Top Ten Ways to Stay Sane Second Semester

Here are (my) Top Ten Ways to Stay Sane Second Semester:

10 -- Take naps! (If you're on campus, the TSC has some very comfy couches)

09 -- Eat chocolate

08 -- Listen to some of your favorite music while relaxing on your bed

07 -- Take frequent breaks while studying (every 45 minutes or so?)...to enhance these breaks, I usually go look at interesting books throughout the library :)

06 -- Take up a new hobby (crochet, eating contests, join a campus club*, paint, etc.)

05 -- Read a book...NOT a textbook

04 -- Explore the wonderful and beautiful Cache Valley--(e.g take a tour at the Pepperidge Farm Factory** or at Gossner Foods***)

03 -- Go see a movie!****

02 -- Laugh often (I try to laugh at least once a day)

01 -- Do something you love to do, and do it often

Hopes this helps,

Shayla :)

*https://www.usu.edu/asusu/clubs/

**http://www.pepperidgefarm.com/

***http://www.gossner.com/home/gossner/index.php

****http://www.westatestheatres.com/logan.htm

Best First-Week-of-School EVER!

Hi friends!

Ok, are you ready for this? This week has been one of the BEST first weeks of my entire school career. I am finally in a class as specific to my major as classes get: MATH 4500 "Methods of Secondary School Mathematics Teaching." Quite a mouthful. But a beautiful mouthful! I have this class from 7:30-10:15AM on Tues. and Thurs. It's really long, but the professor is so great. He is really engaging and definitely doesn't lecture the whole time. He asks us great questions and challenges our thinking. I had to read 40 pages from the textbook and so far I actually enjoy reading my textbook! Mostly because it contains everything I'd ever want to know about teaching math to middle school and high school students--my passion.

I am so stoked, you guys. This is the class I have been waiting for. And I'm planning on doing some extra projects that go along with this class through the Honors Program (more about my experience of Honors in a later post). So hip-hip-hooray for school! I am also taking a neat class from the same professor, MATH 4400 "History of Mathematics and Number Theory." Who doesn't want to learn about how math came about? Come on, you know you're curious! :D I assure you it's going to be interesting! I'll keep you posted on how the semester plays out--I am SO EXCITED!!

Until next time,

Shayla--Your incredibly nerdy, math-loving USU Friend :D

Finals Week Fall 2009

Hi everyone!

Man this semester has been CAH-RAZY! Two finals down (one of which I proctored since I'm a TA for STAT 1040) and three more to go. I am just so excited for this week to end. My MATH 5710 class (doesn't that just make you cringe a little? A 5000-level math class? yeah, me too) has been my hardest this whole semester--and the kind of funny thing about it is the title of the course is Intro to Probability. A 5000-level "intro" class? You better believe it.

Oh, and the reading of Caesar went well. I can't tell you how awesome it was to be reading and translating REAL Latin! Not just sentences made up by some textbook author. And we'll be reading Viril's The Aeneid next semester. I've been told that reading Virgil is one of the BEST reasons to take Latin. So now I'll get to find out of this is true. Anyway, I hope December is treating you all well! And that you have a fantastic holiday season! I know I will.

I though I'd add a picture I took of my MATH 5710 book while lounging on the quad in November (before it got cold and snowed). Just thought it was neat with Old Main in the background :)

Peace out friends!

Lingua Latina (The Latin Language)

Hey friends!

Today I wanted to write a little bit about my passion for Latin.

"Latin?" You might say.

"Yes, Latin."

"That dead language that Caesar knew? 'Carpe Diem' and all that?"

"Yes, the very same."

"Ummmmm...why?"

Actually, I am studying it because of a professor. A professor whom I had for CLAS 1100 (basically a class about the study of word origins), Dr. Mark Damen. He's a Latin/History/Drama professor who encouraged me to take Latin and said that he thought that I would really enjoy studying it. And he was right. So, moral of the story is, weigh the advice of your professors heavily, they often know more about you and your learning style than you would think.

All anecdotal stories aside, I thought I'd include some fun phrases in Latin so you can impress your friends:

Excuses

My dog ate it.
Canis meus id comedit.

I did call. Maybe your answering machine is broken.
Sane ego te vocavi. Forsitan capedictum tuum desit.

Baby, Sweetheart, would I lie to you?
Amicule, deliciae, num is sum qui mentiar tibi?

I was kidnapped by aliens. What year is it?
Hostes alienigeni me abduxerunt. Qui annus est?

Insults

I think some people in togas are plotting against me.
 Sentio aliquos togatos contra me conspirare.

I laugh at you! Derideo te!

May faulty logic undermine your entire philosophy. Utinam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant.

If Caesar were alive, you'd be chained to an oar.
Caesar si viveret, ad re mum dareris.

Oh, and one last thing. We're going to start reading Caesar's Invasion of Britain in my second-year Latin class. So excited. Just got my book in the mail. I'll keep you posted!! :)

A Little Bit About Me...and Why I'm Here

Hey guys! Just wanted to write a brief post about me and why I chose to come to Utah State University. I was born and raised in Utah (Riverton, Utah--yeah Silverwolves!). My parents are both from out of state, so I grew up visiting other parts of the country quite frequently. I am a Secondary Math Education Major with a Latin Teaching Minor.

You may be asking: So Shayla, why Utah State?

Well, let me tell ya, I was NOT planning on coming to school here. I applied to several other schools in-state (USU, U of U, Westminster, SUU) and a couple out of state (UCONN, Colorado School of Mines). I got accepted to all of them, and I got great scholarships from most of them. So it was a tough call. But the crazy thing is, I had almost completely thrown out the idea of going to Utah State. I was trying to decide between U of U and SUU, thinking that if I didn't even consider Utah State, my life would be easier. But then I got invited to Scholars' Day.

I took my campus tour and my world was turned upside down.

I fell IN LOVE with Utah State and its campus. I fell in love with the old, collegiate and regal buildings, the college-feel, the college town, the residence halls, the TSC, Old Main, the Quad surrounded by trees--it just felt like college should feel. I could totally picture myself walking from class to class, chatting with classmates about nerdy details of the previous lecture, and enjoying every stinkin' minute of it. Cheesy, I know, but OH-so-true. And that was that. While my father and I drove home, all I could think about was college. And Utah State. And how I was so excited to spend the next 4 (or 5, or 6) years there. The rest is history.