Transfer Application Tango and Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati.

It's the time of the year when high school seniors and transfer students are doing the transfer application tango. Of course it's not called that but I like to call it that. Don't ask me why, I just do. lol. Anyway, as some of you (who have read this blog for over a year) know, I went through this process last year. Unfortunately, plans change (when do they not?) and I must go through this again. The good news is that I'm a lot more prepared than I was last year. I'm basically done with all my core requirements and have even got all but one or two of the lower division requirements completed. One of those requirements that I need I'm currently taking (Philosophy of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -- or, as I call it, Phil. of Monotheistic Religions) so I'll be free to take my Creative Writing lower division requirement (last one I need) next semester. "But wait, aren't you just majoring in Religious Studies?" you may ask. Well, no. I'm technically double majoring in Religious Studies AND Creative Writing. If I end up at one of school I'm applying to in L.A. I'll be able to do both without much trouble. If I end up at my dream school (yes, I decided to apply despite protests and guilt trips from my mother)), I'll have to either focus on one of those OR opt to merge them together and major in Religion, Literature, and the Arts. Yes, that's the official title of it. I have a lot of options, which I'm really excited about.

I'm also excited that I dropped my Biological Psychology course. Had I mentioned that before? I don't remember. Anyway, I had to drop it. I had begun getting chest pains (and scary ones at that) because the class really stressed me out. The professor was kind of nutty so I decided to take it next semester with another professor. It all works out because I needed two more courses to be considered a full time student next semester and now I have one less to worry about. Of course I ask for saints intercessions when it gets tough but this was one class I just couldn't handle because of the professor's unrealistic expectations.

I ask St. Joseph of Cupertino whenever I am nervous about an exam (which has been twice so far) and I've done very well. St. Thomas Aquinas also gets props because I ask him to intercede for me when I'm at a loss for words in my Philosophy course. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is going to be my transfer application patron saint. Why did I choose him? Because a) the way he lived his life inspires me to become a better person, b) he was my age when he went up to heaven, and c) he never got to finish his degree. In fact, he was just about to finish his degree to become a mining engineer when he contracted poliomyelitis and passed away. Since it's taken me this long to finish my own degree (due to illness and taking care of my father for all those years), I thought it was appropriate to ask for his intercession during this process. I'm not going to ask that, through his intercession, I get into my dream school. That would entirely too selfish of me. I'm going to pray that I get into the school that I will learn the most from; where I will be able to help others better. Of course, I want to go to my dream university but if it's not where the Lord wants me, then I won't go there. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'm leaving it all up to God. May I go and do according to His will, not mine.

You know what? Since I wrote that blog about enjoying being single and giving my heart to God for safe keeping, things have gotten much better. Everything is falling into place. I am less worried about a lot of things. I've been able to enjoy my friendships (with both my girlfriends and guy friends) a lot better. I can see some of my friendships coming to an end, and I'm sad about that, but I can also see why it would be for the best. Leaving it all up to God, yet trying to live my life as best as I can and never giving up on my dreams, is something I should've done a long time ago. *content sigh*

Alright, that's it for now. I'm going to go take a test for my Interpersonal Communication class... two weeks early. Yes, it's not due for another 2 weeks but if I can get it done today I can read the two chapters on Judaism assigned for my Philosophy course. It's all review for me since I've taken similar courses but I still love any excuse I can get to read the Old Testament and then see how various textbooks (authors, really) interpret it. :D And now I'm stalling. lol.

I hope everyone had a great week and weekend. Fingers crossed that I can make it Mass later today (if I feel well enough to walk two miles two and from the nearest parish). As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D



P.S. The book reviews on the Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati books are coming soon. Seriously. Just let me get through the next couple of days (up to Wednesday, max) of class lectures so I can focus solely on the reviews.

St. Joseph of Cupertino is Awesome (Prayer Included)!

I didn't even plan to write my first blog back from my hiatus (I am free from homeworkland!) on St. Joseph of Cupertino's feast day but it all happened that way. I think it's entirely appropriate because thanks to him, and Joe of Verbum Veritatis, I was able to test out of that dreadful math course I was taking. For those of you who are from outside the U.S. and Canada and are wondering why the heck I'm taking a math course when I'm specifically studying Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Literature... well, to put it simply, it's part of our lower division requirements. We're all supposed to get a general education which involves subjects like math, science, speech, etc. Math and science, which are my least favorite subjects, are the last things on my list to be able to transfer elsewhere and to move onto upper division courses in which I will focus on my major. I don't mind science too much, and the Biological Psychology course isn't that bad - though I could do without their trying to get me to support stem cell research (not gonna happen, buddy!) - but math... *shudders*. Since it has been years since I last took a math course, I was stuck in an algebra class. The first two weeks of school I sat there and yawned the entire 2.5 hours I was stuck there. I kept telling myself "Hey, I know this stuff... why do I have to suffer through this again?" Luckily, thanks to the intercession of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Joseph of Cupertino, the head of the assessment center allowed me to take the exam to see if I could test out of math. This was very difficult, and had actually attempted to do the same thing last year but they wouldn't let me, so the fact that I was given the opportunity was a miracle. They very rarely bend the rules like this for anyone.

As soon as I found out I has a chance to take the test, I took action. I was already on the first day of my twitter-facebook hiatus so I knew I would have time to study. I had forgotten a lot of the things I learned in high school so I called Joe and asked him to tutor me. (It helps when you have fellow Catholic friends who are majoring in Math. lol.) We set up a time and place (btw, Joe is awesome for driving an hour out to where I live!) and he helped me remember things I had forgotten. After nearly 3 hours of going over algebra equations (oy!) I was confident that I would do well on the test the next day. The next day comes and I completely blanked on everything again. Even up to an hour before I went in to take the test, I could not remember anything. I asked St. Joseph of Cupertino, who is the patron saint of exam takers, to please help me out. All I wanted was to test out of that dreadful algebra class and move onto Statistics next semester. My mom actually asked St. Joseph of Cupertino the same thing while I was taking the test, and you know a mother's prayer/blessing is worth a lot. :D As the test went on, I started remembering everything I'd gone over with Joe the day before... and memories of HS teachers writing things on the board a decade earlier. An hour and a half after starting the test, I got the final result: I not only passed, I was only 2-3 questions away from testing straight out of it. Having to take a semester of math (a class I didn't take in high school) is way better than the entire school year plus the Winter break of math. I was so happy, I yelled "Thank you, God!" in the assessment center, making the student workers laugh. I specifically asked St. Joseph of Cupertino to at least get me into the class I needed to be done with the math requirement next semester... and I did. See? He will totally help you out if you ask him to help you on your exam. Of course, don't expect him to help you ask for his intercession only because you are too lazy to study. Prayer and studying is the magic combo. :)

And, in case you need the prayer to St. Joseph of Cupertino for your exams, here it is (and be sure to tell others of this prayer when he intercedes for you):

O St. Joseph of Cupertino who by your prayer obtained from God to be asked at your examination, the only preposition you knew. Grant that I may like you succeed in the (here mention the name of Examination eg. History paper I ) examination.
In return I promise to make you known and cause you to be invoked.
O St. Joseph of Cupertino pray for me
O Holy Ghost enlighten me
Our Lady of Good Studies pray for me
Sacred Head of Jesus, Seat of divine wisdom, enlighten me.

Now I am free to not study math again until October when I'll be taking an 8 week course to help me strengthen my math a little more so I can kick tush in Stats next semester. Yay! Now all I will have to do is worry about Biological Psychology, Philosophy of Monotheistic Religions, and Interpersonal Communication. Bio Psych is the only one that makes me procrastinate but it's not that bad. :) To be quite honest, I'm more worried about how often my fellow classmates use the Lord's name in vain and how horrible the wardrobe choices other female classmates make than I am about my classes. I will write more about that hopefully tomorrow. *sigh* 15 Units (did I mention that I'm also taking a career planning course over the weekend for fun?)... this is my record and I hope to make it out alive at the end of the semester. lol. :D

I think I'm going to go look into the application process for Oxford right after this. Yes, THAT Oxford University, in England. It's a long shot (I have a better chance of striking it rich) but it won't hurt to apply. A former English/British Literature professor encouraged me to apply so I am going to. Wish me luck! :) Alright, that's all for now. I am going to go look at the international students requirements before my big brother (the one closest to me in age) comes over to check up on me. I wonder what the odds are of him not teasing me this time. Probably slim to none. lol.

I hope everyone had a great week! As always, thanks for reading and God Bless.