Dec. 28, 2005
YAY!!! My first semester of college is finished and I survived. It was a little harder that I expected academically, but gymnastics wise it was very successful. Coming off an injury last season, I am very pleased with the progress and improvements I have made. I was so excited to compete at our Black and Gold meet and now I can't wait for the rest of the season!
Finals were mentally draining. Even though I only had three to take and a paper to submit, it took a lot of time and work to prepare for them. Freshmen are required to take 2 hours of study hall per final to prepare for the tests. It wasn't as bad as I initially thought because the time went pretty fast. Also, our coaches eased practices quite a bit to allow us time to study, which made school a little less stressful. I think I did all right on my finals so now I have a little better idea of what to expect next semester and next year.
After finals were over, I had to pack for a month because the dorms would be closed until the next semester begins which would be in the middle of January. Adrianne and I would be staying in one our teammates' house, Nikki Bowman. Katie Kluga and Lisa Puccio also live there and we are grateful they offered us to stay with them for the break. It is really amazing to see how much stuff I needed for a month. I can't even count the number of trips I took back and forth from our dorm room to my car, loading it with boxes and bags. And Mom and dad, don't worry, I didn't get a parking ticket. Because our team has two meets before we return to school, I had to pack all the things I use for meets besides everything else I needed to live off of, which made it slightly more difficult to pack because I didn't want to forget anything.
I spent the week before Christmas back home in Blue Springs. I really like living close to home because I can see friends and family pretty easy and more often because it's just an hour and a half drive. It was so nice to see all of my family again and actually stay at home in my own room. It still feels weird coming home to have a kitchen and so much room to yourself; it's quite a departure from the 10x12 dorm. I really can not wait until Adrianne and I get our own place next year. Because we have one of the biggest meets of the year, Super Six, shortly after we get back from break, our coaches asked us to workout during this time off. I went in to my home gym GAGE, nearly everyday to workout or stretch. I kind of forgot what club gymnastics is like in comparison to college. The gym was so busy all the time, making it difficult to find open equipment to practice on, although we did manage to get some things done. These workouts will make it easier on ourselves when we return. I was so glad to see all the girls on the team again especially ones from the group we used to be in. Also, it was a pretty neat time around the gym because we had so many college kids coming home to visit and practice. Besides Adrianne and I, Terin Humphrey from the University of Alabama was also in town, along with Amanda Grimes from Southeast Missouri State and Russell Czechin from the University of Oklahoma. It was nice to catch up with each other on school, gymnastics, and just life in general.
I celebrated Christmas with my dad a week early since he would be going to his parents for Christmas and he surprised me with a new iPod, which I love!!! After that, I got a lot of the Christmas shopping done that I had procrastinated on while I was busy at school. I got my mom some Mizzou apparel and my dad some much needed clothes since he only shops for himself maybe once a year. Christmas morning was extremely exciting. I didn't get very much sleep because I was anxious for the morning. I got a lot of things for our apartment like a new set of pans and a toaster. I also got a new coat and some jewelry.
Christmas dinner was at our house this year so most of the family came to us. A lot of the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents came over so it was a really good time. I had an excellent Christmas and really enjoyed the break but I am still excited to get back to Columbia. I can't wait for Super Six and the rest of the season so everyone on the team and I can show off how hard we have been working. Watch for the broadcast of the Super Six competition January 15th on ESPN!!! Happy Holidays!!!
GO TIGERS!!!!!
Alisha Hatcher