I really ought to blog more... I went this entire semester without blogging my experiences. It has been one hell of a busy semester, but I must admit, this entire school year has been life changing, but certainly some of the best experiences I have had. Through the thick and thin, I have learned a great deal about myself and have continued shaping some of my life goals. We'll see what this summer has in store for me! I will be tutoring an adult ESL class (the same one I was helping with during the school year) as well as tutoring the ISU student-athletes, and I will be a research assistant for one of my professors in the English Department, focusing on gathering data about Korean learners of English. It will keep me busy!
Some highlights and discoveries throughout this semester, in no specific order:
Some highlights and discoveries throughout this semester, in no specific order:
- Being awarded the Outstanding Organization Member at the Commitment to Diversity Awards as part of the ISU Spanish Club
- There are always going to be "those kind of people" who just won't understand anything I am trying to say... yeah I'm talking about the asshole who basically told me that learning languages are pointless because we live in 'Merica and speak "'Merican"
- Did I mention that the asshole who said that to me enrolls his son in an elementary school where the majority of the students speak a language other than English in the home? Hmm...
- Hairbangers Ball is probably the coolest cover band I have ever witnessed (they'll be in Champaign on June 7, who wants to come with me?)
- I'm addicted to McDonald's soft serve ice cream cones
- Sometimes "word vomiting" all over your paper/poster and then cleaning it up from there is the best way to create and submit a research article to a scholarly journal (thanks Kyle)
- People like to take pictures of me when I fall asleep in public
- I need to learn to control my sweat stains (they ruined my photo with President Bowman.. embarrassing)
- I visited "The Bean" for the first time!
- Rabbits like to get jiggy with it at 5:30 in the morning on the quad right next to DeGarmo
- CTs and professors are real people with real lives outside of their careers as educators (weird, I know!)
- Creating a website for the Spanish Honor Society has granted me the title of being a queen
- I still don't understand what Discourse with a capital D means
- I am in love with international students
- Being awarded the Alma Latina Award as part of the ISU Spanish Club
- Traveling to Honduras with ISU Spanish Club during spring break
- Realizing how racist the small community we were working in was towards white people (oops, sorry?)
- I wasn't the only who developed a case of "the runs" during our Honduras trip - glad we were all in the same boat (I love puns!)
- I'm addicted to checking my email even though I know it automatically updates every five minutes on my iPhone
- Journaling my clinical experiences at U-High
- Realizing that there are people who will just try to "get by" in every field and occupation in life, and realizing how angry that makes me, and realizing that all this passion is good and should be applied to my future investments
- Applying materials I have learned in one class and translating those into other areas or aspects of my life/career
- Working with Dr. Kyle Miller on our research project about Memories of School: A Comparison of High-Risk and Low-Risk Mothers
- Hating on myself for being part of the 84.5% and #whitegirlphdproblems (education majors know what I mean)
- Presenting my research at the Undergraduate Research Symposium
- Creating a periwinkle research poster because it is my grandmother and faculty mentor's favorite color
- Learning how to write three different research case studies... tedious!
- Working with and tutoring the ESL students at Heartland Community College - this experience has never made me feel so gratified and excited to teach
- Being placed at Morton High School for my student teaching next spring (2014)
- Reflecting on the Boston Marathon bombing/explosion with my students at U-High
- Crying because my U-High students flooded my e-mail inbox with letters of thanks and wishing me luck in the future
- Realizing that theatrical scores/compositions make me cry like a baby (thanks Annie)
- Belting my lungs out to Les Miserables with Annie is stress relieving and necessary at least once a month
- Joking and complaining about literacy strategies with Emily keeps us sane (we love you Lycke)
- Going to the Art Institute with Sigma Delta Pi to see the Picasso exhibit and admiring how much of a womanizer he was (but we still love him!)
- American English compliments are formulaic by nature - I (really) like/love NP! or ADJ NP! or You look (really) ADJ!
- Going out with my Mexican friends never fails to be an epic night
- My EAF professor loves to get cultural by tricking us into doing "The Wobble" dance at the end of the year (thanks Dr. Hoff!)
- I can scare people by talking in a super creepy deep voice
- My camera decided to break in the middle of my week in Honduras and cost me $250 to fix it (sorry mom and dad)
- Why doesn't Cuba Libre exist in America? (rum and coke in a can)
- I'm convinced that all foreign language teachers truly do have something called "the wacky gene"
- Getting my groove on at Jenny and Levi's wedding was much needed; congrats! Although I am surprised that neither of them had ever been to Chicago before (I hope you enjoyed it!)
- We made WAY too much pozole at the International Fair (a shame because it was very tedious to make, but it was soooo delicious!)
- I dropped my birthday cookie cake less than a minute after picking it up from the store and was too embarrassed to go back inside and say anything so I picked it up and ran off and cried in my car (don't worry, I still ate it)
- Nallely discovered that William Levy was standing behind us in the Miami airport but when we got our photo taken with him, she was cut off by Demetria, who had no idea who this man was
- Shout out to Morgan and Hailey for surprising me on my bday and taking me out for ice cream (love you ladies)
- Steak 'N' Shake's red velvet milkshake is phenomenal
- SpicyNodes is the worst piece of technology ever invented. Seriously.
- I learned how to learn (it happens with every new experience I encounter)
- I went to the Stevenson Language Lab more times this semester than I had ever visited throughout my three years at ISU
- ISU Spanish Club is addicted to singing karaoke, and even when no one shows up to our Valentine's Day party we still know how to have a blast
- I've created an official "voice" for my car, Owen
- I sat next to a very sexy Australian man on the flight home from Honduras and we spent half of the flight talking and serenading each other with Seal's song "Kiss From a Rose", and the other half talking about traveling experiences
- Repeating the word "Acérquese" 8947953 times during initiation ceremonies makes me giggle like a little school girl
- I'm still a walking human iPod
- I often wonder how many minutes of my life I have wasted sending and opening snapchats between my friends and I
- I'm addicted to my Nike+ GPS watch, and all of my friends like to make fun of me crushing my runs on Twitter
- My roommates have become desensitized to my use of the bathroom with the door open (I know, bad habit, sorry)
- According to Annie, when I say "here you go" it sounds like "he go"
- I was the first person to pass out at my own birthday party
- Annie was the official "live tweeter" for the Oscars
- "Ain't nobody got time for that" has found its way into my regular use of phrases
- Everybody loves homemade chicken pot pie, even vegetarians
- I have met and become great friends with some really awesome people this semester, of all ages, genders, lifestyles, etc., and I wouldn't have it any other way
- I have become even closer to friends who have been prevalent in my life for a longer period of time
- I am starting to become a crybaby in real life (not just in movies anymore... maybe I do have emotions)
- I don't know how I would have survived this semester without all of my wonderful friends and family (I love you all)!