Study Abroad/National Student Exchange

When I first saw this was our next blog, I would say it's the most passionate thing I have blogged about so far. Studying abroad has always been one of those dreams of mine, farfetched at a young age, but now so tangible. I would LOVE to study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country, preferably Spain. Spain is one of those places I've heard about, from the arts, fashion, and just rich culture that is possesses. I would like to study abroad in either Madrid or Seville. Seville is more of a college-town atmosphere. However, I feel like Madrid would be that challenge of mine I just need to conquer. Spain "Spanish" is much different than the Spanish I have been taught my entire career. This, in itself, will be the biggest obstacle. I think studying abroad is something that every college student MUST accomplish before they graduate. There is no test of self like being completely alone in a foreign country. I think a national student exchange could be quite interesting to accomplish before I graduate too. This could possibly be a small step towards studying abroad, a baby step. Washington, D.C. or New York City would most likely be in the cards for me, since politics and business are such an integral part of my major.

My favorite part of mentoring at Hand Middle School thus far is just the experience of helping someone. Mya is such a quiet, good-natured kid. She just needs a little push out of her shell. I love how each week she talks a little more and opens up just a tiny bit more than the week before. I gave her a mystery book last week (which are her favorite), and her eyes just lit up. Its things like that which remind me why we really give back to the community.

Brain Rules Chapters 7 & 8; A Student Leaders Perspective

I define leadership as anyone's ability to make their own path, rather than following someone elses. Leadership does not come easy to everyone in society. Some people are timid and lack the tenanciousness to tell other people what to do. Leaders are normally seen as confident, strong, passionate, and outspoken. Leadership can be showing other people a way to accomplish or achieve something, while leaders are still achieving it themselves. You could probably say that I am a natural-born leader. I am outspoken, pretty confident, and have the drive to lead any group, conversation, activity, etc. Among my siblings, I have always been known as the one to intiate anything, whether it be cleaning off the table after dinner or starting my homework as soon as I got home afterschool. In almost every organization I've joined, I have taken a leadership role of some kind: president of NHS, captain of my cheerleading team and Model U.N., etc. My friends tell me I'm normally the one to plan parties, get activities going on a boring Friday night, or even pick a place to eat. I'm always interested in being a leader, and I hope that can transfer into the college career I am just beginning. I would like to become a bible study leader, much much later into my career. Haha. I don't believe I have sufficient knowledge quite yet to teach someone else about faith. However, that's a long-term goal of mine. Also, I would love to be a leader in my sorority. It is a LOT of work from what I've seen, but definitely worth it.  

Diversity

Before I came to USC, I defined diversity as people having different backgrounds, beliefs, values, etc. During my time at USC, I think I realize diversity is a whole lot more than that. Just looking on campus you can see the amount of diversity that USC has. I think diversity can include what you wear, how you act, along with what you believe, etc. Mentoring at Hand Middle, I see diversity every day that I walk in. Students at Hand all come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and races. However, you can already tell it is predominantly African-American students that attend. Also, it is interesting to see how students do academically with the background that they have. I love to see that my mentee still has great grades even though her home life isn't so great.

Brain Rules Chapters 5 & 6- Diversity

As far as South Carolina traditions go, I have participated in first-year reading experience and first-night Carolina. Growing up in South Carolina, there are many traditions that we share. First, we participate in the informal tradition of "tailgating". Tailgating is like a religion amongst South Carolina residents, especially USC fans. Another tradition that my family partakes in is cooking chicken bog! It's rice, chicken, sausage, etc. all in one big pot! Depending on the cook, the recipe changes. With my friends, I will participate in Tiger Burn! I'm not exactly sure what that entails but I can't wait to find out. I've seen my sister graduate with a bachelor's and a master's here so I think that's a big tradition is seeing someone graduate. Another South Carolina tradition that I love to do is shag!! Shagging is our state dance that my dad taught me when I was little. My whole family loves to shag to really great beach music! Finally, we drink sweet tea! Even though this is not limited to South Carolina, we love our tea nice and sweet!

Fall Break

For fall break I am going a bunch of places. First, on Thursday I am waking up early and going to visit my grandparents. I cannot wait for some homemade ice cream and a Southern home-cooked meal. I am bringing my friend Alissa with me, so I'm really excited for her to meet my grandparents and to see Lancaster, S.C.! Then, on Friday morning I am going home to Myrtle Beach. I'm really hoping I can get one more beach weekend in before it gets too cold. I'm just planning on hanging out with my family and getting multiple hours of sleep. Then, if I decide to I'm going to go to Charleston to visit some of my friends that go to College of Charleston. As for tonight (Wednesday), there is absolutely no one on campus.

Alcohol

I actually learned a lot in the class discussion on alcohol today. Mostly, it concerned what exactly you can get in trouble for living in a dorm. It really surprised me that someone can still have consequences for their roommate's actions. That really makes each person accountable for not only themselves but their roommate as well. During the discussion, I felt as though a lot of the students were afraid to ask questions or speak their minds simply because there were authority figures in the room. Although I felt comfortable talking in front of Jimmie and Brent, I could tell some other students weren't. I think talking about Alcohol Edu made me realize I'm glad I took the course. I found out a few things I never knew about alcohol.
Next semester I plan on taking Spanish 209 and 207, Speech 140, Astronomy 111, Sociology 101, and Math 122. I know, a little specific, but that's what I get for my sister being my advisor. I ask a lot of questions all the time, especially concerning the international business program because there are certain requirements we have to fufill each semester for that certain major. I'm actually pretty excited about Spanish 207. It's a two hour course once a week where you just go and talk in Spanish for two hours. It pretty much sounds exactly like what I need to really excel at the language.

Brain Rules Chapters 3 & 4; Undergraduate Research

Mentoring at Hand Middle School has been a really great experience. Since babysitting has always been my summer job, I sort of had an idea of what to expect handling a sixth grader. However, the mentoring is so focused on one-on-one interaction between the mentor and the mentee. It's different from babysitting. I can really be a positive influence to Mya, my mentee. She's quiet, extremely bright, and has a great head on her shoulders. She reminds me a lot of myself (minus the quiet part). Getting to know her lately I've realized she doesn't have a great home life. This is what really gets me. I hate knowing that her dream is to go to Clemson (yes, she is a Clemson fan living in Columbia. I can't believe it!) and that dream might not be possible simply because of her background. My strengths are getting her to talk more often. I am trying to bring her out of her shell as much as I can. Although she has straight A's, she is not very organized. Which is perfect for me, considering I'm sort of a neat freak. Anyway, mentoring is becoming a positive experience for both Mya and I. I have volunteered somewhere else this semester. I went to the Harvest Hope Food Bank with some people from my mission trip and helped them with whatever they needed (stocked shelves, etc). Volunteering is a serious passion of mine, so all of these "requirements" for Capstone and such don't really feel required to me.

Mid-term Review

My favorite memory of this semester definitely has to be the football games. There is absolutely no way to describe the atmosphere of the student section in a game like USC vs. GA. The anticipation, thrill, and overwhelming pride of Williams-Brice Stadium is unlike any other. I also love the tailgating aspect. Although I have quite a few years of USC tailgating under my belt, it is so much different being a student. You feel really connected to the people you see and the team itself. I don't think I wish I could do anything over again. I'm a huge believer in everything happening for a reason. I didn't do as well as I wanted to on my last math test. However, I believe this motivates me to study even harder. So, you can't really have triumphs without tribulations. My goals are doing well since the last time I checked. I've started to walk around campus a lot more and take in the scenery. I've been keeping up with my school work, which I'm insanely proud of (not that I didn't think I could do it). I think I'm on track to complete my goals. I hope to carry most of them out past this semester, so I don't think they will be technically completed by the end of the semester, but hopefully accomplished.