Going Green!!!

There has been a lot of talk over the last few years about going green, and I am doing my part. I was able to acquire a nice little road bike for under a hundred dollars, so I decided to begin riding it EVERYWHERE. I ride to work, I ride to the park, I ride to class, etc. I began to think about all of this, and I realized that it is just another thing I love about Rockhurst.
I love that there are so many things to do around Rockhurst that I can bike to within just a few minutes. While most schools may be like this, I enjoy the variety of things I can bike to, such as these five:

5) Work - makes the list because I do it a lot, not because I like it

4) Loose Park - can go to have a picnic, do homework, or just ride in circles for some exercise

3) Class - while walking works, biking is faster, meaning I can get an extra 3 minutes of sleep every morning (and it IS worth it)

2) Grocery stores - this is great for small trips, but obviously driving is necessary for larger loads

1) Nelson-Atkins Museum - this is just a great place to go and hang out for a day and look at some art

There are many more things withing biking distance, so feel free to explore. Also, biking is not just about being green, it helps save money on gas and lets you get plenty of exercise. If you want to know anything about how Rockhurst is going green, here is one example.

Coming to Rockhurst!!!

I have always felt that Rockhurst was the best place for me to go. However, there was never a good way to see the campus without really coming here and seeing it in person. I did come here, and I did like it, but how many people would rather not take the chance on taking a whole weekend to come see a campus without getting even a little sneak peek.
Well, now there is a sneak peek. Rockhurst has now posted a video on the website that allows people to get a look at how the campus really looks. I really liked this idea, because now there will be a lot more students that get to see what it is like, which may spur them to come to the school.
Another thing this video made me think of was a list of my top five favorite places on campus:

5) My room in my house. Would be higher on the list, except all the homework I have to do here really takes away from the fun-factor.

4) The Quad (aka Kinerk Commons). This is a great place to sit outside and just relax. There are plenty of trees to get some shade, and plenty of squirrels to laugh at. All in all a good place.

3) The honors room. This is a study room open to any students in the honors program. My friends and I have affectionately named in "The Batcave".

2) The soccer field. It is a nice turf field that is used for everything from varsity soccer to intramural softball. I have plenty of good memories there.

1) The Rockroom. This is where relaxing can happen. There are a few pool tables, a ping pong table, some free arcade games, and the daily grind, where you can get pizza, sandwiches, coffee, milk, etc. Not only that, but it is centrally located, so everyone can meet there without any problems.

Those are my top five favorite places on campus, so you can come see it and find your favorites.

Sports are breaking through, but I had to find out where

Ronnie Brewer is giving back to his school
almost as much as he is about to give to that rim.

I went to the St. Louis Cardinals game on Friday, and they lost. I was pretty depressed, because it is the first time in several years that I had been to any professional sporting event where the home team lost. Up until this game, I felt that I was something of a good luck charm, but now I see that it must not be so.
Anyway, this led me to come back to the Rock and collect my thoughts. I wanted to find the good things in sports, so that my dreary cloud of depression would be broken apart by the warm rays of good feelings. What I came up with was a list of five reasons to be happy about sports:

5) While my Miami Dolphins did not win their opening game, they did appear much improved from their 1-15 season a year ago

4) Utah Jazz small forward Ronnie Brewer donated $50,000 back to his college (he was a Razorback), showing me that professional athletes still do put stock in education

3) The Cardinals went on to win the next two games in their weekend series against the Florida Marlins, so they are still in the playoff hunt

2) Tom Heinemann was named the GLVC player of the week for his work helping the Rockhurst Hawks win some tough games (you can read about it here)

1) As much as I love Rockhurst sports, nothing can be better than the NFL season getting off to a good start. My Dolphins looked good, a healthy number of rookies showed they are going to be able to put on some shows at this level, and the league looks primed for another whirlwind season. It's gonna be great!

So for any sports fan out there looking for some upbeat story lines, these five should help you (except, I guess, if you are not a Cards fan or Dolphin fan . . . or if you don't like football, but everyone should be happy that professional players value education). However, in an attempt to reacher a wider audience, I will leave a small list of things that happened in sports that did not make my top five:

- Roger Federer showed he is not done yet by winning the U.S. Open in convincing fashion over Andy Murray

- Lance Armstrong is going to come out of retirement to show everyone he was not cheating when he won all of his Tours de France

- College Football is also set up for an exciting season (Go Irish!)

Well, the first heavy week of classes is in the bag. I already have plenty to do this semester, but it will all be worth it in May when I graduate. I have 15 hours of classes right now, and probably another 3-5 hours a week preparing for student teaching in the spring, which is pretty exciting. All this work and stress led me to think of the top five ways to de-stress while at school:

5) Play video games, this is effective, but not necessarily the best way for your physical health

4) Watch a movie, similar to playing video games, but I generally am more involved in a movie, making it more of an adventure, which relieves stress for me

3)Hang out with friends, this obviously is a good way to hang back and let loose

2) Play a sport (any sport), as long as it is one you enjoy, it will be a good stress relief

1) Running, I know it doesn't seem like fun, but it is a great way to clear your head and stay in shape at the same time

These are my top five ways to relieve stress, but you can visit the counseling center's website, and they would be able to give you some more.