Candidate Journals

Today was a good day. I went to sparing class at the Lake Norman dojang and scored lots of head shots and I got to meet new people. When I got home dinner was just like any other but I read for a while before going to bed. 

Today was a good day. I had to go back to school after our long weekend Friday to Monday. I had fun in school and played well in soccer. My Defense was good and so was my offense.

Today was a good day. I had to go to robotics so I sadly missed sparing class and weekend class. When I finished the Mega bloks set my teacher gave me and brought it in him and his son were very surprised that I built it only using 3-4 pictures and no instructions. 

It's honestly unbelievable. I never thought I could get through the cycle successfully. Tae Kwon Do has honestly changed me for the better. I began as a tiny child who would probably cry at the slightest insult, but now I feel as if I could fend for myself! I give a deep thank you to Master Evins, Master Chelley, all the Masters, instructors, and my fellow candidates. I am so grateful to you all and think we can all do great things if we put our mind to it!

The black belt test is over, but I am going to continue my audit cycle until my official cycle starts in January. I have written out a training plan that I will do in addition to requirements. I will continue to build up my strength and improve my physical form. .I have a lot of work still to do.

OMG! Watching the Black Belt testing last night and this afternoon made me realize how much work I need to put in and I probably really have no clue. I certainly don't want to embarrass myself, Grandmaster Evins, Grandmaster Lee, or others testing with me. Time to step up my game and come up with a workable plan. But first, it's time to get some sleep.

I am kind of excited and nervous for this test, but I know this will most likely push me to do my best today and tomorrow.

Its the final count down. the black belt test is in 5 hours and I can't stress how pumped I am. I hope it doesn't drag on for hours on end till 6 in the morning just remember strong rechambers good stances and confident ki hop.

Testing today, I am super pump! its getting colder so my tree should be growing better

Today when logging I realized I might not become a black belt...

This will be my final journal because I have testing tomorrow. I am very nervous but I know I'm ready. Thank you all for being on the cycle with me. Good luck to everybody! See you tomorrow!

Today was a teacher workday, so I had a free schedule.  I didn't have to go to school in the morning, and I am grateful for a break like that.  I played some golf in the afternoon, the first time I played since the end of summer vacation.  Since my dad had to drop my sisters off at soccer, I had to bike to Tae Kwon Do, but it was worth it because I got to work on some of the final things before testing, including my breaking routine.  I anticipated that to be the hardest part of testing, but I actually did pretty good after that extra time practicing it.

Today was a good day. I did not have school today because we had a Jewish holiday that my school does. I went to Tae Kwon Do to have a mentee session then left to go to music class. Afterward me my sister and my mom went to Tacos 4 Life.

This has been a crazy week. Haven’t journaled for the past two days and haven’t been able to get many requirements done. My audit cycle is almost over and I still have so much work to do. I’m looking forward to watching the private test Friday night.

Today was a teacher work day and i relaxed a lot and i got a bunch of requirements done

Today, I did my last sparring class for the cycle, even though I already had the required sparring classes.  It was fun even though I didn't get to spar Nate.  I was sore from the weightlifting I did yesterday, but that didn't stop me from doing good in my sparring rounds!  Tomorrow is a teacher workday, and I am off school, so I will be able to relax then.

It has been FOREVER since I have been to boy scouts and I have been taking a break so I am very excited

The cooler weather is nice to get some miles in after work. I am glad I have another cycle to prepare for testing. I don't feel very strong these days, especially my wrists. I need to figure that out somehow.

Today after school I learned that Cross Country would be working with Indoor Track at my school for the rest of the Cross Country season.  We didn't do any running, as we were weightlifting instead today.  Later, I went to Tae Kwon Do and got my last Leadership 2 credit, and I worked on a lot of poomsaes there too.  I also got a lot of my homework done.  Today was a pretty productive day.

i really overdid it yesterday.  I have been so sore today and Advil hasn’t even touched it.  I’ll be working on sit-ups, SD, Poomsaes, jump rope and sparring rounds tonight.  No pushups for me.  

Today I went to work a lot on my homework that is due tomorrow!

Today was a good day. In robotics today I finished making our teams robot with all the specifications that our team wanted. At Tae Kwon Do helping the color belts was very fun and they all worked very well together.

I was so exhausted after working on requirements yesterday that I forgot to journal.   My shoulder is hurting so much now that I can’t do push-ups on the floor. My form is terrible. I will just have to keep modifying the way I do them.   I will probably give myself a break from push-ups after the black belt test on Saturday.   This is my audit cycle, so I will have to continue doing requirements until my test in April. 

Right now I am testing a theory please ignore this post  

Today I got a lot of work down so it made me really exhausted  

Today was a normal Sunday, somewhat boring as usual.  I started filming my next YouTube video, but I got stuck as I didn't have any good voice actor for Toad.  This week will be a 3 day school week, as I have Wednesday as a teacher workday and I am taking the day off on Friday so I won't be tired from school on testing night.

Today was a good day. I had a soccer game and although we played well we lost 4 to nothing. I was pretty sad about that but we did almost score a goal witch brought me some good feeling. 

Today I went to do my chinease school and then I went to violin which was pretty normal but what was ubnormal was my work ethic!

Great black belt class today. A lot packed into a little time. Still plenty to do and practice. Tomorrow is fast approaching.

Today when I was heading to black belt class I was not expecting all of that work! we did tons and tons of self defenses and this will really boost my requirements!

Great black belt class today!  I’m exhausted, but it was great!  This whole weekend will be filled with requirements whether I’m exhausted or not.  I have so much to catch up on.  I’m modifying my pushups because of my shoulder pain, but I will continue to do them as best I can.  

Today, I had 3 tests in school, and the good thing about tests is the fact that there's not as much homework afterwards.  I am planning on going to sparring and black belt class tomorrow, and I will have a pretty chill weekend for the most part.

I’m so glad the weekend is here!  My weekend will be filled with jump rope, sparring rounds, burpees and push-ups.  Today I realized that I only have 6 months left before I test in Korea.......  (gulp).

Today is a nerve wrecking day since I know I might not finish my self defenses and I need to

I am terrified of the up coming test. it has began to affect my sleep, work in school, and overall stress. the sooner this test is over the better, pretty good on everything, just need to brush up on new high yellow and new high green poomsais. I hope fear isn't forbidden amongst black belts.

Today was rough and hard to breathe. Went for 3.5+ miles walk after work today and then barely made it to class on time since I stayed to help a colleague with something after my walk and lost track of time. Luckily traffic wasn't too bad on the ride home. Had lunch leftovers for dinner and now it's to find something so I can breathe and sleep. I do not need repeat of last night.

Up at 5 AM, worked all day, came home and fed the dog, then black belt class and a mentor session.  Finally home at 10 pm.  I was able to get some self defense done before work and before class.  Can’t do pushups right now because of my shoulder.  Will work on other things.  

Today was a good day. Durning school we had to present our presentations and start our formal write up. At practice I had to play keeper and I played very well. I also played striker and defence in some of the games. on the way to soccer me and my friend started playing a game and we didn't finish it even after we dropped him off.  

Today was a normal day, other than the fact that I got to spend the night at my grandparents' house.  They are usually pretty chill, and they make good food as well, and when I am busy with school during the week, I usually don't get to see them much, with the exception being this week, as I got to stay with them on Sunday too.  I am satisfied so far with what I did this week, and I don't have as many requirements to deal with at this point, even though I am so used to doing them.

Today me and my mom went to the td meeting so the parents could know what to do. so I am still there listening.

Today at work seemed like a long. I was happy to notice the time at the end of the day though and make it to my yoga class. I miss it when I can't go and did not go last, and know I can't go next week already, so was glad to go tonight. Not sure if allergies are kicking in, or a cold, but something is up. Hope I can shake it quickly.

Planning an international conference for prospective student in the health field is no joke. A lot of money, countless phone calls, atleast 5 video conference calls, and back to back meetings. I’m genuinely exhausted! But then again, gotta do the work to if I wanna succeed!

Yesterday was sparring class, and it was pretty productive.  Today was too, and with my mentor today, I worked on my breaking routine for testing.  I think that it will most likely be the biggest challenge of testing for me.

Today when I checked PowerSchool so I can see my grades they were pretty bad and I have a massive project coming up 

Today I had auditions to day but before that I had a punch of school work i'm really excited that i'm almost done with the black belt cycle. So later today I had auditions for theater and I was terrified and my whole body was shaking. But the important part was I made it through the audition and I never gave up and I had a lot of fun.

 I went to the mountains with some friends after the stick seminar on Saturday. It was great to have a couple of days off. However, I did not do any requirements except walking. When I came home yesterday, I thought it was Sunday and didn’t realize I had black belt class, so I missed it! Back to the grind. I have some catching up to do.

Life is hard and it is hard to watch someone you love go through a difficult time and not be able to do anything to help. I will just have to be there for them as best I can and be a good shoulder and ears. I wish I could make it all better.

Despite finally having more time on my hands, i just keep getting more homework and exams to study for. On the bright side, I bought the new iPhone 11 pro and the new Apple Watch! Well deserve purchase after doing nothing but school work 

Today was a good day. At school in history we had a seminar ether pro-Columbus or not. At soccer practice we did a lot of defensive drills and at the end of practice we played two "cage matches." In these two "cage matches" I played in goal and saved a few balls. Although I played well I still thought I could play better.

Today I had school like always and after school my dad dropped me off at QT. Because later I had chicken and bingo and it was a lot of fun. We won candy every time someone got a bingo and now it's time to go to bed.

today I did my requirements finished the last of my mentee sections and did a lot of work at school 

After Saturday, I got a good rest and got up much later than I planned on Sunday. I am not using my time most efficiently and enjoyed a night out at the Phil Collins concert. He was very kind to remind us that getting old sucks! I thankfully don't have as many issues as some though, so should be grateful for what I can rather than dwell on what I can't. I guess life is about perspective, how you see things, and what you do with opportunities. Lemonade anyone?

Tonight marks the last day of my 4.5 long research that I’ve done at uncc. It’s bittersweet but I’m excited for the what the future holds. Staying late night to run experiments and calculating data. Sometimes going until 2 or 3 am. But finally my team and I have completed our research and I can go back to a normal human sleep schedule! Glad to say that I’ll soon be graduating with a double major and a double minor, along with getting my research published!

Today I got all of my push-ups finished, and I felt very satisfied with getting it out of the way.  I felt like today was a relatively productive day at Tae Kwon Do and at school.  I still need some leadership credits, but I feel that I am making a lot of progress on them.

Today sense I could not  do ANY pullups today I felt really bad and started working out so I am pumping a lot of requirements

today i went to school; and learned legth x width x height. came to tkd and did some requirements and helped in class,

Today was a Meh day. Because my Grandparents were leaving and We had to go drop them of at someones house before they left to the airport. But something good that happened today was we had a jewish holiday.

I have Posted my first VIDEO please like and subscribe to Gam1ng_Coder! https://youtu.be/Rj_hJkr4veg it took a lot of patience because it took me 2:37 minutes for the recording to get downloaded from my screen recorder and took 12:58 to upload

I really enjoyed training with Master Melegrito this weekend.  I love sticks, staff and knife, just don’t get an opportunity for PMAA  training as often as I would like.  I need to focus on jump rope and sparring rounds this week.  I’m behind in pushups too, but my shoulder is still hurting so I’m trying to be careful.

I'd be 100% lying if I said that I thought I'd be jealous that I missed sticks training, but I 100% do.  I loved seeing everyone's pictures and it looked amazing.  This past week was crazy busy with work and then my MIL came to town.  I love when she comes to town. On Friday night Dave and I went to a gala to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma society.  This is a cause near and dear to my heart since my stepsister died of leukemia when she was 23 years old.  They do such amazing work. We used this time to celebrate our 15 year anniversary too. Then we had lots of quality family time with grandma this weekend.  We also had our first family catachesis class today which is always inspiring.  I serisously am mentally thinking of poomsaes and self defenses most of the day. I'm ready for this...

So this whole weekend our mom was on a women's retreat with our church. She was very excited and on this same weekend, there was a seminar with Master Meligrito. I attended Friday night sticks for kids, then on Saturday after my sparring class, I did the afternoon seminar which I was not supposed to go to , but Master Evins let me do the class. It was very fun and interesting. Instead of doing just sticks, he taught staff as well. 

I usually use part of every Sunday to catch up on cycle requirements and homework.  I wish I could work on my YouTube channel, but I don't know if my friends are available to help me with it.  I am grateful for days like this where I can catch up on work without being too rushed in my otherwise tough schedule.

Took out my locks, I'm going to miss them, but I'm excited to switch up my hair. I also went running and did some push-ups

Long day today, but good one. Started with junior tigers, then two three hour seminars with Guru Melegrito. Went over a lot of things, some review and some new. More than I can absorb in a day. Maybe I'll find more tomorrow, but so far I only see one small bruise on my wrist and one other from hitting my head with a stick. No one to blame for that but me. Only saw that one when I was practicing sparring combinations in front of a mirror. 

Today was an amazing day. In science class, our class had donuts. There was an incident in Spanish. There was a test in ELA. One highlight of the day was going outside, and everybody wanted to roll down a hill. After school, at 5 pm, I had a CLP lock-in. We had food, fun, and activities. It was great having fun with my teachers and playing some video games! Overall, today was great.

Today was a fun day. I went to school and we had advisory games which is where we come together as a homeroom and play fun games as a team. I also went to Kilwins after Tae Kwon Do.

Today I had a project day for home study and after that I played a little. Then I had to eat quickly because I had sticks for kids. I must say it was a blast. We did a lot of fun stuff. After that the black belts had some training with Master Malegreto.

This may be my last journal. It is my last required but I may still keep you up to date. Less then 1,000 push and sit ups and 8.% miles left to run! Only 2 more weeks till testing. Tomorrow I will be going to the stick and staff seminar. See you all soon!

Today is an unusualy normal day =| most of the time there are strange thigns    

today was STRESSFULL!!! I had to do a solo presentation on Cliff Edwards that had to last 10-15 minuets long. probably the most stressful factor of the day. Also I had a science test that I rocked but I had it at the end of the day so every moment leading up to it was tense.

Today was a good day. I have a test for ELA and Spanish tomorrow. I finished 2 computer projects. After school, I went to curriculum night, but I found it it was for elementary school! After that, I went to Tae Kwon Do and mentored my mentee, did BBC, and got mentored. Thanks to Master Dege for getting me to my humble abode!

Today I posted my first video on youtube! and I ran (almost) into a deer. what happened was when me and my mom where driving we saw a deer trot up to the road so we got nervous. but the it LOOKED BOTH WAYS and stoped to let us pass, I call these phenomenon Civilised deer. please like and subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj_hJkr4veg  

Today was a good day. I had soccer practice and during the car ride me and my friend played Uno all the way to practice. During practice I played well and I played forward and mid fielder. On the way back me and my friend played Uno all the way back and when we were getting near my house we started to play lots of three card games that were super fun.

Today I didn't get to Tae Kwon Do because of how preoccupied I was with my homework.  The good thing is that I am close to being done with everything, and hopefully the next 2 weeks before testing won't be so bad.  I wonder who is going to the stick session on Saturday.

Today like always I had school and I got picked up and I remembered that i'm almost done with sit ups and I was so happy. Then we picked up Connor, and went straight to the dojang. We are getting ready for class, we have senior tigers tonight and i'm almost done with my requirements for today got to go.

Got some good miles in today. Got home from work late and then went to dinner late. Not too fond of walking or jogging alone, especially in the dark, but walked home after dinner for a little more. Now I need to hang my laundry, or I will have to scrounge for a clean dobok tomorrow. 

Today was a normal day for the most part.  Cross country was very hot, and there were almost no clouds in the sky.  I got leadership credits done later at Tae Kwon Do and spent most of the night working on homework.

I really wish this hot weather would go away. I am so ready for fall. I think I have officially trashed my right shoulder. It hurts pretty much all the time now. Still trying to do push-ups, but they aren’t very good ones.  I’ll be doing squat thrusts instead of burpees for a while.

Today I got up early to go to training for my dad. My dad had to leave early to go to his dental appointment and while all that was happening I was doing my homestudy. When we got home I hurried to get school done because later that day I had an theater workshop.My friends mom picked us up from it and went to her house and played for a little bit until my mom comes and now the day is over by now.

Today Was a strange day because of all of the strange things that happened like Me running 0.9 miles

Today was a meh sort of day. At school we had an assembly about our buddy system and shadow system. During Robotics me and my team had to finish working on our robot in a rush. During science I got like a million bug bites that were super hard not to itch.

Yesterday was a good day. I did a mentor, mentee and Black belt class. I need to work on my Hapkidos. Testing is in about 2 weeks so its time to "grind".

He really did it! He had a swearing in this afternoon and leaves before thanksgiving. I hear he may get to come home for Christmas though. I guess we'll see if that really happens. I'm running out of tomorrows and have lots to do. I hope to get some miles after work tomorrow. I guess if I were a morning person, I'd be going to bed earlier.

Just got home from Black Belt class and it’s 10:10 pm.  Long drive home.  Practiced Tae Kwon forms and hapkido in class and in my mentor session after class.  Wasn’t able to work on many requirements today, but tomorrow is another day.  

I got to remember to water my tree, I do not have a green thumb. 17 more days until testing: 15 more miles left = 1 mile/day 1175 more push-ups and sit-ups = 70-100/day 584 more self-defenses = 35/day 372 more poomsaes = 22/day

Today was a regular day at school. When I got home I did my cycle and went to sparring class. I am getting close to done with my requirements and I only have one more sparring class. I can't believe only 18 days until testing! 

Today we had classes from 5:00 - 8:30. I stayed for the whole thing, because I thought my mom was not going to pick me up. The classes were really good. For a second I didn't know because I haven't helped in a while. I tried my best and for the third class I helped out a little bit because I needed to get dressed and finish my requirements

Today was a good day, class ended early today. I had so much fun teaching class today! it was blue and red stripe today fro the junior tiger which is supa dupa fun! When I get home I have to do a ton of homework and also work on poomsaes. I really need to get caught up but these applications for colleges and also the load of AP homework I have from my combo I'm taking this year. Welp wish me luck!

Today I went and ran my miles today and ran extra miles on the way home  

The house is empty, really empty. After the very full long weekend, everyone went back to where they came from. In addition, my younger son is in for first thing tomorrow morning at MEPS. He leaves for basic training shortly before Thanksgiving. That will surely take some adjustments for us and him. I look forward to watching him grow in this next chapter. Time to get back to some type of routine.

Today was a normal day, but I did get a grind session in for my cycle requirements.  At Tae Kwon Do today there were pictures, so we had to do all of our classes on half of the mat, and it was mostly crowded until the later adult class.

Today was a regular day. I had a good day at school. We got a new science teacher, who seems nice. In Advanced Computers, one of my electives, we have 2 projects. In ELA, we did a journal on last week, which I am pretty much basing this off on. In Social Studies, we had a quiz and started learning about West Africa and slavery. I went to Tae Kwon Do at 6:30 PM to help with class.Tomorrow is my first CLP (College Leadership Program) meeting.  

My right shoulder is really hurting.  It could have been the pressure washing or it could have been the pushups.  Hard to tell.  I'll be doing pushups on my knees for a while to make sure I don't do any more damage.  Didn't get to very many requirements today but I hope to make up for it tomorrow.  

Today me and my friend logan played Minecraft and we had a blast at it and we got a bunch of stuff done

Today was a teacher work day. Very exciting for me because I had more to play and do more requirements. Connor went to great wolf lodge and then heading to soccer. I still need to do my community service essay and actually do the service. Its not far now to the end of the cycle

Today was a good day. It was the first day back from our field trip. Everyone was tired and still exhausted from Camp. Also, I had soccer practice and it was super fun.  

Today I went to church like always. My group had a small amount of people for sunday school. But for my church service, we had tons of kids. After church, we went home and did a bunch of requirements. Then we ate lunch and took off to see my Nana in Badin, NC. I takes an hour to get there. It was great to see her again. Her new there is nice in a tiny village and has two little dogs. Later this day, Parker and I rode our 4 wheelers and Parker's dad made us a dirt ramp for jumping. We got some really good air. What a blast that was.

Today was a great day. I woke up and did my cycle and then played with my friend later in the day. We went in my pool and then played at some of my neighbor's house. Can't believe the weekend is already over. I've had colds for the weekend but am starting to feel a lot better. Only 13 more miles to run left.

 This is the second time I have tried to publish this journal, somehow, my journal entries are being lost in cyberspace when I try to do it from my phone. I had a very busy weekend but it was great. I taught  hands only CPR at the American Heart Association heart walk on Saturday morning and then pressure washed my entire house by myself! I was able to do tons of requirements yesterday and today, and now I am exhausted.

Today is the 2nd day my dad has comeback and I am extremely happy