Book Addict's Blog

I found out today that I got accepted into Teach for America!!! =D  They've assigned me to teach elementary school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The location was not one of my top choices, but I'm really glad I got assigned to elementary students.

So now, I just have to do some research and decide if I'm going to accept the offer.  I'm pretty sure I want to, but I need to see what the process is like if after I finish Teach for America, I want to transfer my credential to California. I'd hate to teach for two years and then have to go back and take a bunch of courses before I could get another credential! And also, there's the weather issue. I HATE humidity, and from what I've read, Tulsa gets pretty hot and humid in the summers. Still, I don't think that'll keep me from accepting if that ends up being the only issue.

Anyway, I'm very excited, and thought I'd share the news!

This past weekend was Homecoming Weekend at my school, which means it was also the weekend for Pigskin Revue (basically an annual musical revue).  My mom came to see me perform this year, which was exciting.  I loved having her around, even if it means I didn't participate in most of the Homecoming activities.  So yeah, overall the weekend was nice.  It's so weird that this year's Pigskin Revue is the last time I will perform with Sing Alliance ever, though. I have been in the group since spring semester freshman year, and for several months of every semester since then, it has pretty much been my life. But since I'm studying abroad next semester, I had to check off "Do not intend to return" on our Intent to Return slips a couple of weeks ago. It made me so sad! At least now that it's over for the semester, I'll have quite a bit more time.

( Fulbright and Teach for America Updates... )

I'm the most indecisive person in the world, and am having the hardest time deciding on a camp name for the summer! My best friend says it should have something to do with dancing, as that's one of the things I absolutely love doing, but I couldn't come up with anything good. I also thought briefly of rocking the school spirit and being something to do with bears, but didn't have any real ideas for that either (I guess I could just combine the two and be Dancing Bear!). At any rate, here are my top 8 choices at the moment, in a poll because polls are fun. So vote, and if you have any other cool ideas you didn't mention earlier, put them in the comments.[Poll #1391080][Poll #1391080]

So, I'm almost done with all my major and minor requirements. This means that I have a lot of leeway in deciding which classes to take next semester. I'm for sure taking "Intro to Computer Systems", and will probably take "Intro to Language and Linguistics" and "Ballet I" for fun. I also need to take a World Cultures class and an American History class, but I don't know which ones! I'm leaning towards "Islamic Culture" and "Civil War/Reconstruction", but I'm still deciding. Plus, I have space for one more elective. Unless it's a history, math, or computer science class, it'll have to be some intro class, but I don't know whether to take anthropology, sociology, Greek, accounting, or... So, here's a poll, so you can help me decide!

[Poll #1379796]

Well, I finally changed majors.  I was an Applied Math major.  I actually applied to my school as an Engineering major, but changed it to Applied Mathematics before I registered for my first semester's classes.  However, I wasn't ever too confident about my major. I chose math because I'm good at math, and the applied part was because I'd want to put my math knowledge to practical use.  But I didn't know what I would do with that major, and wasn't even sure I'd like it.  People would ask me my major, and I'd always tell them the answer, and then tell them I was thinking of changing it.

Last semester, I added History and Computer Science minors.  History has been something I've really enjoyed for awhile, and I discovered I liked Computer Science my first semester when taking an intro course required for my math minor.  So those were possible majors, especially the history. Computer Science, not so much, because it just takes so many units and I want to be able to take random electives. The problem with switching to a history major is that my practical side had too many reservations about the idea (what would I do with such a major?).  And of course, I'm just generally indecisive and like to keep my options over.  I have few career plans in mind at the moment (though as of now, being a librarian or a teacher sounds appealing), so I didn't have those to go off of.

So earlier this week I finally made a decision. I switched degrees (I was going for a Bachelor of Science, now I'm going for a Bachelor of Arts), and changed my major from Applied Mathematics to a double major in History and Computer Science.  I'm keeping math as a minor, as I only need one more class. Plus, the type of Computer Science major I have requires a minor, since you have to take "only" 36 hours of Comp Sci. classes.  Anyway, this is a compromise between my practical side and the side of me that just wants to do what I like.  I really like both Computer Science and History, and while I like History better, Comp. Sci. gives me more options career-wise if I don't decide to be a librarian or a teacher. 

Things still aren't completely certain. I have to meet with my advisers to make sure I've planned everything correctly. I also need to petition a couple of my classes so they count towards my new requirements with my new degree program.  And finally, this new plan puts me on a pretty tight schedule. I won't be able to take a whole lot of extra electives.  So I may end up dropping Computer Science back down to a minor. But I figure it's easier to start with it as a major and demote it rather than deciding later I want it as a major and having to graduate late because I didn't get all my requirements done on time.

One of the main reasons my class schedule will be tight is that I want to study abroad in Madrid, Spain next semester. I've been talking about it for a bit now, and last week I finally turned in my application. I still have some other paperwork to fill out for my own school, but that's not due for awhile.  At any rate, unless something major comes up, it looks like I'll be studying in Europe this fall!