I bought new school supplies, I am feeling a bit more confident about my school schedule, and I only have one week left of anthropology! I am so ready for August 17th. (:

Things I need to work on:

Dealing with frustration without yelling, crying, getting in any way (or shape, or form) upset or angry, and something I can do the moment I get frustrated so that I do not lose it.

Any ideas?

(But I swear if one more person tells me to count to ten, I will lose it.
See? Frustration. AND hostility.)

Exercise is a good idea, but it's something that I could only effectively use if I got frustrated by something online/on the telephone/with school. In person, I can't exactly be like, "BRB" and go for a run. But I love that idea. Love.

Late night searching.

I was looking at research opportunities for undergraduate students for my university - because I feel like if I get some hands-on experience with something, it might help me make up my mind.

Here's the situation I'm basically in right now:

I'm trying to fulfill all pre-pharmacy school requirements AND get a degree in Microbiology. A degree is 120 credit hours. Enough of the Micro and pre-phamr requirements/pre-reqs overlap to give me a grand total (if I take all classes) of 142 hours. I can make that happen in four years - I have it all written down on paper to prove to you that I can. However, it requires a lot of 17-18 credit hour semesters. I don't just want to do pre-pharmacy because it's not an actual degree, but I was looking at jobs that you can get with even just a bachelor's degree in Microbiology (and I would be doing at least 2 years of graduate school) and some of them sound really interesting.

So I'm currently doing pros and cons of the things I am considering: pharmacy school, graduate school for Microbiology (the biggest con is having to defend a dissertation...I get very flustered when people pick my arguments apart...), and genetics counseling. Genetics counseling is slightly less than a 50% pay cut per year from pharmacy, and Microbiology can fall in between or match pharmacy. Obviously, money isn't the only thing I care about, and there are a lot of deciding factors for me. Unfortunately, one of those deciding factors is money.

None of this is my original point. There are 2 research opportunities for me at my university. One is in the Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology department, and one is in the Microbiology department. Before I apply for either position, however, I would like to get my GPA up a few points. (Well point points. My GPA is a 3.43...I'd like to have a 3.5 at least if/when I apply.) So I'm really going to focus this semester and do my very best. Then we'll see. They have multiple positions open, and I also need to get my resume updated and write a statement of interest and make a list of related classes for each one. (Also why I'm waiting a semester...I'll have a semester of Ecology under my belt and both semester of general Chemistry, as well as a semester of Physics - all of which will probably aid me in getting a position, especially if I do well in them!)

But we'll see, we'll see.

Also! I am e-mailed the head of the Biology department at the start of term to ask about Tri-Beta! I am so excited. One of my biology professors from last spring e-mailed me about it. I hope I get to be inducted!

I think I am going to start posting here.

I do post a lot on my tumblr, but I think I should start blogging about my life more here.

Also, I think it might encourage me to take more pictures, because I have not taken any new ones (well, not really anyway) since football last fall.

So to jump start this new posting frenzy

10 things that make me happy!
(This is an idea I borrowed from Meagan's blog, and she got it from this lovely lovely blog here! I've been following both of their tumblrs for a while, and I added their blogs to my list to-read dailies! Check her out!)

1. A cold Dr. Pepper

2. Vacations

3. Getting good grades

4. Finishing an excellent book

5. My lunches with Kaleb

6. Pearls (What can I say? I'm a true southern girl!)

7. Having a reliable best friend

8. Clean, organized living spaces

9. New school supplies

10. Prettily painted nails!

So, what makes you happy?