Energy Drinks

Why are energy drinks unhealthy for you?

Many of the energy drinks out there are purely sugar and caffeine. Way too many people drink them when they exercise and the caffeine slows the body's ability to absorb water. A lot of people also drink energy drinks on a daily basis. Sometimes more than one a day. Excessive caffeine has been linked to problems like interrupted sleep, headache, anxiety and further problems like increased heart rate and blood pressure. And we all know why excess sugar is bad for you...

Favorite Book

One of the best books that I have ever read is called She Said Yes. This short story is about a young teenage girl that died because she answered one simple question. She was only 17 years of age and is a victim of the Columbine Shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado. She was approached one day by the two boys with a gun. They asked her, "Do you believe in God?" She said, "Yes." The two boys, then, shot her because that was not the answer that they were looking for. The young girls name was Cassie Bernall. Cassie found a way out of her personal snares and, through her faith and a family's love, chose to embrace life with courage and conviction.

Aunt Tori

On October 17, 2012 I became an aunt. My baby niece was born at 10:56 that morning. She weighed exactly 8 ounces and was 18 inches long. My parents and I drove to Denver, Colorado to see Mackenzie, Matt, and Anna. They moved to Colorado in May of this year because Matt found a wonderful job opportunity and couldn't give it up. I was so happy to finally hold my baby niece in my arms. She was so tiny and so adorable, I didn't want to leave. I am so sad that I live so far away from her and my sister. My parents and I hardly get to see them. But we try as hard as we can to make trips out there to see them.

Sister's Wedding

On July 14, 2011, my sister, Mackenzie, got a married. She married a man named Matthew Grimme. He is in the Navy and was gone for a year in Iraq. She met Matt at a church group gathering. They both attended college in Mitchell, South Dakota. Matt attended a two-year technical school and my sister attended Dakota Wesleyan University. Once Matt returned home from Iraq, he proposed to her. The day of their wedding, it was over 100 degrees. It was a crazy day! But I was just happy to see my big sister get married. She is happier than ever and now they have a baby girl. Their daughter, Anna Skye Grimme, was born on October 17, 2012.

Camping

Every summer from when I was age five to thirteen, my family would go camping. We went to so many different sites, I don't even remember them all. I do remember one though, Lacrosse. We went there in 2006, I was eleven at the time. I remember this camping location because it was my favorite one. They had a little river next to where our tent was set up and it had a sandbar. My sister, cousins, and I always went out on the sandbar and built sandcastles. We tried catching little Minos in the water. One day, the people who were next to us were gone, and a bunch of squirrels were getting into their stuff and chewing through their Tupperware. We all ran over there and scared them away and kept an eye out for if they ever came back. When the people came back we went over to them and told them what happened and then invited them to eat dinner with us that night. I miss all of our family camping trips because they were so much fun and there was always something to remember about them!

Childhood Memory

When I was about five years old, my family and some close family friends spent a week in the summer at a cabin. I remember it was around the time of the Fourth of July because we watched fireworks and made T-shirts. Every morning the mothers would cook breakfast for everyone and we would eat it out on the patio. After breakfast, us kids normally went down to the lake to swim and catch frogs. There were so many frogs down by the lake and I remember we collected so many that we put them in our bathtub and scared one of the moms! In the afternoon, we went out on the boat to go tubing and then later go fishing. I caught my first fish, a walleye, with the help of my father. At night, when it got dark out, we would catch fireflies and put them in a jar. Our parents would also give us sparklers to light up and play with. Sometimes I wish I was young again so I can have fun like that!

Favorite TV Show

Everyday, when I am not doing homework or out with friends, I like to watch Law and Order: SVU. I absolutely love this show because I have always wanted to be one of them. I wish I could major in Criminal Justice, but Wartburg College doesn't have that major here so I am currently majoring in Accounting because I am good at it. I like the critical thinking displayed in the show. It makes me think and try to solve the crimes while the show is going on. The show also has so many situations that are realistic. My favorite parts of the show are when they are in the courtroom trying to evict the criminal. The arguing and debating going on in the courtroom makes me think harder during the show.

Mama's Birthday!

So yesterday, November 16, was my mom's birthday. I wish I could've went home this weekend to see her for her birthday but she told me not to waste my gas because I will going home next weekend for Thanksgiving Break. I can't wait to give her the birthday present I got her. So when I go home next weekend, me and my dad are going to take her out to eat and then go back home and give her the birthday gift. After she opens her gift, we are going to have ice cream cake because that is the kind of cake she loves. The special gift I got her is a bunch of kitchen supplies. She loves to cook and some of her supplies are getting old and wearing out so I decided to buy her some new ones. I love my mom so much and I miss her so much!

Highschool State Football

Yesterday, November 16, I went to the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. I noticed a facebook post from my best friends mom saying that her and the rest of her family were there watching the Carroll Kuemper Knights. I commented on the status and asked if they could save me a spot so I can come see them and watch the football game. I have never been in the UNI Dome before so I was super excited to watch a game in there. My best friend, Paige, didn't go with her mom and family because she wanted to stay home and didn't think I would come. I wish she would've went though! She was just too lazy and didn't want to sit in a car ride for 3 hours. I texted her and told her that she is missing out. So pretty much, I was her replacement. I had a great time watching the game and visiting with Paige's family. Her mom, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle, and grandparents were all there. The Carroll Kuemper Knights won 28-6, so they will be playing at 2pm on Friday the 22nd. Paige said she will go to that game and I plan on going too, after my accounting class.

NFL Football

Sunday's are my favorite day of the week. I like to spend my Sunday's watching NFL football. My favorite team is the Pittsburg Steelers. My mom and dad like the Vikings because we are from Minnesota, so he doesn't like that my favorite team is the Steelers. My aunt, Julie, also likes the Steelers. We are the only two in the family that like the Steelers. So whenever they play, we text each other all of our reactions and comments to the game. You could say that football is my favorite sport to watch. I enjoy watching every team play and I also have the NFL Mobile app on my phone to keep me updated on all the teams! Next year I think I might even start my own Fantasy Football! Before I die, I want to meet the whole Pittsburg Steelers team, including the coaches!

Internship Panel

The Internship Panel was a great source of information. The lady that spoke at this panel helped me so much on how to search and find internships. She told us students that she is willing to help us if we ever want to find a job or an internship and she will look for us or give us reliable sources to search ourselves. I plan to have an internship next year so that is why I chose this panel, because I need to know the aspects of how to find an internship. She showed us some websites to visit that will help us find internships that are related to our majors and that are also around the Waverly area. For the past week or so, I have been trying to find an off campus job or internship that is related to my major because I want to have more experience with my major outside of the classroom. I am super excited to find an internship for next year and can't wait to start!

Financial Literacy Panel

On Wednesday October 23, I attended the Financial Literacy Panel in the W. The lady that spoke gave out a bunch of useful information. She talked to us students about Financial Planning, Creating a Budget, and Avoiding Identity Theft, and a ton more modules. She gave us tips on what to do and what not to do. She also gave us a website to visit if we ever need help. I have not checked out the website yet but I plan on checking it out sometime! I know for a fact the all of the information she gave out will help me in the future. While being in college and starting a new life is hard work, I need to be aware of my financial concerns. This website will help me improve my financial needs and also inform me more on my upcoming life after I graduate from college.

Birthday with the Boyfriend

Yesterday, October 25, was my boyfriends birthday. He turned 23 years old and I got to spend the whole day with him. I have missed him so much and we were so happy to see each other. He loved his presents I gave him. I got him a bears beanie, a bears t-shirt, a bears bag, his favorite candy bar, a bag of hugs and a bag of kisses, and a new wallet with a picture of me in it. His favorite football team is the bears if you couldn't tell. I made him breakfast in bed and for lunch I took him out to Buffalo Wild Wings and then we walked around the River Hills Mall in Mankato, Minnesota. After shopping and walking around, we decided to go see a movie. We watched the new movie called "Bad Grandpa" in the theater at the mall. It was a hilarious movie and we loved every minute of it. After the movie was over, we went out to eat at Chipotle. I have never eaten at this place before but Edward was craving Mexican food so I thought I would try it. It was pretty good considering I didn't know what to order for my first time! Once we got done eating supper, we noticed a new little shop in the college town called "Insomnia Cookies". We looked at each other and thought the same exact thing: "YUM!". So we went inside and they had so many cookies to choose from! We were so excited and couldn't choose on which ones we wanted so we bought one of each! They were fresh out of the oven too! They were so delicious, I want more! After eating some of our amazingly delicious cookies, we left Mankato to come back home to Fairmont so Edward could meet my grandparents, my aunt, my uncle, and my cousins. He seems pretty nervous but still excited to meet more of my family. Everyone is coming out to my house tonight for pizza and cookies and to see me and meet Edward. I am pretty excited for my family to meet Edward. We have been dating for a month and 11 days now.

Visiting home

This weekend I went back home to see my family. I had missed them so much. I only get to see them every couple of weeks. I spent the night talking with my parents, watching television with them, and eating dinner with them. I miss my mothers home cooking so very much and I was glad to eat one of my favorite home cooked meals by her. On Saturday I drove up to Mankato to see some of my friends and my boyfriend. I got to see my best friend and she showed me around her campus and I got to see her dorm room and meet her roommate. We went out to eat at Olive Garden after the MSU volleyball game. Later that night I went to hangout with my boyfriend. I haven't seen him in weeks and it felt so good to give him a big hug. His birthday is in a couple weeks so I plan on going back home to spend his birthday with him! I miss everyone back home and I can't wait to see them again.

Jurassic Park

I am so glad we are watching Jurassic Park in IS101 class! I have never seen the movie and I think its a great movie from what I have seen of it so far! I find it very interesting that Michael Crichton thought of the idea of how to clone dinosaurs! It's fascinating! The scientific ways of cloning something seems so complicated but in this movie, Crichton makes it seem like it was so easy. Its a wonderful movie with action, humor, and science fiction scenes. I am looking forward to reading some of his other books this semester! I can't wait to see what other ideas he has written in his novels.

My First Mission Trip

One of the best qualities of mine is that I have the compassion to help others. My motivation to assist people comes from a bible verse, Philippians 2:4 "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." I admire this quote because I am selfless, I care more about others than I do for myself. Summer of 2010, I volunteered to go on a mission trip with some members of my church. We traveled to Martin, SD to a small Indian reservation. When we arrived to there, we began working right away. We only had one week to get things done and we wanted to get as much done as we could. Our church group divided up into smaller groups. Each small group had different responsibilities to do, such as: repair and paint homes, visit the nursing home, and accompany the young children in the park. Eventually throughout the week we got to switch up the duties, in order to give everyone a chance at each location. I personally enjoyed playing with the little kids. I met a little boy named Lance, who was 5 years old at the time. He was the cutest little boy I had ever met. He liked to read, so everyday he read to me his favorite books. He also liked to go down the big, swirly slide on the playground. We went down that slide at least 100 times! I had an amazing time with my new little friend, Lance. I miss him so much. Visiting with the elderly at the nursing home was probably my second favorite thing to do on the mission trip. I love to interact with other people. They had a bunch of activities to do in the nursing home. One activity I did was I went around with my youth director, Katie, to each room and sang songs to those who wanted us to sing to them. I also got to play checkers, bean bag toss, and other little games with the elderly. The best part about interacting with the elderly was seeing the smiles on their faces. They were so happy to have volunteers help out with their town and also make time to visit them. Nothing makes me happier than to put smiles on other peoples faces. The repairing and painting houses were fun as well. I enjoy doing hands-on work and knowing it is for a good cause. I learned so much about myself that summer. I learned that I have my church family by my side no matter what, they love me and I love them. I also became more close with God. My views toward my religion changed greatly over that summer, all because I made the decision to go on that mission trip. That mission trip changed my life.

Eat, Sleep, Play Volleyball

The hardest part of graduating from high school was having to leave my volleyball team. Volleyball is my passion. I love the feeling of being active and having fun while playing on the court. I am a very competitive athlete but I also have a good sportsmanship attitude. When I was told I could try out for the volleyball team here at Wartburg College, I was thrilled. I have the chance to continue my skills and passion for the sport I love. Over the summer I attended some of the Sunday night open gyms. I had the opportunity to meet some of the girls in my freshman class. Move in day for us volleyball girls was August 16th. I was nervous at first, but after being around the girls on my team I began to feel more comfortable. Practice started the next day. I thought it was going to be the toughest practice I have ever had. Turns out, it was actually pretty fun! For the next two weeks, my life was all about volleyball. I would wake up, go to breakfast with the team, have morning practice, go to lunch, have afternoon practice, go to dinner, have night practice, then go back to my dorm room to sleep. Every day was like that from August 17th to August 30th. I was overwhelmed the first couple of days. But once I became less sore and more focused I played harder and better. I am improving in my skills and I am looking forward to playing volleyball for the next three years. I am proud to be a Wartburg Knight!

The Importance of Family

I am beginning to find myself in a new home here at Wartburg. I have another family here on campus now. My teammates, my roommate, my classmates, my teachers, and my coaches have all made me realize how much I am loved here. There is nothing more I could ask for than to be loved and to be part of a new family. As much as I miss my family back home in Fairmont, I am finally feeling more comfortable here at college. My family back home still loves me and supports me which is much appreciated. My family here at Wartburg is just the same, everyone supports and helps each other. I love living in this new environment where everyone is loving, caring, and respectable to one another. That's what family is all about; loving each other, caring for one another, and respecting every individual out there.

The Value of Education

I believe that starting an education early in life is very important. As boys and girls improve their reading, writing, and counting skills, they will provide a better future for their families and also for their country. Education has the ability to make our world a better place. With advanced education, many more branches of studies can be developed. In order to earn a job, individuals must learn and acquire specific skills in their field of study. Education aids people to work of higher quality and generates the possibility to a sustainable economic growth. The affect of education to men and women around the world is the value of life because without education, our world would not function the way it is today.

My reason for being here at Wartburg College, is related to the A. Bartlett Giamatti essay: The Earthly Use of a Liberal Education. I chose to come to Wartburg College to challenge myself. I wanted to study at a liberal arts school because I think it is a great way to transcend, not only my education, but my faith, leadership, and personality as well. I wish to use these qualities to help others in the community and to teach others the importance of loving to learn.