The Busiest Days

I only had one class today, and although that one class was an 8 a.m. (which is only possible with coffee), I feel busier than I did yesterday (a five class plus 8 hour shift at work day).  I'm assuming it's because I have so many little errands and such to do. I have to go to two review sessions, pick up and deposit pay check, finalize summer classes at the local community college, clean the animal cages, wash clothes, and then work on a research paper due in a week or so. Thank god I slept well last night!

I have a few minutes now to sit, blog, and people-watch (one of my favorite activities during down time). On my campus, there are students who play a zombie vs. human game and carry around nerf guns everywhere. I've always kinda wanted to just try it once, but being a commuter I'm not on campus all that often anyway. Have any of you participated in this game? 

Just googled it, much more popular than I thought!

Budget Cuts

I 'felt' the effects of the budget cuts for the first real time last week. My all-time favorite history professor was told half way through the semester that he should not return in the fall. I was aware that he only taught a couple of classes a semester and didn't have tenure yet (is that what an adjunct is?), but it was still a wake-up call for me. He just got his Ph.D., goes to a lot of conferences, does really interesting work in his field, and has a book set to be published this summer. It seems like he did everything right and it still wasn't enough. That scares me, and even though I read about this kind of thing happening all the time online, it really hit home seeing it happen at my school.

I was told by multiple people that budget cuts were the sole reason, and if they could afford to, they would keep him. I can understand that, but I don't understand why they didn't give him an earlier notice. At least then he might have stood a chance to find another job for the fall. Do any academics out there know of a reason (if any)?

But, of course, the day after I found out this news, I went to the library and discovered brand new smart-boards in all the group study rooms. Budget cuts?

Come One, Come All!

Welcome to the inaugural post of my first blog! 


I suppose I should introduce myself first. I'm a twenty year old undergraduate student currently in the middle of the second semester of my sophomore year of university. I commute and work part time to support my education. I have a Secondary Education and History double major and am planning on hopefully continuing to graduate school for a masters and PhD.  I have always had a passion for history, but just recently came to the realization that I would love to research and educate in a post-secondary setting. Originally, I only took on the history major in addition to the education one to improve my resume and job prospects. Through upper level history classes and coursework, my participation in the History Club,  and deep discussions with some awesome people, I 'found myself'. Some people find themselves through new friends, by being away from their parents, etc, but for some reason I grew and became sure of my future goals through my new academic life. Why and how this came about I hope to flesh out in this blog, among other things. 


This blog will be a chronicle of my growth and journey through the trials of becoming an academic. Maybe it will be helpful to some. Hopefully it will be helpful to me. Since blogs are public things, it would be great for some advice, encouragement, discussion, and dialogue along the way. So comment! email! I would love to hear from everyone and anyone who may come across this!