Hi everyone! I hope you had a good week. I can’t believe it’s already October, my goodness! Time is just flying by. So I went home this weekend, and I have to say that for most part, I really like going home on weekends.
Of course I enjoy getting to spend time with my friends when I can, but I like being able to get away from Fort Collins for a little bit and be with my family. I also get to workout and play tennis which is great. Yes, I workout when I’m at school, but it just isn’t the same as being in the gym that I usually go to at home.
One of my neighbors at home likes to give my sister and I a lot of crap for coming home so often which I actually think is really funny. I just ignore that because I know what works for me and I know what makes me most comfortable, so I will continue with all my plans.
We usually make an effort to do something fun every weekend like this weekend, my mom and I went and got pedicures, and last weekend we got manicures. 😊 A couple of weekends ago, we went to this big festival my hometown throws every year and that was super fun. I think as long as there are things to do, it’s great. Regardless though, going home on weekends is just great and I really enjoy being able to spend more time with my family. They’re the absolute best people in the world.
Well I hope you all have a chance to get outside today if you’re in Colorado! The weather is supposed to be great today. And the leaves as starting to change (I hear the mountains are in full swing), so that’s exciting. Have a great week!
There’s this smoothie/acai bowl place I’ve heard of before called Rush Bowl and I have ALWAYS wanted to try it. Ever since my first açaí bowl at Denver International Airport, I’ve been dying to find a place in my hometown or in Fort Collins, since that’s where I go to school that has something like that. This past week, I needed something super yummy to decompress and I think I found it. An organic chemistry exam and physics exam in one night really takes it’s toll!!
I was flipping through the little coupon book I picked up on campus the other day and it had “Buy one get one free” at Rush Bowls and I was like, “Hmmmmm. Sounds amazing! I’m gonna go!” But I’ve been sick and then it was kinda chilly this morning and I wasn’t feeling 100% so I wasn’t able to go. But then, one of my friends asked me around 3 today if I wanted to go and by then it was a lot nicer and I was feeling better so I gladly accepted her offer.
You might be asking yourself, “What is an açaí bowl or more specifically a “Rush” Bowl?” Well I got you. Basically it’s a combination of blended fruits in combination with frozen yogurt and/or milk of your choice. These bowls can then be adorned with graham crackers, granola, honey, sliced fruit, and honestly whatever else sounds good to you!
What was amazing about the bowl I had, which was Rush Bowl’s seasonal pumpkin spice bowl was that it wasn’t horribly sweet (just the perfect amount of sweet if you ask me!), it was under 400 calories (I’m not big on counting but lately I’ve been a bit more careful), and it tasted AMAZING. This past week was absolute nuts so I believe I deserved to treat myself. And what was awesome about Rush Bowl was that I felt like I was treating myself, but it wasn’t a bunch of super salty, junk foods. It was something I felt good about putting in my body. 🙂 I can say that I’m obsessed with Rush Bowl for sure and you will definitely find me using that buy one, get one free deal as often as possible on the weekends. I’m also super pumped because they’re adding one in Broomfield (my hometown) and I know where I’m taking my family when it opens!! Haha.
In the future, I’m excited to try their Chai’s Mystique bowl, Apple or Peach Cobbler Bowl, Lemon Squeeze Bowl, and Oasis Bowl. Although I’m not going to lie…it all looks pretty dang good. It would honestly be so fun to try and make an açaí bowl at home. I feel like that could be really good. Or a disaster… Guess we’ll have to find out! Have a wonderful week everyone!
I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to grow up playing tennis. I feel like I learned so much in terms of the fundamentals and strategy. I learned a lot about how to be a good athlete and how to also just be a good person in general! Now I’ve been able to share that knowledge with young players trying out tennis and I feel so overjoyed with the entire experience! Who knew teaching tennis could be so fun?!
In Fort Collins, there’s this wonderful facility I’ve been playing tournaments at since I was like twelve, and a little over a month ago, I became one of the instructors for their Saturday classes. Since that first day, teaching tennis on Saturdays has become a highlight of my week.
Lessons start at 10 for the first group, which includes 4-6 year olds and their class goes for forty-five minutes. Being with the little littles is so cute and so fun. They’re all so excited to tell you about the new dinosaur toy they got or that they went to the park this past summer. And the littles are always so curious about tennis, or at least the ones I coach are. They really want to try and get good and I love it!
The next class I teach on Saturdays starts at 11 and goes for an hour and a half. That group is the 10U class. We have from 2nd-5th graders in that class and that’s a pretty good group too. With this class, there’s a lot more variety in the skill even though I would still classify all of my players in that class as beginners. It’s challenging, but I enjoy finding different ways to help different players. Getting to share little tips and tricks that have helped me is always a lot of fun. This group LOVES to play games and I love their excitement for that, but I’ve really learned that you have to lay down the law and establish the fact that you’re the coach and you’re going to do things in a certain order. If you don’t lay down the rules and set out a schedule, you’re going to get trampled by those 3rd graders, let me tell ya.
After that class finishes, I have a short lunch break and then I’m back on the courts for two hours with the middle school and high school kids. Once again, a majority of the players are just getting into tennis, but this group can understand more of the terminology I’m used to hearing so I feel like this class is where the fun really is and where the potential really exists. It exists with the younger kids too but it’s amazing how vocabulary and just being a bit older makes such a difference when trying to explain something! We hit a lot of groundstrokes and do a lot of feeding with this group because most of them can’t hold a rally but that’s ok! Teaching tennis is about tailoring to the needs of the players and also the coaches, as I’ve found out.
With all of my classes, I’ve really enjoyed getting to see players progress throughout the weeks I’ve worked with them. There’s this one little girl in my 10U class, and when I first started working with her, she could barely get the ball to the net. Two weeks ago, she hit her first tennis ball over the net and I was THRILLED for her. I don’t think she got what all my excitement was about but it’s fine. 🙂 Today, she hit at least five balls over the net and her strokes are looking much better and stronger in general and I LOVE THE PROCESS AND PROGRESS I GET TO SEE AND BE A PART OF!
Being in the teaching position now, I really have to thank my dad for his patience and ability to work with my sister and I. Now I know what it really feels like! To sum it all up in three points, I’ve learned that:
It’s better to break things down so the kids can follow some basic steps and I’m not spending a majority of the lessons talking.
It’s important to spend a little bit of time with each kid, helping them find one or two things to focus on.
City Park isn’t nearly as fun as the park at Fossil Creek in Fort Collins after going to the Denver Zoo. (Thanks to one of the kids in my little lobbers class for letting me know!)
I know that teaching tennis won’t always be easy and fun but I’ve really enjoyed my introduction to the teaching world so far. We’ll see what happens in the next couple of weeks and months!
I hope you all have a wonderful week. If you’re in organic chemistry, physics, or both (like unfortunate me), stay strong and good luck with any exams you have coming up. I have both exams Tuesday, back-to-back, so we’ll see how that goes. See ya next Sunday!
This past Monday, I moved back in at Colorado State University. Classes don’t start for another week but I was granted early move-in by the honors program (thank youuuu) so I could be all settled in in time for me to take part of the peer mentor trainings for freshman seminars that CSU requires through the honors program. Oooooh. Basically, I’m an instructor for a freshman seminar recitation course. Fun! I get to provide a bunch of resources to freshmen in the honors program and help make their transition to college as smooth as possible. I’m supposed to have a partner, but I’m not going to lie, he’s been a lousy one so far so we’ll see how that goes!
Monday was a fun day. Let me tell ya. Monday = move in. I said all my goodbyes to my dad, Marty, Boo, and Bobo and then was in Fort Collins a little after noon. That’s when the unpacking began. My mom and sister made a second trip back to my house to get the rest of my stuff and then all of the magic in my new room truly happened. I’ll have to post a picture of it some time! The unpacking and sorting and decorating really wasn’t complete until around 6 o’clock and my mom, sister, and I had all skipped out on lunch so we were all pretty drained. When finished with my room, we went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner where I ate WAY too much (but also needed it so we’re fine). After dinner, I said goodbye to my mom and sister and was back in my hall. Bed time followed shortly after. I was pooped!
Tuesday was a big training day for the peer mentor program. There were so many ice breakers and a lot of good information to help us all be the most successful and helpful instructors to our freshmen. Wednesday was the day I actually got to meet my freshmen and I’m so pleased with the group I got. They seem to be a wonderful group of very smart young individuals and I look forward to seeing them become more confident and comfortable with college. 🙂 I don’t know if many other honors programs run things the way that CSU’s honors program does, but I’m blown away by the attention and support that each student receives.
Thursday was my first day to really just do nothing which was kind of nice but also really weird. This was the day that my sister, Allyson, was moving in at Regis University and also the day that most people were moving in on campus here at CSU. It was also Marty’s tenth birthday. I’m still celebrating and I’m still so thankful that my sweet bubba has been such a wonderful part of my life. Anyway…
Thursday morning, not much happened. In the evening though, the big carnival on campus happened! Despite some threatening clouds and the occasional bit of rain, the carnival continued on. My friends and I didn’t do many of the rides (I’m personally just not a fan) but we did try every single ice cream thing (including snow cones) that was available to us. There was also popcorn and I found out I’m not horrible at skee ball. CSU seriously knows how to throw a welcome party, wow. This was a super fun night because I just got to be around so many good people that I love so so so much. I’m excited and thankful to be with the friends I made last year.
Friday, once again, the morning was pretty slow and relaxed. My friend and I went to get our nails done and also had lunch at Torchy’s Tacos which has become one of my favorite places to eat in the whole entire world. The trashy trailer park tacos are the way to go in my opinion. 🙂 10/10 would recommend.
In the evening on Friday, there were activities at the Lory Student Center and that was my favorite part of this past week. My friends and I got there an hour before anything actually opened so that we could wait in line to stuff little Rams, kinda like what you do at Build-A-Bear Workshop. We successfully stuffed our Rams and then went on to collect so much free food from Spoons (which is a local Fort Collins favorite), Panda Express (a personal favorite haha), as well as That Bagel Place (which I believe is another Fort Collins thing). We made glitter jars and made sand art and really just enjoyed each others company. My friends and I even made it on the Lory Student Center’s Instagram story!
Yesterday, I had my first day of work with a local tennis facility and I really enjoyed getting to play and TEACH the sport I love. The little lobbers (which were the 4-6 year olds) were my favorite. They were just all so adorable and so so so bad at tennis and I loved it! Teaching is a really different side of things that I think I’ll learn to really appreciate.
This past week was exhausting but so much fun at the same time. I’m so excited to be heading into this school year and see where things take me from here. If you’re a fellow Rammie and you’re reading this, good luck here at CSU! 🙂 If you’ve headed back to school already, I hope things got off to a good start for you and if you’re just getting into classes and you’re not from CSU, I still wish you the best of luck. 🙂 We’re all gonna need it. Especially if your name is Ana Horvath and you’re taking a physics and organic chemistry at the same time… Have a good week!
And just like that, I am done with my first year of college! Wow was that an experience! Here’s what I have to say about my first year at Colorado State University.
It feels like I was just moving into my dorm. At first, living there felt like I was in a hotel but then over time, it began to feel more like my own living space (minus the fact that I shared the room with another person). People were always telling me that it was going to be hard to adjust but I really didn’t find it that difficult. I have always been close with my family and I kept myself busy throughout my time at school so I never really felt “homesick” or worried about my transition into college life and a more independent life.
My first semester, chemistry was rough. I had the worst professor out of the general chem professors offered that semester and had to teach myself a lot of the material. Thank goodness I had a decent high school chemistry teacher. She saved me a lot throughout that class. I squeezed by with a B+ which wasn’t what I had hoped for, but was still incredible considering the amount of work and difficulty of the class.
Second semester, chemistry was tough again but I really enjoyed my honors seminar on dance, my biology class, and my honors section of ecology. I had a wonderful professor for that class and it consisted of only eight other students, considering that it was the first honors section ever offered of that class. My schedule was extremely flexible and I really loved all of the free time I had in the afternoons.
This first year of college, I really learned that if you take time to get stuff done right after class or in between classes, you can allow for more time to do the things you really want to do. The work you put into a class is the results you’ll get out. I studied my butt off this past year and I think that the work I put in really paid off. I’m really proud to say that I made the Dean’s List for both the fall and spring semester (as long as everything went well with my finals this past week!).
Some of my favorite memories include getting cookies from Insomnia Cookies one night with one of my friends, going to get breakfast with my chemistry friends on a snowy Saturday morning, hiking Triangle Mountain with my roommate and one of my other friends, and the countless hours I spent studying and working on chemistry with my chem study group who I am proud to call my good friends. Ram Welcome, dinners with my floor, decorating my friends’ doors for their birthdays, trips to Torchy’s Tacos, and trips back home helped make this school year the memorable and amazing year it has been.
I’m sad to be leaving Alpine Hall 375 but I’m so excited to see what’s next for me at CSU. This next year is going to be tough but so much fun. Organic chemistry, I’m looking at you! Thanks to everyone who helped make my first year of college the magical, fun experience it was. See you in the fall CSU!
First of all, I’d just like to say, HAPPY EASTER! Today is a beautiful, wonderful day and I hope you’re all spending time with family and friends, having a good time. This weekend has been another great weekend for me with family and it became a whole lot more interesting with the two pieces of plastic that I’m wearing in my mouth for the next three months. I got Invisalign!
Saturday morning, one of the dentists my mom works with was willing to help my mom out and together, they applied these little buttons to my teeth that will help move my teeth around along with the retainers. In total, I have 14 sets of retainers that I will be changing every ten days and in total, the process should take three months, which is super cool.
I had braces in second grade for about six months and then again in sixth grade for a year. Technically, I have a retainer that I’m supposed to be wearing nightly to prevent my teeth from shifting around so much, but it messes with my bite, so here we are with the Invisalign. That’s going to hopefully adjust the minor shifting that my teeth have done and give me a new retainer that doesn’t mess up my bite in the end.
It’s been weird adjusting to the Invisalign (well it’s only been a day, but still) in the sense that I have to take the retainer out and then put it back in after eating or drinking liquids that aren’t water. I’ve always taken pretty decent care of my teeth, but I feel like I’m going to go into hyper-cleaning mode as a result of this, which isn’t a bad thing. Because I want to eventually go into orthodontics, it has been interesting to see the process for Invisalign so far and be able to experience some of the technology that I will be working with some day in addition to regular braces that most people associate with orthodontists.
Now I need to go plan a quick little surprise Easter egg hunt for my sister before I head back up to Fort Collins… Thanks for being here on this Easter Sunday! I hope you all have a wonderful rest of this wonderful holiday and that you have a great week. See you next Sunday!
I haven’t been on a hike in forever. This past weekend, that changed. My roommate and one of my friends and I decided it was time to explore the mountains just outside of Fort Collins. While we were looking for a good hike, my roommate and I stumbled upon one up Triangle Mountain. According to the app we used, it said that the hike was going to be easy, and based on previous recordings, the hike was estimated to take an hour and a half. Sounds easy enough right? Boy were we wrong!
After a quick stop at Rocky Mountain Bagel Works for breakfast (which has really good cheap bagels by the way!), we were in for an hour drive up to the trailhead. Triangle Mountain is located in the Roosevelt/Arapaho Forest not too far outside Glen Haven, Colorado. Once we parked the car, it took us a little while to find the actual trailhead since it wasn’t even marked. When we did find the trailhead though, the only direction we could go was up. Directly, up. Oh my goodness, was that an incline. From the get-go, we were working our butts and thighs and I was doing my best to stay balanced and not fall over. Haha.
As the hike progressed, the view got better and better and it also got hotter and hotter. Thankfully we started early in the morning and came prepared with plenty of water and sunscreen. Triangle Mountain was a challenging but fun hike in that there were multiple false peaks. We thought we had reached the end, only to find that the trail continued! And when I say the trail continued, there wasn’t an easy-to-follow trail but we could easily distinguish where people had walked before us. We hiked through some wonderful shady areas, plenty of grassland, and even up and around some boulders and rocks.
As most would say, my favorite part of the hike was the summit. The peak of Triangle Mountain sits at an elevation of 8,415 feet. That’s pretty high up! I was honestly quite surprised that I made it up all the way, considering I have asthma, or some form of an inability to breathe when I overheat or work myself out too hard. 🙂 The view was gorgeous from the top and the world felt so still. It was a wonderful time up there. At the top, we had lunch and then it was time to head back down.
Heading down was definitely an exciting time. We strayed from the trail quite a ways and found ourselves in a valley with lots of cacti and scraggly, dry brush and tree branches. After wandering for quite a while and eventually having to do some bouldering, we found our way back to the trail and it was smooth sailing from there.
When we found our way back to my roommate’s car, we took some time to cool off in the nearby creek and then began the journey back to Fort Collins. On the way back though, we stopped by this super cute little store called the Colorado Cherry Company. They had a variety of fruit ciders, jams and jellies, pies, strudels, and tea! Most of it was centered around cherries, which makes sense, and they even offered free samples! I got some cherry taffy, peach tea, and honey sticks for myself and my family and then it was actually time to head back to Fort Collins.
Beside the fact that I got beat up by a rock, we got lost for a while, and I got sunburnt even after applying what felt like a bottle of sunscreen, I had a great time. The hike was a good work out and it was different than what I’ve been used to lately.
I will say that even though the app we used (All Trails) claimed that Triangle Mountain was an “easy” hike, that was no easy hike. There’s a lot of challenging terrain and short bursts of intense working-out, so if you want to give this hike a try, be ready for an intense one. It wasn’t what I would describe as hard, but it was definitely NOT easy. Also, to whoever said that the hike only took them an hour and a half, they must be some hiking god because my roommate, friend, and I spent about four hours on the hike. Granted, we did take time to look around and drink water and apply more sunscreen, but still!
As I write this post today, I’m not afraid to admit that I feel a bit sore after yesterday. Will I hike again in college? I hope so! Will I do that intense of a hike again? We’ll see. I just know that after that experience, I will do much more research on the hike in question. I definitely want to know more about what I get myself into. Happy trails and have a good week everyone! 🙂
This might not be the most exciting post to some of you, so if it’s not, sorry! But to me, this is quite important and I felt like I could share this news with you all. 🙂 As most of you know, I’m a senior in high school and college is coming up pretty fast now. With first semester almost over, college is more of a reality than ever before.
With that in mind, I have officially committed to Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. Go Rams! I am honored to have the opportunity to CSU and was accepted into their honors program, so that’s the plan!
As of right now, I plan to major in biological sciences with a focus on anatomy and physiology so that one day, I can go into orthodontics and help people feel more confident with themselves and their smiles.
I think I knew that CSU was the right university for me when I took time to tour the campus. I went during a time that all the students were there, and I immediately knew that’s where I was meant to be. It’s a hard feeling to describe, but being there just felt right. I could picture myself living in Fort Collins and enjoying college there! I’m glad I made the decision I did. I’ll still be able to play tennis, even if it isn’t at a highly-competitive and intense level, but I know that it’ll be fine.
I really look forward to what the future has to hold and hope that I can continue to write to you all and share my life adventures as I take on college. Thanks again to all of my readers. I really appreciate that you take time to visit my website and read what I have to say! It means the world to me and I hope that you are able to come away from here with something to think about and at least a smile and a little happiness. 🙂 And once again, go Rams!
