Hi my name is Emily Groff, and
I am a senior and graduating in December. I am a Health and Exercise Science
major and hope to attend Physical Therapy school starting in the summer. As a
health and exercise science major I have a wide base of knowledge in nutrition
and exercise and like to lead a healthy lifestyle. I enjoy running and cycling
and have participated in half marathons. Running allows me to release stress
and is my calming time to myself where I forget about all the to-do lists and
obligations I have waiting for me after my run. I feel accomplished I also
enjoy doing yoga for the same reason; it calms me. I hope to complete a
triathlon next. I enjoy cooking and always cook for my friends and family. One
day I hope to be able to take some culinary classes and expand my cooking
capabilities.
This summer I had to
take classes as prerequisites for physical therapy school and I also worked as
a physical therapy technician during the week to gain experience in the field
as I begin to apply to physical therapy schools. Over Fourth of July weekend I
did get to take a break from work and school to visit my closest friend in
Denver, Colorado. We spent each day hiking and then each night exploring
delicious places to eat in the city. Some of my favorite hikes were in Winter
Park, Colorado and Boulder, Colorado for the amazing views at the top of the
mountains.
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| My friend Nicole and I hiking in Boulder Colorado |
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| The Waterspring Trail in Winter Park, Colorado, photo by Emily Groff |
One of my favorite
past times besides running is reading. My favorite book is a tie between The Giver by Louis Lowry and The Pact by Jodi Picoult. I first read
The Giver in middle school and have reread it many times since then. I love the
themes and messages of the utopia vs dystopia society. The Pact is a story that
switches back and forth between characters and times to tell a love story
between teenagers. The way the book is written is the reason it is one of my
favorite books. I also enjoy watching movies and some of my favorites include
action movies like Law Abiding Citizen and Man on Fire.
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeleteI'm Michele and a classmate of yours for Myth/Folklore. I enjoyed reading your introduction post. You seem like a very intelligent and outgoing person. It's very refreshing. I too enjoy reading, some of my favorites are "Pride and Prejudice," by Jane Austin and "The Count of Monte Cristo," by Alexandre Dumas.
Additionally, I too enjoy cooking. I've never had the opportunity to take any culinary classes, so I've taught myself everything I know from watching Food Network. Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa is my favorite. If you have the opportunity to cook for family and friends again soon, you should pull up one of her recipes from foodnetwork.com. I promise you won't be disappointed.
I look forward to reading your posts throughout the semester. Good luck with FA14 and PT school!! With your personality, I'm sure you'll rock it!
-Michele
Hi Emily!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your introduction to this course. It is really cool that you are a Health and Exercise Science major in a class like this. I feel as if you will bring a cool perspective to your stories!
You seem very adventurous from your post and like a cool person to hang around with! I have always wanted to go hiking in Colorado, but never have so reading about that experience was very neat. I look forward to seeing more stories from you this semester.
Good luck with your last semester here at OU! I hope it is a wonderful one!
Oh, what great pictures of Colorado, Emily - my parents lived in Boulder for a while and when I went to see them, it was the only time I've ever seen eagles out in the wild for real. Amazing! There are some incredibly beautiful places there to see and experience! Are you excited about The Giver film? I have not read the book so I am making sure to read it now before the film! I heard a wonderful interview with Jeff Bridges about how and why it took so long to make the film; it sounds like it will be a good one, but I want to read the book first for sure!
ReplyDeleteI think you and I could be great friends! I am an okay cook but I definitely love to eat! Eating is my second favorite thing to do besides dancing and sleeping. I actually hate to run but I have take up a love of cycling! My stress outlet is working out. I had to read The Pact as an incoming freshmen to high school and I absolutely loved it! I found it fascinating and heart-wrenching in so many places. I read more fantasy books than classics but I do enjoy them from time to time! I wish you the absolute best of luck in your PT route and I can't wait to read more of your stories in the future!
ReplyDeleteI applaud you for living such an active and healthy lifestyle! It requires a lot of decisions and discipline to do so and it’s not easy. I am certainly not the most active person, but I do enjoy outdoor activities like hiking and biking. I don’t have enough stamina or dedication to be an avid runner, but I love playing sports and games where I do have to run sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI love the The Giver! I read it back in middle school as well and I read it again a couple years back. It is a really awesome read. I like to read too, but lately I haven’t found the time to for a leisure read. If you like The Giver, you may like Divergent as well and I’m not just saying that because the movie came out recently. I read it a few years back and found the world inside the book very different from anything I have previously read.
You have such an interesting introduction Emily! I love that you enjoy running so much, it's really inspiring to meet people who are passionate about it considering I'm really not, but I run anyways! I would definitely have to agree that it decreases stress and that's probably the main reason I do it! I also agree that The Giver is an incredible book. I read it in middle school as well, and even though I'm not much of a reader I really enjoyed that book a lot and was ecstatic when the movie came out. That's cool you got to go to Colorado! I've never been to Boulder, but I have friends in school there and they love it; I'd really like to go up there and go hiking/explore like you did. I enjoy outdoorsy stuff as well!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed learning about you and good luck with your endeavors in physical therapy!
I also enjoy running, although I have never been venturesome enough to attempt a half marathon. That is fantastic! Physical therapy is such a great thing to pursue. All of the physical therapists that I have met have always made tough times better. Colorado may be one of my favorite places in the country; I love the diversity within the state. Have you thought about going to physical therapy school in Colorado?
ReplyDeleteFantastic pictures of Colorado, I've never been able to visit but I've always wanted to. I think it would be a lot of fun to go hiking there. I run regularly myself, but I think a half-marathon is a little out of my reach! A health and exercise science major seems like a perfect fit for an avid cyclist and runner like yourself!
ReplyDeleteEmily, congratulations on graduating soon! Good luck with school in the future. I hope you are able to reach all your goals! I loved visiting Colorado! I haven't been able to go back in several years but the time I was able to was a blast. You have beautiful photos of your hikes! I used to run myself but unfortunately I ended up ruining a knee right before my first 5k. I do miss it a lot! Fantastic choices in reading. I definitely loved The Giver myself.
ReplyDeleteEmily, I have so much respect for people who have the diligence to train for half/whole marathons (although if it's something you love, thankfully it doesn't feel like a chore at all). I have always wanted to participate in a triathlon myself. Props to you for maintaining a healthy lifestyle despite what I'm sure is an extremely busy schedule!
ReplyDeleteIt is also so refreshing to meet someone who reads for leisure--that is something that I don't think many people do anymore. I appreciate your taste in literature, I also read The Giver in middle school and have loved it ever since. I read The Pact in high school--what a heartbreaking but well-written love story.
Anyway, I hope you continue to pursue your passions, and good luck in all of your future endeavors!
Hi Emily! I think it's great that you're trying to become a physical therapist! I know that field is very competitive, so I think your internship this past summer will be a great way for you to be ahead of the game! Additionally, I think it's great that you like to run, do yoga, and hike! I too like to do those things, although, I still struggle with running long distances. Additionally, I love the movie Law Abiding Citizen! I think the ending has such a great twist to it! It was great getting to learn a little bit about you! I hope you have a great rest of your semester!
ReplyDeleteI think its so cool that you love the outdoors! I love hiking and camping too. Have you ever tried rock climbing? If not, you should totally try it sometime! Also, with your desire to be active, it makes perfect sense that you would want to go to PT school. I've got some friends who are trying to do that too, and it sounds awesome. Good luck with everything!
ReplyDeleteHi Emily!
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited for you that you got to get some experience in the physical therapy field. From the little I know, I bet that will really pay off in the long run. It's so cool to hear you talk about your hiking trips and to see the pictures. I'm not much of a hiker, but I like to hear about it. I also LOVE Lois Lowry and Jodi Picoult. They are two of my all-time favorite authors.
Nice to meet you! Have a great semester.
Wow it sounds like you are very busy this year! I am from Colorado and so I totally can relate to you loving it there! Hiking is one of my favorite activities as well and there are so many beautiful spots there to see nature! Boulder is where I’m from and I think it is great you got to go there and see the beauty and fun of it!
ReplyDeleteWow, it seems like you’ve had some cool hiking experiences! I’ve been to Colorado only once, and didn’t even hike while I was there, although I did try my hand at mountain biking, to disastrous results. I’d like to go there again and maybe not collect so many scrapes and bruises on the second trip. I imagine running around in Colorado, with its higher elevation, would be really great for training the lungs too. I’m not much of a runner unless the running involves a sports ball of some kind, but I really admire people that do marathons. I know some people that do it well into their fifties. It’s such a great way to keep in shape both physically and mentally!
ReplyDeleteHey Emily,
ReplyDeleteI can definitely tell that you leave a heathy, active lifestyle. You need to bring a little of that over to me! That is so cool that your goal is a triathlon. Maybe one day you will be in an IronMan! I have a close friend who is also a PT major so I know how difficult it can be to get into those schools! Very best of luck to you! I hope you get into your top choice!
Man, I wish I had your mindset about and enthusiasm for exercising! I’m such a couch potato, aside from playing tennis. Anyways, good luck with completing a triathlon! That definitely would be an amazing accomplishment. And though I don’t like exercising for the most part, one of my favorite hobbies happens to be reading. I’ve never read The Pact, but I’ve read The Giver (which I really liked). Speaking of The Giver, have you read the other books in The Giver Quartet? I haven’t yet, but I heard they’re good.
ReplyDeleteHello Emily,
ReplyDeleteI love running as well. I agree that running is very calming and helps me relieve my stress. I just wish I could make more time for running during the semester. I think physical therapists are such great people. I have been to physical therapy many times due to different injuries and I am always amazed at how quick they can help you heal. I wish you luck with the rest of your schooling.
Hi Emily, I wanted to start early on my week 15 thanks yous!. You being one of the very few people that honestly critiqued my work. I just wanted to say thank you for your feed back. Good luck with the rest of the semester.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily! Wow, you sound like a busy person - it’s great that you’ve still got everything planned out. I’m graduating into limbo, it feels like, haha. Physical Therapy is a great field to get into and I wish you luck. As for culinary school, you can find a lot of youtube videos to teach you without spending money. People are always putting up tutorials on things like that.
ReplyDeleteHey Emily! Congrats on graduating in December. I too will be graduating in December. Isn't it crazy to think that we only have a month left of school? I am feeling so many emotions about it. I have been waiting for this day for what seems like forever. I bet you are so excited to be finishing. Good luck on the next month of school!
ReplyDelete