"Luck happens where hard work and opportunity meet"

      I attended probably the best conference this year last weekend, ICCSAA, with some of fellow students here at Elgin Community College. I am so glad that I attended. I look back at it and really feeling like nothing can slow me down.

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      Lately I have had great news flying at me from all directions; however, I have realized that with all of it there are more responsibilities and tasks that have to be accomplished. One thing that I did learn at the conference that "you", meaning me, is Number One of the priority list. Lets put it this way, so it won't sound to selfish - If you do not help yourself, you really cannot help others.

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There are couple of things that I believe need to be established before we go out and save the world. 

1.

We are not all knowing, and there are times that we might not have the answer; however, saying I do not know is probably not the your best response. Lets rephrase it to "I do not know, but lets find out." While helping the person, you are also giving yourself the intiative to go out and learn something new.

2.

You are always learning, and there is not limit on how much you can learn. If you make a mistake go on to not only make mends but also take responsibility on the situation. Some actions are mistakely done because we really did not know better - so go out there and learn from your mistakes.

3.

There are times that you might feel that you are holding up the world, and maybe you are, but help WILL come. And I know that  it might not be as easy as I have stated, but if help doesnt come immediately - go and ASK for it. Do not feel ashamed to ask for help.

4.

We all have our bad, miserable, tedious, and ect days, but do people really need to get an attitude from you. If things are not running smoothly as you would of expected - it might just be the fact that you are in such a bad mood that everything looks bad.  Not everyone is out to get you and you have to sit back and realize that you have to change according to the situation, not change the person.

5.

Now if you are being yourself and have had the best intentions on helping someone and something is still not going right, then this will be the time to acknowledge that it might be the person and not you. Now this is after you have looked at yourself and evaluated if you had done something.

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      I am hoping that this might help someone you in taking a moment and realizing that you have the potential to go and change the world, but there are times that we need to sit back and analyze ourselves before we go and analyze everyone else. Service Fatigue, getting burnt out on helping people, should not stop you from you are doing. I could not see myself doing anything that does not consist of helping others - hence the multiple career changes- and a little fatigue should not be the reason for me to stop doing what I love.

“There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing”

            Time is really telling of how consequences play out and how things are to work each other out. Recently, I cannot help but to feel like a giddy girl whenever the opportunity comes. Not sure how to express it but I enjoy it very much. It might not get me far; however, I enjoy having this giddy feeling that I would not mind if all of this did not play out into something.

I try to talk to you, but I don't know what to say.

I am afraid you don't want me to say anything.

So I don't.

But inside of me there are words waiting to come out.

And tell you how I feel-like how I miss you.

And how I love you despite my broken heart.

And how I need you in my life.

And especially how much I want you.

But those words may forever stay in my heart-locked inside.

Sometimes I wonder if there are words locked inside you too...

but I'll never know.”

“Remember: Stressed spelled backwards is desserts”

            There are times that all we will want to do is hide in a hole and stay there until what we can live without passes by. However, we all know that it’s not as simple as that so we have to deal with it. There are things that we cannot control – either being from what others do or say to nature’s activities, but one thing we can control is how we deal with them. 

            Two things that make that tension flow away from my body consist of a great beat and room to dance. I am not the most extroverted person, at first, but I sure love to dance the stress away – not only is it a good stress reliever but also a great way to exercise and shed those pounds away.  That’s my way of relieving my stress – along with running.

            With stress, we have sheer relaxation on the other side of the spectrum. Now relaxation is one thing that we cherish and seek, but rarely receive.  I propose many of you to take time for yourself and it is means being a little selfish then be it.  We are reaching a month from finals and lets make it easier on ourselves with preparing for them early and making “me” a priority.  Now there will be people saying that this is not the person you are and should be there for them – not as direct, but still the same impact – let them know that they do not make your decisions and you will do what suffices your life and not theirs ; now that can be said very direct. 

            Again this is just a proposal, it is not going to work on everyone and not everyone needs this. There are people that have life in balance and those people are to be admired. If there is stress in your life there is something that moved me – the couple of lines of there is always someone out there that cares, wants, and adores you. 

STRESS
A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience,
Raised a glass of water and asked;
'How heavy is this glass of water?'

Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter.
It depends on how long you try to hold it.
If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.
If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.
In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.'

He continued,
'And that's the way it is with stress management.
If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later,
As the burden becomes increasingly heavy,
We won't be able to carry on. '

'As with the glass of water,
You have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again.
When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.'
'So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you're carrying now,
Let them down for a moment if you can.'
So, my friend, Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while.

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

* Accept that some days you're the pigeon,
And some days you're the statue.

* Always keep your words soft and sweet,
Just in case you have to eat them.

* Always wear stuff that will make you look good
If you die in the middle of it.

* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be
"Recalled" by their maker.

* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again,
It was probably worth it.

* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.

* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time,
Because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

* Nobody cares if you can't dance well.
Just get up and dance.

* When everything's coming your way,
You're in the wrong lane.

* Birthdays are good for you.
The more you have, the longer you live.

* You may be only one person in the world,
But you may also be the world to one person.

* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

* We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery

On a detour. Have a fantastic day =]

"Use It Up, Wear It Up, Make It Do Or Do Without"

Check out of the adventures of the Rho Kappa Chapter

Modern technology
Owes ecology
An apology.
~Alan M. Eddison

We are coming to a well liked holiday- Halloween. For months people have been thinking about what they want to be for Halloween; I laugh inside- I am not a big fan of Halloween but I do enjoy giving the dressed up munchkins as they approach my door and say "Trick or Treat"

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Like any other holiday, Halloween undoubtly meets certain expectations every year. Christmas, Easter, 4th Of July, Earth Day, Thanksgiving, and ect. have a certain set of guidelines for how it is to be celebrated and how things are to come out of it; for example, of who is coming, what will be the main dish, a sense of companiship with all that come, and a sense of a whole. However, these are the only events I can expect something out of.

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Events outside of the ordinary and routine we like to call life - cannot have any expectations. Either if it is knowing how many people will attend or what will be the significance of the event. A downfall of having certain assumptions is that one layouts a plan with the certainity that certain things will happen and when those things do not happen that burden is left on the person who assumend. The burden might be lack of sleep to get something done, the stress of what is going to happen now, or simply the disappointment. Therefore, since I love my sleep and want to get a little more of it - I am going to try something new. I am going to not assume or really expect something - just go with the flow. which I have done in many instances, but just keeping my fingers crossed that it doesnt go around and hit on the side of the head.

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I cannot help but still wonder in how simple expectations are not meet - but its not for me to judge any individual or to think thta they are wrong. The fact of the matter is that I myself might be wrong and not accept it.  It seems that we have become a society in which when we say something we are not obigated to keep our word. When in the past - our word was what bound us to contracts/promises/agreements. Now a days, if it is not on paper then we are not obligated to do it.

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I am not sure what will this slight difference lead to, but all we can really do is just wait to see what does happen - then we can work from there. One thing that I am certain about is - the more I ask, the less I get. From internations with fellow classmates, co-workers, and friends; I ask a lot but it never really seems to get me anywhere. So I tend to do things by my lonesome which honestly I rather not. However, thigns have to be done and someone has to do it.

"Why not go out on a limb... that's where the fruit is"

Mark Twain

"Hot Sun Beating Down - Burning My Feet Just Walking Around" - I just love Phil Collins. This song just makes me want to re-enact a clip from any movie that shows the video clip from eye level looking down to my feet as the move to a certain song.

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Come to think about it- I am going to do exactly that as soon as I find my camera. Now we do not want to be separated for several hours; therefore I will hit at the fact that with more and more being on my table - I am forgetting the small but very extremely important things, for example - saving my ethics paper before closing out.

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I was relieved to have a hard copy of my rough draft in which I could base my final paper on; however, it was a pain. A MAJOR PAIN! Now it is done, and I can enjoy my nice lemon iced tea -- yes tea, not coffee.

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At ECC, this weeks was just a busy week. Having International Week, Club Meetings, and trying to finish midterms on time definitely made my body want quits. I do not blame it, I do have to admit that I push it to its limits; waking up at 5am to go for a run, sitting for long periods of time as my fingers tend to be on the keyword typing away emails or papers, filling my thoughts with information that might just show up in an exam, getting ready for my mid-day workout, working, meeting with people about this and that, and then relaxing for about ten minutes before I pass out and do it all over the next day. I can completely understand when my body craves for a day of nothing. 

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For the longest time - Saturday Oct 17th, I did nothing.  With Nothing I mean - exactly that nothing -Michael Jackson's Earth Song kept on replaying in my head and definitely cleared anything that was obscurring my mind, "Did you ever stop to notice?" Question repeated throughout the song as organized my thoughts not only in a fantastic rhythm but also in a structure that makes sense to me.  WOW!! Ain't that amazing how music is mystical in the way it works having multiple purposes.

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I sure did feel as a piece of meat just enjoying the nice cool breeze as my pregnated dog enjoy the only warmth she could find by huddling behind my back. Now that was a day. I can honestly say that I it wont happen for a long time, but enjoyed it.

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Every step we make will leave a impact, small or big, nevertheless it is an impact. Many of us are not capable of doing everything that we would love to do. Like me for instance, I cant dance, sing, sometimes even talk, hoolahoop, or do a hand stand - but I sure am proud of what I am done. What I have done reflects the person that not only I have become but will become.  Do not limit yourself in anything, you are meant to be great, and most important you are meant to be YOU.

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                                             "We are creating the future."

      The more this semester goes on, I cannot help to feel extremly happy about where I stand in life.  There are so many people that surround my life that want me to succeed. The fact that they have expectations for me is fantastic, because I would not be able to let them down.  I cannot emphasizes how networking is an important part of getting to the next step in one's goal. 

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      I cannot go without thanking Dr. Cowles for the Laureate Award Nomination. Dr. Cowles' letter not only filled my eyes tears but also has filled my heart.  I cannot say how much this has been an honor and I will take with me as I move on to the next level in my life. This nomination, like many other great things, overshadows the minor bad things that are only small create a little bump on my road to my ultimate goal.  To be honest, I tend to believe that I do not deserve all what I have recieved - but like my parents have always said, you take what you can get.

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      Take those opportunites and take them to the next level, do not just accept them and let them go to waste.  If you hear of something good, run for it. Even if it is something small, like free food or something big, like a scholarship.

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            I share with you the letter that has made me quite happy these days

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                                   The Words That Make Me SMILE