Tuesday, May 6, 2008

My first Blog- what a journey

This is my very first blog- ever! The literature that I have previously read about blogging made reference to the anxiety that may accompany your first blog; what should I blog about? What topics will people want to read about? Who is going to read my blog? How long should each blog be? I suppose the answer to these questions comes from reading other people's blogs, however I am also a first timer at that too!
Today I am officially in the 2nd day of my Master's program for Kinesiology and I have started my usual obsessive compulsive organizational phase. I have recognized this pattern after many years of education and subsequently credit my collegiate academic success on this funny habit. I start off every semester/quarter/session being meticulous about organization; buying brand new binders with dividers, downloading AND printing everything for each class (syllabus, assignments, schedule, resources, etc.). I am usually very anxious about getting started on the assignments in my classes, in part due to my fear of falling behind the rest of the class and to the fear of being lost in the subject! I've recognized in past compulsions that I am able to carry on in this manner for several weeks before falling into other less noble habits: procrastination to name just one!
In my high school days I was rather an expert at procrastination. Of course back then I could easily distract myself by "IM-ing" with friends online, all the while making my dad think I was busy at work on a paper or something. Naturally of course, this dirty little habit took it's toll on my studies and of course my GPA. I casually passed my barely average grades on being "not as smart as my sister," which only lasted until I started studying a topic I really enjoyed once I got to college. That topic of course was/is Physical Education.
I was probably what you would call an average athlete in high school, although I've always felt that my passion for volleyball obviously out-weighed those of my teammates who were "staying in shape 'til basketball season." I was able to excel in my sport mainly due to my height (6'0) and with the help of my role model, my older sister. Even though I was never the "star" of the team, athletics and volleyball were always what I did better than academics. When it finally came time to declare a major course of study for college, I made the decision to study physical education. My first course was a prerequisite, Human Anantomy, it didn't take long before I was hooked. The human body and the way it functioned was actually fascinating to me. All in the course of a semester I was transformed into a studying, test aceing, book worm student, who was no longer taking courses just to satisfy requirements. I was learning something everyday and succeeding in academics for the first time! (Who's the smart sister now!?!?!) Which led me to my degree in physical education and now i'm back in high school, teaching the stuff that I thought was "really cool" to kids who have no idea why I love what I do! Who woulda thunk it?