The end of the year is almost upon us. Summer with its oppressive heat and three months away from school (if you’re lucky) is so close. Remember the days back in elementary school, when summer break truly was a break, before we needed jobs or internships during the summer to prepare us for the future? Ah, those were the days. My lineup for the summer includes one summer class and spending the rest of the time shadowing a veterinarian. Don’t get me wrong: I’m really looking forward to shadowing, but I miss a time when I could afford to be lazy during the summer. I once was able to write an entire novel in the three months, and I was quite proud of myself. But those days seem to have passed. Now it feels like a race to be prepared to get into veterinary school, with classes to finish and experience to gain. When’s a person able to lay out with a good book anymore? I guess I’ve pretty well accepted the fact that I’ve still got a long way to go and a lot of hard work still to do. All that is done in the hopes that I’ll end up with the career of my choosing. And with that, the hard work will pay off with opportunities to enjoy myself in a secure situation. That’s the plan, but we can’t get there without a few sacrifices.

But I have not given up everything I enjoy and in fact have made opportunities out of a few. I have been enjoying being a member of a writing club called Creative Writers of Aggieland and can happily say that next year I will be learning new leadership skills as the president of the club. I don’t intend to give up that pleasure in the near future. I like to think that writing helps keep me sane. It’s therapeutic to write about emotions and secret wishes and desires. And no one understands this quite like other writers. The club is a great way to connect with peers with similar interests, even if they have different backgrounds. Members of the club have several different kinds of majors, but all share the common denominator of a love of writing.

I’m a big believer that everyone should keep up with at least one of their personal interests and not let it get pushed completely away. This school affords so many opportunities to pursue personal interests. There are hundreds of clubs and thousands of people to connect with. Odds are that someone shares your interests and is just as eager to share it with someone else. It may not be easy for some of us to try to make connections, but that’s what Texas A&M is all about. Networking is a big part of our university as well as a very important resource for the future. So technically, making friends is going to help with your future.

In a time of our lives when we feel the stress of preparing for the rest of our lives, we have to make sure we don’t completely burn ourselves out. Take time to enjoy the other aspects of the college experience, not just classes and studying. Summer may no longer be a relaxing time, but step out and enjoy the sunshine while you can.

So, I got a new addition to my family over winter break.  Since I live in a house off campus, I’ve been wanting to get a dog for a while now.  I have a big backyard, and I just love dogs.  I was on a list to adopt a military working dog from Fort Hood, but something else happened to come up before that.  By a strange string of happenings, the neighbors who once lived beside my family, and who my mom was still friends with on Facebook, had a dog they were having trouble taking care of.  My mom jumped at the opportunity to adopt the two-year-old German shepherd, a breed she has a fondness for, named Ziva.  Trouble being, Ziva lived in Indiana, and I was in Colorado for Christmas and was planning to drive home with my grandparents and my cat. So how was I going to pick up this German shepherd and get it home?  The solution was combine all of the above.  We met the family halfway, a sort of triangulation between Colorado, Texas, and Indiana, We picked her up in the morning and drove ten hours with a curious German shepherd constantly attempting to climb in the front seat in investigate the cat who wanted nothing to do with the new, large animal.  It was a bit of a challenge, but Ziva arrived here safe and sound—although she did take off within the first hour of being in my house while we were unpacking.  Having the dog has certainly been an adventure, especially when, thus far, the cat and dog don’t get along.  But I have enjoyed her just the same.  She had her spay done at the small animal hospital, which was a very interesting experience, considering I plan to work there in the future.  She loves to run in my fenced-in backyard, still needs some leash training, and barks when in the crate when she knows I haven’t left the house yet, but for only having her a month, I think she’s doing wonderfully.  I’ve implemented clicker training, which proves to be a very effective method, and have enrolled her in an obedience class that will hopefully help with control issues and get her exposure to other dogs.

Having never owned a large dog before now, I ran into a few surprises here and there and realized how important training is, especially with an animal that is not easily controlled due to size.  I had Ziva start to drag me once when she saw a squirrel and went wild to go after it. (The thing had the gall to climb out of the tree right in front of her nose and run across the street; how could she possibly resist?)  Despite the fact that she was not quiet two when I received her, she was very responsive to training.  She can sit, stay, drop it, and leave it with the best of them.  She is extremely athletic and very eager to learn.  I hope that, in the future, I will be able to train her in agility, which would certainly be a learning experience for the both of us.

As much as she has learned from me, I have learned just as much, if not more from her.  Did you know some dogs communicate by snapping the air with their teeth, even having a different number of snaps referring to different wants, such as food or going outside?  I didn’t, and I still haven’t quiet figured out the code, but it’s a nice alternative to barking.  Training is a constant process that cannot be rushed and must be done gradually.  I can’t expect miracles after a short training session and a few treats, but will instead see slow improvements, such as going to her crate on her own when she sees me making my last preparations to leave.  Ziva is a wonderful dog who has been through four homes now, but I plan to be her person for a very long time.

In the days after Christmas, I know that the best place to be is with loved ones. For my break, I went home for the holidays. As I write this, the world outside is covered in white. I absolutely love the snow, and I am so glad I’m able to spend the winter in a place where it does snow, as well as spending time with my family. I get to see my two dogs, my mom’s cat, and my grandmother’s cat, all of which I love and miss when I’m gone. The best gift I got for Christmas was going to the movies with my sister and brother to see Into the Woods (and if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it). My dad was able to take leave and come up from Honduras to be here for Christmas, and though he’s leaving tomorrow, it’s been great having him home for a time.

The New Year is here, but I’m not really the kind of person to make New Year’s resolutions. I am satisfied with my grades from this past semester and don’t need to make the basic “exercise more” resolution. I suppose my resolution is to keep up what I’m already doing. Resolutions are a wonderful thing in theory, but often fail in practice. I believe that no one needs a specific time to make a change in himself or herself. A huge resolution is a daunting thought at the beginning of a new year. At any time, we can take small steps to reach a group for oneself. If it’s losing weight, pick a better meal. If it’s exercise, just go for a run as long as you can. That’s how I started running. I could barely make it to the corner at first but soon was running three miles. And it wasn’t a resolution of mine, but after taking a mandatory kinesiology class and having to run for that, I simply decided to keep it up. Really, the only thing stopping you from starting on the route towards goals is yourself. But don’t ever be disappointed in yourself if you try your best but don’t exactly meet your goal. The important thing is to try. Being too hard on ourselves causes stress, which no college student needs any more of. I’ve only just recently gotten back into a more comfortable sleeping schedule after finals. I’ve certainly been grateful for this break. I’ve used the time to do some writing, spend lots of time with my family, and basically just goof off in general. The break was made better when I saw my grade and how well I did. It’s gratifying when the work pays off.

My family is looking forward to me staying here when my sister and brother are back in school. I’ll probably help chauffeur my siblings. My sister is already excited for me to help her with chemistry. They’re also jealous that I have a longer break then them. I’ll be heading back to Texas a few days before break is over, riding with my grandparents and my cat. I’m actually really excited about my classes next year and will also be taking my first online class.

Have a great New Year, everyone!