Gratitude
Long time no talk, and I’m sorry for that. My blogging has definitely had a downward slope as the Spring semester has continued. I’ve been up to a lot lately. I’ve recovered from surgery and have been doing rehab five days a week, have interviewed and been accepted to be a division leader for a Winthrop organization, picked my classes next year, been studying like a mad man, and have been thinking a whole lot on my future profession and think have narrowed it down to an exciting, but definitely difficult choice of work. And just recently saw the braves home opener with Sheida (the ultimate Braves experience) and surprised my mom at home on her birthday. I’ll get to those eventually.
I’m sitting against a bench outside on the front of campus right now, it’s times like these that are just so enjoyable and appreciated amongst the majority of my other time spent as an (injured) student athlete here at the Throp. The sun is starting to set and the air has the perfect chill. Streams of light are cascading through the trees (the picture below) and the birds are chirping away.. my Freshman year of college is nearing its end, just a little over a week away now, and there are so many things that I could reflect upon now in this peace outside of the Tillman clock tower. But the only thing I find my self reflecting about is just simple appreciation and thankfulness. Gratitude is almost the perfect description. Out of everything that I have experienced this school year, bad and good, I feel that through these things, I have discovered myself, the potential for the adult that I can become. Although college, in its own way, is supposed to bring this personal insight to everyone, I just wished I would have found it earlier, in high school. The way I am right now, I’ve never been happier, and I am so thankful for that. God has definitely led me through great and long lasting experiences this year. There is so much more to be done as the semester closes, but as long as I have this greatness on my side, the cramming and studying won’t be a burden at all. Life is oh so good.
My foot. Well I’ve been on the elliptical, trying to gain some cardio, as I haven’t been “active” since the end of January. But its not too bad thus far. Yesterday I walked into the training room and asked my athletic trainer if I could go running outside, because I had jogged back and forth in between my locker room and the athletic training room and my foot felt almost perfect. He replied with a smile, “No, but you can go for ten minutes on the elliptical.” And then it hit me, a slow but hard recovery is the key, and I’m very glad that I have an experienced athletic trainer who knows that. Yes, I probably could have gone for a run outside, but who knows what could have happened to my foot.. the acute muscles and tendons all around my injury are still very weak and need to be strengthened before I start pounding my foot ruthlessly on the pavement. I’m thinking another week and a half and I should be running though, I’m pumped!
Last week I applied to be a division leader for SOAR (Serving Others and Reflecting) which does numerous community service events throughout the year. I was granted an interview with the two student leaders of SOAR and was accepted to be the new division leader for the Elderly and special Needs division of SOAR for the upcoming academic year. As a division leader, my responsibilities include coordinating two events each semester with organizations who deal with the elderly or special needs and then gather Winthrop students to go out to these places and volunteer. Organizations for my division could include nursing homes or the Special Olympics.
Next semester is going to be very busy, as I will be a redshirt Freshman on the soccer team, with 5 practices and two weight training days a week, along with games and travel during the week and weekends. 17 hours of coursework, including two labs (Chemistry 2 and Physics with Calculus). And now I have my new responsibilities as a division leader in SOAR. AIt will definitely be an action packed semester.
The weekend of April tenth was an awesome one. Sheida had originally planned to come stay with me at Winthrop, but during the week before she found out she couldn’t make it up here. We then decided that we were going to go to the Braves home opener on Friday night instead!! And boy did we have a blast. The game halted during the third inning as a huge storm blanketed Turner Field. Sheida and I got soaked in the downpour and even stood out in pouring down hail. After two and a half hours of chilling at the stadium, the game resumed. Thanks to Sheida’s Dad, we watched from almost field level in between the dugout and the outfield and had perfect seats. The game went into extra innings, and in tenth, the Bravos drove in the winning runner for a home opening victory. By far my favorite Braves experience yet. We didn’t get back to Athens until around 3, but it was totally worth it.
Last weekend was my Mom’s birthday. During the week before I had talked to my Dad about coming home to surprise her. On Friday night I went to Athens to stay with Sheida and then Saturday we drove home and I surprised my Mom in our front door. It was a great weekend. We went to the Alpharetta Music and Arts Festival on Saturday afternoon, and then my Dad and I prepared a “Surf and Turf” Steak and Shrimp kabob feast for her on Saturday night and Sheida joined us. After dinner we roasted marshmallows in the back yard and drank some nice tea (prepared by moi). It was a great weekend and gave me a little taste of summer that’s just right around the corner!
Well, I hope you’ve had a great Earth Day 2009, I have some work to do and a lab practical to study for. But first, I think I’m gong to head to the West center to get on an elliptical for a little bit.
LATER
