We're celebrating the fact that my house is still standing. If you didn't know, Mineral is in Louisa County. Which means the earthquake's epicenter was in my hometown. Scary right? All the damages are pretty minor, except our poor garage is breaking away from the house somehow. (I have only a mental picture because I haven't been home since and have to rely on the descriptions of my parents.) I was thrilled to hear that my dog was alive and well, despite her room being a mess when my mom returned. But our schools weren't so lucky. Unfortunately, some were damaged so badly that the fall semester had to be put off until September 12. Furthermore, our high school (MY alma mater :-( ) has to be rebuilt. In a complicated schedule, the middle and high school students will all be having class at the middle school three days a week. Talk about intense! I am so glad that everyone is ok, though.
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| Damages to my high school :-( |
On a brighter note, let me tell you that I feel so OLD this year. That actually wasn't so bright a note at all, now that I think of it. But it's like the freshman students have come and just taken over Mason's campus. The NPHC step expo was last night and I kid you not when I say I knew less people there than I did know. I passed many a stranger the hour and a half I was there. That's saying something, considering I've been here three whole years and met plenty people along the way. Maybe some of them left? Of course! They graduated. How could they? At any rate, this year will be about building new friends and making connections. And that's fine!
Since I don't start my PR internship until next week, my first day of classes was actually the most perfect day ever. I woke up at my leisure and didn't have class until 4:30pm. That class will give me life. I kid you and exaggerate not when I tell you I have the most amazing, accomplished, intellectually stimulating professor I could ever have this semester. And I have had some pretty darned good professors. But he beats them all by a landslide after just one class. As I was listening to his life story, I couldn't help thinking that he couldn't be telling the truth. I pointed this out to him, and he assured my classmates and me that he wasn't a fictitious person. So, of course, we Googled him right there on the spot. He wasn't lying. I don't want to reveal too much just yet, but let's just say he has great connections and we will have some very cool guest speakers visiting with us over the course of the semester. And you know I can't wait.
We all have that one class that we begin to dread after the first ten minutes. Found mine this week. Eureka! Not. Not only is the course itself going to be an extreme challenge and require a large amount of brain power (which I'm fine with as I'd like to consider myself a pretty intelligent person), but my professor will not SPEAK UP! At one point he said he was trying to speak up because a student mentioned she couldn't hear him. Five minutes later, I had to ask if he was still working on being louder because I still couldn't hear a thing. I swear he whispers. He then told me to come closer to him. And write on what, my thighs? Sheesh. I do have to take notes, you know. Oh and his lectures I could get straight from the book and not come to class, but we all know that's not such a grand idea. Plus, I like the people in my class. And when I can hear him, he's pretty funny. Actually, really funny. So I'll just make it work.
My other classes have proven not worthy of a mention at this point, as they were mainly syllabus-reading sessions this week. However, I must say that I am excited about all my classes this semester. Most are writing-intensive and I love writing; and many are PR courses, and that's my goal. I can't complain. I really can't complain about my internship with Aflac. At all. I'm interning in their human resources department, which is really cool because very few people get to be on the other side of the table during interviews and review resumes before deciding to offer someone a job. I am also working on promoting Aflac from a PR perspective. Still at the drawing board, but I feel I'm on the verge of something big. The skills I am learning will be invaluable, I'm sure of it. And to top it all, the pay and perks are GREAT. Accepting this position is one of the best decisions I have ever made. Quack!
Last night was also my dad's birthday, so I drove to Fredericksburg to meet my mom, brother and him for dinner. It was great family bonding time filled with many stories and laughs. I am so blessed to have the family that I do. And friends, too, but family first.
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| My parents and me at Miss Virginia 2011 |
