#WeBelieve 8-0

Today is the day that Mississippi State plays Alabama.  Both teams are undefeated and this is quite possibly the biggest game that Mississippi State has played since I have been a student here.  It is my senior year and I have been proud to be a Bulldog through the ups and downs throughout the years and this season is no different.  But my pride in my school goes far beyond its football teams success.  So, tonight we will go into Bryant Denny Stadium with our heads held high, and no matter the outcome, tomorrow my heart will still well with pride for my Dawgs. Hail State.

On a completely unrelated note, my visa papers are sent off, I now have a host family, and I just found out that there will be 10 people starting Chinese class the same time that I do. I have been so busy that I haven't been able to get excited about my trip through the tests, papers, and work.  But as the days pass by, I am realizing how quickly that this month will pass by. This has been the fastest semester that I have ever had.  Graduation is becoming very real and very scary because I don't know what will be next but I am trusting that God's perfect plans for my life will fall into place.  As this football season ends, I am saddened by the thought that this is my last football season as a student and spending my Saturday nights standing in the student section and being showered with whiskey drinks when we score (ok, I won't miss that part).  I look back on my time at State and know that I have had the best times of my life.  My love for Mississippi State seems to increase everytime I walk onto that campus. God help me, I love this school.  But my time here is not over yet.  I still have one semester left.  It will be filled with spending time with my roommates and best friends, runs through campus, and the best spring  break ever (a cruise to the Carribean!!!).  More on that later.  Sorry for the sappy post.

Tickets Booked.

I'm officially going to China.  I have fought hard for the opportunity go abroad again and I am finally going.  I booked my plane tickets today. I will be in Beijing from December 10 until January 7! Through the host program, Education First, I am going to be staying with a host family and sharing a room with another girl in the program hopefully around my same age from somewhere around the world. I am thankful that I will know some girls who live in Beijing who had come to Mississippi State. I could not be more excited about this opportunity and am thrilled to be able to go out and see new things!!

It's Official.

I will officially be spending Christmas in China.  I will be living in Beijing, China for 4 weeks while I take classes and travel around.  I can't believe that after all this time and all of my attempts to travel abroad again I am finally getting to go and it is all working out. Hopefully I will book my plane ticket this weekend and start applying for my Chinese visa sometime next week!  Prayers that I will find friends and have a nice host family would be appreciated!!  I will be traveling alone and living in a place where I know no one.  I am going through this program called Education First, EF, so hopefully everything will work out!!

Christmas in China...??!!!

“We must go beyond textbooks,

go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness

and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.”

 – John Hope Franklin

For some reason I just can't shake the itch to get to China. SO I'm going. The tentative dates are mid December until the beginning of January. Daniel and I will be going to take classes that would let us finish our Chinese language degree and to travel!

In other news, I LOVE my internship. In the month that I've been at Travelers, I have learned more than I ever thought that I would learn. I am finding out that the insurance business isn't as boring as I thought. It is actually quite interesting and I am learning lots of information that will be very valuable for my future!

Since my trip to China will allow me to graduate in May, I have started thinking about where I want to be in the future. Graduation is less than a year a way and I have already started to look for jobs in the Marketing and International Business fields and anything else that sounds interesting. But more to come on this later!

Firm Believer in Spanking

When (if) I become a parent, I will spank my children.  I was spanked at least 1000 times during and probably a few times after my childhood and I'm sure I deserved every single one and then some. That's all I have to say about that. On that note... I am in Jackson, Mississippi now for the summer. I am working at Travelers which is an insurance company. I have been fortunate enough to be selected for the Summer Internship Program with this Fortune 100 company.  I have my own cubicle, my own email address, AND my own phone extension.  I will be making property and liability claims for people when they call in. I can't think of a better way to learn the world of insurance than to be thrown head first into it. Anyways.... this week is Cameron's birthday so I will be leaving Jackson and we will be going to a secret location for the weekend. Can't wait!!!!

It's Official.

I will be living in Jackson, Mississippi this summer where I will be doing an internship with Traveler's Insurance. I am SO excited for this opportunity and can't wait to see what God has in store for me this summer! My Russia trip is being postponed until August 9.

Well it is that time of the year again where I begin to question why I am in college, when all I want to do is lay by the pool but all I need to do is study for finals. Hopefully next semester will go a little better for me..... three exams stand in my way of summer and one year stands in my way of the real world. I have decided that if I do not graduate college with a job (and my mom just informed me that 1 out of every 2 college grads cannot find jobs- so encouraging) then I will get my pilot's license the summer after I graduate.  I can think of no better time than that to get my license. Also on my list of things to do: skydiving. Hopefully I will survive the rest of this miserable exam week so I can once again live a happy life.

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -- Helen Keller

I haven't updated in quite a while and a lot has happened since my last posting.  My plans have changed and I will not be interning in China this summer. BUT I think I am going to Russia for a 10 day study abroad trip!  How's that for a new experience?? At the end of May, a professor will be taking a group of students to tour Moscow and St. Petersburg and I will be receiving school credit! As the semester is coming to an end, I desperately needed something to look forward to since my trip to China has been canceled. I have always wanted to learn Russian and now I think I finally will have an opportunity to!

On another note, this is Easter weekend and I surprised my parents and came home for the holiday.  I left all my school books and homework in Starkville because it will still be there when I go back.

Anyways, this trip to Russia will be coming fast and soon. We're talking like 5 weeks.  So things will be moving pretty quickly for that.  ALSO on more important news, 13 days and 10 minutes from right this very moment I will be turing 21 years old. That's less than 2 weeks.......... updates to come later!

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights;

it is a change that goes on,

deep and permanent,

in the ideas of living"

- Miriam Beard

Internship Offers!!!

I got several offers for internships for the summer!!!!!!! Stay posted to see which one I will end up with! I have phone interviews this week. Pray that they go well!

We decided that the best date to leave for China would be between May 12 and May 15th. That way we have plenty of time to travel to Beijing and Hong Kong (hopefully!!) before the internships start.  As the months are quickly going by (I ALREADY have a midterm next week!!) my excitement is growing with each passing day and as the internship offers have arrived, it is all finally starting to seem real that I will be spending almost 3 months in China. After returning from Taiwan and being in the States after, I have a whole new outlook on traveling and experiencing all there is to see in a world that is so unfamiliar to me.  However, I am frequently reminded of how it feels to be in a country where you know only a few people.  My conversation partner, Christina, from Beijing, has to rely on other people to take her to the store or to get food since Starkville is a place where walking around the town is basically impossible since it is so spread out. I am reminded of the kindness that was shown to us while we stayed in Taiwan and will be forever grateful for the people who spent so much time with us to keep us company and show us the best places to see.

On another completely unrelated note, on Valentine's Day this year I will be participating in Mississippi State Speed Dating. Yes, speed dating. Let's get real for a second, since I don't have any other plans, or a boyfriend, I thought that this might be an experience that would be interesting to experience at least once in my life.  Several friends are doing it with me so it should be a good time... or well, entertaining to say the least.  I know you are all very jealous of my V-Day plans so I'm sure there will be stories to come soon.

C's Get Degrees... Right?

It is the end of the 4th week of school for the semester and I am already stressed out about projects, tests, and homework. Each one of my classes is overwhelming and time consuming, and let's just be honest, I'm not off to the best start. Hopefully it will all turn around soon... It seems like the only thing I have to look forward to is China and that's 4 months away!! This picture is the Shanghai skyline. Now can you see why I am so excited?! Oh... and my 21st birthday :) Until then, I will be working to pay for some of this study abroad as well as trying to find study abroad scholarships!

Today, I got paired with a conversation partner! Her English name is Christina. She is the cutest girl from Beijing, China who will only be here for 4 weeks. I am so excited to get to know her! We spent several hours together tonight along with her friend Peggy who is also from China. Maybe when I go to China this summer I will get to spend time with them! My life has been consumed by researching different places to visit in China and things to see while I'm over there!

Internship Update: All my information has been shipped to China and the process has officially started!! Hopefully within the next few weeks I will have an offer from a company to work for this summer!! The people at GlobaLinks have been so helpful and this process has been very quick and exciting. I recently re-found all my pictures I posted on Photobucket from Taiwan. You can click here to see them!! One last thing. God is so good to me. I have really great parents who love and support all of my unrealistic dreams and goals no matter how far fetched or changing they may be.

Status Update

If anyone is following along on my internship process, I have just been accepted to the program!! The next step is for my information to be sent to Shanghai where someone from AsiaLearn will go to different companies on my behalf. Hopefully, I will end up with a list of options and companies to choose from. I will most likely work for a marketing or public relations company. I have requested to work for a larger company in China so we will see where I end up this summer!! It could take up to 8 weeks to complete the process but maybe I will find out sooner than later! Also, my friend Daniel, who also went to Taiwan with me will be applying for the same internship as I am so we will be in China together. Since he is going with me, we will both leave a week or two early so that we can travel around Beijing and see different things before we start our internships. The people from AsiaLearn have been so helpful and really seem to go out of their way to accomodate our wants and needs for this internship. I am beyond excited about this opportunity and cannot wait to see what the future holds for me!

Other than being slammed with school work ALREADY, everything is great! I am looking to graduate a year early, so fingers crossed, I will be graduating in May 2013! A year and a half away!!

In other news, I want to go skydiving for my birthday. I am thinking it will make a good spring break trip!! Stay posted!!

We will also start the birthday countdown.... 90 days til I'm 21!! Feels like an eternity, but I know it will fly by.