03/08/04– When I was in third grade we had a Japanese foreign exchange student come and talk to our class to teach us about origami, which is an art form involving folding paper. I distinctly remember her getting hung up on the word ‘butterfly’. This was my first experience with a different culture or language that I can remember, and that made me realize that not everyone spoke the same language, lived in the same place, or even had white skin. I was so intrigued that from that day forward I wanted to be a foreign exchange student…even though I didn’t really know what all that entailed. Throughout high school I tried to convince my mom to let me, but it was too far and cost too much money. My first years of college were spent with the same intention. It has yet to happen for me, but I have been lucky enough to spend a summer overseas as a volunteer. Not only was I able to satisfy my desire to live overseas, but also I discovered my passion for working with the underprivileged of the world. My time as a volunteer teacher at an orphanage in Thailand was the most rewarding, fulfilling, and life-changing experience I could have asked for, and more. 03/05/04– I don’t know about you, but I am right in the middle of midterms and it’s killing me. And of course I can’t have JUST midterms, I have to also have meetings at work, car trouble, birthday parties, and many other constructions (or destructions) of Murphy’s Law. Why is it that my professors can’t see that now is just not a good time for me? Let’s reschedule. I miss my friends, I miss my free time, and I especially miss all the money I’ve spent fixing my car. Hopefully when I am grad school I will be wealthy enough to not have to work, to have a nice car that I can rely on to not leak on me while I’m driving through the rain, and I’ll be able send my laundry out for someone else to wash. 03/04/04– I have had three internships since I have been in college. While not all of them were the most positive of experiences, I learned a great deal from each one. I haven’t yet decided on a specific career, my internships have definitely helped me narrow it down. The best way, in my opinion, to take on an internship, is to find a company or organization that you want to work for and volunteer your services. This way you are doing exactly what you want to do, where you want to do it. It is also extremely important to get approval from your department if you want to get credit for your internship. Take it from me, I was burned once. Anyway, not only will you get credit and maybe pay, but internships are great resume boosters. Visit your department’s internship coordinator or the career center to find out more. 03/03/04– In the past three or four days, I have had several extremely enticing job possibilities open up. Very few are in the field I truly want to be in, but they are all either political or economics positions, working with people I adore. I am leaning more and more every day to staying in the Sacramento area, mostly because of these offers, when before it seemed like I would need to move away to find what I wanted. I hate the idea of not being in the middle of the action in my preferred career, but I can’t help but desire to stay around here longer. It may sound lame, but I actually like Sacramento. It’s a huge step up from where I am from in the Midwest, and I love my family dearly. Also, I feel like I have just gotten to know this area so well and I don’t want to start all over. I’m looking around at this giant valley of opportunity, but all I really want to do right now is crawl back into my comfortable cave and bide my time before graduate school.