English, Education, and Everything Else

Publishing!

2011-12-13T17:48:00.000-08:00

Yes! I have decided to publish my book! I'm going to publish it as an ebook through Amazon.com and buy advertising banners, as well as pay for a good book review. I am hoping to have this done by Christmas! I will also be creating a blog just for my book. Hope you follow!!

Been a while, yet again

2011-09-25T20:11:00.001-07:00

I just saw my last blog and realized my blogs must be a way for me to vent my anger.
Nearly a month ago I started dating this guy who was really nice, and really fun. We spent a lot of time together, and then he said we were boyfriend/girlfriend. So we dated three weeks, two weeks as boyfriend/girlfriend.
Then last Friday, the 16, completely out of the blue, he broke up with me. He said he was really busy with school and work and just couldn't have the added stress of a relationship. Having been a student and working while I was in school, I understood.
Then Sunday, my "friend" Anissa blatantly flirted with him, in front of me, at a friend's house. I tried not to let it get to me, but they did it again Wednesday. Friday, Dalton asked if I wanted to do something and to invite some people. So I did, and when they left, Dalton wanted to stay and watch a movie. So we watched a movie, and he cuddled me and held my hand. When he left, he gave me a kiss. Saturday, he came over to get his movie, saying he wanted to watch it with his family. I found out, today, that he actually went to Anissa's to watch it and go on a date with her.
I am so frustrated with both of them. What kind of friend goes out with another friend's ex so soon after breaking up? I know I wouldn't ever do that. Even if I liked him.
So I went home after I found out, Dalton texted and asked why I didn't stay at church, and I didn't respond. Then he texted and told me Josh (my brother) told him I was upset and he wanted to talk to me about it. I still didn't respond.
He called and we talked. I told him why I was upset, that I was upset they lied to me and went behind my back. He said he told me he wanted to date other people when we broke up, but I corrected him. I added that I didn't care if he dated other people, just not to go behind my back and lie about it and pretend that it's not happening.
So now everything's out in the open and they know that I know and I'm not stupid, hopefully everything will end up being okay now.

Sucky Summer Days

2011-07-24T16:02:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have days that just suck? That makes you wish you could just dig a hole and disappear? I'm having one of those days. So far, the only person in my family who hasn't attacked me is my dad, and that's probably only because he hasn't been home.
Sometimes I wonder why I liked to come home so much. Why I looked forward to moving home for the summer. Actually, to be honest, I didn't want to move home for the summer. I tried to find a job, but with the economy the way it is, I was forced to move home so I could work for the Boy's and Girl's Club again.
I just can't put up with being attacked all the time. It's constant. I never do anything, waste my life on my computer, never clean up around the house, never do anything Mom asks me to do, I'm selfish and lazy. We moved me out of my apartment on Wednesday and everything was fine until we got home. Then all hell broke lose. And today, it started with Alisha telling me I was disgusting because I didn't shower before church, then when I got home from church, Shayla and Josh tell me I never do anything around the house, that I'm always on my computer. And then Mom chews me out for never helping out around the house, not caring to notice I cleaned almost the entire house for a group of people that were coming on Friday.
(This all happened while I was on my computer looking up facts for a Hawaiian Jeopardy game I'm playing with the kids on Tuesday. No, I wasn't playing games. No, I wasn't on FaceBook). If you look at my computer, the only thing I ever do is work stuff and check my etsy account. I don't play games hardly at all--only if I'm waiting for something to bake. But EVERY day I come home from work I do something to help Mom, or work on one of my sculptures.
No one in my family gets me. I hate it. I have people paying me money to make sculptures for them, and everyone tells me I'm wasting my time and never contribute. I went to college to be a writer, and my family tells me to get off the computer and that I use writing my book as an excuse to never do anything. But you know what? Not ONE SINGLE PERSON in my family has EVER read ANYTHING I've written. Not in my 24 years of life.
I feel like a waste of space. My family really doesn't want me here. They want me to move out on my own, so Mom doesn't have to do my laundry or cook or clean for me anymore. They want me to move out so I won't cause contention.
A few weeks ago I packed a bag to stay overnight at a Hotel, but I never got out of the house. I'm considering it right now. I actually have $ in my account now. If I didn't have to live home, everyone would be a lot happier. Unfortunately, I can't find information about where to live and how much. And I'm in limbo because I don't know what's going on with the jobs I interviewed for and I won't know until next month.
PLEASE let me get a job away from home. I really really want my own place where I can do whatever I want and to one tells me I'm lazy or selfish. Just a place for me.

Crazy Days

2011-06-23T19:42:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been really crazy with a lot of good and a lot of bad. Work is fun, but busy. I work 8+ hours a day, depending on whether or not the kids have a fieldtrip or not. I got my laptop fixed today, so now I actually have an R and O button again! And my keys are no longer sticky!!! *happy dance*
There are a lot of times I don't really feel like I belong in my family. Yes, I'm sensitive, but that's part of who I am. They pick on me a lot, and I feel out of place sometimes. I'll say something I think is funny, but they just look at me like I'm stupid. Shayla and Alisha always do stuff and say stuff together, and I feel really left out. Shay and Alisha also joke that I'm adopted, but I know I'm not. I just feel that way sometimes. It's been nice with Josh home, I feel like I have a friend at home again. But even he gets on me. *sigh*

It's been AGES!

2011-06-12T10:03:00.001-07:00

So I created a new blog for "all of my clay stuff" and it ended up becoming an online journal. I was frustrated, because I was going to create a new blog for all of my clay stuff, and then I realized I have an old blog (this one) that I can switch my journal writing to! Hehe! Now I can delete the old blogs from that place, put them up here, and then make that one all about my clay!

Utter Failure

2009-03-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

Okay. So the whole idea I had for creating an actual theme for a blog sucks. I failed.
However, there was a small reason to it...I haven't had a laptop in a month.
Yeah. It's hard enough to get by in this world without the convenience of a laptop, but imagine being an English major without a way to write a paper...It's neigh impossible.

Here's a rant for you.
My laptop died on Feb 7, so I took it into Best Buy (which is where I purchased it) and told them the laptop died and I don't know why. I was told my warrenty expired, so I would have to pay out of pocket. I asked when that happened and they said, "Oh a year ago." I asked if I could renew it/update it, and they told me I would've been informed through the mail that it was expiring. -_- How stupid could that be?
Anywho, so I had to pay an $85 fee for them to send my laptop off-site, because they (for some reason) couldn't check to see what the problem was there. I was told it would be 1-2 weeks and was given a receipt that told me it would be fixed and back to me on the 24th.
The 24th came and went and I called and asked where my laptop was. The BestBuy store said the only thing they could see was that the other place still had it. I couldn't get anything out of them, so I finally got my dad on the phone with me and the guy finally told us he could put in a request to have it done faster. The next day, they called me and said the repair was going to cost a grand total of $258.
I spoke with my parents and we debated for a long time until we finally decided to just put the $260 towards a new $800 laptop that will have a two year warrenty. We told BestBuy to send the laptop back without being repaired. I was finally able to pick it up on March 6 before Spring Break.
My dad had a family friend come and look at the laptop on Saturday to see if he could figure out what was wrong with it. I showed him the paperwork that said what BestBuy had diagnosed. They said there was a broken DC jack and the motherboard needed to be screwed back on. So he took the laptop apart and couldn't figure out why on earth they said the DC jack was broken.
He called his friend over, pulled out some testing equipment, and started to test where the power was in the laptop. Everything was fine. Then they moved to the power cord.
Yup! You got it! All I needed was a new $100 power cord!
To top it off, when I picked up my laptop, they were trying to figure something out about $50. My mom looked at the paperwork and informed me that BestBuy owes me $50.

I'm never buying from Best Buy again.

Life of a NORMAL College Student

2009-02-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

I'm tired of hearing about the star football player and his amazing catch and how he's a 4.0 student. I'm tired of hearing about the captain of the basketball team, who is also the student body president, is taking 18 credits, and still maintains a GPA above 3.5, even though he's also got a job. I'm tired of hearing about the chess player with a full-tuition scholarships, the tennis player who has full-ride scholarships, and the frat/sorority students who get grants and money from parents, only to waste them on clothes, shoes, cars, and beer.

I want to tell about a normal college student. The girl who is in debt in order to get a higher education. The girl who is struggling to make car payments because her paycheck was short, who dropped her stats class, who has a broken laptop, who loves her low-paying job.

I want to tell about me.

No, this isn't a glory me/pity me blog. This is strictly for the sake of letting the world know that there are students who aren't so rich or smart to walk through school. There are students who aren't poor enough to get grants and help from the government.

I'm twenty two and in my fourth year of college. I graduated from high school in 2005, went to LDS Business College and graduated in 2007, and now I'm at Utah State University. I'm not saying I haven't had some good luck. I had full tuition scholarships through LDSBC and my first year at USU. But tuition isn't the only thing a student has to pay for. There is rent, books, car, food, gas, etc. I have debt.

Now, I know people are going to say, "You're a hypocrite!" I'm not. This is strictly for me.

This blog is going to be a day-to-day experience of what I go through. My worries and thoughts. This isn't to please anyone but myself. To tell a story I need to tell.

My Fabulous Job

2009-01-13T23:25:00.000-08:00

Work is FANTASTIC!

Here's the beginning of my story:
This summer I worked with the Boy's and Girl's Club, but I worked for a mental health facility. No, not an asylum. I worked with children who had disabilities; ADD, ADHD, autism, as well as children who have been physically/mentally/sexually abused. This job was SOOO fun! Don't get me wrong, it was very difficult. I worked with children from 6 to about 12, but was assigned to work with the 6 & 7 year olds. They are so adorable and just so cute I love them to death.
Well, this led to my current job. I am now a tutor at an elementary school. I work in an after-school program for children that are struggling in school. Not just educationally, but at home as well. It's so...fascinating to me! I worked last semester with two boys and a girl (all 5th graders). One of the boys struggled a lot and it's REALLY hard to know what to do with him to help him. By the end of the semester, he was doing his work and everything...until the last few weeks. Then he became nearly impossible.
However, this semester has been cool! There was a boy at the beginning of last semester (we'll call him Tom) who is six. He is one of the trouble children who has ADHD for sure. He found it difficult to work with people. Yet he would work with me. He asked to work with me every day, until they assigned me to my group. Well this semester his eldest brother (I'll call Dave) was assigned to work with me last....Wednesday? Now, you must understand that Dave was kicked out of the after-school program last semester for a week because of behavioral issues. So I was intimidated to work with him. At first, he was like "you're ugly" and "you're dumb" but eventually he started doing his homework. By the end of the hour, he was asking me if I could work with him the next day. So far, he's worked with me every day now!
One of the other mentors asked me what my secret is. I told her I didn't have a clue, but I think it's because I associate with them. I talk to them like they're people. I hold conversations with them. I show interest in them. I ask them how their day was, what their favorite class is, what they did the day before, everything like that. I'll talk to them AS I'm helping with their homework. Once their homework is done, I reward them with computer time. The funny thing is, Dave wanted to color today instead of go to computers! Funny, huh?

Well, I suppose that's all for me. Kids are awesome. I'm considering going for a Master's in education. I will graduate in the spring of 2010 with a BA in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing and then I will continue my education to teach children. The only thing is, I don't know if I want to do elementary ed or just go on to secondary ed... We'll see when the time comes.

For now, adieu.

2009-01-09T14:50:00.000-08:00

Oh my heck! Talk about crazy busy!
Classes started on Monday and I've already got reading and writing assignments. I guess that's what you get for being an English major. ;)

Here's a list of my classes:
Classical Mythology
Statistics 1040
Childhood Anthropology
Advanced Creative Fiction Writing
Creative Non-Fiction Writing

I LOVE my job! I'll post more later ;)

2008-12-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

FINALS ARE DONE!!!!

FINALLY! I think I know why they call them finals. It's not because it's only the last test of the year, but it's FINALLY the time when college students can breathe! What I don't get, though, is why college students study for so long and so hard and then the finals are un-passable. Seriously! Okay, Math isn't my forte (never had been-and this is also why I'm an English major), but it's impossible to study for a math final! Yes, they tell you to memorize all of the formulas, but that's impossible. Seriously. Especially when you've got 4 finals. OH! And did I mention that the math final was at 7:30 AM? WHO HAS FINALS AT 7:30 IN THE MORNING ON A THURSDAY OF FINALS WEEK!?

Ok. Sorry. My little rant. :)

Moving on, my British Literary History class had an interesting final. We had to write about Gulliver's Travels and Milton's Paradise Lost and Beowulf. All that fun stuff. But a lot of the questions were basically the same, so I felt like I was repeating myself. For example, our first essay portion of the test told us to compare and contrast "reason" in Gulliver's Travels and Paradise Lost. Well later in the final was an excerpt FROM Paradise Lost where she asked us to name one of the main themes, which happened to be reason...

Oh well. Finals are done. That's all I've got to say. :) And it's about time!

Well, I hope you all enjoy your weekend (to my 2 loyal followers ;) ). Adieu!

Finals Week!

2008-12-05T15:28:00.000-08:00

Alright! It's finals! Dun, Dun, Dun...

I was up until 2:30 am writing a paper this morning and had to get up early for my 8:30 am class (Oh so fun). I'm super tired, but at least my paper is done. I get to take my British Lit final and my History final on Wednesday and my Math and Science finals on Thursday. Needless to say, it's going to be a busy weekend.

There's also this little problem with next semester and my job. I got hired on campus as a writing tutor--and I was SOO excited--but they want me to change my class schedule and I just can't do that. I have a job currently where I tutor elementary kids and I love it too much to give up in order to tutor for only 5 hours a week. Another thing is it's less pay. Guess I know I'm good enough to be a tutor! :) I'll just advertize myself and see if there's any luck with people wanting to hire me to help with papers for $8.00 an hour.

What I don't get is why English majors have to have a final paper and a final exam. That's how it is for my British Lit. The other thing I don't get is why English majors have to have Math... Honestly, am I going to need to know how to find the radius of a circle for my novel?

Anywho, I'm going to have a good weekend and do lots of studying. Enjoy your day!

Hey Everyone!

2008-12-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

Yeah, you got it. I'm new to the whole blogging thing. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but what the heck? I've heard it's fun and I'm here to have fun! :)
Uh...I guess first things first. I'm a Creative Writing major, so hi to all you writers! It's 12:00am here, and so I should be in bed so I can rest well, but I'm not. I'm sitting on it though, if that counts. ;)
Finals are next week and it's funny because I have a paper due on Friday (on Milton's "Paradise Lost") and I just barely finished outlining it. To add to it, I have a quiz on Friday for my US Institutions class (it's a history class, yeah). But the best part is I work from 2-6 tomorrow, BUT we're having a Christmas activity for the kids, so I'll probably be there until 8:00 or 8:30. So I get to cram! *happy dance*
Okay, I think that was totally a waste of a blog, but keep in mind that I WILL be posting significant stuff. :) Have a good day!