Weeks 1 and 2 of being at Utah Valley University/What I have been up to!
1/7/2019
Today is the opening day of classes for students at Utah Valley University, and it is also the day before my first official day of classes! I am nervous and excited, but also feel at ease for tomorrow, which is weird for me I feel like. As of right now, this decision does not feel wrong. If anything it feels like the right one. Everyone I met last Friday at orientation was really nice, and it is just always noticeably different than back home. I have not had a bad encounter yet with anyone. Not to say I won't, but so far it has been a good start. I am excited to start classes, and I am hopeful all will go well! Tomorrow, while I start classes, my little sister will be leaving to go back home. I am sad she will have to leave and cannot stay, but I know I will still be able to talk to her and facetime with her which is nice! I am grateful that distance has never really been able to keep us apart! I love her so much! In regards to school, I am not sure what my homework is going to look like, so that will be interesting to find out. Today, I started reading my textbooks and the topics seem interesting which is nice! I am excited to be able to write some more tomorrow so I can tell you guys over the next few days what I think of everything.
In other news, today my mom, grandparents, little sister, two of our friends, and I are going to go and see the ice castle attraction here in Utah for the first time! I am very excited to go and do that! Hopefully, none of us fall down while walking around there! Haha!
Well, the Ice Castle in Midway, UT was very cool. They had a lot more to it than we expected. Plus, all of us managed to not fall! They had at least 3-4 different slides made of ice that you could go down. They had a concessions area type thing where you could get things like hot cocoa, cookies, cinnamon rolls, etc. It was crowded but overall was a pretty cool experience. Currently, as I am writing this, I am getting ready to wind down for the night. My alarms are set for tomorrow morning, and I am going to ride with my friend down to campus, then mom will pick me up after I am done for the day! Towards the end of this post, I will be sure to try and put in pics from the ice castle! I did not take a lot because I wanted to kind of just be there in the moment, instead of trying to enjoy it through a lens! Goodnight, and see you tomorrow!
1/8/2019
So, my first day of classes went well thankfully! I really like the teachers that I chose! I am excited to see how these classes go! I am going to be taking Children's Music and Movement, as well as, Human Development and Life Span. I feel as though both of them are going to be really interesting. The music and movement course seems like it will be really fun, and the Human Development psychology class seemed interesting as well! The Human Development and Life Span may end up being the one that is the most challenging, but we will see what happens. I have taken psychology before as an elective in high school, so I'm sure I will see some things I have seen before just in a more detailed view probably. I took the campus bus today, and it was an interesting first experience. So, first, when I got onto the bus my ID card essentially got denied so I need to go and fix that eventually. On top of that, I got onto the right bus and got off at the right stop but didn't think I did so I got back on the bus and got taken to like a bus stop station type of thing all the way across the freeway nowhere near my class. So my mom came and "rescued" me if you will, and helped me get to my class on time! Haha! After I got out of my last class which was my psychology course about Human Development, we went and made sure I knew where I needed to get off of the bus. When we did that, we figured out I got out at the right stop, and I just got confused. So, that is good that I do actually know where I get off at. Haha! It is definitely a new experience, but so far it has seemed to be a positive one! I also got to get a first day of school Red Velvet Cookie, and a Lavender Latte from a coffee shop in Heber City, which is really good!
Ya know, as I sit here in my moms office taking a break from my reading, it hit me that it really probably is not a big surprise that I have decided to go to school out of state. I almost started to feel that maybe it really is not something that is a surprise to a lot of people. Initially, I did think that a lot of people were surprised about that. I could be wrong, but it also seems like it makes sense that I chose to go to school out of state. Now, I am not saying it makes sense to all of you, or to anyone in general, but it makes sense to me. It may make sense to some of you though. That is just a random thought that crossed my mind just now. Haha! Ah, how life is interesting! Everything is happening the way it needs to, despite the fact that sometimes life does not always make sense.
1/10/2019
Well, my second day of classes at UVU went well. Aside from the fact I literally forgot my wallet and ID/bus pass card at home. That's just great. Of all things to need to happen today, what went wrong was something with my bus pass. Of course! Why am I not surprised. Haha! Oh well! What matters is I made it to class. Came close to thinking I wasn't going to make it to my Psychology Human Development class, but I made it just fine! I got on the bus and it was the same driver from Tuesday, and he did not stop at the stop I needed to get off at. He probably would have kept driving if I had not spoken up, and I probably would have ended up at the same location I did on Tuesday when mom was able to come to get me. Had that happened today, I probably would not have made it to that class. Luckily, I did, and all is well! As much excitement has been going on this week, I can still say on the second day that I still enjoy my classes. I will have a few papers I have to write this semester, so I probably won't be too joyful for those. Haha! However, I am sure they will go just fine! I have never written in APA format before, but I think I might know someone who may be able to help me which is nice! Today, I will get to eat lunch with one of my friends, which I am very happy about. It helps already knowing at least one or two people at my new school. It helps lower the nerves of being in a new place. Oh! I forgot to mention the fact I had to exit the building I am currently in at one point due to a fire drill. Haha! That was exciting! This week has been full of new twists and turns, but it has been a good week overall! Yesterday, I just took it easy at home, and got some laundry done, and got my reading for chapter 1 in both of my textbooks done! I also took my chapter 1 quiz today for chapter 1 out of my Human Development and Life Span class! I got 3 out of 5 questions right, so that's pretty good I would say! Plus, because I forgot my wallet I actually have now activated Apple Pay on my phone, so we will see what adventures that takes me on! This whole thing probably is a little sporadic, or all over the place, and it may be. I apologize for that. I tend to write like that sometimes. I usually write in whatever way my brain is processing everything. That probably is not always a good thing, but when I free write like this is when I usually allow myself to do that. I do not do that when I write academic papers. At least, I try not to! Well, I just realized I completely forgot to mention that I also had to sing in front of nine other people on the second day of class today in my music and movement class. Not going to lie, it was a little nerve-wracking because I don't typically like singing in front of a lot of people. However, I was really proud of myself for doing it and stepping outside of my comfort zone!
1/14/2019
It is currently Monday night, and I am sat in my bed under a blanket doing my best to stay warm! I had a pretty good day today! I posted to Instagram for my normal Monday posting! #MegansMondayMotto :) I also got my laundry done, and got my chapter two reading and quiz taken care of today! I also went to work with my mom during the afternoon portion of the day. So roughly from around twelve o'clock to five or five-thirty ish! That was nice! I do enjoy getting to see the people she works with. All of them are really nice people! Tomorrow, I have my classes, and I will hopefully have no issues with the bus. I will also be turning in my first homework project for my music and movement class! So, I am hoping that goes well too! I talked to my Nona yesterday, and had a really nice conversation with her! I always enjoy getting every opportunity to talk to ANY of my family, and especially my grandparents! My family means the world to me, so it was nice to talk to her and hear her voice. I saw her Christmas Eve, but that was the last time I saw her. I do miss her and all of my other family members too! But, it was nice to talk to her for a bit! I also talked to my stepmom today which was nice! I am really glad I finally felt comfortable enough with creating this blog! It is really nice to now have a platform where I can elaborate on things a bit more, and give more of my thought into things. On Facebook, I will put my thought into things I post. However, on my Instagram posts, I will try to put my thoughts into things, but I try to do it in a more condensed form. I mainly do that, because no one really comes to Instagram to read in-depth posts. Not to say I don't have any lengthy in-depth post on Instagram, but I doubt very many people actually read the entirety of the longer ones. One thing I wish was possible on Instagram is a setting where you can see how many people actually view your posts. The only way to see who has interacted/seen your posts is if someone hits the "Like/heart" button. I don't typically get too many likes on my Monday posts, and that is completely fine! Sometimes I just wish I could know how many people I am actually impacting, other than myself and a few of my regulars if they are allowed to be referenced as that. Haha! I can't stop thinking of how happy it makes me to have this now. It is very weird, and exciting! Something makes me feel like there is a chance that this is going to give me something to look forward to! I just do not know what that may be yet. I cannot promise that Tuesday and Thursday will be shorter parts, but we will see! I also may or may not write about my Wednesday. I would expect my Wednesday to be fairly uneventful, but we will just have to see what happens! Goodnight!
1/15/2019
The third day of classes went well! We had to sing again in my first class, the music and movement one, so hopefully my singing voice will turn out better as the class goes on. Haha! The bus went smoothly today, and there were no issues or complications! I also took my ID card to the desk that is supposed to help with issues regarding things like that, and hopefully, they have fixed what was wrong. The guy told me it looked like they assigned my card to a different account. How that happens, I am not sure, but he said he thinks the issue with my card should be fixed! I am currently sitting in the Library inside their Roots of Knowledge room. It is so pretty! The stained glass artwork seems to be very intricately done, and the color schemes chosen are beautiful! I am going to be getting coffee with my cousin shortly, at around 1 o'clock, which is very exciting! The cafe is pretty crowded, so hopefully, once she gets here it will be cleared out. On this campus, you definitely get your walking steps in. It is nice, though, that in most of the buildings you can get to cut through's so you do not have to walk outside the whole time. This morning when I got out of my first class and went to the bus stop it was lightly snowing. We are supposed to get possibly a few inches of snow again throughout this week. Last I saw, it was predicted that it should be stopping by Friday sometime, but we will see what happens. Also, my Human Development and Lifespan class went well too! We started going over topics like our DNA, and the stages of development from conception until birth, and things like that. Not sure how far into the powerpoint we got, since the powerpoint has I think it was 62 slides?! That's a lot! Haha! I am going to end this day here I think. I will be back either Wednesday or if not Wednesday, you'll see more Thursday for sure!
1/16/2019
It is officially Wednesday, and in a way the halfway marker I guess you could say for the week. I am sitting in my room with my bottle of pretty much all drunken tea next to me. I will probably make myself some more. We will see! I have my window blinds open letting the natural light shine into my room! It has been a mix of cloudy and partly cloudy today. I am very pleased to say that after all the long walking yesterday my foot is not currently bothering me which is great! I also recently bought myself these essentially fake nails from a company called Red Aspen, and I put them on today. Last night I took off my old gel nail polish and cut my nails and what not. So far, after having these fake nails on for at least 3 or so hours now I really like them. I like their color, and I really like that when you put them on you can cut them and file them down and shape them as if they were a natural nail. They were only $13 dollars on the website, but with shipping and taxes, the total did come out to be around $16 dollars. Despite the price, it is a pretty good deal if you compare it to going to the nail salon and spending a lot more than that to get your nails done. I will post a picture of the box they came in if any of you wanted to look into them! I got the Brooklyn Caught the Berry Bouquet color, and I really like it! Other than that, today, I have just been taking it easy. I got my homework done last night, so I don't have much for school that I actually have to get done right about now, which is nice! I think it is really funny that I wish Sunday was here already because I want to share this with everyone so bad! Now, with that being said, I do like my decision for the posting schedule though. I feel like it is a pretty reasonable schedule. Yesterday, while waiting to meet with my cousin, and then again while waiting for my mom it was funny to me to see the waves of students you see when students are leaving buildings from getting out of classes. I felt bad for the few students that I did see who were running to get to wherever they were going. Some students I have seen bring skateboard, bikes, and scooters, but amidst those typical things, yesterday I saw a student on a unicycle! I couldn't believe it! All the more power to the kid. I thought it was pretty cool to see that! Considering if I ever did that id probably end up breaking something. Haha! I don't understand it, but I cannot help but notice how easy it is for me to just become fixated on the mountains or the trees, and nature in general. It is almost as if the peacefulness of it can be seen and not just felt. It is kind of hard to explain I suppose. Just like explaining the difference between Utah or Montana in comparison to Houston, is hard too! Funny, how something that should not be hard to explain, sometimes are. Just a thought! Speaking of thoughts, I will probably end this here, because it is getting long, even though this whole post is going to be pretty long. If only people could get a preview of what my thought processes are like and what being in my head is like, because it is pretty similar to this. It can be very overwhelming to have my brain. Haha! I will see you guys tomorrow on Thursday!
1/17/2019
Today's classes went well! No surprise there! The bus also went well thankfully! It has been a wet, windy, cold day today. The day started out with some rain sprinkles and then turned into more of a rain later in the day. At the house today we have had a mix of rain and snow since early this afternoon. Thankfully the snow did not arrive until my mom and I were heading back home this afternoon after I was done with classes. It has been a lazy day for the most part, since we got home. Mom and I ended up shoveling the driveway late this afternoon. It was basically slush. Due to the fact that we have had a mix of rain and snow. We probably spent 20-30 minutes I would guess, just shoveling the driveway, sidewalk, and part of the road in the sprinkling rain. I did not mind though. I thought it was kind of fun. That is aside from the fact my ear started to hurt halfway through, but we got our workouts in! I definitely have broken in my new snow boots now for sure! Most people would not like having to shovel their driveways, but I try to think of it as a fun challenge! Plus, I feel like it builds character. Kind of in the same way as helping your parents out with gardening work. I feel like it just teaches us hard work and dedication in a different way! For example, you have to shovel the driveway, in order to help reduce the amount of ice accumulation. Similarly, you have to weed your gardens and trim the trees and bushes, in order to ensure healthy plant growth in new plants that will get planted. There is a reason for everything, even if it is not blatantly obvious at first! Since shoveling the driveway, I have showered and made mom and I some Italian Sausage ravioli for dinner. I am also writing this now! I will probably make myself some hot tea soon, but first I will do my best to get some more water in me. I have had some today, but it was probably only like 6 oz. roughly. So, I want to make sure I get some more before the night is over. We are under a Winter Weather Advisory from tonight at 9 PM until tomorrow at 5 PM. It is predicted that we could get between 2-7 inches of snow between that time frame. However, in true Utah fashion, it can change quickly. Hopefully, we will not get too much snow. Hope all of you are doing well! I think I will end the post here! Thank you for reading about my first two weeks of classes, and my first two weeks to write about! I cannot wait for what is next! See you guys again in February!
1/18-1/20/2019
Summary of my weekend Starting from Friday to the day you're reading this!:
Well, on Friday, I slept in and then went to work with my mom during the afternoon portion of the day! I got some project stuff taken care of for my Music and Movement class, and just kind of hung out! Then on Saturday, well, today! I started my day off with a cup of coffee, which I had not done all week. All this week I have been starting my mornings off with some tea! Then, around 11 or 12 ish we went and ran some errands. We went to Old Navy and got some jeans, and then next we went to Michaels because I needed a prop for an assignment in my Music and Movement course, and then mom needed some yarn! We then grabbed a late lunch at a place called Zuppa's and then went home! Since going home, I did some reading for my Human Development course, and then I also have just been taking it easy. I did some research to try and find some information on the foot conditions I have. Lastly, I am ending the day writing this, with my cup of Sleepytime Extra tea steeping next to me! I will probably watch a few more youtube videos and then try to get some sleep! Tomorrow on Sunday, this will be posted for your viewing! My mom and I will be getting dinner with my grandparents, and then I believe we will be running a few more errands! Plus, we will be preparing ourselves for the next round of snow that is supposed to be coming starting Sunday night, and continuing on through Monday is what it is supposed to do as of right now. Let's hope I can make it to school Tuesday! Hahaha! See you guys again on February 3!
Best regards,
The Inspiring Hummingbird!
