Like my new LJ icon? I only recently learned how to make animated .gifs, by the way... sad, I know. But now I'm having fun making animated icons. I made this icon from an LOL Cats image... I love this one. LOL Cats is amusing, but boy do I get sick of seeing the stupid captions with intentionally poor grammar and spelling. It gets old. So, I like this "camoflage" one since it 1) is well made, 2) does not contain "cute" poor grammar or spelling, and 3) is SOOO CUTE! I need this as a poster...

Anyway, good news, people: next year I am going to SPAIN!!! So right now I'm listening to my "Latin Mix" on iTunes, which mainly consists of Maná, Gloria Estefan, and Shakira. I seriously need to expand my collection.... I can only listen to Maná so many times (as much as I love them). OK, now I'm just listening to Gloria Estefan. I figure the more Spanish I listen to, the more it'll help when I get to Spain. Not that I doubt my Spanish... but it helps to get in the mood. I'm really excited! I speak Spanish way better than I speak German, even though I've studied German throughout most of college and have spent more time in Germany than I have in any Spanish-speaking country.

I'm still nervous about going to Spain... and I know Brian isn't too excited about it, of course. I'm looking at all sorts of things online to get me looking forward to this (I already am, though :).

Right now the mother of my best friend, Teddy, is here in the US. We drove to Boston to pick her up. Teddy's mom is so awesome!!! I love her... she can't speak a word of English (OK... she can speak a few words... but no more than I know Bulgarian!), so Teddy has been an amazing interpreter for her. I've been learning bits and pieces of Bulgarian lately. It's been really fun. Last night we had dinner with my family. Today I'm going to drive us up to Vermont for a few days, then on Wednesday we'll come back down to Mass for the graduation festivities.

So yeah, things are exciting, and I have a plan for next year. I should be in Spain from September-May. So, I still need summer plans. I'll see what happens. Brian expects me to move with him to New York if he gets this job that he's applying for. I guess I will... but I admit I'm intimidated at the thought of moving to NY. It's way too big a city for my taste, but I can give it a try. If Brian is willing to put up with me running off to Spain for the better part of a year, I guess I can put up with living in the "Big Apple". haha :)

Peace out!

OK I started writing this last night....

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I feel like I'm panicking.... i don't know what to do next when I enter the "real world"!!! I mean, I have some ideas, but it's still scary and there's a lot to do.

Now I understand a little better why so many of my peers are just headed straight for grad school; going to more school is continuing what you've already been doing ever since you were 5 years old. It's similar, and plus, hey, you'll get an even more advanced degree to help you find your career of choice. But it seems that people choose grad school not so much because they are excited about studying their field more, but rather because it's the alternative to facing the big scary "real" world.

It's an interesting culture we live in, that our children are separated into their own little world from the adult world. This arose mostly after the industrial revolution, in which young children were exploited for labor and made to work in unsafe and inhumane conditions. Yet in history before that (and still in other cultures that don't necessarily emphasize formal schooling), children grew up and learned by first-hand experience. There was no separate, little world. There was no "What's the real world like?" questioning, because they were raised in the real world. And now, even, I think most working professionals don't live in the "real world"... but that's such a vague statement.
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....and will now continue!

Well today I feel a bit more confident than I did last week at this time. Maybe it's the beautiful sunny weather. Or maybe it's the yummy tea I'm drinking. Or the brand new Five-College Jazz Festival teeshirt I'm wearing. Yes, new cotton tees feel GREAT.

I was thinking more about my prospects for the future, and here are some ideas in general:

• Webdesign - I'm definitely interested in web design, but of course any time you search for web design as a job, the qualifications usually look like this:
  

  Expert knowledge of web-based presentation layer technologies, including HTML, CSS, XHTML; solid understanding of Content Management Systems; experience with AJAX and Javascript a plus
  

  
  OK, HTML, CSS, XHTML... no problem! AJAX and Javascript... problem. And also lots of web-related jobs want you to know SQL, PHP, and more.
  SO, I was thinking that one possibility for this would be to get some kind of job while taking one or two classes at a community college on things related to web development, like programming, digital art, etc.


• Music Education - I've heard music teachers say, "If I could do it all over again, I'd do exactly the same thing." That's a comforting thing to hear. I think I'd really like music education. It goes with my desire to find a job that not only earns me money, but also gives back to the community. So, if I decide to go to grad school, music education would be a good thing to pursue.


• Psychology - I could always go to grad school for that, too! But I have no idea what I want in terms of psychology. I mean, psych was a good major during my undergrad studies at MHC, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'll go with it. Everyone looks at me like I'm crazy for being a psych major who doesn't want to go STRAIGHT OFF to Grad School. I mean, don't you know there's no (good-paying) job in the whole field of psychology that requires only a BA? Seriously, people have asked me that. And I reply, "Who said I want to become a psychologist?" The study of human behavior and thought can be applied to pretty much anything that involves humans, really. haha

So that's it.... I also know I'd like to have work that's in some kind of not-for-profit field. And if there's one that involves traveling, that would also be cool.

I'm glad I know more about what I want to do!