Intro – Change is a part of everyone’s lives and although it can be scary it must be embraced to get the most out of life. I believe we learn and become who we are through experiencing many changes throughout our lives.

Part 1 – Talk about my experiences moving from England to America. Very overwhelming at first but adapted quickly to a new life. People often say they could never imagine moving so far but when change is forced upon us our only choice is too adapt. I learnt a lot from my experiences and believe I have developed greatly as a person.

Part 2 – Going to college is a huge change most people face. It is one a lot of people look forward to but can still be very scary and intimidating. Some people struggle with moving away from home. One of my friends who was very outgoing and happy in high school went to college and was terribly homesick and struggled to cope.

Conclusion – Don’t be scared by change but look at it as a positive learning experience. It can often be hard at first but better in the long run. Go in with a positive mindset and if it truly seems to be a negative change after giving it your best see what you can do to make it better.

After a very busy week I did not manage to find a new place to try in downtown State College so this week I will blog about one of my favorite chain restaurants, Red Lobster. Red Lobster is part of the Darden Restaurant group which includes a large number of restaurants such as Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grill, Yard House and a couple others. Red Lobster is one of their higher quality restaurants specializing in seafood but there are still plenty of great non-seafood dishes available. I actually worked at Olive Garden as a busser last summer and a nice benefit of that was receiving 25% off at all Darden restaurants for up to six people. I used this benefit a lot and went to Red Lobster more times than I can count. There was one only 10 minutes away from where I live at home (near Harrisburg) and there is one in State College on North Atherton Street but not within walking distance.

Red Lobster is designed to be a higher class restaurant but still reasonable value so the interior of the restaurant is ambient and the one I go to at home has a nice bar area and variety of seating. The menu is very extensive with a wide variety of fish, seafood, chicken, soups, salads and other specialties. What’s great about many of the Darden Restaurants, including Red Lobster, is that a soup or salad is included with ordering a main dish and at Red Lobster you get delicious cheddar bay biscuits for free. I really like how ordering their fresh fish works, they give you a list of the available fresh fish usually including tilapia, salmon and trout. Then you choose if you want it grilled, blackened or broiled and what topping you want. I usually pick grilled with lemon garlic butter. You also get to choose two sides to come with it. Another good feature of their menu is the 4 course feast, it costs $15.99 and you can pick 4 courses from a list including lots of good options. This is really great value.

There are a lot of fantastic other things on the menu that I could spend all day explaining but I’ll leave it at if there’s a Red Lobster near you I really suggest trying it. It is very reasonably priced considering the quality and that you get a salad included. I go here regularly with my family and everyone always finds something suited to them. You will probably get more enjoyment out of it if you like fish or seafood but there are still other good options. I was sad to see in the news recently that Darden has been considering selling off Red Lobster since it is not performing as well as their other restaurants but I am really not sure why as it is a great place to eat.

For my “This I Believe” podcast I am thinking of doing it on the importance of change and how it teaches us to adapt and be stronger people and get more out of life. Many people are afraid of change and it can be challenging to leave ones comfort zone. We feel safe and secure where we are familiar with our surroundings and our way of life. But without experiencing change we would be unable to adapt to new situation and would miss out on countless experiences. Think about study abroad programs and going away to college. We learn so much from big changes and they shape who we really are. We gain confidence and knowledge. Change should not be something feared but something sort out embraced.

Last Semester I did my passion posts on places to eat in the state college area. I targeted more unusual places such as Indian and Greek cuisine and wrote about my experiences eating there. I found this a good topic as I was writing about a new restaurant each time and writing on something I’m sure most people are passionate about, eating! Hopefully my reviews and suggestions were helpful and interesting to those reading and I’m sure some people ended up giving my suggestions a try.

This semester I would like to continue with the same restaurant theme but perhaps expand it to not just the state college area. I will write reviews on some of my favorite places from home and other areas of the country that I have been too. I will try to pick some big chains and restaurants in populated areas so people will know the restaurants or be close to them. For example I could write about my experiences going to Red Lobster and Buffalo Wild Wings. I will also continue to try out places in the state college area as there are so many places I did not get to cover in my blogs last semester. I might give some of the places I thought not so great another try this semester too, to see if it was just a one off bad experience, like I had with Wings Over which so many people say is a great place to get take out but my experience was not so good.

Hopefully I’ll find some great new places like I did last semester and be able to recommend them to the class. I know there are a lot of cool places downtown that aren’t always easy to come across. I tried a unique Lebanese place at the end of last semester after we had already wrapped up blogs and I’m definitely planning on going back again.