Good Habits

I would like to get in the habit of waking up early, like BreAnn. For the past couple of days I have been asleep before midnight and awake around 8 or 8:30. This has given me time to sit down and enjoy my breakfast, and take my time showering and getting ready. It's been nice not having wake up, throw clothes on, eat while I'm driving and be flustered trying to find a parking spot on time to make it to my class. I think I appreciate the day more when I have time to sit and relax rather than be pressured to make a deadline. I'm going to try and make it a habit to get to bed early and wake up earlier than usual. However, I know that come Saturday when I close there will be a kink thrown in the machine. If I close at work I don't get out until 12:30-1 am, then I get home and I'm wide awake and I don't get to sleep until around 2:30-3. I'm tired the next day, and it just starts a horrible cycle of bad things. It isn't something that I can change anytime soon though. I'm stuck with the closing shift, until I switch to days next semester and start a new work and school schedule. Despite this, I'm going to still make an attempt to continue the good habit I've been on, in hopes that it will make life a little more enjoyable. If I'm enjoying the day, I'm happier and nicer to those around me and it just continues a cycle of good things.

Procrastinating

I have a habit of procrastinating, though you told me once that I wasn't procrastinating, rather contemplating ideas. But in all reality I honestly do procrastinate. I will wait until the last possible minute to get up out of bed and rush around getting ready for school or work. I haven't even looked at the 'This I Believe...' essay, let alone start to write my rough draft that's due in two days. I will wait until my grandmother is one day away from coming to see me to begin cleaning my house. I have a problem with procrastinating. The worst part for me is that I KNOW I have it, yet I do nothing to fix it. Try as I might I will always procrastinate. It's like a New Year's resolution, people do it for two weeks then give up. I can attempt to schedule myself and not procrastinate but it never ends up lasting for the long run. There are a few things I don't procrastinate on however: my rent, is always due on time; my gas tank is never empty; and if I'm hungry I never wait to eat. However, these all have consequences to them that are drastic! If my rent isn't paid it is an extra $25 the following day, then it only increases from there. If my gas tank is empty, I can't go anywhere until someone comes to bring me more gas. If I don't eat, I've discovered, I pass out. Procrastination is my weakness. It is also something that I've learned to deal with. I've found that I work better when I'm under pressure. If I know my essay is due Friday and I wait until Thursday to write it, I will most likely write a better essay than I would if I had written it Tuesday. I think it's because I focus more. I know that I have a short amount of time to do something so I block out other distractions. Normally, while sitting and writing an essay I would be watching tv, listening to the radio, or chatting with friends. However, if I know I have to get something done soon I block out all the distractions, and I just sit and write. I always listen to music when I clean, except when I'm in a rush. If I don't have the music I find I get things done faster because I focus more on what I'm doing.

Free Write 9/28

"Get 'from' the day, not just 'through' the day" - Jim Rohn

Another quote I know that goes well with this is, "It's not about the number of breaths you take, it's about how many moments take you're breath away." Life isn't abot just getting through the day it is about learning from it and growing as a person. We all have hard days and easy days, but you learn something new every day! Sieze as many opportunities as you can to learn something new, because it will help you with the next day, and so forth. Life is not about just going through the motions, you have to stop and smell the roses every once in a while. Stop and take time to appreciate life or you'll get to where you have none left regret how you spent it. For me, it's hard to enjoy time that I spend by myself, but once I get in a crowd of people I find myself wishing that I had time alone. Everyday that I spend sitting at home relaxing is a day that I cherish when I find  myself at school among thousands of people. Cherish the time you spend at places, because one day they could be gone and you'll have nothing but the memory left behind. I was overjoyed to be walking out of my high school, saying that I would never go back. Now that it's gone, I wish I had spent just a few more minutes standing among the halls because I can never do that again. Though a new school will be rebuilt it will never be MY school again. Get memories from the day, because those last forever. Take as many pictures and document as much as you can, because that will live on well after you're life is gone. Tell as many stories as you can to younger generations so that you're memories become someone else's memories. Don't just go through the day, live the day! Be happy and enjoy it, because it's one day you can't get back.

Ground Zero

While I was in town on Sunday I gathered up the guts to return to the place where my apartments once stood. I normally stay with my best friend and she lives right down the street, so every time I am in town I am forced to drive by it. However, I have only been there a couple times while the apartments were still standing and the day they tore them down. It's a difficult place to return to, much like the grave of a loved one, or the site of a crash. It has been barely over four months though, and each day I grow stronger in my faith and my ability to cope with the effects and aftermath of the tornado. I decided that it would be a step in the right direction for me to return home. The street was still covered in tree limbs, glass, children's toys and other miscellaneous debris. All the buildings surround it had been demolished, nothing left but foundation, if that.

The woods behind still held siding in the trees, and a bed was left leaning against the tree exactly as it had been before.

My neighbors car was piled with others that had been left behind. I knew that the family was all safe, so I wondered why they hadn't come back for it, but looking at the condition it was in I quickly knew why. Not only was the body of the car beyond repair, but all the windows had been busted out, the inside was covered in debris - it was totaled.

During all of the previous trips I had made back to the apartment we had been inside trying to gather what little things we could from inside the aparment, and in the surrounding areas around it. However, I had not been back into the woods to see if there was anything else hiding in the mess of trees, so I decided I would explore. Before I could even make it into the woods I noticed something that looked extremely familiar, a red fleece blanket. This blanket is one that was meant to be in my mothers bedroom. Eventually it made its way into our living room where I usually fell asleep with it while lying on the couch. Finally it landed on my bed in my room where I would sleep with it every night. It was something that my mom and I continually argued over having. A blanket is not something you necessarily think of as a staple piece but this particular red one, is something that brought back memories for me. To see it rain soaked and discolored struck a chord in my heart.

That red blanket has since been replaced with another red fleece blanket in the living room of my apartment here in Springfield! As I continued to look deeper into the woods I was pleased to find something my mother and I had wondered about ever since the day of the tornado! On the street right next to our aparments were two industrial size dumpsters that the whole complex used to dispose of trash. I stress the fact that these dumpsters were massive! The two walls of my mothers bedroom were destroyed, by what we assumed to be the dumpsters. By process of elimination, we decided there was nothing else that could have ripped the walls compeletely off.

 The dumpsters, however, we never could find! We had hoped that if we found the dumpsters we could find some of my mother's belongings along with it. Much of her room was never recovered because it had been so thrown around in the wind. Looking back between the branches I saw the two blue dumpsters mangled within the brush!

The trip back to the site was just another step in the never ending healing process. I will never be able to forget that day. However, there will be new and better things that will come from it, and I am excited to return to a city that is stronger than ever! I am very lucky and thankful that there were angels among my family watching over everyone and keeping them safe. There is a multitude of different scenarios that run through my head every time I think of that day; things that could have been different than they were, things that kept my family safe. What if: graduation had been at the high school, if it had been earlier or on a different day, if we had been at Cunningham Park for my party, if my mom's boyfriend hadn't stopped at his store, if my dad had left just 2 minutes later, if I hadn't taken my time taking pictures with everyone, if my best friend hadn't freaked out when she heard the sirens. There's a million and one ways that May 22nd could have happened, but I am so greatful that it happened the way it did.

I know that this picture is too big and goes off the page, but I wanted you to see what I saw standing there.

 The barren landscape of the area. The area to the right of my car is where my apartment was at in the complex.

Great Day of Service

This past Sunday I went back home, to Joplin, to help with the Great Day of Service. Great Day of Service itself is a gathering at a local park, with food and music, that is open to the public that has volunteered during the year. This year, however, there was much more volunteers than usual since there was much more to clean up due to the tornado. Officials for the day invited the OTC Culinary students, and the American Culinary Federation to come in and help prepare food for the 5,000 people they were planning on having attend.

When Chef Scritchfield first mentioned this event I was completely on board! Any opportunity I get to go back home is one that I will definitely take. An extra perk was getting school points for doing it as well. Monday in class we worked out the final details, we were to be at Landreth Park in Joplin by 8 am, we would start serving food at 11 am, and should be done and back on the road by 2 pm. I knew that it was going to be a long day, but I didn't expect it to be as long as it turned out to be! I worked until 12:30 Sunday morning then when I got home I was still awake, as I usually am after closing; I didn't end up getting to sleep until around 2:30. My alarm went off much to early at 5:30 blaring upbeat Justin Bieber music hoping to wake me on a cheery, joyful note. I looked outside at the black sky trying to remember the last time I had been up before the sun - to my recollection it had been 5 years! I had not been up that early since the trip I took to New York for modeling, but that's a different story. I peeled myself off my bed, got dressed and headed to McDonald's to get food and Starbucks for a hot chocolate.

By 6:30 I was on the road headed to Joplin running right on schedule. By this time, I've made enough trips back and forth to Joplin to know that at the speed I normally go it takes me exactly an hour to drive there. I headed west, watching the slowly rising sun in my rear view mirror, trying my hardest not to fall asleep at the wheel. I made it to Joplin, stopping before I got to the park to change at a nearby gas station. This event had to have been one of the funniest in my day! To preface this I must say that this particular gas station is one that I have been in probably 200 times in the past year, so I know it well. However, I normally go in at night so I haven't gotten to know the daytime employees well. I walked in, carrying my bag containing my classic, but not fashionable uniform. Headed to the bathroom, out of the corner of my eye, I watched the clerk catch a glimpse at me. It took me less that two minutes to change out of the jeans and fleece jacket that I had on into my checked pants, and chef jacket. I walked out of the bathroom with my apron and hat in hand and caught the clerk look at me, then look again. I chuckled and told her, "Yes, it's the same person, I just changed my clothes!" She laughed, and said back, "Okay! I was just making sure, you looked so different!"

I made it to the park around 7:40, and waited for the others to arrive. Chef Scritchfield had said that he would be there early because he was hauling a hot box on a trailer to the park. I got out of my car, and despite the chill of the fall morning walked around the park to try and find him. He was either invisible or not there, to my surprise. I thought, "Well, maybe he's late." and sat down to wait. Eight o'clock rolled around and Jennifer, another culinary student had showed up, but still no chef. An hour later and Scritchfield had still not appeared, however, a couple more students had. We stood around the park, drinking Starbucks to take the chill out of our bodies for another hour. When 10 am came and Chef was still no where to be found, I was starting to get worried that something was wrong. I knew where they were supposed to be preparing the food so Jenn and I decided that we would drive across town to see what the problem was.

We arrived at the John Q Hammons building to see all the chef's standing around chatting. The ovens weren't on, and there was no food being heated though we were schedule to start serving people in an hour! We went up to talk to Chef Scritchfield and he told us that the service time had been pushed back to noon, and that they were waiting on hot boxes to arrive to transport the food to the park. Around 10:30 the chef's decided to fire up the ovens and begin heating the burritos they had made and wrapped in foil the day before. We were definitely rushing to have everything ready and at the park for service. It was taking 20 to 30 minutes to heat a batch of burritos at a time and we had 2 batches to do. Once they got the burritos heating Jenn and I decided we would head back to the park and let everyone else know what was going on, but not before we made a second stop of the day at Starbucks.

When we returned to the park it was yet a waiting game of standing around, until the burritos arrived. As people started to arrive Jenn and I noticed that the few volunteers they had were having a heck of a time trying to direct traffic. We were searching for something to do, so we walked down to see if they needed any help! Thankfully, the guy was more than happy to sit down and allow us to direct traffic for him. With a sign and two whistles in hand, we cheered up an elderly man by giving him a break, and made the monotonous task of directing traffic the most interesting thing we had done all day. I saw Chef Scritchfield pull in around 11:30 and decided I would walk down to see if he would mind if we continued directing traffic. Luckily he didn't, so back I treked across the park to continue directing traffic.

All in all, I believed we received 6 middle fingers - from some unwilling people. I had one woman personally drive up and roll her window down to complain to me because she followed the crowd to the park and had 'got stuck up there for 20 minutes', when she was simply trying to get home with pizza for her family. I apologized but she wasn't accepting of it. The day got off to a slow start, but ended on some fun times. I was happy to be back home and help serve some of the volunteers that helped with clean up, search and rescue, and rebuilding parts of my hometown.

"Lifted"

I have seen this Disney Short before, mainly because I watch a multitude of Disney movies! Aside from that, I like it! I think everyone has moments in their life like the one this little green dude is having. We're under stress and there are so many things going on we just don't know which way to go. Most of the time we end up being wrong in our actions, and it gets us into a saddened state of mind. However, it just takes one simple gesture from the right person to lift our spirits back up. Then we're back at the wheel of our lives controlling what happens, rather than letting others control it for us.

 The 'man' sleeping in the video reminds me of my Uncle, who is an extremely heavy sleeper. A bomb could probably go off next to his bed flinging him miles away and encasing his body in shrapnel, and he would most likely sleep through it. Don't even get me started on his snoring - you can hear it literally all across the house! That's NOT an exaggeration!

Sometimes I wish aliens were real, because I believe it would lead us into a world much different than ours. I woke up one morning to a show on the History Channel that was about UFOs and I sat and watched almost all of it until I had to go to class. While intriguing as extraterrestrial figures are, I think we would learn more by their ways of living on other planets more than their UFOs. If we could somehow find a way to sustain life on other planets it would change everything that we know today!

Today I choose happiness.

Last night, was just one of those nights. I got into a fight with my father about some things and as I sat in my bed sulking in my own sorrow a thought came to my mind: "Tomorrow is a new day." I pondered that for a while then I chose to go along with it. I knew that I would fall asleep, and wake up to a new day full of happiness, because I wanted it to be. I knew that no matter what had happened last night that today was a new day, meant for new things. It did happen to help that today my best friend, her mother and sister, my Grandpa and Nana are all coming into town. After this class I get to go enjoy lunch with my grandparents at Olive Garden. I get to sit and have endless salad and bread sticks with alfredo sauce! Then I get to go and watch my best friend's sister, who is practically my own sister, win another softball game! I have to work, but it is with the two people I love working with the most! Then I get to come home and have my best friend and her mother stay with me - the first people I have had stay at my house, since I've lived there! I have told them both about my place but they have never seen it since I have decorated and cleaned and got all situated. Dispite the argument with my father, it wasn't the first and I'm sure it won't be the last, I knew that today would be a good day. It is one more day of living and breathing and that makes it one more day of happiness.

Hot Dog

I'm going to focus on the dog part, less than the hot part, becuase I greatly miss my dog. She's a 16 year old Shetland Sheepdog/ Collie mix. We named her Sassy since she very closely resembles the famous tv dog - Lassie. When my mom and dad divorced in 2007 she went to permanently live with my dad, since my mom and I couldn't have pets at our apartment. I do not have a close relationship with my dad and therefore, don't often see Sassy anymore. I know that she's getting extremely ancient and I fear we will have to put her down soon. She has already started to go blind, deaf, and she has a bad case of arthritis that requires regular medication. Sassy was my companion for many years and it hurts me to no longer have her with me. I find that the company of another person, or even an animal, helps to transition into a new stage of life. Moving here to Springfield, I tried desperately to find a place that would allow me to have a dog, so that I would have some company, but I ended up settling for a nice place that I could not have any pets in. If I could have a dog, I would in a heartbeat, even though I can't necessarily afford it. The simple thought of having someone else with me in my apartment would give me a new feeling of security. Sassy was always a caring dog, but if someone came near our house, she would bark to warn us. When I was in middle school I often spent nights alone at my house, while my parents were at the local Elk's Lodge, and it always gave me comfort to know that if someone were to approach the house I would know because of Sassy.

Forgive vs. Forget vs. Memories

"Your actions may be forgiven but the past is something that can never be forgotten."
The old phrase 'forgive and forget' is something that has always perplexed me intelectually. It just has never made sense to me. The Dixie Chicks said it right in their song "Not Ready To Make Nice", "Forgive, sounds good; forget, I'm not sure I could." Actions that have harmful consequences are like memories in our brains, they are something that can never be erased. You may be able to forgive someone for stealing your money, however, you will never forget that action and therefore, never trust that person with money again. Memories are just something that will get stored in the back of your mind until another situation triggers that thought to return again to the forefront. You may forgive the drunk driver that paralyzed your child but everytime you see them you remember again the situation, it is never fully forgotten.

"Memories"
When most poeple think of memories they think of happy times they've had. Nobody's first thought when the word memory is said is a sad, tragic moment in their life. So, why can't a memory be something sad and tragic why does it have to be a happy time? In my opinion, a memory is a remembrance of a past event, it doesn't specify whether the event is good, sad, happy, mad, etc - it is simply just an event. Think of a memorial: it is put up to remember the happy times a person/group had, not the tragic death they faced. When you attend a funeral and you recieve a paper that says, "In memoriam:" with the person's name listed after, it is meant to signify that you will be remembering the happy times that person had in their life. As humans we tend to subconscienally block out the bad, even when maybe we shouldn't.

I believe: that common sense should be called uncommon sense now.

The use of common sense is virtually non-existent at this point in our lives and should be renamed uncommon sense. I have often been told that I am an 'old thinker' and view things with the perspective of someone who has been through many more years of life than I have, and thus is wise. However, I believe I just look at things in  a logical point of view, attempting to see all sides of the story, and then forming opinions. This contrasts to my fellow young primates who barely educate themselves and base their opinions on matters of like and dislike. Some people are just simply too stupid and ignorant to realize the mistake they are making upon their life. I believe you will never get anywhere in life unless you have common sense. If you have no common sense, you often make bad decisions: drinking, smoking, sex, drugs, illegal actions. However, those of us who actually step back and analyze situations and their consequences usually end up with a better outcome. People don't stop to think that their actions always come with consequences, whether they be good or bad. Also, that almost everything you do in life, in one way or another, affects someone else's life. Say you choose to call into work because you drank too much the night before - consequence: you get no money to pay the bills you owe, you have spent money on way too much alcohol, you feel disgustingly sick, and you have no idea where you are; affects: your manager now has to scramble to find someone to cover your shift, the person that covers said shift has to cancel all plans which may or may not be important. So the one small action of taking a drink of alcohol has now escalated into a massive mess of mishaps and mistakes that you cannot fix, unless you can time travel. Most people forget that you can't go back in time and change things, whatever you do is permanent. Your actions may be forgiven but the past is something that can never be forgot.

Drive: The Movie

I would like to preface this blog by saying, "No, there will be no spoilers released about the movie in this blog, simply opinions and observations."

I really only have one friend in town and that's Jenn. We went to culinary school at Franklin Tech (pre-tornado) and decided that we were both going to continue our education at the lovely OTC campus here in Springfield. So, we packed our things, and here we are. Anyways, we have a tuesday night tradition of going to half-price movies at the Hollywood Theater downtown on Campbell St. Last night was no different, other than having her tag along friend Jeremiah. We sat down to watch Drive, an intense, thrill seeking movie starring the ever gorgeous Ryan Gosling. I was excited to see this movie because it contained two perfect things: 1) Ryan Gosling 2) fast cars. However, I was very disappointed. Gosling plays an awkward character, speaking very few words. The movie started off extremely slow, with very little happening and plenty of awkward moments. However, about 45 minutes in the movie started to pick up, in a different way than I expected - it quickly turned to a murder scene. I had read some of the reviews about this movie and all of them said the movie had shining qualities and ravishing moments. Therefore, I entered this movie with high expectations; fast cars, and some romance, with all the qualities of a classic 80's style movie. Unlike my expectations Drive turned out to be awkward, with plenty of gore and blood, and very little romance or fast cars.

Unfortunately, my mother insisted on calling and complaining to me about a 6:45 phone conversation I had rang up the previous night. (I fell asleep talking to a friend who apparently felt it unecessary to end the phone call and eventually fell asleep as well) So, I was unable to see the last 40 minutes of the movie. According to Jenn and Jeremiah the end of the movie was just like the rest: awkward and disappointing.

I believe music can get you through any situation.

Music is more powerful than what people may think. What makes you feel a certain way when you're watching a movie? It's not the actors, and it's not the plot, often times it is the music. Would a scary scene with a masked man creeping up with an ax getting ready to kill a girl give you the same feeling if it was backed by cheery circus music? No. Would church feel the same if the choir didn't sing an uplifting song? No. Music intensifies the feeling we have in certain situations and can often alter our mood. When you can't express the words you have then turn to music lyrics, often writers have a better way of saying things than average people (though everyone can be a writer). Songs can also draw out feelings from a person. In our mind certain songs or lyrics can trigger memories from past events. Whenever I hear 'Amazing Grace' I am always taken back to a very close family friend's funeral. My best friend cannot listen to the song 'Jesus Take the Wheel' by Carrie Underwood because it reminds her of her uncle's funeral. However, if I listen to 'The ChaCha Slide' I'm transported to Keelie's skating rink and the wonderful memories I had with friends dancing to that song. Somewhere out in song land there is a song for every situation. For the time your boyfriend cheated on you, and the time your dog died, to the time you danced the night away with friends, and even the time you fell in love with your significant other. Music has been a huge part of my  family and for me it has always been something that I can rely upon. When my parents divorced and I felt like I had no one to turn to - music was there to guide me through. After the tornado hit I heard the song 'So Small' by Carrie Underwood and helped put things in perspective that what happen was not as bad as it could be, and that things would be okay. It has always been something for me to fall back upon when nothing else was there.

I believe...

I believe:
in myself
music can get you through any situation
every family is dysfunctional
hard times make you stronger
I can do great things
I can fly - I believe I can touch the sky
friends are the family you choose
school should not schedule any class earlier than 9 am, especially NOT on monday
I can be rich someday
some people have absolutely no common sense
that common sense should be called uncommon since it is not used commonly
my bed is the most comfortable thing in the world
no one should ever have to be without a home, food, water, and clothes
people can do great things
social media is disgusting and harmful to society
No Child Left Behind is a joke
politics have become more about money than helping our country
everyone should stand up for their opinions
people can be better than those who came before them
food is life
rainbows are a sign of good luck
my mother is my hero
there is nothing better than a funny movie
curling up in a warm blanket with hot chocolate is like being inside the womb again
beds should be made with heaters so that no one has to crawl into a cold bed
I really want to sleep right now
I can be an amazing pastry chef
I can own my own restaurant someday
my dad's girlfriend is the devil
God is watching over us
dogs are the best companions - next to humans
vending machines should be banned - and the person who made them should be tortured
checked pants should be illegal
marijuana is worse than people say it is

Camping and the toilet paper roll

I remember the summer of my sophomore year my best friend, Cassey Schulze, was dating a boy named Justin. He lived in a close town out in the woods on an open farm with his grandpa that he was taking care of at the time. Mulitple times during the summer we would go down to the pasture and camp next to the pond. We would go early in the day and set up our tent and get wood for the fire so that when we got there later that night we could just relax and have fun hanging out with friends. Now, to preface this coming story I have to tell you a small piece of information that you might not want to know. My best friend is the type of person that cannot go to the bathroom by herself. So, we were out camping one night, and of course came the moment when she had to pee. Justin suggested that I just drive her up to the house so that she didn't have to pee in a bush. However, Cassey insisted that she was not afraid of peeing in the bush. So off she hiked to a nearby tree, pulled down her pants and proceeded to use the restroom. When she was done she realized that one important piece of information had not crossed her mind - we had NO toilet paper. She screamed to me and asked if I had anything in my car that we could use (because I am the type of person that keeps EVERYTHING in my car). I scrambled looking for anything to use: a napkin from a fast food restaraunt, a rag that I no longer needed, anything that could be of assistance to my best friend. My magical car that had once contained everything I thought I needed had failed not only me, but Cassey as well. Eventually, she opted to use the classic Girl Scouts leaf method. However, from that moment on, we always included toilet paper in our camping supply list.

Buttons

Buttons aren't very inspring to me, however if I had to pick one thing it would be the varying types, sizes, and colors. It is possible to have the same type of button more than once, but often you have a button for every need. If you were making a suit for work you wouldn't want to use a button that was a bright red cherry, you would want to use a simplistic, sophisticated round black button. On the other hand, if you were making a clown costume for a child for halloween, you may want to use the bright red button. One button in the jar I see that I keep looking at has a pearl as a center stone and is surrounded by a gold chain. I'm not sure why I keep going back to this button in particular but obviously something about it triggers my subconscious. I can imagine it being sewn on an antique dress or simply just collected in a jar. I feel like this button contains a story inside its nooks and crannies. It was something that was passed down from generation to generation as a keepsake in a family. The women who held it were not always wealthy but they were very wise with their words. The grandmother or great grandmother found this button while she worked as a seamstress in an old English town. The day she found it was a particularly hard and cold one and the button somehow gave her a sense of contentment and joy. She suddenly realized that the gold links were like members of a family intertwined and all held together by a similar bond - the center pearl. This reminded her that the women, like her, in her family were the center pearl that held everything together. She passed down this button to continue to remind the women of her family that they were the piece of their family that held everything else together.

My Type: ESFJ

Based on the results of my Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, my type is an ESFJ - Extraversion, Sensing, Feeling, Judging. These people are generally dependable, talkative, practical, organized, and committed to fulfilling their obligations. Overall, these terms apply specifically to my personality. As far as learning goes, ESFJ's require a structured learning process and environment, prefer to study in a group, and desire to hear information that is practical. Personally, I would much rather study alone that in a group. I don't require a structured learning environment but I do like things to be clarified, if assignments are left wide open I am often left wondering what to do. For me to fully understand something I have to know why the answer becomes so, or it won't make sense in my head. As far as writing goes, ESFJ's prefer to write about personal experience, discuss their ideas before beginning to write, and need to intentionally analyze a topic. It is definitely easier to write about personal experiences and emotions rather than technical topics. I usually do plan out what I am going to write in my brain before starting to write, however, techniques such as webs and pre-writing dont usually help me. I only found one major flaw in my type analysis: procrastination. The analysis says that people of my type usually avoid procrastination, but I always procrastinate! I have tried all sorts of different tricks and tips to avoid it but I just cannot help it, it is my downfall. Overall, I think my type analysis was a fairly accurate description of my personality.