Advice

Stress in college is a little over exaggerated. This is probably due to the dramatic girls and guys that make it seem harder than it actually is. I know that growing up I always heard horror stories about all the work and the big papers kids had to write. Sure that is tough, but if you schedule things out everything should go just fine. First you need to make sure that you don’t procrastinate. Always have things done at least 1-2 days before they are due. Secondly, make yourself a schedule or use a planner. Write all your homework assignments and tests in their respective date boxes. Make sure that you have them completed. Then, after you have finished it or turned it in you will find great satisfaction in crossing it off of your calendar. Also, leave time for you to do what you want. If you don’t have free time you will never make it four years at college. You have to have time to yourself. This acts as a stress reliever. So remember, don’t procrastinate, use a planner/calendar, and make sure that you have down time. This advice is important because I know that it worked for me. I earned excellent grades my first year of college.

Stress Relievers

Lifting and Running help me to relieve my stress. I can just go into the weight room and focus all my stress into pushing up weight on a bench press or some other exercise. It really works for me. However, I have to be able to focus to lift, or else I get nothing accomplished. Running is also a big stress reliever for me. I just put on my running clothes and head out to run whenever I am stressed. I just run as hard as I can until I cant do it anymore. This helps me clear my mind and relieve my stress. Sometimes I will go for a one mile run, but other times I will go for 3-5 miles. It just depends on how motivated I am.  I also think about my career whenever I am stressed. It helps me to be able to see myself doing what I want to do. It motivates me to get over my stress and move on. I will look up things on the Internet pertaining to my possible career(s). This generally takes a while, and with the combination of time and looking at my dream job I usually become less stressed.

Stress Comic

Here is my comic I made about stress

Below is the link.
 http://www.pixton.com/create/comic/q769tk5f

Stress and Songs

To tell you the truth, I really don’t listen to that much music when I am stressed. I find that it is just better for me to be in a place where it is quiet. However, if I did have to pick a song that lifted my spirits it would probably be God Bless the USA. I know what your thinking, “This guy is weird.” Well I’m just telling the truth. I like to listen to patriotic music whenever I am stressed. This helps me feel better because the song is so inspirational. It shows that our country is the best, and I’m not afraid to say that. It also gives me a sense of patriotism whenever I listen to it. I get this feeling that is hard to explain. I feel determined, almost like I can do anything. It makes me think of all those who serve so that we can sit here and do what we want. We say we’re so stressed, but actually it is nothing compared to what our military personnel go through. So, this song really helps ease my stress by giving me a sense of pride, patriotism, and determination. My favorite part of the song is the beginning, “If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life…”

 Below is a link to a youtube video that I found.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E 

Year in Review

My year at IUP Punxsy flew by. At the beginning of the year I never thought that it would go by so fast. It is amazing how time flies when you have an enjoyable experience. I have made many new acquaintances throughout my year here. Since I am from Punxsutawney I really didn’t have trouble adjusting. I hope that next year, and the years to follow, I will be able to maintain relationships with those who I have met here. I find it so incredible how you can go to a place and absolutely know nobody, but within a week you know everyone. This small college experience was cool because the professors were personable. They made every effort to help me, and the other students if we needed it. That is pretty amazing considering it doesn’t happen at very many colleges. My best, most vivid memories from this year are those of the time spent in military science class. The instructors were always energetic, and they have become people who I look up to. I will always remember the time that we went over to main campus to shoot target practice. It was my first time ever shooting at an indoor range. Let me just say, it was awesome! Also, I will never forget the psychology paper that we had to write. During the first semester all I heard were people complaining about writing the paper. This really worried me because paper had to be around twenty pages. However, our paper turned out just fine. I guess I could say that I have enjoyed this year here at Punxsy, and that I am ready to move over to main campus. I would also like to thank Dr. Ruffner, who was my advisor, for all the advice that she has given me throughout this year.

Freedom

            Gerda was able to be freed from German hands before they were able to kill her. However, her family did not meet the same fate. They were murdered sometime throughout the war. She lost her best friends Ilse and Suse during the march, which took over two months. While being freed Liesel, her last remaining friend, dies. As Gerda looked at her, she said that, “A solitary tear ran down her cheek” (Klein 215). It was liberation day and she had made it. This was what she and her friends had dreamed of for years. Unfortunately, Gerdas’ happiness was shadowed by the fact that she was now alone. She had no family and friends.

            She did meet a soldier on V-E Day. His name was Kurt Klein. He was also a Jew, but had managed to escape before the war started. Gerda and Kurt fell in love and eventually got married. While she was still imprisoned she dreamed of having a baby. She had, “The thought of a baby, warm, new, clean as freedom itself” (Klein 155). This is something that kept her going. It kept her from giving up even when the work or journey seemed impossible. She managed to survive hunger, disease, physical beatings, and the pure hatred of the Nazis. I thought that this book was excellent. All Gerda longed for was to have a family, her family. In the end even though hers was killed she was able to start a new one with Kurt. This book far surpassed my expectations. It is filled with vivid details of her life during the many years she was imprisoned. I get a sense of determination from reading this book. Gerda persevered under daunting odds. This gives me inspiration to complete my dreams.

Gerdas' Determination

            Gerda is going through things that most of us today can’t even imagine what they would be like. Her biggest problem is dealing with the fact that her family is split. She has guilt because she promised her father that she would stay with her mother at all costs. Whenever she gets a letter from him he asks why she had left her mother. Unfortunately, Gerda never gets to tell her father the answer because the Germans kill him. Gerda is also writing to her brother Arthur. She notices that her brothers’ writing is not the same, and that it looks as though he is in pain when writing (133). When she receives a letter from him she gets a sense of reassurance (134). However, this was the last letter she ever got from Arthur. She said that he, “Sensed it would be,” his last message, and that maybe he, “Paid for writing it with life itself” (Klein 134).         

            She and many of the other girls are then moved to another camp. This camp is much worse than the camp they were just at. The woman in charge carries a whip, and uses it to motivate the girls to work (145). While Gerda is cleaning parts of a loom a worker tries to bribe her to have sex with him. When she refuses he says that she will be sorry (148). And it turns out to be that she is. She is put to work unloading flax in the daytime and at night she unloads coal from the trains. This constant work causes her to become physically and mentally exhausted. She even thinks of committing suicide by jumping in front of a train. Finally they are moved to another camp where she is with her friends from the previous camp. Gerda just learns to buckle down when things get tough. She always remembers the promise that she gave to her father, and strives to keep it even when times get rough. I know that most people couldn’t work day and night for four days straight. It takes a dedicated individual that wants to live to keep on going, and that is exactly what Gerda is.