so sometimes I really wonder why I am at Penn now. not in a bad way, it's just that sometimes I kinda regret not having gotten teaching experience prior to coming to Penn. I was actually talking about this with my dad yesterday (i know: me, talk to my father?! but sometimes things change, ya know) and i kinda realized that sometimes i find it hard to focus on the things I'm learning in my courses because I don't have, or haven't had, a real context through which I can appropriately examine and apply the stuff I learn. for all of you out there in blog land that are considering coming to Penn, you may want to think about whether or not you want professional experience, or how much profesional experience you want, prior to coming to GSE. for me, it's a double-edged sword. going straight from undergrad to grad was a way for me to build my professional confidence before I entered the education work-world, since I presumably would have more knowledge and theory to put into my practice. now i see that that future-comfort is sometimes coming at the expense of me getting the most out of my classes...
so, some good news: i'm really excited about my chances of getting this summer job i want. it's with Breakthrough Collaborative, which is an awesome educational organization for adolescents. since i've been working with them for the past two summers, i'm eligible to be a Fellow this summer. having gone through two interviews thus far and just outright asking about my chances, my odds are really good for me getting this. they basically told me that with my experience with the program, skills, teaching experiences in general, and resume (thank you Penn for being a great name to have on a resume!), all the sites want me! but i wont get official word back until march 1st...and i have another interview sometime next week. don't worry guys, ill keep ya posted!
had a talk with my advisor today, too. that was odd. i had some conflicts, if you will, in her class last semester, and this was my first one-on-one with her since then. it was really great though. we actually got to discuss what the conflict was with me last semester, how it could be improved, and my overall experience at GSE thus far. she's really interested in me as a person, and making sure that i am both socially and academically comfortable at GSE. one of the big tenets of our discussion was my experience as an African American at GSE. just keeping it real, i'm not used to being a minority (i went to Spelman College, and HBCU, and I grew up in North Philly, which as majority African American), and it was a big culture shock and a sort of sense of loneliness being at GSE. my Psychology of African Americans course (EDUC 522 for anyone thats interested) has helped me to flush through these issues (not to mention that there are more African Americans in this course than ive seen in any of my other classes). but yeah, its an issue, and its real. but im working through it and learning a whole lot about myself and other people, so i have no choice but to be appreciative and opportunistic while im here...
also, to you out there in blog land, show me some love! send me a comment or email me or just let me know something!
peace!

weekend

this weekend was kinda crazy. going to grad school is definitely a balancing act. at least for me it is.

for my psychology of african americans course (which is EXCELLENT, by the way), I had to interview my grandma to understand race relations in her community when she was growing up. i kinda double-dipped during these hours, using them as both devoted to schoolwork and connecting to family (yes, with my schedule. i have to put family time in my schedule too). the interview was very interesting (my grandmother's family were sharecroppers on a south carolina farm in the 1940s-1950s...needless to say, race relations were kinda strained in her neighborhood), and it just felt good to be chilling with my grandma. just felt good to be not at work and not at school and not sleep, but just chilling, with my mind off of academia or things of serious importance. i needed that. this semester, i find myself so involved in schoolwork. time with my grandma was definitely necessary. i guess thats one advantage of going to school in my hometwon- being able to visit my family.

time with my grandma was pretty much my whole saturday. i spent the rest of saturday (while at my grandma's and when i got back to my apartment) read for my psychology of african americans course. some really interesting things, btw, such as identifying "whiteness" and its invisibility in our consciousness...but yeah, spent the evening reading. i wanted to go out and do something sweet or romantic with my boo, but that failed because we just ended falling asleep (we are both full-time grad students with 2 part-time jobs...we're tired most of the time...)

sunday was spent waking up late, going to sunday school, reading a novel my 6th grade tutoree students are reading (I just joined this classroom, so I have to catch up to where they are in the novel. it's call Hush, btw, by Jacqueline Woodson. a good book, but boys may find it a bit boring) while watching the superbowl at my boyfriend's aunt's house (again: balancing act), coming home and lesson planning for my tutoring group, reading articles for my other class, and then falling asleep by 1-ish.

but i am content with my weekends. hope i dont sound otherwise. i enjoy waking up late and being able to get into my readings and spend time with my family and call my college friends who i dont see anymore and watching tv and overdue rental dvds and cooking dinner and lounging around in my Penn sweats and t-shirt...my weekdays are pretty much filled with my job1-job2-class/fieldwork-reading articles-sleep cycle...i cant appreciate the weekends enough! grad school has definitely been a balancing act for me. but one i have learned to successfully and happily manage. i fudge a lot on my schedule, stealing minutes here and there for laughs and fun and rest. a balancing act, but one ive learned to manage very easily.

Thoughts

Sometimes I question why I decided to come to Penn. Different things prompt such thought...today's prompt is me sitting here at the computer lab in GSE thinking about all the schoolwork I need to do this weekend, and all the rest I need to get this weekend. Regardless of why I ponder my decision, I usually end up figuring "Heck, I'm at the illustrious PENN! This is suck a blessing, whatever qualms I have I better grin and bear it!"
But today, I really want to know why I decided to come to Penn. I think I came here for a lot of different reasons. First, and most important to me, is the fact that Penn is an Ivy League school. Point blank, Penn has a GREAT reputation for producing academically competent and competitive leaders. Dropping the Penn name opens so many doors. People are excited to have a Penn grad amongst them, in their office or school or company. People believe, and rightly so, that there is a greatness associated with a Penn grad. In the Philadelphia community, Penn is known for being involved in constructive ways in the community. Penn is known, and known in a good way. I definitely wanted to be a part of that.
The second reason I came to Penn, and perhaps it is tied for first, is the fact that it is in Philly, my beautiful hometown. I spent my undergrad at a "big, urban" city in the South...and I was not happy. When my four years of college were done, I was ready to get back to a real city, a city that's moving and shaking. A city that's action and culture packed. A city with a reliable transportation system (as someone who can't drive, that is very important to me!). A city that's more than just a college town or a party spot. I wanted to spend the next era of my life in a place where there is diversity of culture and experiences. I wanted to not feel sheltered or isolated from real life. I wanted to live where I could experience real life, but also find a space for my graduate school life as well. And I wanted to be back home! Philly was that place for me. And Penn is a great school in Philly, so this was another check on Penn's checklist...
Hmmm...there are other reasons why I chose Penn, but now I must retire from this blog and do so schoolwork, so that I can stay at Penn!

Now that this baby is up and running...

Today has been a crazy day! Crazy in a good way, for the most part. Not tired from schoolwork. Just tired because I have a hard time falling asleep at night. Didnt go to sleep last night until 5am...and I wake up at 6 to go to work.
Today was supposed to be my day home, resting and chilling, especially since I don't have class tonight. Unfortunately, my books that I ordered online where gonna be shipped back to sender if I didn't pick them up from Fedex today, so I had to make a quick run to get my books. Then I figured, since I'm all of five minutes away from Penn, why not stop in and get some work done at the office. And so I created this blog!
I have the rest of the day all mapped out. I'll blog a little, then finishing editing my friend's book. Then I'm gonna go home and do laundry and go food shopping. Then I'll watch a movie, and pretty soon after that I should be sleep and ready to rock and roll tomorrow!

This is my blog?

Just a tester, to see if I did this correctly. Hoepfully, I will be reading this soon!