Its been too long

I cannot believe how long it has been since I have posted on my blog. 10 months? Thats insane! So, as I write to you tonight, it is the "eve" of the "end of the world", at least in the Eastern time zone. It has actually BEEN the 21st for almost 12 hours in other parts of the world, so I am going to go out on a limb here and way we're ok. I still could be wrong, but I doubt it.

Earlier this year, which is only two posts ago, I wrote about my New Years Resolution. Eventually, based on my resolution to, "re find my passions, my hobbies, and be willing to try new ones." Around February, this resolution led me to label this year the "year of fears", and to try to overcome some of those fears. This fell into the "be willing to try new things" aspect of my resolution, and led to some amazing things.

First, a recap of the year, and some reasoning for why I didn't blog much. January through May, I was busy with my last semester of graduate school. I was working on my final paper, writing a paper with a professor of mine and some colleagues, teaching two classes and taking a class. Basically, I was very busy. I did get to take part in a conference at Bowling Green in Ohio, and it was an amazing experience. In addition, the paper I wrote with my professor has been accepted to the Western States Communication Association conference. Exciting stuff.

In March, I took to the sky and road for my first ever solo trip to visit my Grandma in Florida, meaning that I had to drive myself from the Tampa airport to her home. I also did most of the driving while I was visiting her. This was a HUGE step for me, in that up until that point, I had been terrified of driving any highway except for the one closest to my hometown. Overcoming this fear made me feel like I could do anything! Also, I got to drive a Mustang for the duration of my time visiting her, which was just way too fun. 

I graduated in May, and embarked upon a literary journey for about a month. I read several series that had been on the back burner for a long time, and had a blast doing it. This was also in the essence of the resolution, to re find my passions. My husband and I also committed to watching Battlestar Galactica, a show that affected me so deeply that I cannot even find words to mark my feelings. I also started doing Zumba on a weekly basis. I never saw myself being able to commit to any kind of exercise with that kind of regularity, but now I can't miss a week.

In July I took on one of my greatest foes-the crowd. I don't do well with crowds, and in March we had decided to go to the San Diego Comic Con. I had no idea that the trip would be so incredibly life changing. My husband and I used primarily public transportation while in San Diego, something that doesnt happen often in this area of the Midwest. We stood in lines that would typically drive me crazy, but during the whole thing I felt a strange peace. I also was in one of the most anticipated panels of Comic Con 2012...the Firefly panel. Seeing some of my favorite people in the same room as me made me feel something I cannot even describe. Later that afternoon, after my husband and I had moved almost all the way to the front, Joss Whedon, my icon, had a Q and A panel. I was 5 rows away from him, and I made the decision, after much back and forth in my head, to sit in the line to ask a question. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, as I am sure if I had actually made it to the microphone I wouldve passed out or been unable to utter anything comprehensible, I did not get to ask Joss Whedon my question. However, for me, it was a big deal to even go sit in that line to *maybe* get to ask him anything.

Also in July, my husband and I wanted to refinance our home. Rates were low, and it seemed like a good time. This went into the next big leap I/We took this year. After our home assessed for far less than we felt it was worth, this lit a fire under us to go look at other homes. I had been resistant to a move, and my husband asked what house would make me move. I drove him to a home, thinking that there was no way this house would be for sale anytime in the near future. I had babysat there as a teenager, and loved the place. 5 days later, it went up on the market. 14 days after that, we put a contract in on the home, and at the beginning of October we closed on the home. We now have two mortgages, and cannot wait to move into our dream home. We are currently renting it back to the original owners (another leap of faith) until their move.

Without my resolution and dubbing this year the "year of fear", I don't know that I would have been willing to do some of the things that I did this year. However, if I have learned anything this year, its that fears are there for a reason; to be conquered.

Accepted in disbelief

In September, I submitted to my first Communication conference. I decided to submit the day it was due, and got rejected as I expected would happen.

However...I submitted to my 2nd Communication conference last week. Knew I would find out in a week if I had been accepted. Fully expected to get rejected again.

Tonight I got on the computer to do my usual 11:30 PM email check (which I need to stop) and saw an email from the conference organizers. Heart started beating fast...became hard to breathe...and I opened it. And it said "Congratulations"

What? Congratulations? Seriously? That made my heart beat faster and made it even HARDER to breathe

But next month, I will be presenting my (currently needs work) synthesis paper (written as a graduation requirement) at the Ray Browne Popular Culture conference in Bowling Green, Ohio. And I imagine I will be in disbelief until the minute I step down from that podium.

New Year's Resolutions

We are 5 days into this new year, and with that comes the requisite conversations about resolutions. This isn't a big practice amongst my closest friends, but I have definitely seen some discussion of this on Facebook. A good friend of mine in my Master's program wrote a blog on this very same thing early today(http://moms.fortwayne.com/?q=blogs%2Fpost%2Fpeace-mind-way-better-piece), and that inspired me to write my own.

I have A LOT of things I could make resolutions about. To lose X amount of weight by X date, to get my synthesis paper turned in two weeks early, to grade my students more harshly, to exercise at least 30 minutes a day, to stay two weeks ahead on my classroom planning and my own homework, to blog everyday. Frankly, I think while all of these would be EXCELLENT resolutions to make...I won't. I would love to think that I could lose 40 pounds by March 5, when spring break starts...but I also realize that as a student who is under certain stressors that probably wouldn't happen.

So this is my resolution, to myself. I want to re find my passions, my hobbies, and be willing to try new ones. In early December, I photographed my first wedding, something I had wanted to do for years. It was an amazing feeling. I also, as previously mentioned, submitted an application to The Amazing Race with my husband. These two acts made me realize that I am so much more than a student, and that since in a few months I will no longer be a student (for a couple of years anyway), I need to find things that define me outside of wife and student. So that is my resolution, to not be afraid to try new things, not be afraid to ask other people questions, and to rekindle love of things that I haven't done in awhile but loved to do when I did them. Hopefully, some of these new things will lead to my losing weight, being a better college instructor, and a more frequent blogger...but if they don't, that is ok too. 

Poor, neglected blog

So, if you are a first time reader, welcome. If you are someone who has been following me, you can obviously tell it has been a LONG time since I have written an entry. Since my last entry, Ozzy did NOT win Survivor, Ethan Zohn's cancer has come back (news which I was very sad to hear), and Mr. Danley did not win The Biggest Loser. However, I did survive my first semester of teaching, and my second to last semester of graduate school. My husband and I also applied to The Amazing Race, I took up Zumba, and I have changed my hair color to brunette.

My first semester of teaching was, to put it mildly, fantastic. I had an excellent group of about 50 students, most of whom were receptive to what I had to say and willing to take on the challenges I put in front of them, including writing one of their first (for many) college papers about Inception. I also participated in an excellent class where we put out a full on health campaign, and presented it to a few of the higher ups at my university. Finally, I had my last class (EVER :( ) with my mentor and one of the best men I know.

I hope to keep up with this blog better during this television season, as well as the new year. This is the year I will graduate with my Master's degree, at the age of 25. I am stoked for what this year may or may not have to offer, and I hope to by the end of the year have even more followers reading me.