Study Abroad

     If I could study abroad anywhere it would definitely be in Australia or Ireland.  I want to study possibly in Australia because my dad went there for a business trip once and said that it was one of the most adventurous and beautiful places he had ever been.  I want to possibly study in Ireland because I am half Irish and I have never been there and I have also heard it is beautiful.  Also they are both English speaking places which is also why I am considering them because I do not know how well I would do in a country that speaks a different language.
     If I studied abroad I would probably take history and art classes because that is what my advisor said I would probably do.  I have not looked much into it really, I need to do more research.  This is because I may want to do a maymester instead of a full semester, but I do not know yet.  For my major the advisors say a good time to study abroad would be second semester sophomore year or first semester junior year. I definitely want to study abroad because I believe it it is a great opportunity. Both my sisters studied abroad and said that it is definitely worth it and you will have the time of your life, plus when else are you going to get to go to a foreign country, take classes, and live there?

Career Research

         Now that I have done a bit of career research I am finding new and different things about the amount of careers need people that do visual communications.  Every company has some type of advertising usually and included in that will be the design or layout of pages, websites, logos, graphs, etc.  It is broad in what the actual definition is for a job that a visual communications major can get.
       
          The information I have found has really helped me realize that having this important skill as my major will potentially help me find a job.  And although the ultimate goal would be to work at a magazine, I could look for a job in other companies and I am not tied down to just one specific type of company.  I do see myself enjoying a career in this field I believe. I have not ever taken a visual communications class so I am hoping to love it, because I love the idea of it.
        

Stressors

       Some of the stresses of college can be very hard to handle but now that we have been here for a long time, it is easier to handle the stresses.  Mostly the stresses that I am dealing with are focusing on homework, and how hard the homework actually is.  There are so many distractions when one is trying to do homework like when all the people on my hall are trying to make conversation with me or when other people are talking and are being loud.  Sometimes it is difficult to deal with but I have ear plugs or tell people that I have to do homework.
        Homework can be very hard sometimes but if I stick through or try and get help from someone I can do it.  Stresses can be a hardship for kids in college but if your try hard you can handle it.  I am doing the best I can with all the distractions and different things going on, and I am doing ok so far.

Favorite Quote

My Favorite Quote is:

     “Life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
― Mark Twain
     
      This quote has been my favorite quote for a long time.  Senior year of high school we had to pick our favorite quotes to post in the yearbook, and this one was mine.  The reason it is my favorite quote is because it is so inspirational and encouraging.  It is not directly about sailing like when you first read it you think it is.  It is just about taking chances in life and following your heart in what you want to do. 
     I try apply it to my life just by following what I want to do, and making my own decisions.  I think life is too short to be doing things that you don't want to do, and you have to take chances or risks that you think will pay off in the end.  And I try to remember not to take everything so seriously because then you will not enjoy your life.

Letter to me

Dear Future Rosalie,
   
        I hope that everything is going well for you in your life.  I hope that you are successful in everything your doing and that everything is going as planned.  I see myself in the future having a good job having to do with visual communications, possibly doing page layout at a magazine or company, and hopefully starting a family. I hope that you are keeping in touch with all your high school and college friends, and of course family.  As me now, I am aiming to keep up with my school work, making friends, and having fun. Although those are all important I expect the future me to keep doing well in college, focus on my studies and not get distracted, so I can get that good job that I want. I know college may get hard in the future but I know that I can accomplish what I need to do by just doing my best.  Nothing is impossible and all goals can be achieved if you work hard enough.

Love,
Rosalie

Independence

         My first few weeks of college have been going well so far.  Knock on wood it stays that way!  Being much more independent is completely different than what I was used to, although it is weird and unusual I have gotten used to it quickly and adapted to the college life.  My roommate and I are getting along well.  Her name is Jackie. We didn't know each other before we came to school and we both had problems with roommates and housing before we came so we didn't know we were going to be roommates till a few days before move in day.  We are pretty similar in many aspects so the situation has worked out well.

        I am doing fine in my classes so far, but they are much different than high school classes.  In high school they would directly tell you the homework and such, but in college they just expect you to look online every night and find out the assignment. Also the homework is more reading than it is actual writing and problems. It takes up a lot of my time, but the I have figured out the actual classes don't take up a lot of my time.  I am struggling a little bit with the amount of reading I have to do and transitioning to figuring out my homework.  Other than that I think I am doing ok and everything so far has been going fine.

The Postmortal

      "The Postmortal," by Drew Magary is a futuristic novel that deals with many conflicts having to do with the cure.  The cure is a basic gene transformative shot that makes a person stay the same age forever. It is not exactly that you live forever, it is just a life extender for those who want to live longer and for those who do not want to grow old.  This idea of living much longer from a simple shot is something that intrigues me. I also wonder if there is ever a possibility that this could actually happen in real life. So in other words, this was my favorite idea within this novel.

     

       The main character, John Farell, dealt with many inner and outer conflicts, like debating on if he should have gotten the cure, or even just fighting with the Greenies. John Farell was easy to relate to and he became one of my favorite characters within the book. I thought this novel was very well written, deep, and overall extremely interesting. Most summer reading books that I have read have not been as fascinating or adventurous as this, so I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a great read and easy to get through because the topic was so exciting.