In which I stupidly jump into a cold shower to overcome The Flinch and discuss NaNoWriMo.

Hank Green’s video

Hello!

I thought I’d start my first post as a student blogger with a little introduction of myself. When someone asks me how I am (which is a lot, because I go to CNU, where it’s the norm to acknowledge people), I usually say good – then immediately follow it with, “but busy!”

However, being busy isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

If I’ve learned anything since being a student here, it’s that your time here is what you make it. I lucked out going to a school where it’s normal to be busy, because being busy means you’re involved and being involved means you’re making the most of your time here.

I am a junior this year and a sociology major with a psychology minor. People just interest me, what can I say? I am a resident assistant on East Campus, which means I live in one of the apartment buildings and serve as a resource for all the students living there. I am also a Greek life recruitment counselor. That means I’m involved in Greek life, but am currently disaffiliated so I can help women going through recruitment by providing a completely non-biased perspective. I have been disaffiliated since September and will be until after recruitment is over in January. I work in the Scheduling office and answer phones and emails and help people book rooms on campus. I am also now a student blogger – which I am super excited about!

All this being said, I don’t have a lot of free time on top of being a student. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I wouldn’t trade the friends I have made, the leadership positions I have gotten the opportunity to have, or the times up way too late because I procrastinated on yet another assignment because I was doing something else.

There really is something special about being at this school and really immersing yourself in all it has to offer. While some may look at a small school and see few opportunities, I look at it and see many. Opportunities to make a name for yourself, to branch out and to leave your comfort zone.

I could trade my involvement and positions for a life involving more Netflix, but until I find someone who sponsors me to lay in bed in fuzzy socks watching “New Girl,” I think I’ll stay just the way I am – good, but busy!

Can you believe another semester is half over? I can’t. There are days I walk around campus feeling that I’ve finally mastered the college life: my application for the Master of Arts in Teaching Program is chugging along, I’m living in an apartment in CNU Village with a beautiful view for sunsets, and I can point visitors on campus to (almost) anywhere they need to go. However, there are also days when I can’t quite figure out how to use the stacks in the back of the Trible Library, and I have been known to walk into the wrong classroom on the first day of classes (as an upperclassman, too!) But, mishaps like those make for fun stories to tell my suitemates when we’re all finally gathered back in the room for the night.

One thing I have noticed about my college life at CNU thus far is a pattern of honor among the students. Honor’s kind of a weird, heavy word to throw around, isn’t it? When I hear the topic of honor brought up, I start thinking of knights and all things medieval. How does honor translate over to CNU’s campus?

At CNU, there’s an unspoken tradition of holding doors open for people. I know that seems really simple, and hey, isn’t that something people do normally? Here at school, it becomes clear in a short period of time that our students think nothing of waiting a few extra seconds to keep a door open for a fellow student, professor, staff member or anyone who happens to behind them. It’s a tradition founded on honoring one another — a small act of service allowing you to put someone’s needs above your own. Yes, it may be awkward to wait with a door half-open as a stranger jogs to reach it, but it’s such a respectful thing to do. And, after living on this campus for a couple years, I’ve gotten used to our tradition. In fact, I’ll go off campus and unconsciously hold doors for people and then be surprised by the fact that they’re surprised! Wait, you mean not everyone goes to CNU and honors their fellow [wo]man?

Those are my thoughts on my favorite CNU tradition; I would LOVE to hear yours, so comment below this post! I can’t wait to share the rest of my junior year with you through this blog; my friends, it’s only up from here!

In which I discuss a few of the awesome opportunities CNU has to offer

“Oh the places you’ll go,” they all told me. Growing up I would read all the time. The library was one of my favorite places to visit. Mystery was always my favorite genre because I got to read about grand adventures. I never wanted to know the ending because I loved figuring it out all on my own. However, when I was about to leave for college, I knew I was embarking on my biggest adventure. This wasn’t a story I could put down and save for later. This was going to be a four-year journey that would challenge me mentally and physically. There was no predicting the outcome like in my books; I had to write my own unpredictable stories. When people say college will be the fastest four years of your life, I did not believe them at first. I thought I had all the time in the world, but it’s true these four years will fly by. As I write the final chapter of my college journey I am proud of myself for accomplishing so much during my time here, but there is still so much I want to do. Looking back on the last three years, I can honestly say I’ve changed into a whole other person. I wish I could take a mirror, see my freshman-year reflection looking back at me and see how much I’ve transformed. For the next few weeks, I’m going to post about what I’ve learned over the past three years and how they tie into CNU’s core values scholarship, leadership, service and honor.

One of the main things I’ve learned is to branch out of your shell.

In high school I tended to be more shy than outgoing. I was always very talkative with my close friends but would get nervous around people I did not know well. However, when you enter college, you have to leave your comfort zone behind. Freshman year is the best time to meet so many wonderful people and to come out of your shell. Freshman year I did what I thought was the impossible:  I started the rowing club on campus. Through the process of forming the club I had to push myself more than I ever had before. One of the reasons the formation was so essential to me was because it made me into a leader. Through my long journey of forming the club, I learned the importance of leadership and that in order to be a positive role model in someone’s life there has to be a purpose and drive when leading an organization. An inspirational leader is someone who lives a life of significance. A leader is a support system to others and understands the meaning of being a part of something that is bigger then oneself. I have learned how to be a leader because of my experiences at CNU and as I continue to write my story here, I am so thankful for the opportunities I’ve had during the last three years.