Good Morning!
I apologize to all of you for my delay in writing, the past week has just been crazy! So...in order to catch up I'll give you an idea of what I have been up to! Last week I had the amazing opportunity to meet with a representative at Mercy Hospital. She was a heath care administrator in the oncology department which is exactly the area that I want to work with. We met on Wednesday and originally we were only scheduled to meet for forty-five minutes and we ended up staying for an hour and a half. What a great day! We got to talk a lot about the different services that are available at Mercy Hospital, my history, and hers, and much more! It was very educational for me as well because I hope to one day be a health care administrator so I loved hearing how she got to where she is and what I should be doing to someday make it to that point. Also during the interview, we talked about how I can get involved. We decided to have me come in as a volunteer through the hospital and work with the inpatients at Mercy. This means that I would go into the roooms of the admitted patients and talk to them about services and options that they have to help them relieve the pain of the diagnosis of cancer. I am super excited to get involved and look forward to showing them the potential options that they have. Some examples of these options include massages, support groups, wigs and fittings and much much more. Mercy has so many programs for help it is just unreal! What a great program!
Then on to Thursday which was a very exciting day! Thursday morning I woke up around 3:00 a.m. Yes, I just said 3:00 a.m. Crazy, right? Well let me explain. By being involved in AFROTC I found the opportunity to join the detachment choir. This entails performances of the National Anthem and other patriotic songs throughout the year. Well, fortunately I didn't have to sing at 3:00 a.m. but I did leave for the airport at 4:00 a.m. That's right, I just said the airport! Thursday morning, I and 13 others left MSP airport for Los Angeles, CA. It was here that we attended SCIDM (Southern California Invitational Drill Meet). Our drill team, the Black Knights, performed their routine there but I had the opportunity to sing the National Anthem for this event. Our detachment is the only detachment that has a choir and so we were in
vited to sing the National Anthem for this drill meet. What an amazing opportunity! It was also REALLY nice to get off the plane and be warm! The sunshine, palm trees, and green grass made me realize how much I love summer and how much I hate snow. I hope that I could someday be stationed in California because it is really just an amazing state (minus earthquakes). On Thursday, we arrived and basically just got settled. Then, that night we drove to the beach which was only a few short minutes away and went for a run. (Thing I love about ROTC #109: We will always take time for exercise) It was SO beautiful to run next to the crashing waves and see the oil rigs on the horizon, not to mention being outside in shorts and a t-shirt and being comfortable! Then on to Friday. This day was really my favorite. We headed out to the beach fairly early and that is where we spent our day. A few people were brave enough to take a dip in the ocean. Some even rented surf boards and went surfing. Congrats to Alex for being the only one to stand out of the entire day. I, on the other hand, stayed out of the water for the most part. I played football for almost the entire day which is another sport that I love to play. I love to play catch or even a game of two hand touch. What a blast! (Thing I love about ROTC #207: Competition is never hard to find). At the end of our time at the beach that day, I managed to find enough nerve to enter the freezing cold ocean. A friend and I raced to the water and as soon as I made it there I lost my breath. Now, I didn't lose my breath because it was so stunning, I lost it because it was SOOOO cold!! I could just feel my body trying to retain heat. Fortunately, I can now say that I have been completely submerged in the ocean, something I had never done before. Then on to Saturday. Saturday was the actual competition and where I got to sing. We (one other cadet and I) sang at 8:00. Bright and early for a singer... The other cadet I sang with w
as the one that wrote the arrangement so technically we performed a world premiere arrangement of the National Anthem. We stayed at the competition for the majority of the day and then in the evening we had a beach party which included more football and a cook out. It was seriously a blast. Sunday we left bright and early again around 4:00 a.m. but really in MN it was 6:00 so that doesn't make it seem quite as bad. I must say, I was a little disappointed to fly into MSP and see all the freezing rain and snow that was on the ground, especially after we were just staying on Beach Blvd. I am glad to be back because as always, I missed being home, but California is a place that will always hold a special place in my heart.
vited to sing the National Anthem for this drill meet. What an amazing opportunity! It was also REALLY nice to get off the plane and be warm! The sunshine, palm trees, and green grass made me realize how much I love summer and how much I hate snow. I hope that I could someday be stationed in California because it is really just an amazing state (minus earthquakes). On Thursday, we arrived and basically just got settled. Then, that night we drove to the beach which was only a few short minutes away and went for a run. (Thing I love about ROTC #109: We will always take time for exercise) It was SO beautiful to run next to the crashing waves and see the oil rigs on the horizon, not to mention being outside in shorts and a t-shirt and being comfortable! Then on to Friday. This day was really my favorite. We headed out to the beach fairly early and that is where we spent our day. A few people were brave enough to take a dip in the ocean. Some even rented surf boards and went surfing. Congrats to Alex for being the only one to stand out of the entire day. I, on the other hand, stayed out of the water for the most part. I played football for almost the entire day which is another sport that I love to play. I love to play catch or even a game of two hand touch. What a blast! (Thing I love about ROTC #207: Competition is never hard to find). At the end of our time at the beach that day, I managed to find enough nerve to enter the freezing cold ocean. A friend and I raced to the water and as soon as I made it there I lost my breath. Now, I didn't lose my breath because it was so stunning, I lost it because it was SOOOO cold!! I could just feel my body trying to retain heat. Fortunately, I can now say that I have been completely submerged in the ocean, something I had never done before. Then on to Saturday. Saturday was the actual competition and where I got to sing. We (one other cadet and I) sang at 8:00. Bright and early for a singer... The other cadet I sang with w
as the one that wrote the arrangement so technically we performed a world premiere arrangement of the National Anthem. We stayed at the competition for the majority of the day and then in the evening we had a beach party which included more football and a cook out. It was seriously a blast. Sunday we left bright and early again around 4:00 a.m. but really in MN it was 6:00 so that doesn't make it seem quite as bad. I must say, I was a little disappointed to fly into MSP and see all the freezing rain and snow that was on the ground, especially after we were just staying on Beach Blvd. I am glad to be back because as always, I missed being home, but California is a place that will always hold a special place in my heart. Unfortunately, that is all the time I have for today but I will try to write more soon!
