First-Year Student Journals : C.J. : Journal 6

C.J. | Profile | Reflections | Journals: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Finals?

So we’ve come to the end of the fall semester. Just one week of class and another week or so for finals after the Thanksgiving break. That’s wonderful. And Thanksgiving was a blessing. It was a welcome break in the 12 or 13 consecutive weeks I’ve been in college. It gave me an opportunity to just relax and enjoy being in the presence of my family. Being away for a long period of time makes you appreciate them so much more. And the food…nothing short of amazing. Special props to my Aunt Patsy for the peach cobbler she made for Thanksgiving. In all my life, I’ve never tasted better peach cobbler.

There is a downside to the Thanksgiving break, however. Having a break like that so close to the end of the semester can put you in a serious state of laziness. Thanksgiving gave me a taste of a break from being in college just a week or so before the end of the semester. Now, I’m ready to go home. After all, you come back from the Thanksgiving break with just one week of class. Why bother? It’s just one week. Well, that’s where the finals come in.

Finals are like a wall you have to climb before crossing the finish line after reaching the end of a race. The height of the wall depends on how many finals you have and/or how difficult the finals will be. I’m truly blessed to have only two finals this semester. My wall isn’t too tall, but the fact that the wall is there is frustrating. I’m so close to the end, but there’s a wall in the way. I’m not a fan of finals.

Another problem I have with finals is that they can be scheduled on Saturdays. My second final is on a Saturday morning. Saturday? Not only that, but I have to find out for myself when and where the test will be given on campus. This isn’t high school. But I have to get over it. This is college, plain and simple.

Five Weeks

I’m tired. It’s that simple. College has drained the life out of me. I suppose it’s fitting, however. This is the end of the first semester, after all. This is also my last journal entry for this semester.

This semester has flown by. I have come to the realization that my freshman year in college will go by faster than my senior year in high school. And likewise, my sophomore year will go by faster than my freshman year, and so on. Time…I won’t go there.

So I’m about to go home for five weeks or so. That’s right, our college break is more than five weeks long. We don’t come back until Jan. 20. Rest and relaxation will be all that’s on my mind over this break, but that’s not what I look forward to most. What I look forward to most is the opportunity to determine how much college has changed me, if it has actually changed me at all. I can’t know exactly how much this environment has changed me until I return to the environment from which I came, which is of course home.

Dine-In Dollars, Bevo Bucks and the Art of Scavenging

As of right now, I have just around $800 in Dine-In Dollars and $160 in Bevo Bucks. I didn’t think much of this until the amount of Dine-In Dollars and Bevo Bucks became a topic of conversation among a few friends not too long ago. Most of them had either spent all of their Bevo Bucks or had a small amount left. Some of my friends had less than $600 of Dine-In Dollars, and that’s not too good considering we started the year off with $1,200. I think you should have at least $600 going into next semester. Right? Anyway, when I told them my Dine-In Dollars and Bevo Bucks status, they were shocked. Yeah, I was shocked that they were shocked. Why? Well, I figured the art of scavenging was no secret.

On nearly a daily basis and certainly a weekly basis, you can find free food somewhere on campus. San Jacinto itself provides free food every other week. Various organizations on campus have meetings and forums that provide free food and drinks. To be honest, if you’re good, you could probably get at least two meals a week by going to the right meetings, forums or dormitories. Now, there is a downside to this. It seems like the only free food offered is pizza. If you’re not a fan of pizza, then disregard this section of the journal entry entirely. If you are a fan of pizza, this is valuable information for your everyday college life.

Occasionally, however, you get a real meal. For example, one day maybe a week before Thanksgiving week, I happened to visit the Center for African-American Studies. I can’t remember why I went, but I know why I stayed. Apparently, they were having a pre-Thanksgiving dinner at the center. I was invited to stay and eat with one of my professors, and of course I did. Turkey, greens, sweet potato pie, pecan pie…the list goes on and on. The point, ladies and gentlemen of the Web journal audience, is that it was free. Why not take advantage?

Something you want to know? I’ll address it in my journal. E-mail me at JaHeeZy689@hotmail.com. I’ll try and respond to e-mails within five days of receiving them.



	C.J. \| Profile \| Reflections \| Journals: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Home
	Finals? So we’ve come to the end of the fall semester. Just one week of class and another week or so for finals after the Thanksgiving break. That’s wonderful. And Thanksgiving was a blessing. It was a welcome break in the 12 or 13 consecutive weeks I’ve been in college. It gave me an opportunity to just relax and enjoy being in the presence of my family. Being away for a long period of time makes you appreciate them so much more. And the food…nothing short of amazing. Special props to my Aunt Patsy for the peach cobbler she made for Thanksgiving. In all my life, I’ve never tasted better peach cobbler. There is a downside to the Thanksgiving break, however. Having a break like that so close to the end of the semester can put you in a serious state of laziness. Thanksgiving gave me a taste of a break from being in college just a week or so before the end of the semester. Now, I’m ready to go home. After all, you come back from the Thanksgiving break with just one week of class. Why bother? It’s just one week. Well, that’s where the finals come in. Finals are like a wall you have to climb before crossing the finish line after reaching the end of a race. The height of the wall depends on how many finals you have and/or how difficult the finals will be. I’m truly blessed to have only two finals this semester. My wall isn’t too tall, but the fact that the wall is there is frustrating. I’m so close to the end, but there’s a wall in the way. I’m not a fan of finals. Another problem I have with finals is that they can be scheduled on Saturdays. My second final is on a Saturday morning. Saturday? Not only that, but I have to find out for myself when and where the test will be given on campus. This isn’t high school. But I have to get over it. This is college, plain and simple. Five Weeks I’m tired. It’s that simple. College has drained the life out of me. I suppose it’s fitting, however. This is the end of the first semester, after all. This is also my last journal entry for this semester. This semester has flown by. I have come to the realization that my freshman year in college will go by faster than my senior year in high school. And likewise, my sophomore year will go by faster than my freshman year, and so on. Time…I won’t go there. So I’m about to go home for five weeks or so. That’s right, our college break is more than five weeks long. We don’t come back until Jan. 20. Rest and relaxation will be all that’s on my mind over this break, but that’s not what I look forward to most. What I look forward to most is the opportunity to determine how much college has changed me, if it has actually changed me at all. I can’t know exactly how much this environment has changed me until I return to the environment from which I came, which is of course home. Dine-In Dollars, Bevo Bucks and the Art of Scavenging As of right now, I have just around $800 in Dine-In Dollars and $160 in Bevo Bucks. I didn’t think much of this until the amount of Dine-In Dollars and Bevo Bucks became a topic of conversation among a few friends not too long ago. Most of them had either spent all of their Bevo Bucks or had a small amount left. Some of my friends had less than $600 of Dine-In Dollars, and that’s not too good considering we started the year off with $1,200. I think you should have at least $600 going into next semester. Right? Anyway, when I told them my Dine-In Dollars and Bevo Bucks status, they were shocked. Yeah, I was shocked that they were shocked. Why? Well, I figured the art of scavenging was no secret. On nearly a daily basis and certainly a weekly basis, you can find free food somewhere on campus. San Jacinto itself provides free food every other week. Various organizations on campus have meetings and forums that provide free food and drinks. To be honest, if you’re good, you could probably get at least two meals a week by going to the right meetings, forums or dormitories. Now, there is a downside to this. It seems like the only free food offered is pizza. If you’re not a fan of pizza, then disregard this section of the journal entry entirely. If you are a fan of pizza, this is valuable information for your everyday college life. Occasionally, however, you get a real meal. For example, one day maybe a week before Thanksgiving week, I happened to visit the Center for African-American Studies. I can’t remember why I went, but I know why I stayed. Apparently, they were having a pre-Thanksgiving dinner at the center. I was invited to stay and eat with one of my professors, and of course I did. Turkey, greens, sweet potato pie, pecan pie…the list goes on and on. The point, ladies and gentlemen of the Web journal audience, is that it was free. Why not take advantage? Something you want to know? I’ll address it in my journal. E-mail me at JaHeeZy689@hotmail.com. I’ll try and respond to e-mails within five days of receiving them.