Patrick's Blog

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, school became a little hectic right after spring break. Spring break provided a much needed rest, but I also had to study for a couple of test and write a couple of papers that I had due the week we came back from the break. We also had a couple of races in the following weeks which provided some good excitement.

We had a race in Tuscaloosa at that other university which is located down there, which we won't name, but after some very successful races we decided to stop for a good dinner and when leaving the restaurant this is what the sky looked like. We should have known that the storms were about to be real bad but we had a long drive ahead of us which was soon broken up due to the tornado's that were reported on the radio. We took precautionary measures and got off the interstate and took shelter in a Wal-Mart. If you have every been in a Wal-Mart during a tornado warning then you know that they lock down the store and require everyone to hang out in the middle of the store until the storm has passed, so needless to say this added an extra two or three hours onto our trip and made for a very long weekend.

The following weekend I participated in a fund raiser for the Cocke County High school football team. We had no idea what we were getting our selves into except that the race was entitled " The Navy Seal Extreme Challenge". I got third in my age group and ninth overall, but it was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but I definitely plan on participating next year.

This past weekend we had the SIRA race here in Oak Ridge which is one of the largest races of the season. We had beautiful weather on Saturday but Sunday was nothing but rain and I am just now starting to feel as if I am not sick.

You're probably asking yourself when I have time to get my work done, but I'm telling you all this I guess to help you understand that even when you are in school and seem busy, you can always find time to do extracurricular activities, and I actually recommend it so that you are not burned out on school and you are able to focus better when it comes to school work.

It's coming down to the end of the school year with finals approaching quickly and, for myself, graduation. I'm pretty excited. For the seniors in high school that may be reading this they are faced with the same experiences but are also looking at where they want to attend college. Juniors in high school are also probably looking into where they want to attend. Over spring break I visited a couple of more schools and the travels with the rowing team have taken me to other schools that are quite different than UT. I have to say that I am very glad that I chose to attend UT. People say that "Oh, UT is just so large, there is not way that I could go there." But as I visited other schools that are considerably smaller than UT, I realize just how grateful I am that I went here. There is always a lot of activities going on and never a shortage of new people around to meet. As large as the campus is I am constantly running into people that I know which can be attributed to either the activities that I am involved in or the people I have met in my classes.

As large as the campus is, it quickly starts to feel compact and friendly. If you are in the position of choosing between different schools, take the time and opportunity to visit the campus and talk to those that have gone there if possible. Try not to make a decision based off of the schools catalogues alone. Keep in mind that everyone has a different experience and views things differently. I will have to say though, that I would not trade in my time here at UT for anything. The valuable education that I have received culminated with the nonexchangeable life experiences helped prepare me for what lies ahead. If I hadn't chosen to go onto law school, I know that I would be prepared for whatever else I wanted to accomplish.

You always here that you should get to know your professors and a good example of why is found here in these tough economic times. As a senior my friends are graduating and looking for jobs and you hear tons of stories of how their professors have helped them with job contacts and good letters of recommendation. Here at such a large school you may think that you are just another face in the crowd but I know this not to be true, your professors will take that extra time to get to know you and help you when you need it. Recently my friend who has transferred here to UT this past semester is not doing so well in one of his classes but he visited his professor during office hours, and, in his own words, "Man, he helped me so much, I should have been going to his office hours all semester."

I don't want you to think that since the university is so large that the professors can't or are unwilling to help you with your work. If you don't understand the material professors are able and willing to help you, their TA (if they have one) is there to help you, and there are plenty of other sources here on campus that provide extra help if you need.

Now I need to go write this paper for art history and maybe get a head start on some of my finals that are quickly approaching. As I come into my last couple of weeks of college I can't help but think of all the good times that I have had and all the things that I've learned. I was thinking just last night that I felt the same way after high school and that life really can be a large cycle repetition, just with different scenes. One of the biggest things I've learned lately, not just with myself but from seeing others and their experiences in college, it's important to remember why you are here and to remember what your priorities are. You'll have time to do everything, just take it in stride.

-Patrick