Spring Break is over

Yesterday marked the return to school after a wonderful Spring Break. *sigh* I had an absolute blast. I didn't travel anywhere and didn't do anything "spectacular," yet this was the greatest spring break ever. So what was so special? I spent lots of time with the greatest friends on the face of the earth. With an extra Friday on break this year, I was able to spend the majority of two weekends, and some time in between, with my closest circle of friends. I savored every minute of it. It felt great to be able to meet a friend for dinner, watch a movie, walk around downtown with a group of friends, and so forth without having to worry about assignments. What a godsend! I really didn't want to come back this week.

Also, it seems that in recent weeks I have grown closer to a few of my friends and felt a stronger connection with them--making the quality time I spent with them over spring break even more precious. That is the primary reason I did not want to return to school. Don't get me wrong--I absolutely love learning. I really do. I always have and I always will. But I'm ready to take it outside the confines of a university and begin real-life learning. I only have one more year of school left and only six more weeks in this semester, but I am so ready for it to be over. I'm ready to take what I've learned in class and actually apply it. But I'm also ready to be able to spend my spare time with my friends and family, not poring over books for class. While doing well in class will help me in my future job, it's not my GPA that will matter at the end of my life. It's my walk with Christ, the relationships I've formed and the people that have been by my side throughout this crazy experience we call life. That's what counts. And that's what I celebrated over break.

Life-saving dolphin aids whales

The dolphin is my favorite animal. A quick little known fact about me: I wanted to be a marine biologist for a couple of years as a preteen. I love the ocean and ocean life, so I thought it would be cool to study it for a living. Those of you who know me can go ahead and laugh. Don't worry, I changed my mind about marine biology. While I like studying marine biology (and general biology as well), I figured if I couldn't stand the thought of being out on the ocean in a small to medium-sized boat then I probably shouldn't major in it.

Crushed career dreams aside, I still think dolphins are amazing creatures. Not only are the cute, funny and intelligent, but occasionally they have been proven to save lives. As I was browsing through MSNBC.com earlier trying to see what was happening around the nation and the world, I stumbled upon this article. Apparently a dolphin in New Zealand helped lead two stranded pygmy sperm whales, a mother and her calf, to safety. How sweet. Dolphins prove their intelligence and compassion once again!

UT Today airing on Saturdays

I have to post a quick little plug for my fellow UT journalism students. For eight consecutive weeks students will be writing, producing, and broadcasting a 30-minute newscast, UT Today, as part of the Electronic News Operations course. The shows will air Saturdays at 1 p.m. on WBIR Channel 10. They began broadcasting last Saturday and will run through April 26. Check it out and see what the journalism students at UT are learning about broadcasting.

Way to go, News-Sentinel!

Way to go, Knoxville News-Sentinel! The newspaper has won two national journalism awards for its coverage of the Knox County Commission's violation of the Open Meetings Act and the subsequent law suit it launched against the commission. And deservedly so. Hats off to the staff at the News-Sentinel for fulfilling their role as a government watchdog and for looking out for the citizens of Knox County and the First Amendment. Also, thanks for being a living example to journalism students like myself of how important that role is and how it works.

Thoughts on Candace Parker leaving the Lady Vols

In my online journalism class, we are currently learning about the basics of shooting and editing video. Last Thursday we divided into groups and went across campus shooting video for a man-on-the-street assignment. My classmates Emily and Todd and I asked the people we interviewed to respond to the question: How do you feel about Candace Parker opting out of her senior year to enter the WNBA draft?

We edited our video in class yesterday and loaded it onto YouTube. Sadly, the quality isn't that great since we used a digital camera (and it was really windy), but hey, it was the first attempt at video for all of us. Here are the results if you would like to check them out. (I shot the video on the first and last clips.)