T-minus 4 months...

As I sit here on my bed working on a shooting script for what would be 'My Georgetown' documentary for my Catholic Imagination course, I begin to ponder what will I do when I graduate? The other night as I was out with my girls we realized that we have less than 4 months of our senior year of college. January is almost over and it has flown by. At first it was progressing slowly, perhaps because classes hadn't picked up yet. Now, I wish it was back to being slow so I can take in everything that I love about Georgetown. Frankly, its not going to be any slower. I have decided to be a tutor for the Kids 2 College program over in NE DC. That will make my Tuesdays and Thursdays super busy, from 8am to 8pm. I won't have much time to take a breath and rest, thus making my days go by too fast. However, I also wouldn't have it any other way. I'm looking forward to this program and being a tutor for a group of 6th graders. I think that I might be going to graduate school to get my masters in education, rather than Spanish literature. As much as I love Spanish literature I think education calls out more to me. I want to make that difference in that students life, even if they don't see it at first.

I'm not quite sure I'm ready to graduate just yet. I think I'm torn apart between wanting to stay and being ready to be grown. I guess its going to be a bittersweet separation. I hope that my younger siblings will one day experience this bittersweet emotion of being a senior in college. 

As I reflect back on my decision to attend Georgetown versus UCLA, I think I understand it more now than before. As a high school student my top choice was the University of Southern California (USC). I wanted to study marine biology and go on to get my PhD in marine biology, however that quickly faded when I was rejected from USC. Then I had many options of staying in state or going out. I decided that it was either "USC or bust." Clearly, bust meant Georgetown, even though I hadn't put much effort into my admissions application. They say that everything in life happens for a reason. I didn't quite understand why I had been admitted to Georgetown and not USC, I mean Georgetown is ranked higher than USC. Therefore, harder to gain admission. After a brief grieving period for being rejected, I embraced the fact that I was going to be a Hoya. My parents were happy for me, after all they had seen how hard I worked in high school to go to college. 

Being a freshman, away from home, about 3000 miles was tough at first. Also, I was in a long distance relationship, which didn't always make me feel good about myself. I often had thoughts of transferring to a school back in Cali. In the end I decided not to; mostly because I'm not a quitter and in the face of a challenge, I always overcome it. I still didn't quite comprehend how I ended up at Georgetown. Sophomore year came and went. Susan (my east coast mom said I grew up the summer between sophomore and freshman year) kept me on my toes at work, she always made sure I was taking care of myself. I began to get closer with my girls and start to enjoy the college life. It was during this year that I decided I needed an escape and a break from life AKA I decided to go abroad. Junior year was an amazing year! I spent it living, working and studying in Salamanca, Spain. [That year along with this year are tied for being the two best years of my life so far!] 

Throughout these three years I volunteered with DC Reads and DC Schools Projects to teach ESL. I think it was through these programs that I began to see a potential in education and my interest was sparked. When I was abroad I worked and taught English at an elementary school. Something that I enjoyed a lot. Now I find myself as a senior with the daunting task of deciding whether or not I want to work or go to graduate school. I think I want to go to graduate school and get my MA in education. Maybe this is why I was meant to attend Georgetown and not UCLA or USC. I believe that it was written in the stars for me to become a teacher and help others around me realize their full potential.