and it begins

I've successfully completed three weeks of work in the FXS lab.  Tomorrow, I'll add classes to that.  I'm nervous but excited about it, specifically about the 20,000 students and the getting all around campus in 15 minutes or less.

It's storming now, so I need to get off the computer.  The storms out here are BEAUTIFUL!!

Graduation!

Finally, two and a half weeks after the event took place, I have photos to post from my graduation.  On May 17, 2009, I graduated cum laude from DePauw University with a BA in psychology.  =)  I'm beyond thrilled!!

We had a perfect day -- sunny with a breeze to take the edge off the heat -- for the outdoor ceremony.  It took fully 2 and a half hours to get through everything, but I was pretty excited so I didn't mind.  I can't believe I've got a degree now!

back at school

I do believe I set a new personal record last night.  I had a social life within 36 hours of being back on campus!  Thanks Jamie! :)  We had some yummy Mexican food and a delightful catch-up conversation about life since Costa Rica.  It's amazing how you can go to the same school and live 2 houses apart but not know what's up with life.  And at the same time you can keep up with friends who are hundreds of miles away with just the click of a button.  Dad fears that email and instant messaging will overshadow letter-writing.  I hope not, but if it does happen, do you think people will still remember how to write?  I mean, we're all typing all the time, especially at college or work.  Assignments are submitted online so as to save paper, and even tests are being completed via computer!  Perhaps Tablet PCs will allow us to maintain our handwriting quirks even if paper become obsolete...

1st weekend

I made it through my first week (i.e. three days) of classes.  I don't particularly like my HoScho seminar, but I love my Children's Lit class.  I'm much less anxious now that I know what i'm doing for both of my theses.  I'm also loving the fact that I'm not always in class.  Writing two theses means I do a lot of independent research and writing, but at times I choose.  Thankfully textbook rush at the bookstore is almost over.  I'm about to lose it with some of the freshmen, even though it's not their fault they don't know what they are doing!  Things should ease up here soon.

Hopefully my next post won't be months from now....

the beginning of the end

Only one month until classes start.  And boy do I have a lot to do in that month!

allergies, boys, and grad school

Whew.  I've had a wild few days.  The boy finally started talking to me again, and he apologized for taking out his frustration on me earlier this summer.  I appreciated the apology and am glad he still wants to talk.  I miss him very much.  In talking to him earlier today, he told me he's off work till Saturday and bored out of his mind, but when I asked him about getting together, he said things were too crazy and he couldn't drive out of town.  I wish he'd understand that I need to save all my money too but I believe seeing him is worth spending a bit of it.  It wouldn't be so bad if we met halfway.  Hopefully things will get better in August.

I went to the allergist this morning to have an allergy evaluation - that wonderful procedure where they scratch your back with a billion different allergens and see what happens.  Well, nothing happened.  And when they did the under-the-skin test on my arm, nothing happened.  So I'm not allergic to anything.  I'm not surprised since even poison ivy doesn't bother me.  However, I did find out I have asthma.  It's not bad, but it is enough to mean I'm clinically asthmatic.  I have to use an inhaler twice a day for a month to see if that does anything.  I never thought I could be asthmatic.  But it does explain why I can't breathe as well when singing and why my frequent bouts of bronchitis are a minimum of three weeks in duration.  I guess I'll know more in a month.

I've registered for the GRE.  Exactly one month from today, I'll tackle the test that will largely determine where I go to grad school.  Between now and then, I get to study study study.  I've got the books and will be doing practice problems for the next few weeks.  Hopefully I'll do well so I won't have to take it again.  This fall's gonna be wild enough as it is.  I'm also still in the process of picking grad schools.  I've found about 10 that I like, but I don't know if I'm done looking or not.  My GRE score will help determine that.

back to the usual...

Well, after 3 days of working full days at The Vanguard Academy, I'm back on my normal schedule tomorrow. I'll head down to U of L to work at the Infant Cognition Lab for the morning, then grab some lunch and high-tail-it to Vanguard. I've really enjoyed being the full-time teacher (and the money's gonna be great too!). It's a little weird being an assistant and knowing that I'm gonna have to leave in August. I could do so much more in terms of planning and decorating and such, but I'm trying to let Angel decide all that since she's the lead teacher. Once I get all the degrees I'm hoping to get, I'd be able to do this no problem. But could I be an infant-toddler daycare teacher every day for the rest of my life? Hmm. If it's at a place like Vanguard, then yes. I much prefer the private sector to the more-public less-private one of which the Y is a member. Who knows.

I guess that's what senior year is for. Deciding what to do next and where to go. I've got so many options available right now. I could get a Graduate Certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders or as an infant specialist; I could get a Master's in clinical or developmental pysch, speech language pathology, or special education; or I could go for the Ph.D in clinical or developmental psych. At this point, I'm leaning more towards the Master's and Certificates, because they would allow me to do what I want to do. I want to actually work with infants and toddlers. I'd love to earn a Ph.D, but I don't want to teach at a University. I'd really like to work in a therapy clinic at a children's hospital like Vanderbilt. I'd be a developmental specialist with expertise in autism and language, and I'd work with typically and atypically developing infants and toddlers. I'd teach infants sign language and work with young toddlers on emotional, cognitive, and social development. It's a huge wish, I know. But I'm hoping I can get at least a good chunk of it. That's where the short study time for the Certificates and Masters' comes in. I can get 2 Certificates and 3 Master's in less than 10 years if I play my cards right. I think if I go for the Ph.D, it'll be in clinical child / developmental psychopathology. I guess my research would be along the lines of language or thinking. We'll see. I've got to survive my 2-thesis senior year at DePauw first!