Looking Back (24)

Looking back on this semester, I feel more confident in my writing abilities.  I also forgot how much I used to enjoy journaling, and have picked that back up a bit.  I did realize that although I feel I have grown as a student, I still have a long road ahead of me.  I still feel I need to find that "happy-medium" between balancing work and school.  I still find myself struggling to find the hours to devote to both.  I know that sometime I am going to find that balance, I just know it is going to be a process. 
I think this semester has really opened my eyes to the fact that certain parts of my life need to be tweaked in order to be successful. 
I also feel really lucky to feel that I have found the path that I am supposed to be on.  I feel that a lot of the things in my life that are making it difficult for me to succeed have come to light and I am in the process of addressing them.  I feel like all in all, I am headed in the direction of being in a better place than where I was when I started this term. 
I feel that life is about the experiences and what we take from them.  I think that all the experiences that we have lead us to where we are going, and I am excited to see where that is. 
I am thankful that this class pushed me to write about things that I never intended to write about, because it made me think about things I probably never would have thought about.  I also learned that I can do things, even if I don't see how they might be relevant in my life in the present, because they might end up being incredibly relevant in the future.
WC -476

Jobs (23)

Waitress at Bed And Breakfast
-interacting with a variety of people
-multi-tasking

Cashier/Dishwasher
-multi-tasking
-working well with others
-working in a "behind the scenes" setting
- establishing an eye for detail

Cashier/Clothing Inspector
-working at an accelerated pace
-time-management
-keeping a positive attitude
-customer service

Music Missionary
-working as a team
-adapting to new environments
-recognizing a need
-listening to people's problems
-improving communication
-creativity
-humor
-patience

Manager
-problem solving
-not sweating the small stuff
-marketing strategies
-improving morale
-creating a positive work environment
-organization
-efficency

I Wish It Were A Joke (21)

I am never someone who catches on right away when April Fools Day rolls around.  If anyone is going to be fooled, it's going to be me.  So this year, I was determined to be prepared.  I prepared myself not to believe what people told me, and anything out of the ordinary would be scrutinized to the max. 
So when I got a phone call from my Aunt saying that my Grandmother had collapsed in church, I refused to believe her.  Yet, my aunt persisted.  My Aunt had been visiting my Grandmother, and was scheduled to return home, and she needed someone to come and take care of my Grandmother.  Nope. I still refused to be fooled.  Finally I agreed to go up and see for myself what had happened, and sure enough, my Grandmother was laying on the couch, obviously not well.  I felt terrible.  I once again had been the fool, but this time, I had done so to myself. 
I spent the rest of the day monitoring my Grandmother's blood sugar levels, making sure that she ate on a regular basis, and that she didn't try and overexhert herself.  Finally I got in touch with my parents and they were able to make travel arrangements to return home from their vacation.
I have never been a fan of April Fools Day, and this year was no expection.  I might not have had anyone play any pranks on me, but I had myself so worked up that I essentially played a cruel prank on myself.  I spent so much time not wanting to be fooled that I fooled myself. 
WC - 323

Letting My Voice Be Heard (20)

I have never been one to really embrace the idea of "public speaking".  I am not sure if it because I am as introverted as they come, or simply because I haven't found something I am passionate about to speak freely about.  During high school, I would do anything I could to get out of speaking in front of my class.  I would honestly have rather done a major research paper, than get up and have to talk in front of people, even if just for a couple minutes.  With all that in mind, my decision to go on the road for a year was shocking, to say the least.  I would be talking, very publicly, for an entire year, and I volunteered to do it! That was so unlike me.  But after getting my feet wet in the public speaking world, I realized it wasn't as bad as I had made it out to be.  I still didn't love it, but everytime, I survived, and I was just that much more confident in my abilites.  I also realized that it was much easier for me to speak in front of a crowd of people that I didn't know.  The second you threw someone into the crowd that I was familiar with, I would go back to my shy self. 
I realize I may never be very confident in my abilities to be a public speaker, but I do realize that I am getting better.  I also realize that I will never be a professional public speaker, so I am okay with the fact that I might not have mastered this particular art quite yet. 
I always think it is important to have a goal, so I will continue to work on my public speaking skills, and it is my hope that maybe someday I will be stronger in the field. 
WC - 311