If college has taught me anything, it’s that growing up is a difficult process. There isn’t always someone there to give you a hug when something is wrong, there are a lot of people expecting a lot from you and there are very real consequences if and when you drop the ball somewhere along the […]

Whenever I tell people I’m from northern Illinois, I tend to hear one of two questions: “What brought you to South Dakota?” or “Is that near the Quad Cities?” As far as the Quad Cities are concerned, I have no idea. We Illinoisans tend to be more Chicago-central. But the reason I chose the University […]

I’ll be honest; sometimes I get a kick out of playing the out-of-state student card. Let’s face it; I’m so busy that writing this column is technically serving as a means of procrastinating five other class assignments. When your life is that dismal, you have to make your own fun. I’m not ashamed. Besides, I’m […]

What is in a name? An interesting question, Mr. Shakespeare. It’s a question that caused no little bit of controversy on Facebook this last week.   Sometimes when I’m lying awake at night and pondering my life, I consider my name. Sometimes I say it to myself over and over again. “Jackie.” After a while, […]

What is in a name? An interesting question, Mr. Shakespeare. It’s a question that caused no little bit of controversy on Facebook this last week.   Sometimes when I’m lying awake at night and pondering my life, I consider my name. Sometimes I say it to myself over and over again. “Jackie.” After a while, […]

In a few weeks, I will be among the multitude of students taking the proficiency exam. As far as I can tell, the purpose of the proficiency exam is to make sure college has not in fact made you more stupid than you were when you first arrived.   While I’m sure I’ll be able […]

In a few weeks, I will be among the multitude of students taking the proficiency exam. As far as I can tell, the purpose of the proficiency exam is to make sure college has not in fact made you more stupid than you were when you first arrived.   While I’m sure I’ll be able […]

Instead of telling you about all the things this week that made me upset, angry, sad and anxious, I thought I’d share the story of something really good. It happened in my Lakota class.   This is my second semester taking a Lakota language class, and there are a few different reasons that a 50 […]

Instead of telling you about all the things this week that made me upset, angry, sad and anxious, I thought I’d share the story of something really good. It happened in my Lakota class.   This is my second semester taking a Lakota language class, and there are a few different reasons that a 50 […]

This week I’ve decided to write my blog in a slightly different style. I call it “Flu Season: a Drama in Five Parts.”   Part 1: Denial I’m not sick. I can’t be sick. I’ve taken all the feasible preventative measures to make sure I don’t get sick. I’m not sick, because my lungs aren’t burning. That’s […]