There is this tradition that me and my cousin do every year. We take a road trip to Omaha Nebraska. We go to Omaha because every year we go to the College World Series and it is always a blast. We usually go up on a weekend that the tournament is going on and we will stay with my uncle and just hang out and go to games. The atmosphere is always great because you have teams there from all over the country and it is just an awesome place to be. It is just loud and to be there for the championship is very exciting because when whatever team wins they always do a dog pile at the pitchers mound and the stadium is going crazy and you just get the goosebumps it is so fun.

Brand name clothing these days is quite crazy. In today's world it is all about the brand name and what everyone else has. Like the saying "You gotta keep up with the Jone's" well that saying is very true. With everything out there such as images, you have to look hot and sexy so that means you have to have brand name clothing. I will admit I have alot of brand name clothing but I do not wear it because everyone else has it, I wear it because it is very comfortable and fits really well. Another thing I do is I am a smart shopper because I am very tight with my money so I only buy from the clearance rack. I see it the most with the young teenage girls, because I have a sister that is 15 and trust me she is all about image because it is the age she is at. They do a good job at putting that image out there though because they sure draw alot of attention and get customers to buy their product, so they must be doing something right.

So every year there is this day after Thanksgiving called black Friday. It should be considered a holiday because it basically is as big as a holiday. It is rediculas, truly it is. It gets so hyped up and everyone gets so excited because they think you can get these killer deals, which I am not arguing with them there are some really good deals but for the most part the deals are not the greatest they are just alright. I know where I am from there is this mall called Jordan Creek and it is a huge mall. I went this year at midnight when it opened for black Friday and it was absolutely rediculas how many people were there. I had never seen so many people in my life waiting to shop. You walk into the mall they have free hot chocolate and live music playing, it is insane. I am the type of person that has no patience what so ever that is one thing that I could not do is be around that many people and wait in those kind of lines. I mean they might as well call it black Friday holiday or something.

I think a great thing to do is pay it forward. I have a friend that works at a Starbucks back at home and she said that one day someone paid it forward by buying the order for the person behind them, and that trend continued for about 50 cars. I find that amazing that that is still around these days. I think it is great that people are still willing to give for others and be a part of the cheer of the season. It is awesome when you do great things for other people because you feel so much better about yourself because you probably made their day or touched their life in some way. I think over break I am going to start some trend like this or at least try to because I am a giving person and love to make a difference for people. Christmas is my favorite time of year because I love buying gifts for people, and seeing people happy. Plus if the trend gets popular enough you would feel even better because you know that it was you who started the trend.

As a college freshmen I was told to try to get involved in lots of different things to make you a well rounded person. So I tried to get involved in this program called BRUSH, but it fell through but I plan on doing it next year along with other volunteer work. I was involved in BRUSH which is beautifying house and whatnot around the Maryville community. I thought it would be a really good organization to do considering I enjoy helping people and making a difference for people. Unfortunately it fell through because there was a lot of confusion that went on. The purpose of it is mainly to just help people out around the community that don’t have as much as we do or are less fortunate than we are. You paint houses and just help people out in the community that need help. It is a very good thing to do and I think everyone should do it because it is a great thing to do and you feel better about yourself knowing that you made a difference in affecting other people’s lives.

Music has played a huge role in my 18 years of life so far. Whether it is from listening to music with friends, family, or co-workers it has been there and played a huge part. It has played a big part in times that are happy and times that are sad and you would rather forget, either way music has played a part in it. It is those times where you are at a funeral when a really sad song plays and you can’t help but to just let it all out and start to ball your eyes out. That song that was played will stay with you the rest of your life, every time you hear that song you will think of that instance where you heard it at. At the same time you could have the complete opposite effect, such as a wedding where you want to hear really good and happy songs. You will still get the same effect of people at weddings where you get people that cry as well but they are crying tears of joy not tears of sadness.

This past summer was probably the best summer of my life. Life was perfect, I had the perfect job, the perfect friends and just living the life of an 18 year old. I think it was the best summer ever because everyone got along with everyone because we all realized that it was our last summer before we left for college. I had the ideal job with my friend because we worked whenever we wanted and made bank. We would do random jobs for his grandpa or his uncle and then they would spread our name around and we would get hooked up more. We had our own hours and made about $20/hour. Every day I would hang out with my friends and we would go to the pool or just hangout at someones house, no matter what it was it was always eventful and so much fun. The highlight of the summer was when four of my friends and I took a road trip to Indiana where my friend owns a lake house. That was flat out awesome, best week of my life probably. We would go tubing almost every day, eat amazing food, just all hangout with each other and chill at the end of the dock and talk about life. Then we all left for college and it was sad but absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I knew that they would always be my friends and that I would see them over break and what not.

As my first semester as a college freshmen is about over I think that my first semester was a great success. At first I was a little nervous starting a new beginning, as so was everyone else but I feel I have adapted very well and love college. It did not take me very long to adapt to college life actually because I think I adapt well to changes and this was a big change. The hardest part was I hated seeing my family cry when they left me because I do not handle people crying very well, but we all made it through! It is still hard to believe that first semester is pretty much over, I mean it seems like we just started and met everyone but that was four months ago. I have met some amazing people here at college and made some friendships that will last a lifetime. I only came to Northwest with two other people from my high school which personally I think is amazing because it forces you to branch out and meet new people and not be stuck in a bubble your whole life with only people you know. Also, when you are living on your own and doing your own thing you learn alot about yourself because you do not have your parents nagging you anymore. You mature and find out what kind of person you become.

Winter is my second favorite season next to summer. I hate the cold but I love the snow, especially if it is a white Christmas. As a little kid we had many Christmas traditions such as we would open presents Christmas Eve instead of Christmas day. We opened them the night before because Christmas day is reserved for Santa's gifts. My sister and I would always wake up really early on Christmas day and run down the stairs and see what Santa brought us hoping it would be really good. We would also leave cookies and milk out for Santa as well. A classic tradition that we do as well is every year we will watch the Christmas Story, because every year they have a 24 hour marathon so we always watch that and have a good time. Another thing I love about winter is the possibility of snow days. You know the typical kid hears the weather man say a snowstorm is on the way and you get all excited that you may have a snow day, then when you don't get it you get disappointed.

Sports have always played a huge role in my life. I was not your average little kid that watched Disney movies and played with toys and stuffed animals and what not. I grew up watching sports center ever since I was born pretty much. I have always had a huge passion in life for sports and to watch them. Ever since I was 4 years old I have played baseball, basketball, and golf. The sport that I succeeded in the most was baseball and basketball. Unfortunately, I had a bad injury to my ankle that cost me my basketball career, but I was able to keep my baseball career going and succeeded in that. My best memory of baseball was in high school when we got to play at Principal Park where the Iowa Cubs play. That was also one of my greatest games because I went 2-3 and had 3 RBI's. Golf has been my weakest but I am not terrible at it, I just love to play it for fun.

U.S. combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan last month dropped to the lowest combined level since the United States began fighting the the two wars more than five years ago. Only 11 American service members died in combat in the month of November, which is really awesome that it is that low. That is way better than the alternative which is a high death number like back in November of 2004 where the death number was 129. The numbers have been significantly lower since 2003. I think that is a great thing because we need to continue to have those record low number of deaths and then we need to get out of there. Hopefully something will be done about it because the violence in Afghanistan has picked up over the past year and have requested an additional 20,000 troops.

Gas prices are something else these days. They have been up and down drastically the past couple of years and right now the prices are really really cheap compared to what they were. I know that has really irritated me because I am 18 so I have been driving for a solid two years now and I can tell you that when I first started driving the prices were not terrible yet I think the price was around $2 a gallon. It has been as the years progressed because the prices have not been going down they have either stayed the same or they have gone way up and I have always had to pay for my own gas because my parents never paid it for me. Then this past summer prices just got way ridiculas jumping up to about $4 a gallon, and here I am still paying for my own gas and also trying to save some for college, but that did not really work out that well considering it cost about 50-60 bucks every time I would fill up. Then of course college rolls around I leave Des Moines and I do not bring a car to college and would you know that prices drop drastically and they have not been this cheap in forever it seems like. It is only fitting that happens.

We are coming into that wonderful time of year where there are several sports going on at once and it gets crazy. We have college football in the prime of the season right now, we have college basketball just starting up, we have pro football winding down with only four weeks to go, and we have pro basketball starting up as well. (but no one cares about pro basketball, because it is a joke anyways) We also have that lovely time of the year coming up called Christmas, and with that comes a nice long break from school. Christmas is a time of year of celebrating spending time with your family, and being thankful for everything that you have and counting your blessings. Christmas is also a time of giving, I know I love to give people gifts and whatnot and even sometimes go way overboard but I really enjoy giving and making a difference for people who are less fortunate and need it more than we do. I love the nice warm feeling that Christmas brings and the joy it brings as well.