Senior year I got my first job as a server. I was not aware that servers had to learn everything in the menu. I was shocked!! I was scared but I wanted to challenge myself. I ended up loving my job. I loved meeting all types of different people, even the annoying costumers. Becoming a server opened my eyes. I learned how to tip well and how to appreciate servers. It really is more difficult than most think. Being a server, we have to deal with annoying costumers that want everything to be perfect and their food has to be exactly on point. Obviously we do not live in a perfect world. So, not everything will come out in time and no everything will be how the costumer wants it to be. Learning how to carry trays was a big challenge for me, most laughed because I’m small and carrying big trays with a lot of food on it. Working at Uncle Julio’s was a life lesson that I loved. I am excited to go home for the summer and to continue working there.

In high school, teachers give out work sheets where students have to fill in the blanks and that would be the students notes. In college, students have to figure out what strategy works out best for them because there will not be fill in the blank worksheets anymore, it will be up to the student on how he/she decides to take notes. Different classes require different note-taking strategies because professors have distinct ways of teaching.

For example, classes like math, English, and history will have complete different ways of taking notes.Even though many students despise math, it is easy to say that math is the only subject that is the same in every country. Many would agree that math is the easiest subject to take notes in. Math is a subject where students have to maintain their focus in order to keep up. Missing one step can cause the student to miss not just one part of learning the problem but all of it. There are usually many ways to learn how to solve an equation. Students use different techniques to learn the material. Because everything is very hands on in math the student is more likely to keep up and learn quicker. Writing the problems and steps down over again is always helpful. Luckily students continuously do that in math, it becomes clear where problems are made and where a problem needs to be fixed.

From experience, I can say that note-taking is different for every class. Some classes it feels impossible to take notes that will be helpful just because of the way the material is being taught. Math is easy because it is critical thinking and hands on, English difficult because it is a lecture class, and history frustrating because taking notes from a power point is never helpful. Therefor, note-taking can either make you or break you, just because it is hard finding the right strategy that benefits the most.

Since I was a young girl, about 7 or 8 my main focus has always been cheerleading. My grades have always been important to my parents, they would always tell me “bad grades means no cheer.” Middle school was a piece of cake, and high school not so much. In high school, I fell in love with cheerleading. Cheer has always been the reason I tried my best in school. I did not want to risk losing what I love.

I never thought of my writing as bad, but obviously not perfect. The placement test was a reality check. Just because of the result of the placement test, my father decided it was best not to cheer this year. My heart was broken and still is. Passing the placement test this semester is a big deal. Hopefully I pass and my father agrees to let me cheer next year.

Over the summer every freshman had to take the writing sample placement test. Unfortunately I did not take it very serious. I know I have the potential to be in 110. Even though, I did not take the test serious, I learned a lot from UNIV150. I soon learned that my writing skills need improvement. In class we learned a lot about punctuation, which is my weakest part about writing. I guess writing can not be perfect, but I am willing to work my way up. This class has helped me a lot, and I am ready to move on to ENG110.

I work hard on my essays. Receiving a letter grade at the top that is not a 100% with no marks on my paper would have me confused. I would not know what I do well or what I did wrong. A B+ is good but a A+ is fantastic. If there are no marks on my essay I would not know what to improve to get to an A+. As a student it is important to know your professor is engaged in his or her student’s writing.

When I get my essays returned the first thing I look for are my mistakes. I have had professors that return papers with a grade and no marks on them. It can get stressful for the student because we feel our professors do not care enough to fully read our papers. I hope I do not get stuck with those kind of professors.

Spring Registration is less than a week away. Time has flown by. It feels like just yesterday I was at preview registering for fall classes. Not too long ago, there was still uncertainty about my major. Luckily, my advisor helped me learn that my interest involves political science. Just two weeks ago, I felt unprepared because of the stress I am currently having for each class, being indecisive about my major, and making sure I choose the right professors.

This is my first semester in college, and I had a rude awakening. High school did not prepare me at all. In high school classes, schedules are given and not chosen. In college the student picks his own classes and schedule. The best feeling is knowing that every semester we pick new schedules to go by. We can pick morning, afternoon or night classes; basically students can pick classes that will accommodate them. This semester, my first class is an 8AM class, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Next semester, the thought of an 8AM class will not even cross my mind; I know now not to pick a morning class. It feels like my morning class is the reason for being so tired during class and not reaching my potential.

What plays a big factor when registering for classes is the student’s major. Once a student knows what his or her major is, the registration process becomes simple. Not knowing a major feels like the semester is gone to waste. Because, most of the time, those classes will not give credit for the major. If it does not give credit for the major, the class was a waste of money and time. Currently, I feel confident and prepared for registration as well as the new semester.

The only problem that has occurred this semester is the lack of interest professors show. Most of my professors will not give up their time to help out or explain when a student asks a question. Even though most advisors suggest not to use sites, such as ratemyprofessor.com, most students find this site useful. This website is used for students to investigate how each professor teaches or the amount of work he or she gives. This semester, this website might be useful for myself; this semester, I have only had one professor update grades and check up on her students. Next semester, my goal is to be on the hunt for those kind of professors.

Overall, I am feeling prepared for registration. First semester was a lesson I learned from. Next semester, most definitely will be much better because now I am adapted to college life. A week before registration, I have written down all the classes and looked up all the times for each one. Hopefully, everything goes as planned with my schedule, and I have a great semester.

Is cheerleading considered a sport? In this article there is “no solid official definition of sport.” There are many people that bully cheerleaders with rude comments to get under their skin. There are many that truly believe cheerleading is dumb and has no athleticism. Those who are brave enough to argue whether or not cheerleading is a sport will most likely lose the argument. Why? Because to be considered a sport there must be score sheets, there must be a competition or match, a winner, time limit, etc.  The Women’s Sports Foundation narrowed down what is needed to be considered a sport, which I listed before, and cheerleading meets all those requirements. Cheerleading is publicized on ESPN. Not only is competitive cheer publicized but high school cheerleading competitions are also on ESPN.

As a cheerleader myself, I can back this argument up easily. When people think of cheerleading they think of cheerleaders at high school pep rally’s, not competitive or college cheer. Unfortunately, high school cheer is the main reason competitive cheer is not taken seriously, the difficult level is much different for both. Either way, both should be respected equally. Competitive cheer has bigger competitions like nationals, local, and the biggest competition of them all Worlds. Worlds is held in Florida and only the best teams are given the chance to compete. High school cheerleading is taken more serious in the south. Most high school cheerleaders have competitions like districts, regionals and state competitions, which is still a big deal and should not be looked down upon. Hard work and passion is put into each practice.

Cheerleaders train about eight months for four to six hours to prepare for Worlds. All that time spent practicing is the reason cheerleaders take those mean comments offensive, there is a lot of hard work put into the two minute and thirty second routine. As a cheerleader it is very insulting when comments like “cheer isn’t a sport” “it is stupid” are made. the devotion and grind is just as intense as any other sport. As stated in the article, when this debate comes up it is better to just let the argument go because no matter what each person is entitled to their opinion.

“Respect is earned, and there are plenty of teams that get it by doing what they are supposed to do and by being good role models” said Kentucky cheerleader and executive director of AACCA, Jim Lord. Jim Lord sends a message to all the dedicated cheerleaders to not let comments get to them. Jim has a good point in this article, cheerleaders know the intensity of the sport so there is no need to prove others wrong. No matter how many times this topic will be argued with, all that matters is the heart and compassion one has for the sport. For those whose reaction is to argue back keep this quote in mind “remember, winning an argument will not necessarily win you other’s respect.” The time cheerleaders put into what they love is what matters, not those who are uneducated about the definition of a “sport.”

Coming to college I left all my close friends at home. My roommate and suite mate’s are both from my city and went to the same high school as I did. We all have talked in high school, but they were always close friends. I kind of felt like the odd one out. Thankfully, everything has worked out and we have all become very close friends. I also made a new friend from a completely different area. I can say she is very close to me and I know she will be for a while. Meeting this amazing people here has helped me feel better about being away from home. I was scared at first but now I am happy with where I am at.

My favorite subject since I can remember has always been math. Math makes me happy, yes I know I sound like a nerd. Math is different than other subjects. In math for most problems you can find your mistakes and know if the problem is correct. The beautiful thing is that math is the same in every country. There are many different ways to solve problems, it’s just what fits you best. I fell in love with math when I took algebra 1 freshman year of high school. Ever since then, I enjoy teaching it and learning it. I love when others ask for help, it makes me happy knowing I can help someone else.

Transitioning to college was a big change. There were many things I was not aware of. For example, how student’s themselves make their own schedules. In high school schedules are given to you. Move in day everything became so real, I was so amazed. Everything felt so real, I felt like an adult. I knew everything I did from then on would be my own decisions. It was exciting but definitely scary.