Wednesday, May 30, 2007

wow. I am sitting in my room right now looking at potential graduate school fellowships (mostly foreign affairs) before I write out a couple of assignments for work tomorow to contribute to la vida montanera and the mountain laurel. A moment ago I just took a second to take it all in. I looked up from my computer screen and this is what I saw... a pile of books in my reading corner in which my current books sit between my two mexican carvings. I could see The Global Struggle for Human Rights, The GRE Test, 'Tis, The Clash of Civilizations, and A People's History of the United States. I could also see the maps of Central America and Europe on my wall in the same line as the green rolling mountains outside my window. The last thing in sight was my suitcase for the conference I head to tomorrow. I am so excited about it. I love going to conferences! I love the feel of a true business environment and I love meeting people, and being involved with so many people with common interests. This weekend the office is heading to Chapel Hill for the Immigrant Right and Refugee Training Institute at the Law School of Chapel Hill. How exciting! I know the three of us are going to learn so much, though our applications of the material will inevitably be different.

On another note... I had the chance to speak at Franklin Daybreak Rotary, my sponsoring club, and it was so excellent. I just really love how supportive that club is of me in everything I do. The people there have really helped me to realize my dreams and move me towards the direction of them. Anyway, I am such a lucky person to have them behind me, if it wasn't for them, who knows where I would be.
Ciao for now

Monday, May 21, 2007

paperwork, paperwork, paperwork

So... school has ended and I am living at home again. I am doing a lot of really fun things and enjoying myself but I feel inundated with paperwork. I just want to go all ready but there is always another form to fill out for someone along the way which can be frustrating because many of these forms have to be filled out by other people and nobody will help me out. I just get annoyed with calling professors and sending e-mails and still hearing nothing. Hopefully I will begin making progress soon.
Right now I am just working a couple of days a week and then studying for the GRE and trying to enjoy myself a bit other than that. Aly and I went and studied under the biggest poplar in the U.S. today. It is nice to be able to do something that I enjoy while I am studying. I feel like there is a bunch of stuff to be done but I don't have the structure to be doing it in. Kind of crazy.
Also, I am in the great search for graduate programs. I know I want to go into a graduate program right after my undergraduate work but I think the battle will be to convince the programs that it is a good idea. After being away for a year I will be ready to come back and jump into an awesome new educational experiences in the states for a couple of years. I just feel like I have more to learn and more skills to gain in the classroom before I get into my career.
Wish me luck!