Free Write 1-30-13

I can't wait for Friday to come! My brother gets to play with his band, Gloriana, at the Grand Ole Opry. I'm so excited for him to get to do this. He finally gets to play in the music business and to make matters better, Carrie Underwood will also be performing. I love Nashville Tennessee, if I were to move anywhere it would probably be to there. It's so nice, clean and full of music and good food. My brother is only 25 and has lived there for about 4 years now and absolutely loves it. He has done random odds and ends jobs playing guitar for people, but just this year the trio of Gloriana decided to upgrade him from being a guitar tech to actually playing back up guitar. He did the whole deal of rehearsals and now is starting to actually play in shows. He has about 125 shows this year and all over the United States. Traveling from TN, to Cali, Boston, New Orleans, Orlando, and Texas etc. I think it would be so cool to get paid to do what you love as a hobby on top of getting to travel the world with your friends and playing in front of thousands of people. This year they'll be touring with Alan Jackson and maybe even do a few shows by themselves, for instance, this friday at the opry. It's so crazy to think my brother could someday be 'famous' or something. He better give me a share of his money ;) I look forward to everytime I get to see him, I love his personality and sense of humor which makes me miss him more and more everytime he leaves, especially if he stays for a longer amount of time.

Free Write 1-29-13

Running is what's on my mind. I want to start running agan. I miss running in basketball, running up and down the court to stop the opposing team. Running to get ahead and catch a ball so I can get some easy points. That all stopped on my last game in august, the 14th I believe. Little did I know that was going to be my last game played with a summer AAU team. Not only AAU, but forever. I decided that I was going to graduate high school early which meant I couldn't play basketball my senior year. Some people call me crazy, but I haven't regreted my decision yet. Sure, I miss playing. Not necessarily with my high school team because I didn't care for some of my teammates. I miss summer basketball, it's starting back up in about a month or two and I won't be playing for the first time since I was in 4th grade. My dad won't be coaching me, he won't be coaching at all. He had coached my sister, then me for 15 years. I guess he'll get to golf more now. It's sad that I will leave that behind. All the times I thought I wanted to quit and give up, only to find myself getting better and better as the times went on. I made friends I will keep forever. Staying up late in hotels and then waking up early to go give it my best on the court. So my thoughts aren't really on the fact that running is on my mind, I guess it's basketball. The game of my life. The game that I have come to love, but also hate sometimes. Basketball has made me not only a better player, but a better person. I have learned how to deal with situaions, get through stuff if I try hard enought. I miss that game.

I Am From-By: Caitlin Jewell by

Free Write 1-22-13

Stress. That's what's on my mind. I always over think things and make myself super stressed out. I hate being in large environments with tons of people. I don't mind if I know the people but if I don't know them I have tons of anxiety about the situations. I get stressed to the point of mental exhaustion where I just constantly feel tired and worn out and just want to lay in bed all day long. Why? I don't know. Maybe it will get better as life goes on. I am stressed about whether or not I should get a job and try to balance school. I am stressed about what I'll do in school and what career I want to pursue. I know I shouldn't worry and just remember God is in control of what I am going to do. But that sometimes is hard to always know for certain.

Intro.

Hello everyone! I'm Caitlin Jewell. I graduated from Willard High School at semester last month. Deciding on coming to OTC was so I could get some of my general education classes out of the way and I plan on attending College of the Ozarks in the fall of 2013. Though I am not sure what I want to do as a career, criminal justice has entered its way into my mind and I might try to pursue that field. My whole life I grew up right on the edge of Springfield but I just recently moved to Fair Grove where we built a new home. My family isn't huge by any means. I have an older brother, Tyler, who is almost 26 and lives in Nashville pursuing his dream of playing guitar in the music business. Also, I have an older sister, Megan, who is 24 and got herself a job teaching and coaching middle school basketball at Republic. Without my family I don't know what I would do, I love them more than anything. I pride myself in the fact I am a fourth Japanese and I would love to travel there someday. Just a few things to know me by are that I love eating, food is a big part of my family. I also enjoy working out, hunting/ fishing,  playing basketball, watching sports, shopping, and plain hanging out at home. Church is another big part of my life. I love God and know that He has a plan for me and will help me get through any tough times I may come across. I can't wait for what college has to offer me and getting to meet the new people I will encounter everyday. See you all soon :)

Free Write 1-17-13

I'm adjusting to the fact that I am in college now. I miss all my friends still at the high school and I hope and pray I didn't make the wrong decision coming here at semester. Even though I miss my friends I am excited to be starting early in life. I keep asking myself "What if?" What if I get disconnected from all my friends and at prom and graduation I will feel somewhat left out? What if I am getting to far ahead of myself? I hope that doesn't happen. God has a plan for me, as He says in Jeremiah 29:11. "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." I know He'll take care of me. So badly I wish my Mom was here so I could talk to her, get advice and joke around with her. I know she is still with me even though I can't see her but it's just not the same. My dad is the best though, he always makes sure I have everything I need. He is such a great example of a Christian father to me and my 2 siblings. I will get through school and hopefully decide on a career and I absolutely am sure my dad will help me get there. This marks my journey as what I will become in life. I want to travel and see places I have only dreamt of. I want to try and give back just a fraction of the love my family has given me over the course of my almost 18 years. I want to write a book about my life and impact people all over the world. I want to figure out what I am going to do and get it done by using my fullest potential. But life is difficult sometimes, I am going to come across obsticals in life and God never said it would be easy. Hopefully those road blocks aren't to big.

Free Wrtie 1-15-13

Today is the day. I graduated high school at semester and now I am starting out this semester as a freshman at otc. It seems a bit scary I don't really know anybody so far but I am excited for what this school has to offer. My future is important to me. I hope that this will be my only semester here so I can pursue my dream of moving on in college and attending College of the Ozarks this coming fall. I'm still contemplating on what I want to do with my life. There are so many choices and I feel as if my time is running out. People tell me I don't have to know which career I  want yet but to me, I want to know. I want to have clarity and not have to stress over it anymore. I know God has a plan for me and I hope it will run smoothly. I have prayed the past few years that God will take me places He knows I can achieve. So far my first class at 7am this morning had been cancelled which I was not particularly happy about. I didn't know where to go or what to do so I just sat in my car for the next hour or so waiting to come to English Comp 2. I'm happy about english so far. It seems like my type of class and we get to use technology mostly which is good for me because I love technology. I hope the college experience is as great as everyone says it will be. I love my class schedule because I only go twice a week and I'm out by 12.45 those days. I have always loved free time and I'm sure I'm not the only one.