One semester down, one to go. Finals went well. Last week I had most of mine and this week I only had one this morning at 8, so I have officially started Christmas break. Greeley felt quiet today. Maybe it's just because I know it's final's week, maybe it was the weather, but I'm pretty sure it's because everyone's either gone or studying. I'm staying here this week and just relaxing. A few of my friends are hanging out this week and I'm getting to spend time with my fiance which is always nice. It's been a crazy semester. I started my senior year, took a bunch of classes, played a bunch of music, met a lot of people, learned a lot about myself, got engaged, and experienced new things. I love college!

I'm full. Not really, but I was on Thanksgiving. I hope all of yours went well! I started in Denver with my fiance's family. Oh, that's an interesting fact, I got engaged over break! I'm getting married! Who knows when, but it's happening for sure. So anyway, I went to Denver in the afternoon and then to my parent's house in the evening. Here in Greeley there are a lot of friends who are out of state so they get together and have thanksgiving with each other. It's cool to see that happening. This week is "dead week". It's called that because there are usually no assignments given the week before finals. For me, 3 of my 4 finals are this week so next week will be dead week. This is also a fun couple of weeks because of all the Christmas parties and get-togethers. I'm looking forward to having four weeks off of classes, but I'm not looking forward to being away from a lot of friends during that time. Once you're used to living here and getting to know the people around you, four weeks away can be long. Maybe I'll come up to visit a couple times, we'll see.

Today begins the odd two days of class before Thanksgiving break. A lot of people leave early for home so at school it can feel a little quite sometimes in certain classes. Tomorrow afternoon I leave for home which isn't too far away. Only a 40 minute drive. I'm ready for a break. It hasn't been a hard semester or anything, it'll just be nice to recharge. Plus it's Thanksgiving which will be fun! Last weekend was great. Friday night I went to an early Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of my friends. It was really cool to see all of them at one table. Very home-like. I feel really blessed to know so many awesome people. Saturday, my friend Will, my girlfriend Allie, and I went to this annual thing I knew about where everyone brings a pie and we all eat, catch up with old friends, and then we move all the tables aside and have a big blue-grass jam session. It's a lot of fun. This round of classes is almost over in just a couple weeks. After that I only have one semester left. Pretty crazy. I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving. Be safe, have fun, and you'll hear from me soon.

Hey all,
So last week went well. B's on both tests and Nav-night went really well. If I haven't told you what Nav-night is I will. There's a great group of Christians on campus called the Navigators. The night we meet is called Nav-night it's on Thursdays at 7pm at McKee L152. There's a speaker, I'm the worship leader there, and we all get together and hang out after. You should check them out if you're interested or let me know if you have any questions! This week should be a lot more relaxed which is really really nice. I only have one paper which is actually kinda fun. It's for abnormal psychology. We're given a case study and we're supposed to see if we can diagnose what the person in the study is experiencing. It's only a 200 level class too so we really get into it. Last week was really relaxing. I just stayed home one night, went on a date the next, and saw some friends here and there. I hope you're doing well and you'll here from me soon!

Last week was very laid-back! It was nice to have a clear week after a busy one. I'm proud to admit that I wasn't very productive for most of the week. You need to take the breaks you get. I'm glad I did because this week is full again. I've got a couple tests at the end of the week on top of my usual stuff. I'm starting to picture life without school. It's coming quick...May. I don't think I'll be doing any form of grad school or semenary immediatly so it'll be the first year in 16 years that I won't be in school. Some people think they'll miss it, but I'm not sure I will. Not because I don't like school, it's not bad, but because I'm excited to not have to pay for what I spend my on, but get paid for what I spend my time on and hopefully that will be time I enjoy. For now, I have a few weeks and a semester left.

So last week was my unofficial week of midterms. They aren't bad, but they can be all scheduled under the same week sometimes so Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Monday were all pretty full of studying. Now that that's over, this week feels really relaxed! I did well on all my tests and projects which was nice. One thing I'm really grateful for is the study guide. None of my teachers here have left me "high and dry" and always explain well what will be on the test. So now that this week is open, I'm going to try to do some things I haven't been able to do in awhile like Frisbee golf, play some guitar, and maybe read...I don't know, that might feel a little too studious, we'll see.

Back again!

So once again, the school year has started. Summer was amazing. I spent the whole time in Canada working as a camp leader for a summer camp up there. It was surprisingly warm most of the time, who knew? This semester has gotten pretty busy already. This is my senior year so I'll be done in May and it's odd to think that this will be the last time I'll start a school year. I really like it here and I'm really in no rush to leave, but I have to graduate sometime right? So far classes have been pretty good. I'm starting up a psychology minor which I'm enjoying. I'm taking an abnormal psychology class as well as a principles of learning class. Both are really interesting. Outside of class I'm still working at the Visitors Center here on campus which is still a really fun job. I feel very lucky to have an on-campus job. It makes things a lot easier with school and everything. I'm also spending a lot of time with a Christian group on campus called the Navigators. That's been really good. I've got an awesome group of friends through them and they really are my family up here.
This year I'm hoping to hold nothing back. It's probably my last chance as a student to take advantage of college life before adult life starts up. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to that too, but I don't want to waste the time I have now. I'm glad to be back here at UNC and blogging again so thanks for reading and I'll see you next week.

Well everyone, it's been a good year. It's not over, but this is my last blog for the school year. I don't know if I'll be back, but I think I might. I'm just tying up all my loose ends here before the year is up. Studying for finals, hanging out with friends, and just enjoying everyday life up here is pretty much my routine. It went by so fast and I'm already looking forward to next year. Like I've said before, all my friends are up here and I'm going to miss them a lot. I can't believe it's my senior year next year. So bizarre. If this year went fast, next year will be a blur. This summer, I'll be in Canada all the way up to the first weekend before classes start up again. I'm so excited to get started up there, but it seems surreal at this point. I think I'm just trying to focus on what I need to do now and then take care of the rest later.
I hope all of you have had a great year and enjoy what I hope will be a fantastic summer. If you're considering going to school here, you're on a good track. Find out where you're meant to be, but from experience, I can tell you that it's really easy to fit in here. This is home, and I'll see it as such for a long time.

I went camping last weekend in the Pawnee Grasslands. It was a lot of fun. We were a group about 30 strong more or less. It was your typical experience. Frisbee, fire, guitars, friends, waking up freezing...good times. Our ultimate Frisbee team is still in the playoffs. We had a game last Sunday and beat the other team. Sunday felt like summer. It was almost torturous. We had the Frisbee game, went to get smoothies, played some volleyball at a park and then just relaxed. My philosophy I talked about in my previous blog is in full effect. Last night a friend wanted to hang out so I decided to postpone a couple papers to hang out with him. Long story short I went to bed at 4am last night, but it was so worth it. I wouldn't recommend doing that often, but once and awhile is an essential part of the college experience in my opinion. For those of you about to graduate high school or college I want to wish you a fun and productive few weeks, you're almost there. Cheers.

Hey all. I cannot believe that there is less than a month left. I'll be in Canada in a month!!! Can't wait! Until then, my personal goal is to take advantage of pretty much every opportunity to hang out with friends till school ends. I'm going to miss them over the summer, but most are leaving Greeley anyway so if I stayed it wouldn't be much different. I've said before that the people I'm with here are my family now and it feels like I'll be away from my family for four months.
A really good friend of mine has a "no regrets" attitude about college that I've adopted. Another really good friend discovered the word "unabashedly" which more or less means "shamelessly or without concern" so for the next month I'm going to unabashedly live with no regrets. This of coarse doesn't mean I'm going to toss my moral principles out the window because I don't think that would apply to "no regrets".
Classes are coming to a slow close. Tonight I registered for the classes of my first semester of my senior year and I have a good feeling that it's going to be a fun one. I can't believe I have one more year left. It's going by a little too fast for me. The past three years have been amazing and wouldn't trade them for anything. Sometimes I wonder if the thing I've learned the most about at college is myself.
I don't know if the weather is getting nice where you are, but if it is, get outside. Sunday I joined an inter-mural ultimate Frisbee team and had an awesome time! Just being able to be outside in shorts and a T-shirt makes my day 100 times better.
Thanks for reading! Make sure you're unabashedly living with no regrets.

The past couple weeks have been interesting. It seems like all my teachers decided to give their tests on the same week again. Funny how that happens. Never the less it's not that big of a deal. Last night I got together with some friends and we studied pretty late and now I feel pretty confident that I did well. I'm starting to get ready for this summer. I'm glad I have a job set up. I'm going to be working as a camp counselor in Canada all summer. School ends May 7th and I'm there May 11th so my summer vacation is a total of three days this year haha. I don't mind though, I'm not anxious for school to end, but I am anxious for the summer to start so classes are feeling a little more tedious than usual.

I'm back. Luckily it's been a slow week so the transition out of Spring Break wasn't that bad. I laugh sometimes while on campus this week because every once and awhile you'll see a very tan person in a group of much paler people. So it's very clear who went south for Spring Break and who probably didn't.
I myself went to Arizona with the Navigators. We helped out a place in Phoenix called Neighborhood Ministries. It was very cool. We did a lot of painting, landscaping, organizing and lots of other things they didn't have the time or man-power to do. This Christian organization is in the heart of the impoverished district in the city just a couple blocks away from the red-light district. Their aim is to try to love the kids as much as they can, keep them out of gangs, minister to them and motivate them to stay in school while teaching them strong moral values and standards. They also are a big resource for the adults in that community as well. I think they said the average drop out rate for kids in that area is 5th grade so what they're doing is very needed.
It was pretty eye-opening to go down there. It was a very poor neighborhood containing a lot of people who are just barely scraping by. I feel the majority of us take a lot of things for granted as college students because a large group of us are here because we can afford it on our own or through our families. Most of the people I got to meet down there rarely have a chance to go. I truly feel blessed to be here and plan on taking full advantage of the opportunities that college offers. I'd encourage you to take a second today to look around and see exactly how much you truly have and what you value. My guess is that, if you try, you'll be surprised about how much you can be thankful for. Even if you find you don't have a lot, hold on to those few things or people you really do hold dear.
I hope that all of you enjoyed your break if you've already had it, if not, I hope you'll have fun and stay safe.

Wow, it's been a busy two weeks. I've had a couple tests, a few quizzes, and a paper due. I can't believe that it's already half way through the semester! This weekend should be a lot of fun. Tonight I'm going to dinner and a movie with a few friends from work. Should be fun. In recent news, yesterday my car broke down. It was just the battery but I found out at 9 at night and had to get to work early this morning. Lucky the people I work with rock and I was able to get a ride and an awesome friend of mine drove me to Sears to get a new battery. I love the people I know up here, they are so cool.

I'm surprised how relaxed this week is turning out. I had two papers and a quiz due Monday and for the rest of the week nothing much is due. The snow isn't too bad up here, but I am more than ready for spring to get started. It's hard to call it spring semester and look outside and see snow on the ground, but it'll get warmer soon enough. I've already starting looking for new roommates and got one so far. I'm living in the same place next year, but the two guys I'm living with now are moving out so I need to find replacements. I'm already looking forward to next year and wondering what I'm going to do this summer. There's a lot up in the air, but I always find something. Tonight was free pancakes at IHOP which was amazing. Free food and college are pretty much synonymous for me haha. And of course hanging out with good friends is always a plus too. Stay classy.

After getting over a cold and getting a little more sleep I feel like I have a head start this week compared to last. I took a test today and think it went pretty well. This semester is going by so fast. I think Spring semester usually goes by a lot faster than the Fall semester. Tonight I just went to work and hung out with some friends afterward. It's nice to be able to just do stuff like that spontaneously here. Have a good week and I'll talk to you soon.

I had a lot less to do last week than usual which was nice. It was like a fifth of a vacation I guess. On Friday I hung out with some friends and went to the UNC hockey game at the Budweiser Events Center. I won't mention the final score, but it was fun. After that we rented Hurt Locker which I liked a lot. Last night I went to a friend's Superbowl party which was awesome because there was a lot of free food and of coarse good friends. Monday hit a little hard today. There's a cold going around and I caught it which is always fun. You gotta love chicken noodle soup and Emergen-C packets. On top of that the wind chill brought it down to about 17 degrees outside. Basically I'm staying inside as much as possible. Stay warm.

Have you ever had one of those weeks that you knew by Monday that it was going to be a long one? Well that was last week for me. Not for any bad reason, I just had a lot on my plate but obviously I've survived. And I think I got everything done that I needed to. Classes are starting to pick up a bit and Monday is going to be my last small group presentation for the rest of the year which I am very happy about. Anyway, I've committed my Saturdays to be completely free of any homework so yesterday I just got together with a group of my friends, watched a movie, and then went downtown to watch some live music. That was a lot of fun and I got to sleep in today so the past 24 hours have been pretty awesome. You all take it easy.

Due to the fact that we had Monday off, this was a four day week which had it's ups and downs. Obviously, it was nice to have only four days of classes, but on the other hand it was really confusing. Tuesday felt like Monday and that seemed to throw the whole week off from there. Still it was a good week. Classes were interesting, I had a lot of coffee with a lot of friends, and now it's the weekend and I'm going to relax. I hope you do too.

I have to say that I'm glad to be back. Break was good, but I was starting to get a little bored. It looks like I won't have that problem this semester. It's going to be busy, but a lot of fun. I like all my classes so far, they seem like they'll be really interesting. It'll be pretty challenging though which is good but sometimes I think I'd like a class on something simple that I'm already good at like a class on breathing, but I'd probably get tired of that pretty quick. It's also really nice to get back to hanging out with all my friends here. Probably 90% of my friends are here in Greeley so break was spent mainly with family which was nice, but it's good to be back with a more energetic crowd. But I'm sure I didn't have it too bad. Some of my friends spent their whole break getting their car stuck in the snow and playing cards with their Grandma, which isn't bad, but you can play a lot of cards in a month. Greeley has begun to feel like home to me, which isn't bad or surprising since I spend eight or nine months out of the year here. I feel like the guys I live with are now my brothers instead of my roommates and most of my friends feel more like old childhood friends than just recent acquaintances. I think that may be my favorite thing about the college experience is the friends you meet and the deeper relationships you make with them. Well now that I'm not on break you should be expecting a blog from me about every week so thanks for reading and remember to email me if you have any questions or comments. I'll talk to you soon!