Sleeping Late

Sleeping Late

For the last 6 years I've had trouble with sleeping in all day. I can go to bed at 10pm and still wake up at 11am, so going to sleep earlier has never worked; even when I take a nap, it's often for 3-4 hours, not an hour like most people. I hate doing this because so much of the day is wasted, it's horrible only seeing like 6-7 hours of sunlight because you wake up so late. I need to develop some kind of strategy to wake up earlier, maybe I should setup an alarm and force myself to wake up at 9. It's a horrible habit, that's for sure

Obsession Towards Futbol

Obsession Towards Futbol

I've always been a big soccer fan, but my trip to Europe last summer turned me into a fanatic. Watching World Cup games at bars in Munich with my family and hundreds of Germans was a blast; not like my typical American soccer experience. While we Americans like to watch soccer every four years, there's no support for our own leagues, like the MLS. Here, players hardly make any money, often having to support themselves once the season ends. Stadiums are small and hardly any fans show up unless Clint Dempsey is on the opposing team. However, in countries like Germany, soccer is the number one sport. Players make millions the competition between teams is fierce. Once we left Europe I knew I wanted to start watching FC Bayern, the team whose city I spent 5 days in. I loved Munich and the people in it, why not watch their team to see what all the fuss was about? Well, it's now January and I haven't missed a single game Bayern has played. The games are so fun to watch, seeing rivalries like Dortmund and Bayern, as well as watching top level futbol; it's become an addiction. Maybe one day I'll go back to Munich and see Bayern play a match, It's on my bucket list.

Life After High School

Life After High School

In high school, I found it easy to slack off on my school work. Getting A's and B's while still waiting until the last minute to start assignments consumed me with a mindset that I can coast through school and life. Well, that's not true for college at all; life gets intense after high school and the real world is no joke. The first semester of this year I went to Arizona State University and preformed horrendously in the classroom; never going to class, forgetting about assignments and taking every day for granted. Over Winter break my Dad informed me that I would be transferring to a local community college to prove to him that I could take school seriously, that, or work 40-50 hours a week. 

Over Winter break my mindset starter to change, remembering how some adults talk about wasting college and live paycheck to paycheck, barely getting by. For once, I knew it was time to take school seriously; life is very difficult for those who don't get degrees. My future could look very miserable if I don't start putting effort into my schoolwork; knowing that while I may not want to spend 3-4 hours a day on homework, that's what it takes to be successful. Success is for those who work their butts off, goals aren't accomplished by those with a "give me" attitude. It's time I chase after my dreams, not just fantasize about them.

To Do Lists

To Do Lists

With ADD accomplishing a single task can be difficult, I often start many projects without finishing them. Lately, I have found that the best way to stay on task and get things done is through organization. Since last year, I have used lists to keep track of tasks and chores that needed to be accomplished while making sure not to cross anything off until it's completely done. Because of this, I'm so much more productive; Instead of thinking I'm done with everything, I can look at my to do list and make sure I'm caught up. 

Positive Mindset

Positive Mindset

Throughout life we all face our own challenges. As human beings, it's not uncommon for us to struggle in school, work, and countless other things. We cannot control certain things, but there is one thing that should be kept firm, and that is how we approach these difficulties. When you look at something with a pessimistic mindset you'll often find that accomplishing tasks becomes almost impossible.  Say homework for example, you have a 5-6 page paper due tomorrow and you waited till tonight to start it. Why? You blew it off, believed it wasn't important and you could "wing it." Doing this not only puts more stress on your shoulders it's likely going to affect your grade. Since you blew it off your grade isn't going to reflect well, not nearly as well as it could have been. If you approached that essay with a positive mindset you could have made a plan to work on it little by little. Doing that, allows you to get a lot of work done overtime without having the need to rush. If you stay positive and approach things in a new way rather than "I'll do it tomorrow" you'd be surprised at what you could accomplish.

Moving to Colorado

Moving to Colorado

I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and spent the first 15 years of my life there. They often say that most Texans don't realize there's life outside of Texas, meaning that we're so blinded to our home that we cannot imagine living anywhere else. I would say this is true, I didn't expect to ever leave Dallas until one day in 9th grade my Dad called me telling me he got a new job in a city called "Boulder." At first I was terrified of the move, frightened with the very idea of having to start at a new school and move 800 miles Northwest of Texas. I knew the stereotype Boulder had, and I often let my mind wander and think about the worst possible thing. On my first day of school I walked in with the mindset that everyone was going to be a hippie and hate me for the simple fact that I'm from the South. What happened amazed me, I felt accepted at my school for who I was, and nobody judged me because of my background. Quickly, I found out how beautiful Colorado is and how kind and unique the locals were. Moving here taught me something important, and that is we should always embrace change, rather than run from it.

Squirrel Chase

Squirrel Chase 

About 2-3 times a week I take my dog Roxy to the park and let her run around and exhaust her energy. Typically, she's great off of her leash and comes back to me as soon as I shout "Roxy", but there's one exception. Squirrels - her sworn enemy, Roxy will stop at nothing to chase after these furry little devils. A simple glance at a squirrel will have her sprinting like a cheetah towards it's prey; running over anything and everything along the way. Sadly for me, Roxy found a squirrel today and darted off, leaving me to chase after her for 10-15 minutes until the squirrel climbed up a tree. As she stood there dumbfounded on what to do next, I quickly grabbed the leash and snapped it around her neck. As we slowly walked back to the car, I promised myself one thing... this will be the last time this little convict goes without a leash.

Future Plans

Future Plans

My goal is to spend the next two years at Front Range and make good enough grades to transfer into CU and their Journalism school. To be able to do this, I will need to stay on top of my school work and not procrastinate as much as I used to. I plan on getting homework done as soon as I get home, rather than waiting till the last minute.

Introduction

Introduction

Hello everyone, I'm Alex Calcote. I am 19 years old and originally from Dallas, Texas but moved to Colorado about 4 years ago. I have a passion for writing and my goal is to get a degree in Journalism and become a sports analyst. English has always been one of my favorite subjects and I am looking forward to advancing my writing skills.