Week 7: Life Is Good

Do you ever have weeks where it just seems like things are all coming together? I feel like this week was very productive.

I'm really excited to have to just re-launched my book review blog. However, I change up the format of it, so I suppose with the implemented changes it's now more of a blog dedicated to my commentary/analysis of what I am presently reading than it is a review blog.

You can check it out here. I'm hoping to get the first part of my first 'commentary' up in the next day or so. It's already kind of written, so it's just a matter of going over final edits and getting it posted.

It's been a full and busy week, but really I wouldn't have it any other way. Aside from the blog re-launch, I also offered and accepted a new position at work that I had put in for. Plus I got some great news concerning my student loans.

Right now, life is good.

Week 6: I'd be a Champion

If there were an award for forgetfulness... I'd be a world class champ. I very nearly forgot to blog this week, which just so you know, would make me feel like an epic failure. It's not so much the fact that I almost forgot, as it is the fact that I forgot multiple times.

I did in fact remember that I still needed to blog this week, on several occasions. The only issue with my remembering is that not one of those times did I actually sit down and write anything. I didn't write down a single word. So I'd remember, then consider what I wanted to write about, and promptly forget again by the time I was anywhere near my computer.

Now, I know what you may say, I don't really need my computer in order to write. I could easily hand-write something and then re-type it for the purposes of this blog. But be that as it may, I failed to do that too. So, instead of whatever it was I considered writing earlier in the week, and honestly at this point I have no idea... you are left with this sorry tale of my forgetfulness.

Although really this post ties in perfectly with my week, or at least yesterdays Facebook status, which I kid you not read, :"is wondering why I can remember useless information, but can't remember where I parked the car!"

That status by the way, so true!

Week 5: I'm a Gleek!

How is it that the end of the week gets here so quickly? Several times this week I've thought about sitting down and writing SOMETHING out, and yet haven't managed to. Or haven't taken the time to more aptly.

At an rate, it's been a little bit of a whirlwind week. In the matter of just a few days I have gone from never having watched an episode of Glee to having watched the entire second season. Next week I plan to tackle watching the first season. What fun would it be to watch it in order, after all?

I am a gleek. It's all because of this video really.

After watching this video I was reminded that Darren Criss recently joined the glee cast, and he is awesome. I mean, seriously, if you've ever seen A Very Potter Musical on YouTube then you know this, and if you haven't then you need to drop what you're doing and go watch it. Now. Seriously. It's AWESOME!

So after watching the previously mentioned video, I searched "Darren Criss- Glee" and YouTube and watched a clip from glee. From there I immediately watched the glee episodes available on the Glee website and then rented the rest from Season 2 that were not available.

It's official. I'm hooked.

(Seriously... go watch 'A Very Potter Musical' already)

Week 4: About School... Sort of

My intention was to go back to school, at least part-time, this semester. That lasted for all of two weeks.

As it turns out, the folks in the transcript office just got around to looking at the transcript that I had sent in from MSU. I had been under the impression from the conversation that I had had with a counselor previously that none of my classes would ultimately transfer back. Apparently, this was a false impression.

The lady from the transcript office called me the day before the refund date to let me know that the Intro to Journalism class I had enrolled in for the semester correlated with a class that I took at State. She had just noted on my WCC transcript that I had already taken and passed the class.

At that point I had two options. The first of my options was to drop the class that day and get my full refund. The second option was to retake the class and have her wipe the record of having already completing the credit from my transcript.

Having no desire to retake or repay for a class that I had apparently already taken, I dropped the class. There was a moment in which I contemplated finding a class to fill that gap so that I might remain a part-time student, but that was going to be trickier said than done nearly three weeks into the semester.

At any rate, one other class transferred in as well, so now I am only six classes away from FINALLY having a degree. Of course I am still enrolled in my ridiculous computer class... but thankfully I should be finished with that in the next few weeks. Really, it is most certainly the most ridiculous class that I have ever had to take. I guess it'll be worth it in the end though... maybe.

I will commit to nothing.

Week 3: Getting Organized

Well, obviously, this project is off to a great start so far. I promise this is not an omen as to how the rest of the year will be going. In fact, in order to bring another level of organization into my life I've purchased a daily planner. Hopefully that will help me to keep organized and on top of things.

Lists are fantastic tools.

I've started back to school after taking the Fall Semester off, and I'm not really too sure about how well I'm liking it. The Journalism class I'm taking it kind of fun so far, though the Intro Computer class that I'm required to take has been a real pain. While on the one hand it's easy because I am already very computer literate... it's frustrating because I am already very computer literate.

I've been using a computer, and writing papers and such for most of my lifetime. I don't really need to be taking a class in which I am being taught such things. But I guess we all do what we have to do. The goal at this point is an associate degree, and if this class is one of the hoops that I need to jump through then so be it.

Long time, No Blog

The year before last I had the goal of writing and posting something everyday to this blog. For the most part I held to that goal. Last year I promised, after accomplishing the previous goal, that I would continue to occasionally continue to post.

And I did… very occasionally.

So this year I am proposing a new goal. This seems a funny turn of phrase considering that I could only be making this proposal to myself, but nonetheless… here it is.

This year, 2011, I plan to make weekly posts. They can be about anything, I am only stipulating that I write SOMETHING and post it every week. It seems to me to be a worthy and obtainable goal and one that I am certainly looking forward to… at least for the moment.

We shall see if my enthusiasm remains through the rest of the year. After all, it is early yet.

A Change in Plans

The plans that God has for us don’t always match up with those that we had for ourselves. Had you asked me a year ago where I expected to be today, that answer would be quite different from my present reality. This time a year ago I had just gotten into Michigan State University. I had transferred there from Washtenaw Community College with the intent to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism.

I wanted to be a writer. It was a plan that made a lot of sense. After all, MSU has a wonderful J-school. But the more I consider that career choice, the more I feel that it was solely my plan and not necessarily God’s plan. Yes, I was pursuing Journalism with the intention to help people, but how far can words go in helping people?

I have always believed that words carry a lot of power, and I continue to believe that. But I don’t feel that my true passions lie in putting words down on paper like I may have once thought. While I enjoy writing, and I could probably be suitably happy writing for the rest of my life, I don’t think that it would ultimately satisfy my passion for helping people.

I feel that being an EMT allows me to be instrumental in helping those that are in crisis.

I realize that writer and EMT are drastically different career paths, but… it’s where I feel like I need to be. It’s where I feel called to be. I have a broad idea of what my future has in store for me, but I think that’s all we can have. A broad idea.

It’s best to live in the present, be cognizant of the role the past has played and to be open to what the future has in store. At the present this is where I am. I am grateful for the experiences that now reside in my past, and I am remaining open to what each new day has to offer me.

The End (Kind of)

This is my final blog post that is connected with my year-long project aimed at writing more in the time between my twentieth and twenty-first birthday. It's been an interesting year, full of changes and transitions. While I feel like I've grown in many ways, I've also remained much the same.

As I think about this project, it's difficult to pinpoint any specific changes that were particularly monumental over this past year. If I were a smarter person I would have spent some of my free-time over the past week going over posts from this last year and compiling a list of things to discuss in this final post.

Of course, then I wouldn't be me.

At any rate, I don't want to give the impression that I won't be posting on this blog any more. I still plan to utilize this space although I may not be posting as often as I have been over the past year. I definitely won't be posting daily.

It's been an interesting year, and I've certainly written more than I had in the past several years. I feel like I've definitely taken a major step in the right direction, and look forward to using this experience to jump into the future. I'm currently working on looking into the future and looking for ways to get ready for the future that I want to build. These are exciting times!

Twenty-One

I spent today at work, where I proceeded to have a really good day. It was super busy in the fudge shop, which was good. Personally I enjoy working when it is busy the most. Some people find it stressful, but I think that it all depends on your perspective. On some level, in order to decrease your amount of stress you have to accept that you are only one person and only capable of so much.

It's also good to understand that sometime people are going to be upset with you, you can't make everyone happy and while it's nice in theory to try it is imperative to accept that sometimes, in fact most times, it isn't possible. There are those who cannot or will not be appeased.

I am now home, where we lit candles and stuck them in the cake that my mom made in honor of today being my birthday. I sat in front of the fire for a little while while I ate my slice of cake, and am now watching Law and Order:SVU with my parents and younger brother. This is my favorite way to spend any day, let alone a birthday.

All in all it's been a very good day.

New Years Day

The store was fairly busy today, but that's to be expected I guess considering it's New Years Day. I closed the fudge shop, and was scrambling at the end of my shift to get everything I wanted to get done finished. I didn't get as much done as I would have liked, but for the most part the department looked up to par.

It was strange to drive home around six and have it already be dark. I really don't like the time change, I'd rather have it stay light longer. I guess it really doesn't matter what I'd prefer though.

Tomorrow is my birthday. I'll finally turn twenty-one and plan to spend the day at work. Birthday's really aren't that big a deal, for the most part it's just another day the only difference being that you're a year older. The most exciting thing about turning twenty-one is it's kind of like officially becoming an adult.

While technically you're an adult at eighteen, it still holds restrictions, and you still have a license that denotes you as somehow short of adulthood. You are recognized as an adult with the exception that you cannot drink. Twenty-one is really only a milestone in that it means there are no longer any restrictions placed upon your behavior. To an extent anyway.

I'm excited to get a license that's horizontal rather than vertical. That is a pretty cool perk!