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.

Thanksgiving break is right around the corner, and I am really excited for it. We have tradition that every year we get together with a bunch of family and just relax and eat a lot and then sleep. Usually we go to Dubuque, Iowa which is a small town in northeastern Iowa where pretty much all of my relatives are from. We usually have it at my grandmas house, but ever since my grandpa passed away we really haven't had many thanksgivings there. We recently moved my grandma down to a nursing home in Des Moines, and that has been a great move because she doesn't have anyone that lives in Dubuque where she is from, and in Des Moines she has my dad and my aunt so it has been great. The thing I like most about Thanksgiving break is it's about spending time with your family and being thankful for what you have, and you get to see family that you have not seen in a long time so that is great.