Self-Discipline

The Five Areas Of My Life That Lack Self-Discipline...

1) Faith

2) School

3) Sorority

4) Health

5) Time Management

1. FAITH

I can improve my faith by finding a church in Norman that feels like home. I have not quite yet found a church that is anything like my church back home, but then again I have not looked all that into the churches around me either. Also just read the Bible every night, I usually read it once a week, but I think if I read it every night it would help me deal with my problems better.

2. SCHOOL

I still have yet to learn how to study correctly. I believe it just takes time to fall into the right habits but I'm sure I could do more to make me develop those studying habits faster and apply them to my second semester at OU.

3. SORORITY

Recently I have become more detected and driven in my sorority but I always feel like I can give it more. And I am running for VP of Chapter Development at the end of November and I believe that through this leadership position I can do great things for AOII.

4. HEALTH

I eat heathy most of the time I just need to work on exercising more. Ever since I hurt my ankle I have not been able to run or swim very well and I always loved doing that back home so hopefully after Christmas Break I can get back into the swing of things.

5. TIME MANAGEMENT

I have horrible time management. I am one of the most organized people you will ever meet but scheduling out when I should do what everyday of the week is not one of my strong suits. I can improve this with more self-motivation that I can complete stuff without procrastinating.

Nikki Cuenca has a great deal of self-discipline. I have known Nikki for three years now and ever since we have been friends she is the most independent person I have ever met. She never asks her parents for anything. She is here at OU because she is paying for it. She is also paying to be in AOII. She knows how to budget her time,faith, and money. She is an inspiration to me because she has truly worked hard for everything she has. I could not think of a better person who has earned the title of independence and being incredibly self-disciplined.

I believe that I am accountable for EVERYTHING.

I believe I am accountable to EVERYONE.

My Mission

Mission Statement

I am at my best when I have a vision to succeed. . I will try to prevent times when I get distracted and have too much on my plate. . I will enjoy my work by finding employment where I can help others. . I will find enjoyment in my personal life through hanging out with my family, watching Grey's Anatomy, swimming and running. I will find opportunities to use my natural talents and gifts such as having a positive attitude. . I can do anything I set my mind to. I will change the world for the good. . My life's journey is to find a cure for breast cancer. I would be doing it for my mom and grandmother and for the 1 in 8 women who are diagnosed with it. The results would be that I would find a cure and would save many lives. . I will be a person who my Alpha Omicron Pi sisters admire. I would like them to say that I made a difference, my 80 years on earth were not wasted but were spent helping others. . My most important future contribution to others will be leading by example. And leading with a vision. .

I will stop procrastinating and start working on:

Going to church more often and becoming closer to God.

Change my study habits.

Do more for others.

I will strive to incorporate the following attributes into my life:

Faithfulness

Thoughtfulness

Dedication

I will constantly renew myself by focusing on the four dimensions of my life:

Running a marathon.

Practice what the Bible has taught me.

Remember that anything is possible.

Positive thinking and faith that I can succeed.

OU MISSION

OU MISSION STATEMENT

"The mission of the University of Oklahoma is to provide the best possible educational experience for our students through excellence in teaching, research and creative activity, and service to the state and society."

I believe I am currently living the OU mission Statement to the best of my abilities. It is still my first semester of college and I have finally transitioned and can call OU my home. I believe that OU has allowed me to grow. Especially OU's greek life has truly changed me as a person. I was finally initiated into Alpha Omicron Pi last Saturday and I do not think I have ever been so proud to be part of an organization. In high school I was Student Council President. I LOVED stu-co, it was what I devoted my life to and I never thought anything would replace the love I had for student council, but it turns out being an AOII has been the best decision I have ever made. I never really understood why I was in a sorority until last week, which was Alpha Week. Every night last week we would meet at the house from 9:30 to 11:00 and I bonded so well with every girl in my pledge class. I have NEVER felt so close to a group of around 60 girls. My whole life I have always felt like something was missing, there was some kind of void in my heart that I was never able to fill. And I learned this past week the void that I was missing was SISTERHOOD. I have a younger brother so I have never had that LOVE that sisters have for one another. Because of OU I now have 200 sisters and I have never been this happy in my whole entire life. When people say college is way better than high school, I now agree and can say it myself that I truly LOVE The University of Oklahoma.

I believe OU is living the mission statement. OU is dedicated to all aspects of it's students lives. Not only do students get an education here but attending The University of Oklahoma is truly LIFE CHANGING. Since August I have GROWN so much. Being here at OU allows you to grow, granted it is a struggle at times but there are so many people that are dedicated to making your life and stay here the best it has ever been. A lot of my friends back home are not happy at their universities, and the reason why this has happened is because their schools do not have a LOVE for their students. OU is dedicated to having its students succeed here and not only that they want their students to grow as leaders and they want people to transform into EXTRAORDINARY human beings who are dedicated to doing good and encourage others around them to do the same.

I believe nothing needs to be changed about OU or OU's mission statement because the time I have spent here has been an amazing experience already and it is only my first semester. I cannot wait till to see what OU has in store for my future. OU has changed my life and I have never been so proud to say I attend the UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA.

Who's Who

DR. BECKY BARKER

Meeting Becky Barker has been one of my most enjoyable moments so far during my freshmen year. She is the director of leadership development and volunteerism at The University of Oklahoma. Her office is located in the Oklahoma Memorial Union and she welcomes students to come and go as they please.

Becky Barker is from the Fort Worth area and when she was younger her father was heavily involved with the ROTC at TCU (Texas Christian University). Becky has been involved at OU for quite some time. She served many years as the Panhellenic Advisor and loved every moment of it. Becky is an inspiring woman with an incredible education. Not only is she smart but she is generous. She is devoted to her job at OU and everyday she sets students on a journey that eventually transformers them into extraordinary leaders.

Advice I would give to other freshmen is simply get involved and meet people. You will find when you branch out, your opportunities to succeed are greater. Developing relationships with different people allows your communication skills to improve, which leads to your personal networking to develop. As scary as freshman year may be each day you make it is another day you are allowing yourself to grow. And growth is necessary to graduate from this amazing university.

Click Here For More Information

Leader-In-The-Field

LU TAO

POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

Lu Tao is from Beijing, China. He came to America to get a PHD. He came to The University of Oklahoma because OU offers many advantages in the political science department. He is fluent in three languages, Chinese, English and Spanish. He claims from his experience that the department offers a variety of self discipline. He LOVES politics and that is why he is currently devoting a majority of his life to it. This is currently his first year at the university and he is teaching one government class (currently my class). As of right now he is just sticking to teaching and researching more and more about political science. He does not plan on attending law school. He said he simply does not have the same passion for it as he has for political science. I asked him if he is planning to ever go into politics and with a smirk across his face he simply responded "maybe..." I asked him how important it was for his students to learn about political science and he said on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the least important to 10 being crucial to the student's ability to function in a normal society he rated it as a 9 or a 10.

LEADERSHIP

I asked him what parts of leadership are the most important and he said knowledge is the most important. You need an exceptional amount of knowledge to balance out different conflicts. Also one needs a certain amount of charisma to demonstrate their entrepreneurship.

EXPERIENCE IN LEADERSHIP

He founded the United Nations Club in 2005 right here at OU. He was in charge of it his junior and senior year. He established it with the help of his friends working together as one. The club is still around today and he has a part in selecting the candidates for inheriting the club.

He of course demonstrates leadership every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11:30-12:20 during my 50 minute government class. He said the most important leadership trait he uses during my class is persuasion. He persuades his students to learn about politics and possibly discover the same passion he has for political science.

Lu Tao asked me if I was going to continue forward with my current major of political science and I said I was unsure because I am currently in a state of confusion about what I am suppose to do in my life. He asked me if I wanted to go to law school and I told him yes that was the one thing I knew I wanted to do. He told me an interesting quote, "When you are in an American airport and you are about to get on a plane whose final destination is China, there are connecting flights everywhere but you are not sure which connecting flights you are going to take. It does not matter if you are unsure about those connecting flights, as long as you keep in mind your final destination aka Law School that is what important." He told me to stay focused and to not underestimate myself and my ability to reach my final destination.

More Information About The University Of Oklahoma's Political Science Department At:

http://www.ou.edu/cas/psc

Happy Birthday Jenna

Happy Birthday Best Friend! I Love YOU!

Future At OU

FUTURE AT OU

I cannot believe my first semester of college is almost over.

My next 7 semester at OU I already have a list of things I would like to accomplish.

First of all, I want to become a better photographer because I want to capture as many memories as I can while I'm here at OU.

I want to become more involved with my sorority. Right now I'm just a new member but I would like to advance in the leadership positions after initiation.

I also want to get involved with young life and develop a stronger relationship with God.

Making good grades has always been one of my highest priorities and I am going to strive to get a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

I have always wanted to run a marathon so I think it would be neat to build up to that!

Make and keep new friendships (which I have already done, but the more the merrier) !

Do something great that makes my mom extraordinarily proud.

Most importantly make a difference. After all if you lead the change the world will follow.

Attitude

ATTITUDE

ATTITUDE is said to be everything.

That your life and your happiness revolve around your ATTITUDE.

When accomplishing group tasks ATTITUDE is one of the factors that plays a role in rather your group project is going to be successful or not. A negative ATTITUDE will lead to misunderstandings and disagreements between the group members. The negativity in the group will be the members downfall, which will cause them to lose motivation towards the group's ultimate goal. A positive ATTITUDE on the other hand sets up an environment where the group members can rely on one another. Their is room for growth and positive change when this attitude is put into factor. The glass being seen as half full will always have better overall outcomes than looking at the glass half empty.

Patricia Finch has influenced me for four years now. It began Sophomore year, I was just another student in her Pre-Ap Algebra 2 Class. It was towards the end of the year and she had missed several days in class because her mom was sick in the hospital. Later on more days passed and when she returned to school we were informed that her mother had passed away. With such a tragedy occurring in her life she still returned to school. Her attitude of keeping on even when things are completely unfair and not going her way; she still returned to be a teacher at Boswell High School. My relationship with Ms. Finch only grew from there. She was the student council sponsor and encouraged me to get involved at the end of my sophomore year. I grew as a leader because of her. My senior year I was elected as Student Body President and became an extraordinary leader because she believed in me. I'm the person I am today because her. Her courageous attitude about life is something I admire the most about her. She is an amazing woman, one of a kind, and her uplifting spirit and attitude has touched not only my life but every student that has ever stepped into her classroom.

"Our Attitude Are Our Most Important Assets."

When a problem arises how one handles the problem depends on one's attitude. Every decision one makes, attitude has a role in the outcome of the decision. Pretty much attitude is an everyday factor in our lives. It's more than an unseen verb, it's an action. An action that develops the lives not only of our own but the lives we influence around us. A positive or negative attitude shapes a person and it is a factor in everything that we do.

"If you don't like something CHANGE IT. If you can't CHANGE IT...CHANGE the way you think about it." - Mary Englebreit

Problem vs. Challenge

There is a famous serenity prayer that I have always said every night before I go to sleep. A prayer that most can and will recognize as something that gives one the ability to change any problem into a challenge.

"God grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change. The COURAGE to change the things I can and the WISDOM to know the difference. "

The three main points in the prayer represent what you need to transform the problems in your life into challenges that make you stronger because they cause you to put the most important things first. I practically live by turning my problems into challenges. Granted it is incredibly tough because by turning your problems into challenges you cause yourself to face the most uncertainty of all things. Because when this transformation happens the stress and emotional tole that the challenges you take on can be exhausting. For example last Saturday one of my good friend's, Katie, her dad died. Out of nowhere he just died. He had been fighting the battle against stomach cancer for almost two years and I believe that his battle of cancer was seen to others as a problem but he saw it as a challenge. He challenged himself to forget about the odds, forget about how long the doctors said he had to live, he decided for himself that he controlled how long he had on earth. Dale Mayo underwent a clinical trial for patients with his type of cancer. Rather than sitting back and doing nothing he risked his own life to help others like him get better. I find his actions incredibly courageous and heroic. By turning his problem into a challenge he helped researches get closer and closer to finding a cure. The impact that he left in everyone's life is something I admire so strongly about him. He was an incredible father to four great kids who have the most generous hearts and uplifting spirits I have ever been around. Turning a problem into a challenge is simple. It's about personal motivation and vision.

Katie Mayo and I :)

Letter From OU

Dear Class of 2010,

As I can imagine, I am sure you all are already ready to graduate and it has only been six weeks into the school year. My advice is start touring and applying to colleges NOW. Touring colleges is one of the most important actions you MUST do during your senior year. I toured my top five schools that I was interested in and you will know when you walk on the campus and you see what the school has to offer, you will feel it inside your heart which school you BELONG at. Take the SAT or ACT as many times as you can, each time you take it, I guarantee your score will improve. Texas school's look at SAT while Oklahoma schools prefer to look at ACT. The schools that you are interested in look at the degree programs they have to offer and do research and see what the success rate in your department is. If you are not sure what your major is pick three that you are interested in, you can always change it. But when you are in college it is better to actually say your major is something than to say you are currently undecided. Your senior year do not completely blow off all your classes and grades because college is a rude AWAKENING. The work load and the amount of studying they expect you to do is a lot so PREPARE yourselves ahead of time and stay on top of your work. Get INVOLVED as much as you can and strive to make a DIFFERENCE your last year at Boswell, it is your LAST year to leave your MARK on the school and you want to leave a POSITIVE and INFLUENTIAL one. Do not decide to go to a college because it is a party school, or your mom and dad went there, or because your boyfriend and girlfriend is going there; decide on the school that you feel COMFORTABLE at. Decide early on if you want to rush at your school. I would only recommend rushing if you are emotionally prepared for it and you know what to EXPECT because for me it was one of the worst weeks of my life, but as I look back on it now I have met and made so many friends through it. Another IMPORTANT thing to think about is distance, how far away you are willing to be. Think about how often you want to come home. For me two and a half hours away is the perfect distance, it allows me to come home on the weekends which is BENEFICIAL when you need a break and an opportunity to get away from the stress of college. Finally my last advice is ENJOY your senior year and REMEMBER that it goes by so FAST! You will be graduating before you know it and then your last summer at home will come and before you know it you are packing up and LEAVING the life you have known for the past 18 years. It's a scary process, terrifying actually, but I promise you can do it and you will be just fine.

Bystander Behavior

BYSTANDER BEHAVIOR

At the beginning of senior year during lunch my friends and I would always notice this girl named Anna eating by herself, so one day my friend I invited her to sit with us. Little did we know she was very different than all of us and she believed everything we told her. As the semester progressed people at the table would not necessarily be mean to her but would make jokes and comments about her while she was sitting at the other end of the table. It was my idea to invite her to sit with us but it was not my intentions for her to be the center of our conversation everyday at lunch. Before the semester was over she stopped sitting with us and we never really saw her or ran into her again. I should of stuck up for her more because after all I was the one who asked her to sit with us.

Well I wish a bystander would have stepped in to help Anna from my lunch. Everyone in the cafeteria knew she sat with us and knew that our table made fun of her but not one person the entire semester came up to us and said anything. Even teachers and assistant principles who monitored the lunch knew about what our intentions were and they never stepped in either. The poor girl did not have any friends and no one ever took the opportunity to really get to know her, to ask her about her personal and home life. Everyone in that lunch room was pretty naive, even myself and some of my closet friends.

College students do not speak up to wrong doing simple because they do not want to stand out. They see someone who needs help but they ask themselves is it really their place to step in? Shouldn't someone closer to that person step in and help them. I believe most college students mainly are afraid of embarrassment, they are almost ashamed to help some they do not know, let alone someone they will most likely never see again.

Priorities

PRIORITIES

Right out of high school coming up with priorities has proved to be a difficult task. But the summer before I came to the University of Oklahoma I came up with four priorities that I could follow for the next four years here. Faith, Family, School and Friendship.

FAITH

Is my number one priority. Having a relationship with God is the most important thing in my life. Because without him I would not be the person I am today. He is my guidance. He never leads me in the wrong direction. And every struggle or hardship that I go through, he is with me, giving me strength and endurance to handle it all.

FAMILY

Is my second priority because at the end of the day, your family has been with you since the beginning. My mom, dad, brother, and even my two dogs mean the world to me. It's important to keep in touch with them this year and to go home and visit as often as I. I would not be here at OU without my mom and dad. Their constant love and support has driven me to find success here and to continue to strive for bigger and better things in my future.

School

Is my third priority because education is the key to a successful life and future. Every decision I make here at OU from now until 2013 will play a positive or negative role in the life ahead of me. Doing well in my classes is the reason why I am here. Having fun and making friends is also important but making good grades and establishing a name for myself comes first above all things.

Friendship

Is my fourth and finally priority. My goal is to not only make new friends and establish friendships here at OU but I want to continue to have the friendships that I left back home. Without the friends in high school that I had, my life would not be the same. Jenna, Parker, Adam, Jim and many more all contributed to making my high school experience worth while and I owe it to them to remain close to them.

Influences

"You were given this life because your strong enough to live it."

My past 18 years on Earth I have influenced by many individuals but the one who has influenced me the most is my mom. As cliche as it is she is my best friend and my hero. In October of 2007 my mom was diagnosed with Stage Two Breast Cancer. I remember every aspect of the day she told me, it was the worst day of my life. I felt the entire day as if I was moving in slow motion. Not too long after my mom told me she underwent her first chemotherapy treatment. It caused her to become very sick fast. The chemotherapy treatments continued and when my mom shaved her head and told me with an uplifting spirit that "She was in control, not the cancer." She cut all her hair off before the chemotherapy had the chance to make it fall out. This action that my mom first took is what opened my eyes to the extraordinary woman that she is. She went through eight chemo treatments and not once did she complain or questioned why such a terrible thing happened to her. Her faith in God grew tremendously within the next year and propelled her to go through surgery and radiation treatments. It was not until late June of 2008 when I was told "It's not about what happens to you, it's how you handle what happens." This opened my eyes to everything that had gone on in the past year of my life. That no matter how many times I questioned why this happened to my mom, being sad about it was no way to live. From that point on I became an optimist. The glass was no longer half empty but half full. My mom is THE strongest person I know. And that is no exaggeration, she is a gifted, talented, extraordinary woman. Without her being in my life I would not be the person I am today. She has inspired me to go after my dreams of changing the world and making a difference. She has shaped me into a stronger Christian and I am so lucky to call her my hero and my best friend.

"But those who hope in the lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." - Isaiah 40:31

"Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end."

"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." Exodus 14:14