Here's to another spring semester!

So what do I need to do to make this different/better than any of my previous semesters?

I have ridden the normal college student's roller coaster. My first semester, I was new to the whole 'no parental control' thing and pretty much stuck with the people I knew before moving there. As the second semester approached I met more people who seemed to be people that I would get along great with, pushed myself to see how much partying I could get away with and still pass with an average in all my classes, without actually attending class. The beginning of my sophomore year brought new determinations to succeed and a new job that brought more than its fair share of work. The second half of my sophomore year I realized I had to buckle down, I got a 4.0 gpa and on the Chancellor's list, and realized I wasn't happy where I was and that I was leaving everyone I knew for a college in another state.

My junior year has turned out to be a 'do-over' (Random thought I have to point out here: it now sounds really weird to say 'junior year' and know that it is already half way over with) Anyways...I found a great determination to prove what I am capable of and strove to get another 4.0. Well, that was a long shot considering the effort I put forth in my genetics class...honestly I could have gotten an A in there if would have told myself that I could do it, but there was always this doubt and I allowed myself to get a 3.8. But Hey it still got me on the dean's list.

Well here I am, entering my second semester of my junior year, feeling so much at home here at stillwater, more so at church and with my friends from there than feeling at home in my classes, but I am getting there. I am going to attempt 20 credit hours this semester, a stretch considering the only time I have attempted more than 15 hours I ended up dropping my english class for a W. I have this strong determination to really show these Oklahomans how us boys from arkansas do things, but I still lack the motivation to convince myself that I can get an A in chemistry. Am I content with anything less than the best? I keep telling myself that it will be alright to get a B in chemistry since last time i had a C, but that was when I skipped class all the time, but I still lack the self confidence to tell myself that I can go for the 4.0.

So, to make a really long story short, I am telling all of you (and myself) to buck up and believe in what you can accomplish.

Second Chronicles states "But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded." We should believe in the work that we can accomplish and when those times come that drag us down and tell us that we can't put forth our best effort, know that there is a reward for the work we do, whether it be in the classroom or in our daily duty to live as christians in the world around us.

One more point that I want to share is the importance of acting upon what we say we will do. Hold your promise to not only others, but your self to. With out it you will not have the faith in yourself to accomplish what you are capable of doing. Have faith in yourself and act upon it.

"Faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead. Show me your Faith without deeds, and I will show you my Faith by what I do. As the body without the spirit is dead, so Faith without deeds is dead." James 2: 17-18, 26