Lemme say first of all, that I have missed this blog, although I didn't realize that until this week. I love writing here and I have a bajillion ideas of new things I'm going to do this time around on here. You'll be introduced to one of them at the end of this post. Awesome.
So, as far as studying goes, I'm not seriously doing any until I get back to Alaska, June 16. What am I doing until then, you ask? Well, I'm glad you did, 'cuz I'm dying to tell you. :)
I've thought about a study abroad program for a long time, but there's something you should know about me: I'm kind of a chicken. But this spring I found myself living in Logan (instead of out of a suitcase, like I'd planned) and took the first step by going to a study abroad fair. There I got a million different flyers and booklets on a million different study abroad programs- quite overwhelming. I then painstakingly compiled them into a ginormous spreadsheet and narrowed my options. Long story short, after being denied two awesome internships, I found myself looking at a few different programs...and considered just going home to Alaska like the scaredy-cat I am. But I was listening to Harry Potter on tape at the time, and heard my fictional idol, Albus Dumbledore (who else?) give me some sound advice:
"Let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."
Semester at Sea it is, then. I'll be leaving on Wednesday: starting in the Bahamas, then embarking on this awesome ship, the MV Explorer, and traveling to Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and Trinidad. While on the boat I'm taking Spanish and a class called "Food Safety and Security," which is really ag-based, so I'm psyched about that. I'll also be taking a lecture course called "Engineering a New Tomorrow"...I'm just not quite sure what that involves. I'm really excited, but also really nervous. As a family friend pointed out to me recently, I don't know another soul going. But this is a good thing. It will really test my ability to be social and make friends. It will also test my ability to be an example of my faith...since I will not be in Utah and will most likely be the only LDS student aboard.
So, for the next month I'll be doing that. I have absolutely no idea whether or not I'll update this blog. The only studying for National Office I'll really be doing is reading, as far as I know right now. And the experience will be study enough, I'm sure.
I've got a few books left over from last year that I either never read or never finished. I started one of them tonight, because I got really sick and tired of organizing and packing up all my stuff (moving really sucks). The book is called "Brown Like Coffee," Morgan Parker recommended it to me last year. It definitely isn't a leadership book, but it's interesting. It's especially interesting for me, because it's all about living a Christ-centered life and discipleship. Not that I don't believe in that- it's just a different vocabulary and way of looking at things. So far I enjoy it...not sure how helpful it will be, but it makes me think, so that's good. (And it has already quoted Albus Dumbledore in the first chapter.) And I enjoy highlighting and writing in books once again. :)
Next up to read: Good to Great and Resonate, both suggested by a new friend, Samuel Cornthwaite...and a few other cheap ones I picked up at DI just for fun. I can't think of their names right now and am too lazy to go find them.
Alright, this is getting long, so I'll wrap up. As the last part of this entry, I'll introduce one of the new things I want to do in my posts, and that's blogging about people that inspire me...whether or not I've ever met them.
This first person is one of those in the "people who inspire me who are also complete strangers" categories. Her name is Stephanie Nielson. She is a popular LDS "mommy-blogger," but she also has an incredible life story which includes getting in a near-fatal plane crash, surviving, and going back to a new life as a changed person. I am an avid follower of her blog, The Nie Nie Dialogues, and you can read her story there. I watched a 20/20 special on it tonight, and even though I was already familiar with the story, I was impressed once again. I just kept seeing pictures of her (before her body was burned) and thinking about how gorgeous she was. And- how gorgeous she is. She really exudes self-confidence in a way that impresses the heck out of me. I wish that I could be as secure with myself and my abilities as she is. And I've caught myself thinking that of course she is so strong, she's older than me. (Probably because she has four kids.) But she's only 29. So, not a good excuse, Rachel. I'm so glad for people, even stranger bloggers, who inspire me.
Who inspires you?
Preview for whenever my next blog post is: watch out for incredible international experiences, a thank you shout out to all my supporters (already!), a post about the role religion plays in my adventure, and a post about a favorite friend who bears the name of a Peanuts character...you know who you are. :)
-Rachel
