This blog I have not touched in a while. I felt that this will serve
as more of a memoir for myself than it will be something that a great
amount of readers will ever spend the time to actually read. I decided
that I would go to Oklahoma State University for aerospace engineering.
This did not work out the way that I thought and I ended up spending my
time in Oklahoma working instead of going to class and rethinking
everything that I want to do with my life. I ended up taking a job
working for a water district in Perkins Oklahoma. It was a job I had
never done before and knew nothing about but I figured that it was worth
it to make some money and figure out how I was going to go back home. I
felt pretty out of place at first since I had to work with some guys
that had been working outside doing oil rig work and the type of labor
you would expect most construction workers to be used to. It involved
being outside sometimes all day and being covered in dirt and mud but it
honestly was not a bad experience. I have a new respect for the types
of people that do that kind of work because it definitely wears on your
body. It was at this job I got to do a few things that I can look back
on and be somewhat surprised that I wasn't more scared, such as the time
I almost got charged by a bull, or when I had to climb up a water
tower. I also had to be alert enough to not get stung or bitten by
snakes, black widows, scorpions, wasps or shock myself getting over barb
wire fences. I also got used to using a shovel, which I would have
never thought I would ever actually use at a job after going to college
for the first time.
I also got used to being somewhat isolated. I didn't have any friends in Stillwater and there weren't too many places I was interested in hanging out in. There were a few times I would go to a bar here or there and have a beer but not drinking for a while felt pretty good. I focused as much as I could on Jiu Jitsu and worked out on my own while also running the nearby lake whenever I got a chance. I actually spent more time on it that I usually did when I was living in North Carolina because I had not outside distractions. I only had work, which actually allowed me to replace some of my old, worn out gear I've sweating in for years now. I also got to see eagles when I was in Oklahoma. I had never seen a real bald eagle in my entire life, or had I ever seen one up close. The Iowa tribe has an aviary that houses not only eagles, but hawks and falcons. The aviary was only about half an hour from where I was living so I got to go and see the eagles when it was about one hundred degrees outside and my granddad came along with me. For the first time I was able to see these birds I had only seen pictures of up close. I was pretty amazed at how incredible their physical structure is. I remember the workers telling me the bones in the birds arms are actually part of their respiratory system. They also have absolutely incredible eyesight. For as long as I am alive, I will not forget when I got to go to the Iowa eagle aviary.
I also witnessed history while I was away from North Carolina. I was at the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. when the Comanche tribe received their congressional gold medal for the service of Comanche code talkers during World War II. While I was in D.C. I got to go to see several of the museums and also visited the tomb of the unknown soldier in Arlington national cemetery. One of the most interesting things I got to do was going to the National Air and Space Museum. The amount of history in that place is incredible. There are absolutely amazing pieces of aerospace and aviation history that are kept there and you can get an incredibly close look at all of it. Definitely one of the highlights of my trip.
I also got to make some seriously good friends doing BJJ in Oklahoma. There were a really good group of guys at Oklahoma Martial Arts Academy that pushed me really hard and forced me to work outside of my comfort zone whenever I made it onto the mat. I had to drive pretty far to make it there so that changed the way I thought about being there and wanted to take full advantage of every minute I was there. I became more aware that I needed to take advantage of my time there and to spar with the guys that pushed me the most. The instructor Seth also had some really good things to show me, which complimented with a lot of things I already had some experience with really well. Overall I feel as though it opened me up and forced me to work harder than I had before, definitely someplace I will visit again in the future.
I now am getting ready to start school this spring at UNC Charlotte for mechanical engineering with a minor in Physics. I am pretty excited about where I am headed and things are starting to come together pretty well. I am only hoping that this time I will be able to fully embrace going to a new college and have a better experience with finally making it to a university. I think that I will still be able to accomplish my goal to be an aerospace engineer but I am not sure exactly how that is going to happen. I have already taken serious thought into getting my masters degree but I don't want to get too ahead of myself.
I think that I needed to go to Oklahoma and that it was probably a good thing that something really bad happened. I realize a lot more can go wrong than you can anticipate but you have to learn to deal with it no matter how fucked up things are. I just hope things don't get fucked up again this time.
I also got used to being somewhat isolated. I didn't have any friends in Stillwater and there weren't too many places I was interested in hanging out in. There were a few times I would go to a bar here or there and have a beer but not drinking for a while felt pretty good. I focused as much as I could on Jiu Jitsu and worked out on my own while also running the nearby lake whenever I got a chance. I actually spent more time on it that I usually did when I was living in North Carolina because I had not outside distractions. I only had work, which actually allowed me to replace some of my old, worn out gear I've sweating in for years now. I also got to see eagles when I was in Oklahoma. I had never seen a real bald eagle in my entire life, or had I ever seen one up close. The Iowa tribe has an aviary that houses not only eagles, but hawks and falcons. The aviary was only about half an hour from where I was living so I got to go and see the eagles when it was about one hundred degrees outside and my granddad came along with me. For the first time I was able to see these birds I had only seen pictures of up close. I was pretty amazed at how incredible their physical structure is. I remember the workers telling me the bones in the birds arms are actually part of their respiratory system. They also have absolutely incredible eyesight. For as long as I am alive, I will not forget when I got to go to the Iowa eagle aviary.
I also witnessed history while I was away from North Carolina. I was at the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. when the Comanche tribe received their congressional gold medal for the service of Comanche code talkers during World War II. While I was in D.C. I got to go to see several of the museums and also visited the tomb of the unknown soldier in Arlington national cemetery. One of the most interesting things I got to do was going to the National Air and Space Museum. The amount of history in that place is incredible. There are absolutely amazing pieces of aerospace and aviation history that are kept there and you can get an incredibly close look at all of it. Definitely one of the highlights of my trip.
I also got to make some seriously good friends doing BJJ in Oklahoma. There were a really good group of guys at Oklahoma Martial Arts Academy that pushed me really hard and forced me to work outside of my comfort zone whenever I made it onto the mat. I had to drive pretty far to make it there so that changed the way I thought about being there and wanted to take full advantage of every minute I was there. I became more aware that I needed to take advantage of my time there and to spar with the guys that pushed me the most. The instructor Seth also had some really good things to show me, which complimented with a lot of things I already had some experience with really well. Overall I feel as though it opened me up and forced me to work harder than I had before, definitely someplace I will visit again in the future.
I now am getting ready to start school this spring at UNC Charlotte for mechanical engineering with a minor in Physics. I am pretty excited about where I am headed and things are starting to come together pretty well. I am only hoping that this time I will be able to fully embrace going to a new college and have a better experience with finally making it to a university. I think that I will still be able to accomplish my goal to be an aerospace engineer but I am not sure exactly how that is going to happen. I have already taken serious thought into getting my masters degree but I don't want to get too ahead of myself.
I think that I needed to go to Oklahoma and that it was probably a good thing that something really bad happened. I realize a lot more can go wrong than you can anticipate but you have to learn to deal with it no matter how fucked up things are. I just hope things don't get fucked up again this time.
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