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3. My mandala has a lot of patterns and movement that make me think of happiness and joy, and even Mickey ears. I like dancing and the squiggly lines remind me of that and I'm always happy when I'm dancing. I like patterns that remind me of certain aspects of design because I love art and designing things and that keeps me at my happiest and I feel are positive qualities of me. I want to take care of myself in many different ways and focus on how to create the best possible me. I want to take more time for myself to make sure I'm doing okay.

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1. I felt overwhelmed one week when I was very busy and had a speech due among a lot of other homework. I experienced a lot of anxiety and stress. I couldn't deal with the emotions I was feeling and didn't want to face anyone. I had a huge fear of speaking in front of people, especially when I couldn't speak conversationally and had struggles with speaking clearly and comfortably. To change my emotions I just tried not to think about it and used positive self talk to calm myself down.

2.
     One strategy I would like to use in the future is to journal. I kept a journal for my entirety of high school, and eighth grade as well. It helped a lot with dealing with all my crazy emotions. I would write about it and it seemed like I'd get it outside of my head.
     Another strategy I'd like to use is listen to uplifting music. I enjoy a lot of worship music and that calms me down so utilizing this strategy can be a positive thing for me.

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1. I felt sadness and depression once I left my job. For weeks I'd be sad all the time, not wanting to accept anyone's efforts to help me. Loneliness covered me like a blanket. I felt like my friends didn't exist anymore and that I had no relationships with anyone around me.

2. I felt happiness and joy during my birthday when we went to Disney. We gleefully went from country to country in the World Showcase at Epcot. We tasted delicious, savory foods and smiled as we saw different characters.

3. I didn't enjoy writing about my past sadness and depression because it's very recent. I enjoyed and felt happy revisiting the joyful emotions during my birthday.

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2. I made a commitment to myself when I was in tenth grade to not drink soda for a month. I realized and was trying to acknowledge that I had an addiction to Coca Cola for my whole life and I wanted to make a change. I decided that if I stopped drinking soda for thirty days then I would lose my dependency on it. Since soda was around a lot, my mom drinks it all the time, and there were opportunities at get-togethers, it made it quite difficult. Mentally, I really craved it and just wanted it because it was nice to have with meals. I didn't like the bland water I was drinking but after a few weeks of making it through I started actually enjoying the water and feeling better. I got through the commitment I made and I was really proud of myself.

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1. My most challenging course is College Algebra this semester. The subject itself is probably my toughest. Ever since easy math went away it has been my biggest struggle with school, until Physics came along. The fact that it's a hybrid class probably doesn't help. I don't like how much information I have to learn and that it is not easy stuff to comprehend or remember. I like visual things and being able to see facts and phrases but math is all conceptual. It's so hard for to me to ingrain it in my brain.

2. Next time I take this course, I will do a regular face-to-face class and try to pick a different teacher that more understands my needs of students like me.

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B. I am off course in college. I was planning on graduating with my AA in May of 2016 but because I am failing my math course that is no longer possible. In order to get off course I need to reevaluate my plans and figure out what the best choice is for me. I think I may apply to UCF instead of getting my AA and see where I can go from there. The lesson the University of Life is trying to teach me is to learn to adapt to different situations and not give up completely.