This Semester

This year semester has been rough for me. To begin with I got the pressure of making much better grades after a rough first semester. My GPA was not near what i wanted or expected. It makes sense for it too have been low though. I three weeks of crazy rush for a couple fraternities. Then once I chose one, Phi Gamma Delta, I had to go through the intense process of pledging. It took up a lot of my time and even though I was provided adequate study time I found myself too lazy or tired to always do the necessary work. Not to mention the transition into college alone greatly affected me. Now that I was on my own I didn't have the regular schedules and rules that I abided to in high school. Classes in college too are on another level. They aren't necessarily tougher but they are diffrent. No makes you go to class or put in the right study time. Teachers now have so many students and that means that they won't bend the rules or help you when you fowl up. They honestly at times don't care. Now in the second semester I find myself trying to create an organized schedule and get better grades. This though has been tougher than I thought. This semester I've gotten a job that I do twice a week but i don't get off work until 3 and 4 o'clock. And I've also taken the intiative to be involved with my little brother by watching him and taking him to school and basketball practices and games. i enjoy both work and my little brother and don't resent doing either one at all. I love both but they are time constraints. And just to make things better I received a pretty signicant speeding ticket to pick my little brother up from school. Now I have to pay for the ticket and the court costs which isn't making anything any better. Though admist obstacles like this I've found that the more work you have sometimes the better you manage your time and the better you perform in the classroom. One has to stay busy to really be successful. My social and party life have been scarficed but thats fine considering the circumstances and with time and more knowledge i'll have more fun by discovering how to manage my time better.

Tonite was crazy. Before entering this blog, I was able to watch the Wake Forest and Duke game and afterwards the North Carolina and Florida State game. It all began with the Demon Deacons coming out to a huge lead and dominating the Devils. Every shot that Duke threw up seemed to be thrown right back in their faces. Nothing was going right for the number 1 team in the country and myself and several other UNC students surely could not have been happier. Though in typical Duke fashion they stormed back in the closing minutes to give Wake Forest a run. Overtime seemed to be a lock after Gerald Henderson nailed a jump shot to tie the game. Yet the Demon Deacons weren't done. With just seconds left Johnson was found underneath the basket to lay the ball in and upset the number one Blue Devils. This made a the fourth team to lose the top ranking in the country this year and it made the ACC standings that much more interesting. Carolina fans surely, myself included, could not have been happier by Duke's shortcoming. The night wasn't over the Heels then had to face FSU who was hoping for a big upset. Even after a strong start and great defense the Seminoles still found themselves down by thirteen at home. Yet with their stellar defense and foul trouble on last year's player of the year, Tyler Hansbrough, FSU found a way back into the game. They eventually took a lead and Carolina looked as if they were headed for another terrible loss. Yet Danny Green changed things stealing a pass a midcourt finsihing with a lay-up and foul shot. The game was tied now and the Heels were back in business. After Douglas missed shot the Heels had around 3 seconds to attempt a game winning shot though it seemed imporbable due to a lack of time. Ty Lawson felt differently though racing down the court and draining a running three pointer as time exspired. The Heels had won and the echos could be heard all down the halls in Granville. UNC students left their rooms here in Granville and celebrated the big win. With Ty's shot the Heels survived disaster and kept their push alive to climb both the ACC and national rankings.

Besides the intense basketball games I've been noticing a change around campus. Students this semester are partying way less which does sound bad and it is, yet it does mean more work is going on most likely because of poor first semester grades or new resolves. I would think most would agree but maybe not. I myself certainly need to go out less and this semester I believe I'm doing a better job. I mean we are at UNC to perform in classrooms first and then worry about having fun later. Although I do miss the fun I had last semester. Hopefully it will pick up soon with the parties and social life just hopefullly not to much.

Carolina Responds to Losses

The heels hit rock bottom after the huge upset to Boston College and the following loss against Wake Forest. They lost their ranking as the best team in the country and have fallen to the sixth seed in the AP polls which any Carolina would call disappointing. I mean the team only lost 2 acc regular games all last year and now they have started off with 2 painful losses. People everywhere are already loosing their confidence for them. But I have a big problem with anyone looking down on the heels this early in the year. A season is built on several games and learning from mistakes in order to perform in the NCAA tournament. So what we've lost two games and we're aren't going undefeated and we definitely aren't going to dominate by any means. Losses like these at the end will only help. The guys need to know that teams aren't just going lay down against us and that we are going to win games by 20 every night. The fans need to realize this too. Besides no matter the record or game it is the fans' job to be back their team. By the way the heels now have won 2 straight ACC games each by more than 20 against Miami and UVA. Wayne Ellington came back into his old form from last year by making 7 threes in a row at one point vs Miami. And Tyler still is playing like Tyler. At the end of season everything will work out and we'll be in good position to get another national title.