=== Semester 3 Begins! ===

     Hard to believe the finals of last semester just happened a week ago and now here I am completing my first couple assignments today. I definitely wasn't expecting the final semester to begin so quickly but here we are starting the last leg of the journey (for the most part).

     It's been a tough road so far getting through all the classes. These days I don't have much energy to work with where I'm not physically exhausted. Some days I'm quite mentally exhausted as well, but for the most part I'm wanting to do so much and get so much done but I'm just not able to because my body wants to sleep. I know I'll be able to get through it all in the end, but right now it feels SO bad.

     Let's use tomorrow as an example. Tomorrow I want to work on my blog by making a post and promoting it. I also want to upload a video or two on my YouTube channel. I have hopes of wanting to play with the dog, steam clean the carpets, do a bit of writing, watch a show, work on school work, spend time with Carley, bake banana bread, go for a hike, play DDR, read a book, play a game on a console that I haven't played before, and probably more. There's so much I would love to do! Unfortunately I just don't really have the energy to do all of that in one day.

     It isn't all bad though. I'm sure I make it sound all awful, but seriously I actually think we're doing quite well at the moment. I'm super proud of myself for having made about $0.40 so far through my blog (which is a huge accomplishment for me!). And I'm still managing to find some time to do things other than be a vegetable or only work so much that I have no personality. Just give me a week or so from now and I think things might be a little better. Next coming month we're actually looking to be doing much better than we have been previously and oh boy I can't wait to tell you all about it!

~ Kyle Welykholowa

=== Semester Two Is Complete! ===

     After a long and hard-fought battle with three tests in one day, I managed to complete everything to my own satisfaction. As usual, I think I did great on my tests, but did I really? I've had this feeling before where I think I've done amazing or at least really good... and then I get my test back with a terrible mark because I didn't quite follow something correctly.

     I already know it's highly likely that I'll be re-taking one of my classes from last semester and I'm alright with that. I would obviously prefer that not be the case, but everything hit me so hard these last couple months that all it took was one bad test to ruin a class. Fortunately I have an amazingly super supportive partner in my life and thanks to her I know everything will be alright.

     I've only got one more final to do on the 21st which is a typing test. I'm looking forward to it because I love typing, but I'm also a little sad that I haven't been able to practice my speed so much this semester. I think my accuracy has gone up, but part of the problem I've had this semester has been that I'm always so cold, which makes it quite difficult to use my hands faster. If only I had some gloves or something that didn't inhibit my ability to use a keyboard and mouse.

     Well anywhos, besides all this talk about school and whatnot, I'll be having a fantastic Easter supper with my family today! Looking forward to visiting with family and eating food? ABSOLUTLEY! Looking forward to driving all the way to Regina on my day off? Not exactly... but that's alright. It's all worth it for family and food.

Have a great day everybody! I'm going to get food today! :D

~ Kyle Welykholowa

=== Long Weekend Ahead! ===

(Posting this on April 14th, wrote this on April 12th)

     I can't tell you enough just how excited I am for the coming long weekend. I would like to say I'm going to catch up on sleep, but instead I'll likely be keeping myself busy with all my media, our baby, and preparing for my next round of classes coming up. This semester wasn't so bad, but I'm thinking I'll change a little bit of how I've been studying. I obviously haven't been able to work on my classes quite as well as I would have liked due to having our baby recently, but I also think I haven't been focusing very well on the work I've been trying to learn.

     I've noticed that even though it takes a little bit longer to get through any textbook reading and things of that nature, I retain and understand the work much better when I type it out. I tried writing out my work once upon a time, but that's a little bit TOO slow. Typing on the other hand, does two things for me. It excercises by brain by making my hands work and learn to type better and more consistently with greater accuracy, and it allows me to focus better on the words in front of my face rather than skimming through everything to find anything that pops out at me.

     As fun as it is to save time and cut corners, I think there's a healthy balance to doing some things a little bit slower rather than trying to get everything done as fast as possible. I think learning something slowly than speeding up as you get better at something is a much better way to go until you're able to do a task or activity quickly without having to give it much thought. The first semester, I took things a little slowly and I think I did well; the second semester, I tried to cut a lot of corners an messed a few things up which may mean I'll have to retake a class at a later time. This coming third semester, I'll be going for a middle-ground sort of approach where I will take things slowly as necessary, and hope to pick up speed as things go on.

     So besides thinking so much about school and my finals which are happening tomorrow, I'm looking forward to having the next three days off followed by a calm Sunday of work. Maybe Carley and I will get ourselves some fresh air and perhaps I'll use the time to make more posts or upload more videos. I love having time to work on hobbies and things.

Have a wonderful day everybody! ^_^

~ Kyle Welykholowa

Midterms February 2017 - Part 2

     I haven't received the marks for my midterms yet, but I'm sure I've done really well. It feels great to be able to do so well on my tests with everything else going on at the same time. I haven't been able to put as much work into studying as I would have liked, but I'm confident that I've managed to pull through anyways. One of the advantages I have is that a lot of this work I have already learned through high school, or previous courses I've attempted to take, or just from being proficient with computer programs in general. I think this semester is going very well for me and hopefully next semester will continue like this as well.

     One of my goals in this year of my life is to learn to do some things so well that it's all muscle memory. So much so, that I'm comfortable doing things without having to think about it, but just doing it at a comfortable pace. Then, once I'm able to do that will come the speed of being able to do those things without having to think so much but still pushing myself to continue doing so just a little bit faster each time.

     Typing is a great example of what I mean. Previously, I have proven myself to be capable of typing at a very fast rate, but I get slowed down by having to use backspace a lot. So what I'm hoping to be able to do is have a much higher accuracy rate by slowing down a little bit and getting used to hitting things right the first time. It's honestly a little bit tough to force myself to slow down rather than going as fast as I can and performing the same as always. It takes a little bit of change to be able to improve. Sometimes that means doing something a little bit worse than before; in the end, you do better than before.

     This is something I would like to do better at with other things as well. Obviously I would like to have this amazing muscle memory when it comes to video games, but perhaps I could put enough practice into my violin to do so, or making crafts, or writing, or even just thinking in a certain way. I have noticed that I lose a lot of productivity to getting sidetracked or taking time to think about things for a while... but what if I was able to think and keep going at the same time? There's a lot of thoughts I've had about this sort of thing; knowing I can do better and be more productive in a lot of things. It's so easy to just sit and watch a show and not do anything of value in that time, but what if I could keep myself going instead of falling into that rut of non-thinking? Strange how some midterm tests make me think of these things.

Just something to think about. ^_^

~ Kyle Welykholowa

Midterms February 2017 - Part 1

     My first two midterms are done and now I wait for tomorrow when I will do my last midterm and set up my keyboarding final tomorrow morning. I'm quite sure I did really well on my two tests today. In fact, this may be the best I've felt taking tests recently. At no point did I really feel like I had no idea what I was doing. I suppose there's not much for me to really tell other than how happy I am over today.

     It's nice really, to be able to relax and feel good about things. Classes are going well, work is going well, things at home are going well. How can I complain about anything at this time? Honestly... I can't. I'm having a great time and I'm happier than ever. Now, perhaps I'll have a nap and prepare myself for my next midterm.

~ Kyle Welykholowa

Midterms - February 2017

     It is my second semester and the next round of tests are fast approaching. Am I ready? Am I prepared? I think I have some more reading and practical applications to do to be sure, but so far I think things have been going well. It's tough trying to balance work school and home life all together. Once school is done though, it will all be worth it. So long as I can keep myself on task, I'm on track for getting myself a better-paying job to support my family. With that comes happiness and comfort for us. Work and family will be a solved puzzle at that time. Then all that's left is my personal success.

     I want to have a successful hobby. Or rather... I want to make my hobby successful. I believe any hobby can be made successful with enough hard work and dedication. That is why I continue to blog and make videos and put myself out there. Because I have had some success with what I have  done and I'm sure I can do even better if I just put my mind to it and take more action to promote myself further than I already have.

     This course I'm taking for school right now is a door to open many possibilities in the future. I only need to prove my hard work and determination to show others, but more importantly myself, that I have what it takes to pull through and overcome the obstacles ahead of me no matter what path I choose to travel.

     Nearly half a course completed, only half more to go. ^_^

~ Kyle Welyholowa

Upcoming Midterms

     Next week will be my first set of tests for this course. I guess I'll find out whether or not I'm truly learning anything in my classes. It's a little bit exciting to get a chance to see how well I'm assimilating information. So far a lot of the information has been a review of things I've already known or previously learned, but there's still things that I need to go over and practice before I'll feel perfectly ready for my tests. If I do well on these tests, then I'll feel much better about more schoolwork coming up in the future.

     That's really my random thought of the day right now. Besides that, I hope everybody has a wonderful day. I know I've been quite happy recently even though I've had to get up so early in the morning. Actually, I really never thought I'd ever be a morning person, but I do find it much easier to wake up in the morning now since working at the kennel.

     Anywhos, that's a story for another day. Have a wonderful day everybody. You're all fantastic! ^_^

~ Kyle