Locked Out

It was my junior year of college, and I was in the midst of taking several Social Work classes, one of them being an afternoon class. If you prod me as to which one, I will never remember...but it was a required one, I do remember that much...actually, all of them are required, so that's a moot point.

I attended my noon class as normal, and then I sat the break waiting for my 7pm Spanish class to begin. The class was a 2 hour class, and was held twice a week, as was my noon class, so I had a five hour break- enough to drop in and buy a snack for dinner and perhaps study some vocab on the way to the building which was quite a distance away. It had horrible parking, so I usually walked, then walked back to my car after class, seeing as the walking distance had multiple emergency boxes and was well-lit.

Because I didn't drive my car between my noon and 7pm classes, it didn't dawn upon me to reach in my purse and check for my keys before I left the building. Big mistake.

When I was leaving my 7pm class- at nearly 9pm, in the winter, so it was dark out- I reached in my purse for my keys. Not there. Ohhh shit. Maybe I clipped them to my bag? I have a carabiner clip, so this is entirely possible. I check my bag, but my keys are not there. I dump out the entire contents of my purse on my car. Surely, there must be a set of keys in there somewhere. I dig through it all. Nothing.

I shove everything back in my purse, throw my purse over my shoulder, and unarm my backpack. I search through the small front pocket. No such luck. A few pens and a few stray items like a bottle of lotion, some ibuprofen, a highlighter, some notecards. Great. I can't find my keys. I'm locked out of my car. It's dark out, I'm in a parking lot, at the university, people are leaving, I'm 35 miles from home, and I'm locked out of my car.

I empty the large compartment of my backpack. I find books and a notebook. A stray package of crackers. More notecards. A very crumpled piece of paper. No keys. Great. I decide to backtrack, back to the building where I was last- maybe I dropped them there. (Not thinking to maybe check the Social Work building, where I was parked, first)

I call my mom and tell her I'm locked out of my car in Arlington, and that I am backtracking to see if I can find them. She says she's on her way, very unhappily I might add, since she's driving 70 miles to drop off a set of keys, and I take off for Preston Hall basement, the location of my Spanish class.

Freezing, I make my way into the building, and nobody is there but the cleaning crew. They let me in after trying to communicate for about 5 minutes about what it is I'm trying to find, but nothing is there. I bid farewell, and back to the Social Work Complex I go. My mom hasn't arrived yet, so I trek to my 10am class- no luck there (surprisingly, the door was unlocked). I ran upstairs to my noon class- ah, it was Practice III- but the doors are locked, so I find a cleaning crew lady, and she lets me in, but no luck.

Finally my mom arrives, with my keys, and I drive home, racking my brains trying to figure out where the heck I left my keys. It had to be Social Work, because I remembered having them in the morning, but I didn't remember seeing them in Spanish class. I was very frustrated with this, so I drove the 35 miles the next day (why didn't I call?) to ask if they had any keys turned into the office the day before (at both buildings).

Voilá. My keys had been in the Social Work building, in the office, the whole time.

I was locked out of my car and my keys were right there, within feet of where I was. I felt really smart idiotic that day. Now I almost compulsively check for my keys. We live and we learn!

Prompt Me: University of Choice

College/university: It's a major part of every student's life, whether they go or not, and if they go, the factors involved in their choice of colleges and universities are huge. HUGE.

When I was in high school, I was a starry-eyed believer in the dream college, which wasn't much, but was much different from where I actually ended up going. My dream college, my sights not set on Duke, Harvard, or Yale, was Baylor University in Waco, Texas, about an hour from where we actually live. I sent off my (incomplete, as I was still a high school student) transcripts, took my SATs, and did all the things a graduating high school student is expected to do.

Knowing that I was going for more than a "Community College," I involved myself in a number of extracurricular activities- enough that I had to "narrow the list" to which ones I wanted included in the yearbook & in the Who's Who Among American High School Students Edition the year I graduated. Colorguard, UIL, and Choir were my favorites, but there was also National Honor Society, Student Council, a brief stint on the Debate Team, all four years in the Who's Who records, class Salutatorian, and if you want to be specific, within UIL, I competed on the Spelling and Social Studies Team individually every meet, as well as a number of times on the Number Sense team, Math Team, Creative Writing team, once on the headline writing team, several times with each of the science teams in biology and chemistry (my physics skills were weak)...in other words, I was the top notch high school student.

I primed my transcript (106 grade point average, not too shabby!), and added the extracurriculars, certain that I'd be ready for the college of my dreams.

Then reality hit, and I got the paper that showed the tuition bill for a semester at Baylor University, as well as my awarded scholarship. I was only 1/4 paid for, and I was not able to commute an hour each way every day (even though in the end, that's what I essentially ended up doing).

My parents pushed for me to find something closer and less expensive, and so I (very apprehensively and not quite willingly) did. As the acceptance letter and scholarship to Baylor sat beckoning on my dresser, I applied to the University of Texas at Arlington, sent my transcript, scores, and whatever other desired materials.

March 11, 2005, due to the "10% rule" (and maybe the whole doing well in high school thing), I was accepted as a freshman into the University of Texas at Arlington. Quickie about the 10% rule- if  you are in the top 10% of your graduating class at a public high school in Texas, you are automatically granted admission to the public college or university of your choice granted there is room in their freshman class (cases like UT Austin call for further inspection, as their freshman class often is far too large to accommodate all the 10% graduates)

Needless to say, although the tuition was much more affordable, and I still had a scholarship, this was not my school of choice, and I was not happy. In addition, I wasn't able to participate in any activities- they all cost money. So here I was a college freshman, going to class for a few hours a day, and going straight to work. Not quite a way to adapt to college.

Four (or six) years later...I'm kind of glad I "chose" UTA. They have a really good school of social work...who knows what path I would have taken elsewhere? I did gradually accommodate myself to campus, although I never really found myself "fitting" on campus. It eventually became a place where I felt comfortable, and I'm kind of sad that I'm not there this semester, my first semester after graduation.

No, UTA wasn't my first choice, and it wouldn't have even been a choice had my parents not wanted me to go to a college "close to home" that was "affordable"...but nevertheless, I ended up going there, and you know what? I'm happy I did. I'd never take it back. The professors, the few people I did connect with, even though we lost contact, the experiences I had, they all had an impact on me. It wasn't my first choice, but it was a very good choice, indeed.

This weeks topic:  College

via

Today's Prompt:  I chose not to go to college....
or I chose the college I did.....

Under Pressure

I feel the pressure. I may not look or act like it, but I'm under a lot of pressure right now, and I feel it.

The headaches, I believe, are something nose/sinus related. Ugh. I hope they go soon.

Back to the pressure. Undue, probably- it's my own doing. You see, the state timeline says in about four to six weeks after receiving your application, they contact you about sitting for the licensing exam. According to my bank account, they withdrew the money about four weeks ago, which means that's when they received my application. I'm in that window. Under those circumstances, that means they should be contacting me any day now about sitting for my licensing exam.

Under those circumstances, I'm placing myself under a lot of pressure, because that means the next step is the actual exam. The one where I answer the questions and whatnot. Under those circumstances, if they don't call me back, I might need to worry, because that means they might be not approving me for the license. Under those circumstances...um.

Undetermined outcome. Undesired outcome? Unsure of what might happen. Under-informed on what actually happens at this stage of licensure. Unusual to be this tense about what might happen? I'm nervous, very nervous. It doesn't help that my sleeping patterns are out of whack and that my head is killing me because of a probably nose/sinus related thingamabob that has my head feeling like an inflated balloon.

Uninformed that thingamabob is actually a word, according to Chrome, but licensure, which actually is a word, is underlined according to spell check. I'm appalled that Chrome is so misinformed about the English language. Google, where do you get your information? I would Google it, but that would be a redundant task and likely wouldn't give me any answers as to why thingamabob is considered a word, when it is slang, while licensure is not a word. *smh* Google, *smh*.

Change of Pace

I know my mom will read this, it is only a matter of time. She called out a mistake on a blog, but I haven't been able to find it, so I'll leave it be until she tells me which one it is.

Today, we went to Six Flags. We rode lots of rides, and, of course, got lots of hot, bright, Texas sun. Of course, I took the day off from my internship to do so, so some of my duties have been neglected, so I must decide whether to go in tomorrow and put in some hours, since I must put in 240 hours in the next 2 months, or if I should take the day off, since both my knees are achy, I look like I have had a lot of sun (which is true), I wouldn't be able to stand long, and I'm a tad irritable.

Did you know: Six Flags, the theme park, originated in Texas? The original park is actually in Texas. The name of the park comes from the six flags that have flown over Texas, and I'm going to see if I can do this without looking them up (they may be out of order, though)....France, Spain, Mexico, The Confederate States of America, The Republic of Texas (when they were their own country), and The United States of America (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, BINGO!). Just checked wiki for the flags over Texas, just to be sure I was correct, and, in fact, I am. If you want, you can check out the wiki. That is, if you're a geek like me and must know all the little facts about everything.

Here are some of the things we did today:

Batman, the ride. This is the roller coaster where your feet are suspended. Totally awesome.

Mr. Freeze. Abso-frikken-lutely fast ride. Blink and you'll miss the entire ride. Great for a head rush

My sister and I waiting in line for Mr. Freeze. She's the cuter one holding the camera, I'm the one leaning over the rail.

This one I sat by and watched. I found out the weight limit and was embarrassed by the fact that I was too fat for a ride.

Superman Tower of Power. Better than the one in Missouri (St Louis). We like to brag when we go there. I can see my school from the top. It's awesome. Usually I go on it twice, but this time I didn't

Shock Wave. You can't see the coaster from here. Best experienced at night, when they turn the lights on the track on. Totally awesome.

The train. I tried to catch the beginning but someone stepped in the way. It's ok, it's not a real big attraction. Mostly it gets in the way when you're trying to walk across the park.

Observation tower. Often closed for wind. Today was closed for wind. Not surprising.

New Texas Giant. Same as the old one, the wooden coaster, but with metal tracking added, making it a much smoother ride. Was closed for renovations for two years, and reopened this year. It's completely amazing. The only down side is that I hate tunnels, and it has three.

The Chicken Coop on the Texas Giant. Yes, they embarrass you if you chicken out. Yes, they even make noises, chicken noises. It's hilarious, unless you're really freaking out because of anxiety purposes. Then, I feel bad.

Texas pride at the Texas Giant. (Taken from the 2nd seat from the front of the coaster)

Even the trash can has Texas pride

Truly Texan- The instructions in English on the left, in Spanish on the right, and on every ride, they are read in both languages. *smh*

After the day is done- my shoulders/chest are not sunburnt- they are merely blushing. Camera attention, you know. Plus, I'm tired.

So, that is my day at Six Flags. I'm sore, I'm tired, I'm a tiny bit red, and I have hours that I need to make up, but can't decide whether I should do that next week and squeeze a lot of homework into tomorrow, or spread homework out and put the hours in tomorrow.

Season passes. I'm gonna use the heck out of my season pass. I love Six Flags. I just have to find the time to use the heck out of it. Probably when the boys are doing something off campus and I can't tag along *aw shucks. Guess I'll have to go to Six Flags instead* *disappointment*. Maybe I'll shed a tear for dramatic emphasis. No really, I do plan on going to my internship if they don't have anything else planned that I can't go to. If they're going on a field trip or something, I'm gonna be hitting up those coasters, though. I didn't even see half the park today.

By the way, today is my Aunt's Birthday. Happy Birthday Aunt Cindy!!!!

SWEET!!