6 Ways to Improve Your First Year

It is weird for me to think about the fact that a year ago I was coming back in to the states after a senior trip and had graduated high school. Now I'm a college sophomore.

This year has flown by and somewhere I realized there were so many things I had never been told before I started college. Sure, I knew my way around academics and I could write a mean story, but I was lost when it came to making friends and getting around campus.

So I tried to make you a list of things I have learned or been told that no one told me before my first year. They are ridiculous and not at all gospel, but they helped me more times than I could count.

1. Get involved.
      Everyone else is terrified to on their first day, it is okay, but the best way to meet people is to go up and say hello and join as many clubs as you have time for. Perform at a talent show (see I did that) join a religious organization, make cupcakes for international students, be an RA, do something! You will have more free time than you expect and you'll want something to do. It's simple, go to the first meeting, they will tell you what the group is about and what they do. They're expecting new people, and if you don't like it, you don't have to go back. Look for groups that are welcoming when you first walk in!

2. Take more than 12 hours.
     I know they will tell you 12 hours is a full load, they are lying. Well, not really, but 12 hours is 4 classes. You took way more than that in high school and you did well. Yes, you will need more time to study but take 14 or 15 hours and add the extra class, it is easier and I promise your brain won't explode.
     You'll have to prioritize, especially if you have a job, but time management is a great tool to learn. Figure out what makes you tick, take classes you enjoy. You want to get out in 4 years, and most of the time to be able to do that you'll need all the hours. Just don't go crazy.

3. Find new ways to study and study often. 
   I have to write stuff out. Can't you tell? I take notes in class and write everything in color coded outlines. I learned quick if I don't study often, or creatively, I wouldn't do well. I wrote stuff on note cards drew out my body and wrote the steps of mitosis on the sidewalk outside my house. I learn like a five year old, maybe you do too, and maybe you don't.
     Don't worry about the people giving you looks, if you need to dance to remember that science vocabulary you dance! Write a song, be crazy! you need to do well and everyone learns differently. You might be a kinesthetic learner, you might be an auditory learner. Take a test here and find out! Learn what makes you learn and go from there. You have to know what it takes to be successful before you can be.

4. Don't take yourself, or your studies too seriously.                                                                                   Really, some people spend all their time in the library. DON"T DO THIS!!!!! Go out and see the flowers, go to an athletic event, just do something. Almost every college city has something for you to do. I went and took outrageous pictures in the bluebonnets and went to an art museum, but if that isn't your thing, go do something else.
    You have to take time for yourself to de-stress or you'll go crazy. You can read my article on why you need to take breaks on The Shorthorn website. It's interesting I think, and yea there is two of them.

5. Drink coffee and befriend the barista. 
   I'm not even joking, I would die without coffee. Can't you tell? I mean granted, I worked for a newsroom and newsrooms run on coffee, but I spent more time in the campus Starbucks than I did in class. The baristas knew my order and I was a gold card member in a measly 3 weeks. You don't need to be as crazy as I was, but I promise you'll drink coffee non-stop.
   I can hear some of you now though, "but Liz, I don't like coffee." let me tell you my friend, there are teas at Starbucks that have more caffeine than the coffee. Find something caffeinated that you like, and not an energy drink. (Guess what?? I wrote a story on that too for The Shorthorn. You can find it here,) You'll want the caffeine trust me.

   Also, some places, I'm looking at you RaceTrac, do free coffee weeks. Any size and I don't have to pay for it. That's how I ended up with a cup carrier of large coffees and my friend had 2. In all fairness, they weren't all for us. Know the tricks! Some Starbucks will give you free refills even if you don't have a gold card, others charge $0,54 and it's the best. If you know the baristas, they tend to be nicer to you too.

6. Be present.

It's easy to go into your bubble and go to class and then to your dorm for a nap or Netflix. You only come out for food, but that;s not what makes memories. Really try to be totally into your classes and the people around you. Never in your life will you be in a place saturated with different kinds of people all working toward the same goal again. Sure there are diverse people at work, but they all have a similar degree. No where else will you see math majors and fine arts students working together on an English paper over the history of biology. Only freshman classes offer that. Try to enjoy it, it'll be gone soon.

Sticking With The Beat

  If you haven't seen Steve Zee's TED talk on tap you should. You can find it here. He talks about the history of tap and how it is truly American. It's seriously cool and you should watch it.

  I can't tell you what makes tap special. Really, tap is the only form of dance that is truly American-made. It is also one of a handful of styles that have to sound as good as they look. It has a weird appeal to it. I mean really, I do not have the words to explain why it is special, and I consider myself  a wordsmith, but I will tell you what keeps me in my shoes.

 There's this thing about the stage. In the moments before you go on when you are standing in the wings and even in the moments right before the music starts, your brain shuts off. That is the power of the stage. It makes you forget everything your brain once remmebered.
  Everyone might not be looking at you, but it feels like it. They must be, after all why else would the lights feel so warm on your back? Why else would your feet feel heavy? You don't get nervous. It must be the people.
  And then, the music starts.

  Your brain gave up a while ago. We established that in the wings, but here's the cool thing about the silver metal on the bottom of your shoes, they make your legs remember anyway. Your brain might forget what you are supposed to do, but your body remembers the music and does the dance on its own.
  There is something so pure about the first few seconds of a tap dance. That is where you really see the type of dancer someone is. That's when you see how they handle the stage.
The stage can make you or break you and with the added pressure to sound good and look good, it can drive people a little bit crazy, but the good ones? They are the ones who end up icons. They are the Ginger Rodgers and Fred Astaire's of their generations and they are what continue to make tap great.
  I got into tap because I loved the sound, but I stuck with it because I love the stage. I love seeing people conquer it, and I will never get tired of the pre-show nerves. The day I don't get them is the day I will hang up my taps for good, until then though, I'll stick with my favorite art form.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica may have lost the World Cup this year, but they won my heart this summer. What an amazing country to spend our Senior class trip in! My heart was full after we got back in May, and I am so blessed to have been able to spend my last memory with my class exploring Costa Rica. Here are some of my favorite memories from the trip. Pura Vida!

Brazilian Soccer and Shoes

Hannah Smith has played soccer for many years. I should know, I have known her for most of them. Soccer has been in Hannah's blood, and trust me she's a beast. She's currently on scholarship playing SEC soccer, but this is her back in 2011 the year after I originally wrote the story below. 

  A few years ago, four to be exact, a friend of mine traveled to Brazil. While her goal was to go and play soccer she received an experience far greater than that. This year Hannah is in her second semester as a freshman at Mississippi State University, and is still playing soccer. 
  Freshman in high school is much different than a freshman athlete on a college campus, but soccer and faith have been constants in Hannah's life, and will continue to be as she faces her future. 
  So in honor of the four year difference, here is the story I wrote on Hannah our freshman year when she got back home to The States:

August 2010

   How many pairs of shoes do the average American own? Twenty-Seven. How about Brazilians? One.

   In the USA, picking out a pair of shoes to go with an outfit is a daily occurrence. In Brazil, it’s a luxury to have a choice in shoes, much less have a pair of shoes to play soccer in.

  Eighth Grader Hannah Smith owns a favorite pair of soccer cleats.  She has been playing soccer since she was four-years old.                                                                                    

 “They are comfortable and make me feel good because when I put them on I know I am about to play,” said Smith.

  Over Christmas break, Smith went to southeast Brazil to represent America in the field of soccer, visit an orphanage, and bring them some soccer shoes to play in, as soccer is a very popular sport in Brazil.

   Smith was joined by a group of girls from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, who play select soccer. Their goals were to play local teams, bring clothes, crafts and other goodies to an orphanage where most of the children lost their parents due to AIDS, and have some fun.

  She achieved all of her goals, but claims her favorite part was playing in a professional stadium.

  “It was really exciting,” said Smith.

  Soccer is as popular in Brazil as football is here in the United States.  So the stadiums are huge compared to the other buildings in rest of Brazil.

  Because Brazil is so poor in some areas, many houses are just huts with dirt floors.

  “They were all really poor.  Only occasionally would you see a nice [house],” said Smith.

   In our part of America, it’s the opposite.  Nice houses abound in our neighborhoods. The language difference was also difficult.

  “We couldn’t understand each other and it was so confusing,” said Smith.

  Many of the Brazilian children were not aware of the language barrier, so they kept repeating what they were saying slower, assuming the group would eventually understand what they were saying in Portuguese.  Eventually a translator came to help with the confusion.

  Some of Smith’s team goals were to help kids and play soccer.  Along the way to an orphanage to do just that, Smith and her group saw a few boys playing soccer.  They were playing on concrete and were wearing ragged clothes without shoes on.

  The bus pulled over letting a few girls out at their insistence. The girls grabbed shoes and gave them to the boys.

  After two or three tried them on, a winner was found.  His prize:  a new pair of shoes.

  “He was really excited and started playing in them right away,” said Smith.

  In Brazil nothing is taken for granted. In America something like a house or shoes is often thought of as a right. Something deserved, when it is truly not. Brazilians genuinely know what it is like to work for something you love, even if that is simply a pair of soccer shoes.

Who I am

Special thanks to JCarey Photography for this shot.

  I’ve been at GPA for a long time, eleven years actually, and for seven of those I have been involved in journalism here…photojournalism, reporting, broadcast…all of it, except this year, my senior year.
I’m still taking photos, but this is the first and last article I will write all year. Yet, it’s the article I’ve waited to write for seven years…my senior editorial.
   I can distinctly remember reading the senior editions of the school newspaper so many times and thinking, “one day that will be my article.   I’ll be a senior and it will be my turn.”
   Now I am faced with the terrifying task of writing the article I have spent years thinking about. How do I begin? Quite frankly, I am lost.
   How do I put into words the blessing that GPA has been to me?
   This school has been not only a place of learning, but also a family, a support group, a place to rest, and most certainly a place where I could belong.
   People know me as the “camera kid”. I always have a camera at the ready, and I haven’t missed many events here, as a result of that. So for a while I thought I would do a photo essay for my senior editorial. I could take some of my best shots and let them tell the story of my history and my memories at Grace Prep.
   It is hard to pinpoint specific memories of events that I have shot though. They all blur together really. However, I can specifically remember my first time on the sidelines at a football game with a camera.
I felt as though nothing and no one could touch me, that is, until the Southwest Christian coach accused me of telling our coaches the plays they were calling.
   Over the years, my awe of carrying a camera faded, however, my love for capturing memories did not.
  My pictures would do a much better job than I would at describing my time here, but then I decided even that is not enough. I don’t think I can describe what I have gained from Grace Prep. I think that it is something you have to experience for yourself to understand.
   Graduation is bittersweet really. How will I forget the memories from this school? How can I leave it? After all, my past was made here.
   I used to be this crazy little girl who would spend her summers playing hide and seek in the shelves up stairs; The girl who fervently would search the library for a new read, or painfully suffer through the blue screen of death (the computers liked to freeze back when we were out in the portables).
   Now I am this senior getting ready to graduate who finds my references for job interviews and college in this building.
   Grace Prep is in my blood and has made up my story.
   At the same time, if I do not leave, then my past means nothing, my history and my memories remain just that and they do not lead up to the future I have been preparing for. I have earned this day with all my projects and papers, with all my exams, quizzes and all-night homework assignments.
Walking the stage is sweet.
Leaving this comfy family is scary.
   We always hear the Bible verse Jeremiah 29:11. I’m sure you know it. It’s the verse that says God knows the plans he has for you and that they are for your good not for your harm.
   I think we hear that more and more as we near graduation, but it has hit me that we take that verse out of context. It means in the end, the plans work out for our good not that we never face hardship or trials.
   Talk to anyone who has been here for a few years. I doubt any of them will tell you that everything is always roses and daisies here. In fact, our school does not have the most glamorous history.
  
However, no one can deny that the heart of this school is to draw students to the Kingdom of God. Leaving that and going into the real world is one of the most terrifying tasks I have ever faced, but at the same time, I am filled to the brink with joy as I anticipate creating my next chapter.

If you tell me these kids aren't talented, you're lying.

Somewhere along the way of life, someone handed me a camera and said go for it. Around that same time teachers were throwing me new pairs of tap shoes and encouraging me to push myself, so I think it is only natural that I get to do the majority of my photos through dance.

I have danced at multiple different studios through out the years, but something that has always stuck out to me is the talent and teamwork of a well-rounded group.

Nothing beats getting to shoot kids who you know love to do what they are doing. These photos show so much more than a moment in a dance on stage, they show the passion and love these teams have for the art that they do.

If you look closely you will see the intensity with which these girls perform. It's crazy and I can only wish to have half of it. I love being able to catch moments where you can see how hard the dancer has worked to make a number perfect, it makes a photo so much stronger.

I would love to tell you so much more about why I love shooting a team of dancers, but I thought I would show you some photos instead so please enjoy these!

20 Years of Openings

This week we finalized this years yearbook! Thanks to Mrs. Walsh (mom) for letting me not only write this years opening, but also set up the design. I cannot wait for everyone to see this years yearbook, because honestly it might be my favorite so far.