Tag: Buckley

First Semester Gone Right

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I was scared to death when my parents and I drove up to Burns Hall on August 14th. I knew there was no way I could handle this whole “college” thing. I had left my friends, boyfriend, family, my home, everything six hours away back in Atlanta. I’m from Atlanta, a huge city with something going on every night, and now I am being dumped in Oxford, Mississippi, where if you’ve seen Jackson Avenue, you’ve seen it all. I was so scared of failure, but could feel it coming. Would I have to move back home? Would my parents hate me? I remember just praying that God could get me through fall semester.

I remember walking into my dorm room, Burns 102, and meeting my new roommate. But now she is no longer just my roommate, she is my best friend. I remember meeting the kids in my FASTrack cohort. But now they are no longer just classmates, they are the people who get me through the day. I remember seeing my writing professor for the first time, but now she is no longer just my professor, she is someone I can always count on to have my back. I loved it here. I had found my new home and suddenly Atlanta became a memory, a memory that I loved and cherished, but did not yearn for. Everything seemed to be falling into place. It only took a few weeks for me to decide that God had answered my prayers and not only was I going to get through the semester, I was going to enjoy doing it.

But then I got a call. A call that will forever be imprinted into my memory. A call that changed my life. A call from my dad. A call saying my grandmother was in the hospital. A call saying my grandmother probably would never wake up. I threw everything I had in a bag and took off, driving at least 90mph down the highway to get to the Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham. The next day, upon seeing and hearing the heartbeat machine that was hooked up to my best friend flat line, a sound and image I will never forget, my heart was broken. All my doubts about college and making it out on top reappeared. Suddenly all my praises about Oxford vanished as quickly as they appeared. There was nothing else to do, but keep praying.

I came back to school lost and confused. I couldn’t eat or sleep, much less focus on my classes. I thought there was no way I was going to make it to December. And then my roommate brought me to Chi Alpha. A Christian ministry on campus to whom I now owe everything to. A Christian ministry on campus that changed my life. A Christian ministry on campus that I couldn’t live without. Chi Alpha helped me in ways I could have never imagined. I got back on track with school. I became able to cope with the hole in my family. I was going to be able to pass fall semester with flying colors. God had answered my prayers yet again.

We now approach the end of the semester. Finals week is upon us and I am ready. I will end this semester with a 4.0 and I know my grandmother would be so proud. I have a new home, and new friends, an amazing support system in Atlanta, and nothing but joy in my heart. So what’s the key to college? Just keep praying.

 

**EDHE final paper**

Buckley for President 2016

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I wonder how the election would be different if Trump and Clinton spoke in the debates the way the women in Nevada spoke to each other.

I would not call myself a Trump supporter, but I will be voting for Trump come November 8th. I wouldn’t say I am embarrassed to say I am voting for him, but I also don’t overly advertise it. My reasons for voting for Trump are sound and justifiable to me, as I am sure Hilary supporters have reasons that are sound and justifiable to them. I do not shy away from election conversations with peers, however. Most disagree with my views, but usually at the end we can agree that they both suck, just who sucks less is different in everyone’s mind. Last night in study group, however, we had a non-regular join us in the study room. He randomly sparked a conversation about the future White House with saying “No one in here is supporting Trump, right?” I looked around and then raised my hand. He stared at me and somewhat scoffed. He asked me why and how I could possibly do that. Except he didn’t want to know why or how, he was only interested in telling me how and why he was voting for Hilary. The conversation didn’t go on long, and I feel like any other controversial topic with him won’t either.

But at the end of the day, I am voting Buckley.

Synthesizing Life

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At the beginning of this unit I was confused about the term “synthesis”. I had never really heard it before, or maybe I did, but didn’t know what it meant so I just breezed over it. I came to learn the word to mean connecting two pieces of literature in a way that not only compares, but explains the significance of the comparison. Later we learned, we could relate an article with a video. Pretty cool. But last week I learned I could relate an article, or video, with my life. I began to synthesis the passing of my grandmother with the passing of Frank’s dad, even though that was never an assignment. I saw things differently and used Frank’s struggle with identity after the loss of his parents to help me with my own personal struggles. I’ve never met Frank Snake Church, but if I did tomorrow, I would thank him for helping me cope with my current family situation.

To be honest, I was getting annoyed at the beginning of the unit with the kernel essays. It crossed my mind to drop out of college once or twice. But, when it came time to write the final paper, it became so clear why we did all the kernel essays. I would say writing those were the most helpful in preparing me for the turning in of my synthesis paper. Without those I feel like I would have been lost on where to even start my paper.

I didn’t really have a writing partner due to being absent from class, but I used Alexie as a writing partner and reviewed his work to better mine. When Alexie became too silent (get it? because books can’t talk), Kaitlin helped me a lot in the peer review. I feel she wasn’t totally harsh enough however, which was good for my self esteem, but I’m not sure as good for my paper. Also, having a teacher that cared enough to go on my google doc and make comments and help me better my paper meant the world to me. I loved being reassured I was on the right path, but being pushed to dig a little deeper.

Take aways? Assignments have value that you may not see right away, but will reveal themselves eventually. The power of peer editing is something not to be taken lightly as it could lead to something wonderful. Turns out that what we learn in college, really does have real life appeal. Don’t take anything for granted. Remember to tell your loved ones you love them, no matter how much you think they already know, because you never know when you won’t be able to anymore. But some of these may not be writing related…..