golden rings

1. social experiments
i decided that i like social experiments, like beauty and the geek. this means i do things that others consider "psychotic," like ignoring best friends for periods of time and for no apparent reason, except to see what happens (sorry about the nightmares). i also do things like create hypothetical situations, to test theories of reaction, which then get me into trouble. i sometimes make bad decisions in an effort to learn a lesson, or gain an experience. i like to observe those around me. believe it or not, i actually do pay attention to what you say, how you sit, and who you sit next to in class. i wonder how two people know each other, or why they're friends. i analyze the public interactions between people, then think about their private ones (but not in a sick, creepy sort of way). i like to pick people apart, then put them together, but a little differently. i also tend to judge and label others. it's okay, i know you do it to me too. people's personalities, characteristics, and behaviors fascinate and confuse me. i want to get into your brain, does that make me psychotic?

2. road trip
i have no idea what i'm doing this summer. i don't have an internship yet. i don't know if i'll get one. if not, maybe i'll road trip through the country. i want to explore more of the great wonders of this nation. i want to go to las vegas (for purely educational purposes), tennessee (you're the only ten i see), georgia (to pick peaches), alabama, louisiana, kentucky, west virginia, kansas, ohio, oregon, south dakota, new mexico... the list continues. there is just SO much in this country, relatively close to home, that i have yet to see or learn about. how terribly sad. i need to break free from this north-east bubble!

3. senioritis
i'm picking my first semester senior year courses in a few weeks. i've already started spazing. there are just so many i want to take! i have 2 required classes left- 305 and 441 (the names don't matter). THEN, there are 8 hotel electives i want to take, including (but not limited to): casino operations, airlines, wines, guest chefs, and a few more. however, of the 8 electives, 4 are only offered in the spring, and 3 are only offered in the fall. therefore, if i take my 2 requirements, plus the 3 electives in the fall, and then 5 electives in the spring, i'll be good. right? wrong. because THEN, i also want to take spanish again (i need to keep practicing and learning, watching volver a million times won't do it), web design, psych101, and a multitude of other classes. there are just too many! SO, this is what i am thinking: i'll definitely not be able to take psych 101 AND casinos, because they are both only offered at the exact same time (friday 10:10). so, drop psych. okay, so then if i take spanish in the fall, and web design in the spring, i'll be taking about 18 credits each semester of my senior year. good idea? not so sure. so, now i'm going to try to take some of these classes pass/fail. however, i can't really take a hotel elective pass/fail, but what if it's not really a "hotel elective"? what if i just want the credits to go towards free? i mean, i only need 19 more credits to graduate anyways, so why should it really matter? i just want to continue learning about this great industry called hospitality. and i want to expand my mind! LET ME LEARN!!!

4. what lies ahead
so after i road trip this summer, and overload next year, i'm on to graduation. i have no idea what i want to do. i always just figured i'd go into hotel operations, be a front desk manager or something, then work my way up, until i found a suitable husband, get married, have kids, and become the trophy soccer mom/housewife. but the more i think about it and the more i look around, there's so much more i want to do. in the past few days, i have seriously considered:
becoming a flight attendant- the only downside, being on reserve for the first year or so. but, i love traveling and it would allow me to travel around and make friends.
becoming a high school guidance counselor- i've realized that i really like giving out advice, and helping people solve their problems, and giving career advice. i never said i was really good at it, but i think i'd be fun to help steer kids in a direction, any direction really. plus, all those applications i'd get to read-over and forms to fill-out; sign me up!
becoming a career services person- this is similar to the guidance counselor, but on a college level. i thought seriously about this for a few minutes, then realized i don't want to deal with stressed, overworked, sleep-deprived, overambitious, college kids. i just can't handle them. everyone just needs to chill. ha.
i'm sure i'll think of many more splendid career paths i could take. but then, what good would my education be? does it really do me any good anyways? sometimes i feel like such a slacker here, because i'm surrounded by so many kids who have done so much more with their time both on and off-campus, that i feel like i should be doing more with my time than writing silly blogs. but you know, this is college, and it's what you make of it. i decide to make silly blogs, you can decide to make the cure for cancer. to each his own.

5. this is what cornell does to you
cornell, i love you, but sometimes i hate you. you have turned me into a competitive, introverted freak. okay, so maybe i was a freak since i was little, but i really wasn't always competitve or introverted. in high school, i never really cared that much about school or grades. i did enough work to pass, and studied more for things i liked, like calculus. but how i did, compared to others, was never really that big of a deal to me. but then i come here, where the only thing that matters is how you do compared to others. that's why they don't grade based on a 1-100 pt. scale, they grade based on means and st. devs. well, the hotel school doesn't, but the rest of cornell does. and i ask myself, why? you can't compare apples and oranges, so why are you comparing the little nerdy math-asian finance freak to the ditzy bopping blonde sorority chick? sorry for the stereotypes/insults, you know i don't mean them. see #1. anyways, what ever happened to that "everyone is unique and special" concept? aren't we all winners? i mean, isn't surviving life (which no one really does) hard enough? why make it harder?
secondly, my new found introversion. it's something i learned freshman year, through one of those MBTI tests (or some combination of similar letters). you know, that test you take that tells you if you're feeling or sensing, thinking or intuitive, spaz attack or OCD. something like that. well, in high school, it told me i was an extrovert, all the way. but now, it says i'm an introvert, and i say, wtf? how am I an introvert? have you met me mr. jung? but then, i think, and i realize, i am kind of introverted. like when i hide in my closet to watch movies all alone (except for when goofy joins me). or like how i prefer to work in room service, because then i don't have to talk to other people as much. and how i hate interacting with people who drain my energy (but then again, who doesn't). is it a bad thing? maybe it's not. i think through my introversion, i have actually matured (read: i've accepted the fact that i'm going to be alone so i might as well get used to it and learn to live). so maybe it's a good thing that i now prefer to be alone instead of large groups. i'm a lot more myself and self-sufficient. say hello to the future miss independent.