Time Strategies

One of my strong points is procrastination and sometimes I even procrastinate to procrastinate. I often feel that I work better under pressure and sometimes that is true because I have no choice BUT to focus, but other times that hasn't worked out to my advantage and I've received either zeros or a low grade. The post The Psychology of Checklists definitely caught my attention being that I may be slightly obsessed with checklists but sometimes I even procrastinate to write one out or I end up losing it and having to start over. I have found that making and using a list to organize and get thoughts down on paper has proven to be beneficial with my day to day life as well as academic life. As a grade A procrastinator I naturally decided to check out Four Questions to Help you Overcome Procrastination which had some good pointers that I try to use and will continue to work on using in the future. Time management is one of the issues that most if not all people tend to run into so knowing my weakness and how to change it is something that I definitely need to work on.

Photo Information: Flickr

Technology in the New Age

Prior to taking this class I hadn't really put much thought into using online technology let alone a blog and actually tended to avoid it. Since diving into this class a bit deeper I am finding that this blogging thing is kind of fun and that the class assignments no longer feel like a tedious chores. During this assignment I have been introduced to more web pages that I definitely look forward to, one being the cat meme generator (I love cats). Overall I look forward to learning more about web pages and technology that I can use in the future and will try to not run and hide from it as it continues to develop and progress.

                                                         Picture Information: flickr

Assignments or Fun or Both?

To be frank, not that I have anything against being Nicole but more that I would like to be straightforward, I am looking forward to this class structure and setup. Prior to this class I have never had the privilege of taking a class that is setup like this one but I am super excited. One of the things that I am most looking forward to about this class is the ability to use creativity in my writings and the freedom to express myself through words rather than research, numbers, and statistics. I am also looking forward to reading other students' blogs to see their style of writing and their creativity as they express themselves in their online work. Additionally, I look forward to developing my own class schedule to complete my work, although this will take a week or two to get used to. In my other classes that I am taking this semester we are not giving extra credit work so I am looking forward to taking advantage of the opportunities in here to either gain extra points or to skip over assignments that I may not be as interested in as another. Of the extra credit options I plan on taking a look at each on at least once this semester in order to gain more insight about what they are and I can use them in my day to day life. Overall, I am looking forward to this class and this semester!

                                                  Image Credit: ISU Creative Writing Program

My Growth Mindset

While I like the concept of “not yet” I do feel as though there would be some downsides for me personally. For instance, if I knew that I could slack off and receive a grade of “not yet” then I may not attempt to apply myself and reach my full capabilities. Say I did graduate high school and went on to college but had that mindset of “not yet”, will I actually apply myself in a highly competitive college and work world? Unfortunately the work world doesn’t believe in the “not yet” mindset and if you are not able to achieve what you need to succeed in a timely manner than you run the risk of being let go for somebody who can. Although I do find some of the above mentioned as issues, I do feel like there is some good in this mindset. On a personal level I do have the mindset of “not yet” in some of the things that I do, though not always academic nor work related. If I don’t first succeed at something I don’t get down on myself but rather reassess the situation, look at ways to learn or improve myself and return to whatever it is that I was working on. More recently an example of something that I’m working at using this mindset for, though previously to this assignment I was unaware that it was a mindset that had been well studied, is post op knee surgery, physical therapy, and recovery. I have to remind myself that I am not a failure because I am unable to reach the range of motion that I had originally planned and worked for but that I just am “not yet” at that point in my recovery but with work and patience it will come. I suppose that while I do have some issues with this mindset in academics and in the workforce that it is not necessarily a bad mindset to have if you are able to know when to use it rather than slacking and taking advantage of it. The image below is something that I do try to strive for and I can see how the growth mindset could assist in accomplishing this.

Source: growth mindset meme blog

An Introduction to a Pizza and Travel Fiend

Contraire to popular belief I am not in fact a pizza fiend but rather a seafood and travel fiend. My taste for seafood is very broad and because of that people believe that I travel to eat. Though I do eat my weight in seafood while traveling, seafood is not the sole nor even main reason for my adventures. The need for exploration is what fuels me but seafood food in general happens to just be an added bonus. As much as I love traveling and seafood, these 2 things do not comprise all of my likes and interests.


Nature, animals, life, creation, science, glaciers, corals, earth, Antarctica, cheese, mountains, cats football, reusable water bottles (I LOVE WATER SO MUCH), sleep, camping, cultures, hiking, documentaries, conservation, running half marathons, and Olympic weight lifting are just a few of the other things that bring joy to my life. In fact, nature, cultures, and conservation fascinate me so much that I have decided to pursue a degree and eventually a career in those fields. In order to do so I originally wanted to get my degree in Environmental Sustainability but due to my work schedule I was unable to pursue that particular degree program. Luckily I was able to apply and be accepted into the Multidisciplinary Studies Program where I am using my previous credits in Anthropology (my first major) as well as take courses dealing with the environment. I get the best of both worlds with this program!
After I graduate (fingers crossed for spring 2019) I plan on moving to Canada where my boyfriend currently lives. There I will continue my education and pursue a position with either a government organization or with a NGO, maybe even try my hand at the Peace Corp and apply.


So I suppose I can discuss a little bit about my past and a bit about where I am now.. I'm originally from Oklahoma City and my mom has actually lived in the same house my entire life. I went to Bishop McGuinness for high school and the basic training for the Oklahoma National Guard after graduation. When I completed military training I started my college career and life in Stillwater at OSU (sorry, I happen to be an OSU fan). I eventually made my way back to OKC where I worked full time for my National Guard unit until we were deployed to Afghanistan in 2011-2012. During my deployment I decided that I wanted to be an anthropologist after working with some of the local women and children in surrounding villages. Upon arriving back home I took a short hiatus from school but eventually enrolled in the Anthropology program before taking another hiatus to work and adult. Currently I work full time at Tinker and am taking classes full time with the hopes of graduation in the spring!


Speaking of work, I should probably get back to it! Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to chitchatting with you all in the future!


P.S. Below is a picture taken in July while flying to Seattle, where I happened to eat a ton of seafood!

                      (Image Information: personal photo of Mt. Rainer; photo from July 2018)

One of my Favorite Places





(Image Information: personal photo of Lake Louise; photo from May 2018)

Lake Louise
Web Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/marilynjane/4777156161

Lake Louise is one of the most picturesque places that I have had the pleasure of visiting. I took this photo in May and as we were exploring around there were sheets of ice breaking free from frozen waterfalls and tumbling down towards crowds of people.