When I grow up...

School starts in just over a month, and in the midst of setting up wireless, couch hunting, and bedroom decor planning, I have been thinking a lot about returning to school. Spain was, to put it mildly, a bit out of my normal comfort level as far as school goes. We found out our class schedule two weeks into the start of semester.... that seems a bit late, right? For an American type A personality and straight A student, this was near torture. As a planner addict, I was forced to reevaluate what is important on a day to day basis; suddenly school was playing second fiddle to sangria and the beach. When I arrived at CSU in May to take calculus, I was instantly jolted back into the reality of the States. While the weather was thankfully bleak and rainy most of the month I was there, all the hikes I had planned on taking and the hours I anticipated laying by the pool were suddenly consumed with ten to fifteen hours a day (no joke) of math homework and studying. As the class came to a close, the looming final and the desire for an A forced me out of my cozy Spain slacking and into a frenzy of studying. While I did receive an A, this time I have had off, for surgery, gave me a lot of needed thinking opportunities. Life, as I have come to see after having my quarter life crisis on my 20th birthday, goes far too fast. When do we need to step back and say "Maybe that quiz is not as important as taking that hike." While that can't always be the case, if it was then clearly I would not be in college and would be a world class slacker, I do think that on the days my to-do list seems to be so stressful and packed, if I can simply take an hour for God, myself, and nature, that list suddenly seems a lot less important.

I have also been trying to figure out what on Earth I will do this fall. Adding a second major in Journalism seems daunting and scary, yet now that I realized it is what I want, I can't walk away. As each week comes to a close, and August creeps up at a surprisingly rapid pace, the prospect of starting not only my third year of college but adding an additional load of work is going to absolutely test my ability to balance my life.

Last night my dad and I went to a CSU dinner with the Dean of the College of Business, Ajay Menon. He moved to America when he was 19 and attended college in Texas. Now he is the Dean at CSU and was eager to connect me with people like the head of the Philadelphia newspaper who used to run three international news sources. The phrase "when I grow up" is becoming a reality and the "when I grow up I want to be......." statement is hanging over me like a rain cloud and I keep opening an umbrella and telling myself that I am still a baby. Ha. If only. And yet how exciting is it that we are approaching the time when we aren't getting paid $9/hour or wondering if we can even afford cable. At least hopefully we are getting closer to that! So as I get more excited and scared, and my inner nerd starts really longing for campus, I am trying to take the following quote to heart and remember that this is our world, and it's almost our time to change it.

"I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass." - Maya Angelou