Looking Back and Looking Forward

With only a couple of hours left in the day, 2014 is quickly drawing to a close. It has been a year of both highs and lows, both on a personal level and in the world at large. Some of those world events, such as the Ferguson situation, hit a little too close to home. 

Even though that SNL skit was hilarious:

But for the most part, 2014 was a good year for me personally, and that’s something I can say without any doubt. There have been bumps along the way, but I have managed to make the most out of things and had a very eventful, productive year.

I’m currently on Winter Break, and don’t go back for a couple of weeks still. Some of my friends who still are in High School go back on Monday. I pity you, I truly do. Have fun learning while I sleep in.

Speaking of sleeping in, I drafted my schedule for next semester, and I couldn't be happier. It gives me new challenges, but also a lot of time to get things accomplished and to enjoy myself.

In all the chaos of finals week (BTW, shout-out to Taylor and Zach for popping in to surprise me with a visit; you da real MVP's), I missed the finale of one of my favorite late night talk shows, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. If you never saw it, it was truly a ridiculous, but special show, and I'm sad Ferguson is leaving. He's a comedic genius, and the final episode is hilarious (especially if you get all of the throwback jokes like I do). Thanks for 10 years of entertainment, Craig. Looking forward to seeing what you do next.

Hopefully, this new semester, and 2015 overall, will be another great period of time in my life. Happy New Year everyone!

I Don't Miss High School, And That's A Good Thing

It's become apparent to me lately how much I don't miss my High School years. And it's not like they even sucked.

Well, Freshman Year was pretty bad, and sophomore year wasn't much better. OK, Junior Year wasn't too fun either. Senior Year was a great year for me, but even that year didn't come without stress.

A picture of my Advisory class from my last day of High
School. Shout out to Ms. Michalak for keeping me on track.

Honestly, I'll own up to this: all of the bad things and situations that I had to deal with during those years were primary caused by me. I was my own obstacle, and once I figured that out and dealt with it, things usually went fine. Despite the fact that I may have not been the happiest person during that time (probably due to my insanely high expectations of pretty much everything and other factors), my High School years were better than most.

But they're over now, and I don't even live in St. Louis anymore. I feel like I should miss High School. I don't. I graduated, and while I may go visit from time to time, I haven't looked back for the most part.

My High School was apart of a district whose four schools I attended for 12 straight years. I forged a lot of close relationships with my peers, and had some of the most helpful, intelligent instructors possible. Yet, since almost the moment I stepped foot on SEMO's campus, I haven't missed a thing about High School.

Given almost a full semester away at college to adjust, I think this is why:

Independence

The thing I love most about college is the amount of freedom and independence I have. For the most part, outside of bills (thanks mom) I'm on my own out here. I like that. There's a certain amount of pressure of knowing that if I screw up, it's on me. I thrive under pressure.

Cliques Don't Exist

OK, so you do have your fraternities and sororities (I mean unless you go to Harvard. Or Community College. Both of which I'm never going to.), but after dealing with friends being involved with both, I don't consider them nearly as bad as some cliques you see in High School. Hell, I might even join a frat sooner rather than later. We'll see.

[Brief Interlude To Give Advice]

Bullying was a big problem for me, especially during my early years of High School. Then I grew some balls and started standing up for myself. That's pretty blunt, but it's true and people tend to have more respect for you when you do that.

I'm sure many people go through the same thing I did. All I can say is that you can't let people get to you. If someone is bullying you, physically or verbally, it's probably because they're own life isn't the best and they want to take it out on someone. You are an amazing individual, and don't listen to a damn word they say, because the only one who knows you is you. Not them. Never be afraid to stand up for yourself. If it gets worse or even if you don't feel like you can stand up for yourself, go and talk to someone. Do not ever allow yourself to be put down, because you deserve better than that.

[End Of Interlude]

You can dress like a bum and look like total crap and no one judges you

Because everyone just kind of understands. Seriously. I wore a shirt completely backwards one day; I even gave a presentation in it. No one said anything. We all know the struggle.

SEMO has a Starbucks, Subway, Papa Johns, and Chick-Fil-A on campus

Does your high school have these things? I didn't think so.

Costs a lot of money. Worth every penny.

There are many more reasons, but I might as well publish a book. You know, when I have time?

I will say I do miss my old High School's field. A renovation on it was completed just before I graduated, but since I live so close to it, I get to enjoy it whenever I am there. And boy, is it beautiful.

So that's gonna wrap things up for now. See y'all next time I blog. And since it's Final Exam season, may the odds be ever in your favor.

There's Light At The End Of The Tunnel

As of this writing, I am two weeks away from the end of Final Exams, the official start of Southeast's winter break and spending a month at home in St. Louis. To say that my first semester of college has flown by would be an understatement. It hasn't been easy, and quite honestly I never want to write another essay as long as I live (I am going to be a journalist, how ironic).

However, I am proud of myself for not giving up and making it through these last four months. I've had my ups and downs, and I've learned from my mistakes. I proved to myself that I am capable of surviving on my own (you know, aside from being broke. But really, what college student isn't broke?), and that I made the right decision coming here. Now it's almost time for a well-deserved break. There's light at the end of the tunnel, and a loving family waiting for me back home.

In addition to learning more and more, I've also had the pleasure of meeting some of the most extraordinary people I've ever known, including my best friend, Taylor.

From September. Miss you brother.

I'm not sure he'll appreciate me saying every thing possible about our friendship (there's a lot of ground to cover and some things are just better left off between two people) but I will say that I have never felt so comfortable just hanging out with someone before Taylor. We're two totally different people who come from two different worlds (I don't think Nebraska is that bad of a place honestly, and you're not convincing me otherwise), but in the short time we've known each other, we've become as close as brothers. 

Unfortunately, due to some circumstances out of his control, I haven't been able to see him for awhile. Taylor, if you're reading this... I miss you so much bro, and I hope to see you soon.

In academic-related news, I've probably written 6 essays this week. Granted 3 of those 6 are just revisions of previous essays I've written this semester that will be included in a Portfolio due next week, but still... that's a lot. But that's just the way college works. You deal with things as they come. 

In a bonus update that probably no one cares about (but it's my blog and I can post whatever I want so I'm going to tell you anyway), I recently got 77 likes (or ups, whatever) on a post I made on Yik Yak. That alone makes me feel successful. Too bad I got it from Twitter. Haha.

Before I wrap it up here, I'd like to give another shout-out to my roommate, Tatsuya, for being an awesome roommate this semester. Have fun in New York over break dude. 

And, what the hell, let's wrap things up with some Walking Dead memes. Because this is my blog, and I do what I want.

And finally...

Take care.

- Jakub