When Decisions Need to be Made

I had done a lot of thinking over this past summer about my first year of college. I thought about what I liked, what I didn't like, and what I could change in order to have the best experience at St. Mike's. I remembered being very stressed trying to balance my school work with playing lacrosse. When I was at practice, I was often thinking more about the school work I had to get done then the actual game I was playing. These experiences led me to make the decision to not play lacrosse this year.

This was one of the biggest decisions I have ever had to make. It was not an easy choice. I have played lacrosse for almost 10 years, and have had great success while doing so. It is a sport I will always love, but I had to think about my future. After all, I am going to college in order to pursue a career, not play sports. Lacrosse is important to me, but doing well in school is more important.

Playing a sport in college is a huge commitment. It is something that takes dedication, responsibility, and hard work. I am not saying I did not have these things, but it began to interfere with my studies by the end of last year. If anyone is interested in playing a sport in college, you need to have the self discipline to do school work anytime you have free time throughout your day. I remember some days last year, we had morning workouts before class, then class all day (labs if you were a science major), and then practice after class. By the time I got dinner and showered it was already 8 or 9 at night! This is why I highly suggest that you get you work on your homework whenever you may have free time.

I am in no means trying to discourage anyone from playing sports! I am only trying to make people aware of what it is like to do so. Academics do not come easily for me. I know plenty of other athletes who can handle the workload fine, and do well in both academics and athletics. My friend Marty is a biology major as well as a lacrosse player. For him, the information and workload is easier for him to understand and complete. For myself, I need to work very hard in the class room in order to achieve the grades I want. I felt that not playing lacrosse would give me much more time to work on my studies. I am proud of my decision, and I feel as though it was the mature thing to do. If anyone is hoping to play a collegiate sport, I wish you the best of luck! Just remember, hit those books as hard as you hit the field, court, pool, or gym!

Until next time,
Nate

Say Hello to a New Year! School Year That Is...

Well, as I must admit it has been much too long since I posted last, it's time for me to get my butt in gear! Summer went by way too fast, and before I knew it I was moving back in to a new dorm to start off my Sophomore year. This year I am living in Hamel Hall on North Campus. This is an older building, but I don't mind that in the least. All the rooms are much bigger. My room has to be about twice the size of last year's room in Joyce Hall. It actually gives Mich and I some living space! This year I brought a futon up from home so that there is an actually place to sit, or even sleep. Another great addition to the room is a nice new set of speakers. My dad and I built a pair of 40" tall speakers that my uncle had designed for me. Mich and I are music addicts, so they definitely fit in well!

This year for classes I am taking Comparative Anatomy, Organic Chemistry, Elements of Statistics, and Intro to Spanish. So far I love all my professors. Although chemistry is going to be extremely difficult for me, I hope I can still form a good relationship with my professor so when it comes time for help I can communicate well with him. Anatomy will also be pretty difficult, but I think I will grasp the concepts much better than chemistry. Spanish and Statistics should be somewhat easier for me so that I can focus mostly on the courses for my major. I also scheduled my classes so that I have no classes on Thursdays. This will give me a break from classes to study, do homework, or simply relax. I look forward to Thursdays more than ever now!

Until next time,

Nate