Half Way

So I am half way through my first semester as a transfer student at Texas A&M University. I love everything about my school. The campus is gorgeous. The people are amazing, and my courses are exciting and enjoyable! I haven't enjoyed school this much in so many years.

On another note, I am going on week three of having a daily headache. I was glutened about three weeks ago (from Papa Murphy's new Gluten Free Pizza) and I am not sure if it's from then or if I have been glutened since. I have been extremely busy since school started, so I am trying to be much more careful  in hopes this headache will end soon.

About Papa Murphy's... The pizza was delicious! My gluten free pizza was loaded with artichokes, olives, spinach, alfredo sauce, chicken, and bacon, but I regretted it later... Although I really enjoyed eating their gluten free pizza, it was definitely contaminated with gluten. I will stick to making my own homemade pizzas, rather than eating from Papa Murphy's or Domino's Pizza.

I am working on my Pumpkin Spice Cake recipe and will post it soon!

Have a fantastic week,
xoxo
Jade

Can't stop thinking.

As I stay busy with school and all the practicum/professional development hours that are required, I can't stop thinking. I can't stop thinking, even when I'm trying to stop thinking (like when I want to go to sleep). I just started my professional development and practicum hours. They are for two different classes. I never thought they would have such an impact on me or my life. Last week, a small group of students from my "Family Involvement and Empowerment" class went to Potluck in the Park. This is where you bring food and eat with the homeless. I will honestly say when we pulled up to the park, I was wanting to leave and we hadn't even gotten out of the car! If I were alone, I would've probably left before ever meeting the people because I was way out of my comfort zone. Instead, we got out, gathered our food, and walked nervously to the group of people. Let me tell you, these people came up, introduced themselves, thanked us, and wanted to know our story. It opened my eyes more than I imagined and I honestly haven't stopped thinking about them. What if we wouldn't have came? They would've had only potatoes to eat. They wouldn't have leftovers to take with them. I wouldn't have changed my outlook. I enjoyed speaking with them so much that my group felt uncomfortable asking them to sign our logs. We didn't want them to feel like we were just coming for our hours because I truly believe this is something I want to keep doing. I want more people to be involved. I want the community to know about this event. I want the people to know and feel that they are cared about. I don't want to be done when my hours are completed. 

Yesterday, I completed the on-campus "QPR Suicide Prevention" training for some of my professional development hours and again.......I was out of my comfort zone. Suicide is not something I like to talk about, but it is something everyone needs to know about. After this training course, I know the statistics. I know the importance of communicating with others, even people you don't know. I understand that our campus police are specially trained to help those who are on the edge of ending their life, but I also know that police aren't always around. I urge every student that reads this to go through the training (if you go to Texas A&M) or learn about suicide and your part in stopping it. Know what you need to ask and say if there is someone who is considering taking their life. With a campus of over 56,000 students, there are definitely students who feel hopeless. Reach out to people. Talk with them. Smile as you walk by. Kindness can go a long way. If you know someone who is struggling, urge them to get counseling. There is counseling on-campus that can help. We need to get out of our comfort zone and talk to people. Let others know you care by just being kind.

One last thing I cannot stop thinking about....Tomorrow, I leave for Camp LIFE. I am so excited/anxious/excited/nervous/excited/worried about this weekend. Camp LIFE is a camp specially designed for students with disabilities. I know that once I get there, I will be fine. I understand that it's okay to be nervous and worried because I am again, out of my comfort zone. My hope is that all the children who go to this camp know how much the counselors care about them and how much they are loved by others. I am so excited about what is to come and I have realized that stepping out of my comfort zone is a good thing.

I made this canvas a few days before the semester began. I hadn't crafted in forever and I just needed to. I had no idea when I started, what would be the end result but now it has so much meaning to me. As I wake up each day, I need to love. I want others to know I care about them. This also means that making mistakes is okay. (If you haven't noticed the mistake, I spelled "Corinthians" wrong....) I plan to fix that mistake sometime soon. Making mistakes in life is okay. Not wanting to step out of your comfort zone is okay. However, fixing the mistakes in your life and stepping out of your comfort zone helps you learn. Learn from your mistakes and learn from your experiences.

Off to do some more thinking,
xoxo
Jade

First Week Completed!

So last Monday, while most people were enjoying the day off for Labor Day, I was starting my first day at Texas A&M University! This past week has been amazing! I absolutely love everything about my new school. The campus is extremely huge, but I have enjoyed biking to my classes, taking the bus, and even walking across campus. I spend most of my free time in Evan's Library. It is my favorite place to relax and study.

I'm taking 15 hours this semester and all my my classes relate to children and special education. For the first time in a very long time, my classes interest me. I enjoy all that I'm learning. It is a great feeling knowing that you are on the right track and doing the right thing when all you've done is question yourself before. I know this is my thing and I am so excited for all that is to come. My Monday and Wednesday courses are about Understanding the Special Population and Educational Psychology! Tuesdays and Thursdays I have Family Involvement & Empowerment and Child Development. Fridays, I have a lab for my Understanding Special Populations course and then I have Teaching with Technology.

I haven't had time to explore all the gluten free options on campus, but that will be my next adventure. For now, I am working on getting used to campus and all my courses, while also finding which organizations I want to join. I'm obviously going to join the Gluten Free Aggies club so I can meet other students and also get details on some gluten free options on campus. I have been mostly eating at home (if possible) or packing a lunch and throwing it in my backpack. I have a busy week of meetings, classes, assignments, and a few informationals, so I will definitely be packing a lunch most of this week.

Just wanted to catch up, I hope to post again soon about what's happening & maybe some product reviews/recipes.

xoxo
Jade

College: my experience & my advice

Summer is almost over & while most people are dreading school, I am so excited to start! I have always LOVED school... until I started college. I was never quite sure what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing. I mean, I was only eighteen years old. How do people expect you to know what you want to do for the rest of your life when you are still so young?! I had many ideas of things that I might want to major in, but I knew I wasn't ready to make the choice of just one thing to major in.

So what did I do? Well in high school, I had taken dual credit courses which covered a good chunk of my basics. Once I started college, I took both business courses and science/math courses because I was thinking of either going into (A.) accounting or (B.) biomedical engineering. I know you are probably thinking I am crazy for having an interest in two things that were so extremely opposite of each other, but I did. My first year of college was spent at a community college, a few miles from home, on a full scholarship with some extra scholarship money. Basically, I got paid to go to college. No joke. It was great. My second year, I moved to College Station, decided to study strictly for biomedical engineering, and went to Blinn College... on NO SCHOLARSHIP. Yep, you heard it right. I was super bummed, but since I had gotten 'paid' to go to college the previous year, all that extra scholarship money went toward the tuition at Blinn.

I have always made good grades. I graduated in the top 10% of my school. I always worked hard and school had always been easy to me... until I got to Blinn. I had a terrible first semester. I didn't know ANYONE and stayed to myself pretty much the whole semester. So guess what? My first semester at Blinn was spent at home, never going out with friends because I didn't have any. I know it sounds super depressing, but I was way out of my comfort zone, struggling in school, and didn't want to add more stress to my life, so I just went to school and came home. School was so bad and I was so stressed that I dropped a course for the first time and it was Calculus 2 (just so you know it is okay to drop a class). I was barely making it in physics and honestly wasn't sure if I would pass the class (I did pass by the way).

For the first time in my life, I felt like a failure. I felt like I had failed not only myself, but also my family. After really trying my hardest, I gave up. I talked to my mom, my brother, and my older sister and asked for advice. I knew that if I was struggling this much at Blinn, it would only be harder at Texas A&M University. I searched and searched and prayed and prayed on what else I could major in because I needed answers and I needed them fast. I enjoyed my business accounting class that I had taken my freshman year, but knew that was not something that I wanted to do as a job. I went through so many different emotions and was a complete mess.

I worked up enough nerve, did a ton of research and finally told my family that I wanted to take an education course the next semester and I was terrified of how they would respond. Teaching is something I had always dreamed of doing since I was little but honestly, my family and ALL my friends pushed me to pursue other fields. They were pretty supportive of my decision and I actually felt relieved for the first time since graduating high school.

This past spring, I applied to Texas A&M University. I started taking some prerequisites for Education and absolutely loved it! Children are my thing. I love helping, playing, tutoring, teaching, and volunteering with children. I got accepted to Texas A&M and I start school this fall! I am working towards a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a major in Special Education. For the first time in my college career, I am happy. I am where I am supposed to be. I have friends. I learned so much about life, but most importantly about myself. This past semester was better, but I am so looking forward to being at Texas A&M.

I know my story is long, but if you are struggling through school, get help. I used all the resources I could before giving up and technically I didn't 'give up' on school, just on that major. Do not be scared to meet with professors or counselors. They are there to help you! I met with my professors, got one-on-one tutoring from other professors, paid for tutoring, spoke with advisers, had study sessions with other classmates, got help from my genius brother, and called family for support and advice, but it wasn't working for me. I have learned it is okay to fail. It is good to fail (never thought I'd say that). Once you fail in something, you learn so much about yourself and work so much harder to not let that happen again. It has allowed me to find myself and find happiness again.

It is okay to change your major. Look how many times I did. It is normal. From thinking I'd major in either business or biomedical engineering to changing my major to education, I am only one semester behind and all those majors are completely different from each other. It doesn't bother me that I am behind because I am so much happier and I feel like I am free to go out, socialize, have a ton of friends, and actually experience & enjoy my last years of college.

My advice for all college students is:

1. Join a club or organization. This is a great way to make friends. There are so many clubs and organizations to choose from and you will instantly have friends with the same interests as you. Have a social life, but don't allow your social life to cause to you struggle in school. 
2. Get to know all of your professors. You may need help from them at some point. You might need a reference letter or you might need a boost in your grade because you're on the line of passing or failing. Truly getting to know your professors can be so beneficial for you.
3. Be organized! I cannot stress this enough! I am extremely organized... probably way too organized. Know your test dates. Write them down! Bring all materials to class. Don't be late. Don't skip class. Professors do notice.
4. Study. Study with classmates and friends. Study alone. Learn different study habits because what you have been doing your whole life just might not always work in a course. Avoid cramming as much as possible. Most importantly, take breaks. 
5. Get out of your comfort zone! I did not do this my first two years, but you can bet that I will be doing it this year. Don't stay to yourself. Introduce yourself to a few people in each of your classes so that you have someone to go to if you need help, have a question, or miss class one day. 
6. Lastly, have fun! I wish I would've had fun my first two years of school. My life was school and that's all it was. That is not how college is supposed to be. College is supposed to be fun and exciting, full of experiences and making lifelong friends, while working towards your future career. 

I already have my books sitting on my shelf (they've been sitting there for a month now). My binders are organized and ready. I have all my school supplies in my new backpack and my planner is ready and waiting to be scribbled in. :) Please tell me that I am not the only person who does this? Okay, maybe I am the only person. I like to be on top of things and plan for the future. I mean, I'm already planning for my masters degree and I haven't even completed my bachelor's... I'm really looking into Speech Language Pathology to work with students who need help with communicating.

Here are the majority of my supplies all decorated

and ready to be put to use. :)

(included in the picture is Vera Bradley Lighten Up Large Backpack, 

Paper Mate InkJoy Quatro Pens (my new favorite),

Paper Mate Clear Point Mechanical Pencils,

various textbooks, lime 3inch spiral notebook decorated

with washi tape, my planner (center of picture) designed

using Avery Brand Mini Binder Products and my own personal

planner inserts, and my binders (all found on Pinterest and then edited.

If you want them, comment with your email).

I hope all who read this have a great fall semester and a great year! I am excited for all that this semester has to offer. If you aren't ready, start getting ready. Order your books, buy some supplies, and be prepared for this upcoming school year. 

If you have any questions, feel free to comment or message me. I'd love to help!

xoxo,

Jade