In Transition

Hi Readers,

Stay tuned...more OL blogs will be coming soon!

Erika Haywood's Life at SWOSU

My life at SWOSU is nothing that I would expect. I made amazing friends. Although sometimes it gets really tough for me to be out on my own and dealing with my own problems, I am still grateful that I get to experience life college style. Course work, spending time with friends and reflection time are the main things I do at SWOSU. Course work is the main parts of my day between studying and homework I’ve been busy.

However, the coursework isn’t too hard to keep me from finding a wonderful boyfriend. Gepo also is another big part of my day. When I’m not focusing on school or building a better relationship with my boyfriend, I also spend time with my other friends and reflect on how to better myself as a person. I’m usually always spending time with friends just like me and it never fails that we always laugh and have a fun time. Sometimes when you spend too much time with one person, you may lose yourself. To prevent that, I spend some time alone to collect my thoughts especially since there are many obstacles in college. College challenges me in all areas of life but nonetheless it’s a wonderful experience I would never trade it for the world.

Whitney's Study Time Management

I’m studying… I’m studying…. I’m studying… then SQUIRREL!

As a senior at SWOSU graduating with a chemistry major and a biology minor I have put in my fair share of procrastinating, studying and cramming. Everyone knows that to make good grades you have to study, but studying just stinks sometimes. But what really makes studying so bad is the A.D.D. like symptoms that we run into when it’s time to study. It’s like the dog that is on a very important mission and then a sudden “SQUIRREL!” I call it T.A.D. (Technology Addiction Disorder). You know the process of studying. You find a good quiet place to study, get all your materials in order, maybe a Red Bull or a Monster, a comfortable seat and good lighting is a bonus, possibly a few snacks, a computer, a phone, and an iPod. Now you are ready to study, but first you have to check Facebook, the gateway where it all begins. The start of the worst kind of procrastination. The kind you do when you are in the midst of studying. The kind that triggers an inevitable cycle of almost subconscious procrastination…technology addiction!

So maybe you are a strong willed individual and you have successfully put in an hour straight, then “SQUIRREL!” You notice your phone has text messages. Two messages from Sally and one from mom, even texting your parents is more appealing than studying. Or maybe your phone lets you know that “Sally has just tagged 10 photos of you in Spring Break 2010.” Oh yeah wait, your studying right, so you put your phone down under a piece of paper so you can’t see it.

Back to typing notes you go, but you miss Sally and it’s much faster to check out new pics on your laptop. Then it happens, that sound, “pop”…Facebook chat. And just so happens you have 63 friends online and they ALL want to say hi and you don’t want to be rude... Okay so maybe you are a veteran, you just update your status, “is studying for tests” Oh yeah wait, your studying, so Facebook closed and back to typing your notes. Wait a minute, you have an iPod, and you know you type better with music.

Four hours later you have experienced the vicious cycle of T.A.D… checking Facebook status updates, studying, texting, Facebook chatting, studying, texting, texting, texting, studying and…now you are exhausted and you deserve at least 15 minutes study break. This ultimately restarts the cycle back at the procrastination gateway that is Facebook. But I have to go study now that I am done blogging! lol :)

Lauren's Crazy Life at SWOSU

My life at SWOSU is very crazy. I am involved in activities such as New Student Orientation, Student government, Campus Crusade for Christ, and intramural softball. The month of April kept me very busy, helping with SWOSUpalooza and preparing for finals. Also, I stayed busy working enrollment sessions for NSO. Getting ready for sessions and the actual days was tons of fun because our group of Orientation Leaders have really grown together as a group and we all understand each other. Intramural softball keeps me busy some week nights. Last spring, I had to miss the first couple of games but every game I attended we won. Well, this is pretty much my life at SWOSU.

Zak Spends Time at the Wesley Foundation

I’ve been spending a lot of my free time with the Methodist Ministry group on campus. One of my friends lured me in with free lunch, so I’ve been eating free lunch at the Wesley Center, across the street from the tennis courts, every Tuesday, bible study on Wednesday, and going to game night on Friday nights. Just hanging out with the group is a great time. They have a mission trip every spring break and go to Oklahoma City often just for fun. We have played laser tag, seen Alice in Wonderland in IMAX 3D, and we even attended a Redhawks game. Like I said, one of my best friends is an intern with the church so I spend a lot of my time over there playing pool and ping-pong or watching movies in their lounge area. There is always something going on with this bunch. I missed these guys and gals this summer. I can't wait to see what is in store for this year.

Mica Helps with Relay for Life

Last night in class I got an assignment to write a blog about an event I had attended here at Southwestern. Great, I thought. That is just great. What in the world am I going to write about? So I thought back and the most recent event that I attended was Relay for Life.

I had not ever done Relay for Life before so I thought, “what the heck why not? Well as time went on I didn’t really want to do Relay because I wanted to go home. I talked to my mom and told her that I didn’t want to participate in the Relay because I wanted to come home. She told me that I was being selfish and I needed to participate in the Relay and have a good attitude while doing it. So, 6:30 p.m. on Friday came too early and after getting ready, I traveled down to the Wellness Center where the Relay was being held. I walked in and was shocked to find the Wellness Center was packed with various booths and different groups on campus and around Weatherford. I found the Orientation Leader's area and helped set up. We had decided to do spray-on tattoos.

As we were setting up, kids started coming by and wanting a tattoo. We were having technical difficulties with the air pressure on the machine, which made the color nonexistent. Once we got that fixed we were ready for business and boy did we get business! We had two stations set up and were steady with many individuals for at least an hour. I didn’t feel comfortable using the tattoo gun, so I held the stencil and another OL, Heather, sprayed. During this time my friend Kadie signed us up for times to walk the Relay. We helped with the tattoo booth until it was time to walk.

When the time came, we went upstairs on the track and started to walk the Relay for Life. It was a long 30 minutes but Kadie and I talked so it wasn’t too horrible. Once we were done walking, we went back downstairs to help with the tattoo booth again. After a couple of hours, it was time for us to walk again. This time Kadie had signed us up to walk for an hour. I seriously thought there was no way I could walk for that long of a period. Then I got to thinking about something one of the speakers had said earlier, “Cancer is a disease that never sleeps and never lets you rest.” Okay, I thought, there are thousands of people out there that are suffering with cancer and have to attend daily chemo and radiation treatments. Also, so many people that are stuck in a hospital bed or a wheel chair would love to be able to have the strength to walk. I decided to suck it up and walk for all the people in the world that couldn’t. I am so glad I did because not only did Kadie and I become closer, as we had so much time to talk, but we walked for such a great cause and really learned a lot during the experience.

I ended up walking a total two and a half rewarding hours. When the night was done and the Relay was over, I felt as though I had accomplished something and contributed to something that was bigger than me. It was a long night that was filled with a lot of laughter and sweat but it was well worth the experience. I am planning on doing Relay for Life again next year and the years to come.

The Custer County Relay for Life is usually in April. Many student organizations from SWOSU participate in the annual Relay for Life.

Get Involved!

Kelly and Myka with Duke
during an Orientation Session
Hello! My name is Kelly and I'm a Senior here at SWOSU. I absolutely love being at Southwestern. I've met so many great friends here, and my extracurricular activities (such as being an Orientation Leader and attending the Baptist Collegiate Ministry) have helped me grow as a person and try new things. If you're an incoming freshman, or even a current student, I would encourage you to get involved somehow and continue trying new things throughout your college career. Whether it's a campus ministry, a sorority or fraternity, an academic club, or anything else we offer here at SWOSU, I would definitely encourage you to get out there. It's a wonderful experience meeting new people and getting outside of your comfort zone. You'll never know the possibilities unless you get involved! 'Til next time...