The bike trip grows to legendary proportions as the story of my immense strength and power is told repeatedly among the wheelmen, with respect and awe. 73 miles on a bike, up to the highest local peak, all the while riding with the A group, wow. Of course, only I know the consequences of such a feat. Did I expect my body to hold up to that kind of treatment without recourse? Was I really thinking a 3000-foot climb was that easy? Was I really that... well....maybe.
Now I realize my mistake, for in the following days I grew weaker and weaker... my body struggling for time to recuperate and rebuild. There is no rest for the weary as I went out again, deliberately killing myself on hills 3-4 times in repetition... (the exact number evades me due to lack of clear thinking at 7am).
Tuesday was the last day of normalcy before it happened. Again, I went out running on a beautiful sunny afternoon, the wind in my hair, healthy muscles working their way up the hillside. Upon returning home and feeling fine, I fell asleep, unaware of what the morning would bring...
Wednesday morning, in a totally unexpected sequence of events, my body fell first to stomach sickness and then to fever, only to grow worse as the days flew by. Friday, I faced an oncoming chemistry quiz with incredible weakness. I had spent two hours every night of the week preparing for this one quiz. To compensate for the intense stomach pain, the collection of food ingredients, which I had scavenged over the weekend, had been gathered in my room for comfort. Soups, yogurts, and apple juice made my days so much more enjoyable, as the rampage on my stomach and studies continued.
The days were filled with memorizing chemistry equations and periodic table rules, and drinking lots of fluids, and nights were early to bed. Thursday night was the peak, as I lay in bed hot, sweaty, and feverish. Restless and coming in and out of consciousness, gallon after gallon of sweat poured off my body.
On Friday morning, I awoke, feeling utterly still, so calm. I went running. To my surprise, there was no pain, no sore muscles, no dizzy headaches... I was healthy again, Praise God! Excited, I went to class and arrived right on time to take the quiz.
Now came the test to see if my week of studies could pay off. Did I learn my lessons about test taking? Was I prepared for the questions and did I understand the material? I was about to find out... I was thinking about the past week and began to see a series of steps leading up to this point. Shopping on Sunday gave me an awesome feeling of paying attention to detail and searching for the best food product, much like finding the perfect answer on a test. This also made me think about the whole chicken I gutted, cooked, and consumed since Monday. Though the experience wasn't pleasurable, I came away a more experienced chef and confident in my own cooking skills.
Finally, I thought about all the other tests and quizzes taken over the past 6 weeks. I considered my revised study techniques with the new understanding of how the tests are written. Based solely on the lecture notes, the test was prepared for by spending the better portion of my week reading notes and practicing homework questions. I know this test taking technique will benefit my future tests also. Through these many experiences I came, ready for the test, not overly confident, but sure of the material.
I opened the test and skimmed the test. Instantly I recognized 3-4 questions I had done only days before. Then there were two others I had practiced but were only slightly altered. Skipping over the two I was uncertain about, I quickly finished 7 out of 10 of the questions. After only 10 minutes, I was done, more certain of my answers than I had ever been. Confidently, I reviewed my answers and was surprised to find a misunderstanding on my part. Carefully, I fixed the hasty mistake and completed the paper. What a victory, I thought to myself... of course it was hard but I could do it... I could meet whatever standard the professor set and go beyond even that.
Success is my focus now, as I go into this next week with great expectations. Having a grasp of understanding the skills and knowledge expected makes me feel at ease. I know this was a long post but I wanted to share my victory with family and friends and to thank you all for taking the time to read it. I hope you all took something away and enjoyed hearing about my challenging but fun adventures.
Good luck in your own challenges, Jordan Gamble
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