State Fair

This school week was a little bit different, and a little more stressful than normal.

I ended up leaving on Thursday to go to the State Fair of Virginia, so I had to make sure all my work was packed up with me for the weekend. I missed one of my classes for the first time, which felt weird, but I had a friend in an earlier class so she was able to let me know everything that was talked about. I went to the State Fair of Virginia because I was showing five of my dairy cattle there. It was definitely different being in college and trying to get everything ready before leaving.

Usually I'm home helping to pack up the truck and trailer during the week, but this time I wasn't there. I had to rely (and hope) on my mom to pack everything we needed for the four and a half hour trip. Luckily speaking over the phone with her during the week, I was able to remind her about what not to forget. She did well and didn't forget anything important (except for a butter knife for making peanut butter and jelly).

We left around 6 p.m. on Thursday and got to the fair with the cattle around 10:30 p.m. that night. The trip had worn us out, so we quickly unloaded the cattle, fed and watered them, and headed to the hotel. The weekend flew by, with so much stuff going on in the barns and with the shows, I barely had time to look at my homework! Sadly, I felt rushed when we got back on Sunday. I had hardly any time to look at my homework and had to get it all done tonight.

Now I know that if I ever decide to take my cattle to another show while I'm in college, I'll definitely have to prepare myself better. I will need to get as much homework done as possible before leaving for the show. Then, I will need to balance my time in between showing and taking care of the calves and try to work on homework as much as possible.

Luckily, I have no more shows this year, so I won't have to worry about rushing anymore!!

(By the way, I planned on uploading pictures from showing, but for some reason my computer will not let me tonight. So, I'll be sure to eventually put some up!)

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

The highlight of this past week was definitely Tuesday!

The authors of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver and Steven Hopp (Kingsolver's husband), came to speak at Burrus Hall. The presentation didn't start until 8 p.m., however the celebration started earlier with a Virginia Harvest Celebration at D2, one of the dining halls.

Let me tell you, that food was AMAZING! Definitely the best meal I have had on campus by far! Plus, you could go back and get seconds, thirds, or even more! I ended up eating roast beef with au jus, pork with spiced apples, and vegetables of course! Then, dessert... well, let's just say I sampled a lot of dessert! I had poached peaches, fried apple fritters, and an apple and zucchini muffin. The poached peach was definitely my favorite, but all of it was great! The best part about it was that all of the food was locally grown, it think that's what made it taste so good!

On top of the amazing food, what made dinner even better was the atmosphere in D2. There were almost as many families, or older adults as there were students. It was crazy, yet it felt like a close community because of the fact that no matter how old, everyone was there together, to celebrate this book and the harvest. Also, there was even a live band playing country music the whole time!

Then, after dinner, everyone headed to Burrus Hall to scramble for a seat before Kingsolver took the stage.

For some reason, Burrus wasn't as packed as I was expecting though. I was hoping that maybe people were watching in their dorms on one of the channels, but I wasn't too sure if it was on television or not since I was there instead.

Kingsolver eventually spoke, and she ended up reading excerpts from her book. She chose very wisely and found the ones that would make an impact on the crowd. She showed the audience how much of a difference it would make, in the world, if we bought locally or grew our own vegetables.

Living and growing up on a farm, her words hit home to me because she's trying to show people that it is important to buy and support local farmers. Being part of a local farm I know how hard it is to compete with the huge farms out west and all around, and have always hoped that one day people will realize local farms are just as important. Hopefully, with encouragement from Kingsolver's book and words, people will soon open their eyes to local farmers!

Not as easy as I had expected

As I ended my third week of college, I realized that my workload is getting heavier.

I have a philosophy paper due in about a week, a biology exam on Wednesday night from 8-10 p.m., and homework from all my other classes.

Now, this might not seem like that much at the moment, but compared to the last two weeks, it's definitely much more.

Especially since one of the chapters that's going to be on our biology exam, is pretty confusing! It's about lipids, proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, etc., and we have to have models like these (pictured below and to the right) memorized. Ahh! Luckily, chapter 3 is the only hard chapter out of the 4 chapters we have on the exam. I've already printed out all the study guides and have started to fill them out using notes, slides from the lectures, and the book. On top of that I've been attempting to read the chapters in the book, although sometimes it gets really boring and I have to take a break. Hopefully by pushing myself and trying my hardest to make sure I know the material, the exam won't be as overwhelming as I expect.

Next on the list I have a short essay due on the 20th in philosophy, granted I'm not as stressed about this paper because I understand everything we are discussing in philosophy and know that I can definitely write about our topic for the essay. I just want to make sure that it is going to be written well enough to get me a high grade. I also want to make sure I plan out enough time throughout the week to have it written and finished by the weekend so that I don't have to rush or stress this weekend.

Finally, on top of these two major items, I have little quizzes and homework that I have to keep up with in other classes. I have a math quiz due by Wednesday (which I plan to take either tomorrow or Tuesday), I have a lab quiz I have to have taken before class on Wednesday, and I have problem sets due at the end of the week in my Ag. Economics class.

I know though, that if I plan my schedule right, that I will be able to keep up with all of this! It's just a wake up call saying "Hey, you just started to get into this, don't think it's that easy just yet!"

The bad kind of common

Well, as the second week of college comes to an end, I've started to get the hang of things. I've comprised my habits and goals into 5 helpful hints to hopefully keep my stress level down this semester.

1.) I've already gotten used to my schedule, and now know what time I need to leave my dorm in order to get to classes about ten minutes early to get a good seat.

2.) I've gotten in the habit of going straight to Scholar and my email first before checking my Facebook. 

3.) By planning my time wisely, I have my materials read, or completed ahead of time.

4.) Staying ahead of the schedule with math quizzes and tests, really helps lower my stress level.

5.) Taking a nice, much needed nap during the day is definitely refreshing!

 Just as I began to settle in, organize my schedule of work, and get used to everything, the wonderful common cold comes to visit. And let me tell you being stuck in the hot, muggy 6th floor of Slusher Tower definitely doesn't help being sick! Feeling crummy, all I wanted to do was sleep, nap, anything but sit in front of the computer or book and do my work. I knew that it would not help me out in any of my classes if I just slept instead of studying. So, I had to compromise with myself and do as much studying as possible, but take breaks or naps to keep me from getting even more sick. Even with my cold, I managed to learn and use these 5 helpful hints (with some compromise) throughout the week.  Luckily, I didn't get as sick as some of my friends, so I was able to still attend all my classes and not miss out on anything. 

By making it through this week with a cold, I have added another helpful hint for myself:

6.) When stressed or sick, make compromises with your body.

College has helped me to be much more self disciplined than I ever was. Now that I'm on my own, I have to be sure to keep up with my studies, and I have to be sure to keep up with my health! Although, I've only had minor challenges to cope with, it has opened up my eyes and shown me that I need to be ready to deal with challenges. I'm sure my list will continue to grow as I continue college, but as for now, keeping this list of 6 helpful hints will help me to make it through until the next challenge!