Yep, I officially suck at blogging. I managed two posts last year. Yay me. However, now that I have graduated from college and am technically unemployed, I have much more time to blog.
First, here's a little update about how the rest of senior year went...
My fall classes turned out pretty well. It was definitely my hardest semester at Conn, but I made it through. I definitely attribute my success to taking the time to go to Institute on Wednesday nights. Even though I didn't really make it to church until the last few weeks of the semester, my burgeoning LDS faith was definitely something that gave me the strength to keep going.
Some other highlights included going to Vermont with my dad for Thanksgiving with my family, surprising my brother at the airport when he got home from Berlin, and going to the temple for the first time.
Here is a picture of two of my dear friends, Nathan and Austin, whom I met while going to Institute at the Coast Guard Academy. Austin was a senior like me and Nathan was a freshman. We got really close over the year and I miss them a lot.
I was home for about five weeks between semesters and it was really nice. My brother didn't have to go back to Northeastern because he was doing his first co-op on the Cape. We were able to spend some time together, including going out on the Outer Beach to see the snowy owls, one of our new family traditions.
Here was my schedule for the spring:
Mondays: Spanish 494G - Spanglish as Identity 9:00-10:15 am - this was my senior Spanish seminar and at first I was extremely wary of the professor and the topic. There were only 9 people in the class and most of them had very strong opinions. However, I ended up really liking the professor and did enjoy some of the tough conversations. Plus I got an A, so that helped.
Spanish 337 of Central America and the Caribbean 1:15-2:30 pm - This class was the absolute worst I have ever taken at Conn. Ironically, I thought I would really like the professor and the class. Wrong. She was so difficult to understand and set extremely unreasonable expectations. I ended up doing okay in the class, but it was still ridiculous.
Tuesdays: Anthropology 232 - Violence and Human Trafficking in Latin America 9:00-10:15 am - I loved this class and the professor! I had never taken an anthro class before, but the subject was what i focused on in both my International Relations and Spanish majors. I did really well in the class and got a lot out of it. The professor had a great sense of humor and I really enjoyed her too.
ELT 2:30-4:30pm. Once again I worked with the first graders. I kind of feel like this was the group that I connected least with though. Not sure why.
IVCF 7-9pm.
Wednesdays: Spanish 494G 9:00-10:15am
Spanish 337 1:15-2:30pm
Institute 7:00-8:00 - this was my saving grace once again this semester. The one time I missed it, everything went wrong. It was such a testimony builder, even if I didn't really do all that I could on the other days of the week.
Thursdays: Anthropology 232 9:00-10:15
ELT 2:30-4:30
Fridays:
OVCS office hours 8-10am, 2-4pm - again, waking up for work at 8am on a Friday was tough. But wait, I got to go home and sleep and then come back to work for the afternoon.
Yeah, I was pretty busy. And it was wicked snowy. We missed 4 or 5 days of classes. Plus one day because we had a serious racist vandalism incident that had news crews on campus and all day workshops for every single student, staff, and faculty member.
To be perfectly honestly, senior spring wasn't all I was hoping it would be. My friends and I had some problems. Senior week wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I didn't graduate with a job. They changed the requirements for the Latin honors so I didn't get anything. I did end up with department honors in Spanish, so I guess I shouldn't be complaining. But it was hard on so many levels.
BUT anyways... I graduated on a hot, sunny day on Tempel Green with my fellow Class of 2015 Camels, some of my dearest friends and my crazy family. My cousin Jeremy graduated from UVM on the same day so that meant that my Aunt Moe couldn't be there, which was really hard, but our family friends the Faustinis came in her place, as well as my mentor and Institute teacher Sister Lahti and her husband Captain Lahti (who just so happens to be the C.O. of the Navy base next door). After the ceremony, I packed up the room that had been mine for three years, turned in my key, and left for the last time. Looking back, was my college experience all that it could have been? The best four years? No, not really at all. But I did it. And I'm proud of myself.
These were some of my closest friends at school. I really only talk to two of them now because I absolutely suck at keeping in touch, but I really did love all of them.
My institute teacher, Brother Lahti (aka Captain Lahti, C.O. of the NLNB) snapped this as I walked in. Probably my best photo from that day. I wish I could do that day over and dress better haha.
The nicest picture we got all day, unfortunately. Mark was crying so much and that made me cry. He made this all possible and I don't know how I can ever repay him.
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