Liam's Blog

Voting

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:34:00 GMT

Yesterday was a very exciting day for me as it was the first time I was allowed to complete my civic duty as an American citizen to vote for the first time. The past couple of months I had been reading the issues not only of the president, but of the local races as well, becasue the local races to me are important too. However the past week I felt myself on the fence in dealing with the presidential election and I was still undecided up until I darkened the oval on my ballot yesterday. I drove 30 minutes back to my hometown of Blair, NE to cast my vote and as I was driving I was thinking to myself I now get the chance to have my voice heard when it comes to electing the next president and that was an exciting thought to me. I walked in the doors to vote and luckily coming from a town of about 8,500 people everyone was at work at 9am so there was no line, however by the time I finished my ballot it was 925. I stood in the voting booth for 15 minutes making sure that my presidential selection was the right one for me and it ultimately game down to 3 major issues for me education, economy, and the war in Iraq. Voting was an excellent experience. Well I hope everyone has a great week and good luck to the Women's Soccer team this week as they compete in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament which starts today!!

A nice surprise

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:58:00 GMT

As I was returning from my Cross-Country meet in San Francisco last saturday I finally got the chance to check my Creighton email and man was there a pleasant surprise. Earlier in the week I had finally turned in my application to the Education Department in hopes that I would be accepted into the Elementary Education program at Creighton. I was checking through email and I came across one that was from the educatoin department and it was to congratulate me on my acceptance into the program. At that moment I could not wait to call my mom and dad. I called my mom first seeing as she was my inspiration to become an elementary education teacher, because she has been teaching in inner-city omaha for this is now here 22nd year of teaching. Ever since I first visited my mom's classroom I have wanted to become a teacher, because I want to be able to bring a smile to my future students faces everyday. I feel that in bringing a smile to someone's face makes the entire day worth it! I want to teach in an inner-city school, because some students do not have a positive male role model and I want to be that positive role-model, which is why I want to teach K-3. Next week is fall break and hopefully on monday or friday I will be able to visit my mom's school and help her teach a lesson. Which brings me to one of the many reasons why I love Creighton. Community Service! If you enjoy giving back to the community you will be given numerous opportunities to make a difference within the Omaha Community. There are many programs that students can become a part of to help give back to the community. Two examples here on campus are Habitat for Humanity every saturday, as well as, Hunger-Clean Up which takes place in the spring. Again hope you all are having a great week. Stay safe and enjoy your weekend.

San Francisco/Midterms

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:50:00 GMT

As midterms are right around the corner, I am able to take a trip with the Cross-Country team to San Francisco this week for the Gator Invitational. As a team we leave on Wednsday and will not return until late Saturday night, which is great, becasue with midterms coming up it always seems like I end up stressing out way too much. So I feel that San Francisco will be a nice stress reliever and help propel me into the right mindset for midterms next week. I sometimes feel that, because I am stressing myself out that I end up not accomplishing as much as I would have liked to...so what I am trying to say is when midterms and finals come around don't look yourself inside of a room or the library for 4-5 hours straight. Be sure you take a break every once and a while to let your mind unwind. The thing that helps me the most is exercise, because as I am playing I feel the stress draining from my body, because of a lovely thing called endorphins. So don't stress out to much over midterms, because if you set up a proper schedule to study, have time for yourself, and friends you will be completely fine and be sure if you have any questions at all to ask your instructor for some clarification, because most profesors would be more than willing to help.

Homecoming Week

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:08:00 GMT

This past week was Homecoming Week, it is always an exciting time to be on campus. I was only able to participate in the homecoming activities during the week, because I left for Chicago on friday morning for a Cross-Country meet, but even though I may have missed the dance and the Getting Blue BBQ for the soccer game I still had a blast attending the other events. Last week I attended the Bluejay Pageant, Comedian, and the Hypnotist. Homecoming week is an exciting time to be on campus, becasue there are people everywhere and it seems like the week is part of non-stop action. The Hypnotist was a blast! The hypnotist is always fun to watch, becasue for the past two years I have had two or three friends that got hypnotized and I get a kick out of watching them and sharing laughs with all of my friends. I was sad that I did not compete in the Bluejay Pageant, because last year when I was a Freshman I won the Bluejay Pageant, which was an absolute blast. The one thing I took away from the Bluejay Pageant is it's ok to step outside of the box. I am a very shy person when I am around people that I do not feel comfortable around. So competing in the Bluejay Pageant took a lot of courage on my part to get up on stage and do it. That is one thing I love about Creighton is no matter what you can always feel comfortable on campus, you will always be able to find friends, or find something to do. Over the first year and a quarter that I have been here I have learned that it is ok to step outside of my comfort zone, becuase I need to stop worrying about what other people think and just be myself, because from my experience the happiest times that I have endured within my life are those when I am acting as myself. Thanks again for reading guys have a great week!

I would just like to leave all of you with a quote that reminds me of my experience at Creighton, as well as, life: "Enjoy life, this is not a dress rehearsal" -unknown author

Tough Week

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:23:00 GMT

Hey guys hope everyone is doing well. This week is going to be very very hectic. I was up until 4am studying last night for classes and finishing some papers for this week. I got up this morning at 630 and was out the door to run since I have to miss practice today. I got back at 8 and now I decided to start my day completely. I probably should be studying for my philosophy test that I have at 1230, but I decided I would post first seeing that I may not have a chance again this week. My week is going to be busy starting today. I have a test at 1230 and then a paper and 2 map quizzes at 630 tonight. On tuesday, I will try and relax a little, because I don't have class, but at about 215 I will be going to help out with a junior high cross-country meet. And then back to the grind studying for the rest of the night. On Wednsday I have a test at 930 and then thursday...that is the day that I will finally be able to relax. At 850 in the morning I am finished with classes and will be able to take a nice long nap. And then on Friday I leave Omaha at 630 in the morning for a Cross-Country meet in Chicago at Montrose Beach right on Lake Michigan.

Hope you all have a great week.

5th Grade Basketball

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:06:00 GMT

I was told some very exciting news this weekend. I was told that there is an elementary school in Omaha that is possibly looking for a 5th grade boys basketball coach. When I heard the news I wanted to jump right on board, becasue 1) I'll be able to work with kids 2) I would be coaching basketball and 3) It will be a lot of fun. So I am really hoping that the elementary school does need somebody to coach, because I would gladly take an hour to two hours out of my day to help coach a basketball team. I just felt like sharing this exciting news....well at least I think it's exciting. Hope you all have a great day!

Weekend

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:16:00 GMT

This past weekend was very very busy! On Saturday we had our second Cross-Country meet of the season in Council Bluffs, Iowa at Iowa Western Community College. We competed against five teams at the meet. I am still recovering from lateral patelar tendonitis, but I still ran the race and I ended up in 28th place in a time of 30:12, which I was very upset about, because I was wanting to be running in 28's somewhere, but then I thought about it and about this time last season I hadn't run this fast for another three weeks. However, overall as a team we won the meet with 22 pts, followed by Iowa Western with 48 (i believe). This season we have a very young team. I am one of 6 sophomores on the team and we are joined by 9 freshman this year; so we all consider this a rebuilding year.

Now as I step away from Cross-Country on saturday night I went to my aunt's house for a family dinner, which was amazing. We had Chicken Enchiladas, Tacos, and Smoked Ribs!! However, outside of all of the joy I received from spending time with family, there was a bittersweet story that my cousin Meagan told us while we were eating dinner. My cousin Meagan told us that she is moving to Amsterdam with her boyfriend for up to two years. Her boyfriend works in International business and he travels the world for at least six months at a time, and he just got a new assignment to go work in Amsterdam. After dinner I went back to my dorm room and went to bed, because I had a 12 mile run to look forward to in the morning.

On sunday, I had a 12 mile run for XC, which felt really good for the first time in three weeks. After practice we went to one of our runners houses for Pancake breakfast, which was once again as always amazing!! After pancakes I went back to my room to study for a few hours, then I attended mass at 4:30, after mass a had a quick bite to eat and then off to the CU soccer game in which they won the match 2-0. After the soccer game I went back to my room and studied for about another 2-3 hours and then I called it a night.

Well it is about time for me to run off to class, but before I go I want to leave you all with a saying that I recently read in the paper.

"If you are going to look down on someone be willing to help them up."

Cross-Country

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:46:00 GMT

Cross-Country practice today was rough!! The tendonitis in my knee has really been acting up lately and it was very evident this past saturday at my first collegiate race of the season. I placed 9th on the team and 33rd overall, which I was not happy about at all, because I am only at about 80-85% of where I can be physically right now. Along with my injury it has begun to wear on me, because I am more tired than usual and I have started to notice that I am having trouble concentrating now, but this injury will soon pass and I will surely be on my way.

Hope all of you are having a great week.

First Day

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:43:00 GMT

Today I woke up very early for a morning run with the Cross-Country team at 7am. As a team we ran four miles this morning, but the run did not go as well as I had hoped for myself, because of the tendonitis in my patella (aka my knee).

Once I finished running I headed back to my room to get ready for my first class of the fall semester: Elementary Education as Movement Educators (P.E.). After my 9:30 class I had a break until 11:30 so I went back to my room and made 2 PB&J's. After I ate I headed to the bookstore to buy some last minute things for my next three classes.

My last class of the afternoon finished at 2:20. I headed for the athletic training office immediately after class to recieve treatment on my knee. The treatment I recieved was heat wrap for 15 minutes then I had a 10 minute ultrasound on my knee. After treatment my knee began to feel a little bit better, but not much so i feel it may take a week or two to get back to 100%.

Now I must sign off for the day and begin my studies. Have a nice night.

The Day Before Classes Begin

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:10:00 GMT

The day before fall semester classes begin is also a bitter-sweet moment for me. I remember as a freshman last year I was so excited for classes to begin, becasue it was going to be the start of the next few chapters of my life: COLLEGE. I didn't really know what to expect; were my classes going to be easy or a challenge I did not know, but one thing was for sure it would be a great adventure. Now entering my sophomore year I am beginning to wonder the same things how will my classes be this year; fun, exciting, monotonous, easy, or a challenge. But this time around I have developed better study habits, because without some good study habits the first few days and maybe weeks of classes may be a very rocky road; especially after your first exam score. But one thing is for sure no matter what age the day before classes begin is always filled with buying last minute things, relaxing, and gearing up for the new semester.