Love my UConn Huskies

So even though we did not beat the 'Cuse this weekend, Huskies all around can appreciate the amazingness that is being a Husky!

Here is what being a UConn Student is all about...


U-C-O-N-N UCONN UCONN UCONN!!!

UConn Pride.... ALWAYS

Part of My Bucket List

Sooo... as a lot of you know I am super competitive. That might be putting it lightly. I take anything and everything more serious then it should be, especially sports and things that are already competitive in nature. But either way I have always wanted to be a part of the Amazing Race. I watch that show season after season wanting to show them all up. I have yet though to make my team debut to win the million dollars.

Yesterday though I saw a new alternative that is closer and I don't have to "try out" for. It is called the Great Urban Race.

Great Urban Race

This looks like an amazing mix of mind, body, and determination; with a little luck in there. I am really excited and I totally am going to do this. The one in Boston is on the day of my graduation so that will not work, but NYC is available. I had some peeps who I think would know the in's and out's of Boston but maybe I can read up about NYC before it begins.

Anyone want to join along? Teams of 2-4 and we can always have more then one team entered. I would love to make this a tradition and great practice for when I do make the Amazing Race. Oh if you didn't know, I am an Amazing Race Cozumel Winner and Record Holder for time. Yeah.. bring it Urban Race!

Expectations

Everyone has thoughts of what things should be like for them. It happens to everyone and about anything. I expect UConn to be better at Basketball this year then they are, I expect my last semester of Graduate school to be easier then they are, I expect the mountains I visit this winter to have a little more snow on them then they already do. Well we do not always get what we expect, but we can try to make the experiences as great as we can even if things do not meet our expectations. 

As 2012 continues on, a lot is to be expected with the new year. The main part being my new career and change in almost lifestyle. Gone are the days of leaving work and just being able to relax at night. Gone are the days of knowing exactly when the work day begins and ends. Maybe that is better, maybe it is nice to not have to worry about driving to work in the snow to get to a place that never closes even if it is a blizzard outside. Maybe it is nice to not worry about going into work on the weekends or holidays. Even with the positives and negatives of each choice, I expect to find myself in a new career that I love. 

But sadly there are always things that happen in our lives that are not expected. You might not expect it but it might be things that cause happiness in your life or it might cause sadness. In either instance, you have to roll with the punches in life. No one has a blueprint of how things will turn out for them, and it always seems to be the most inconvenient time for bad things to happen. I have had lots of friends and even myself have times that sad things happen to them. But times like this is when true character and heart comes out. I am sometimes in shock at how well some people have been able to handle and carry themselves in rough times. I know that it takes a lot for someone to still be positive when there seems to be nothing going right for them. If everyone could be this way when bad times roll around, this world might have a better ora to it then it already does. I am not saying that no one has reasons to be upset or frustrated at times, because we all need that release. I just think that everyone learns to handle things better in life and that people who still look for positives in their lives can be worth praising.

Expectations are good to have but if we lived our lives through what we expected, I think life would be a pretty dull place. Something to spice things up in life can actually be beneficial at times, keeps you on your toes. So next time something you weren't expecting happens, just take a deep breathe and just think, there is always bumps on the road, but we all make it through it. 

Anticipation

There are lots of things we look forward to. When we are younger, we look forward to days off of school, cartoons on Saturday morning, birthdays, holidays, etc. When you get older, sometimes all you want or look forward to is a day off from work, or an easier day at work. Lately though I had my anticipation of going to work. As you know, while I have been off for this year going back to school I have not worked really since I have been too busy. I have a new part time job now and I was actually looking forward to getting back into the work field. I have had jobs on and off since I was 15 so it seemed weird to just be laying around for days on end. I enjoy relaxing but sometimes you get the feeling as you are almost worthless without a job. I know some people do not choose to have that, but I am saying in my case that is how I felt.
Sometimes what you wait for does not always turn out to be everything you want. I love the month of February. There are a lot of things I look forward to. First of all the Super Bowl is always in February. Even though my loved Panthers have only been to one Super Bowl and lost I still enjoy watching it. I love sports, and watching the best game of the season especially with good friends and foods adds to the excitement to look forward to. But the game does not always turn out the way I want (This year it did thought :) ) Does that not mean you should look forward to something?
No!!! Everyone needs things they anticipate or look forward to. It is what makes Christmas so special for Kids. It is what makes vacations with family or loved ones amazing. It is what makes the weekends usually that much better then just another two days in the week. You feel like when you anticipate something that it is actually better then a normal day in your life. I am all about living everyday to its fullest and enjoying each day. But I cannot help but look forward to things in the future even though sometimes it is far away!
It once again goes to balance. You can have things you look forward to, but do not miss the opportunities that happen day in and day out. Many grand things happen to everyone every day and by just looking to the future you might let little things slip by. Don't let that happen to you! Get excited for new things in your future. But remember each day has gotten you to where you currently are, don't brush that off as nothing. It sure was something, and might have made more of an impact on peoples and things then you will ever know!

Changes

Well the past week I have spent 2 days on the campus of my alma mater. It is funny to go back to places that meant so much to you in life. I obviously go home to North Carolina here and there and it is a change. It was where I grew up, where I learned above love, sports, passion, and motivation. It has set me in the direction that I am as a human being. But then there is this place, college, that is the "best years of your life" where you "truly find yourself". I always heard these things when I was growing up but never really understood how spot on they really were.

I loved my time at UConn. Spending years among the cows at Horsebarn hill, waking up at the crack of down to get to Coventry Lake, or spending countless nights in the Recreation office or fields hanging with some of my best friends were each things that helped me figure out who Kelly was. But did those events really make me different then the person I was when I entered UConn in 2004? I am not always sure, but it might have made me realize things that I enjoy about my life. I left the state of NC where my family and friends were and became part of a bigger family and made new friends too. I kept my love for sports, I kept my love for hanging with friends, and did not change who I was for others because that was what defined me for a long time!

Yes I learned new things about myself, I learned to open up more, I learned I could cook, and more importantly I learned how to live on my own. But this gets back to it, did I change? I am not sure. I feel like you get to try different avenues in college, experiment, explore, and find new passions but you are still who you were when you went to college, no matter where you go! I think the experiences you have in college let things you knew all along about yourself become more apparent. So this leads me back to my latest visit...

As I was walking around campus this week, each time I said "Man I feel old". And yes I am not in my younger 20's anymore and yes I don't walk around to and from class to class all day, but does that mean I don't fit into this society anymore? I think so! As sad as it is and as much as I love UConn, I have done my time, I learned the tricks of the trade, I have grown out of the college life style. I love having my throw back nights but it isn't the same. As much as people like to live in the past, it just isn't possible. People move on, your move locations, jobs come and go, and relationships change... but you can all remember what used to be. I am not saying that the past is the past forget it, I love memories from the past. I have plenty! I am not saying that you might not change as a person but people's lives change that make it impossible to sometimes have what you used to have.

Speaking of the past, it is great to run into people from the past. I love having a conversation or hang out with someone I haven't seen in awhile. It only takes one person to try to get back in touch with someone. So I challenge my followers, or anyone who reads it this week, yes times have changed but what makes it impossible to catch up? NOTHING! Go out this week, seek out someone who was important in your life and you have lost touch with and try to catch up. You will be surprised at how much it means to you and makes your day better..

Rewards from Risks

So this weekend I got to combine 4 of my favorite things in the world: friends, sports, food, and musicals! I got to add another Playbill to my collection after seeing the awesome musical "Memphis". Not only does it have great songs that I still find myself humming to but gives a good story of always following your heart even when others do not always approve or see the same way. This is a very common story that I hear all too often and have been apart of myself.

When I decided to go back to school I was doing it for myself. I wanted to be in a career that I enjoyed each and every day. I wanted to be involved in something that each day I felt I was pushing myself and making a difference with my interaction with students. But going back to school wasn't something everyone thought was smart. Leave in a recession, lose insurance, have no income for over a year.. all things I heard and were told. Yes it was a risk, but how do you go through life without risk? Everything in life is a risk. I mean even choosing a major is a risk. Who now a days knows what they want to do for 40-50 years of their life at age 18 or 19? I don't think many people do anymore. But even more then that, there is the risk of love, which everyone goes for at different points in their life.

This weekend I remembered what has grounded me in my life: friends, competitive sports, music/musicals, and tasty food. Those things can always lead you back to basics even in risky situations. As today is my hopefully last first day of a semester, as a student, I think back to all the risks that have gotten me to this new stage in my life. Who would have ever thought a little southern gal who went off to school in CT would still be here 8 years later? Who would have thought I would have joined a Varsity sport in college that would lead to amazing friends that I still have? Each time I got worried, I knew that being confident in the things that make me happy and feel good about myself will always lead me to some sort of reward. You just never know how good the reward will be.

Hopefully in these last 4 months of graduate school I really will be rewarded for the work I have put it. Balancing school and work, balancing family and friends, balancing health and exercise.. it has all been a struggle. I think though the reward of an amazing group of friends who I have shared stories of success and failure is a good reward of this risk so far. New adventures I would have never been a part of is more rewards. The biggest reward I hope to have is lining up a great job so soon enough I can be starting this new career in my life :)

-McG

The Beginning Again..

So it is a new year and I have decided to start my year by logging more then just memories, but putting them in writing. I have had such an amazing transformation of things in my life that I want to be able to share with those who I do not always see or keep in touch with as much.
Yes, this  might be something some people who see me often or family know but it is a way to reconnect to maybe some who are not so close. I want to use my love for life and the things I am involved in to maybe help out others and be a guide to them in new obstacles they want to tackle.
As most of you know, I recently went back to school to change careers and become a Secondary Science Teacher. Yes, I know... you all know you want to refer to me as Ms. McG! :) It seems not long ago I was in a steady job that I got paid well and enjoyed my co-workers. But sometimes life tells you that it is not what you are meant to do. I want to be out there helping others and leading them to find their true happiness in life. Yes, I know teachers don't always do that... but you all know of a teacher who did that to you at some point in your life. Teachers Inspire without even trying to!

As I have finished my student teaching and am one semester away from graduation, I wonder what else I am meant to do with my life. I am currently reading an amazing book called "Run Like a Girl: How Strong Women Make Happy Lives" by Mina Samuels. This book is really showing me how ordinary people who have a love for sports can really help out more people then just themselves by their love for a sport. I want to be able to do something like that as well. I want to be able to have a group of young girls or women train and inspire each other to pursue things, like 5K's, Half MArathons, or Marathons, that they maybe never thought they could do. Not only to become fit, or healthier, but to feel happier and proud of themselves. I am not sure how to try to get something like this started but it has started a flame in me that I will surely look into. 

As I sit here on this rainy day in January, I realize that sometimes you can look into the future all you want but you never really know what is going to happen day in and day out. It just takes one day for everything to change and everything to have a different meaning and perspective. I hope you enjoy reading my posts as I write them. Feel free to leave me messages and comments about anything you think!

-McG