On My Mind.

Things on my mind lately:
- Allen's birthday (tomorrow!)
- Acteen's purity retreat (this weekend)
- Getting my braces off (date TBD)
- Extravagant grace
- Wedding invitations (in the mail as of today!)
- Changing friendships
- School (halfway through my 3rd semester. After this semester, I'll be halfway done with the program!)
- Suits (Allen's suit for the wedding cost $7.50 at a thrift store.... and it was brand new.)
- Titus 2
- Snowshoeing
- Living room forts

Grad School Update.

Registered for Fall 2013!
- Understanding Markets and Audiences
- Crisis Communications

Summer 2013 is halfway done.

I had a great meeting with my advisor in DC a few weeks back and found I'd be able to get two concentrations rather than just one.
- Media and Public Relations
- Corporate and Non Profit Communications.

I am so thankful that I am able (thus far) to pay for my classes out of pocket, without any student loans. God is so faithful. After Fall 2013, I'll be halfway done with my program already. Isn't that crazy?

I'm learning so much, though talking about it at work probably makes me look dorky (which is fine by me). Implementing SharePoint? Let me tell you all about the Diffusions of Innovation Theory and how we can apply those constructs to our implementation process.

DC Tonight.

I'm in DC. The view from my hotel window is of the Potomac River. Very pretty.

8:30pm, and I'm in my giraffe pajamas, watching HGTV and reading for class.

25-year-old behavior? Not really. Perfectly content? You better believe it.

24 In Review.

I've been thinking about this post: 24 Things That Happened While I Was 24.

1. I broke my leg. In three places. On an island. And had to wait two weeks before I could have very invasive surgery to get it fixed. That surgery included inserting a metal rod into my tibia, placing about 5 screws in my leg, and being in various casts for three months.

2. I applied to Johns Hopkins. And was accepted.
3. I started and finished my first class. And got an A. And now I'm taking two more and I love them.
4. Two of my favorite bosses of all time left the District. And we got two replacements. The Lord is teaching me to love them.
5. The Lord gave me a "Front Row Seat" to the work He is doing in the lives of my middle through college-age girls at church. And, as this blog reminded me, I am so not needed in that.

6. I won $8.00 for my crocheted creations at the Alaska State Fair! Ha. And I took a pottery class.

7. I write a weekly newsletter and this year, it went National. It is now received by four or five different states.
8. I learned to be dependent on people for everything. Even going to the bathroom and bathing.
9. I lived on my own. And I loved it.
10. I moved back home. And I loved it.
11. I learned that there is a time for everything.
12. I've made substantial progress in paying off my Jeep.
13. I made the decision to honor God with my money (and have been reading this book to help).
14. Allen and I celebrated our one-year dating anniversary. And I was constantly challenged by his selflessness, his compassion, and his silliness.

15. I planned and executed a conference for 100+ staff members in the school district.
16. I started memorizing James (and am about 4/5 of the way through!).
17. I cut off all my hair! And I don't think I'll ever go back to long hair. And I was told I look like Anne Hathaway and Julia Roberts, circa "Hook."
18. I flew to Arizona and surprised my Grandpa with a visit. I hadn't seen him in about two years.

19. We celebrated the third annual Lemonade Stand on the Butte.

20. I worked as a model. By that, I mean I posed for some pictures for my friend Jade. Through that experience, I learned I am more business-professional than whimsy.

21. Our church finished the new sanctuary and I helped move chairs into it.
22. I learned the importance of just loving on people. And I felt the opposition that comes from that.
23. My momma became more than a momma. She became my friend.

24. I started sponsoring Cwangco, a little girl who lives in Africa, through World Vision.

Here's to the next year of being 25!

Back.

Two weeks off of classes went by in the blink of an eye.  Granted, I spent one of those weeks in Boston, the other trying to unpack from the trip and from moving back home.

But now, classes are back - two of them this semester: Branding and Advertising and Changing Behavior Through Communication.  I'm excited about both. I'm not excited about figuring out how to balance them with a full time job, Allen, my girls, Hannah's new engagement, and life.

But God is faithful.
He is good.
His timing is perfect.

Isn't that wonderful?

PS - I kind of love that it is snowing in May in Alaska. So random. But I know that even this can be used for God's divine purpose. I may never know the good that will come from May snow, but I don't need to know. I can just embrace it.

Almost The End Of The Semester!

I am almost done with my first semester of grad school!  Phew.

To do still:
- Continue to edit my Research Brief
- Submit my Research Brief (to two places)
- Meet with my group
- Write my second post this week
- Submit the group project
- Comment on two group projects
- "grade" my group members.

SO CLOSE!

This is my "SO CLOSE" happy face:

(PS - I got my hair trimmed today)

It's been such an adventure, learning to balance school with life again. Good though. Real good.

The summer semester starts mid-May. I'm taking two classes this summer, which will be more challenging. I bought six books for one class (four could go on my Nook!), and no new ones were required for the other.

Back to editing. Paper is due on Tuesday. Praying for a good grade!

JHU, Semester Two.

Registered for my next set of classes. Summer 2013.

Changing Behavior through Communication
Branding and Advertising

Both are online, and they'll start mid-May. I'm a little nervous about taking two classes, working full time, and serving at church. But the Lord is faithful. I've learned a lot this month about balancing things, time management, and the importance of being in His word.

Here's to the rest of this semester and the start of the next one!

A Graduate Student's Guide To All Nighters.

1. Take out contacts and put on glasses. THIS IS IMPERATIVE. Your eyes will get sleepy and grainy if you leave your contacts in.

2. Make coffee. Good creamer is a necessity. If no creamer is available, opt for milk and brown sugar, like they do in India.

3. Make sure you have a good internet connection, your laptop's power cord, and bright lights on in the room.  A good smelling candle helps, too.

4. STAY HYDRATED. You'll feel better, plus it will give you built-in five minute breaks.

5. Put your phone on silent. This is not the time to text. In fact, turn it over also so you can't even see the screen. This is the time to work your butt off because your assignment is due in less than 24 hours.

6. Every couple hours, eat a high protein snack... while watching Kid President's Pep Talk. "Not cool, Robert Frost!"

7. BREATHE.

8. It's best to NOT put on your pajamas or comfy clothes. It keeps you in the "working" mind. I'm not saying put on your  best Business Professional outfit, but stay in jeans and a sweatshirt. Don't even wear slippers.

9. Sit at a table. Not on your bed. Or on the couch. Or on a comfy chair.

10. Be open to your assignment moving in new directions, to your paper topic shifting a little as your research progresses, but be sure to keep it limited. Don't "Ride like the wind, Bullseye!"

11. At some point, you are REALLY going to want to brush your teeth. Do it. But resist the urge to clean the bathroom while you are in there. You don't really want to clean. You just don't want to keep working.

12. Persevere. Just keep going.

JAMS.

I have never had this much difficulty writing a paper for school.  It only has to be 350 words, and I am scrambling to get one coherent sentence out.

WHY?!

It isn't even a paper, really. It is a blog post. About why a journal mattered. Why it is important to the communications practitioners. I write blog posts all the time.

The difference?

I'm writing it for a grade, not just to express myself and my thoughts.

The thing is, maybe I've over my head with this class. I'm not a communications practitioner. I'm a 24 year old, sitting at my dining room table, wearing a sweater from Old Navy and socks my Grandma knitted. Let's get real.

Why does this journal matter?

Because it's real.  It discusses real issues that are often overlooked by my small Alaskan brain.  Terrorism is bigger than the middle east and those who practice it. It causes real hurt and pain and frustration and anxiety. It makes people want to join forces with terrorists so that they can protect their families and eat regularly.

Everything we do affects things globally. The USA declares war on terror, and political cartoons in Kenya reflect that. A potential terrorist is tried for attempted bombing of a plane, and newspapers in Nigeria write all about it, but twisting the events - framing the events - so that it doesn't look so bad on them. Trying to make sense of what happened.

That's what communication practitioners do: we make sense of things and tell other people about how they make sense.  If we are unable to do that, well, we failed.

If everything is connected, we need to think about how our writings and publications affect others. But more than that, we need to think about how WE can affect others.  How we can make a difference.

Maybe this journal doesn't matter. Maybe it only matters to me.

Or maybe I just don't have the words to explain the panic rising in me over the fact that people are suffering... and so often we do so little about it. So often we don't even notice. Too often, we don't even care.

Graduate Part 2.

And PS - I am already on WEEK FOUR of my graduate course. Can you believe it?! I only have nine weeks left of this semester! Eeks.

Graduate.

Have I mentioned I love my graduate courses? I love them.

I think I'm designed to be a student for life. I love learning at my job - everything from using Excel and Adobe, to encumbering Payroll for 2500 employees, to preparing presentations for large groups of people.

And I love learning in my class: how to analyze professional journals, how to select samples, how to write literature reviews.

So good. I feel so blessed.

Crab Hat Princess.

I started my graduate course!  But I have seriously got to be the weirdest kid in my course.  This is what I'm wearing while studying tonight:

Most of my classmates work for the government in DC, or for the UN in Africa, or something equally impressive.  Me?  I work for the Mat-Su Borough School District.  And I love it.  I'm excited to see how this degree, the skills I'll learn, and the opportunities I'll have will help me make some of my hopes and dreams come true.

But for now, I'll watch my Power Point, wear my crab hat and crown, and just be me.

2012 And 2013.

Oh yeah, 2012 ended. It kind of just...slipped out for me. Mostly because I was at my parent's home, totally sick (as in, sinuses draining, sore throat, cough, etc.) and because my boyfriend was flying across the country to be with his mom, who is even more totally sick (as in, infection to the bone, open heart surgery, 6-bypass, breathing machine, etc.).

But okay, a year in review. The others are doing it:
- I fell in love again.
- I flew to Alabama.
- I broke my leg in three places and had surgery to fix it.
- I moved into my own apartment.
- I got a new job and a raise at work.
- I bought a new car.
- I was accepted to my first and only choice of grad school: Johns Hopkins University.
- I started leading the middle and high school girls at church.
- I laboriously crocheted two stockings.
- Mom and I went to a work conference together.
- Dad bought my a new gun.
- Brad and Jeff both made it back safely from their deployments.
- I won third place (for a sweater) and second place (for a pair of gloves) at the Alaska State Fair (and deposited the prize $8 into my Roth IRA).

Phew. Not bad.

2013:
- Start Grad School
- Get back in shape (along with millions of other people)
- Not compare myself to others
- Read through the Bible
- Be the kind of person I want to be friends with.