Big Blue Madness is a way of UK life

I camped out for Big Blue Madness. Big Blue Madness is the first public basketball practice for the University of Kentucky’s Men’s and Women’s basketball teams. While a practice like this at many other universities would go unnoticed by people who do not live in or near the college town, big blue madness is a completely different story. People from all over the state and neighboring states come to Lexington to fight for campsites where they camp out (in tent city) for three days in order to receive tickets to this free event.

I am from St. Louis, and while my mom is a UK College of Ag alumni, I had never heard of this event until I came to school here last year and witnessed the madness with my own eyes. The madness I mean is seeing these people fighting one another for spots in tent city at 5 in the morning on Wednesday to camp on the UK campus and sit there for three days. I initially thought to myself that these people were crazy, but as I attended basketball games throughout last year I saw that they weren’t crazy, but that they were loyal. After experiencing the basketball games last year and the amazing recruit team we have this year I knew that I wanted to become one of the “crazy” loyal fans that got tickets to Big Blue Madness. 

With that in mind my friends and I woke up at 3 am that Wednesday to stand in line until 5 am where we dashed across Avenue of Champions to steak our tents before someone else grabbed our spot. We were there all day and only left to go to class; work; back to the apartment to make food, shower, etc. While camping in tent city I was surrounded by other people who had the same passion as I did. We were a small community who all bonded and got along because we all were loyal, and we all cared for the family that makes up Big Blue Nation. These people had a passion for watching Kentucky basketball and for believing in our team and the success they could have this year. These people were willing to miss work, to give up running water, to survive away from their house and live in a tent for the sole purpose of getting tickets to a basketball practice. Living in Mizzou territory I could tell you that many Mizzou fans would never even think of doing this and this fact is one of the few important reasons why I chose the University of Kentucky.

Katlyn is majoring in Agricultural Biotechnology and is from St. Louis, MO.

Banner Chasing …..

Spring is in the air.  Snowstorms have ceased and have been replaced by thunderstorms and showers and warmer temps  For people in the livestock world, it is prime time for buying and selling lambs, pigs, goats, and cattle. It's the time of the year when every weekend you are either going to sales or going to different farms to look at animals for show seasons. For me, this is the busiest time of the year and I know that I’m not the only one. Everyone is trying to find the “best” lamb or pig to be his or her Grand Champion. We are all “banner chasing” with the goal of being on top when it’s all said and done.

Growing up showing livestock made this an every year activity that we would partake in when March rolled around. We would start looking at sales online, calling different breeders to see if we could come to their farm, and searching for different sales that we could go to over the weekends. This is my favorite part of the year because everyone is traveling all over the place on the weekends and analyzing so many different animals. You also get to see your friends while you are at the different sales and make connections with breeders while at their farms. You spend so much time with most of the people you see at sales over the summer and into the fall that they become your second family or as we like to call it our “show family”.

Showing is a big part of my life and it is something that I love to do and look forward to every summer. My parents have instilled a passion for showing in me that has made me the person that I am today. I started when I was 7 years old and wouldn’t change it for anything. I had two market hogs and I was super excited to show them. That year we only went to three different shows and they were all in Delaware. As I started to get older I yearned to go to more sales and places to look at different animals and my parents agreed to take me. I am now about to start the last year of my junior show career. It is the beginning of the end for me. This year I wish to go out with a bang and try to get some good animals. I have picked out my lambs and pigs and now the only thing left to do is work with them and make sure that they are in a good environment and have a good feeding program. It calls for a lot of work but this is what I am passionate about and what I want to excel in.

The years and time that I have put into this I wouldn’t change a thing. I have made so many friends and have had so many different opportunities in showing livestock. I now consider these people as my family more then just friends because they are who I have grown up with and have had so many times. The years of traveling and making new friends have been some of the best memories I could ask for and will last a lifetime!  So, as the rest of the Big Blue Nation chases banner #9 for our basketball team, I plan to spend my summer chasing my own banner.....

Kaitlin is a sophomore from Wilmington, Delaware. 

This Is It....

It is finally the time of the year that all of us have been waiting for…..FINALS! Finals is  that one week that us college students dread. It’s that one week that our professors love to compile everything they can into one big study guide just so we can show them how much we have been paying attention(or not so much) in class. Well, your time has come to show yourself what you are made of! I know you may have five finals in five days or maybe even six finals in five days, but now is the time to turn off that UK basketball game that was recorded a week ago and dust off that brand new textbook that has been sitting in the corner of your room and actually open it.

           With all that great studying that you will be doing this week, I thought it would be a great time to share with you some Do’s and Don’ts for the typical UK student. So while you are so focused on studying for that Biochemistry exam or that 15-page paper due tomorrow, take some time away and enlighten yourself with some humor.

- DO make a game plan for your finals.

Just like going out on the town with some friends or trying to figure out what you will do for the weekend, it would be very wise to at least know when your finals are, the time and the location. After you have that, set up a schedule so you can study certain subjects at different times.

- DON’T sit in bed and study.

Like everyone else, I like to be comfortable when I have to sit and endure 5 hours of none stop study, but I have learned that the bed is not your friend when trying to study. See this is what happens: you get in bed and pull the covers up so you can be cozy, then you make sure all your study material is surrounding you, you grab your work and start looking over everything repetitively. Next thing you know your eyes start getting heavy; you are fighting the sleep, and within 30 minutes of “studying” the sleep has conquered you.

- DO know what your particular study environment is.

I personally can’t sit down in a chair in Willy T. and look at notes non-stop. That makes me tired just thinking about it. Don’t get me wrong I love all the Hunger Games theme song whispers, chatting conversations, and random “shouting word games” that happens in Willy T. but not when I’m studying. I like to paste back and forth in my apartment or  just walk around campus with my notes and talk them about. Yeah, yeah you may look weird walking around talking to yourself but at least you will know your material. 

 

- DON’T study with the television on.

We all have been doing this college thing for some time now. Rather it is for one semester or seven semesters, we should all know that studying with the television on is just a distraction. Most college students have a Netflix account and personally Netflix is one of my best friends. It can be really hard to stop watching a show/movie just when it was getting good. Instead of you paying attention to your grammar and punctuation on that 15-page final paper you are trying to figure out how Bob and Ray are going to escape the riot to safety. As interesting as that sounds, your business management paper is the one that will receive a grade.

 

- DO take a late night run to Tolly-Ho.

Let’s face it, most of us will be up for some late nights. Why don’t you and your friends take a break and go get some food a Tolly-Ho. What’s a better way to start your studies without some food from one of UK’s famed traditions? I know Tolly Ho’s food isn’t exactly a salad but you have to treat yourself some times and what better way would there be than reminiscing with friends and eating breakfast at night. 

- DON’T use social media as often.

We all know that most of us could stay on any social media website for hours on end. Whether it is Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, you and your friends could stay on there for hours looking at the latest pictures from your friends or running through your timeline to find the latest gossip. Being on these social media websites can take away valuable study time that you won’t be able to replace. Just limit your time on these sites and put more energy into studying and you will be sure see results. 

      Finals….this is on time in your life that you will for sure not forget. All the late night studying, coffee, sugar and cramming is just the tip of the iceberg during finals week. Do not stress out just do what you know and you’ll be fine. Don’t look at the don’ts as something to not do during finals week, look at them as a reward for studying. You can lie in bed and surf the timeline of your Twitter while watching Walking Dead episodes after you feel you have had a successful night of studying. Again, this is it; you don’t want to end this semester on a bad note just because you failed to study.  So just keep calm and study on!

 

 Kenyatta is a senior majoring in Dietetics.  She is from Houston, Texas.  She is involved with UK MANRRS, is a UK Ag Ambassador, and has worked at the UK Johnson Center.