Scheduling challenges...and other observations

I really love A&M. I wouldn't want to be at any other school, honestly. But their class registration system is a total nightmare. 

So I had this really nice schedule for next semester planned out like a boss. No late classes, no classes before 10:00am. No big breaks. It was looking really good. That was two days ago. But now, a mere 5 hours before I register, almost every single class that I wanted is full or has about three spots left. It's pretty unfortunate. So I just went through everything and made a mediocre schedule that should get me through next semester. 

But here's the real angst: I'll get done with class on Tuesdays and Thursdays by 11 (not that angsty). The nightmare part? It starts at eight in the morning. With a math class. If you knew me at all, you would know two things. 1. I am a night owl to the extreme and don't get along with my alarm clock when it wakes me up at 9am. 2. I hate, hate, HATE math. I'm an English major. You can't get anymore anti-math than that. So an unbelievably early class that deals with business calculus and stats? Uh, no thank you. But this awful first-come-first-serve pecking order of a registration system has left me with no choice. The joys of being a sophomore. 

Ugh. The thought of it now--almost two months in advance to when I'll actually taking it--is repulsive. I know, I know. I'm incredibly blessed to go to school here and I'm not griping about the school work. That I can handle. But mornings...they just aren't fun. To all you chipper morning people out there, I'm jealous of you. I wish I could pop up at the crack of dawn, fix my coffee, and bounce out the door with a good attitude for my 8 o'clock class. I truly wish that math wasn't such a foreign subject to my English-oriented mind. But I can't and it isn't. I'm not like that. 

In other news...Johnny Football. Breaking Cam Newton's record of total offensive yards in one fewer game? And people are still thinking he won't get the Heisman? From everything I've heard, dude's on top to take it. But anything can happen. We still have a week and a half until it is revealed, but the voting ended last night at 5pm, so there isn't much we can do now except cross our fingers and hope they voted the way the numbers shape up. 

But even if he doesn't win (it'll be a gross injustice and quite a statement to the college football world if he doesn't), Johnny Manziel and the fightin' Texas Aggie football team of the 2012 season have made a huge statement. They provided a hope to this campus and shown long time fans how patience pays off. I've always been proud of my team. Frustrated for sure, but never ashamed. But all the letdowns of seasons past have been building up to an explosion of pure awesome. 

When people this season have said that it's a good time to be an Aggie, they're right certainly. But I don't base my school pride on my football team. I put stock in our traditions, our values, how we can all come together as a student body in crazy ways that not many schools do. We convene once a month to remember Aggie students who have passed away. Aggies from around the country (and world) gather annually to remember every Aggie--current student or former student--who passed away that year. We have our own version of Silver Taps. We have organized yells, a gathering of 30,000 students who come to every football game, and a tree that determines your romantic future. I can't ever get to or from a class without seeing someone I know--which is so awesome. 

But does it help that my football team is in the top 10 in the nation with potentially the first freshman Heisman winner? Yeah, maybe a little. 

To answer the comment though: it's always a good time to be an Aggie. 

Thanks, and gig 'em. 

21 for 21

Hey. I turned 21 yesterday, which is pretty weird. So I decided to list out 21 random things about me, that I have observed, or learned. Or whatever. This is a pretty random post. Bear with me, people.

1. Alcohol is pretty gross, y'all. My first impression: it tastes like how nail polish would taste. I don't think y'all will need to be worried about me going out and getting totally plastered. So there's that.

2. It is a requirement for southern people to refer to their parents as "Mother and Daddy".

3. A&M football is pretty much the best ever.

4. Life is hard. God is good.

5. You survive off of strange things in college (popcorn, strawberries, and grilled cheese)

6. Sometimes, when you sing and stomp loudly, the cops get called on you. Happy birthday to me. But if it's your birthday, they won't give you a ticket.

7. There's nothing quite like a Pine Cove birthday rap.

8. Every time Taylor Swift releases a new album, I am reminded of how good it feels to roll down the windows and have a jam session to angsty pseudo-country music.

9. Twitter is the new Facebook.

10. It is not abnormal to come home from class and immediately take your pants off.

11. Seeing the same movie 3 times in 10 days is acceptable. Pitch Perfect, you're welcome.

12. The best kind of friend is the one who can read your mind and answer whatever you were thinking about.

13. Sonic happy hour is the antidote to anything. Feel bad about a test? Go to sonic. Stressed? Go to sonic. Hungry? Go to sonic to get a drink to go with your food.

14. It's okay if you have to drop a class. The world won't end. Grades are not eternal.

15. I am loved despite me.

16. The Rangers are currently still one of the best teams in baseball regardless of their unfortunate season ending. And I still love them.

17. Princess Diaries never gets old.

18. 2 Corinthians 12:9. "And He said to me 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness' So I will boast all the more in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may shine through me."

19. Sometimes I just ponder how much easier life would be if I could teleport. Like when I miss the bus or don't want to hike up 4 flights of stairs. That's weird, right?

20. I still wish I could sing, but I've found that singing loud and proud is more fun than trying to match pitch.

21. After 21 years of running into things, knocking things over, and tripping and falling, I've come to realize that I might have tight Achille's tendons or whatever, but I was made in the image of a perfect God. And if He wants me to be quirky and clumsy, then I'll take it.

Life lessons. They're abundant.

Gig 'em Aggies.

Hello, college football world. I think A&M has sufficiently proved to everyone--announcers, fans, teams, and, if I'm being honest, myself--that they are now a football force to be reckoned with and that their conference move was not a negative decision.

This is not a post about how the SEC is a million times better than A&M's former conference, the Big 12. Why? Because the Big 12 had almost all of it's teams ranked at some point this year. How many other conferences can claim that? No, not even the SEC. My rivalry with those teams hasn't died, but a rivalry is different than, say, a grudge. Rivalries have a level of respect and I immensely respect every team in that conference. Do I like all of them? No, of course not. Will I talk smack about them? Sure. But I will never try to take away the fact that they are good teams and the Big 12 is not, by anyone's standards, a tragedy of a conference. I'd venture to say that it's in the top 5 in the nation.

That being said, I'm thrilled to be in the SEC. I miss the longstanding rivalries that I've grown accustomed to (Texas, Baylor, Tech, etc), but the time for change had come. I was unwilling to accept this at first and was afraid that my team was going to get smashed into Aggie pancakes. But we've held our own against traditionally top 10 powerhouses like LSU, Florida, and Alabama. It's been incredible to watch how one of my favorite teams has flourished and grown and pushed through obstacles. I have the Big 12 to thank for molding us into the team that we are (honest, zero sarcasm in that). And I have the SEC to thank for pushing us so we can prove that we are the Aggies (the Aggies are we!)

But now I'm just going to brag a little bit. I think we've earned it.

Kevin Sumlin is no spring chicken when it comes to A&M and upsets. 10 years ago to the weekend, Sumlin--then the offensive coordinator for the Ags--coached a redshirted freshman into upsetting the No. #1 OU. History has a habit of repeating itself. As the Aggies marched into Tuscaloosa today, the whole world felt like they were marching to a death beat. You don't go into that stadium and win, especially when that thing holds over 100,000 people and they are all supporting the top team in the nation--which isn't you. It just doesn't happen.

But it did.

When it comes to college football, as I have learned, it comes down to who wants it more, not who the better team is. And it was more important for the Aggies to prove who we are and where we belong than for the Crimson Tide to protect their title. I still have so much respect for every team in the Southeastern Conference and think that if A&M and Alabama played 10 times, Bama would probably come out on top more than A&M would. This, however, was the time that counted.

But was it pretty fun to watch all the stunned faces while the War Hymn echoed through Tuscaloosa? Oh yeah. And did I saw varsity's horns off in the street tonight with some of my friends after the clock ran down to zero? You bet.

New coach. New quarterback. New conference. New victories.

Same Old Army.

FARMERS FIGHT. FARMERS FIGHT. FARMERS. FARMERS. FARMERS FARMERS FIGHT A! A-A-A-A-AAAAAAAAAAA.