I am so excited for all the wonderful events that are to come this holiday season. There are so many new additions to the family to enjoy the holiday with. I have a new brother in law and the cutest nephew ever. During the holiday season, we have so many traditions that are very similar to those of other families. Some of them include: buying the Christmas tree, decorating the house with lights, making Christmas cookies. These traditions are so close to my heart that I love everytime we can do them. My family is so close that it makes every holiday so much better.

I have grown up in a family where faith, family and friends are the most important things to remember in life. First, you have God, who is the ultimate person to look to for advice and tell everything to. Then there is your family, who are the people that you know that you can count on when things do not really go the way they should. Last but definitely not least, would be my good friends. They know exactly how to uplift me whenever I am down or have something going on that is hurtful. These three F's should never be taken for granted or let go because I feel that they are the reason why I am who I am. They have made me become what I dream to become.

I am going to miss all my friends over the holidays but I know that they will be with the people that they are most closest to and I will be with my family and enjoying every minute of it.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

I am telling you that this week is really stressful because I feel that everything is due this week rather than next week. I really do not mind that but I just wish that everything could be spread out more. I got overwhelmed really fast because I think that I saved some work until the wrong time which is a really bad time management mistake (which I talked about in another blog). I thought that I had more time to accomplish the needed work in the long period of time but the time just got away from me. I think that I have a good handle on the work that needs to be done right now but I do not think that it is my best work. That is a lesson learned this time because I will never wait this long again. Some of the time that I will spending on homework could be spent on hanging out with my friends before we leave for break for a month, which I am very upset about. I just hope that I can try the manage my time where I can spend some time with friends and finish my work. I am very anxious to get out for break but I am sad that I will be leaving my friends for a month.

I also have the stress of studying for the Praxis exam, which very very important for my future. I really need to pass this exam and it is hard to make time for both the Praxis and my school work

But in the end, I know that I will do the right thing and get everything out of the way.

Over this Thanksgiving break, I spent a lot of time with family and old friends. This break was the best ever because I got to spend it with my nephew and celebrate his first Thanksgiving with him. Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for the great things that we have in our lives. I have really come to the conclusion that we can often take somethings that we have for granted. The material things that we have are not the ones that we need to be thankful, it is the things that matter the most. There are people in our world that do not have much to eat or drink or ways to get through the days. My family and friends are those that you should be the most thankful for because they are the people that will be there for you when things get rough. I often hope that those people who are less fortunate have a family and some friends to be with during these important holidays. Especially, when Christmas is around the corner. The time of giving and sharing. This year, I would love to help out the people that do not have the materials that I have. Last year, I was very giving but I think that I could have done better so I thought that I could be more of a giver than a receiver. Christmas is the time of the year when the season changes and many germs fly through the air. The season changes from fall to winter and in Cincinnati the seasons really get confused sometimes and that is when the germs really are bad.

Staying organized in college can be a hard task because there are so many pressures to keep you from doing your homework. I can understand that when you are away from home, some of the pressure to do your work is off. But college is really what decides what you are going to do for the rest of your life. Not to scare you or anything! It is true, though. I have been so lucky to have Project Excel here because they are the people that really keep me on task. They even have a time management time put on your schedule your freshmen year so that you can get some tips and start habits on how to be organized and manage your time wisely. I think that the best thing to have is a planner. You can not only write your homework in one but you can also write down what is happening one weekend or some on-campus events. They are really nice because you can have all your homework written down in one place so that you will not forget to do anything. The one is that you must always remember to write your homework in them. I always forget to write in them and then it is the end of the week and you are trying to see what homework you have and your planner is blank. I mean if you have a really good memory you are in luck but those who do not have that great memory are out of luck. I am sure that you could have some friends in your classes so you can ask them what the homework was. Also I have also thought that having different colored binders for every class to be very beneficial because then you will not get them mixed up. I also would have the same colored folder to match the binder. Haha that is the teacher in me! Some of the professors do plan ahead but some of them do not so you should be ready for any big task that could come up. I have made that mistake! The mistake of waiting until the last minute for an assignment in one class and then having a huge assignment in another that can really stress you out.

In the end, you should really stay organized and on top of all your homework assignments. I really do not mean to scare you but it is life.

 

The people that mean the most to me in my life would be my family.  They are always there for me when friends just do not understand. They are the people that let you know that you have all the success in the world. My family, to me, is perfect. Even though that no one family is perfect. But in my head, I think mine is.

My siblings are all older than me but they have taught me so much. They have taught me to never ever give up on my dreams. They tell me all the time that if you set your mind to something you can achieve it.

My parents are extraordinary people who have huge hearts. They do so much for people who do not have much. They are in charge of finding people to go to the hunger centers to feed those who are less fortunate. I could never have asked for such great parents. They take so much time for us, kids.

Not just my immediate but my extended family is extremely important to me. They are people who call and wish you luck on an important when they have so much other things to do. My whole entire family is close. We are always excited to come together and catch up on family news and other things.

I am up in Cleveland this weekend and it is really feeling like winter. Our family has been drinking hot cocoa and all snuggled up under blankets. I am really not a big fan of cold weather but I am at the same time because I love being all bundled up next to the fire. The weather is not too cold but the forecast is calling for some snow showers tonight. I love when it snows because it feels like winter is here. This also means that my two favorite holidays are coming up: Thanksgiving and Christmas. Christmas being my most favorite. These two holidays in my family are very precious. But now, that my two older sisters are married, we now have to share them with the in-laws. So sometimes they are here for Thanksgiving but not for Christmas.

Thanksgiving is the closet holiday to the date today. This holiday is full of family and delicious food. My dad makes his famous stuffing and turkey. My mom makes the best mashed potatoes and gravy. Around this time, we have many traditions that take place. One of them being drawing names to find out who has who for Christmas gifts. Another would be that all of us kids need to come up with a Thanksgiving prayer and what we are thankful. When I was young, we used to make turkeys out of hand prints and construction paper and then we had to put our prayers on the back of them. My mom would put our turkeys on the refrigerator up until Christmas. When another tradition takes place with something to take the place of the turkeys on the fridge. I will tell you all our Christmas traditions when it comes closer.

This Wednesday is a huge day for me because I get to teach a second grade art class with one of my classmates. We are introducing geometric shapes to them by having them cut out the different shapes like circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, and diamonds. Then they have to make a character or scene out of their shapes that they choose. Then after they have to come up with a two sentence description of their character or scene. That is our lesson for the first day. I am really nervous for our first day because I really do not know what to expect from the students. I mean I have a lesson plan that they need to follow but I am not sure about their cooperation in class. I love children so I am sure that I can handle any misbehavior that may occur. I think if I did not have the patience that I do with children I would not be in the profession that I am in currently. I think that any special education teacher has a special heart and the most patience of any person. I think that whatever path that you choose will really have to pinpoint your personality because whatever you choose will really make or break your life. My classmate and I have thoroughly gone over what will be presented to the children this Wednesday. We feel very confident about everything. I just can not believe that I am at the time in my career where I actually get to go out into my field and teach students. This is truly my passion in life. I really feel that I can make a difference in a child's life. Many children who are born with special needs have a special gift and deserve the right to a great education, which I feel I can give them. They really had no control over how they were born so we can not just neglect and look down on them as students.

I will give you more in depth information about my first teaching experience in my next blog. Please keep reading.

 

This weekend, my whole family is getting together to celebrate my nephew's baptism. My aunt and my grandma drove in from South Bend, Indiana this Friday night with some of my cousins. We had a great weekend full of fun activities like shopping and pumpkin carving. We went to the outlet mall right here in Cleveland and shop til we dropped. It was so much fun. Then my dad and I took my cousins to pick out a big pumpkin for all of us to carve. We had a pumpkin face drawing contest and whoever won could put their drawing on the pumpkin. On Sunday, the big day of the baptism. We are so happy for my sister, Ellen and my brother in law, Todd. Little Baby William is so lucky to be born into this warm and fun-loving family. Following the baptism, my sister has invited everyone to her house for lunch. This is going to be a fun time because everyone can catch up with each other. It is also a great time just for everyone to be together.

I love weekends like this because as I said in the last blog, Family is number one in my life. Family is always there for you when things get tough and you just need some warm advice from your family.  I really hope that everyone enjoys themselves at the baptism and the lunch following.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays! The sugar that is coated on your teeth and the variety of costumes that are seen all night long. I am to the point that I do not go trick-or-treating anymore but I do enjoy seeing children run around from house to house. Halloween is another time of year where many places host haunted houses for the season. I am not a haunted house person because I am scaredy cat. My friends have always tried to get me to go to one but I have never gave in. For example of a haunted house around the area would be at Kings Island, Howl-o-leen. I have heard that that is very frightening.

When I was a child, I always loved to dress up for Halloween. My mother was very creative with my costumes. I wasn't your average witch or pumpkin. She made some of my costumes from scratch. I was a gumball machine one year that was made out of a clear garbage bag and multi-colored balloons. I loved that costume. I was also a joker with a white face and the actual costume was made by my grandmother. 

After my siblings and I were finished trick-or-treating we would sit in the family room and sort our candy. We put the Snickers in one pile and the Milky Ways in another and so on. Then we would trade candy with each other. This became a family tradition evey year but sometimes it got out of hand because some wouldn't trade with me and I would cause an uproar.

The traditions of many holidays are near and dear to my heart because anytime that I can spend with my family is so much fun.

 

I am so ready for this weekend to come!!! I can not believe that it is mid-semester already. It feels like we just started school. This is the time of the year where all the teachers present all the students with either a project or a test for the midterm. There is so much work that needs to be completed in a short amount of time. It can be stressful!! There needs to be time for relaxation and something that can be a stress reliever. For example, for me shopping is the biggest stress reliever.  I know that spending money is not the top priority for college students but it is definitely needed to get through the school year. The bad part about this break is that it is only ONE day!!! We definitely need to make that longer but also just around the corner is Thanksgiving break, which we get 3 days.

This is also the time for advising and setting up classes for next semester. All the students have to meet with their advisors to pick classes to take. They need to do this in order to be cleared to register on their appropriate date. This is also another thing that students need to worry about along with schoolwork.  Students register for classes at different times based on your grade level. Seniors get first pick at all classes because they are upper level. Then it goes down in order from there.

Let it all begin!!!

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