Conversational Partner #6

Because of my inability to meet with Hussain the required amount of time, for my last Conversational Blog I will write about a pivotal moment in my life.

 After reflecting on this topic for some time, I have decided to write about when my oldest brother left for college.

To give some context, I am the youngest of four boys. My older brothers are Adam (age 27), Kyle (age 25), and Drew (age 22). We moved to Norman, OK when I was just one year old. All of us were very close while growing up, and as expected from four boys, we were very competitive. We often had 2v2 basketball or football games in our yard and I was typically teamed up with Adam. He wasn't the biggest, even though he was the oldest. I always felt like I was closest to him, even though we were eight years apart in age. I remember when I used to get home from school before Adam, I would shoot baskets in the front yard, waiting for his bus to drop him off. When he would arrive, we would always play a quick game before going in for the rest of the night. Because of the large age difference between he and I, it was predetermined that he would be leaving for college when I was still young. I was only 11 and in fifth grade whenever he moved 800 miles away to Purdue University for college. Adam looked very young for his age, and I still remember thinking how much younger he looked than all the other kids that were moving in. I remember how sad it was whenever we finally left Adam at college. We left him outside of his dorm, and the new five-person group packed into the van. Nobody said anything for a while when we drove off. The setting sun was a reflection of what was going on in my life; something was concluding, but I wasn't sure what it was at that time.

I transitioned into life without Adam on the fly. Whenever I returned to school, every day just seemed so different. I had become so accustomed to our daily basketball ritual, so I had to change that mindset. Every night, there was one extra seat at the dinner table. Every family car ride, there was always one extra seat. People say things won't change that much with a family member moving to college, but they're wrong. It pretty much everything changes. The missing family member is gone only the time that they are in classes, but that is over half of the year. This was just the beginning, too, because soon Kyle would be leaving for college, then Drew. I feel like I learned a lot from Adam leaving, and that I was forced to grow up quicker than I normally would. The family would never be the same because Adam had obligations at college that kept him away from us.

Whenever Adam moved out, I found myself thinking about what it would be like whenever I went to college. I feel like that is probably uncommon for a kid in fifth grade, but whenever I talked to Adam on a daily basis via AOL Instant Messaging, I was open to those thoughts. I always thought I would go to Purdue, and I followed their sports teams closely. Having Adam there gave me another reason to dream of my days in West Lafayette. Because of the new tuition bill that had to be paid, I felt a personal obligation to sacrifice in any way possible to help the family's financial situation, even though I didn't really have a clue what the situation was like. My sacrifices were probably unnoticed, but these actions are still prevalent in my current actions; I tend to be cautious of my spending and save as much as possible. The thoughts of college and saving money seemed very premature for an eleven year old, but they were there. I describe myself as someone who is very focused on the future, and I think that this began whenever Adam went to college. It was a pivotal moment because it changed the dynamic of my family as well as my thoughts towards the future.   

Conversational Partner #5

Hussain and I had some trouble finding a time to meet up following our last meeting. That was probably the last time we will be able to meet because of our similarly busy end-of-the-semester schedules. We were trying to meet somewhere that would be convenient for the both of us, and we ultimately decided upon Union Grounds. I'm glad that we were able to meet then because the winter weather would have prevented the chance of any meetings before finals.

Our conversation started with discussions about what we had to do before the year ended. Hussain said that they had a lot of tests throughout the semester, so now he was just finishing up with some tests that covered material building up throughout the whole semester. I tried to shed some light of what I would be doing the next couple weeks, and he seemed pretty surprised at how much I had to do. I tried to explain that it was an anomaly, and that my previous finals weeks weren't this hectic. I asked him what he would be doing during winter break, and he said that he'd be staying at his apartment and hanging out with friends that would be around. He mentioned to me that he was trying to find a roommate because his sister was moving out. He seemed pretty desperate, and I don't blame him. If he isn't able to find a roommate, he will be forced to pay for the empty spot. I don't remember the exact number, but it was upwards of $600 a month. I couldn't offer any viable roommate candidates for him, and I hoped to myself that he would be able to find somebody sooner than later. After I asked about what he'd be doing over break, he asked me what I would be doing. I explained to him some of the few things that I had planned, including going to a Jay-Z concert. He didn't know who that was, so I tried to explain that he was a famous rapper. He said that he had never been to a concert of any sort, but I told him not to worry because this would be my first one. I then tried to give him a glimpse of what a Christmas was like in the US. He was familiar with some of it, but I tried to give him a full rundown. I told him about the religious origin and then all of the tradition that has been formed since. I told him about stockings over the fireplace, the Christmas tree and all its decorations, and I even told him about how devoted some people are to their outdoor Christmas lights. He seemed to enjoy these stories and he was interested in hearing it from a unique perspective.

Like most meetings with Hussain, I left feeling a little bad for him. I felt bad because of the problems that he was dealing with in the apartment situation. I feel like a lot of misfortune has struck Hussain throughout this semester, and I am hoping that he is able to find a roommate so that he can avoid the high rent costs that he will soon incur. I also felt a little sad for him because of his situation over winter break. I'm sure he will have fun, but I feel like he will start to think about home whenever several other people around him are returning to their homes. This can't be easy for anybody, and I am hoping that he still has fun over the break.

Considering that that was probably our final meeting, I wanted to reflect on our overall experience. I had a good time meeting with Hussain throughout the semester. Some situations were slightly awkward, but for the most part, conversation flowed. Our talks were insightful for me, and I am sure they were relatively insightful for him as well. I think the overall goal of this assignment was achieved for Hussain and I, and I am glad that I was able to partake in it. 

Learning Experience #4

For my last learning blog, I wanted to make a full circle and relate it to one of the first blogs that I wrote- one that wasn't required to be written by our Lit and Civ class. During the summer, I decided to write about the upcoming TCU football season. There was a lot to be excited about in the summer; we had the core of our defense returning as well as Pachall and Waymon James coming back. We had a tough schedule, but one that would be rewarding in the polls if we were able to perform well. Things were looking up for the football team that was coming off its worst season in recent history, mostly due to injury.

After reflecting on the season, I have begun to think that the on-field struggles have stemmed from a few off-field incidents.

In early August, Coach Patterson lost two of his offensive linemen, Tayo Fabuluje (transfer) and Michael Thompson (retirement-knees). This left a gap on the line that TCU needed to fill. This happened a few weeks before the season started against LSU, which should have been enough time for people to step up to the task. I didn't think this would be that much of a problem heading into the season even after losing these two players...but I should have. The inexperienced penalty-plagued line from the season before was back again. The problems that were evident in 2012 have been glaring in 2013. Countless holding and false starts have killed drives of an already struggling offense. Pachall and Boykin have had limited time in the pocket, resulting in a more conservative playbook. This meant shorter passes, no holes for the running backs, and ultimately an offense that ranks in the lower half of the NCAA.

Something that has been concerning since the drug bust in 2012 is player conduct. In the early summer, news broke that reigning AP Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Devonte Fields would be suspended for the first two games of the season. Gary Patterson was vague about the reason for the suspension, but it was an ominous sign for a player with such high expectations. As it would turn out, Fields would only play in parts of three games, totaling just four tackles. Another player that has had a lot of off-field problems is Brandon Carter. He has been in Coach Patterson's doghouse all year, and left the team for a couple games to deal with a family matter. Probably the most disappointing development throughout the whole year is the fall of Waymon James. He came in to this year as the senior leader trying to make the NFL. He represented the team at Big 12 media days. Yet, here we are with a game left and he is no longer a part of the roster. He hasn't played since being suspended for allegedly missing practice, and is now no longer a Frog. What a fallout. The conduct of these three players has been seismic, and it makes me wonder if this is reflective of a large portion of the locker room. These players' carelessness towards the betterment of the team is despicable, and is surely a reason for the team's poor performance this year.

At some point, I quit putting the blame on the players and start looking at the coaches. Offensive coordinator Jarrett Anderson has taken a lot of blame for the offensive struggles, but there isn't a whole lot he can do about the porous offensive line. Coach Patterson has been on a pedestal because of how he has improved the school, but he has to take responsibility for his players actions. He has taken the proper steps to suspend players when he sees fit, but at some point the attitude of the team needs to change and legitimate leaders need to emerge.

TCU will end up not playing in a bowl game for the first time since 2004. The TCU followed up that season with an 11-1 record, so maybe things will turn around but all I can focus on right now is the pure disappointment from this season. I was there every step of the way for the Frogs, and for some reason I let blind optimism get the best of me every week. The first time we touched the ball this season, we fumbled a kickoff against LSU. I immediately thought this would be a repeat of last year's turnover-prone team, but I brushed the thought to the back of my mind. The following week we struggled in the first half against SLU and lost Pachall for an unknown amount of time. At this point I was concerned for the rest of the season, but thought we would be able to handle Tech. Unfortunately, the offense and refs caused us to lose that game and we were 1-2. Despite the bleak start, I thought we could still win the Big 12. We struggled in the first half again against SMU but evened our record at 2-2. We travelled to my home town, Norman, to play the Sooners and we couldn't manage a first down in the first 30 minutes of play. Our defense kept us in the game but we fell short in the end. We beat a helpless KU team at home, then put up another poor showing in Stillwater. We came home to face UT, and the return of Casey brought extra optimism to this game for me. If we could win this game, we would be 4-4 and definitely have a chance to turn the season around. Boykin's fumble at the beginning of the game was almost surreal. I once again expected something to change, but the same thing that happened on the first play of the season happened again. Why was I still optimistic... The rain delay came and I stayed at Hell's Half Acre the entire delay, still thinking we had a chance to pull it out. We didn't, and we dropped to 3-5. Perhaps the lowest point of the season was the West Virginia game. We looked so promising in the first half, like the team that we were expected to be before the season. Casey moved the ball down the field with ease and our defense flexed their muscles against the hopeless Mountaineers. But then, reality, and the real TCU, set in. We had to pull together an immense comeback in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Our one drive in overtime was essentially a summary of the entire season. A six yard loss on first down, followed by a personal foul by the offensive line forced us in to a 62 yard field goal, which was missed. West Virginia kicked a field goal to win, and my heart sank when I saw Jason Verrett, amongst other players on all fours in the middle of the field. Verrett stood out to me at that moment, and I was frozen as I tried to empathize with him. He was a senior that was seeking individual and team glory in his final year in college. I also thought about Pachall. He went through an inpatient drug rehabilitation program to return to this team, and had to endure this disappointing season. That moment, the pain of losing and seemingly sealing our fate of not going to a bowl game got the best of me. Verrett's sadness, as well as other players' emotion via post-game tweets, made me feel bad for the players that cared about their team. So much goes in to a football season, and to lose a game that way to fall to 3-6 was just too much to handle. We went on to pull off a last second win against Iowa State, and then were officially knocked out of bowl contention against Kansas State.

From this football season, I have learned to heed the writing on the wall before and during a season and to quell my optimism. The amount of disappointment that I felt this season was large, considering that I am in no way affiliated with the football team. It was a sad season, and I can only hope that next year is better- but I will definitely be taking a different approach to next season in an attempt to avoid what I experienced this year. TCU needs strong leadership next  season, as well as an overall change of attitude by the team. We have one of the best coaches in the nation, so this should be able to be accomplished.

But when I think of it, I said the same thing following last season.  

Conversational Partner #4

My fourth encounter with my conversational partner was an unplanned one. In our previous meetings, the topic of TCU football had arisen a couple of times because of my interest in it. He said he had never been to a game and that he didn't understand the rules of the game at all. The reason I mention this is because during the Texas-TCU game I saw Hussain prior to kickoff. He was about twenty feet away in the row in front of me. I was surprised to see him there, but I didn't think much of it because of what was at stake in the game at hand. The student section was probably the best that I had experienced, so I was happy that Hussain was able to get a feel for what a Texas football rivalry means to those in the South. Much like previous games this season, TCU couldn't get any offense going. An early turnover prompted Pachall to make his long-awaited return, but even that couldn't cure the woeful offense. The rain came, which sent a lot of the TCU fans to the concourse. This is where I was able to catch up with Hussain. He looked surprised to see me, but, because of the rain, we were able to talk for a while. He was there with a few of his friends from the IEP and they convinced him to come to the game. I tried to explain to him that a rain delay at a football game was an uncommon event, and typically only happened a few times throughout college football every year. He was asking about particular parts of the game, so I began to describe as much as I could in the given time. I described the concept of a turnover, and the difference between interceptions and fumbles. I referenced Treyvon's early fumble as an example. I explained the concept of scoring a touchdown, the point after and field goals. In previous meetings, Hussain had explained to me how soccer was a big sport in Saudi Arabia. I was able to use this common ground to facilitate my explanation of how football was scored. He seemed confused why some kicks were worth three points while others were worth one, which caused me to laugh and think about football scoring as a whole. This was interesting to think about, and I communicated that to him.

Hussain and I chatted for about 15 minutes, and I'm glad we were able to meet in a different setting. Being able to chat in a situation when we hadn't planned on meeting showed that we had become more of friends than just somebody to talk to accomplish an assignment. I was grateful for his curiosity towards football, and glad that I was able to explain more of it to him. Trying to explain football to him in any other setting would be very difficult. Having some knowledge in this topic could be helpful for him while trying to transition living in a different country. I hope that he finds people to go to games with throughout the rest of the season. Although they may not be wins, it is still a great social experience and football games are definitely an important facet of American culture.  

Learning Experience #3

As the semester is coming to a close, I have been able to reflect on some of the key takeaways that I have gained from the past few months as far as academics goes. I think the biggest of these lessons have come from my group projects in my Foundations in Business and Business Information Systems classes. What I learned from these projects was not necessarily just the content that the project covered, but also how to work with others that communicate differently than myself. These lessons will be taken beyond the classroom and I hope will provide useful in my working career.

In my Foundations in Business group project, we were performing the simulation that I described in one of my earlier blogs. This was just a part of the project, however. Two other sub-projects included a Business Plan and an Annual Report. These were the times that the group aspect of the project came in to play. We had to collaborate to create a document that described what we planned to do with our make-believe business, and then create a report that recapped  all of the decisions we made for that year as well as our success in relation to our competitors. Since the business was make-believe, I won't be able to take much away from the content of the business or what they sold. But I do believe that the decision making part of the project will help because it accentuated the interdependence of different sectors of a business. The Business Plan and Annual Report revealed some of the tasks that would be required of a business for their stockholders. These reports are written to explain to any people who are interested or invested in the company, and are typically directed to the stockholders. They must be explanatory, but not too cryptic to where the stockholders wouldn't be able to understand the diction. They must exude confidence, even if the business is experiencing a hard time. My group members were very capable for this group, which made the daunting reports easier. However, the project still required a large dedication of time prior to the reports due dates. We spent long periods of time in the library each time. This tested my communication skills and our overall group cohesiveness. Hopefully I can carry these time management and group communication experiences over to other projects.

My Business Information Systems group project was a different experience for me when compared to the aforementioned projects. I was in a group with three other girls, and we were supposed to "consult" with an established company. This required us to research the company's IT department and see how we can improve it. This project was extensive, and required a hefty workload throughout the entire semester. For whatever reason, I found myself taking on a lot of the work for this project despite having three other group members. I was okay with this, but it did cause a considerable amount of stress for me. My inability to effectively communicate with these girls enhanced the stress and hurt the overall group experience. My messages that were seemingly harmless were interpreted as being too direct and bossy. I realized that this was common while communicating with the opposite gender. I grew up with three older brothers, so I was never really exposed to girls enough to try to decipher how they communicate. During one of our final rehearsals before our presentations, one of the girls began crying and walked away. I couldn't help but laugh, not at her, but at my complete lack of understanding of the emotions that she was expressing. This experience could yield one of the biggest lessons for me throughout the whole semester. I learned to be careful with all forms of my verbal and nonverbal communications while having a serious discussion. This will help my future group projects that include those of the opposite gender. 

Laughing Experience #2

After writing my first laughing blog, I decided to try to be more conscientious of the times that I found myself in a fit of laughter. Since then, I have discovered something rather unexpected. Lately, I have found myself spending a lot of time working on group projects. The year is coming to an end, and when two of your five classes focus primarily on semester-long group projects, that should be expected. The time that I spend working on my group project is typically stressful, especially recently as the projects have been culminating. For whatever reason, during these times of stress, something that would normally be brushed off as a small joke is laughed at in great lengths. At these times, all members of the group are subject to fits of laughter, even though the joke or occurrence was small and wouldn't normally be funny. An example of this happened last week when my group and I were working on our Foundations in Business Annual Report. We had been in the library for a couple hours and were definitely stressed out. At this time, one of the members of the group loaded up a website of a pug seemingly licking the computer screen (http://songdrops.com/pug-licking-screen-clean/). Under other circumstances, I don't think I would have found this extraordinarily funny. However, when we saw this website, all of us in the group started laughing for quite some time. It was the type of laughter that occurs in groups and builds off of one another. I experienced another situation similar to this in my Business Information Systems group project. I tended to be more stressed with this group because I felt more personal pressure to complete the project. One night, my group was working on completing our Access Database, which meant a lot of meticulous work. Once again, something small caused my group members to begin laughing hysterically. I remember I didn't laugh as much as them, because we were in a small computer lab where other people were working and I didn't want to be too loud. But the laughter was there, and it helped us get through the rest of the project. I think that this type of laughter plays in to Relief theory, but not in the same way as other instances. It wasn't relief in the sense of a joke that was built upon a serious situation before the punch line. However, I think it was relief in the sense that the tension had been high for a while, and then something relatively funny happened, which allowed a sense of relief and ultimately laughter. I think these type of situations show how important laughter is in people's life. These type of stressful situations could go in complete different directions if it weren't for laughter. When we were working and things began to get tense, individual's tempers could get the best of them and anger could be lashed out at other group members. Luckily, humor infiltrated the situation and ultimately gave the group work a breath of fresh air. Laughter can be a useful tool for stressful situations because of its ability to cause everybody to take a step back from what they are doing. The members of the group may not realize what is going on, but laughing can result in a large release of stress. This will allow for people to calm down and refocus on what they are trying to accomplish. This was evident in my group projects. I truly believe that these projects would have been many times more difficult to complete had it not been for our laughter bouts that we experienced. I found it interesting that I first realized the importance of laughter while enrolled in Lit and Civ class. I think this class has caused me to analyze laughter and humor in all situations where it is applicable. This has led me to some revelations that will be useful throughout my life, especially in situations of high stress. 

Conversational Partner #3

For my third meeting with Hussain, I wanted to do something besides just meet and talk at some place on campus. During our past meeting, we had talked about fishing a lot, and the weather was great so I decided that we should try to go to the Trinity River and fish. He had a pole, but I didn't, so when we were texting we were debating doing something other than fishing. Ultimately, the warm weather won us over and we went fishing. Judging from what he had told me about his fishing experiences in Saudi Arabia and the pictures of the fish that he had caught, I considered him to be a talented and knowledgeable fisherman. He talked about how we needed to get some "food" for our bait since I didn't have any, so we stopped at a gas station on the way to the river. We bought some Jack Links sausage for bait, and then drove to the river. He lived at the Fairfield Inn off of University for his first week in the US, so he was pretty familiar with the area around the river. We teamed up to put the hook on the pole and then put the sausage on the hook. The pole that he had was a generic one, but I was not familiar with how the reel worked. I was struggling to cast the line, so Hussain threw the line most of the time. Before we had left to go fishing, Hussain said that he didn't think we would catch anything, and he was right. We did have a few bites, however. Fishing wasn't what was important about our outing though, the conversation was.

As usual, our conversation included a various number of topics. He told me about his fall break trip, which I was looking forward to hearing about. He said that the hiking trip was the best trip of his life. He found the hiking to be difficult, but he greatly enjoyed the company of those that accompanied him on the trip. He talked about a trip to the Grand Canyon that TCU offers during the winter time and about how he might go. The large cost was making him reconsider, however.

After reviewing fellow classmates' blogs about their Saudi Arabian conversational partners, I had some additional questions for Hussain. After our first meeting, I was under the impression that Hussain did not want to return to his country after his time in the US. My classmates' blogs made me think that Saudi Arabians stayed near their parents after moving out, so I decided to ask him to talk more about it. He said that he planned to return and live near his parents, unlike his sister who lives in Ohio. He explained how his brothers and sisters wanted to repay their parents for taking care of them when they were children. This was a typical occurrence in Saudi Arabia, which put an end to my confusion.

We were talking about what we had coming up in the next few weeks, which led to him telling me about an English qualifying test that he had in a week. I had a hard time understanding exactly what he meant, but he talked about how he had to pass this test before he could go on to study English at the university. I wasn't sure if this was the next step of the IEP program, but he said that everyone that was in class with him had already taken the test.

One of the last things we talked about was something that I found to be humorous. We were talking about his sister and how her husband was moving here from Saudi Arabia when I decided to ask if he had a girlfriend. I was relatively surprised by his response, which was that he did not, and that having a girlfriend was a waste of time. They cost a lot of money and took up too much time, according to him. He began talking about how a girl texted him a lot when he initially moved here and seemed interested in starting a relationship. Hussain, however, did not want to have any part of a relationship and made that known to her. When I asked this question, I had no idea to expect, and I was definitely surprised by what he said.  

Learning Experience #2

For one of my learning blogs, I planned on reflecting on all of my classes that I am taking this semester to recap what  I have learned, and how what I have learned will apply to the rest of my life.

Accounting:

This is the first class that I have taken that is major specific. This class will prove to be the foundation for the rest of my major, and (as of now) my career. Because it is an introductory class, we are learning the basics of financial and managerial accounting while barely scratching the surface of much of the material. So far, we have learned about financial statements, which provide a snapshot of a company's performance. This is useful for managers because they can decide if they should be more aggressive or conservative financially for the upcoming year, amongst other things. Financial statements are useful for stockholders because they can determine if they want to invest in a company based upon their financial stability. Being able to read and understand these statements is crucial for accounting.

Business Information Systems:

This class has truly opened my eyes to how important technology has become in today's world. We have been introduced to two technologies that businesses use today, SharePoint and Microsoft Access. SharePoint is a Web application platform, and is very important for collaboration. SharePoint allows you to create a website that includes many different features, including discussion boards, surveys, collaborative calendars, shared documents etc. This is important for projects because it allows people to work together via an online source. Microsoft Access is a database program that can present data in a number of different ways through forms, reports, and queries. This is useful for presenting data in customized fashions.

Calculus II:

Most of what I have learned in this class will only be useful if I pursue a mathematics minor. Regardless of that, we have learned how to take integrals of improper functions, and test series for convergence.

Foundation of Business:

From this class, I have learned what the name of the class says, the "Foundations of Business." We have briefly talked about all the different aspects of business, including marketing, production, finance, accounting, human resources etc. We are also running a simulation that allows us to make all key decisions for a company for eight years (or rounds). This shows how all of the different departments of a business are ultimately connected by their impact on the financial statements. For example, if we increase the automation level for our production, our labor cost will decrease, meaning that our profits will increase. This class has been informative because it has opened my eyes to all the different parts of a business that I wouldn't ordinarily think about, as well as the relationships between the departments.

Lit and Civ II:

Last but not least, I have learned a lot from our Lit and Civ II class. Our discussions about humor have made me consider the source of my laughter nearly every time I laugh. It has introduced me to new definitions, such as cognitive shift, that help me understand humor more. Our books have introduced new topics and theories to me, while typically making me chuckle. These lessons have made me think more, and seemingly legitimatize what I laugh at. 

Conversational Partner #2

For my second meeting with Hussain, we met at the library. Initially we had planned to go to the TCU Rec and workout, but our schedules didn't allow enough time for that. We hadn't chatted much between the first and second meetings, and I was wondering where the conversation would lead. Our conversation started with talking about what we had been up to the past few weeks. He told me about how he had just finished his finals for the first two months of IEP, and so I inquired more about his class schedule and material. He told me about his classes and different assignments he was working on. One thing that caught my attention were the books that he was assigned to read, which were The Outsiders and The Old Man and the Sea. These were both books that I was assigned to read, but eight years earlier. This made me think about the different stages of learning the English language and where Hussain was in the process. After this, we delved into some more interesting conversations. He told me about his fall break plans, which included going on a hiking trip sponsored by TCU. He is going with ten other students and they will be backpacking through a mountain range for four days. This made me feel excited for him, because in our first meeting he had talked about how he struggled to meet people outside of the IEP. He sounded as if he was looking forward to it, but he seemed anxious because he didn't know anybody else on the trip. During our conversation, I wished that I could somehow go on the trip with him to make him more comfortable with the trip, but I knew that was impossible. I am confident that he will be able to make friends with those that are accompanying him because he is open to conversation and genuinely interested in what other people have to say.

            Talking about backpacking led to conversations about other outdoor events that we had each done. I tried to explain Boy Scouts to him, but I think he had a hard time comprehending that. Nonetheless, I told him about various camping and kayaking trips that he had been on, and he shared some of his own stories with me. We talked about fishing and about how that was something that he missed from Saudi Arabia, which is the first thing I have heard him say he missed. When he was home in Saudi Arabia he would fish at least once a week, and he showed me some pictures of his catches. The fished looked very different from any that I had ever caught, and he was unable to tell me the English name for the fish. We talked about different types of boats we had been on, and just talked about common experiences. This is one of the first times that we had shared a common interest, and I was glad that we were able to establish this.

            We somehow got on the topic of food, which we talked briefly about in our first meeting. This time we got more in depth, and he told me about Arabian restaurants in the area, as well as some new foods that he had tried. I was impressed at his attempts to reach out and try a lot of different foods, because I know that is something that I would be hesitant of if I was in his position.

            The most interesting takeaway from our conversation was a story he told me that occurred in Saudi Arabia. He left his car at home when he came to the US, and he said in the past week his friend wrecked his car into a bridge. His friend was hospitalized and the car was totaled. The picture of the car left me surprised as to how his friend even survived the accident. When I ask how the wreck occurred, Hussain said that his friend "couldn't remember." I wasn't sure how to interpret this. I thought maybe the wreck caused short term memory loss to Hussain's friend which left him unable to recall how the wreck occurred. When I voiced this to Hussain, he said he didn't know if that was the reason or not. This confused me, and made me wonder if language was preventing me from understanding his story, or preventing him from telling me the story correctly, or if Hussain's friend just really couldn't remember the events prior to the wreck. This would have been the first time that language barriers caused a misunderstanding between us. 

Laughing Experience #1

            After we discussed the blogging topics for the upcoming school year, my attention was initially drawn to the two blogs about our laughing experiences. I tried to think about the times that I laughed the hardest, and I couldn't think of any specific examples. Some experiences of uncontrollable laughter came to mind, but I couldn't recreate the source of the laughter. Ever since that day, I have tried to analyze each time that I find myself laughing "uncontrollably." I try to think of the source of the experience, while keeping in mind the different types of humor theories that we discussed in class. This analysis garnered some relatively interesting internal thoughts and sparked some productive conversation with whomever I shared the laugh with. From these thoughts and discussions, I determined two things:

            After a lot of consideration, most of the things that I find humorous relate to the theories we discussed in class. When we first discussed these theories, I didn't find them to be believable because I did not think they were applicable to my personal experiences that I found to be funny. I didn't think that my roommate doing something stupid fell into the superiority theory-I simply thought that whatever he was doing was funny. I wasn't laughing at him because I felt superior to him, I was just laughing. Whenever I watched Dumb and Dumber, I didn't understand I felt superior to two imaginary characters that I was laughing at. But, after listening to our discussions in class and reconsidering each theory, I realized that most situations where I found myself laughing fit into those theories in some way, even if it was in the slightest. Although I may not be laughing at my roommate or an imaginary character, I am laughing at something they are doing that I am perceiving to be dumb, and in some way inferior. This took some time to realize, but I came to the conclusion that these theories are applicable.

            The next thing that I discovered was during one of the experiences where I found myself laughing uncontrollably. It happened on my recent trip home with some of my friends from childhood. We met up after the TCU-OU football game, and decided to smoke cigars, which wasn't an abnormal thing for us to do. The conversation that followed was what spurred the laughter. Considering that we have been friends for such a long time, we know a lot about each other and a lot of common memories from our childhoods. While we were talking, we were recollecting memories of the days on the playground and all the comical things that happened during our recess football games. Before long we found ourselves in fits of laughter, and one of my first thoughts was our assigned blogs. I started to think about the source of our laughter, and it didn't take long to realize that we were laughing at our old selves. What heightened the laughter was the position that we were currently in, all of us being in college and far from our elementary school selves. The setting also contributed to the humor, because we were performing an adult activity, while talking about our childhood activities. The laughter brought back even more memories, and the evening was spent reminiscing.

            From this experience, I realized how much laughter can bring a group together. We were all close friends already, but the experience of laughing uncontrollably brought back memories of when we were kids and how, although we are much older, the laughter still occurred. It made me realize that laughter is truly a timeless experience.  

Conversational Partner #1

Prior to meeting with my conversational partner, I was anxious as to how the conversation would carry. I didn't think much about what I would talk about because I honestly had no idea what to expect. All I knew about him was his name, which is Hussain Ali. I did not know where he was from, how old he was, what he looked like, or what any of his interests were. We had traded a few emails and texts, but they were all focused on when and where our initial meeting would be. I tried to play the potential conversation through my mind and I failed to form any sort of plan for how to approach it. Leading up to our initial meeting, all I did was hope that the conversation would flow and that I wouldn't experience an awkward conversation.

I decided to have my first meeting with Hussain at Union Grounds in the BLUU. I figured that during our first meeting we should just talk in a low pressure environment, so that we can learn a little about each other. He showed up a few minutes ahead of when we were supposed to meet, we shook hands, sat down and began our conversation. Our conversation was relatively brief, only lasting about 30 minutes, but covered a wide variety of topics. To begin, I asked him to tell me a little about himself. He explained that he was 22 years old, and was from Saudi Arabia. He explained how he had attended school in his home country for a few months, but did not enjoy it and decided to work at a few different companies before moving to the United States. Our conversation flowed for some time and while he talked I picked up on a couple things. The first thing that I noticed was that he seemed nervous whenever we first began the conversation. He was fidgeting a lot fingers and looked down while he spoke. Another thing that I noticed was how well he spoke English. One thing that I was apprehensive about prior to our meeting was that I would have a hard time understanding him because of prior experiences with people whose primary language was not English. This was not an issue at all while he was talking, and I was impressed with how he talked. Our conversation continued with a lot of back and forth questions about each other's respective lives. I hadn't thought of many questions prior to our meeting, but was able to formulate them as the conversation transpired. He talked about his family, which includes him and six other siblings. One of the questions that I gained the most insight from was when I asked what it was like in his home town of Saudi Arabia. Hussain began describing how the dynasty that currently ran his country was not fair to him or his people. When comparing their political situation to the United State's democracy, he said that "it just seems more fun here." He described how the women in the country are not allowed to drive and that they must wear particular clothing. He described how there were two groups of Islam that were constantly fighting, and continued by saying there was a lot of "racism" that ensued because of the fighting groups.

There was more too our conversation, but I wanted to highlight a couple things that stuck out to me. While talking about his family, Hussain described how his older sister moved to Ohio for college 10 years ago, and that he has not seen her since. The way he communicated this to me was surprising, because it seemed so matter-of-fact that he had not seen his sister in a decade. Another thing that stuck out to me was his disdain towards his country. This let my imagination run wild about what it would be like to live in a country that was ran by a king that I did not agree with. These thoughts are probably not unfamiliar to most people, but were something that I had never really considered.

Our first conversation was enlightening, and I look forward to the next encounter. 

Learning Experience #1

In the first few weeks of this semester, I have had a revelation of sorts. But before this revelation, I had to go through a few trials and tribulations. Prior to choosing a major for my college career, I was clueless as to what I wanted to do with my career. Throughout my life I had always enjoyed mathematics, and I had just finished a full year of calculus, which I found to be enjoyable. Based upon the recency of calculus and my inclination towards math, I declared my major to be mathematics without putting much consideration into my career beyond college. While enrolling for my first semester in college, I didn't have much choice of what classes to take because of my status as a freshman. I decided to get some of the core requirements out of the way, and was ultimately successful in that aspect. Despite this success, I didn't find much interest in any of the classes I took and I survived the classes by focusing on maintaining a good GPA. During this semester, I was desperately searching for something that I was interested in. I was contemplating changing my major to something that involved sports because of my extreme interest as a fan. I started looking at the classes required for a Sports Broadcasting major without doing much research into careers in the field or what the classes actually involved. Whenever it came time to pick classes for the spring semester, I was adamant on taking on this new major, and filled up my schedule with new required classes such as History of Broadcasting and intro to Sports Broadcasting. Within only a couple weeks of these new classes in the spring semester, I realized my mistake. I jumped into a major that did not revolve around my interests at all. The classes offered subjective content, and was taught with little enthusiasm by the professors. I quickly realized that any career in this field would offer little intellectual challenge, and was focused more on how you build your way up based upon work experience and opportunities. These opportunities were not necessarily based on merit, which was an immediate let down for me. I am a person who is goal-oriented and I enjoy having a clear set of tasks that lead to a goal, and that type of working environment did not appeal to me at all. After quickly realizing that this field was not for me, I was once again sent scrambling to find something of interest. I decided to utilize the resources that were available to me at TCU, and I spoke to a career counselor in the Careers Services office. The counselor suggested that I take an interest inventory survey. This was an extensive questionnaire that focused on my interests and strengths, and ultimately provided me with some potential career paths. The potential career path at the top of the list was accounting, which is what set off the beginning of the aforementioned revelation. After doing some research about accounting, I realized how its tasks were very goal-oriented and was, obviously, focused on numbers, amongst other things. These things played in to my strengths and led me to do some research about the accounting major at TCU, as well as the notable Neeley School of Business. After discussing my future plans with my academic counselor, my parents, and countless other people, I decided to apply to the business school.

Flash forward to now: I am in my fifth week of my fall semester as a sophomore. I am in the business school and am a Neeley Fellow. And, most importantly, I am very interested in the classes that I am taking. After a few weeks of classes, the full revelation has set in. I have quickly realized how much doing what you enjoy can change your perspective on school and the future. I have been actively looking for careers in accounting, as well as internships that can open doors for me in the future.

I guess the bottom line is that I have learned how important knowing what you want to do in the future is for college so that you can stay out of a seemingly helpless rut.   

Commenting on Chad Watson's first blog

I read a couple of people's blog posts from our Lit and Civ II class, but after reading Chad's I decided to write my response. In his blog, Chad talks about how his studies are beginning to tie in things that he learned from his intro classes. All the lessons that he learned his first two years are tying in to what he is currently learning, which is creating an exciting learning experience for him as he begins to take significant steps in his studies. While reading this, I couldn't help but think about how this feeling would be for me whenever I begin making these same connections. Although our majors are completely different, I believe that the introductory steps of accounting that I am currently learning will be the foundation for lessons to come. I believe that I will have the same experience that Chad is having, and I am already anticipating the excitement that Chad is feeling. Chad's blog excited me for future studies, and was enjoyable to read.  

TCU 2013 Defense/Special Team Preview.

The TCU Horned Frogs' defense was, for the most part, solid at each position in 2012. The unit started out the season strong by not allowing a touchdown until late in the third game of the season against Virginia. Once they started to face the high octane Big XII offenses (and after they lost Pachall), they began giving up more points than the coaching staff would have hoped, particularly against Iowa State (37 points, the Cyclones' highest total against a Big XII defense) and Texas Tech (56 points in 2OT). Despite some struggles, the defense finished No. 1 in the Big XII for overall defense and No. 16 in the nation. Don't expect a drop in production from the defense, led by soon to be NFL draft pick Jason Verrett and the immensely talented Devonte Fields.

Defensive Line:

Despite losing Stansly Maponga to the NFL, the front line returns four talented and experienced players, led by freshman sensation Devonte Fields. The unit performed well in 2012, when they led the Big XII in rush defense, allowing a measly 3.2 yards per carry. They also were able to pressure the quarterback, totaling 29 sacks, which was good for third in the Big XII. The obvious star of the line was Fields, who burst onto the scene with eight sacks and 14 tackles for loss in his first seven games. While Fields' production slowed down towards the end of the season, another freshman lineman's production increased. Davion Pierson had a great last half of 2012, and saved his best game of the season for his last at the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. His emergence, along with consistent play from Chucky Hunter, should help during Fields' two game suspension to begin the season. Other returning linemen who saw playing time last year are Jonathan Anderson, Jon Koontz, and James McFarland. This line should have high aspirations for the 2013 season as they look to improve upon a solid 2012 season. 

Linebackers: 

The linebacker position provides the biggest question mark for any position heading into the 2013 season. The position was hurt significantly prior to the 2012 season when they lost Tanner Brock to the drug bust, and Deryck Gildon for academic reasons. There wasn't much relief this offseason, when the Frogs learned that Gildon wouldn't be returning and that AJ Hilliard transferred to Texas A&M. This, combined with the loss of Kenny Cain to graduation and Joel Hasley leaving the program, yields an inexperienced linebacker core heading into the season. TCU will have to count on the returning linebackers, (Marcus Mallet, Paul Dawson,, and Jonathan Anderson) to come out strong and lead a young group after losing Hasley. These three, who have a combined 6 collegiate starts, will have to stay healthy and out of trouble, or the Frogs could be faced with depth problems. Three incoming freshman, Paul Whitmill, Dac Shaw and Sammy Douglas, were heavily recruited coming out of high school, and will see themselves on the playing field if they perform well enough. Hasley, a former walk-on, had a breakout season in 2012, in which he was awarded with Big XII Defensive Player of the Week after his performance against Kansas, and finished top 25 in the Big XII in tackles. The two starting position are there for the taking, and I expect a couple of the six linebackers to have breakout seasons like Hasley did in 2012. This could be a position that sees different starters week in and week out, so it will be an interesting thing to keep an eye on. 

Defensive Backs:

TCU's 2013 defensive back feature five returning starters, and should be the brightest and most exciting position for the 2013 season. The safety position will be led by senior free safety Elisha Olabode and junior strong safety Sam Carter. Olabode was a turnover machine in 2012 when he picked off four passes, forced two fumbles and recovered another one. He was third on the team in tackles, and should have a big senior season in hopes of impressing NFL scouts. Carter is coming off of a break through year in 2012, in which he started all 13 games and was fourth on the team in tackling. He was voted to the All-Big XII Second Team, and is currently on the Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back) watch list, so there is a lot to be expected of him. The cornerbacks will be led by Jason Verrett, who played heroically for the Frogs last year. He's currently on five preseason awards watch lists, including the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, due to his performance last year that ranked him among the best cornerbacks in nearly every defensive category. He will be defending passes along with Kevin White and nickelback Chris Hackett. White had a good sophomore season, and Coach Patterson recently said that he is playing the best that the Frogs' coaches have seen. Hackett has been competing with some newcomers during the first summer practices, but should earn the starting job after stepping into his role as a freshman starter last season. With such great talent and significant experience, the Frogs' defensive backs could be the best in the nation for the 2013 season. 

Now, let's discuss the special teams' unit.

Placekicker:

The field goal kicking and kickoffs will be handled by sophomore Jaden Oberkrom. He had a relatively up-and-down year, but not much more could have been asked from a true freshman kicker. He finished tenth in the nation in field goals made, and at one point was a serious contender for the Lou Groza Award (best placekicker). He then hit a rough stretch in the middle of the season, going 5/11 through five games. He's on the preseason Lou Groza Award watch list, and he should have a great year for the Frogs.

Punter:

Like Oberkrom, sophomore Ethan Perry had a solid freshman season. He finished 14th in the nation in yards/punt at 44.51 yards. He is on the preseason Ray Guy Award watch for best punter, and will be a bright spot when we fail to convert third downs.

Punt/Kickoff Returners:

TCU will look to replace Skye Dawson as a returner, but shouldn't have to look far. I would expect Brandon Carter to handle most of the kickoff returns considering he returned the most last season besides Dawson. He could also handle punt returns, but I hope that we see some Deante Gray, who had the highest yards/return by far for punts (which was helped significantly by this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5sbajZ7Mu0).

TCU's defense, which has been consistently at near the top of the NCAA in most categories for the past decade, should not disappoint in 2013. All of the true freshman that played last year now have a season under their belt. The older guys are looking to impress the NFL scouts with great performances. The linebacker position could be a problem if the young guys can't get the job done, but Coach Patterson is upbeat about their practices so far this summer. As usual, expect the defense to be one of the best in the nation, and, overall, better than last year. 

TCU 2013 Offense Preview.

There are many headlines heading into the season for the TCU offense. The Frogs lost a couple offensive linemen, and impact players Josh Boyce, Skye Dawson, and Matthew Tucker, but shouldn't feel those players' absence. New (and some rehabilitated) faces at the skills positions should help improve the 8th ranked offense in the Big XII from the 2012 season.     

           

Look for these transfers to make an immediate impact:

Josh Doctson: The 6'4" 190 pound wide receiver transferred from Wyoming after a solid freshman year with the Cowboys. He was a three-star recruit coming out of high school, and finished his freshman season at Wyoming with 35 receptions for 393 yards and five touchdowns. Doctson, who is from Mansfield, Texas, decided to transfer to a school closer to home after his freshman year in college, which led him to TCU, where he has family ties.  

Ja'Juan Story: Coming out of high school, Story was a highly touted four-star recruit. He chose to stay in his home state and attend the University of Florida. Following the resignation of the coach who recruited him, Urban Meyer, Story wasn't sure how his game would transition into Florida's new offensive scheme, which ultimately led to him transferring to TCU. Story had a great high school career at Nature Coast Technical in Florida, where he played many positions his senior season. At the end of his senior year, he passed for 427 yards, rushed for 847, and had seven receptions for 123, while totaling 17 touchdowns. His versatility, as well as size (6'4" 208   lbs) resulted in him being ranked No. 43 on the ESPNU Top 150 following his high school career.

Aaron Green: Green may be the highest rated recruit to ever play at TCU. After a high school   career in which he rushed for nearly 5,000 yards, ESPN ranked him as the No. 11 prospect in the nation. He chose to attend the University of Nebraska, where he played in all 12 regular season games his freshman year, but only totaled 24 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Green decided to transfer after seeing limited playing time during his freshmen year.

These three transfers all have the potential to contribute to the TCU offense immediately. The wide receivers join a group of somewhat unproven talent (with Ladarius Brown, Cam White, Kolby Listenbee, and David Porter) . They will be competing to see who can be the No. 2 receiver behind junior Brandon Carter, while they hope to fill the void left behind by Josh Boyce and Skye Dawson. Green and Story should play with a self-imposed chip on their shoulders, considering that they both left programs that didn't allow them to prove that their high school talent could transition into the collegiate game. Out of the three transfers, look for Ja'Juan Story to make the biggest impact. Given his size and talent, he could quickly become a favorite target for the TCU quarterback, whoever that may be.

Despite the addition of these recruits, TCU's biggest offensive "additions" for the 2013 season are players who were lost early in the previous season, Waymon James and Casey Pachall.

Waymon James: James, the senior running back, is coming back from an ACL tear that sidelined him for the season after suffering the tear at Kansas. He was the team's leading rusher coming into the 2012 season, and accumulated 168 yards rushing in the short amount of time he played before going down. He led the team in rushing in 2011 with 875 yards and a 7.2 yards per carry average. He will be expected to be the leader of a young group of running backs, both on the field and at practice. His presence should really help the running game, as well as open up the passing game for some play action looks. He is listed on the Doak Walker Award Watch List for the upcoming season, and will be expected to make a huge impact on the offensive side of the ball, if he can stay healthy. At the Big XII media days, he said "I feel better than I did before. I'm ready."

Casey Pachall: Pachall returns to the team after leaving the program to enter a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. He has been with the team since the spring, and was welcomed back by his teammates. Before leaving the team last season, he was the most efficient quarterback in the nation through four games with a 66.0 completion percentage, 948 yards passing and 10 touchdowns to one interception. During his sophomore season, he led the Horned Frogs to an 11-2 record, a Mountain West Conference championship, and won the Poinsetta Bowl. He led the Frogs to a 4-0 record before leaving last season. According to the media, he is the All-Big XII preseason team quarterback, and was named to the Davey O'Brien Award watch list. Although Coach Patterson hasn't stated who will be the starting quarterback, Pachall should earn that title, barring any setbacks. A lot will be expected of Casey on the field, and will be expected to stay out of trouble off the field to avoid the letdown that the whole school suffered through last year. He will bring back the pocket presence that Trevone Boykin struggled to bring during his first season as a collegiate quarterback, and I am sure Pachall will be excited to try out his new offensive weapons that the team has to offer.  

The offensive for 2013 should be much improved from the previous season, and will be better equipped to compete with the up-tempo, high-scoring offenses of the Big XII, IF the Frogs can stay healthy. The Frogs do have much more depth offensively than a year before, but much of it is unproven talent. For TCU to win the Big XII in 2013, that offensive talent must be proven. The much maligned (and penalized) offensive line from 2012 must come back improved and ready to lead one of the best back fields in the Big XII. But, as we saw from a year ago, the most important thing for the TCU offense is to stay healthy, and drug free. If these things happen, the preseason expectations of many TCU fans could be fulfilled, and TCU could be celebrating its first Big XII championship.