The War

Today I was walking to the Bone Student Center and as I entered I noticed a wall full of drawings on these walls. The pictures were of American soldiers that had died in Iraq. All of these soldiers were also from Illinois. This really caught my attention. I stood there for a while in amazement. There had to be around 200 portraits. Looking at these portraits really made me think how close to home this war is. I even saw a couple of soldiers that were from my home town. This really made me sad. These men were pretty close in age to me. Most ranged from about 20-24. I just stood there in awe thinking about how these soldiers' lives were gone because of the war in Iraq. The sign said that the death toll of American soldiers as of recent was about 2200. This really kind of upset me. It hurts to know that people like me had their lives taken away from them at such an early age. It was a very sad thing to see. I can only imagine what it must be like for the families of these kids and how crushed they must have been. Usually I would have just walked by something like this but the portraits were so vivid with detail and really gave you an idea of who these people were. So I went around and read their stories. After looking at the portraits I couldn't stop thinking about it for a while. I was really upset with how many peoples lives were taken from them from Illinois alone. I thought about this off and on throughout the day and will always remember how big of heroes these men and women really were. I have so much respect for those in the armed forces. I feel lucky that we have people brave enough to risk their lives in order to keep our country safe.

Wendy's

Within the last year the majority of Wendy's resuraunts in Illinois have been closed down. I am not exactly sure of the reason. Wendy's used to be one of my favorite resturaunts to go to. I especially loved their frostys. I have heard numerous rumors of why they closed. The most popular one seems to be that the owner of most of the Illinois Wendys was having problems and decided to close his branches down which just so happened to be in central Illinois. Although most of them are closed, there is still one Wendy's that I know is still around. It is in Bloomington. A couple of my friends and I decided to go there for lunch today. I haven't had Wendy's in probably 4 months. I was so excited about going there to eat. I ordered my usual and it tasted wonderful. I was very dissapointed that a majority of them were closed down. However if I am ever having a big craving for Wendy's I can always visit this one.

Business Administration

When looking at colleges I decided that I wanted to major in business. ISU seemed like a pretty good business school. It also just got a brand new business building. It really looked nice when I came to visit and made my decision to come to ISU final. I declared my major as business administration. I am still unsure of what I want to do with my life. I have always wanted to be a pilot but have decided that it would be too costly. So instead I chose business because I have a business mindset and am very good with money. I still have to decide what I want to do within business administration. I don't really have any real specific interests within business. For a while I thought I might want to go into marketing but changed my mind. I am only a freshman so I still have time to make my choice. I think I will just take some of my classes and see what catches my interest. By the time junior year rolls around I think I will have a decision on what I specifically want my major to be. It is a tough decision to choose what I want to do with the rest of my life. Most people don't ever know exactly what they want to do for sure, they just fall into something. So I'm hoping that something will come along that I like and make me happy. Until then I will just go with the flow.

Facebook

There is a lot of controversy about facebook. Facebook is a social networking website that allows students to stay in touch with hundreds of friends and acquaintences. It truly is a great website, however there are many disadvantages as well. A majority of the people that use facebook are either high school or college students. These users often times forget of the dangers facebook sets them up for. People openly give vital pieces of information out on thier facebook pages without thinking twice about it. For example, many people that use facebook post where they live, thier phone number, email adress, pictures, etc. These are things that most students don't worry about. They don't think about what could happen by providing basically anyone with this information. It is true that anyone that wants to can find a way to get access to anyones facebook page. Not only is this dangerous in the sense of strangers finding out too much information about students. Possible employers are also able to access these pages. Some potential employees at companies have lost job opportunities because of the pictures (drinking) and other personal information given on facebook. This has hurt many people's futures and lost them jobs they could have had. So although facebook seems like nothing but fun and games, there are also many dangers of using it. I'm not saying students shouldn't use facebook. I am saying whoever decides to use facebook should be very careful about who they allow to see this information and careful about the information they are posting.

Softball

This spring I signed up to play softball. My brother, some of his friends and I all started up a team. I am very excited to play. I played baseball in high school and have been missing it a lot. Softball will be a way to kind of rekindle the fun I had playing. Softball however is much different than high school baseball. The ball is a lot bigger and it is slow pitch. One misconception is that it is easy to crush the ball in softball. It is actually more complicated than it seems. Most people try and swing upwards and attempt to hit a homerun. This actually doesn't usually have very good results. When you try to swing like this, it usually results in a pop fly out. I will try and remember that when I play because I'm sure I might get tempted to do the same. We were supposed to have our first game tonight. It rained all day though and the first game was cancelled. We have our next game next week. I can't wait to begin the season. It will be a fun experience.

New Phone

I recently bought a new phone. I waited two whole years until my contract was up so I could upgrade to a new phone. I went to the phone store and picked out the one that I liked the best. I chose the new LG verizon phone. I chose the LG because I have always been using LG and I am used to how they operate. My phone is also very slick. It is a sharp looking phone. It is very professional. It would serve well as a business phone. It really amazes me how much the cell phone can do now. The phone I bought isn't really top of the line or anything but it is capable of checking e-mail, texting, taking photos, and many others. Some phones now even have live tv feed on them. Ringtones are also very popular. I think it is absolutely amazing how much cell phones can do. When cell phones were first invented all they could do is make a local call. So much has changed since then. I can only imagine what might be next. The technology we are creating is unbelievable and it is only going to get better and better.

Vacation

Last summer our family did not have a chance to go on a vacation. This year my mom really wants to go on a vacation. She is asking where my brothers and I want to go. I have no idea where I want to go. The best place we have ever gone in my opinion is Hilton Head, South Carolina. It was an amazing place. We have gone there three times now so we would like to go to another exciting place. My dad wants to travel to Mexico. I think that would be fun but I haven't decided what my vote will be for. I have always wanted to go out of the country. In my lifetime I have never left the US. I think it would be fun and different to travel some place far away. I really don't care too much where we go as long as I have a good time. My whole family could use a good vacation. My dad is now the owner of the business he works for and my mom also works full time. My brother and I are full time students. I absolutely can't wait until the school year is over. I am ready for our trip now. I am so excited for summer. My first year in college has been pretty stressful. I am still getting used to it. I truly could use a break from everything.

The Final Four

It's down to the wire now. As of today, there are only 4 teams remaining in the 2007 NCAA tournament. The four teams that are left are Florida, Georgetown, UCLA, and Ohio State. The rest of the beginning 64 teams have been eliminated. This year's tournament has been quite suprising. Usually there are a lot of upsets within the tournament and the games are very unpredictable. This year however, All of the final four teams are number one and number two seeds. The experts seem to have assigned the correct seeds this year because their 4 of thier favorites made it to the Final Four. There are only three games left until a winner is determined. It's very hard to say who will win it. Any one's guess is as good as the next. This is the reason they call it March Madness. No one ever knows exactly what will happen. If I had to guess I would pick Florida. The last team to win back to back championships was Duke. It is very hard to re-peat. However I believe that Florida has what it takes to get it done two years in a row. We will see which two teams it boils down to in just a few days.

Spring Training

Spring training has begun and baseball fans are getting a preview of what each team will look like this year. Spring training is the time where managers figure out what their players are made of. They put newcomers to the test to see if they have what it takes to perform in the big leagues and it also gives old timers a chance to get back into the swing of things. Players work on perfecting their swing, and try to get back in shape for the season. The uniforms are different this year. Each team has a bit of variation in their jerseys. I think they are pretty cool looking but some finatics say they've gone too far. I watched the cubs and the padres play today. Even though I hate the Cubs, they should be pretty decent this year. Hopefully my Cardinals can go pretty far this year too. They are the reigning world series champions. This year everyone is out to get us. We have a target on our backs. I think they have what it takes to go pretty far again. I don't expect them to win another world series this year, but I'm not saying it couldn't happen. I can't wait for the new season to kick off.

My future

Lately I've been thinking a lot about my future and what it holds in store for me. What kind of job I will get, where I'll live, how big my house will be. It's amazing to think that I'm nearly 20 years old. I don't feel anywhere near it. I still feel like im 16. Sometimes I just sit around and think about how my life will turn out. Hopefully I will get a good job and one that makes me happy. No one knows what their future holds but I wish I could see into the future. It seems like just yesterday I was running around the neighborhood playing with my friends down the street. Now I'm in college. It went by like the blink of an eye. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time. Time flys when you don't pay attention. Pretty soon I will REALLY be living on my own and start a life of my own with no help from my parents. It's kind of scary to think about how close that is. It's so nice to have my parents there to always bail me out. Pretty soon I won't have that option. I think my parents have raised me well enough however to provide me with a bright future. They have given me the opportunities I need to be successful and hopefully I will be.

My brother's birthday

Today is my brother's 10th birthday. I was sad that I couldn't be there to wish him a happy birthday. All of my brothers are gone and couldn't spend the day with him. Instead everyone is coming home this Saturday to celebrate with him. My brother and I are very close and it is hard for me to not see him anymore. It's crazy to see him turning 10 years old. It seems like it was just yesterday that he was born. I called him today to wish him a happy birthday but I will spend more time with him on Saturday and it will be nice to have everyone back home again.

Today's Reflection

Today was a great day for me. It was beautiful outside. It is one of the first days of spring and everyone was outside enjoying the weather. People were outside jogging, playing catch and baseball, as well as just enjoying the sun. The nice weather put me in a good mood today. Spring is my favorite time of the year because it's not too hot or too cold. The temperature is just right. Since spring break it is hard to get back into study mode. I got a taste of summer last week and now its hard to get serious again, especially with how nice it is outside. No one wants to be inside studying when its nice out. Instead they would rather hang out on the quad and just relax. I am trying not to start slacking in my school work. It would be easy to do since there is only about 7 weeks left but I am going to try and stay motivated for those 7 weeks and earn good grades. I am kind of excited about going back to Champaign this summer. I am renting an apartment with some of my high school buddies. It should be a blast. I can't wait to hang out with them and catch up on old times.

flying

My whole life I have always had a dream of becoming a pilot. I have always had a fascination with flying. I get chills everytime I'm on an airplane. I would do anything to be able to fly as my job. I would really love to fly a fighter jet. The rush just puts chills down my back thinking about it. If I flew as a career, it would make me the happiest person. I still think about switching my major or even changing schools to pursue my dream of flying. I would love to know how to fly a plane and learn all of the things about planes. I love to learn how things work and planes are just very interesting to me. It is so unbelievable how amazing it is how airplanes work. They are so heavy, yet they are able to soar through the air with ease. With technology adavancing like it is, auto-pilot is a big part of flying. Pretty much all pilots really have to do now is take off and land. The auto-pilot takes care of the rest. I really love being in airplanes. I love the feeling I get when flying. If I could choose one thing to do with the rest of my life it would be flying planes. Unfortanately flight school is very expensive and isn't realistic for me. I will always wonder what it would have been like to be a pilot.

The Guardian

The Guardian is one of my favorite movies that I've ever seen. It stars Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Kostner. It is a heroic story about the National Guard. I love the detail in the story and the relationships you see being built. I could watch it over and over and never get sick of it. Every time I see it I see something new. It is a story of a hot shot swimmer who is trying his luck at the national guard as a rescue swimmer. He learns the hard way that he really isn't as great as he thinks he is. The cheif takes him under his arm and the two become best friends. The ending in this movie was very tragic but it makes it all come together all the better. The Guardian is a great movie and I would suggest it to everyone.

movies

I love to watch movies. On a rainy day or just any time I'm bored I put on a good movie. I love watching movies. I have a pretty big collection of my favorite movies. It probably consists of about 50 or 60 DVD's. Some of my favorites are, talladega nights, billy madison, anchorman, top gun, and the guardian. I like a lot of different types of movies. Comedies are probably my favorite kind of movie. Comedies just put me in a good mood. I like them because you don't have to read too much into them and worry about missing minute details. You can just enjoy them. I have a big list of movies i want to own. Hopefully I will have all of them some day. My favorite actor is probably Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler. I love to watch movies. when I see previews for certain movies, I get excited to see them and sometimes watch them on the date they come out on. Watching movies has always been one of my biggest hobbies. I can't ever watch enough movies. I always have to go all out and watch them on the big screen with surround sond to get the full effect.

first year of college

With my first year of college being more than half way over I thought i would write about how it has gone so far. Some expectations I had about college were how I thought they would be and some things were also very different than I had expected. College is definately a lot harder than i thought it would be. Everyone always told me it was easier than high school because you have so much free time. What they didn't say was how hard it was to keep yourself concentrated on school. There are many distractions in college and I have found it is easy to get sidetracked and forget what I'm actually here for. All in all my first year of college has been a great experience so far. I have began to learn a lot of things about myself and have been able to make new friends and become my own person. I love college. One regret I have however is not being able to hang out with all my friends back home. At first college was very overwhelming but now I feel at home here and enjoy it quite a bit. I think ISU was the perfect pick for me. It is a great school. It is a big school but it truly does have that small school feeling to it. I look forward to my next 3 years here.

the Fighting Illini

The University of Illinois' mascot has always been chief Illiniwek. In the last couple of years there has been a lot of controversy about how offensive the chief is. Some native americans found it offensive to have chief illiniwek as the U of I's mascot. They felt that it was mocking their ancestors. It was talked about for a few years about what they should do to solve this delima. Removal of the chief was one option. They board of directors discussed the issue for a long time. This years last home game was the last time the chief performed. They finally decided to remove the chief as their mascot. Any chief appearal would also be banned. This angered many loyal Illinois fans. The chief was a part of a tradition that had been with the team for decades. Most people were sad to see the chief go. I used to go to all the home games in Champaign and I remember watching the chief every game during half time. It was a very memorable experience. I was also very upset at the decision they made. I will truly miss our mascot along with many others. Now people are talking about possibly creating a new mascot. I think it would be a bad idea and no one would support it but you never know. It was a sad thing to watch the chief go.

spring break

Spring break is a time for college students to take a week off from all of the pressures college puts on them. With the difficulty of college, it is nice to have one full week off for relaxation. However, some students take this opportunity and go crazy. Many students decide to go on a vacation with some friends for spring break. Cancun is popular destination along with other hot spots around the country such as Florida. For a lot of these students, these vactions are more than just a vacation. They are more of a free for all to do as they please with no supervision or consequences for their actions. It is very easy for underaged students to get alcohol. These students go crazy and drink way past their limits. This leads to many bad behaviors and stupid decisions that they will later regret. They feel like they can just do whatever. One big issue that occurs on spring break is sex. It is inevitable that most students will be faced with the opportunity to have sex with some random person. A lot of times students choose to take part in this action without even thinking twice. Many kids have sex with people they dont even know at all. I think it gets a bit rediculous sometimes and spring break seems like an excuse to party hard for many students. It has happened for years and this year is no different. Although these vacations may be fun there are also consequences for some of the decisions students make.

March Madness

The beginning of March is here and the excitement of March Madness arises. Who will make it to the big dance and who will be tough enough to make it to the Final Four? Brackets haven't been released yet however they will announce who made it to the tourney and what seeds they hold on March 11th. The anticipation of this time of year brings chills to the backs of many college basketball fans. Will their team be assigned one of the 64 available spots. The hype for this tournament is unreal. The best 64 teams in college hoops are allowed in and play for the championship. One loss in the tournament and a team's season is over. So who will be the big winner this year? Any guesses? Ohio State, Wisconsin, Texas, UCLA, and North Carolina are some of the powerhouses this year. The funny thing is, anyone can win this tournament. It's the survival of the fittest. It doesn't matter if a team is a #16 seed or a #1 seed, they can be knocked out in just one game. This factor alone is the reason the tournament is so unpredictable. Thus, the reason for the name March Madness. This is the reason why so many baskeball fans love this tournament. There are so many suprises and exciting games. Everyone wants to make it to the championship. All the teams give it their all to try and reach their dreams of becoming the National Champs. Only days stand between the release of the brackets. This is something that most fans take part in. They guess who will win which games. Who will make it far and who will be knocked out in the first round. It has been proven very difficult to predict upsets. There is no science to it. Even the "expert's" predictions are wrong sometimes. So, who will it be this year? Let the Madness Begin.

The St. Louis Cardinals

Ever since I was a kid I have been a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan. My whole family loves them. My great grandparents lived in Columbia Mossouri so when he was a kid his parents took him to Cardinals games whenever him and his brothers visited. I have grown up loving the Cardinals because of my dad. I try and watch most of the games that are on TV and my brothers and I go to at least one home game every year. I have found that anywhere I go pretty much anyone I talk to about baseball is a Cubs fan. There are a few fellow Cardinals fans but especially here at ISU I have found that with a majority of people being from Chicago, they are either Cubs or Sox fans.
Last year was a great year being a Cards fan. Winning the World Series was a great accomplishment for them. I was very dissapointed in 2004 when they had such a great year and then got swetpt in the World Series against the Red Sox. I was so happy when we beat the Detroit Tigers to become world champions. I have grown up a Cardinals fan and always will be. Hopefully we will have a great year this season.