BYU: Grad School Edition

My heart is so full of gratitude today.

More than a month ago, I applied for the masters program in Teacher Education at BYU. This is a program that I've been thinking about for a couple of years now. I have been on pins and needles for the better part of March, waiting to hear back.

No more worries! I've been accepted! This means I have a roadmap for the next two years. This means I am on my way to becoming a better teacher. This means whole other world of possibilities and opportunities.

I have some thanking to do.

1. To all those who knew I was applying and had no worries that I would get in, thank you for putting up with my stress, fears and tears.
2. To those who helped-either with the GRE or letters of recommendation or even talking me through the process, thank you.
3. To everyone who I told today, thank you for being excited with me as I start this new chapter of my life!

I can't wait to get more information about the classes I get to take and the professors and cohort that I will get to work with! I can't wait to share what new things I am going to be learning and doing.

Wish me luck! It's going to be a crazy two years.

Keep on truckin'

I'm still here!

I would like to announce that loud and clear everyone who cares. Life just gets busy sometimes.

So brief update:

1. I've graduated!
2. I'm teaching!
3. I'm surviving!

Now for all those debbie-downers out there who will be quick to point out that there is still six months left in the school year to survive, yes, I am quite aware of that fact. But so far, things are going great and there is nothing that I can foresee changing that. (Cross your fingers, ya'll).

Further updates:

• reading Frankenstein with my sophomores, progressing just how you can imagine sophomores appreciating Victorian literature. I've been pretty impressed with some, disheartened by others. The plan is to finish it by Christmas. So, if you have any AWESOME project ideas with Frankenstein, send them my way.

• just finished a WWI poetry unit with my juniors. They were pretty good about. Next up, short stories and the Roaring Twenties!

• American Imperialism with my U.S. history kids. It's been really fun to coincide my junior English and History classes. We investigated different views of Imperialism through poetry. BOOM! Cross-curricular awesome-ness.

• Seniors...boy. Seniors are hard. I remember being DONE with school. And I can only imagine that it's going to get worse as the year goes by. So...stick around for them.

Anyways, that is pretty much it! I think I am going to get back into the swing of things and blog more. I like it.

Till then,
Farewell.

Update: This is the 200th post! Wowza, folks! I'm prolific!

P.S. It's late and so I do this.

Wordle: http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/3462771/Norway_during_WWII
This is a really neat website where you can input any text and the program pulls the most repeated words and you can change the font, colors, layout, etc. It's a super cool way to see at a glance what the main topic of any piece is. This wordle is from my capstone research Hist 490 paper. You can see what I talked about the most. Any surprises? Probs not.
Go Norway!

Good News

I came home today from the last day of classes (technically the last day ever but it's hard to say so because I have a whole year left of student teaching) and on my bed was a letter. This happens occasionally, because my roommate loves to check the mail and she is nice enough to leave my letters on my bed. I really enjoy coming home to a letter surprise on my bed. Some letters are obviously much more delightful to get than others. I am much more excited to get a letter from a missionary friend than I am getting a letter from, let's say, my bank. However, when I get letters from my school? It's an ambiguous kind of feeling.
On one hand it could be really great news!
On the other hand, it could be some disciplinary measure. (You never know, I could have broken a rule without being aware of it or something.)
So today, I found a letter on my bed from my university.
With some trepidation, I opened it.
Inside was....
...
(can you imagine if I left the post there? I don't know about you, but the suspense would have killed me.)
Inside was a letter from the History department offering me a scholarship for new semester. A real scholarship!
I was so happy, I cried, a little. (Let's be honest though, I can cry at almost anything.)
...
And then I told everyone about it.
And now, I blogged about it.
Good news, eh?
P.S. Turned in my capstone paper today. IT'S DONE. 25 whole pages, the stupid beast. But, it's over now. WOOHOO!

iic Competition: People's Choice

http://www.youtube.com/user/msebyu#p/u/10/38GZFI3M7Xk

Hey everyone. This is a teaching competition that I wrangled my roommate into. To win the people's choice awards, we need to get the most original and unique views. So basically, a lot of people have to see our video and a lot of different states/countries need to see it. So...if you have friends out of state or outside of the US? Send them the link. I'd be eternally grateful. I'm sure I could make some sort of AWESOME thank-you gift. There is a window of time: April 1 (today) through April 7. So, click the link, watch the video and tell your friends. :)
Thanks again very sincerely.

http://www.youtube.com/user/msebyu#p/u/10/38GZFI3M7Xk

I got it!

If you haven't already heard, it's official!
I am going to be an intern at Springville Junior High next year.
This means, I am going to be like, a real teacher!
I will have my own classroom.
With students. Real students.
While I will be student teaching, it's more autonomous that just normal student teaching.
If I don't think much about it then I don't freak out too much.
It's going to be a learning experience for sure!
Here is the school website.
http://sjhs.nebo.edu/
Did I mention that I am terribly excited too?!

Study Abroad pa Norge

It's official!
Study Abroad in Norway, Summer 2011.
I am so excited. So nervous. But mostly, excited.
Norway is probably one of the coolest places in the world. Studying it for four years and now finally getting to go?! It's like a dream come true. I hope we can get a couple more people on board, so that it will make it easier (aka cheaper) to go. So, if you know anyone who is interested, tell them about it.
You don't have the know the language. It's cheaper than other BYU study abroad programs. And it's NORWAY .
Or better yet. Go here: http://kennedy.byu.edu/isp/pdfs/SAnorway_sum11.pdf
The deadline has been extended to February 22, 2011. So time's ticking! Pass the word!

Where in the world?

I saw this video in the first class of the new semester. I just had to share.
I love learning about the world and about the people and cultures that make our world so beautiful. I think it's soo important for students to understand that the world is a much bigger place than they thought it to be.

Kievan Rus, Heian Japan and Mali

Oh boy, oh boy!
I am so excited, folks!
I get to teach in my TA class about the post-classical civilizations of the Kievan Rus, Heian and Kamakura Japan and the Empire of Mali in Sub Saharan West Africa.
I made a prezi. (It's like powerpoint, but much cooler.)
Here it is!
PREZI
Anyways, if you can't look at, give me a couple days and I will try to get it up here.
Stay tuned, I will give you a heads up of what next semester looks like
Oh goodie.
Yes, that is exactly what you should be thinking. :)
Loves.

UFG

K everyone this is for a school project. I had to research an unfamiliar genre and attempt at making my own. I chose parody movie trailers which are a fascinating genre, especially when you watch so many of them like I have. For my example, I didn't use a real movie trailer. I just edited a clip that I had on my computer. If I had the know how I would definitely do some things differently. So don't judge. If anything, just enjoy it for the cheese it is.

Thanks

I'm Not Crazy, Just Mad (still in the crazy sense of the word)

This is what I get myself into.
I have papers up the wazoo to complete.
I went to the library to work on it. And just sat there looking at the stack of books I found. And kept thinking to myself, "I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this."

heh, I still don't want to do it.

The weather is too lovely. My opinions aren't strong enough. My self-control is minimal at best.

The only thing that is keeping me going is the fact that my professor jokingly called me a "bad student" when he found out that I haven't written it yet. I am presenting this one next Saturday.
No one calls me a "bad student"
please
If anything, that is the one thing that gets under my skin.
I can't displease anyone! That goes against my nature! I am a people pleaser, gosh dang it!

Meh.

I will try to do better.
...But don't count on it...

New Paint

The JFSB is my home. There is no denying it. I am a history major. My department and one of my bosses has his office on the 2nd floor. I am an english minor. The english dept is on the 4th floor. I am also minoring in scandinavian studies. Guess which floor they are on...the 3rd. And the basement is where all the classes are. So yes, the JFSB and me are friends. But over the past couple of days, there has been something new to the JFSB which made it mine even more. Paint. :) BYU's paint crew has been hard at work repainting all of the dings and scuffs on the walls of the JFSB. The whole building smells of it. And I love it.
Call me crazy (which I may very well be) but I do love the smell of paint.
I blame my paint crew summer job. Spending three months surrounded by paint chemicals and turpentine makes it enduring after awhile. Thus, the smell of paint in the JFSB has made me very happy.
Cool, huh?

The Rundown.

Here is what my semester looks like thus far:
SC ED 276R. Translation? Intro to Secondary Education
* FOUR HOURS EVERYDAY. But it is a block. So maybe I will survive. We are starting to visit schools and actually see what happens. I am scared out of my pants. And I am nervous about getting a job. It is an interesting process, let me tell you.
Scand 430. Cultural History of Scandinavia
*BTW: Did you know that people who like in Scandinavian don't call themselves Scandinavians? Ya, it is a word that was first used by Pliny, a Roman historian. And Scandinavian is from 'skad': means dangerous and 'auia': means watery place. Some lazy scribe added the 'n's. Very Interesting, trust me.
Hist 332. Scandinavian History
*Professor Haslam is THE funniest old man on the planet. I was almost in tears during the whole 2 1/2 hrs of class. I did not expect it and I was pleasantly surprised. We saw old fashioned slides of Iceland. It is not the most breathtaking of places.
Engl 293. American Literary History
*Now this is the best of both worlds. I get to read amazing literature while studying american history. I like reading, but I DO NOT like taking apart a text. What rhyme scheme is this? Why did he use this word? What is the etymology of this word? Not really interested. Now what is more interesting is questions what historical events influenced the author to write this text? How did the book influence other events? Now that is interesting stuff! :D
Hist 346. History of Korea.
*This is a complete gamble. I have never ever learned about Eastern history. The teacher is a giant. With a voice to match. I am in awe of him. And he isn't old. For some strange reason I have an image of the Easter Island giant stone heads. It kinda makes sense.
Rel 324. Doctrine and Covenants.
*I finally have a religion class! I have missed class. So excited.
Apparently, I really like short complete sentences. Meh. 18 credits again so no surprise there. Once this block class is over, I will be swimming in time. Sort of. But that is what the weekend for, right? To party!
I got a Carl's Junior burger combo for the first time tonight. I had never been before. Which explains what happened tonight. Me and Nay drive up to the window and I hand the nice lady my card. She gives me my soda and my card back. The car in front of me parked just ahead in line, so I just assumed I should scoot forward too. The girl leans out the window and calls out worriedly "Don't you want your food?!!" Hahahahahha....I couldn't reverse cause there was someone behind me so I got out of my car, went up to the window and took the bag from the girl, walked back to my car in the middle of the drive-thru lane and drive off crying my eyes out because I was laughing so hard. Yah, I have my moments...
Like the time when I was helping the norwegian missionaries teach their lessons. They asked me a nice simple question, a yes or no question. I couldn't for the life of me think of "yes" in norwegian. I said yes (english), si (spanish), da (russian) and finally I got to the simple ja (norwegian). It took awhile. Fortunately, the missionaries are there to learn patience.
I got a super soft blanket for Christmas. Well, sort of for Christmas. My littlest sister got one and it was the softest thing in the world, seriously, I have never felt anything so soft. I kept stealing it. She did not appreciate it. So my grandma took me to the store and bought me one, after Christmas. I am so snuggly, I am like the softest thing in the world. And the best thing in Provo to hug. i.e. me in the blanket and someone hugging me. Like, the best experience ever!! Ha, anyways this should be the end of this somewhat random post...

Golden Anniversary

Typically, anniversaries are to celebrate weddings. This post is NOT going to celebrate a wedding, but it is a big milestone in a way. This is the 50th post on this here blog. Aren't you excited to be a part of this?! You should be, cause I am. In reality, I couldn't think of what to write, and so I was fiddling around and noticed that I had 49 posts. Which meant my next post would be the 50th. Which meant that this is a big deal. So here I am celebrating this momentous milestone...in the basement of the SWKT, waiting to help a Hist 201 student. Not exactly how I pictured it, but you know, one makes the best of situations as they come. I think I when I go home, I will make pudding.
Mmmmm.
Pudding.
Good way to celebrate.
:)

Shakespearean Finale

So just to be honest right up front. I am procrastinating. I am very good at it. I have been perfecting my craft since I was little. So, right now, I am NOT doing my Shakespeare final. We have to rewrite a scene from Shakespeare. In iambic pentameter. I did NOT sign up for this creativity nonsense. Tell me to write a 10 page paper on the historiography of Shakespeare and I will do it, and do a dang good job too, but rewrite a play? Use my imagination? What?
No.
Not cool, Mr. Shakespeare-Professor-who-I-adored-all-semester-long. I have complained to everyone who cares to listen. I have known about this stupid final since the midterm. Does that mean that I did anything about it? No. Of course not. Silly rabbit, that is what procrastinators do. They don't do anything that they could do tomorrow! I never study for finals as much as I ought to. Then I get there to take the final and then I realize.
"I am an idiot. I should have studied more."
Does realizing this make me change my ways?
Nope.
Have fun procrastinating with me, cause I know you all do it too.
:)
k bye.

"Daddy, they took my boot!"

Actually, they took my lunch, but me and Jane were similarly put out about it. Indignant even. So me and my good friend Amanda Jardine have this pleasant little tradition of attending devotional then heading to the creamery afterward to enjoy a cheap lunch. Usually it is a good experience, we get to eat food, chat, and have ice cream. It gets a little harder to eat the ice cream during the winter months but somehow we manage it. BUT TODAY WAS DIFFERENT.
They called my number and I went up to get it and as soon I got up to the pickup counter, some kid swooped out of NOWHERE and took my lunch! My lunch! Seriously? And what was a person supposed to do in that type of situation? I wasn't prepared for it. This is not something we learn in elementary school, like those say no to drugs and alcohol lessons. I know how to handle those types of situations (not that they have ever happened, but you know *shrug* at least I am prepared) Having someone take your lunch though, no one can ever really prepare you for that so I turned right around and went back to the table. Amanda has more backbone than me so she complained. Twenty minutes later and no food. I did get my ice cream though. Then Amanda got her ice cream and when she came back, they brought my food! I have such good friends. :)
Point of the story?
The best solution if someone tries to take your lunch, just tackle the poor fool, since he obviously doesn't know what he is doing. It saves a lot of heartache, especially if you don't have an Amanda there with you to get you your food...
The End.

Opportunities?

I'm excited about this. My English 292 (British Literature) teacher is amazing and I like his style. Because I am so impressed with him, I want to be the best student he has ever had. (I can't help it, I am a people pleaser at heart.) Anyways, yesterday he passed around a paper that called for papers to be published in the literary criticism magazine on campus. Normally, I just pass these flyers along, but this time, I actually wrote down the information. I went to talk to him today and I am really excited. I have no idea what I am going to write about, but I will figure that out later. The paper should be about 15-20 pages, which is a little longer than what I'm used to, but I can do it! It would look really good on a resume to say that I have actually been published. Even though I am not technically an English major (history major, english minor) but I think I can contribute. Also, there is an English conference later on this year, and my teacher is in charge of that. He basically guaranteed me entrance into the conference. WOo! Here's for being a teacher's pet!
So, basically, it is going to be more work, but what the heck. When have I ever said no to putting more on my plate?
I wonder if there is an undergraduate history conference? THAT would be exciting too. Oooh, I like pondering new things.
Anyway, that is what is new.

6 Degrees of Separation

I'm pretty sure ya'll have heard of this. I had too, but I learned about it today. Sociology (my last GE thank goodness!) made us get into groups and normally I hate group work. Not that I don't like the people but, gosh dang it! Sometimes, i just need to do the work my way, you know? Surprisingly though, this group is pretty awesome. Especially considering it's just three of us. Anyways sociology was teaching us about weak connections i.e. acquaintances and how it's better for you to find a good job through a large network of weak connections rather than a network based on close friends. And the assignment mentioned how not everyone is connected to everyone else, rather, we are connected to a few who seem to know everyone else. Anyways, they had us do this little experiment, try the 6 degrees of separation with Kevin Bacon. Pick a name of any actor or actress and try to get them to connect with each other. We picked Cary Grant. Not any connection you say? Well, you'd be wrong...it took like twenty degrees of separation, but we got it! It was so much fun! We kept bring up all of these fantastic old movies and actors and I had a blast. Connections rock. Try it sometime. The world is a lot smaller than we think. :)

"The Doorway to Norway"

Ooookkaaayy, so this semester has been breath-takingly busy.
Meh. I wake up to go to work at 5 a.m. then classes from 9-4 or 9-6 (depending on which day exactly) then I come home, do homework solidly until I have to go to bed to get up early to do it all over again! Why am I doing this again?!
Oh, that is right... because I have to.
There, there. now. My pity party is over. Now I can do what needs to be done and be happy with that!
Anyways, the moral of this story is: funny things happen ALL the time and even if I don't get to share these gems with people, it's a good thing I learned to laugh by myself when necessary. In my Scandinavian Culture class that is also Comms 381 (wierd, I know...) we have to read a Scandinavian newspaper every week and blog about it. (no worries, I am not turning this blog into a running advertisment for Norway) Anyways, he gave us some websites for newspapers that have been translated into English. And the subtitle to the Norway Post is "the doorway to Norway"
Hahahah. I laughed out loud the first time I read it. And I still giggle, everytime. This may be a sign that I have wayyy too much school, but hey, I think it's funny. We can't all be comical geniuses. Sometimes all we can do is be the person you think of and sigh while saying..."oh kiera..."
yup.
that is me.
sigh, ohmeohmeohmy

Some New Opportunities for the Fall...

So...I know that I have a lot on my plate for fall semester. I have to take a lot of credits (19). and I will be working (early morning again) but I can do all of that. But I got an email, the other day, annoucing T.A. positions in the History Department! Ahhh! How cool would that be?! I am way excited. So I turn in my applicaiton on Monday, and we will see how it goes, right?