The Waiting Game

So it has been quite a while since I last posted.  Apparently I am not one for making regular posts on my blog (or my Facebook status for that matter).  It would be too much to catch up with everything that has happened recently, so as usual I'll give a summary of what happened in the last month and two weeks.

Well, everyone has heard about the Japan earthquake, tsunami, and the unstable conditions of the nuclear plants so I won't bother going over them here.  I would prefer to talk about the relief efforts, which are taking place everywhere.  Even my university's Japan club and Anime club are taking donations to send to the International Red Cross.  And of course, there's the mess in the Middle East, what with Gadhafi refusing to leave Libya.  I have to commend the protesters in both Libya and in Egypt (which occurred much earlier) for their immense courage in challenging the oppressive dictators.

Sometimes these events make you wonder whether the 2012 thing is true...

But moving on to more positive things, I have heard back from three law schools.  I have been accepted to all three, but two of them are a bit pricey for me unless I can get a scholarship to help me.  It will be hard, but I'm determined to minimize the law school debt that I'll be straddled with after passing my bar exams.  I've heard nothing but horror stories about kids dealing with $30,000 debt after school, and I really don't want to have to deal with that.

I also found out recently that you can develop allergies if you move to a new area with a lot of pollen (aka my university town).  It is fascinating because you don't develop allergies immediately, but over the course of 1-3 years.  Unfortunately, my university town is notorious for pollen which led me to finally cave and buy some generic allergy medicine.  You know you've developed allergies when you wake up in the morning and you can't breathe.  You'll have to excuse this rant, I've never had to deal with allergies before and I'm afraid that I'm a bad patient.

Okay, moving on from the random allergy note, I've also decided to change things up with my appearance.  Yes, I have cut my hair.  A lot.  As in it went from being mid-back length to chin length.  I felt sorry for the stylist in a way, since she had to deal with my thick hair.  She seriously swept the floor twice just so she wouldn't slip.  But in the end, she was able to trim my hair into a neat inverted bob.  Of course, this also means that almost all of my hair scrunchies, ties, and everything else will be retired for a few months.  But despite all of that, this new haircut should liven things up a little.  It's been years since I've had this sort of a style.

Oh, and another important note, my birthday is coming up.  It happens to land on a Thursday this year, and of course that is my longest day of the week with classes from 11-5.  Hopefully I can wiggle something special in this year, since I will be turning 21.  Of course, I probably won't be able to do anything due to the massive amounts of homework I get (and currently ignoring).  Writing two 14-15 page papers (the Asian American Lit paper I'm going to limit to 15 pages) within a month is going to be rough, which is why I'm hoping to get an outline finished for one by this weekend and start researching for the other.  Thankfully, I'm getting a head start for once in my life and I am not procrastinating (that badly).

Well, it's time for me to put the pet birds to bed.  My cockatiel, Robbie, has been much friendlier as of late, even after I so rudely ruined his Spring Break paradise by taking him back to the apartment with me.

Here's hoping that I can post another chapter of my life before graduation.  I'm not making any promises now, but that's one of the goals.

Sincerely,

Maria

Impending Graduation, Decisions about the Future, and World Politics

I can't believe it is February already.  That means time to apply for May graduation (which the English Department is still reviewing, eep!) and time to make decisions about life after UNC-CH.  I've already been accepted to one law school, but it's the other four that worry me.  I haven't heard back from them yet, which means that I'm in that "grad school limbo" that many seniors have to endure.

Also, I have made the decision to write a 15-20 page term paper for my Asian-American Literature class.  I had the option of writing a 9-10 page paper if I wrote a character analysis due Feb. 15th, but I decided to get a taste of the grad school experience and go ahead with the long research paper instead.  Let's face it, I need the practice, and it will give me a little taste of all the writing and researching I will need to do for whichever law school I end up attending.  It will also give me some nerd enjoyment, since I get to choose my topic within Asian-American Literature and research to my heart's content.

Moving on to things outside of school (because it's really not that interesting), the only thing I can discuss is the conflict in Egypt.  Apparently, President Mubarak has decided to stay as president since it would require a "new constitution" to give the protesters what they really want; a government free from his dictatorship.  I can't believe that is anything more than an excuse to stay on as president, since the people seem to want that change.  Since I have no say in the matter, all I will hope is that the people do get what they want without anymore violence from the military and/or the Mubarak supporters.

In other news, the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo who won the Nobel Peace prize has still not been released or allowed to accept his prize.  Anyone who is a known supporter have been barred from accepting his prize for him (including his wife and his attorney) and it is currently being held by the Nobel committee until he has been released.  Again, it's one of those no-win situations that really makes me wish that we could do more for the brave souls who advocate for social justice and human rights despite the risks and threats they receive.

Well, I need to get to class, so I'll end my little rant here.  Maybe I'll be able to post another update a bit quicker next time.

Until then!

Maria Minis

New Year, New Goals, New Surprises!

Well, so it's 2011.  This is the year that I find out which law school I'm going to.  I've already sent in one application, and I'm about to send in the other four as well.  It seems like it was just yesterday when I took the LSAT for the first time.  I guess time flies when you are busy (or in my case, busy procrastinating).

For me, 2010 has been a pretty good year, in spite of the stress of law school applications and worry over acceptance (which will probably be the case for the next couple months).  I met a lot of great friends, had good times, and had new experiences.  I can only hope that 2011 will be just as exciting for me as 2010.

So now, I'm back to finishing up law school essays and looking into my school books.  After all, it's only one more week before the new semester starts at the university.  I'll be taking a lot of "fun" classes this year, since almost all of my requirements have been fulfilled for my degree.  I literally only have one more class that I have to take, so the rest of my classes are for academic enjoyment or preparation for law school.

I'm also taking more belly-dancing classes this year.  I really enjoy dancing, and my teacher is great.  I also plan on doing some more volunteer work, which shouldn't be hard because of my service-learning class (aka, the last requirement).

It's hard to believe that I'll be graduating in May.  My time at the university seems way to short, and it probably doesn't help that I transferred from a community college first.  At first, it seemed like I hated my university.  I didn't like the ghetto dorm that I wound up with, I had no means of getting off campus that easily (I didn't have my car with me), and I met a couple of teachers that just got under my skin.  That was the 2009-2010 academic year.

Since then, I've had better professors, have my own apartment, and have my pet birds with me to keep me company.  Of course, I still have my problems with the university (such as Admissions screwing up my transcripts twice), but this year the good seems to outweigh the bad.  Maybe it's because the transition was easier for me this time, or maybe it's because this academic year was better.  Either way, 2011 is definitely looking up, and I'm looking forward to a great year!

Happy New Year,

Maria