Blue October

Ever since I was a grade schooler, the Omaha Royals were a big part of my life. This post might be a little delayed, but the fact that the KC Royals made it to the World Series this year seemed almost as if it was a symbolization of the culmination of my childhood. We often had a mini package of seats for the now defunct Omaha Royals back at the old Rosenblatt Stadium. So every few weeks on a Friday night my family and I would drive down 13th street in Omaha and watch the Omaha Royals. Usually they were terrible, but I didn’t really care. It was fun to cheer for the team, learn how to score, bring along friends, and chat with the pitchers that walked by our seats on the way to the bullpen. My sister and I would often plead the passing by players to toss us a ball, because there is nothing better than bringing home a baseball from a game!

Flash forward about 8 years, I haven’t been to a Royals (now Stormchasers game) in quite some time, Rosenblatt is only a landmark, and I’ve grown up from being that little kid begging AAA ball players for a baseball. The KC Royals team consists of quite a few players whose names are familiar and quite a few I’ve watched play in Omaha, somehow by some stroke of luck my favorite pro-baseball team who I’ve grown used to expecting losses from makes it into the World Series from a wild card game!

There is just something about watching the Royals that brings a sense of calm to me, a sense of belonging to a community perhaps could be another way to explain it. The way that KC and the Omaha area got behind the team was so amazing to watch. I’m not sure exactly what my sentiments were that I was trying to get across with this post…but there have been few and far between sporting events that I’ve been so passionate about. I found myself rearranging my schedule so I could be sure to catch the game and when I was watching the game I would get into every single pitch and will “my team” to keep the magic alive.

Even though the series did not end as I would have liked it to, I still cannot believe that my team fought that hard and got that far this season. It is truly amazing how sports can bring people together and motivate you to keep trying to follow your dreams. Just like my Royals. 2014 will always be a “Blue October” year for me.

THANK YOU ROYALS.

 

On Graduating…

As I sit here in my partially packed dorm room, my roommate having already mostly moved out, it begins to hit me. I’m graduating this weekend from college. It seems like just yesterday I was tossing my hat up for my high school graduation and now I’m preparing to graduate from university. Crazy how time flies. Graduating would be much more exciting if I knew what my future held for me- but what would be the fun in knowing what I’m doing with my life… It’ll all work out, but now seems like a good time to reflect on the past four years.

It all started when I moved into Swanson Hall freshman year. I was introduced to my roommate and my suite-mates (one of which would become my roommate for the next three years). I remember going to my very first class as a college student, being scared to be on my own, being scared that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with college classes. Soon all those fears passed (after a few pep talks from some of my oldest friends) and I began to grow. I learned some fun skills in my photojournalism classes from award winning photographer Fr. Don Doll, I learned how to use the adobe creative suite, I learned everything there is to know about Greek Art, I learned new things from my core classes, and I struggled through my Philosophy classes. Through all of this I came to grow as a student and as a person. However I must say that most of the growing and emerging into adulthood didn’t happen until I studied abroad. It was then that I truly learned how to be independent and discovered who I truly am.

My college years just flew right by and I feel like I could have used this time in better ways, but at the end of the day this is how I spent the past four years and there’s nothing I can do to change it and I can’t complain about who I am and where I’m at right now so I must have done something right. I tend to think about what could have been when it comes to the last four years; things I could have majored in, groups I could have joined, places I could have been. But the last four years have been a big stepping stone for me and I think I’ve come out of my college career ready to move on to the next step. I also have had the realization that maybe just maybe undergraduate life isn’t supposed to prepare you for a job, but it is to prepare you for real life. I’ve learned more life skills during college (more while abroad than stateside) and I feel like even though I don’t know what I’m doing I might at least know how to get there once an opportunity arises.

Overall the benefits of my college career outweigh the regrets. If I had done things differently I wouldn’t have my amazing barn family and I wouldn’t have gone to London, two things I wouldn’t change for the world. I will be proud to walk across that stage and accept my diploma in front of my classmates and family. Thank you to everyone who helped me on this four year journey through college. I can’t thank my family and friends enough for helping me to follow my dreams. Also- shout out to my horse and barn family who kept me sane through it all (mini-shout out to Ross Nye Stables in London whose ponies kept me sane during my time abroad). Happy graduation class of 2014, don’t focus on the ‘what ifs’ but on what we accomplished in college because it kinda is a big deal. We did it!

The Creative Process: Concept Sketch Final Project

 

For my final project in my concept sketch development class we were assigned to design a logo for a company that was to be a brew bistro that was located in an old garage. We had to include all aspects of the business in our logo design. This is my thought process and sketches that went into my final design.

My thought bubbles that helped me figure out what direction I wanted to take the logo exactly. This helped me narrow down ideas and get rid of foolish choices that wouldn’t make sense. What follows is some of my favorite logos that I sketched. I also found that after going through the correct problem solving steps when I sat down at the computer to put it all together it came together in no time! I wish I would have had this class from the beginning so I could have used this method my entire four years of undergrad.

 

This is the final product that I came up with. I like that it connects all the dots that need to be connected and I find it to be clean and creative. The chef hat represents the bistro part of the business, the key on the end of the “s” represents the fact that the business was “started” in a garage, and the wheat represents the growing brewery that the company is hoping to have. Overall, I am very pleased with how the creative process went and I am proud of my end product.

Ode to the Beach

There is nothing better than sitting on the beach and thinking about life. I find that while I am on vacation I’m often stressed and always trying to decide what to do next to take advantage of every second I’m there. When I’m at the beach it is a different situation. There is nothing more peaceful than sitting back in a beach chair, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath of salty air and listening to the waves crash against the sand.

The beach is a place for serenity. It is a place to make memories. A place to eat sand. A place to run away from siblings and friends chasing you with gross dead sea creatures. A place to learn about nature. A place to watch sea turtles lay their eggs or to watch baby turtles make their first march to the ocean. I’ve encountered many interesting people while at the beach, but the nice thing about the beach is that no matter how much money you have a beat up piggly wiggly shirt is acceptable to wear. I’ve dreamed about my goals while sitting in a beach chair. As a child I pretended to ride my bike alongside wild horses as motivation to keep biking to our final destination. I’ve gotten to swim up close with dolphins in the wild. I’ve seen the dolphins fish.

The beach gives me a sense of a connection to nature. The moment you step off the boardwalk and onto the sand you are no longer on the earth, it is as if you have traveled to a different planet. The air tastes different, the ocean sounds are overwhelming and the atmosphere is peaceful. The beach holds a special place in my heart and I always long to go sit on the sand whenever I’m stressed or need to get away. Here’s to the beach, always the best spot for serenity. Always the best spot to collect your thoughts. Always a good place to take a nap.

 

Why I LOVE Horse Shows

There is just something about the thrill of loading your trusty steed into a trailer and arriving at the show grounds with your horse all decked out in her nicest dress sheet and lovely shipping wraps. The horse show world is a crazy one, but it is one of the best communities I have ever been involved in. I have met more lifelong friends and made more memories while sitting in the freezing cold or boiling hot waiting to tack up my horse and ride for blue.

When I was younger I loved going to horse shows just to cheer on my friends from the barn. Now I proudly exhibit my own horse myself for judges in the Hunter and Equitation rings. The thrill of the competition is just one of the reasons that horse showing is always so much fun. Every year I set goals for myself and work hard at home so I can perform at my best when I enter the show ring. I have learned so much just from horse showing that many people wouldn’t even think that you could learn going to shows. I can figure out how to squeeze every item of horse gear I own as well as stuff for me in my car. I can hang extension cords so that horses won’t chew on them. I can use a staple gun to hang up curtains. I have the patience to groom my horse until every last inch of her is gleaming and spotless. I have learned so much responsibility from showing. I have to be sure my horse always has water and food and a clean stall. Even when I get off from a hard ride in the heat of the summer, I am sure that my horse is attended to before I make myself comfortable. How many sports teach you these kind of values?

The dogs. One of the best part about horse shows is the fact that you get to cuddle with other people’s dogs and no one will judge you. I have had many a friend in a fellow exhibitor’s dog at the many horse shows I’ve attended. Above, my friend Meghan cuddles with our stall mate’s pup. Dogs are also a great way to meet people, if someone’s dog has wandered over to our stalls we often have conversations with the owner of said dog. There is nothing better than cuddling with puppies after a long day. That’s the other thing, there actually are actual puppies at almost every horse show. There is nothing more fun than playing fetch with a dog that isn’t yours. Especially if the dog is covered from head to toe in mud.

The best part of horse shows has to be bonding with your horse. I spend hours with my mare while at home, but when I’m at a horse show I spend all but the time that I’m sleeping with my horse. It is during the shows I’ve gone to that I’ve learned the most about my horse. The fact that she will eat just about anything. She will attempt to take food out of just about anyone’s hands (including but not limited to tacos, hot dogs, chips, Starbucks). She hates ponies. She hates other horses cantering by her. She likes to splash in her water. She only likes to be hosed off with warm water. There is so much more, but I think I may be the only one who cares.

Horse shows are more than ribbons, they are memories that you will keep for a lifetime. Go show. Enjoy show season 2014 and please share this with friends.

Feeling Lucky?

Have you ever pressed the ‘feeling lucky’ option on google? Neither have I…so why not do it together and discover what happens.

See that little button on the right? Want to see what it does? Alright, I clicked on it- here is what appeared. Click here to see the page yourself.I want to know why google took me to this, so the obvious way to answer this question is to do a google search on what exactly ‘I’m feeling Lucky’ actually does. About.com had an excellent answer for me.

Basically, the article says that if you type in a phrase and then press the button it will bring you to the first result in the google list. If you put in no content it does just as we discovered, sends you to the google doodles page. Since it had sent me there I spent some time looking through the google doodles, I’ll share a few of them here:

Google is always interesting, and is such a powerhouse it is fun to explore it every once and a while. I plan on using the ‘I’m feeling Lucky’ button more now that I actually know what it does.