First Day of College: Take Two

My classes have begun and all I can say is what a great semester. I will run through my schedule and give a brief description of each class (in my words, of course.)

Business 003-A class designed to help us learn how to develop teamwork skills by working in teams.

Advertising Principles-The blow-off class where you can have "no wrong answer."

Sociology-The class where the teacher is so enthusiastic that you feel you may want to change your major to Sociology.

Statistics-A sorry excuse for a math class for business students who are stereotyped as math dumb.

Business Law-An awesome teacher who wants to promote a challenge to his students. He specifically said it is common for him to teach that class for several semesters without a single person receiving an A. I am going to make sure I am one of those uncommon As.

Marketing-Another awesome teacher who would rather be anywhere but teach, so doesn't expect much out of her students.

I am not saying that I prefer the easier classes, but I ended up with many of them. Which is probably going to be a good thing considering Business Law could become the death of me this semester.

Another fun fact: Eryn and I have identical schedules this semester so we were able to share every textbook. Another side-effect of our shared schedule: more attention to being a twin. Of course we are going to look alike and of course we are going to sit together in every class (I guess the second one isn't so obvious.) The typical conversation during roll call became this:

"Eryn Swain"...."here."

"Kaila Swain"...."here." [teacher looks up]

"Are you two related?"....."Yeah, we are twins."

"Really? Identical or fraternal?"..."Identical."

"So one of you dyes your hair then?"..."Yeah, I do" (this is me talking.)

Everyone else just had a name called, followed by the statement of existence. I cannot, for one second, say that I wish it had been differently. I absolutely love being a twin and I wouldn't change that for anything, including less attention. Plus, in college, that means I am suddenly a little more memorable to the professor, thus, making a lasting impression. Now I can run with that and prove to the professor that I deserve to be there.

What to Do With My Life

Eryn, Kody, and I went to the Kirkpatrick's basement today to discover what we could salvage. Unfortunately, it wasn't much. Luckily, we were able to grab our mini muffin pan, our binders for the business school, and my wallet that holds every ticket stub from every event I have attended since I was eight, minus one. (That's a long story for another time.)

A pile of my clothes were damp and moldy, so they had to go. Also, my textbooks from last semester were wet beyond reselling. All of my electronics (including the nifty hand vacuum I recently purchased) have to be replaced. It could have been worse.

I feel like the saying "when it rains, it pours" fits my life right now. I just found out today that one of my mom's loans did not go through, which means that will probably be another loan for me. Debt makes me nervous. I can't say I wish it were different, because I am blessed to have the life I already have, but sometimes I wish things were easier.

At any rate, thinking about the excessive amount of debt I am acquiring, I started looking into the track for becoming a psychiatrist. Starting pay is 6 digits, but the job just sounds so exciting. Unfortunately, I will not start making that kind of money for another ten or fifteen years. After a bachelor's degree, I am required to go to medical school for four years, plus at least four more years of residency. If you have been keeping up with the math, that's eleven years from now.

Will it be worth it? Plus, the schooling will be terribly difficult. The reason I changed from Pre-Dentistry to Business is because of the difficulty. Do I really want to go through with this? At the end of the day, will all of this be worth it?

With so many unanswered questions, I am left waiting for school to start so I can get back to normalcy. What a week.

End of Summer Excitement

As school approaches, I can't help but feel excited for classes to start up again. I love the college life: living in the dorms, going to class, attending social events. I could go on and on.

For the last two weeks, I have been in California visiting my family. It was such a wonderful experience. I promised myself to take as many pictures as possible, because I know am I bad about that. At any rate, it was an amazing visit and I am happy I was given the opportunity to spend some time with my extended family. Not to mention, I had a great time with my mom and sister. It was a great way to end the summer.

Last Monday, I received news that Kirkpatrick's house had been struck by lightning and parts had caught on fire. I immediately thought about the family, making sure everyone was okay. Luckily, they detected the fire in time and made it out safely.

I care very little about the items I had left in the basement while in California. I will probably need to go shopping before classes start on Monday, but I am honestly surviving okay now without everything. Maybe that means I didn't need it all in the first place. I will need to replace some items immediately, like my business suit, which will be pricey. I am at ease because I know God will and does provide. Period.

God works in mysterious ways. The rooms with the most fire damage were the two rooms vacated by Eryn and me over the summer. Since we were in California, the rooms were empty. God made sure that fire didn't get too out of control and affected the rooms that could handle it the most. How amazing! I count the blessings in my life every day because I know simple things like that make me extremely happy to be a Christian.