I can has easy semester??

When my grades from Spain finally arrive, I will have the hours necessary to be classified as a senior. Wow. It seems only yesterday we were having our first Paideia meeting; and the day before was when I moved into my dorm room in Mabee, my first time living away from my parents.

This rollercoaster of an experience they call college has been above and beyond any of my expectations. The best part about it, however, is that I still have three semesters to go!

So, down to business, this semester. For this semester, I want to: 1) maintain a 4.0 GPA; 2) get an off-campus job (currently on the lookout, if anyone knows of anywhere that is hiring); 3) move towards a clearer view of what it is I want to do for the rest of my life; and 4) enjoy myself! How Paideia fits into these goals, I am not really sure, but I do know that I have a newfound interest in doing some volunteer work in the Georgetown community. I am also not really sure how we go forward with the Paideia program from here, thus I am coming into this situation with an open mind and hoping that we get a chance to shape what we want our group and personal experiences to be. The last time I did anything with Paideia was Spring 2009, as I studied abroad during Fall 2009, thus my knowledge of the program and its newest developments is very little.

Though I may not know a lot about what we are going to do this semester, I do happen to know quite a bit about studying abroad. I culminated my undergraduate study abroad experience this past fall when I studied in Madrid, Spain. This past summer, I also studied in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the summer before that, I was in Guanajuato, Mexico, for six weeks. As you might have noticed, these are all Spanish-speaking locations and as you might have guessed, I am a Spanish major (in addition to being a Communication Studies major). I must say, these were all very rewarding experiences, but Spain was downright life changing.

Not only did I learn more Spanish in one semester than I did in the 5 years of classes prior, but I also had an internship where I was able to work on improving the condition of human rights throughout the world and strengthening the condition of democratic governments in newly democratic countries. I am sad that I am no longer in Spain, but happy to be back in the United States (right now, that is, until the SU homework load takes its toll on me).

I am taking a lighter course load this semester, which includes two Spanish classes and one of my core classes in Communication Studies. I am starting to think about the two Capstones I will be required to do and even though they are months away, I can still see the heavy, dark clouds forming over my social life. No pain, no gain, right?

Oh ya…I almost forgot that I am planning on becoming healthier this year with the help of the workout program P90X. I will keep you all updated on this as the semester goes on.

Until lunchtime,

Brady