Sunday, January 13, 2013

College Adventures: The State of My Brain

The last time I wrote on this blog in a similar format to this, on 16 December, I was in distress.  So I thought that I'd write again to update you on the state of my brain.

On 16 December, I was working at Barnes and Noble, I was waking up in the middle of the night due to my aforementioned job, I was preparing for my finals, I was struggling to make my Christmas plans work, and I was having a mental break-down because of all of these things mashed together into one not-so-nice personal situation.

Today, 13 January, things are much, much different.  I am no longer working at Barnes and Noble (for a variety of reasons that I won't share here).  Generally, I'm sleeping through the night.  I only wake up because I'm not tired any more.  Also, I'm getting enough sleep at night!  My Christmas plans have come and gone by now, but I'm proud to say that I made everything work, even though there were some times that were less than ideal.  I managed to get through it and I'm fine now.  My brain is no longer in crisis mode.

So what's going on now?  

After making the decision to leave Barnes and Noble, I had to work on finding something else to do, because I still need a job.  While weighing my options, I decided that it would be a lot better for me to have a job on campus that would actually stick to a 10-20 hours a week schedule.  While I still don't have such a job procured yet, I am hopeful because I applied for two on-campus jobs.  One of them would let me work in the Admissions Office.  It would be a lot of office work, but I would also be giving tours to prospective students at my college.  When I read the job description, I thought that it was perfect because it combined several of the skills I've acquired from Barnes and Noble as well as Minneapolis Public Schools.  I tried to stress that in my application.  The other job I applied for was originally going to be a month long, but right after I applied, they changed it to last the entire semester, which just worked out so well for me.  That job is with the Education Department.  I understand that it is going to be a lot of office work, but I am not complaining.  I'm hoping to hear something (good news or bad) from either of these jobs, but if I don't, I still have the option of finding a nannying job.  My second semester schedule is very open, so I think it will be really easy to accommodate a family into my schedule.  And I know that I'd enjoy the job immensely.

I don't wake up in the middle of the night feeling the need to go through my cash register schpeel at Barnes and Noble.  This is an absolutely amazing feeling to me!  I hated the monotony while working the cash register.  That monotony was so monotonous that it infiltrated my sleep and my brain would become confused.  Typically, I'm asleep by midnight and I fall asleep fast.  It's a glorious feeling!

My classes don't start until 4 February, because my college observes a J-Term.  I couldn't find a class to take because they filled up so darn fast, but that doesn't mean that I'm not keeping busy!  I contacted my principal from elementary and middle school (who is no longer the principal of my old middle school) and he is letting my come to the new school where he is principal so that I can volunteer.  When I am done with my undergraduate studies, I'll be certified to teach English in grades 5-12, so I'm volunteering in the fifth grade class, since they are the oldest kids at this new school (it's only K-5).  The kids there are absolutely wonderful and I come away with so many laughs.  I help teach math (I'm struggling with division... I've been spoiled by calculators) and I also help with reading and spelling.  I'm only volunteering, but I'm still a sort of teacher to some of these kids and it feels awesome!  I love what I do here.  I wake up early, but I don't even care.  My days goes so quickly and I'm never bored.  There's always something to do!  I can't wait to spend the rest of my life doing this.

I am feeling great about my life right now.  I had tough decisions to make about a month ago, but I think that I made the right decisions for myself.  I have no regrets.

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