This totally looks like a BFF date to me too ;) and it just so happens I actually suggested we have one this Saturday today :) 

Yep.. that. Well, out of those tacky little scribbles, I'd be that ridiculous potato-head thing with the huge Peg Bundy hairstyle on the bottom left. I'll probably be rockin' that look for the next couple of months.

I had a huge ordeal with the lovely advising office at my university seeing as they're incapable of communicating accurate information to the student body. I have been planning my graduation for this may for about a year now. I spoke with an advisor about a year ago when I decided to change my major to psychology, during which time I was told that I'd need to completely 5 courses in the fall semester of 2010 and 5 courses in the spring semester of 2011, leaving me with 1 remaining course to take in the summer of 2011 to fulfill all of the requirements for my bachelor's in psychology. This was really exciting to hear considering I was changing my major in my third year of college and was still managing to graduate on time. I was told that the university allows for students to walk in the spring commencement ceremony if they have less than 6 credits remaining toward their bachelor's to fulfill that succeeding semester. I then confirmed this with 3 other individuals throughout the course of my fall and spring semesters, to now find out that I was relying on information provided by incompetent individuals.

Apparently this rule was recently changed and students are no longer to participate in commencement ceremonies until all requirements toward their degree have been fulfilled. Considering what the commencement ceremony symbolizes, this is a pretty sensible decision on the part of the university-- it just would have been nice to find this out before I purchased my guests' tickets to the ceremony and made celebratory family plans.

I was pretty pissed about it when I first found out, partly because of the level of irresponsibility exhibited on behalf of the university, and partly because I really wanted to participate in the spring commencement ceremony of 2011, as that was my prospective graduation date at the start of college 4 years ago. I even wrote a letter to the dean, which I correctly predicted would be to no avail, but definitely served as an awesome release of aggression. 

Anyway, now I've decided to not even fight it or be angry about it and just participate in the summer commencement ceremony in August. I now realize how much more meaningful my commencement ceremony will be when I won't have class to attend to a few days following it-- kinda like how much sweeter a wedding ceremony is when the happy couple is actually financially-stable and has a home waiting for them, rather than the bride's overly-pink childhood bedroom with an array of tiara displays.. womppp womppp..

Thinking about graduating (well, walking in the commencement ceremony because I won't be receiving my diploma until August anyway) was extremely overwhelming.. but thinking about graduating in 4 months is still overwhelming. 

I feel ready/not ready/anxious/terrified/excited (maybe I should get several little magnets to adequately display my mood on my fridge).

Four years ago I had absolutely no idea what I was in for in the coming years, and though I have productive plans for after graduation, I feel like I must be in way over my head if I really think I have the next couple of years figured out. As much as we'd like to plan for the future, it doesn't exactly always work out the way we want it to (look at me finally getting my parents' words of wisdom, who'da thought?!). But, with all the fear in the uncertainty of the future definitely comes some excitement. 

"Having my whole life ahead of me" really is pretty exciting. I have so many options I can choose to explore, so much more progress to make in my life; and though all of that is pretty scary, what I find more terrifying is ever feeling like I've reached the sky, a self-limiting sky that's too close to the grass to even make sense. I don't think that fear will ever be realized though, because I think there is always room for improvement.

On that note, I'm finally getting closer to finding out more about the Literacy Corp program I've been planning on doing in August! I'll be getting trained in testing at work this week (so that I will be able to test incoming students to establish a baseline of their current literacy skill levels) and I am scheduled for a 35 hour consultant training next week! I've been working as a clinician for about a year, where I was trained in implementing several programs designed to help improve literacy, and now with the consultant training I will be learning how to write up the plans that I've been following as a clinician. The plans (called facesheets) are student-specific programs that involve assessing the progress of the student and modifying the plans as the student reaches new reading levels. 

After I finish the tester and consultant training, I can finally submit the application and hopefully hear back about locations soon thereafter! I can't wait to finally know what's going to be going on in August. 

Aside from that I need to get on my grad school planning so I can get my applications out by the end of this year! I just need to get through the small task of choosing a program -_- 

For now, I'll just stick to signing up for my GRE summer prep course. I wanna be a college student foreverrrrrrr.. days at the library seem so much more fun than working and paying bills =/ 

I don't think my parents are/will be very fond of my fall plans, considering that I told them months ago and they haven't brought it up since-- either because they think I'm bluffing or just really hope I am. I had a small talk about it with my mom a couple of months ago. During this talk I expressed to her that I want to experience living on my own. She proceeded to reiterate to me (as if I hadn't heard it enough my entire life) that a significant factor in my becoming a decent young woman -- assuming I currently am not one (note: sarcasm is scattered profusely throughout my blog) -- was the abidance of sequential life milestones set forth by my "culture." By this she meant that I am not to leave the house an unwed, and thus indecent, young woman. 

How I love senseless tradition.. and I use senseless as synonymous to all.  

I adore my family, but their overly-conservative and sexist attitudes have imposed restrictions on me my entire life that I am beyond eager to escape. I tried pleasing these traditional senseless views through compliance, purely out of my respect (& partial fear of being reprimanded for noncompliance, not gonna lie) for my parents and family.. but fuck, I think I reached my limit at 22 years.