How I've Grown and What I've Learned

This first semester of college has been a very new and very good thing I believe. Sure the initial transition was tough because this is something totally new. Being the first child in my family to go to college I didn't really have any advice from family members...other than my Mom telling me the story about how she had her car battery stolen at nursing school... several times. I was glad that I had my Hixson folk there from the beginning, that helped a lot.

Independence wasn't something that I can say I really gained. I've honed my independence skills (if you want to call them that) since I've been here. I was a Boy Scout and since I was little I was tossed out into the wild unknown, so I got over my homesickness back then. Granted it took me quite awhile to do so, and I still get homesick every now and then while I'm here, but being away from home for long periods of time has come to scare me even less.

All in all, I've learned a lot about myself, more about what I want to do later in life. I've grown even more independent and more self-sufficient. The growning and learning will never cease throughout my college career... this is just the beginning.

What the Hixson Award Means To Me

     I remember my Grandma calling to tell me about the Hixson award and that I should fill out the application, or at least look it up, so I did. I filled it out and received my letter that said I was the recipient for Greene County. I was so excited when I read that first sentence I called my Grandma and various other relatives to tell them, I thought that was cooler than being accepted into Iowa State itself. It helped with college so much both of my parents let a huge sigh of relief, because as soon as I turned in the application we had our fingers crossed. If I wouldn't have gotten the Hixson Award I wouldn't have made it past the first year financially. The Hixson Award means a lot to me in terms of financial support, but I've also met some amazing people in the program as well that I intend to stay friends with.

     I believe I've come a long way this first semester of college, sure it hasn't been an easy adjustment, it's something totally new, but what this award has entitled me to has helped in every way possible. It's something that helps in ways that I don't see, not only does it help me, but it takes a load off my parents, knowing that while I'm over here there is a group of people who represtent the award watching me and making sure I don't crash and burn, and there to help me up if I do. It's because it's not an award where they hand you the check and say "Good luck." It's the award where we as recipients are held to a higher standard. We must work to earn this award, and it pays off in more ways than just financial. That's what makes this award special to me. 

Diversity Event

     I attended which was called Healing through Imagination. It consisted of a doctor talking about her experiences working humanitarian missions. She described her experiences healing patients through art/dance therapy, poetry, and dreams.
     It was pretty interesting in a sense that what she talked about worked. She gave use several examples about how they did infact work, herself included. It's something that is cool to think about when you have dreams with say a repeating event or totem meaning animal or object, and taking into consideration what it means. I'm not talking about dream interpretation, but more along the lines of paying attention to what you dream instead of just shrugging it off.
     All in all it was interesting, her poetry was a little weird and made no sense, but the general idea was good. I'm glad I went.

Social Media Week

The biggest thing I learned during Social Media Week is that there is a lot of stuff out there, even on Facebook, which is what I did. Personally I thought I dug my own grave choosing that because I've got to find historical things (which relates to what I want to do) on Facebook, and most of what I like to do is enjoyed by old people...who coincidentally usually don't use Facebook. However I found quite a bit of goodies on there which surprised me. It just reinforces the fact that there will be more things available to us on the internet, and if there is more stuff available there will be more people looking on the internet. Just today I was working on my enlistment work for the Army and it was all online expect for a form which required my signature. Pretty soon everything is going to be on the internet or all compiled into a device which we can carry on our person.

The one thing I hate about social media, the internet, facebook, twitter, and all that jazz is that it is eliminating face to face conversations. We are becoming more dependent on our phones that when we have to talk to someone face to face we have trouble or are extremely nervous if it's something bad or you're shy about speaking up. It's easy to say something nasty about someone who isn't within arms length. I think it also elimitates that feeling in the pit of your stomach you get before you have to give a presentation or something along the lines as that. When I did competition speech I loved that feeling before I went up, sure I cursed it at the time, but now that that time has passed I miss it. I suppose I'll always try my best to cling to the "Old Ways" of talking face to face because nothing can get the message across better!

MBTI Results and After Action Review

When I received my results I was an ENFJ. An ENFJ in a nutshell is a warm, compassionate, loyal, sociable, expressive, etc... To me this was no surprise, it was a very accurate represntation I thought. Granted I may not come off as this person initially. Some people would assume I was kind of a cold, and detached person just because of the first encounter. I don't tend to say a whole lot around people I don't know, but those who take the time to get to know me well will find that I'm a fun-loving person.

The one thing that surprised me the most is when I filled out my goals, because when I wrote down my ultimate goal at the bottom of the page it was that when they put me in the ground was for people to stand around and say that I gave it my best effort in life and I was a good person. This was after I even took the MBTI and now that I look at my goals and my results I can see that what I said would be typical of an ENFJ person.

I suppose over these past few years and this semester especially I have gotten more in touch with values, personal views, and my little quirks or characteristics, because they have become challenged, and since I'm out of my comfort zone I tend to stick closer to them, and try to surround myself with people who act the same way. The MBTI just enforces what I already believe, and personally I kind of thought it was nice to have the results written down and explained on paper instead of a test which just throws you in a percentage and leaves it at that.

My Bucket List

                I have just started here at Iowa State, and there are some things I know I need to do for sure. I think for all students campaniling is a priority, simply because it’s easy to accomplish, “nuff said.” I haven’t quite decided what else I need to do, I’m in ROTC so that entitles me to some obligations during football games security wise, but before I graduate I’m going to paint myself red and yellow and be right there at the edge of the stands screaming my lungs out. I want to be in charge of an organization or something, I actually plan on starting my own, most people know already that I do some Civil War reenacting on the side, so I figured I would start a unit of college kids and train them up and do some living history events, maybe even do something on campus for a historically significant event, like the 150^th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

                After graduating I will receive a commission in the United States Army as a 2^nd Lieutenant, I hope to serve in an Armored Division and command tanks until my commitment is up in 4 years and I will hopefully retire a Captain. I want to be a member of the 1^st Cavalry Division, or the 3^rd Armored, whichever is cool with me, I don’t really care. I may decide to stay back here at home and be in the National Guard, and then I would hopefully be a part of the 113^th Cavalry.

                When I retire from the military I want to either move to Missouri or Georgia and start my own peach orchard. I love peaches which is why I’d like to do that, and because I’m from a farm I would like to live on one when I’m finished with everything I’m doing now, schooling, and the Army and such. 

                I plan on farming until I die, no retirement or anything, do what my Grandpa is doing, farming until he can’t anymore.  My main goal in life is that when they put me in the ground I want people to say that I was a good person, and I helped everyone that I could, and I made a difference in somebody’s lfie in some way shape or form.

The Story of Me

The time when I was my best was last year when I built picnic tables for my Eagle Project that was required for receiving the rank of Eagle in Boy Scouts, which is the highest rank and honor that a Scout can receive.

This project must be planned and carried out solely by the Scout, in addition to that, they must also plan and attend a series of reviews which approve and evaluate what you did, what you learned, what you thought of the project, and what you wished you could have done better.

It was a great chance to prove and hone my leadership ablities by contacting county officials, and scheduling days for the tables to be assembled and making sure people would be there. I had to put my best effort into each and every aspect of the project, because if I didn't pay attention to every aspect, it wouldn't be my best effort, therefore the quality would not be the greatest.

I wasn't sure what would happen when I took it upon myself to do this, but it was just the matter of time, I needed a certain amount of time ot do a certain amount of things, so in all reality it came down to time management and a dose of motivation to do those things. The feeling of accomplishment came when I had the Scouts bolt the tables down and sat down on them for the first time. I knew that I had done something that people would be able to enjoy for many years to come.