Hello again friends! I am back for some updates on the ever-shortening road to graduation. Again, graduation happens this April (And the week after my graduation my WONDERFUL sister Lou comes home from her mission in South Korea! Double reason to celebrate!). Anyway, I’m all signed up for graduation and cap and gown, walking, the whole bit. Now all I have to do is make sure that I pass the rest of my classes. I’m taking British/American Contemporary Literature, Advanced Professional Writing, Senior Seminar Writing, Advanced Literature Theory, and Visual Media. Lots and LOTS of reading, but I’m a nerd and I LOVE it all! But loving it isn’t the same as being perfect at it…I WISH. So there’s a lot of work going into this semester.
But seriously, how did I already become a senior in college? I do NOT feel “old” enough or ready enough to be finished here already! I remember starting school back in 2005 with the idea in mind that I would probably be married by the time I got to this point in my life. In the back of my mind I vaguely pictured myself married and able to stay at home while my husband (whoever he was) went to work to support our family. Imagine my panic when I realized around my third year that it probably wasn’t going to happen that way and that I really needed to make sure I had marketable job skills. Now, I didn’t go to college with my MRS. Degree in the front most of my mind people! But I also didn’t see my future turning out this way either! But now, instead of being scared of stepping out on my own, I’m actually really looking forward to it!
So there’s been a lot of thinking happening in the last few weeks, and some decisions have been reached.
I’ve decided to go to Graduate School.
Nope, haven’t the slightest clue as to where I want to go. I have several ideas-the most fantastic of all being Europe. Oxford anyone? However I will probably have to be a little more realistic. I foresee a LOT of planning for this next step in my life, and for sure more than one leap of faith as I venture out into the unknown. Everyone has been wonderful to share their experiences with me and I welcome any and all advice.
Yesterday’s devotional was really wonderful as well. Elder Russell M. Nelson came to BYU-Idaho to speak and he touched on the subject of education. The link to his whole talk isn’t up yet, but when it is I’ll put it up. He talked about our duty to continue our education when possible. It was really wonderful to hear an apostle of the Lord encourage all of us to do the best that we can and to learn as much as we can. It gave me even further motivation to continue learning my whole life. I’m not just talking about school, but to try and always keep an interest in new things, whether it’s actual knowledge from a textbook, or maybe just a new hobby. The trick is to avoid letting pride be the driving force behind your quest for knowledge. If we neglect our spiritual knowledge then our secular knowledge will avail us nothing. Our Heavenly Father is the source of all light and knowledge and He is more than willing to share with us when we seek it out. Elder Nelson encouraged us to seek wisdom and knowledge from the best books. It’s all there for us. We just have to be willing to seek it out and work for it. Our Heavenly Father loves us so much. He wants to give us everything. We are so blessed here.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
A Confession...
Ok. So here I am. A brand-new blog. A brand-new year. And…I guess it’s time to confess to the world something that I should have always been up front and honest about.
I…
I…am…
I…am…a…
Wow. This is a little harder than I thought. No, wait, I can do this. Whew. Here goes.
I am an English Major.
*peeks out* You’re still here? We’re still friends? Hey now! That wasn’t too bad.
I started thinking about this yesterday during my first day of my LAST SEMESTER IN COLLEGE! Mwa-ha-ha. Erm, yeah. Anyhow. In one of my classes we discussed the kinds of responses we tend to get when we tell people we’re English majors. The most popular one is, “Are you going to teach?” which is usually followed by, “Uh-oh! I’d better watch my grammar around you!” Or my personal favorites, “What can you do with that?” and “Oh. I am so sorry.” (“And you are?” “Oh, I’m a political-science micro-nuclear degenerative nano major with a minor in thermo-dynamic chemistry” “….Oh. Lovely.”)
Another question was answered by my awesome friend Kim which was, “So are you going to write a novel or something?” with a very enthusiastic, “Heck yes! And it’s going to be awesome and amazing! But, until I get it published and everyone else out there sees how awesome and amazing it is I’ll be supporting myself with the other awesome English skills I’ve got.”
And in case you’ve ever wondered just what in the world we learn in English classes besides grammar let me enlighten you! We discuss politics, and science, philosophy, psychology, history, and a myriad of other topics. You’ve got to know background information before you can make any kind of accurate assessment about the piece you’re reading. You’ve also got to know about the biographical information of the author, what the politics were at the time they wrote their poem, or their novel. We usually bring in some kind of psychological analysis of the characters, trying to understand their deepest desires and what motivates them. We have to know the history of the time period. Is the writer a man or woman? If it’s a woman, no big deal right? WRONG! Women writers were few and far between up until the modern and post-modern era. If she is a woman writer published before and during the Victorian era then pay attention! It’s probably a big deal.
…And that’s why you shouldn’t let an English major try and explain any of that. We tend to get fairly excited about the whole thing. But I’m a nerd. It’s ok.
So really though, are you still wondering what I’ll do with an English degree? Well, for starters I could teach school (which is definitely a direction that I’m thinking about). I could even help write and edit the textbooks they use in the schools. English majors have the option of working in publishing for newspapers, magazines, and books. I could even decide to work at home if I so chose.
Which is why you might be confused as to why I’m so nervous if there are so many options. I just want to be sure that I’m going the right way, the way that Heavenly Father wants me to be going. Even if my first job after college isn’t what I do for the rest of my life, it’s going to be the first step which hopefully will lead me in the right direction.
So friends, until the next time…wait a second! Aw man…I just realized that I’ve got to be consistent now and blog on a regular basis! Wish me luck!
I…
I…am…
I…am…a…
Wow. This is a little harder than I thought. No, wait, I can do this. Whew. Here goes.
I am an English Major.
*peeks out* You’re still here? We’re still friends? Hey now! That wasn’t too bad.
I started thinking about this yesterday during my first day of my LAST SEMESTER IN COLLEGE! Mwa-ha-ha. Erm, yeah. Anyhow. In one of my classes we discussed the kinds of responses we tend to get when we tell people we’re English majors. The most popular one is, “Are you going to teach?” which is usually followed by, “Uh-oh! I’d better watch my grammar around you!” Or my personal favorites, “What can you do with that?” and “Oh. I am so sorry.” (“And you are?” “Oh, I’m a political-science micro-nuclear degenerative nano major with a minor in thermo-dynamic chemistry” “….Oh. Lovely.”)
Another question was answered by my awesome friend Kim which was, “So are you going to write a novel or something?” with a very enthusiastic, “Heck yes! And it’s going to be awesome and amazing! But, until I get it published and everyone else out there sees how awesome and amazing it is I’ll be supporting myself with the other awesome English skills I’ve got.”
And in case you’ve ever wondered just what in the world we learn in English classes besides grammar let me enlighten you! We discuss politics, and science, philosophy, psychology, history, and a myriad of other topics. You’ve got to know background information before you can make any kind of accurate assessment about the piece you’re reading. You’ve also got to know about the biographical information of the author, what the politics were at the time they wrote their poem, or their novel. We usually bring in some kind of psychological analysis of the characters, trying to understand their deepest desires and what motivates them. We have to know the history of the time period. Is the writer a man or woman? If it’s a woman, no big deal right? WRONG! Women writers were few and far between up until the modern and post-modern era. If she is a woman writer published before and during the Victorian era then pay attention! It’s probably a big deal.
…And that’s why you shouldn’t let an English major try and explain any of that. We tend to get fairly excited about the whole thing. But I’m a nerd. It’s ok.
So really though, are you still wondering what I’ll do with an English degree? Well, for starters I could teach school (which is definitely a direction that I’m thinking about). I could even help write and edit the textbooks they use in the schools. English majors have the option of working in publishing for newspapers, magazines, and books. I could even decide to work at home if I so chose.
Which is why you might be confused as to why I’m so nervous if there are so many options. I just want to be sure that I’m going the right way, the way that Heavenly Father wants me to be going. Even if my first job after college isn’t what I do for the rest of my life, it’s going to be the first step which hopefully will lead me in the right direction.
So friends, until the next time…wait a second! Aw man…I just realized that I’ve got to be consistent now and blog on a regular basis! Wish me luck!
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