Re: Fall 2010

Here's what I'm actually taking (not this) this semester:

• Social Justice
• Holistic Health Practices
• Child Welfare Policies
• Community Leadership & Development

I've finished my second week of classes, and I'm pretty sure this semester is going to be a good one. Here are some neat things coming up (I don't care if Christopher Moore says bulleting things isn't blogging. He hasn't written anything good since 2006.):

• I'll be attending a local training on Child on Child Sexually Aggressive Behavior
• I'll be on a research panel for a study on body image in young women
• I'll be attending a workshop in Syracuse on LGBTQ Teens and Suicide Prevention
• I am in the process of writing a research brief on LGBTQ teens and suicide
• I have an interview at Planned Parenthood for my Spring 2011 internship
• I'll be researching the Southern Tier Aids Program (STAP, one of my favorite local organizations) and SayIT intervention team, a part of the Crime Victims Assistance Center

I feel energized and excited to be involved in more than just my required class work. I can feel that my interests are sharpening and that soon I'll have a good sense of which population (LGBTQ teens, women in crisis) I'm most suited to advocate for and work with.

I definitely have a bee in my bonnet about going to grad school next year. I feel like I'm really amping up and will definitely be ready to flourish very soon. The question is whether or not we can afford it (we can't). If we figure out a way to pay for it (LOANS!), by the time I'm finished and start a career, will I have time for a baby? Which is more important to me? What if I forgo grad school for a baby and my parts don't work? It may seem as though I'm getting ahead of myself, but I'm not. This is the exact semester during which I need to do all sorts of work about grad school. I feel like if I don't do it now, I may not ever; I don't know if that's ok with me.