Another typical Thursday night

     I don't know if you've gazed upon the 10 day forecast for the Bloomington area as of late but if so you better be as enthusiastic as I am about the uplifting of this treacherous cold we've had! We were planning on conducting Rookie week today and actually get out on the track to practice some exchange drills but the girls had early practice and from the sound of it quickly found that the cinders mimicked quicksand fairly well. Who knew? The plan now supposedly is to wait for this warm front to roll through and melt all of this nasty white stuff and hopefully bring the steamroller out to flatten the cinders. Time table is set for Monday but we'll see.
     Since practice was cancelled I had the pleasure to go to the best lab I've ever taken here at Indiana University: Adapted Physical Education (APE). This lab is structured for students to learn about different developmental disabilities and physical impairments that affect individuals but in regard to this class children. Each student is paired up one on one with a child to work with throughout the semester creating lesson plans to promote healthy living, physical activity, and more importantly developing a relationship with a young person affected by some degree of disability. I could literally write a novel on my experiences that I've had since being involved within this class; in fact I've enjoyed it so much as a student that I've been a volunteer and lab assistant for the past 2 years! Those kids bring me so much joy with their smiles and playful attitudes and have pushed me toward one day working in a pediatric physical therapy setting. It's such a life changing experience; I know it sounds cliche but it truly is and words do not give it justice. I've learned so much about others with varying degrees of disorders, families directly affected by certain disorders/stereotypes associated with them, and about myself as a human being. I am fortunate to have a relatively healthy life with a very supportive and loving family comparatively speaking and from these experiences I thank God everyday for this and pray for those affected. So next time when you think you've got it bad take a second and think about those less fortunate than yourself because the odds are it could be worse even though these families would suggest otherwise because they're all fearless warriors of life.
      To cap off the night I headed to Ole Faithful KOK for some quesadillas and a beer! Oh yeah and not to mention the t-shirt that accompanies the cover charge on Thursdays. I've accumulated my fair share of shirts this year and plan on making a sweet quilt out of it upon graduation! What could be better to reminisce about your college days than a reminder hanging in your living room saluting the free bar shirts you received every week? Between this quilt and shitty bike jerseys that I'll hold on to I'm going to have some bad ass stories to tell my kids one day about how sweet IU really was! Follow me to KOK; it's t-shirt time!