Life as I know it

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The University of Arizona received quite the honors this week.

TIME magazine placed the UA in the #1 AND #2 spots on TIME magazine's list of Top 10 Scientific Discoveries. The #1 discovery was the Large Hadron Collider. This is a massive particle accelerator that is currently in between Switzerland and France. The University of Arizona was NOT the only organization taking part of this, but it was the only one in Arizona. The University of Arizona's Physicists but part of the collider that is called the ATLAS.

#2 on TIME's list, is my favorite, the Phoenix Mars Mission. UA led the NASA mars mission to parts of Mars that were previously unexplored. The Phoenix Mars Mission sent back amazing pictures, and proof of ice on the red planet. This gave new insights about the planet's soil composition, atmosphere and overall habitability. The Phoenix Mars Mission was the first NASA mission to be led by a public university.

I love my School

Defy Gravity and Keep Smiling,

Dawn

Posted by UADawn at 10:42 AM

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F15 Week 13- Personal

Hey Guys!

As 2008 winds down and 2009 comes with full force, I've been doing quite a bit of thinking. 2008 brought so many new experiences and challenges... Senior prom, Graduation, losing lovers, new lovers, turning 18, moving out, college, learning to live on your own, trying new things, and learning what your beliefs really are. As 2009 approaches, I can only imagine what is ahead of me. I have decided that in 2009, Im going to live my life more, and stop stressing out over the little things. Therefore, my new years resolution is: Live More, Worry Less.

Along with this, I have decided to promise myself some other things, such as becoming more confident. I am who I am and nothing can change this. So I am going to accept and love it.

I am also guilty of holding very long term grudges with some people. I am letting go. These things are in the past and absolutely nothing can be done. So fine, Ill live with it. Im still breathing.

Another thing I promised myself is this.

I will allow a boy to make me happy, but I will not let a boy determine my happiness. I have realized that the really low parts in my year were caused by being heartbroken. My grades dropped, I get sick, blah blah etc. But it always turns out the same. I always find a way to fix the broken pieces, I always find a way to keep pushing forward. So this time, if it does happen, why not skip the weeks of devastation and begin moving on from the starting point. Maybe this will save me a lot of hurt, and my GPA... :/

Defy Gravity and Keep Smiling,

Dawn

Posted by UADawn at 10:17 AM

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F15 Week 12- Vlog

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Posted by UADawn at 1:10 PM

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F15 Week 12- Personal

Happy holidays from Arizona :]

I've returned home to one of the coldest weeks I have ever experienced. My hometown is one of the hottest cities in the nation, and I've seen temperatures up to 130 degrees here. Even though it does get chilly in the winter time, it rarely gets into the 40s, but for me, that's freezing. I've never been in snow. I've never been able to make a snow ball or a snow angel, but with my low cold tolerance… its probably a good thing.

My plane ride to Las Vegas was kept occupied by incredible visuals of completely snow covered mountains. They were so pretty and so unusual to see in the Arizona area. I got to Vegas and then started on my drive home. The next morning I woke up to hear that there was a Blizzard in Las Vegas last night, and I missed it by only a few hours. This also left a few of my friends stranded back in Tucson for a few days.

I really want to take a trip up to the snow sometime soon. I hope everyone gets home safely :]

Defy Gravity and Keep Smiling,
Dawn

Posted by UADawn at 1:09 PM

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F15 Week 11- Personal

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

As I type this I am on the plane ride from Tucson, AZ to Las Vegas, NV. I am absolutely thrilled to be heading home… it was quite the semester. College brought its fair share of hardships, changes and challenges, but it is meant to be a learning experience. You start to discover your true beliefs and who you really are when you are faced with moral challenges, and in college that can happen a lot. I am ending my semester with 1 A, 3 B's and 1 ugly C, and I must say that I am not completely proud. College is MUCH harder than high school, and if you fall behind or mess up early, its impossible to catch up. Take my advice, if you are in high school, practice good study skills and try to break that horrible habit of procrastination. If you are in college, DON'T SLACK, you wont catch up!

I am very ready for my month long winter vacation. It will be great to spend time with my family and my boyfriend for a month. I hope everyone has a great and safe vacation!

Defy Gravity and Keep Smiling,
Dawn

Posted by UADawn at 1:08 PM

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F15 Week 11- Vent Sesh

YES! Time for my favorite blog of them all…. VENT SESH!

So last week, I completely jinxed myself. Well, maybe not, but it's a good excuse. The day my blog about cheerleading and how excited I was to be competing came out…
I broke my ankle. Great huh? I tore ligaments and whatnot to be exact, but still... can we say lame? I was tumbling and I ended up colliding with someone else, and I landed wrong. I'm pretty bummed out, but everything happens for a reason right?

I am officially done with my first semester of college! It is such a relief. I couldn't tell you the last time I didn't feel guilty about going on facebook. I had my horrible Spanish final Friday, and I am happy to say that I passed the class! I have such a hard time with Spanish… Im glad I don't have to take it again. That is also a killer about hurting my ankle, I have a dance class next semester. I have to change it now though, and I'm sad because it took me forever to get into the class.

Well all you seventeeners, I hope everyone does a fantastic job on their finals and has a wonderful and safe Christmas break. Feel free to find me on Myspace/facebook, trust me, I think ill be confined to my couch most of the month off…

Defy gravity and keep smiling,
Dawn

Posted by UADawn at 1:07 PM

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F15 Week 10- Vlog

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Posted by UADawn at 1:06 PM

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F15 Week 10- Personal

I'm not sure if any of you know, but I am quite the cheerleader. It all started in dance when I was only three years old. I loved dance class, and my passion for it grew over the years, and when I was 6 years old I was allowed to be on the Dance Magic's Mini team. The Dance Magic Performing Arts Team was the competitive team from my dance studio, which was called Dance Factory. Anyway, at the age of six I began performing in competitions in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Anaheim, and lots of other places. I even performed at Disneyland a few times. I did every type imaginable: jazz, tap, ballet, pointe, acro, modern, and lyrical. By the time I was 13, I was on Dance Magic's Senior Team, the elite team of the studio. My teammates were years older than me, but this gave me an opportunity to grow and mature more since I was in an older environment. I even began to teach classes at the studio. Dance was my life for so long, until my sophomore year in high school…

My freshman year, I tried out for my high school's cheerleading squad, which was much more of a dance team/pom squad. I made varsity my freshman year, and I had a blast cheering at pep rallies, football games, and other sporting events. I loved performing and I loved being able to support my school while doing so. During this time, I still danced. No less than I used to. It was stressful and time consuming doing both, but I managed.

During my sophomore year, it all started to crumble. The stress from managing dance, cheer, honors classes and a social life began to take its toll on me. One night, I was in my pointe class rehearsing a dance, when I did a ballet move en pointe and I felt a pop in both of my lower ankles. It was very painful, but there's one rule in dance, and that's never stop performing for any reason what so ever. So I continued dancing, and when I got home I just iced them… ignoring them. After a few days I realized that I had a lump the size of my ankle bone under my ankle bone, making it look like I had two. I showed my mom and we made a doctors appointment.

My doctor told me I had developed tendonitis and collapsed my arches, and dancing would be a bad idea. So the number of classes I was taking slowly decreased until I decided to give it all up, but I decided to keep cheering. Cheering was easier for me because I was able to wear my hard arch supports in my tennis shoes.

I cheered until the end of my Junior year, when I was captain. I started to gain an interest in collegiate level cheerleading, which consisted of intense tumbling and partner stunts. There were no faculties in my city that would teach this kind of skills, so I traveled to Lake Havasu and Las Vegas weekly, which were both a few hours away. I slowly but surly began to master my standing back tucks and cupies and heal stretches, and in April I tried out for the University of Arizona's Cheerleading team. The squad takes 15 girls and 15 guys, and I was one of nearly 50 girls trying out. I made it past first cuts and second cuts, and final cuts there were only 19 girls left, and I was one of them. All my tumbling stuck and my stunts were good, except one where I didn't make my full down.

I was cut.
:[

It sucked, but it was a learning experience. I am planning on trying out again in April. Im not giving up that easily.

As of now, I am on an Open Co-Ed All Star Cheer Squad called Desert Cheer Athletix. We are a new team, with a lot of talent and with high hopes to go to Worlds. It is so much fun and it's nice to have something that can take your mind off of stressful classes for a few hours. Anyone else going to Worlds?! If you are come say HI!

Back to homework…
Defy Gravity and Keep Smiling,
Dawn

Posted by UADawn at 1:05 PM

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F15 Week 10- Trauma

So I'm going to share a moment that didn't happen to me, but I was there to witness it…

Here at UA, A LOT of people ride bikes. I have a bike also, but I only ride it when I'm late to class or going really long distances. The weather is nice here, and walking and taking a moment to relax and get some exercise is more preferable to me.

Anyway, I was walking to my math class and I was approaching a very busy part of campus. I was minding my own business, listening to Taylor Swift then BAM. I heard this crashing noise and I looked up and saw a girl about my size fly through the air. Her and some other guy collided on their bikes, and the girl went over the handlebars.

Luckily, she was nothing more than embarrassed. She quickly got up, and rode away without saying a word to the guy who was franticly apologizing. It was crazy. It happened so fast, and I just stood there in complete shock.

Always watch where you're going, especially on a college campus. That is a very good piece of advice I can give you. :]

Defy Gravity and Keep Smiling,
Dawn

Posted by UADawn at 1:05 PM

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F15 Week 9- Vlog

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Posted by UADawn at 1:03 PM

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F15 Week 9- Personal

Hey :]
So last week I was at home and I was going through my sisters closet, looking for some clothes to sneak back to my dorm room, when I came across a tee shirt that she bought about a year ago. It was a tee shirt that my dad bought my sister when we went and saw the musicalWicked in Hollywood. It just had the regular Wicked logo on the front, but on the upper back it had the words "Defy Gravity" printed on it. I smiled, took the shirt out of the closet and went and showed it to my mom. When she saw it, she seemed shocked that the words that I end every blog with were on the back of a shirt. Thats when I realized that no one really knew why I say defy gravity, or what it exactly means. So let the story begin.

My dad, sister and I can be considered as show junkies. We have seen about 25 shows in the past few years, ranging from Cirque Du Soleil to Broadway musicals. Last year, my dad took us to see Wicked, and it instantly surpassed every other show i've seen. A main song in the show was called "Defying Gravity" and it was my favorite. The song talks about doing the impossible and believing in yourself, even when people don't believe in you.

Being from a small town where most people never leave, getting out and making something of yourself is a highly doubted challenge. This song quickly became my motivation, and the words Defy Gravity became my motto. Kinda cheesy i know, but it keeps me going. :)

Defy Gravity and keep smiling,
Dawn

Posted by UADawn at 1:02 PM

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