Many decisions in my life have been accredited by making decisions based on criteria. The biggest decision I can think of though, would probably be one I faced this year. I debated back and forth whether to stay here at BGSU or switch to Oregon State. The decision for me to start questioning my school didn’t start because of my school work, but in the end it was my deciding factor. I have lived in Bowling Green my entire life, which means I was born here, went to school here and worked here in this small town. It just so happens that everyone knows or needs to know everything that is happening in your life, where I on the other hand am a very private person. During High School I was involved in a physically and mentally abusive relationship. When I went to college it was my once chance to break free and start a new life without him, but that only lasted for so long. Quickly my life started spiraling downhill and effecting every aspect of my life. That is when I started to make my decision to transfer. The most important criteria that I wanted for my new school was to have my major, Athletic Training. Also, my family situation would have almost been traded. My parents still live here in ohio, but everyone else is on the west coast. I am very close to my mom and being that far away from her in Oregon would be a little too hard to handle. Money was also another major criteria that I used to decide on Oregon State. I do get free tuition here at Bowling Green, so paying for school may be a little overwhelming at times. The last criteria that I used was the positive aspect of my social life. The athletic trainer’s had become some of my closest friends, and although I did try to break away from my High School life, I kept some friends very close. Thinking about going to a new school where I would only know 2 people, friends of the family, was a very scary thought! But, the main point that secured my decision to stay here at Bowling Green was leaving this Athletic Training Program. This program has just been accredited at BGSU and is already an amazing success. The structured outline of classes, observation hours, internships and further education opportunities has prepared me more than I could imagine. Staying here at BGSU has proved to be a great decision so far. I officially got accepted into the professional aspect of the program, I have priority scheduling, I was given a Student Supervisor position at my job and not having any debt sounds pretty good. In the end having specific criteria and making very hard decisions proved to me that no guy should ever decide who I am, or what I am going to be in the future.

English has never been my strong suit. I went to a very small elementary school, a run down junior high and wasn’t really forced to do anything in High School because I was an athlete. I blame myself for not trying to learn, but I also wish English was stressed more in our school area.That being said, my main goal for this class is to actually understand what I am writing and why I am doing it that way. I feel that if I was given proper guidance and the opportunity to learn I could do very well. I expect this course to challenge me in many ways. Procrastination and giving up are two of my biggest flaws, hopefully I can overcome them.

Even though I haven’t been very good at English in the past, I have very strong ideas and ethics that come to life in my writing. I am big on standing up for what I believe in and fighting for the underdogs. However, I expect to be critiqued quite a bit on the connection of my ideas and how they are put together. My biggest problem is figuring out how to write everything down, put it together and have it make sense. Often times I know exactly what to say, but writing it in proper “technical” form is hard for me.

Since this is my first distance learning course I am hoping for great things from you as a teacher. So far you have been very helpful with your tutorials and all of the information you have provided for us. If I have a teacher that is dedicated and willing to help I tend to do much better. Hopefully this class will be enjoyable for me and will turn out O.K. in the end.