. I have been swimming since the age of four. I believe it is in my blood to be a swimmer seeing that my two uncles and my dad were both competitive swimmers. My dad graciously passed his talent on to me and my sister. We were both brought up swimming on a swim team at the age of 6. My sister and I have continued to swim throughout our years in high school. After my graduation in May,I recall that I have been swimming for 14 consecutive years. Not only have my sister and I been members of the Varsity team in high school, but we have also chosen to swim competitively for Swim Atlanta.Swim Atlanta is an organization for elementary to high school students who are willing to further commit their lives to the swimming world.My sister, for example,traveled all over Georgia to compete in swim meets at the competition level. Many swimmers involved in this program plan to swim in college and possibly make swimming a career if given the opportunity. The life as a swimmer entails keeping up with crazy practice hours, maintaining a fit physique at all times, and a healthy diet that provides enough fuel to last a swimmer through hours of practice each day.As time consuming and exhausting the swim world may sound, the hard work and dedication is well worth the benefits of a strong swim. The adrenalin rush before a big race...the intimidation from looking at the swimmers next to you...its all in the mind as to how much you are willing to put into the water. Seeing that I am a sprinter, it comes down to every little detail to determine the best. In 25.2 seconds I make my way down and back in the pool. For some that time seems like nothing. For others, like myself, in moments like this, it means everything.There is no greater feeling as a swimmer when you touch the wall and look up seeing that you have not only improved your time, but defeated everyone else swimming in the pool.The satisfaction in knowing that all of your hard work has paid off goes so far. It keeps you energized and willing to continue setting new goals and do everything possible in order to achieve them.