Gator Update #3

Hello hello! Here we are again for another Gator update.

These past 8 weeks few by but also felt very slow. Did anyone else feel that too?

I took two classes this past 8 week semester and I felt as if I was riding the struggle bus almost the whole semester. I loved these classes but I struggled with how to consume the information and how to take notes.  By week 7, I gave up taking handwritten notes and just read the assigned readings and did the assignment. If I needed to refer back to the text, I just pulled the textbook up in another tab. That seemed to work well and it ended up not taking up every precious moment I had to spare. 

Here are my thoughts on the two classes I completed:

Interpersonal Communication

I had no idea what to expect with this class. I thought I was pretty good at communications due to the fact I have been communicating (i think) efficiently for the past 30 something years. This class blew my mind. I truly enjoyed it. There are so many nuances and things that go into communication that you don't think about that made communication so complex. There were a few Ted Talks we were required to listen to that correlated well to that weeks lesson. Overall, this class was awesome. I highly suggest you take a course like this if you have the chance. 

One of the Ted Talks we watched was with Amal Kassir and she said “the greatest distance you can travel in the shortest amount of time is by asking someone their name.” This stuck with me and really made me think about small talk and others. 

Managerial Accounting

Again, just like with Interpersonal Communications, I had no idea what to expect with Managerial Accounting. I knew what accounting was and I knew what the word managerial was but together I had no idea what it was. This class too was super interesting and I felt like I really enjoyed it. It was definitely hard but rewarding. I did have a few panicked moments when I realize the answer I got didn't match what everyone else got in the discussion question and after reviewing how they did it and how I did it, I was able to see my mistakes.  Overall another great class. 

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Both classes had really responsive professors that would respond to my (sometimes panicked) emails quickly and were really helpful. Being a professor for an online class has to be hard and to tell you the truth, sometimes I don't like the professors but these two were awesome. 

Whew! I am glad this semester is over even though I really enjoyed these classes. Spring break is until the 28th and then I jump back in for 2 more classes for the last 8 weeks- Payroll Accounting and Spreadsheet Concepts. I am really excited for Spreadsheet Concepts. This course is going to be really beneficial for my job since I use Excel almost everyday. 

Did you miss my previous Gator Updates? Check them out here: First 8 Weeks and Second 8 Weeks

[[Education is not the learning of facts but the training of the mind to think- Albert Einstein]]

Weird dream

So I was hanging out with this guy when he got a call that his uncle had died and he needed to break the bad news to him and bring him home. So the guy tells me what's going on and asks me can I come along- he isnt good in these types of situations. So I agree and we head to the school. We explain to the school officials and they set us up in an empty office. The guy was very nervous and when his brother came in, he just started to stutter. So the guy finally blurts out" uncle Henry died." the brothers face had this expression I've never seen before and I looked over to the guy and he had his head in his hands. I thought to myself" jeeze i have to take control of this situation. So I grabbed the brother and sat him on my lap( I think he was in 2nd or 3rd grade) and he began to cry and he buried his head on my shoulder. I look over to the guy( whose name was never said nor do I know it) and he is in the same position. I start telling the little brother that his uncle loved him very much and he is still with you in your heart and memory. I was hoping the guy would hear this too. After about 10 minutes of this, both the little brother and the guy dried their tears and we left the empty office. We walked him back to class and that's where things get weird....
As the guy and I were trying to make our way out of the school, the guy turns into a girl. So we are walking around looking for a stairwell to get back out. We finally find one but it wasn't the one we came up in and we couldn't remember what floor we needed to go to so we started to walk up and then we realized we were I. The roof. Completely wrong!! So e start walking down the stairs and all of the sudden, we feel as if we were sideways and upside down. We quickly left that stairwell and just ended up sitting in the stairwell because we had no idea where we were going. After what felt like 20 minutes a guy, older distinguished looking man, enters the stairwell, looks at the two of us (which at this point the girl turns back into the original guy) asks us whats wrong And I start to tell him the whole story. He lAughs and says the way out is this way pointing at the same door he just came from. We hurried to follow him through and it ended up being the principals office where we originally started. Again this is where it gets weird. Sitting in the office was the secretary from ferris buellers day off, an old professor of. Mine- dr. Z, and the principal. We e d up sitting around taking to them and then the secretary's flower vase falls off her desk and the guy & me are transported outside to a local restaurant. The guy and I are walking to the outside bar and he said"thanks." then I believe I woke up.

It was a very strange dream. It seemed as if it went on for hours and we we're lost in the school for hours.

Hmm off to the dream dictionary....

Xoxo
-Elle

Its my (1/2) Birthday...

Golly, Its already been six months since my birthday. I decided to do a half year update.

January: My birthday (sadly no photos)

            

A ton of Interviews for Internships

February: Started my Internship

March: St. Patricks Day

April: Bought a Bed!

May:

Fundraiser for a local firefighter who was severely burned and hurt at a fire.

click here  for the story.

I got my Iphone.

I met  Megan McCafferty (again)

I graduated college

I went to Disney World.

 I started my accounting class

I supported the country and our veterans for Memorial Day.

Georgie met Jill Nicolini from Chanel 11 News on the Beach.

June:

Went to the Michael Buble Concert

 Got an A in my Accounting Class

July:

 Went to Fireworks on the Board walk

It has been such a great half of year. I am hoping that the next 6 months are as fun!

-elle

oh my gosh, these fireworks are AWESOME

that was said by a little boy tonight on the boardwalk while watching the fireworks. My parents and I went to the board walk tonight for the free fireworks. The boardwalk was fun, I went on the swings and on the carosel. I'm not much of a ride person. We played some skee ball and won some points. I have been collecting them since '95. I'm up to like 9000 and the only thing I can buy is a plastic whistle. hahaa I'll cash them in one day.

The rest of the day was nice, my new iPhone case came in the mail today. Its a penguin and its awfully cute.

I finally decided on a major for my bachelors degree. After a long thought process, I narrowed it down to 3 majors:
1. Education ( Mathematics)
2. Marketing/PR/Advertising
3. Accounting

Diversity was the key in my thinking. I already have an Associates Degree in Paralegal Studies and I really do like it ALOT but I cant get a Bachelor's degree in it unless I want to do an online degree, which I don't.
Here was my thought process for choosing these majors:
1. I always wanted to become a teacher. I toyed around with this thought all the way back in 2009 right before I started the paralegal program @ BCC. Though I thought I would want to teach elementary school but I don't- I want to teach math. That last statement made me laugh because from 1st grade all the way to 12th grade I had a tutor in math. (yes I know 1st grade math is 1+1. I was that bad in math.) Then my very first semester in college, I was placed in Calculus and I ended up passing the class with a B+ without a tutor. I did it all by myself. I felt awesome. I feel as if I can give back and help kids understand math like I did with the help of a tutor. Also I can work September to June in a School setting then June to September I can work as a paralegal so then I have 2 incomes coming in. BUT New Jersey seems to have an influx of teachers and there seems to be very few jobs for teachers. Not to mention the pension reform is still up in the air so that didn't seem to be a good idea right now.

2. I have always been a creative person (not as much the past couple of years but I am) and my mom has always told me that I would be great in Marketing/PR/Graphic Design. While I did take 2 Graphic Design classes, I realized that Graphic Design wasn't my forte but Marketing was still in my mind. For me, I feel as if I finally settled in here, where I live. I like the area, I am close to the beach, NYC and Philly. I am a homebody and I have finally realized. For me to make a decent living as a Marketing/PR/Advertising Representative, I would have to go north to the NYC area or West to the Philly Area. For me to commute either way would be A. very expensive and B. very tiresome (for me)
This didn't seem like a good idea.

3. If you told me 5 years ago, I would be considering becoming an Accounting major, I would have laughed so hard at you. Flashfoward to today, I am actually considering it. It combines what I like- numbers and math (but it all has to equal which is like a self check), being creative (naming the different accounts) and its recession proof. Who doesn't need an accountant?! After taking the Fundamentals of Accounting class a month ago, I realized with the right teacher I can learn and even love accounting. Now let me tell you- Accounting and I had a pretty tumultuous relationship. I used to cry during every class because I had no idea what was going on in this class. I got through it with a B the first time but in Accounting 2 oh gosh, I bawled my eyes out every morning at 8 am because the professor used to call on me every time because the professor liked to call on the student who got the lowest test score on first every since class; guess who that lucky student is- ME! Needless to say, I got my first D ever on my transcript. After I saw that, I was done with Accounting FOREVER. I took Accounting 1 again 4 years later at a community college and I did decent but I still didn't fully understand it. A year passed by and I decided to take Fundamentals of Accounting and I fell in love. I loved this so much that the professor even noticed and decided to point out to me (in front of the whole class) that I should be an Accounting major. I laughed it off but after I really started to think about it and I was intrigued and I started to investigate the major.
After a long time of research and weighing the pros and cons, I decided to go into Accounting. Since I am considered a Transfer student so I need to contact the transfer counselors and see where I can get the most bang from my buck.(ie Where the most of my credits to accepted, the lowest price etc. )

This is a big decision for me. I don't really like big decsisons and I finally realize that this is what I want to do. I am still interested in Paralegal and Legal Studies. I talked to my parents about it and they are so happy for me. Its been a rocky 5 years for me but I am happy to be back on track.
Also I will be paying for my Accounting degree (possibly MBA) all by myself. This is a choice made by me. My parents of course offered but I want to invest my hard earned money on myself. I have some savings bonds that I will probably use to help me along.

Along with these classes I hopefully will be working at the courthouse full time. I realized its not a rush for me to get my degree, I have to just take it one step at a time.
-elle

oh my god, these fireworks are awesome.

The title of this post was said by a little boy tonight on the boardwalk while watching the fireworks. My parents and I went to the boardwalk tonight for the free fireworks. The boardwalk was fun, I went on the swings and on the carousel. I'm not much of a ride person. We played some skee ball and won some points. I have been collecting them since '95. I'm up to like 9000 and the only thing I can buy is a plastic whistle. haha I'll cash them in one day.

The rest of the day was nice, my new iPhone case came in the mail today. Its a penguin and its awfully cute.

I finally decided on a major for my bachelors degree. After a long thought process, I narrowed it down to 3 majors:
1. Education ( Mathematics)
2. Marketing/PR/Advertising
3. Accounting

Diversity was the key in my thinking. I already have an Associates Degree in Paralegal Studies and I really do like it ALOT but I cant get a Bachelor's degree in it unless I want to do an online degree, which I don't.
Here was my thought process for choosing these majors:
1. I always wanted to become a teacher. I toyed around with this thought all the way back in 2009 right before I started the paralegal program @ BCC.  Though I thought I would want to teach elementary school but I don't- I want to teach math. That last statement made me laugh because from 1st grade all the way to 12th grade I had a tutor in math. (yes I know 1st grade math is 1+1. I was that bad in math.) Then my very first semester in college, I was placed in Calculus and I ended up passing the class with a B+ without a tutor. I did it all by myself. I felt awesome. I feel as if I can give back and help kids understand math like I did with the help of a tutor. Also I can work September to June in a School setting then June to September I can work as a paralegal so then I have 2 incomes coming in. BUT New Jersey seems to have an influx of teachers and there seems to be very few jobs for teachers. Not to mention the pension reform is still up in the air so that didn't seem to be a good idea right now.

2. I have always been a creative person (not as much the past couple of years but I am) and my mom has always told me that I would be great in Marketing/PR/Graphic Design. While I did take 2 Graphic Design classes, I realized that Graphic Design wasn't my forte but Marketing was still in my mind. For me, I feel as if I finally settled in here, where I live. I like the area, I am close to the beach, NYC and Philly. I am a homebody and I have finally realized. For me to make a decent living as a Marketing/PR/Advertising Representative, I would have to go north to the NYC area or West to the Philly Area. For me to commute either way would be A. very expensive and B. very tiresome (for me)
This didn't seem like a good idea.

3. If you told me 5 years ago, I would be considering  becoming an Accounting major, I would have laughed so hard at you. Flashfoward to today, I am actually considering it. It combines what I like- numbers and math (but it all has to equal  which is like a self check), being creative (naming the different accounts) and its recession proof. Who doesn't need an accountant?! After taking the Fundamentals of Accounting class a month ago, I realized with the right teacher I can learn and even love accounting. Now let me tell you- Accounting and I had a pretty tumultuous relationship. I used to cry during every class because I had no idea what was going on in this class. I got through it with a B the first time  but in Accounting 2 oh gosh, I bawled my eyes out every morning at 8 am because the professor used to call on me every time because the professor liked to call on the student who got the lowest test score on first every since class; guess who that lucky student is- ME! Needless to say, I got my first D ever on my transcript. After I saw that, I was done with Accounting FOREVER. I took Accounting 1 again 4 years later at a  community college and I did decent but I still didn't fully understand it. A year passed by and I decided to take Fundamentals of Accounting and I fell in love. I loved this so much that the professor even noticed and decided to point out to me (in front of the whole class) that I should be an Accounting major. I laughed it off but after I really started to think about it and I was intrigued and I started to investigate the major.
After a long time of research and weighing the pros and cons, I decided to go into Accounting. Since I am considered a Transfer student so I need to contact the transfer counselors and see where I can get the most bang from my buck.(ie Where the most of my credits to accepted, the lowest price etc. )

This is a big decision for me. I don't really like big decsisons and I finally realize that this is what I want to do. I am still interested in Paralegal and Legal Studies. I talked to my parents about it and they are so happy for me. Its been a rocky 5 years for me but I am happy to be back on track.
Also I will be paying for my Accounting degree (possibly MBA) all by myself. This is a choice made by me. My parents of course offered but I want to invest my hard earned money on myself. I have some savings bonds that I will probably use to help me along.

Along with these classes I hopefully will be working at the courthouse full time. I realized its not a rush for me to get my degree, I have to just take it one step at a time.
-elle

i'm a nervous nEllIE today

Why, might you ask? I am starting my internship at the court house tomorrow. This is quite nerve racking for me. Even though, I have already interned for a senator, this should be a compatable to what I was doing there. This internship has a lot riding on it- a future job, whether or not I return back to retail, whether I fill out a resume at another store closer to home who give health insurance and tuition reimbursment. This 225 hour internship is potentally my future.

Well, I will be probably back on here, later.

Maybe I'm the one you won't forget.

-elle

I just haven't found you yet....

Today was an interesting day. I had to go up to school to register ( in person) for  my internship aka full time paying job at the court house. (silent happy dance) So I take the hour trek up to school, find a perfect parking spot and I saunter on the path to the Registration building to grab a registration sheet, then I head over  to the experiential learning office to pick up the packet my internship coordinator left for me. After that I wondered through the buildings to get to the L building where my paralegal classes are so I can talk to my professor so he can sign the release, blah blah blah. I find the Learning Assistant who has a lot to tell me ( you're smart you need to go to law school [yeah okay let me find $100k+] )/ tell me (come next Wednesday and listen to speakers)/ babble on about other things. Finally my professor comes in and I practically just into his arms because I am so eager to finally be registered. He finally sits down and writes his spiel and I am on my happy way across the hall so the secretary can sign the deans signature and stamp it so its official. I could have done that one!
I take my bouncy self back through the maze of the buildings and find myself sitting in the registration building filling out the registration form. I literally hop on the line and find myself listening in on the conversation that is transpiring in front of me:
older lady: I live in Monmouth County now
registration lady: Ma'am does your license show that your address is in Monmouth county?
older lady: No, I just moved here last week.
 ( this banter goes on for a few minutes)
registration lady: what is your major?
older lady: I don't have one
registration lady: oh, I need to put one in or it wont let me go forward. Is business okay?
older lady:( obviously annoyed now) I don't care what you put down, I am only taking one class
  (this goes on for a while too)
During this banter, a HUGEEE line forms behind me. I'm thinking to myself, please god make this lady get done fast!!
Finally after about 15 minutes, another lady comes to a computer and says " I'll take the next person" and I speak up and say "ME! " like that wasn't the obvious choice. HA this is the conversation between me and the lady:
me: hi
lady: hello
me:.....
lady: ......( busy clacking away on the key board) (not looking up)
me:.....
lady:...........
me:..................
lady: here you go.
me: Have a wonderful day!!!!!
Again I bounce down the hallway about 20 feet to the accounts receivable window and pay the ridiculous 3 credit fee of $796.32.

I leave there and bounce down the hallway again because I finally am registered for my final semester!

I wander back to my car and head home and ate lunch with mommy.
After lunch we went to the gym, and of course we saw Michael Buble. I melted like a 12 year old HAHAH. Then there were all these 12 year olds running around. Legit 12 year olds at the gym, in tight ass clothes that looked about 2 sizes too small. Really girls!??! go home and play with your barbies!

Anyway, I am all done with my rant/funny stories/antics about the day.

stay positive.

-elle