2 more months...

Only two more months until the first fall and spring semesters of my graduate school career are over.  Wow. Anyhow...

Fun fact:  Ever since my first day of school as a tiny five year old in kindergarten (no, seriously, I wore a size 2T shirt when I was 5), I have always had a love for school, school supplies, back to school clothes shopping (though that one has basically diminished since 9th grade), and the like.

Ah, kindergarten.

As many/most of you know, this summer, I'll have four classes, a graduate assistantship on campus, and a part-time job.  (A social life...that one's still iffy.)  The following fall semester, I'll again have a grad assistantship, three classes, and a practicum (abbreviated internship sort of thing that's twice a week).  This will also be the first time in five years that I'll be living at home and going to school instead of living on campus.  Apart for the fact that I won't get to see Vic every day, I'm looking forward to it in a way.  No 3 AM phone calls from residents getting locked out, no roommate disputes to mediate, no door tags to make... Ah, the non-residence life life.  Although this also entails once again sharing a bathroom with my 19 year old brother and 60-something father.  Ick.

My room at home is on the street side of the house, and I have a bay window in my room and I hear all of the traffic (not that there's much for a somewhat country road; though Country Road is one of my favorite songs...).  There's the good and bad of living at home.  My parents are going to be leasing me a car this summer, so that'll be helpful to everyone.  I also get to have home-cooked meals instead for food instead of the cafeteria food at school, which is awesome.  I will, however, miss Vic's cooking.  He's an amazing cook. I love it.

The first picture of us together. What an awesome year it's
been...Can't wait for forever with my best friend.

I've recently found myself looking for ideas for lunches to pack for school (I ate school lunches from ages 5-18 and don't particularly care to buy it again during my internships), trying to downsize and organize my room (having a drawer full of t-shirts at home seems ridiculous when I have a dresser at school that I only use 3/4 drawers of and only use one of my closets (Vic uses the others)), and also looking at different employment opportunities in the field of counseling.

I've worked in Residence Life for 3 years now, so I've considered that, but I also want something new in my life.  Student Affairs in general has always intrigued me.  And my degree will be in School Counseling.  Time will only tell what sort of job I'll have when I find it.

Vic has been looking for jobs with Academic Advising, something he really likes and not in this area.  We've talked about Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia... Basically, where the jobs are and a good place to live.  As I've told him many a time, no matter what he decides to do, wherever we wind up in this crazy world, I'll support and be with him every step of the way.

Dear Readers...

♥

I promise I'm still alive. Life has just been kinda hectic lately.

Last Monday, Vic and I celebrated our one year together. It was just a low-key evening spent together after classes, and perfect for us. We're not into big groups/gatherings.

Who would have thought that an invitation to have quesadillas would turn into a friendship that turned into best friends and also boyfriend/girlfriend?  I couldn't be happier that it did.

Today marks one year since my first counseling session.  Although I only attended a total of three sessions, I'm still realizing how much they did help me.  I hope one day that I can help someone in the same way that I was.  Nobody should have to live with a stress that plagues them, an issue they feel can't be resolved, what have you.

Knowing that there is someone who cares for you and your well being -- be it a counselor, friend, significant other, or someone else -- is inspiring.

Not too much else going on in my little world... I'm really enjoying my classes this semester.  Cross-Cultural Counseling is pretty self-explanatory and I really like the professor.  Experiential Group Counseling (which is essentially counseling for the counselor) has opened my eyes to a lot of things I didn't know about my classmates.  Counseling Skills and Techniques is getting better.  Just trying to remember everything is getting easier, but it's still awkward to watch the taped sessions with our classmates.  And Introduction to Behavior Analysis... it's an online class, so it's not terrible.

I ♥ New York! [At FAO Schwarz on my 21st.]

My parents are coming down to take me and Vic out to dinner on Friday for my birthday.  I don't know if I'll feel any different with being 23.  For my 18th birthday, I just had a small group of friends over.  For my 21st, my parents surprised me with a trip to New York City.  I didn't get obscenely drunk like it seems most people do for their 21st birthdays.  I actually didn't drink until that May on a trip to California, and barely do as it is.

Spring break starts next Saturday.  Since Vic and I decided against a trip, I'm not sure what I'll/we'll be doing for it.  It's still weird to think that in a little over two months, I'll no longer be a CA.  I'll have a different graduate assistantship, my part-time job, and four courses over the summer.  It'll be interesting to manage, but I think I can handle it.

Only time will tell...

soft snores and a sense of security

It's 2:35 in the morning.  And I can't seem to fall asleep.  I'm getting there, but I'm not about to fall asleep face first into my pillow either.  Maybe it's over-thinking things that keeps me awake.  Maybe it's the half of a Rockstar I had earlier.  Maybe it's the fact my best friend isn't sleeping next to me tonight/this morning.  The quiet hum of the AC/heat unit in my room coupled with the soft snores and sense of security that come with them put me at ease at night.

It's been 13 days since my last update.  In that time, I've been on-call, had way too many office hours, have secured an internship site for next spring (two, actually), gone to class, and spent time with Vic and a few other friends.

It's hard to believe that it's only been a year since I've gone to a few counseling sessions, kicked around the idea of going to grad school 13 hours away (in retrospect, I'm so glad that I didn't), and had been courted with the promise of quesadillas and wonderful companionship that has turned into the relationship Vic and I are in today.

I've been at school for about a month now, and haven't gone home once yet.  I plan on going home the weekend of my birthday, but really don't have anything special planned for it.  I'm just looking forward to a home-cooked meal.  That's all I really want.  I'm easy to please.

Vic and I were toying with the idea of going somewhere for spring break to celebrate our one year anniversary, my birthday, and his birthday, but then we realized that the locations we were considering were all just more cold places.  Given the weather here lately, we decided to stay here.

Overall, it's been a pretty good semester.  Classes are interesting, the GA job is the same as it ever is, and my dad has recently mentioned he and my mom are going to lease a car for me.  My brother and I are both in school and work, and both of my parents work, so it's a necessity.  He and my mom will pay the lease until I graduate, and then I'll take over payments post-graduation.  Which also means that not only will I have my 4 classes and GA job over the summer...but also going back to work at my seasonal job.  It'll be hectic and probably headache inducing, but knowing that it's all worth it in the end and that Vic and I have a class together once a week makes it all the better.

I guess I should go to bed now... Vic's coming over in sometime in the early afternoon, I have office hours at 1, and I'm going to a mock networking/etiquette dinner tonight while he's in class that I should probably look alive for...

Becoming an Adult... Sort of

I follow a blog called Adulting:  How to become a grown-up in 468 easy(ish) steps.  The tips are varied, from how to cook chicken to various tips and tricks for cleaning to repairing things when they need it instead of replacing them.

Rest assured, I have never had to refer to this
diagram before getting dressed. (Full size here)

Since my sophomore year of college, I have worked as a Desk Assistant (signing guests in/out of the building), Note Taker (taking notes in class for a student with a disability), Community Assistant, and now Graduate Community Assistant.  I worked part-time at the pizza place that features an animatronic mouse the summer after my freshman year of college (and, yes, it was hell).  I worked part-time during summers and winters since July 2010 selling office supplies and filling ink cartridges (it turned out to be one of my favorite jobs).  I don't know if I'm going back there yet this summer.

But I digress.  I'll graduate with my Master's degree in 15 months.  Yikes.  I've never been one to like dressing up unless I have to, to wear make up on a daily basis (I can't remember for the life of me that I wore it, honestly), and to take the time to do more than shampoo, condition, comb, and dry my hair every day.

I would like to look more professional, so little by little, I'm going to attempt to reach that happy medium of looking professional without feeling awkward.  Trading in jeans for slacks and skirts, hoodies for sweaters, t-shirts for blouses, and tennis shoes for flats (I don't do heels).  The things that will always remain, however, are a set of rings (one with a V, one with a C) and the necklace that Vic got me for Christmas.  I wear them everyday and feel weird without them on.

Since I'll be holding a graduate assistantship in a different office in the upcoming semesters, working as a school counseling intern in the fall (not to mention having two different internship sites in the spring), and attending classes on top of that... I think it's time to take a little time to dress up my wardrobe, actually care about my hair's appearance more than I currently do, and maybe even learn to love dressing up.