Day #23: Cosmic Powers

                I am technologically challenged, and I am not afraid to admit it! Murphy’s Law as applied to computers, for me at least, is on an entirely different order of magnitude than when it is applied to every other aspect of life. What normal people get done in an hour, I know I can count on taking three. Try as I might to save my work every five minutes, it’s pretty much a guarantee that it will be lost. Unless the document was supposed to stay unmodified, then it will naturally have saved. So it is of course to the great mirth of the universe that I find myself enrolled in an AutoCAD and Inventor modeling software course this semester.

                One of the major projects  for this particular course, ME/CEE 1770, is a team project, in which we have to model a specified number of parts to later be combined into a complete system. With team projects never having been my forte, there were already two strikes against this project. And since I have pulled all-nighters for the past three Wednesday nights (not counting yesterday), I have generally not been a fan of it.

                But today, miracle upon miracles, someone must have been looking out for me. We finally began to assemble (with bated breath) our team’s separate parts to create the house that we are supposed to be modeling, and lo and behold, they all fit. It is beyond the grasp of my knowledge to even begin to comprehend how this could have possibly happened, but I am certainly not complaining. My 1770 life just got a whole lot easier. Thursday afternoon has never looked so good!

Day #22: TWO Extra Hours

                With a long night of Inventor modeling ahead of me, I shall keep this brief and to the point. We finished physics lab an entire hour early! With this extra hour in my life, I was able to get Chick-Fil-A for dinner, and discovered that the one in the student center now has milkshakes, which was also a pleasant surprise. Chapter was only an hour long as well. It’s so nice when things get consolidated!

Day #21: Getting Through the Day

                Today was just one of those days. It’s amazing how an hour and a half can pretty much destroy your GPA. Yet another terrifying phenomenon, brought to you by Georgia Tech. On the bright side, physics test #3 is over now. And furthermore, only one more physics test until exams! The countdowns have begun…14 more labs, 3 more tests, 1 more project, and 4 exams. In the immortal words of Dory from Finding Nemo, “Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming…”

Day #20: Catching Up (...Almost)

               Since I began college, my email intake has increased tenfold. It is absurd how people can send so many emails in one day, and yet still not know how to consolidate them into one. I came back to 102 new email messages yesterday, plus 30 and counting today, plus 80-something during marathon weekend. I finally took care of almost all of them, so I will consider that my blog worthy feat of the day. Oh, how I miss the days before email! What a simpler time.

Days #13-#19: Nicaragua!

Since I’ve been out of the country all week, I will condense days #13-#19 into one entry.

Monday morning, I hydrated up, took some painkillers, boarded a plane for Nicaragua, and was on my way to join the Georgia Tech group on a mission trip through Amigos for Christ. After a long day of travel and almost losing some luggage along the way, I finally made it to Chinandega, Nicaragua. The next five days were spent in the hot, dusty, Nicaraguan sun, digging irrigation ditches, visiting an orphanage, painting houses, playing with kids, and desperately trying to remember my ten years of Spanish vocabulary. We were joined by another group from Santa Clara University in California: the drama kids. It was quite interesting to see the juxtaposition of theatre people and engineers. The Santa Clara crew spent the week working with one village to prepare a play that we got to see on Friday. Each day, we dragged our pick axes, shovels, shoes full of sandcastles, and dirt-caked selves home to a floor covered with back drops and pieces of scenery. After three days of this, someone finally exclaimed, “Man, I wish I could act!” However, it was amazing to see what they had accomplished at the end of the week, as we joined the people of Villa Catalina to watch Where the Wild Things Are entirely in Spanish.

                I’ve been on mission trips before, but they always seem to have the same impact on me, no matter how many times I go. There’s something about waking up, working your butt off, and coming back filthy and tired every day that never gets old when you know that you are creating a better life for someone. Sometimes I need to be reminded of why I’m struggling through Tech and putting up with the endless schoolwork. Hopefully, one day, I can be part of a more permanent solution for people like those in Nicaragua. It was also inspiring to see the people in the villages that we visited working just as hard, probably harder, than us. Men, women, and children would show up bright and early, ready to work, every day. It was evident that they truly wanted this water, and it was encouraging to see that they understood that they had to work for it as well. With an attitude like that, there is no telling what can be accomplished in even a few generations.

Day #12: Milestones

                Life is all about hitting milestones. Today, I hit 26 of them…literally. It was the culmination of three months of hard work, sweat, going to bed early every Friday night so I could make the Saturday morning GTS, and waking up at all hours to run countless training schedule miles. However, I have never bounded out of bed at 4:30 a.m. quite as willingly as I did today. I can’t even begin to describe the excitement and adrenaline that coursed through me between then and 7:00 a.m., when the horn finally blew, signaling the start of the 2011 Publix Georgia Marathon.

                I will never forget the sight of 16,000 people beginning to move as I stood waiting in my corral. Standing near the starting line overlooking two hills, the ground appeared to be moving as a carpet of people flooded over it, disappearing in the distance. I was baffled as to where all of these people had been secretly training all this time. But apparently Atlanta is a big enough place to hide 16,000 people running hundreds of miles.

                The first couple of miles went by in a daze. It took hardly any effort to flow along with the enormous crowd, past all of the sleepy-eyed well-wishers, spouses with strollers, and excited, sign-waving relatives and friends. Around the second water stop, a Publix loomed in the distance: this was where Mom and Jessica had planned to find me. It seemed absolutely impossible that anyone could pick me out of thousands of people, so I didn’t get my hopes up. But suddenly, sure enough, out of the darkness I could pick out two silhouettes standing with signs near a light post. As I approached, the figures jumped up and down in excitement. All I could do was laugh as they ran alongside me, Mom trying to take a picture and Jessica trying to keep her flip-flops on. As the course turned, I lost them, but their excitement was contagious, and the next few miles flew by as well.

                One of my pre-marathon inspirational letters had a quote on it that I never fully understood: “Divide the race into thirds. Run the first part with your head, the middle part with your personality, and the last part with your heart” (Mike Fanelli). I wasn’t sure how exactly one could run a race with personality, but the rest of it made sense, so I divided the marathon into sections: the first ten miles, the second ten miles, and the last 6.2 miles. The first ten miles, I occupied myself mentally by taking in all of the sights, sounds, and emotions of race day. My little cheering crew helped out again around mile six, when they reappeared unexpectedly at another water stop. Soon enough, I passed the ten mile sign. Then the hills started coming. At first, it wasn’t bad. After all, every uphill has to have a downhill, right? Wrong. Not in Georgia, apparently. The course snaked up, turned, and continued to climb. Around mile fifteen, my legs went numb. By the time we got to Emory’s campus, everyone seemed to be dropping like flies. All around me, people saw the next hill, and slowed to a walk. Seeing them stop somehow made me want to keep running even more. Every time I passed someone, I threw out an, “Almost there!” or “Just make it to the top of this hill!” Suddenly, the quote made sense. It was clear that this would be an impossible task once I let myself get as grumpy and negative as the older gentleman who I was stuck running behind for a while. I began to start random conversations with each person I caught up to. All of the experienced runners got excited when I told them it was my first marathon, and all of the other rookies took heart that we were in the same boat. And so slowly but steadily, I made it into Piedmont Park, and the dreaded mile 22.

                I was surprised when I didn’t hit “the Wall”. I had run this part the weekend before, so I knew what to expect. After the Spring Street hill, I was pretty much home free. Unfortunately, Spring Street was around when my legs got feeling again, and they tightened up immediately. But one of the Team in Training coaches happened to be stationed on this particular hill, and she ran all the way to the top with me. The last two miles seemed to drag on and on. I made my way through Tech and towards Centennial Park. And then there was the finish line. An announcer’s voice boomed the names of people coming in, and the finish line was just feet in front of me as I heard, “Miss Alexandra George, from St. Augustine, Florida!” With every last bit of strength, I ran through that finish line, and finally slowed to a walk. I wobbled through the people handing out meddles, past someone who wrapped me in a tin foil blanket thing, past the food table where I grabbed all the bananas and pretzels I could carry, and sat down, not sure if I would be getting back up. Eventually someone pulled me to my feet and sent me to walk. After an afternoon of ice, sleep, and one long shower, I was good as new. And I had done it: I had run all 26.2 miles, finishing in 4 hours and 35 minutes.

                I always thought people who ran marathons were crazy. And this is probably true, we quite possibly are. But there is something about testing the limits of the human body, some strange fascination with seeing how far one can push oneself, which drives on feats such as this. There is something about that moment when you finally accomplish the impossible task, when you finally drag yourself across the finish line, which keeps people coming back for more. We may not understand why exactly that is, but there is no dispute that this cycle is insatiable. Perhaps the hardest part, however, is the rhetorical question that has been on my mind ever since I took that final step across the balloon-laden archway: what next?

Day #11: Pre-Marathon-ing!!!

                Today was the last day of training for my marathon! We had a nice, little one mile run…it’s weird to think that a mile seems like nothing after weeks and weeks of training. We went back to the race expo to harvest more free stuff (which was almost better the second time around) and to an inspirational dinner for Team in Training, the group I am running with that raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It was very moving to see all of the cancer survivors and fighters, some of whom are running tomorrow also. I am so pumped for my first marathon! I would like to thank my mom and Jessica and everyone from Team in Training for getting me so excited and ready for this race. Positive thing of the day: all of the insanely exciting pre-race events. I am all packed and ready to go. Next time I “think positively”, I will have run 26.2 miles!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ga/Georgia11/ageorge

Day #10: SB '11

                The day we’ve all been waiting for is finally here: the first day of spring break! There are so many positive things about today I don’t even know where to begin. Besides the obvious fact that we don’t have classes for a week, I finally cleaned our room, which looked like a post-chem test battlefield, I went to the race expo for the Georgia marathon, my Mom and Jessica came up, and Sushi Fridays were finally reinstituted for me. Basically, it was a wonderful day. I was especially reminded today of how lucky I am to have such awesome family and friends. I am so grateful for everything that they have done and continue to do for me. Since it is the first day of spring break and all, I will therefore conserve my writing energies so that they may be channeled on a more challenging day.

Day #9: Escaping the Treadmill

                Usually, since I only have a large enough time block either really early or really late, I have to run my weekday miles on the treadmill in the basement. But this week, I only have three miles each day. And for the first time this week, it was not raining or cold. So I finally got the chance to run outside! After running miles and miles and not actually moving, it felt like I was flying today (at my lightning fast pace of 5 m.p.h.).  I haven’t had the chance to run in that nice of weather since when I was training back home in St. Augustine. It was definitely a pleasant surprise. Fingers crossed that it holds out for the weekend, because I will have plenty of running outside to do!

Day #8: Inspirational Letters

                14 letters cascaded out of my little P.O. box today; it’s nice to still feel important every now and then. In each envelope was either monogrammed stationary or a crossed-out invitation card with an inspirational marathon quote on it. There was one letter for each day between the two week mark and my very first marathon, which is on Sunday. My personal favorite that I have opened so far is: “Work like you don’t need money, love like you’ve never been hurt, dance like no one’s watching, and run like your friends are there with you, cheering you on all the way.” Who else but my best friend, Jessica, could be the mastermind behind this?

                We’ve all experienced the archetypal best friend in literature, media, or possibly everyday life: someone who is always there to keep you on track, keep you focused, and keep things upbeat. Jessica Bianco has fulfilled each of these roles for me ten times over for most of our high school careers. Freshman year, grades ruled my life: I was that kid who was disappointed with a 98. Back then, I never realized how obnoxious it must have been, but looking back now, I send my sincere apologies to my classmates who had to live with that. Sophomore year was when Jessica and I began to form our alliance, but it wasn’t until junior year that we had walked a mile in each other’s shoes…literally.

                Jessica helped me realize that there is so much more to life than grades and beating people. She helped me slow down and enjoy high school while it lasted. She somehow managed to convince me that I was not going to die if I didn’t have the highest grade on a test, or didn’t get into some ivy league school. She has always been there for me with Red Bull shots after almost all-nighters, some crazy story about what happened to her dog, Trixie, on their morning walk, and 50 cents for Sonic happy hour slushies, since I was usually broke. Whenever the going got tough, I was so eloquently reminded that, “It’s senior year! No one cares!”

                As usual, Jessica will be there this weekend, as I set out on my 26.2 mile journey, keeping me sane and keeping me from mentally defeating myself, just like she always has. I cannot even begin to express how lucky I am to have such an amazing person there to support me and help me through everything. I shudder to think of the tight-wad, psychotic, school junkie that I would be by now had someone not stepped in. I owe Jessica so much, especially since I do not know where or who I would be today without her.  

Day #7: Meeting the Unicycle Guy

                You may be familiar with the old television show, Hey Arnold, and the urban legends that Arnold often mentioned. Usually, they turned out to be a disappointment to the kids in the neighborhood, such as Lock Jaw, the giant turtle that lived in the aquarium but was really sad and covered in graffiti. I only mention Hey Arnold because I was listening to 90’s music today and am now having flashbacks of my childhood. Anyways, the point is, usually when something is built up so much in one’s mind, the actual thing rarely lives up to expectations. This, however, is not the case for Georgia Tech’s famed unicycle guy.

                If you ask anyone on campus, chances are that they have, at one point or another, seen a guy riding around on a giant unicycle. However, lack of sleep, coupled with the general lack of normality on campus, serves to suppress any curiosity about this figure. Nevertheless, word on the street is that he exists. When I went home a few weeks ago, I stole my sister Jackie’s unicycle and smuggled it back up to school, inspired by the mysterious unicycle guy. After that, all kinds of secret unicyclists have been emerging from the framework. My hall and I have been busy practicing our circus talents for the last couple of weeks, and have since accumulated another unicycle and juggling balls. We finally decided to try the unicycles outside of our protective dorm walls, and went out to ride in the parking lot. After only a handful of attempts, who should roll up, but the unicycle guy himself!

                My experience of the day was getting to meet Justin the Unicycle Guy. Justin has a 36” unicycle which he rides all over campus. He has ridden over several hundred miles on it since investing in it, including a charity ride that was over 100 miles long. He can also do tricks on a regular-sized unicycle, such as “wheel-walking”, which is exactly what it sounds like. He himself learned how to unicycle during a “week long crash course”, and was more than happy to discuss the lore of unicycles with us amateurs. Everyone took turns doing laps around the parking lot, and receiving funny looks from passerby. After a while, it was time for us all to stop procrastinating and get back to studying. We said our goodbyes to Justin the Unicycle Guy, and headed back inside.

                My positive moment of today has definitely demonstrated what a broad variety of people there are at college. Just about anything anyone could ever want to learn, there is most likely someone here who is already secretly doing it. Sometimes it is just a matter of finding kindred spirits, and sometimes it just takes a little dumb luck. Even if you aren’t looking to develop some absurd new hobby, everyone should consider this time in their lives as an opportunity to do something crazy that they never thought was possible, and may never be again. Looking to break the ice? I highly suggest investing in a unicycle.

Day #6: Pi Day

Here are some good things that I came up with about Mondays:

1) MOE’S MONDAYS! ($5 burritos at Moe’s in Tech Square)

2) I don’t have a lab on Mondays.

3) Monday is a rest day in the marathon training schedule.

4) It is the start of the countdown to the weekend.

Furthermore, on this particular Monday in question, it is the last one until spring break! So, once again, I feel cheated because it is so easy to think of so many positive things about today. Nevertheless, I had a particularly momentous milestone today: I finally understood a calculus 2 recitation! Over the course of this semester, I have realized how much I took for granted being able to follow what was going on in class for my 13 years of education prior to college. Teachers used to actually care if you understood the concept, and were always more than willing to help. I know now that we certainly never thanked them enough. If you get the chance anytime soon, take the time to thank a teacher for actually teaching. How I miss the days of when hard work, paying attention, and studying used to pay off! It is not a pleasant thought to know that you can learn more sitting on the internet and looking up YouTube videos about matrices than you can learn if you actually go to class and listen to some professor speak another language to a lecture hall of 300 people without a microphone. Because I am a creature of habit, I continue to go to class, with the inkling of hope that perhaps today, something would make sense. It is, generally, to no avail. But finally, on this 14^th day of March, my diligence has paid off. I understood the entire review about linear transformation and isometries. I will consider this a victory for the minority that is white girls at Tech. It looks like Pi Day truly is a mathematical phenomenon.

Day #5: Warmer Weather

Having grown up in that famous Florida sunshine, I have been spoiled by beautiful weather year round, for the most part, for as long as I can remember. After surviving the “harsh” Georgia winter, I have a growing appreciation for the place I left behind. Today was the first admittedly nice day (by my standards) that we’ve seen since around October. The temperature broke 70, and it was sunny and breezy. It was so nice to be able to go to tug practice without bundling up. All over campus, frat houses played music, people ran and played “sand” volleyball, and leftover animes climbed on walls to take odd pictures which must have had some significance to them. It is amazing to see what a difference the weather can have on people’s attitudes. Though we are all bogged down with an ever increasing amount of work, everyone seemed to have a smile and a bounce in their step that wasn’t there two weeks ago. It was easy to think positive under such ideal conditions. Sunday marks the official start of spring, and the end of my first winter away from home. To that, all I have to say is thank goodness I stayed in the south.

Day #4: Anime

We finally had a beautiful day in Atlanta, warm and sunny! Upon rising at 6:30 a.m., I started the day out with a nice 8-miler (the last pre-marathon long run), had some quality bonding time with Buck the truck, listened to my incredibly talented roommate, Emily,  play guitar during mass, and ended the day with dinner and Yoforia, in good company. With such a wonderful day, it is difficult to constrain this to just one positive thing. However, I did witness something out of the ordinary today, even for us Techies.

As I made my way to the fraternity where we met for our run, I noticed that campus was bustling with activity, which is highly unusual for a bunch of recovering engineers early on a Saturday morning. By the time this had registered with my exhausted brain, I also noticed that the traffic was the result of dozens of people dressed in absurd costumes. I was rather startled to find myself surrounded by hair of colors red through purple, fishnet stockings, swords, Pokémon, and the occasional storm trooper. Welcome to Georgia Tech on the weekend of the much awaited anime convention.

Once our run started, I made my way through Tech Square, dodging a 40-year-old Pikachu and trying my best not to tread on any capes. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself. Tech had truly been transformed into nerd paradise. I thought of the clash that would occur once all of the slumbering frat boys awoke and found their lawns covered with various digital characters instead of the usual spattering of Natty Light cans. I am certain that “freak” is one of the nicer terms that would be tossed around. This got me thinking. I wondered if the anime people saw us running amidst them at 10 a.m. on a Saturday and thought we were freaks for doing a marathon? Or if the frat boys were freaks for partying?

Who are we to determine what is “normal”? It has been said that consensus dictates sanity…but the consensus of whom? If dressing up like its Halloween in the middle of March floats your boat, then go for it! If you like to wake up at noon and wander around in flannel pajamas, who’s going to stop you? My positive thought of the day is that we are capable of coexisting as individuals. We do not have to conform to anyone’s standards. If you are seeking acceptance, chances are there will always be a group that shares your passions, no matter how absurd they may be. So here’s to you, from the caped Lord of Darkness to the Kentucky fans painted blue in Centennial Park for the big game to everyone who woke up one morning and had the strange urge to run 26.2 miles: keep doing what you’re doing. Chances are, someone thinks you’re a little on the mentally unstable side. Chances are, things will be said about you and you will face opposition. But, chances also are, you will be doing something you love. And isn’t that worth every bit of it?

Day #3: an Opportunity

I made it through another week! That’s definitely a positive. After getting out of class, I started the daunting task of checking my emails. Today, there were luckily only 24 new ones. However, I only got through about half of them. One email was from Billiee Pendleton-Parker, who works in the office that is in charge of my scholarship program. Billiee’s emails are usually pretty impactful in nature. This particular one in question was about an essay contest that is being held at Tech. It is called the This I Believe contest, and is part of a national project that collects essays about people’s different beliefs. Since my creative writing could definitely use a work-out, I decided to write a little something. I wasn’t planning on submitting it, but it developed pretty quickly, and since it now meets contest standards, I guess I might as well. Today’s positive thing is that I had the opportunity to examine my beliefs and what I stand for, which is something that we certainly all need to assess from time to time. And because I am rapidly developing writer’s block after working on this so long, I will devote the rest of this blog to my prospective essay:

I believe in the power of the human connection. It is truly astounding to consider the impact that a smile or a touch can have on others. Nursing home residents have come alive again, laid off workers’ downtrodden spirits have been lifted, and the “dregs of society” have found a purpose, all because someone took the time to sit down and talk with them for a few minutes. Think of the thousands of times throughout the day that you interact with people. Have you ever thought of the power that your words hold over them? Have you ever considered how your body language might change the attitudes of those around you? I challenge you to observe how people act around you next time you are having a bad day, or an exceptionally good one. I guarantee that you will notice a difference in the two situations. This is the manner in which the human interaction works: every incident impacts all parties involved, to some extent. It is impossible to make a decision that would truly only affect you as an individual. Such is the level at which we are all intertwined.

Two of the best weeks of my own life were spent on mission trips, where my friends and I experienced unbridled happiness in the face of true poverty. In reaching out to others to provide basic physical support, I myself was transformed spiritually. Over the course of the trip, we spent a lot of time visiting those whose families had abandoned them. Somewhere between the infirmary and the orphanage, I experienced unconditional love among strangers that I had never before seen back home in the first world. I spent one afternoon holding a girl my own age, who couldn’t speak, like a small child on my hip. My arms throbbed, but she would not release me from her clutch. I was slightly relieved that I didn’t have to try and talk to the other children, but I also felt a little disappointed that I could not do something more “meaningful” during our time there. However, one year later, when we returned to the same orphanage, I felt the force of an impact the second I walked through the door, and then legs wrapping around me and scaling me. I turned to see the brightest smile I have ever witnessed, and then stood in shock. The same girl, who had a mental capacity about equal to that of a toddler, was the only person in Jamaica to remember me a year later. I knew that she had changed my life a year ago, but I was astounded to see how I had affected hers. Since that day, I firmly believe that we are all here to allow others to breathe easier. I have been put here as part of a higher purpose. I have been given the power of love and laughter. I believe in sharing that with the world. I believe in the power of the human connection.  

If you are interested in learning more about this project, you can visit its website: http://thisibelieve.org/.

Day #2: Food

                Last night and today, I worked on a project for my drafting class for about 17 hours, then went to lab for 3, then worked out for 2. After fasting yesterday, and then forgetting to eat all day today, I must say that the dining hall has never tasted quite so delicious. It is therefore only appropriate that my first positive thing is food.

                Cliché though it may sound, how often have we, as privileged citizens in comparison with much of the rest of the world, stuffed ourselves full to bursting at a nice restaurant without a second thought? How often have we lavishly pushed aside Mom’s dinner because she had forgotten which kid doesn’t eat what? How accustomed have we become to the instant gratification and convenience of a drive-thru? I know I myself complain about “Woody’s”, our dining hall, at least once a day, but honestly, we are so lucky to know that there is almost always an assortment of food ready for us.

                One of my friend’s, Jenny, and my favorite quotes is, “There is no love more sincere than the love of food,” which we discovered on the back of a Carraba’s bag. Nevertheless, there is so much truth to this statement. Food is not only necessary for biological survival, but for social and cultural development as well. Certain meals are even accompanied by endless memories, like cinnamon rolls with Christmas mornings, fish tacos with my birthday dinner, and peach cobbler with laughing on the porch late on summer nights with my crazy family.

                I always looked forward to dinner back home. It was generally the same drill: my sister Jackie and I would straggle in from some practice and plop down to do homework, while my other sister Catherine pestered whoever she could in an attempt to stall from her own fate of 30 math problems. Mom would always be cooking something in the kitchen, and the same mouthwatering scent always filled the house. Finally, Dad would come strolling in, clad in his “institution green” scrubs, singing very loudly and off key, and changing the words to various songs to usually involve something along the lines of, “I’m gonna beat a bad baaaby!” Then we’d fight over who had to get drinks and who got the envious task of putting out napkins, and finally, we’d all sit down to eat. We’ve had so many laughs and lessons over the years, and I have to say that dinner is one of the things I miss the most now that I’ve moved out. But I know that no matter what, there’s always a meal waiting for me back home. And until then, I guess Woody’s isn’t all that bad.

Day #1: Ash Wednesday

With the arrival of Ash Wednesday and the Easter season, it is once again the time of year to make Lenten resolutions.  After having given up everything from candy to TV over the years, it has grown increasingly difficult to think of something new and meanigful to sacrifice each time Lent rolls around. So this year, I am putting a new spin on things. As Father Tim said during the Ash Wednesday mass today, “You should not be the same person after Easter as you are right now.” Lent is a time to prepare, reflect, and grow as a person. This year, I have chosen to view my Lenten resolution as an opportunity to do just that.

Being a first year engineering student here at Georgia Tech can certainly take its toll on a person. This semester has been full of lab reports, miserable weather, test after test, and weekends spent trying to catch up on work. It also gets pretty frustrating when the all-nighters and long hours of studying never seem to pay off. Most days, it is difficult to see all of the good things around me that I am so lucky to have, and I have begun to take more and more things for granted. So this Lenten season, I am going to make a special effort to find happiness. Each day, I am going to write about one positive thing that I have found here in Atlanta, no matter how seemingly insignificant it may be. If nothing else, hopefully these next forty days of positive thinking will at least change my own personal attitude, and help me get back to the lighthearted lifestyle that I have been so blessed with for the past 19 years. By reading this, I hope that you will join me on my journey as well, and maybe even take a few moments to thank God for all of the joy in your own life.