- I saw my first Cirque du Soleil show, Alegria. Saying that it was and amazing show is an understatement, but it was indeed a phenomenal presentation. I loved every minute of it and was even suckered into purchasing a bag, a bag that I’m sure only cost about $.35 to make. But, I was proud to have my little souvenir.

- I went to Global Wildlife – TWICE! The second time was with my daughter and her class, sans my son. Sometimes, you just need to get a little alone time in with one child at a time. I love our Mother-Daughter time just as much as my Mother-Son time as much as our Family time.

 

 

- I went to Mississippi with one of my best friends. I always find it fun when he calls and says, “Hey, I’m headed to such-and-such, are you riding?” Louisiana’s weather is crazy and this trip was taken mid February. Yes, in February I was in Biloxi, MS on the beach…having a good time, nevertheless.

 

- I bought my first car. Yep. At 23 years old, I financed my own car. I’m still in disbelief that this actually happened, but I’m glad that I was able to do such. My first car, Emma, put me through it and I was not about to waste money on another motor. So, I saved – and penny pinched – and went without a lot of things to save for a down payment. And it happened. I love my 2010 Hyundai Sonata aka The Silver Bullet.

- I visited Atlanta for the first time. And well, I fell in love with Downtown Atlanta. Initially, plans of traveling to Atlanta didn’t look so good, but luckily, everything went as planned. I finally got a chance to gas up the “Silver Bullet” and drive across two states. My sister and I had a great time. We got a really good rate on a room for the weekend at the Marriott Marquis and made it to Atlanta in 6-1/2 hours. (Yes, we broke all kinds of traffic laws.) By the time we made it to the hotel, it took us about 8 hours to finally get up and go somewhere. I could have stayed in bed all day.

 

- The kids, my sister and I drove to Mississippi for a day at the beach. This was the second “spur of the moment” road trip to Mississippi for me. They had a really great time there. We went in early October because it was still very hot.

 

- I went out and participated in my university’s homecoming festivities with friends. I hadn’t gone out in a while and I needed this. I LOVE the Greek shows and going out to party afterwards was a blast. I dealt with the aftermath of partying all night until 5AM and having to work at 8AM, but I had a great time. I slept from the time I got off on Saturday and didn’t get out the bed Sunday morning. O,O

 

- I had two amazing school semesters. Dean’s List of of course. :beep beep: I’m working hard to improving my GPA, which will in turn, create more opportunities for me. I’ve applied for acceptance into Southern University’s National Science Institute and I’m waiting to hear from them when the new semester begins January 17.

- I landed my first internship. I should have had an internship during my Sophmore and Junior years, but I have on nonetheless. What does it entail? Well, I’ll discuss that more in detail when I begin on January 17, 2012.

- I loved again. I did something that I thought I couldn’t do. . that I was scared to do. . that I was too angry and hurt to do after the epic fail that was my son’s father and I. But I did it and it was one of the best moments this year.

 
 

So, did I accomplish what I said I would accomplish from my first post of January 2011? I think so.
After all..

I lived.

I laughed.

And I loved.

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The first week of school came and has flown by quickly and I really can’t complain, besides walking from the dome all the way to the back of campus where my department is, but I digress. I’ve scheduled 19 hours, and I was able to attend all of my classes last week without being totally wiped out. Unfortunately, I’ll have to drop a class because it conflicts with another, but I was up for the challenge to take the maximum amount of hours. A few weeks from now, I know that this is going to be the best decision to make. Hindsight is always 20/20.

I want this semester to be fun. I’ve noticed some much needed changes around the university that I am definitely impressed with, especially in my department. As I’m nearing the end of my undergraduate career, I want to make sure that I’ve had a fulfilling experience overall. I plan to be more active within my department as well as the university. I’ve reactivated my membership with ACM, which is an organization within our Computer Science department, and I’m planning on attending a few of the volleyball and football games this year. I guess I can blame my need to be more involved on all the extra time I have.

As far as my plans for this semester, I want to manage my time even better and of course, make the Dean’s List as I have with the previous semesters. I’ve also been thinking about my post-graduate plans and whether or not I want to attend grad school at Southern University. Before, this worried me because of financial reasons; but now, I no longer have certain financial obligations that I have to deal with and my schedule has a lot more flexibility. Everything just seems to be falling into place and I’m extremely grateful for that.

Yesterday was my mom’s birthday! Happy Birthday, Mommy! again..

Registration for the Fall semester began today. Now, in all honesty, I planned on going to pay my fees so I could get my book voucher to get my books and school supplies but there were entirely too many people on campus today doing the same thing. Plus, there were registration and people for Financial aid in one line. I found it rather ridiculous for those who have completed the financial aid process to have to stand in line with others who have yet to complete their financial aid. But, after checking my school email, which I rarely do, I discovered that my fees had already been paid when I accepted my award package. Now that is a W – I – N! I cannot be a happier Southern Univeristy student on this day – the day I realized that fees can be paid online and billing statements are emailed to your school email. I guess I need to start checking my school email more often..

I no longer loathe returning back to school for the Fall semester. Perhaps this is because my manager is allowing me to work less than 40 hours and still be considered full time. In the past, this has been a problem, but I’m glad she’s a bit more lenient. And perhaps I’m finally a bit more optimistic about returning because I only have about two more semesters to complete before I’m able to graduate. It’s been a long journey and I’m almost to the end of it and I won’t stop until I’m done.

My daughter starts school on Wednesday. At the last minute, she decided that she wanted to attend the same school as my niece. She went for testing last Friday and we both got a chance to meet her teacher. After testing, her teacher also recommended that she be tested for the gifted/talented program. Unfortunately, the school doesn’t have a gifted/talented program, which made me subtract major cool points, but I’m looking into getting her tested regardless.

Lately, I’ve been finding major treasures on my thrifting adventures. I’ve been hearing so much about the book “Wench” and while I was in the consignment shop, I spotted it along with a few other books, for $2.99! I was also able to locate some linen pants for my son and other shorts from the Gap in the consignment shop. He wore them to church and he was so handsome, might I add. I found a bonnet at Dollar Tree for my daughter to wear with a summer dress that I bought for her a while back.

Aren’t they the cutest?

I didn’t get a chance to travel as much as I would have hoped for, but that was mainly because I was in desperate need of some wheels. I believe that was one of the highlights of my summer. I’m still in awe about my acheivement. It feels good being able to get into a car that I know will start and get me here, there and everywhere. I have yet to put the Silver Bullet to the highway test, but the summer isn’t over just yet. Hopefully after church this Sunday, we’re headed to Florida, or Mississippi, before they go back to school. That’ll at least give them something to share with their little friends when they return to school next week.

There’s a lot to be done this week. Besides getting settled in the house, I still need to get school supplies for my daughter, clothes, shoes, hair accessories – and not to mention, my son is going to need some things to for his school. As for me, school starts soon and returning to take on a new semester creates an indifferent feeling for me. I’m ready to return, but coincidentally, I could definitely go for a few more weeks before I have to return to such responsibilities. As with the start of any semester, I plan to remain organized. One of the things that I’m excited about, though, is shopping for school supplies. I’m a nerd and I can spend hours in Office Depot testing out pens, Sharpie markers, and the like.

The ending of the summer is always bittersweet to me, though. I was able to appreciate every event that has occurred. The smiles, the laughter, the tears, the accomplishments, the triumphs, the tribulations – everything. So besides the hot weather that permits cute summer outfits with bright colors, cookouts, late nights with daquiris, and weekend trips, my summers always present me with the opportunity to grow and to become a stronger person. It provides introspective moments, as well as time for self-reflection. And that, is what I look forward to each year.