Posts

Blog #5: Next on the list...

Image
I would not be human if I did not constantly think and dwell about my goals and aspirations in life.  I actually think the word "aspiration" is quite heavy, because it can hold your goals and desires up to a high standard.  Either way,  I do have a miniature bucket list of things I hope to complete and accomplish in the next 5 years of time. Besides world domination, here is my bucket list! 1. Further my study in Doula work . I took a break from my doula training and practicing to focus on other interests.  But within these next 5 years, I would love to get back into my passion of holistic birth practices and doula/birth coaching (whether I make side-money off of it or not). 2. Travel back to Egypt. One of my best friends (who now lives back and forth between Russia, Egypt, and the US) grew up in Hurghada .  And in one spur of the moment experience, I decided to drop everything and go live at her home there for a couple months. Originally, I was a l...
2 comments
Read more

College Success

Image
I had never imagined myself as a university person.  The thought of having to take years of general education courses that didn't fulfill my interests, paying ridiculous amounts of money, and even participating in the university "lifestyle" was unattractive. Sitting at a desk all day when I could be outdoors running around, learning from nature itself, and enjoying the daylight? Yeah, no thank you. That is mainly why I decided to do various other forms of informal and non formal education since graduating high school years back. Yet here I am. A couple degrees in from a previous college, and a current student at San Diego State University. That took a turn! College is not just about studying useless "GE's" or "sitting in a desk" listening to boring lectures. I was wrong (well, it is that at times...but theres more too it).  And I believe once a student finds their calling and gets in the groove at their college they can be successful.  Ann...
4 comments
Read more

Blog #3: Opinions

Image
To put this bluntly...I'm blunt.  In actuality, my middle name might as well be "Blunt."  I prefer for people to not always guess what I am thinking. And that is usually where my opinions and subjectivity come into play.  Is it always a good thing to be blunt when expressing an opinion? Well, in certain situations, no.  However, I do believe there is a difference between being blunt and cruel. According to self-help author Grahame Cossum's definition of bluntness, ..."being  blunt is being able to ask an extremely difficult question, or give an answer someone doesn't want to hear in a a way where dialogue continues, and isn’t closed down. There are always exceptions however, some people will say you are blunt, because they don’t want to hear what you have to say regardless of how it is framed." Holding on to that thought, lets go back to opinions and subjectivity.  Subjective writing is a type of writing that expresses one's viewpoint, whether it...
5 comments
Read more

Blog #2: Think It Until You Believe It

Image
When it comes to primary and secondary discourses, most people maintain both. For instance, one may have a primary discourse they acquired naturally at home, while also having a secondary discourse within a work environment.  According to James Paul Gee, " Discourses are ways of being in the world, they are forms of life which integrate words, values, beliefs, attitudes, and social identities as well as gestures, body positions, glances, and clothes. "  In other words, all of these forms of life form a variety of language. One example of me  mushfaking  my way into a career was when I first started my American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting internship. I had been in the ASL interpreting program for months.  I knew sign language, had knowledge about the Deaf Community and it's Culture , and was aware of the general role of an interpreter as a whole.  However, when in when it came to interpret in a professional setting for the first time (I had only...
5 comments
Read more

Blog Post #1: Six Word Memoir

Image
Some girl time with the universe  It wasn't until four years ago that I understood my perceptions were stronger than my circumstances.  Growing up, I would patiently wait for something in my life to trigger negative thinking. It was almost routine.  Even during circumstances when life was going smoothy, relationships and friendships at their prime, and money would be stable, in the back of my head I would constantly dwell on these thoughts: "What is the catch? When is this situation going to crash and burn?" These negative thoughts, and negative interpretations of a simple circumstance would consume me to the point where self-worth was not existent. I was drowning in constant feeling that everyone felt the way about me the same way I felt about myself. If i feel this way, everyone else must feel this way.  That was my definition of "truth." Four years later, I have come to realize that my perceptions do not always intertwine with what some call ...
6 comments
Read more