First Day of Spring Term

Whitney M.

March 30, 2009 - 10:15 PM

THANK GOD FOR EDUCATION!

I am so glad to be back on campus after a long two-week stint of painting and eating. Eating, mind you, is usually enjoyable. However, my metabolism makes eating more than 900 calories in a 24 period a punishment. Therefore, having social engagements that include dining excursions was dreadful for my waistline, and thus, my state of mind.

Additionally, I was unable to sleep-in and exercise, which would be the ideal break if I could have planned it, because I spent most of my time cooped up in my grandmother's sky-rise condominium painting the walls. This was relatively pain-free because my boyfriend's dad is a contractor, giving Collin and I all of the tools we needed to complete an interior paint job. Collin also grew up working with his dad on construction projects, so masking the walls and plug-in outlets was no problem at all.
All in all, spring break did not end up feeling much like a break. Now that I am back at school, I can sleep-in before my noon classes and save time for workouts during the evenings. Because school schedules are so busy, eating small Jenny Craig meals is much easier and plausible, which helps me to maintain a smaller waistline and more level head.

Classes were fantastic today. I really feel fulfilled when I step into a classroom and sit front and center.

My teachers were fantastic and I got to work with other bright journalism students to prepare a publication called "Mosaic" that will be published at the end of spring term.

I also started a course called Communication Economics, which sounded terrible to me at first, but when it was my only option, I settled for the less art-based journalism class. When I sat down in the class, however, I found that the syllabus outlined several business-oriented topics that don't necessarily interest me, but will be useful as a professional in a media career. By the end of the class period, I was able to brainstorm some great ideas for my term papers.

After that class, I picked up my Info-Hell project (a 100-page research project I completed winter term) to find that I only missed two points on the entire project! As I flipped back through the pages, a rush of joy and pride swept over my body.

I am back.

I am back at the U of O, where I can exercise my academic strengths and operate based on my own priorities. At school, I soak in the knowledge around me in a way that I hope other students do. Because I am not as distracted by social demands at college due to my sobriety, I can truly focus on the curricula that I am participating in. Coming back to a structured environment is fantastic for my mental and emotional well-being.

Without structure, I feel powerless over the goings-on in my life. And I really dislike feeling powerless. As a woman, as a former delinquent, and as someone who suffered a turbulent childhood, I need to feel as though the decisions made and results created in my life are solely of my own doing.

Here, at the U of O. I feel healthily independent. I appreciate all of the help that I receive from my friends and family, but I feel like I have the freedom to be who I really am and like myself when I am living in Eugene at the U of O.