Students, Athletes, and Caffeine Addicts

     How many times have you heard the saying "you are what you eat?" Since eat  and consume are synonyms, I am going to switch one for the other here; this changes the saying to "you are what you consume." Now, I want to bring your attention to something: you don't only consume what you eat, but what you listen to, read, watch, tell yourself, etc. This is colossal.       What you tell yourself, if you say it enough, you will start to believe, and that will affect your actions as well. What you watch affects the way you think. What you read affects the way you think. What you listen to affects the way you think. There are also numerous studies done on how what you listen to, read, and watch can affect your mood(s).      I believe this is really  important. I have been paying close attention to the music I listen to, how I've been dressing, and what I have been reading. I have changed all of these things to try and match the person I want to be. I have been l

     There is an African word that does not translate easily into English. This word is "ubuntu." This word essentially means "I am because you are," or "we rise by lifting others." This word is not a word, but a way of life. Ubuntu means I can not reach my full capability if my neighbor/friend does not reach their full capability . This way of life is life changing.     Think about what would happen if everyone tried to live ubuntu. Everyone would be trying to help each other rise. There would be a sense of unity. the 2008 Boston Celtics used this mentality to help propel them to a very successful season (the first in a long time). The coach told the rookies to go research the word and sell it to the team. They did a phenomenal job, and that is the main reason the team worked so well together.     As a coach some day, I would love to incorporate this into wrestling. Wrestling is seen as an individual sport most of the time, but practice time is crucial to

    Being a student athlete is difficult. To be honest, I did not have a hard time being a student athlete in high school, but I have had a rough time adjusting this fall. Additionally, on top of team lifts and practices, wrestlers have to make sure they get in enough workouts to keep their weight down. This takes up a lot of time.       The last week, I have really had to hone in on my weight, and that has caused the need for me to adjust my schedule and find new time to do homework. I have not, until just the other day, figured out how to rearrange my schedule to fit everything, while still prioritizing my sleep. It's so weird because from Thursday-Sunday, I just forgot that school  existed.     One of the biggest things coach reminds us is that we are "student-athletes;" that is a student first and athletes second. Coach tells us that if we don't find the classroom, and our grades, important, then we don't find wrestling, and the team, important; this is becaus

    Last time I wrote a blog, I wrote about my first rough draft. Well, to be honest, that was about a month ago, and after  class that day, I had a bad cold. I kind of forgot about school for a week (the week of Thanksgiving break).  Additionally, I have been "maintaining" my weight for wrestling, and because of all of my additional workouts, I have also kind of forgotten about school. So, I have not touched the digital copy of my paper since the last time I blogged about it.     However, the paper is due this Thursday, and I feel confident. I will be making changes to the paper before class starts today. I have made quite a few stylistic and grammatical changes on a paper copy, so I will be translating that to my digital copy. Either during or after class today, I will be making changes based off my professor's suggestions on the digital copy I emailed her.     I am excited to see where this paper ends up, and I believe in myself. All I need to do is get myself some cof

    I have finally finished my first final draft for my research paper! This is exciting because I have done some grueling research, and it was a PROCESS to figure out what evidence was going to be used for which claims. Also, I have always struggled with introducing my quotes (in a "quote sandwich" type of way), and I'm not sure why, but I did struggle with that in this paper, too.     I have, so far, written a research paper that presents research in a sort-of matter-of-fact, this-is-how-it-is style. I need to incorporate more rhetoric into my writing because it will create a more compelling argument. This is something I struggled with when I wrote my  documentrary project. I think I am doing a better job, but I could do better than I am doing right now.     I am excited to see how this paper ends up after some editing suggestions from my professor and classmates! This paper has a lot of potential, I just need to tap into that.

    I have been working on my  research for this research paper, and I have found three sources.  I have one .edu source and two scholarly articles for sources.  One of these scholarly articles is from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the other is an original research paper (I believe it was an anthropological study).     In the past, I have taken the approach of a politician almost, and that has caused me to take quotes out of context and use them to my advantage.  While this does create a paper with evidence, it also creates an argument that isn't solid.  I will not be doing this for this paper because I am actually writing about something I care about.  I am not a politician that constantly takes someone else's words and uses them out of context to benefit myself; the only time I have ever done it is in one research paper in high school.   I have found overwhelming support for many of my claims,--I plan to discuss both ends of the spectrum throughout the whole paper,

    Mental health and Physical health should be treated as equally important. This is the main point I am trying to make in my final research paper for this class. I think I have identified a problem as to why they are not treated as equals, and I think it is very important to note that the reason behind this problem is the stigma that exists around mental health and mental illness.     If one has a heart attack or stroke, and it has been made aware to someone else, there wouldn't be any hesitation in trying to get the victim help, and the paramedics/people helping wouldn't have a problem with trying to help the victim. I one person knew they had a broken rib, it is highly unlikely for the person to ignore it until it possibly kills them. Why do people do this with mental health? Why do both the victim and the "helpers" see mental health problems as less than physical problems? This is the topic of my research paper.     I have started my research, and while I have re

     I thought I knew what I was doing when I set out to write my Doc. Summary, which I did because I knew how to set up my paper.     I started with a thesis statement, and then outlined the rest of my paper.     I have been writing objective summaries since elementary school, so I wasn’t too worried about that part.     I was a little iffy on the analysis part because I didn’t know what my professor was looking for, and it took a while for me to get the hang of it.      At first, I set up my essay almost as two separate papers; the first half was the summary, and the second half was the analysis.     Both had their own introduction and conclusion paragraphs and their own thesis statements.     I took this paper to class with me, and my professor wasn’t too keen on the set up, so I kind of had a mental breakdown because my brain couldn’t figure out how to organize a paper like she wanted. I sat on her comments for a couple days.      I went back and rearranged the whole paper.     I c

     There is a book called Chop Wood Carry Water , and its main focus is learning to enjoy the process.  This book is about a man who decides to drop everything and follow his dream to becoming a Samurai Archer; he arrives at the school and is ready to start shooting arrows, but the first thing they have him do is chop wood and carry water; the village does not have heat or running water, so it relies on people to chop wood and carry water.  The main character is frustrated that he isn't shooting on the range, so one day he blows up on his sensei.  His sensei tells him that he must work and earn his way to being an archer, and first it starts by supporting his community by chopping wood and carrying water.  Through many lessons and parables as the book goes on, the sensei teaches the main character that in order to perform to the best of your ability, in whatever he is doing, he must learn to be present in that moment.     I started reading this book because a clinician at Iron Sh

    I wonder how often rain falls, and out of the times it does rain, I wonder what the most common kind of rain is.  Is the most common form of rain a drizzle, mist, pouring rain, thunderstorm, or something else?  I think one of my most favorite things about rain is the silence.  After almost every storm, there is a silence that lingers. How quickly the sky can pull herself together, after the storm, is beautiful.     I admire the sky.  She can go through so much destruction, yet pull herself together all the same. Sometimes she doesn't fully get it together until the sunset or rise, but she still does.  She is so capable.  Maybe I am, too.     No matter what you are going through, you are like the sky.  There are many things that could  happen, and a lot of them can be uncalled for, unfair, and something no one should ever have to go thorough, but you can pull yourself together.  Whatever destruction you go through, you can pull yourself together, even if you have to wait a litt

Flowers are gorgeous, And they should be treated right. I felt gorgeous, too. When someone says to Treat something right, they mean that It should be taken Very good care of. Flowers should have the backs of Other flowers, and  Make sure they're okay. A rose should help a daisy If a human tries To trample on her And destroy what makes her safe. Humans can be harsh. When a rose does not Have the back of a daisy, The daisy can be Hurt in a way that She can never fully heal From, and that's tragic. The rose did her best To save the daisy, but she Slipped up for a split Second, and the man Was able to inflict pain To the daisy that She may never come To fully heal. The daisy Does not blame the rose. It is sad flowers Are required to have each Others' backs to stay Safe from men when they Are in such a public place, But that is the case.

      There was not a specific scene that got to me; however, there is something I found alarming.  The fact that athletes were doping, in general, doesn't surprise me (I feel like athletes get caught for that all the time), but the fact that 100% of the Russian athletes in the 2014 Olympics (in Russia) were doping, and the fact that this doping of the athletes was led by Putin (well, it came down the chain of command, but the people leading the program were essentially hired by Putin), did really get to me.  It just left me dumbfounded, and I'm not sure why; I don't think there's really anyway else for me to describe how or why this blew my mind, but it did.     What most surprised me was the extreme lengths the Russians went to in order to get their athletes to be able to dope during the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and pass the drug tests.  Like, the containers being used to hold the urine were specifically made so that in order to open them, the lids had to be broken off;

           I haven't really known what to do or how to improve my microtheme, so I am just letting it sit for now. I will have Bethany read it in class on Tuesday and get some input from her, but as of now, I haven't really had any suggestions or ideas to make it better.  I am also kind of content with where it is right now.     So, instead of stressing out about this class (especially since I don't know how to improve my microtheme), I have been working on my homework for other classes and working on managing my stress (which can get out-of-hand at times).  I also focused on building some of my social life here; I met some friends outside of the wrestling team, so that is cool, too!     I really hope anyone who is struggling balancing school, life, and mental health is really  able to focus on their mental health. Even though I have school work to do, I know that I have some things that can be left alone for a little while, this will make it easier to focus on my own menta

               Problems in life are inevitable.  Problems can be in school, sports, work, and social aspects of life. These problems pop up in every aspect of life, and sometimes we have a difficult time coming up with a solution to them or a way around them.                In my microtheme assignment, the biggest problem I arrived at was trying to figure out a third reason as to why people might practice religious exclusivism .  Then, once I did have a eureka moment, I found that my microtheme was about five lines onto the second page, so I had to shorten things up a bit.  Eventually, though, I did figure out solutions to these problems, and then in class I was given other suggestions to find solutions to.  I did my best to find solutions to these problems as well; I shortened my lengthy question into a more concise one, and I eliminated some of the wordiness. I really hope that I completely solved the obstacle of trying to problem solve in the conclusion paragraph, but I don’t think

Three paragraphs.  Three.  Paragraphs.  Who am I?  Who?  Am?  I?  You want me to tell you who I am in a minimum of three paragraphs.  Is it possible for me to tell you who I am in a maximum of three paragraphs?  Can I even try and sum up to you who I am in one sentence?  In a paragraph?  I can try.  I am a body and a soul.  I have a brain, along with logic and reason.  I like to read.  I am a wrestler.  I am a child of God.  I am Catholic.  I am a swimmer.  I am blonde.  I am five feet and four-and-a-quarter inches tall.  I wear a size nine and a half women’s shoe and a seven in men’s.  I know my men’s size because up until 2021, there were no wrestling shoes that ran in women’s sizes.  I am an advocate for the sanctioning of women’s wrestling as a high school sport, especially in, but not limited to, Iowa.  I am a girl from Iowa that does what she loves.  I am a girl who drives around, blasting her KLOVE for all to hear.  I am a girl who goes to weekday masses.   Three paragraphs.  I