Oh Gmail Statuses

So sometime last week I changed my status on gmail to "doesn't feel like everything is great," and a lot of my friends have been asking me why I have that has my status and my answer has been to simply ignore it and tell them that I am fine. And I am really not sure what triggered my to change my status to that, but lately this is how I have been feeling. As I sit in my classes, assistantship, and practicum, I wonder if this career is really for me. Other professionals always talk about how professionals can get burnt out in this field and how many change their profession to something else, but is it possible that I am already burnt out. I simply do not feel like I have the same passion in my job as I had in the past. Don't get me wrong some of the stuff that I have been doing is great and I have loved every minute of it, but there are a lot, and lately more, things that I have dreaded. I remember when I first started this journey, with all of this drive, passion, and desire to do this. Now I seem to be counting down the minutes til I can go home and spend time away from it all. Maybe it is because the semester is winding down, maybe it is because this semester has been crazy, or maybe it is because I am not suppose to be doing this. I changed my career path to student affairs because I wanted to do something that I would look forward to everyday. However, this is not the case at the moment. I am hoping that this is just a phase because I have always loved working with students and like I said before there are times where I can see myself doing this forever. If anyone has any advice let me know.

Stay You

What Really Grinds My Gears

So one of my favorite shows is Family Guy, the randomness of the show really makes me laugh. One of my favorite segments is when Peter talks about what "grinds his gears." So I thought that I would like to do my own segment of the sorts. So you know what really grinds my gears, the way people drive in parking lots, especially stores like Wal-Mart. There are two particular types of drivers of parking lots that make me angry. The first are those who think these parking lots are Nascar racing tracks. They speed around the lots like there is some sort of cash prize at the end. To these people the painted white lines mean nothing as they dart through them narrowly missing any car that may be in their path. It is just an accident waiting to happen, and for what really to get into Wal-Mart a few seconds sooner just to wait in line for 30 minutes. The other type of drivers all those that creep very slowly around hoping to find that perfect parking space. They hope that by the grace of God that someone will be pulling out at the optimum time and that they will get the "VIP" parking space. Don't get me wrong I love that close space too, but when people sit behind a car for 10 minutes waiting for them to back out that is a little much--especially when there is a spot three spaces up. It is like those 12 extra feet is too much for them to walk to get a gallon of milk. Sometimes when people wait behind me I want to just sit there and see how long they would wait. So people, please be mindful of the other people in the parking lots and really think if a few extra steps to Wal-Mart will really kill you. And that is what grinds my gears.

Stay you

Will Work for Tuition

So as many people know my assistantship situation in my graduate program has not gone exactly according to plan. Let me explain: So Catie, Lindsey Anne, and myself were scheduled to have meeting with the Dean of Students and our supervisors. Going into I really just thought we were getting some information on the school, a bit of an orientation to our new grad positions. I never thought that we would be blindsided with the news that as of next fall we would no longer be GAs at Georgia Tech due to massive budget cuts. It is really funny and ironic because the day before I was complaining that I was not enjoying the drive to Georgia Tech and that the traffic was unbearable. The next day I found out that in a few months, I would no longer be driving it. So lesson learned--Don't complain because you never know when your wishes will be granted. But I digress. This startling news has really complicated my life in the last four months or so. I have had to redo my resume, get back into interview mode, and begin that whole process that I thought I was through with. At times I felt that the Georgia Tech GA's were getting the short end of the stick and were left out in the cold. We already have to drive to Atlanta, struggle with our schedules, and now we have to find a new position. NO FUN. Hopefully I will get one so that I do not have to leave this program.

After interview weekend a few weeks ago, I thought that this whole assistantship thing was done causing me problems. I interviewed with four offices and most of them went pretty well. I think that I have a good chance to get offered a new assistantship because they wouldn't throw a current student out....would they? However a few days ago, the assistantship struck again. All the cohort members are going through internship interviews for this summer and I was really excited to get three offers. My top two were Shorter College in Rome, GA and Florida International in Miami, FL. I really liked both offers, but was leaning towards Shorter because of their program format, their school type, and that it was close to Athens, so that I could see Jessica a lot. I was ready to call Shorter and let them that I was accepting, but then thought that I should ask the faculty if it was ok that the internship ran a week into classes. That is when it happened.

The faculty said that missing class was something that could be handled, however because I am getting a new assistantship in the fall it would look bad if I missed the first week of my new assistantship and any new GA training that may take place. The faculty said it was my choice, but they were "strongly" suggesting that I look at all the options and consequences of my choice. So though I had found, I what I thought was the perfect internship, the assistantship took it away. Though I do understand that my new assistantship will be paying my bills and tuition, so I understand where the faculty were coming from. Don't get me wrong I am so excited to be at FIU this summer, but I am so going to miss Jessica a lot. That is how life goes though, the assistantship got me again, hopefully for the last time...hopefully.

Stay You

My First Blog

I was talking with my girlfriend, Jessica, the other day about our wedding and her bridesmaids and my groomsmen and discovered that thinking of 5-6 really close friends of mine is actually pretty tough. I have a lot of friends, but how many would come to my aid if I really needed it. And it got me thinking about how little people really know about me. The things that I feel, the things I hate or like, the real me. People know the guy that played beer pong with his fraternity brothers, the super-involved guy that did everything on campus, and the short brown guy from their classes, but not many people really know the true me. Throughout my life I have always been the person who has put on that smile and agreed and went with the flow. I am not the one to mess with the status quo. So I thought that a blog would be a great way for me to put the stuff that I won't say out loud out there. So here it goes--Larry's First Blog

I guess I can start with some stuff about me that may not be the most well known facts.

1) I am a graduate student in the College Student Affairs Administration Program at UGA. I sit in class most days wondering, why the heck am I here? I listen to the conversations, experiences, and ideas that the rest of the cohort has and I often think that I have no chance in this field. I have thought about walking away, doing something else, but I really can't really see myself doing anything else either....so I guess I am going to push through and hope for the best.

2) I feel that I am very lucky in my life to have a happy, healthy family and to have never experienced true heartache. I have had those nasty breakups with girlfriends, but still have all the people, whom I truly love, in my life. I don't really know how I will react when that first tragedy hits me and I am not looking forward to.

3) I am not as smart as everyone thinks I am. I can barely recall stuff I learned months ago, let alone stuff from my undergrad. I work short term with my brain. I know what I need to know and for how long I need to know, and that is what I work towards. I have learned that this works for me. I have discovered, from this, that I learn very little, but I memorize a lot which may bite me in the butt one day.

4) I have a very short attention span. This blog entry is probably the most time that I have focused on one thing for quite sometime. It has become abundantly more clear that I may have ADD since I enrolled in graduate school. I think having such a small attention span hinders my goals in life. I want to be a better Christian, attend church, and become more involved in my faith but can never find the time to go to church on a regular basis and learn about my religion. I want to lose wait but can't find the motivation to work out on a regular basis and eat healthy for a long time. I go for a week and that is about it. And this has also hurt my relationships in the past. I used to just stop talking to girls without explanation because I got bored and moved on. What a jerk I used to be

5) And last I do everything I do for my family. My mother and father have given so much to me and sacrificed everything in order to put me where I am today. They have worked long hours, multiple jobs, and sleepless nights just so my sister and I would have a decent Christmas. They have supported me in everything that I have done and my biggest fear in life is disappointing them. This is one reason why I resented my sister for a long time. Like many other 17 year old girls my sister went on a rebellious streak and started doing things that upset and angered my parents. Staying out late at night, not calling home, and other stuff I will not disclose but that consistently stressed my parents out. I tried countless times to get her to stop. Explain to her that our parents deserve better than this, but she never seemed to get it. So for about a year I didn't really like my sister because of what she was doing to my parents. However, in the past 1/2 year my sister has turned it around. Graduating from high school and enrolling in college and finally being productive in her life. I am so proud of my little sister and know that one day she will be great at something. That is probably another reason why I was mad. I saw here throwing her life away and I know that she has the potential for greatness.

Well that is my first blog. I promise the next one's won't be as long, but those are some things that I have wanted to say for awhile. Thanks for reading.

Stay You