Relevance by Ebony Pollard

I watched the sun rise this morning (because Lovebug—that’s what I call my baby girl—woke up at THEE crack of dawn). I couldn’t help but appreciate the sound of the birds singing their morning songs as the yellowish-orange glow of the sun filtered through the living room window. Lovebug, content in my arms, was quiet in that moment and I drank in the peace. Moments like these, my mind tends to wander; sometimes to a specific place and other times, nowhere in particular.

Well, this time, my mind did wander to a specific place—a place it didn’t need to be. An issue that had been bothering me for quite some time permeated my thoughts. Almost immediately, the peace that I was feeling just moments before began to contend with an anxiousness that was welling up inside me. Anxiousness soon grew into irritation and, before I knew it, I was on my way to being a little miffed!

Then my daughter, who recently discovered that she can make all sorts of neat sounds with her little mouth, began to blow spit bubbles—her most favorite! Because I think everything that my infant princess does is pretty much awesome, I turned my attention to her (and wiped a little baby spit off of my cheek).

Just like that, spit bubbles brought me back to my sunny, peaceful place.

“This moment, right here, is relevant. This is what I should be focusing on.”I said out loud.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Too often we waste time and energy concerning ourselves with things that we can’t do anything about or that just don’t matter … or both … when there are lots of positive things taking place.

I am a thinker. That isn’t always a good thing. Sometimes, I think myself into a frenzy. I told you all, in a previous post, that I was on a mission to identify the things that keep me from moving forward. Thinking too hard about things that can’t be controlled can be something that could keep any one of us from moving ahead in life.

Obstacle identified. From now on, I’m focusing on things that are relevant.

Thank God for spit bubbles and sunshine, huh?

So, what irrelevant thoughts are standing in your way? Change your focus. Change your mind. Change your life.

The only thing holding you back is YOU!

In a previous post, I briefly wrote about moving forward. Shortly after posting, I realized that I think, talk and write about this subject quite a bit. It must be pretty important to me, huh? Still, I find myself stuck in the same spot in a few areas of my life and I’m asking, “Why am I still here?” For me to feel as strongly as I do about the importance of moving forward, in anyone’s life, I certainly haven’t gotten very far in my own, it seems.

I am glad that I made this realization, though. It caused me to take a moment and reflect on the possible reasons why I haven’t progressed in certain areas. Willing to be honest with myself, I see the things that I have allowed to stand in the way of progress.

There are obstacles—both self-imposed and those beyond my control—blocking my view of my goals. It is time to clear the pathway.

Moving forward isn’t just about advancing your hopes, dreams and aspirations. It is also about internal growth and maturation, a constant process until we take our last breath.

I intend to explore these obstacles in my life. Removing them will be a process but, I am willing to stay the course.

What are some obstacles that are standing in your way? Which obstacles are self-imposed (things you brought on yourself) and which are out of your control (resulting from your environment, upbringing, etc.)? What needs to take place in your mind and heart to eradicate them so that you can move on with your life?

True to my candid and transparent nature, I will share my revelations about my own obstacles on my personal blog, as they come to me, in hopes that my experiences can help others. So, by all means, feel free to check out my personal blog as I look for the deeper meaning behind the phrase moving forward!

Each new day is an opportunity to be better than you were the day before. With a sunrise, comes the chance to forgive and release yourself from the past and make a decision to move forward. Too often, we look back and get caught up in the what-ifs. But, if we would just continue to move forward, we would see that the future can be greater than the past. We just need to change our attitudes.

Don’t let your past paralyze you with fear and keep you from moving ahead. Instead, use your past failures as a launching pad to catapult you into your destiny. Allow yourself to learn the valuable lesson that comes with each failure, apply that lesson to your life and make wise decisions from that point on.

These thoughts can definitely be applied to your life as a student! Being a student isn’t always easy. There may be some challenges along the way to obtaining your degree but, as long as you stay determined, you will get there!

Have a great week!

–Ebony

This week has been an academic marathon for me – I’ve had a test, a quiz, or a monster homework assignment due every day so far, and…(wait for it)…I’ve been so sleepy in the mornings from staying up late studying that I’ve started drinking coffee. (*gasp!*)

I’m seriously considering disowning myself for that, seeing as I hate coffee and usually avoid it at all costs. Sometimes, though, you have to bite the bullet – or, sip the bitter brown stuff, if you will – and just get through it. I’d say the semester’s definitely in full swing!

Since it’s the beginning of the school year, I’ll introduce myself so you new readers have a little background on me. Firstly, I’m a junior this year, double-majoring in Computer Science and Applied Math with a Business concentration. This is my third school year blogging for the FBYou site, and fortunately, my life is exciting enough that even after two school years-worth of blogs, I can still come up with a new topic every week! I’m the co-editor-in-chief (because the job title didn’t already have enough hyphens, we had to throw in “co”) of the Fontbanner, the University newspaper, and I’m also the president of the Commuter Advisory Board. I do some other things around campus, but I’ll conceal my hand about those this round so I’ll have an aura of mystery as I reveal my other hobbies throughout the semester. (Don’t get excited – it’s not like I swallow swords or anything).

Hopefully, you’re having a good start to the school year, too, and I’ll talk to you next week!

Hello everyone,

My name is Penny, I’m an international student at Fontbonne. I’m glad I got a chance to be a blog writer for Fontbonne, and I feel so honored to post my first article to introduce myself here.

I’m studying to earn a graduate degree in Multidisciplinary Health Communication. This is my first semester being a graduate student and also my first time studying in St. Louis. Everything is so new and interesting to me!

I came from Taiwan, and I arrived St.Louis this year. I decided to go to the USA to earn my graduate degree because Fontbonne has a great program and nice location, which is suitable to me.

Even though it’ s a big challenge for me to do everything only in English, I still enjoy studying with my classmates at Fontbonne, because all my friends and professors are very supportive. I’m looking forward to exploring the USA more, and my dream is just like the slogan of Fontbonne: “LEARN MORE, BE MORE.”

Penny

One thing that has been consuming a lot of my time lately is my Food Science class. You may recall me mentioning before that it is one of my favorites – still very true! But final project time is coming around, which means I am preparing to give a live food demonstration in front of my class and professor. I’m pretty pumped about it, but it’s certainly a lot of work!

If you ever watch people like Rachael Ray or Paula Deen on TV, you know what I mean when I say they make it look easy. But behind the scenes and before the camera rolls, I’m sure they are putting in just as much (if not more!) effort than I am putting into my project. The recipe that my partner and I are making is a Black Bean and Quinoa Salad – it’s easy and quick, so that makes it great for a live demo. We also have to touch on certain aspects of the recipe during our presentation – things like the nutrition, taste, science, economics, and food safety of the recipe.
In a way, having so many criteria is nice, because it gives some structure to what could have been a looming and confusing project.

Anyway, it’s really been fun to work on it so far, and I’m looking forward to getting up there and acting like a Food Network Star… So wish me luck!

If you’ve ever looked at Fontbonne’s marketing, one of the things they love to talk about is the fantastic student-to-faculty ratio. I think it’s like 14:1? That means Fontbonne has really awesome, small classes, where you get to know everyone in the class by name and you never feel like you’re ignored. Your education becomes personal – which it should be.

What I can’t emphasize enough, though, is just how close you get to be with your professors. I mean, it’s really amazing, just to think about it. Let me give you some examples:
- I lost count of how many professors have written glowing letters of recommendation for me.
- I just wrote a letter of recommendation for one of my professors, at her request – the first time I’ve ever written a formal letter of recommendation! I’m still flattered she would ask me.
- I’m going out to play darts with one professor tomorrow night. (I’m expecting to get thoroughly crushed.)
- I still reach out to former professors for their advice and guidance on recent projects (like my resume)! They respond timely and with brilliant solutions.
- I took a road trip to New Orleans with my advisor (… for a conference. But it was still New Orleans)!

The thing is, I’m not some exception, some wildcard in the deck. That’s just the kind of culture Fontbonne offers. And I’ll be really frank with you: if you don’t like personal relations with really smart, caring people, Fontbonne might not be for you. If you want to hide in the back of the room and be known only as a number, Fontbonne might not be for you. But if you’re looking for an institution for higher education where the faculty members invest in your personal, academic, and professional development, Fontbonne is exactly what you’re looking for.

To close: thank you to all the faculty and staff at Fontbonne who have helped me achieve everything that I have. It’s been a blast.

This week I’m facing a dilemma of not only putting off my homework but now I don’t have access to a file that I need to read for an assignment. Had I not procrastinated I would have seen this problem ahead of time and called the Technology Department at Fontbonne.

Did I mention it would not be the first of many calls that I’ve made to those kind hearted people that work in technology? They are always so patient in helping me through the latest dilemma I find myself in. After being married to my IT guy hubby for a while, I dread what these poor technology people think of this computer challenged student. I am always thankful for their patience, their capability to help me in a reasonable amount of time and for their grace enough not to laugh at me. The last time, I called a few weeks ago, I shared this with them and they said that they aren’t there to laugh but to help. I consider that a blessing in itself and I go to sleep soundly tonight knowing that in the morning the technology department will help me sort out where I’m going wrong or give me the “total access” that I need.

May all you trick or treat fans out there find more treats than you do tricks over the coming week and be blessed in all that you do.

Blessings- Sherry

I remember, way back during last semester, when it came time for my roommate and I to decide what our housing situation would be for the fall semester. We unfortunately did not get a room on the much-coveted third floor of Medaille, but instead had to settle for whatever was left of the picked-over rooms on the building’s second floor. Little did I know during the “hurry up and choose” pressure of the moment that I had picked a room in what is potentially the worst spot ever.

Now, naturally you may be wondering, “What’s so bad about the location of your room?” If you want to experience the badness for yourself, just walk up the stairs to the second floor and open the door. There I am. Front and center. Where everyone can see. That’s what’s so bad about the location. Read on as I enlighten you.

First and foremost, anytime somebody comes through the door, I feel obliged to say “hello” to him or her if I’m sitting at my desk with my door open (which is 99.9% of the time when I’m in my dorm). This becomes quite awkward when I don’t actually know the person who has just come in through the door. What do I do? Stare dumbly at the person who has entered the floor? Pretend that I’m so engrossed in that monstrous beige organic textbook that I didn’t even notice the presence of another individual? Say “hello” even though I don’t know him or her? Aaah, the dilemma. And on top of that, the door squeaks like no other. My case in point: when I call home, my mom can hear the door open and close in the background, and she insists that I have one of the maintenance people come up and fix it. As if I have time to deal with that.

Secondly, I hate that everyone who walks through the door can see me studying, which is, like I mentioned above, 99.9% of the time. This has lead me to hypothesize that the people on my floor think of me in one of two ways:

A.) As the obnoxiously dedicated smarty pants who was dumb enough to choose a room right across from the door.

B.) As the lame girl who was sitting in the same position with that hideous beige textbook when you left for class an hour ago and still hasn’t moved.

Yes, if I had chosen a different room, maybe my fellow residents would have a different view of me.

The final reason my room is lousy, and the reason that ultimately inspired this blog post, is the fact that I can never again make popcorn in my dorm. I unfortunately burnt some a little while ago, and now the whole floor smells crispy. What makes the situation worse, however, are the comments I hear every time somebody walks by my room. Here are a few I have heard over the course of the evening:

“Burnt popcorn! My favorite smell!”

“Hmm..smells like somebody burnt popcorn or something.”

This has led me to not only smirk at the fact that I’m the cause of the less than delicious smell traveling down the hall and nobody can seem to figure it out, but also to cringe in embarrassment for my inability to use a microwave without causing a disaster. I think, for once, I may have to close my door this time.

Have a good rest of the week!

-Carly

“French Exit” by The Antlers (arguably my favorite band)

The more I think about my future, the more I realize I’m clueless. My response to this state of cluelessness is to seek out other people to talk to; current and former professors, close friends and significant others, parents, randomly trustworthy strangers… why not?

The thing is, I want to do SO MANY things. I’d love to work a bunch of different jobs for a while, and not even particularly glamorous or well paying jobs. I’d like to work in a loud, noisy, dangerous factory for a while, for the experience. I’d like to work as a waiter for a while for the practice in interpersonal skills. I’d like to work at a printing company to learn more about the printing process and see what goes into the process we so often take for granted in our packaging. I’d like to work as an electrician because wiring things up is just cool, and I’d love to get the skills and know-how to fix up my own house – for the same reasons, I’d like to work as a plumber and an auto mechanic and a carpenter, so I can do so many things myself. I’d like to work as a landscaper and a construction worker to get outside and do things with my hands and sweat. I’d like to be a salesperson, both door-to-door and in a store. So many things! It’d be so cool!

On top of that, of course, there’s the “real” jobs, the jobs where my college-earned credentials are important. I’d love to work in advertising, of course, as an account executive, but also maybe as a planner, a media buyer, a research analyst… And more recently, I realized how much I’d enjoy being a professor, teaching advertising and sociology.

The cool part is when I think about all this, I’m not scared at all. Right now I don’t know where I’ll be in three months, six months, a year, three years… No clue! But I’m not scared. I’m realizing how much I’ve learned at Fontbonne during my time here that isn’t just random skills and useless facts. I’ve learned so much about critical thinking and problem solving. I’ve learned how to learn new things, if that makes sense. So I know that wherever I end up and whatever I end up doing, I’ll be okay.

And that, that’s pretty exciting. So… where are you headed?

(Fifty-two days ‘til graduation!!)