Caleb's Blog

It's that time of the year again, where the hustle and bustle of exams meets the excitement of almost being done. Except this year, I'm not as excited. It's incredible how four years of your life can leave you in the blink of an eye.

I remember when I first came to UT, I was excited, but I was really excited about getting through college, finding a job, and being on my own. I guess things change when you are faced with those decisions and the thought that you are leaving a place that you have called home for the past four years.

I don't mean to be a downer because in some ways I am very excited about what is ahead. I thought for my last blog I would offer a little bit of advice for you future college students as well as says a few thank you's and goodbye's.


To my boys:
You know who you are. We have had an incredible past four years whether it was tailgating, going to BWW to watch the Braves, going to concerts, studying until the wee hours of the morning, playing ping-pong, doing inappropriate things at Lipsync, or just grabbing some Gus's at 2Am. You guys have been incredible, and I know that each of you will go great things one day. Thanks for all that you have done for me, and please keep in touch. I'll see you guys at the island.



The parents:
I don't even know where to begin. I know that it was difficult for yall to let me go away for four years, but I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so. I have learned so much and grown in so many ways. When I think about how I want to live my life and how I want to raise a family, I always look right to you guys. Yall have been an incredible influence on my life, and I could never fully repay you for all that you have done. Thank you so much for investing in my life. I promise one day it will all pay off. I love you guys so much, and I am so grateful for all that yall have done for me.

The Group:
There are so many incredible organizations at UT, and you guys are definitely the best. Being apart of this group is the greatest honor I have ever received. Yall have influenced me and my way of thinking in so many ways and for that I am very thankful. I know that you all will continue to do great things for the University. Remain nameless.

Keaton:
I don't know many relationships that start their first five months together nearly 1000 miles from each other, but I do know that you are worth the long distance and the wait. I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of you and your accomplishments. You are the strongest person I know! Thanks for seeing this through with me, and I promise one day I will make it worth it for you! Continue to chase your dreams and know that I will always be there to help and support you. "There's nothing fancy about the way I love you, but it sure is fancy how you love me."

Prospective Students:
I know exactly where you guys are right now. I remember being in High School and feeling excited and nervous about the opportunity of going to college. College is a great place and can be some of the best four (or five) years of your lives! My advice for you is never take a single moment of college for granted. There will be good times and there will bad. There will difficult days and there will be incredible opportunities. When you leave college, you may never remember all the different meetings you attended or every test that you struggled to study for, but you will remember the unique moments that have defined your college career and the friends that you made along the way.

Good luck to everyone and thanks to those who influenced my life. Until next time, stay classy Readers!

As Resident Assistants, we are required to do a certain number of programs/events each month for our floors and our our residence hall. These programs can be as simple as dinner and a movie or as complex as the program we had this weekend.

Every year in April, Clement Hall hosts its largest program known as Showcase of Souls. This program provides an opportunity for local bands, singers, dancers, DJ's, and other talents to showcase their abilities in front of hundreds of people.

The program typically cost around $1200 which provides food, stage, sound equipment, chairs, and other key essentials. We are able to get funding through different organizations on campus like the United Residents Hall Association and the Clement Hall Residents Association.


Throughout the program, we provide free hamburgers, hot dogs, and drinks to all students who attend. This year we were fortunate enough to have Red Bull come and participate (i.e. Give lots of free Red Bull!!!!) which translated into really hyper college students. To end the afternoon, we hosted a 3-on-3 basketball tournament which was a blast! Overall, it was a great program.

Well that's all I have for now. Until next time, Stay Classy Readers.

Some people study best by themselves, but I have realized over the past four years that I perform much better when I study in groups. I've been very fortunate to have the same study-buddy for the past three years. Drew and I started studying together when we took Organic Chemistry our sophomore year. That group has now grown, and it has only made for a better study environment. When we all get together, we like to spread all our papers, laptops, books, and food and get cracking on whatever test is coming up. The picture to the left was taken the other day while we were studying for our biochemistry exam. I told you that I would let you know how it went, and I think we all did pretty well. I know I made a few dumb mistakes when I was rushing through the 5 page test, but overall, I felt fairly confident about it.

Undergrad has really helped prepare me for what's to come in Dental School. Starting your freshman year, you begin to develop your own study habits (hopefully good one's) and see what works best for you. I'll be the first to admit that coming out of high school I did not know how to properly study or prepare for tests, but now I feel more confident than ever that with a little preparation and trying my best to avoid procrastinating, I can do well on a test. That's a little tid-bit of wisdom from me. Anyways, expect another blog coming soon. I've got a really big weekend coming up, and I can't wait to tell you all about it! Until then, Stay Classy Readers.

Spring Break time - a college students nirvana. After the start of a long spring semester, nothing is better than a pre-summer beach trip. This spring break, I decided to head to Perdido Key, Florida for a nice relaxing trip with some of my best friends. Of those friends, is Mr. KC Gordon who you see to the right in the picture. KC is a perfect example of how living on campus your freshman year can lead to lasting friendships. He and I met during freshman Spanish but soon realized that we lived right across the hall from each other. Now he is one of my closest friends, and I felt it was only appropriate to put him on the blog and give him a little shout out (and because Momma Gordon was going to kill me if she didn't start seeing her son on here. Just Kidding. PS: Great cookies Momma Gordon. Thank you so much!)

It has been a while since I wrote last, and I apologize. This semester has been considerably more stressful and busy that I expected. Normally it's because I'm taking 17 hours of chemistry classes and labs, but this semester has been difficult because I'm graduating and searching for internships and making sure that I have everything ready to apply for Dental School. I'm only taking 13 hours, which still hasn't been a cake walk, but I am also taking this Kaplan prep course for my DAT (Dental Admissions Test). This class is intense! It meets twice a week for three hours, and there is a lot of pre-homework and post-homework! I can't complain though because the class is doing a great job of reminding me about biology and chemistry that I haven't seen since freshman year of college.

I have a huge biochemistry test Wednesday so I am about to go meet with my study group to start working on it right now. I'll let you know how it goes. Expect more blogs coming soon. Until then, Stay Classy Readers.

It was another busy but great weekend in Knoxville, TN. Friday night, Thompson Bowling Arena (UT basketball arena) hosted a Brad Paisley concert, and it was incredible! The concert led off with Chuck Wicks, Rodney Adkins, and then Brad finished it off. TB Arena was packed! I don't think there was an empty seat in the house. I went with a bunch of my friends, and we had a great time. Friday was an exciting night!

I did something Saturday that I hate to even admit because its completely against my religion (joke), but I was forced to do it. I had no choice - I studied all day Saturday. I know it's a terrible way to spend my day off, but I had two huge exams on Monday, and I knew that since Sunday was the Superbowl, I would struggle to get any studying done. So that was my Saturday, but I felt very productive at the end of the day, and it was for the best.

Sunday was Superbowl Sunday, and I did manage to get some studying done but very little. Instead, my friends and I all bought a bunch of food and had a Superbowl party and my friend's apartment. We had Cox's famous chicken, stuffed mushrooms, sausage balls, chex mix, shrimp cocktail, cheese dip, mashed potatoes, green beans, and banana pudding. It was all very yummy! Not to mention the game was definitely one to remember! All in all it was a great weekend.

I hope all of your weekends were as good as mine. Got to do some laundry. Until next time, Stay Classy Readers.

So we have officially been back to school now for about three weeks, and let me tell you, it is difficult getting back into it after having a nice month off for Christmas break. It's difficult getting used to going to bed at a decent hour, waking up early, sitting in classes, doing homework, and going to all the required meetings each week. It took me about three weeks, but I think I am finally ready to start working hard, and it could not be a better time to get motivated. Next week I have a couple very important exams, and I have already started studying and getting prepared for them. They are sure to be a doozie.

The spring is so different from the fall. I know that seems very obvious, and I guess it is, but the atmosphere and the whole mentality of the spring is just not even close to that of the fall. I think a lot of it probably has to do with the fact that there are no football games on the weekends, but the spring seems to be much more devoted and dedicated to academics which explains why I typically perform better in the spring. This semester shouldn't be too terrible though. It's the last semester before I graduate so I am only taking 13 hours, and I have no Tuesday or Thursday classes. It's really nice. Well, I have some homework to finish before tomorrow so until next time, Stay Classy Readers.

There are many benefits to being a college student. One of those benefits is that you get a lot of student discounts. After a little research by my friend Stephen, we found a great deal to go to Breckenridge, Colorado for a week of snow skiing. I felt like such a grown-up. I paid for everything by myself, and we set up our flight, rental car, and where we were staying without any assistance (we're kind of a big deal).

It was a great trip. The weather was perfect and the snow could not have been better. The whole trip went so smoothly that I expected something would eventually go wrong, and I was right. While driving back from the Nashville airport to Chattanooga, the car broke down, and we were forced to stay in a motel an additional night. Other than that night, the trip was a great success and a great time. I'm going to miss being a college student when I graduate. I'll have to start paying full price for everything. Well until next time, stay classy readers.