Christmas, Bowl Games, Visitors and New Year's Resolutions!

After an extended post-exam stay in the Clemson/Anderson area, I finally made it home for winter break. It is always fun to be living the college life with no exams or classes to worry about, but at the same time, I needed to get home so I could recover from exams and spend some time with my family. A few days after getting home I got my grades and was relieved to see that I didn't fail any of my exams miserably. While I didn't achieve the sort of success I like to strive for, I realized awhile back that this was definitely not my semester. That is especially true, considering I applied for a change of major request halfway through the semester meaning my classes would not apply to my new major. I fully expect next semester to be a much better semester, and can't wait to get there and start my Business classes. After getting my grades, the rest of my break consisted of focusing on everything non-school related.

That focus started with Christmas Eve service and has continued since then. It was great to return to my home church and sit with my parents as we celebrated the birth of our Savior. The next morning was equally as wonderful with everyone getting some great presents. The present of the day for me was definitely a brand new video iPod. When iPods first came out on the market awhile back, I remember being so frustrated because I had no way of listening to music through an iPod. The headphones that come with the iPods are of the in-the-ear type, which I cannot use because the ear mold in my right ear blocks access to that ear canal. In the past, I have also had limited success with regular over-the-ear headphones as I am forced to wear them at an akward position so that the actual sound is directed towards the microphones on the top part of my hearing aid behind my ear. Because sound enters my ear through my hearing aid, when I wear headphones, they don't even cover my ear. To make a long story short, it was pretty much useless for me to consider getting something as cool and nifty as an iPod because I simply wouldn't be able to use it well enough to justify its cost. However, my implant changed all of that. I have mentioned before my ability to plug a personal audio cable from my implant to a variety of different sound producing objects, including laptops, steroes, tvs, and more recently, the iPod. The audio cable is definitely my favorite addition to my life as an implant user, as it allows me to function as a normal person when it comes to situations that require the use of headphones. For a teenager who happens to enjoy music as much as the next person, this is a welcome relief and I only wish it had come sooner. My struggles with being able to hear and and enjoy music are slowly disappearing and this is a critical part of me feeling like a normal individual with very good hearing.

I already have over 17 hours of music on my iPod and I'm sure much more will be added soon!

The day after Christmas, my family - and a friend of mine from school, Alan - headed down to Orlando to witness the Tigers take on the University of Colorado in the Champs Sports Bowl. It was great to witness the final Clemson game of the season, and even better to close the season out with a win. The star of the night was clearly Clemson's freshman running back, James Davis, and he is seen above after receiving the MVP award.