Blog Assignment #1

About Me

Hi everyone! My name is Claire Langham, and I am a 20-year-old junior at the University of South Alabama. I was born and raised in Saraland, AL, and I love living in the south. I wanted to stay home for college, so attending South Alabama has been the best choice for me. I am majoring in Secondary Education with a focus on English, and I hope to teach in a high school classroom one day. My main goal in becoming a future teacher is to positively impact students' lives. Middle and high school students hold a special place in my heart, and I am so excited about furthering my education to be able to become the best educator possible.

I can't go much further without mentioning the main priority in my life, which is Jesus Christ. I love the Lord with all of my heart, and I strive each and every day to further His Kingdom. Without His love, mercy, and grace in my life, I would be a lost sinner with no hope of a future. I attend Lafitte Baptist Church, and I absolutely love serving with fellow Christ followers there. I teach the middle school Sunday school class, and I am a part of the college leadership team. I am so thankful for a God who saves and for a God who continuously loves us despite our many faults and failures.

I am a busy, organized, fun-loving, and high energy person. I have a highly Type A personality, and my Vera Bradley planner is always close by my side. This semester I am taking 19 hours of class, and I work a part-time job at a local daycare. I am also the head volleyball coach at North Mobile Christian School, and I have fallen in love with coaching. I played volleyball from 6th-12th grade, but I am enjoying being on the coaching side of the game now. Needless to say, I am always on the go, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love the craziness and fulfillment of a jam-packed schedule, and I love fitting lots of exciting things into my day.

My main support system is my wonderful family. My dad's name is Kenneth, and he has taught me so many life lessons, from the proper way to clean and park a vehicle to how to live a Christ-centered life. My mom's name is Brenda, and she is wonderful. She is my go-to person when I am having a bad day, and she always knows how to make things better. I have a 24-year-old brother, David, and he has an awesome wife, Morgan. I love hanging out with them because they are always so much fun. Last but not least is my sweet boyfriend, Chad. We have been together since we were 15 years old, so we are going on five years now. We can't wait to have the opportunity to get married, and we hope to be able to once we have both graduated from South. He is studying to become a mechanical engineer. He is truly my other half, and he is the biggest source of encouragement to me. I also have some pretty great friends who are always fun to be around. I am surrounded by so many loving and caring people, and I am grateful for each of them.

Just like everyone else, I have those certain things in life that I enjoy and find interesting. I love going to the beach and being out on the water. I enjoy traveling to new places, and in the last three summers, I've been to Alaska, Canada, Montana, Wyoming, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Fall weather is my favorite, and I love shopping for cute fall clothes. I'm obsessed with candles and all things that smell good. I have two toy poodles, Beau and Coco, and I love Christian and country music. I'm so excited about what life has in store for me next. I don't know what my future holds, but I do know Who holds my future. I would like to leave you with one of my favorite Bible verses, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Randy Pausch On Time Management

I really enjoyed Randy Pausch's video on time management. I have never heard of him before, but he made several excellent points that stuck out to me. When he said "failing to plan is planning to fail," I was able to immediately think of times when I did not make adequate plans, and they inevitably ended in failure. It is important to also make a to-do list and to ask yourself why each point on your list is important. I sometimes struggle with putting too many things on my to-do list, so it becomes physically impossible to complete each point in the time frame I give myself. Randy Pausch's video has given me the insight that I must try to focus on doing the right things adequately on my to-do list, rather than simply doing the wrong things beautifully.

Time Management Exercises and Lessons

After reading through Penn State's time management tips, I found that I follow many of the rules they suggest. They stress the importance of using a planner, and as I mentioned earlier, my planner is usually within my reach. I even color coordinate my classes and label each test and homework assignment with the pen color that matches the course. I tend to be a tad OCD when it comes to my planner. I did realize though that I do incorporate a few time wasters into my everyday schedule without really knowing it. My biggest time wasters would most likely be browsing on Facebook and Pinterest and watching too much TV. I am glad I was able to take a look at Penn State's time management suggestions, and I plan on referring back to them if I am ever in a bind.