I will miss all the people here at Lyon.  My people in Admissions have been so great.  They are so understanding about when I have to miss work to catch up on some homework that has gotten stacked up.  They also feed us well when we do cookouts! :-D  They are some great people to do workstudy with.  I will miss the professors here as well.  Every professor I have had here at Lyon really cares about me.  You hear that all the time at any college you look at, but here THEY REALLY DO CARE.  If you miss class, they are going to ask where you were.  They are worried about you being sick or hurt.  They expect you to come to their office to get help on things you don’t understand.  I have phone numbers (home and office) for the professors that I need to get ahold of for help.  And they are all asking what I am going to be doing next year.  They want to see what I am going to make of myself.  I will also miss all the students I have meet here at Lyon.  My close friends and I will stay close but all those other people that I have gotten to know over the years, I will probably loose touch with and that makes me sad.  There are some great students here and they will be great people after Lyon College.  They have learned so many valuable lessons here and I know they will take them into the world and make it a better place.  The med majors…  I would trust most of them to be my doctor. ;-)  The psyc majors…  they will make some excellent counselors or speech paths or whatever else they do.  The education majors…  I know all these people will make some great teachers - I’ve worked with them all year.  The business majors…  you can tell they will be awesome bosses.  The politic majors… man they know so much about politics!  I struggle to keep up with who is winning the primaries…  The religion/philosophy majors…  you guys will be the ones going to Africa and helping the needy children and families.  Y’all have huge hearts and will be awesome at anything you do.  I know I did not get everyone but there is not time enough to hit all of them although I know they will all do spetacular things with their lives. 

Lyon, I will miss you but I will take all I have learned here and take it out into the “real world.”  The liberal education I have learned here will make me a better citizen and a higher educated person.  I will do my best to change the world for the better.  Thank you and goodbye!

Today I read an article by the Associated Press. It detailed an interview a House committee had with the U.S.’s five biggest oil executives. The execs actually claimed that the astronomical gas prices are not their fault, and they certainly did not even hint at relief anytime soon. The oil industry in the U.S. made $123 billion last year alone! That’s huge profit. Also, while 4 of the 5 big names are currently researching and investing in alternative fuels like solar power and biofuels, one company just is not trying.

So what are motorists (like myself) supposed to do when they cannot afford to drive anymore? Take public transportation? Ha! That’s all well and good in big cities, but not in Batesville, AR where there is no such thing. I’m from a decent-sized town about an hour from Lyon (Batesville is Lyon’s hometown), and the public transportation there is just now getting started. So what is another option? Staying in one place forever? It’s definitely getting pretty frustrating.

So, dear reader, do you have an opinion about the oil moguls or alternative fuels? I’d like to hear it! Ciao!

This commercial made me smile, but it also made me realize how much texting and cell phones influence our day to day activities.  I recently took a weekend trip with my girls to Little Rock (we had a blast, of course!) and was amused by the dependence that we all had upon our cell phones.  Texting is probably the easiest form of communication…it’s quick, easy, and prevents you from having a twenty minute phone conversation when you really needed to ask one question.  Texting isn’t all cake though…how many times has someone walked smack into you at Wal-Mart because they were texting and not paying attention?  How many wrecks happen because a driver was busy texting and not watching the road?  Just something to think about….

Lyon College is a great place to be in the spring.  We have flowers that are starting to bloom, trees starting to bud, and all kinds of places to sit and be outside.  I think I am going to take a blanket down to the Bryan Lake/pond today and see what I can get done on homework.  I’m a country girl and sometimes it is hard to be inside all the time doing work, school, or homework so any chance I get I am outside on a blanket.

Tonight one of my friends that graduated last year is coming for a visit. I am very excited to see her! That’s such a wonderful thing about Lyon; people don’t mind coming back to visit occasionally.  The feeling of community is so strong that sometimes we are just drawn toward it.

So although it’s difficult to say goodbye, a lot of the time it doesn’t have to be! I am so blessed to have such great friends! Ciao!

Let me tell you…I love to read! I cannot count how many books I’ve read in my lifetime. However, for some reason I have to fight with myself internally every time I have to read for a class. Assigned reading just turns me off completely. It’s like if I see a book on a shelf in a store, it would be very interesting to read. But when I have to pay hundreds of dollars for used books that are going to determine grades…I’m completely disinterested.

So tonight when I have a couple of chapters to read for a class, I find myself checking Facebook and writing a blog instead. Oh yeah, and I watched the reunion episode of Project Runway 4. So now I think I’m done with the procrastination for tonight and it’s time to buckle down and study!

I rather enjoyed not having to search for what I thought would be “perfect” for my boyfriend on a random February evening that someone decided to dub a holiday. It was very nice to be surprised and taken out…just to get away from campus and have a little fun is always a good idea. (Not that campus isn’t fun, it just gets a little monotonous every now and then.)

I guess now it’s onward with the hardcore studying and preparing for midterms and then Spring Break! Ciao!

Another random thought…  Whats up with the weather?  Last week there was snow on the ground.  Monday and yesterday it was in the 60’s and 70’s and then last night there were tornadoes around the NE AR area.  And then today it was snowing again!  Yes it was snowing.  If you missed it - don’t worry, it didn’t last long or stick.  The only thing I can say is Welcome to Arkansas!

This is the busiest week of the semester it seems.  The semester started not even a month ago and now all of my classes are having tests/papers/exams all in the same week - this week.  And to make matters worse - everything is due on Friday.

One last random thought:  this week we have started a Swim Club.  Why Lyon has an indoor pool but no swim team has always been an issue for me.  But we just started a Swim Club.  This semester we will meet two days a week for practice.  Maybe next year, they will be able to get into some competitions (if there are any other colleges that compete)   Well I’m off to practice now…