Oh Snap, It's Finally Happened...

Yes, Eleventh Doctor, I'll get to it as soon as I'm done with this post. ;)

A few things have finally happened and it's making me both nervous and excited. 

First: it FINALLY hit me that I'm basically done with my undergrad career. It wasn't until my Harlem Renaissance professor reminded us that this week is our last week of classes (next week is finals week) that it really hit me. I'm done. I'm done? I'm done! Of course I still have finals to do and a couple more assignments that are due this week but I don't have other major things to do. I'm going to miss homework and learning... but not the school. As I'm writing this post, I am simultaneously chatting with friends on Facebook about how unhappy my time at this school has been.

Of course, I don't have to tell y'all that; you've all read more than enough posts about my experience at the CINO school. I will miss some professors (like my Harlem Renaissance and College Algebra professors) who actually believed in and encouraged me. Come to think of it... besides the aforementioned professors and my Western Literature/Norse Mythology professor, I didn't have much support from the others. And to sum up my experience with two current issues: two weeks later and I have NOT heard from my Thesis adviser about any changes to my Thesis before the deadline... and the semester ends next week. Prior to that I tried to contact her for a month and a half but she claimed to have not received any of my emails. Also, my mother attended a school concert with me last week (as it was mandatory and she wanted out of the house for a couple of hours)... and she personally witnessed how poorly I am treated by professors. One of them gave me the stink eye and was overall not nice. At least now I have witnesses to rudeness I experience.

Second: Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, St. Therese of Lisieux, and St. Jude Thaddeus -- just a general shout out to my heavenly buddies who helped me make it through my two year journey at that school. Without their intercessions, I don't think I would've come out relatively sane. I've had friends drop out and/or transfer out because of the mistreatment we receive if we aren't in agreement with their beliefs... which are mostly against Church teachings too. Of course. If this isn't proof that prayer and hard work pays off, I don't know what does.

Third: I just realized that I am finally getting thrown out into "the real world." That is a bit scary, especially being aware of how scarce jobs are. There are a few jobs within the L.A. Archdiocese that I am going to apply for but most of them ask for either a Master's degree or extra experience which I don't have. However, I am a fast learner and I am passionate about my faith so I'm sure that God will open the right door for me. My biggest anxiety inducer is the uncertainty of it all. I don't know how soon I'll be able to start working or if I'll have to look elsewhere. And, of course I will be going for my Master's degree in a year but still it's completely odd for me not to be in school taking at least one class.

Fourth: (my, I do love making lists, don't I? lol) Despite all my venting, I have come to the conclusion that I am grateful for everything that's happened. Yes, I'm even grateful for all the humiliation, crying, and panic attacks I experienced this semester from my music professors. I truly believe that every negative thing is a character builder and thus I am glad that I experienced them. I feel like I'm coming out of this experience a lot more confident than when I went in. I also feel stronger in my faith and beliefs. The passion I felt about sharing my faith with younger members of this generation (children to those starting college) had gone out for a while shortly after my father died but it has reignited... and Lord help the person who dares talk smack about my beloved God, Pope Benedict XVI or Roman Catholic Church because I have no qualms about sticking up for any of them.

Anyway, just wanted to write all of this out before I get busy with schoolwork. I have a chance to get all but one of my finals completed by Sunday of this week so I am going to definitely attempt to do it. :D OH! And if any of you have prayer intentions, let me know so I can offer up the next two weeks for them. Doesn't matter what the prayer intention is nor do you have to tell me what it is, just let me know that you have one and I'll write it down in my notebook so that I can get everyone's intentions in. :D

And since it is Monday here's a song that I wanted to share. It's called "Pray about Everything" by Luke Bryan. Yes, it's a country song. Raise your hand if you did not see that coming. lol.

 

Alright, I'm off to do homework. I hope y'all have a great week!

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless! :D

 

Guess What! No, Not Chicken Butt. Thesis Done!

'Tis done! Everybody conga!!!

Okay, I don't think of myself as a champion but the feeling of finishing a 53 page Thesis (that includes the bibliography) is pretty darn good. Of course, I have no doubt that my Thesis adviser (whom I couldn't get a hold of for a month; yeah, I know) will rip it apart and make me edit or rewrite some sections... but I am done. I only slept 2 hours last night from the excitement and nervousness of having to turn in the hard copy of it today. All those weeks of non-stop work, no social life, and panic attacks was well worth it. I had a lot of fun going through the Vatican documents (I'm such a massive nerd) and doing the research but it was just really time consuming. Factor in the 15 unit course load I have this semester (plus two tough online courses) and... well, you can see why I'm glad I have this huge project done. Now I have to wait to get word from my adviser, rewrite, and hopefully "pass" the Thesis so I can graduate.

It hasn't really hit me that graduation day is only 25 days away. My first final is due this weekend and turning in the Thesis is like my "final" for that "class" so that's two classes down. The rest of my finals (one of which is a 10 page paper on Duke Ellington - piece of cake for this Jazz nerd) are happening in the two weeks. This is it. I'm practically done... and I have no idea what the future will hold for me.

I am not even sure where I will work in the Fall. I am keeping my eyes open at the job listings in the L.A. Archdiocese website because I would like to work here for a year or two before pursuing my Master's outside of the state. I am leaving everything up to God. I trust Him with everything and I know He will show me what He wants me to do.

Anyway, that's it for now. It's just a short update. I have my only class of the day in half an hour and I'm basically a walking zombie today so I am saving my brain cells for the class discussion. I will have a proper post (hopefully) tomorrow, after I've had some sleep. :)

I hope everyone is having a great week thus far!

As always, thanks for reading and God bless!



P.S. For those who want to know and missed it on twitter or Facebook, I ended up giving my Thesis the title "Go and Make Disciples of all Nations: Evangelization Efforts by and for Generation Y Using Catholic New Media."

Good News, Bad News.

Good news: I'm THISMUCH closer to finishing my Thesis. My original plans to finish on the 25th hit a snag -- mostly two major midterms and a bunch of extra assignments professors decided to give us because the majority of the class does not read what is assigned. Sigh.

Bad news (or perhaps it's good news for some of y'all, lol): No blog posts until I am done. The deadline is on the 31st so I have less than a week to finish. I should be back on Palm Sunday. I'm back on twitter and Facebook but won't have time to blog until then.

In the meantime, please enjoy these videos.

First: Like any other Hunter Hayes fan, I am encouraging y'all to vote for him for New Artist of the Year for this year's ACM Awards. Yes, I love country music. Yes, he is crazy talented; he played 30 instruments on his debut album. This video should help.



Ginger Rogers in Vivacious Lady. It's one of my go-to movies and this scene reminds me of my fight with my Thesis... and professors. Yes, I am Ginger Rogers (the blonde) in this case.



Okay... back to the salt mines. :D Hope y'all a great week.

As always, thanks for reading and God bless! :D

Fellow Evangelizers: Be Not Afraid

Taking a quick break from my Thesis research to share this with y'all. It comes from the Evangelii Nuntiandi which is included in the first part of my Thesis (I worked on the middle first, lol).

"Every evangelizer is expected to have a reverence for truth, especially since the truth that he studies and communicates is none other than revealed truth and hence, more than any other, a sharing in the first truth which is God Himself. The preacher of the Gospel will therefore be a person who even at the price of personal renunciation and suffering always seeks the truth that he must transmit to others. He never betrays or hides truth out of a desire to please men, in order to astonish or to shock, nor for the sake of originality or a desire to make an impression. He does not refuse truth. He does not obscure revealed truth by being too idle to search for it, or for the sake of his own comfort, or out of fear. He does not neglect to study it. He serves it generously, without making it serve him."

This is something I'm working on this Lent: to let the people-pleaser side of me go a bit (very hard for this Phlegmatic-Sanguine) and to be more vocal about my love of God and to share the true Word without fear of what anyone may say. I feel so strongly about the mixed messages out there because of people who wish to harm the Church that I know that I must speak against the blasphemies and lies. Again, not so easy for me as I am quite shy (trust me, I may not seem it online but I am in person) and I dislike disharmony and arguments with a passion. Reflecting at church the last couple of days (especially when I go for Mass), I've come to the conclusion that I love God more than anything and that I would not be happy if I failed to speak up because of the fear of others' thoughts. This is my goal this Lent. I haven't had great results yet but I am a work in progress and those who've disapproved have spoken ill of Pope Benedict XVI and others within the Church (oh, I think you can all guess who I speak of) so I haven't let it affect me.

Anyway, just wanted to share this as I felt eager to pass on to y'all. This is just a little taste of what my Thesis is all about. I hope to share it with y'all when I am able to. And now... back to work. :)

Hope y'all had a great weekend and have a great week. Good luck to those who, like myself, have midterms in the next couple of weeks. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless! :D

Senior Thesis Work: Catholic New Media

That picture is not of me, nor do I own it, but I have glasses like those and that is also an accurate portrayal of how I feel right now. lol.

Today is the day I start dedicating the bulk of my time to my Senior Thesis. I used the first 2.5 weeks of the semester to get myself used to the other classes and now it's time to buckle down and really start some major research.

Ever since I reverted to the Faith, I've been saving (read: bookmarking) articles that have interested me. That's almost 6 years (exactly 6 years this June) worth of articles. I am so incredibly glad I've done this because it's going to be really helpful. I'm going through my bookmarks (I've got them in categories) and picking those which I know will help me out.

Now, if you didn't know and haven't guessed from the title, I am doing my Senior Thesis project on Catholic New Media. Specially, I am doing it on how we Catholics of my generation (Generation Y) are using the internet for evangelization efforts. I've already gotten a ton of great material from those who are most visible (thank God for friends and acquaintances who are willing to help out) but it's still going to be quite a time consuming project. I have about 2 months or so (up to Spring Break) to get the majority of the Thesis written. Don't be surprised if the majority of my posts from now until then have to do with something related to Catholic New Media because that it where my focus will be.

The deeper I get into the research, the more I feel at home. I've had the desire to teach or, at least to get the Word out (correctly) somehow, and teaching in a classroom hasn't really felt right for me. Maybe by doing this Thesis topic (not my original, by the way), I will be able to finally figure out exactly what I am doing after graduation. It'll combine my love of Catholicism with my love of writing and my desire for getting the Word out and educating the younger generation -- I won't have to choose between any of them. It's a wonderful feeling.

Ironically, while I am doing the bulk of my research online, I won't be using Twitter or Facebook as much. I really have to concentrate on writing this Thesis as well as doing well in my other 4 courses. Of course I'll still pop up on Twitter and give random updates but it'll be even less than before because I want to do the best job possible.

So this is my very short (for me ;D) update on why I've been M.I.A. and letting y'all know what to expect. I'm going to be sharing articles that I find interesting as well as letting y'all know how much more I get hated by the Religious Studies department as my college. lol. No, seriously, I think they've given up on me. It's quite awesome. (Side note: oh, and by the way, thanks for the prayers for my music prof; I missed classes yesterday due to illness and she was nice enough to inquire about how I was doing. We'll see how tomorrow goes.)

Alright, that's it. I have my first couple of pages of the Thesis to present tomorrow so I should go and write more. :D

Hope y'all are having a good week thus far!

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D