I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with friends and family! Tonight I write to you from one of my favorite places on the face of the earth, Sedona. If you haven't had a chance to visit this magnificent part of the country, I encourage you all to do so within your lifetime. The mountains of red rock truly take your breath away. The Foley's gratefully invited me up here for the night to get in the Christmas spirit and prepare for the colder weather I will face when I come back home in a few weeks.
I can now say that I am coming down the home stretch of my first semester at ASU. It has been a great semester filled with many highlights and moments that have made this past five months one of the best chapters of my storybook through life. The meeting of new friends and transitioning to college itself has been a cherishing experience. Truly, I could not be surrounded by better people than those I am so fortunate to have here at ASU.
Over the course of five months, I have met a few individuals who are true heroes and leaders. Earlier this year I met Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and Arizona Senator John McCain. On a flight from Burbank to Oakland, I sat next to none-other than Capt. Chelsey Sullenberger, the pilot who landed on the Hudson River. Never have I crossed a more humble and noble man in my life. And recently, I met one of the most inspiring women I know, Sarah Palin. All of these individuals were certainly a pleasure to meet!
As for school, it has been an enjoyable first semester and college is all and even more that I expected it to be. Classes have gone extremely well and now all I can do is prepare myself for the end of semester finals. Fortunately, I have my Spring semester schedule already planned and am looking forward to seeing what the upcoming semester has in store besides Spring Training baseball! :)
On December 16th I will be packing my bags and flying to the place where I love most, home. I am looking forward to spending a month back in Wisconsin with family and friends for the Christmas season. Bring on the cold weather and snow. After living in the desert for a few months, I hope I can still handle the Wisconsin winters!
In memory of coach Jimmy Valvano, let us all take time this Christmas season to have laughter, thought, and emotion.
Blessings,
Zachary L. Ziebarth
