Last semester, my professor presented a very great opportunity to me. The greatness of this opportunity did not, at first, seem apparent to me. In fact, I politely listened to her and, all the while, was thinking that I would not take it. However, the more I investigated, the more I realized the great chance I would be passing up.
So, after prayer and counsel from my parents and close friends, I decided to take her up on her offer: to become one of the chemistry lab assistants at my college. It is a paying job that works around MY schedule, instead of the other way around. I can choose my hours and, if I get all my work done, study while I'm there for work! Who doesn't like getting paid to study? Plus this will look great on my record when I am applying to pharmacy schools.
For the longest time, pharmacy has been my goal. However, sometimes I have wondered if my goal is His goal. I have asked God if this is the direction that He wants me to take...I believe He has answered me by preparing the way and opening doors that only He could open (the lab assistant job only being one of the many). So far, reaching my goal has been hard work, but, with His help, I am finding that it is not impossible.
You can email me: hannahlizbeth@gmail.com,
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Become my friend on Facebook,
Or, if you don't like Facebook, find me on Myspace.
Be sure to specify that you are my blog reader so that I will know who you are :).
It's been a while...but I have been quite busy with, well, life. School is going very well. However, I must say that I have definitely missed homeschooling...waking up late, doing school in pajamas, not having to drive to a boring, box-shaped, flat-roofed building to learn five days a week. In homeschool, I didn't have to worry about "keeping up" with the rest of the class...there was no "rest of the class" to keep up with. If I had difficulty understanding a certain part of a course, I could slow down and spend more time in that area, or, on the other hand, I could speed up if I was comprehending it well. However, in a regular, college classroom, it has been nice having a professor there to answer questions and explain things further if necessary. While I was being homeschooled, I was used to taking out a fine tooth comb and going through the textbook to figure out things on my own; so, being able to simply ask the teacher a question has been nice.
The classes I am taking are challenging: Calculus I, English Composition 102, and Chemistry; the math and chemistry class are each five credit hours and the English class is three. I have to say that I am certainly looking forward to the end of this semester. I do not really enjoy math, so, needless to say, I am ready for Calc. I to be over! However, I find chemistry to be somewhat more interesting which is good because I have three more semesters of it. One of the classes I had been dreading (really, really d-r-e-a-d-i-n-g) was English Comp. I did not have a formal writing course in high school, but did write a blog consistently for a while. But I was terribly afraid that this was one area where I would really struggle in college. However, it has turned out that blogging truly taught me how to write...who would have thought? *smile* My professor has been very pleased with my writing, thus I am very relieved!
It is hard to believe that I have almost completed my first year of college...it seems to have gone so fast, but, in some ways, it seems like it has taken an eternity!
A book bound in a beautiful cover...just makes you want to pick it up and read it! Beth Moore has done an outstanding job of taking you through the gospel story and showing you things you probably have overlooked before.This devotional is set up to take you through 90 days of getting to know Jesus better. Each day you start off by reading scripture then answering questions. Beth then takes you through and helps give you a better understanding and more indepth look at the Word; she then closes in a prayer.
Jesus: 90 Days with the One and Only is a devotional set up more for young adults.
I plan to add to this more and will keep a link posted on the sidebar.
Many books and articles have been written on homeschooling. It is a touchy subject with a lot of people because some are strongly for it and others are adamantly against it, and neither of these groups are willing to back down without a fight. I was homeschooled kindergarten through twelfth grade and encountered many a person who gave me an odd look when they heard how I went about doing school. Some were worried I was socially being deprived; others were skeptical that I was actually learning anything. But after all of those years, I can honestly say those people were worried and skeptical for nothing. I found that home school prepared me well academically, but it also greatly helped my life outside of school.
Homeschooling makes it more fun and exciting to learn and does not require every child to conform to the exact same way of going about it. It gives parents the ability to set up the curriculum around their child instead of trying to fit their child into the curriculum. From a very young age, I gained a love for exploring and learning new things because my parents made it interesting. They did not just shove a two inch thick text book at me and lock me in my room until I finished reading; yes, I had to read text books but they also took me on numerous field trips and gave me hands-on experience with things. Also, not every child learns the same way. For myself, I learned to read at the age of four while my younger brother did not learn until he was nine. Now, one would never know the difference because he is fourteen and reading on college level. So, this way of doing school can be tailored to fit a specific child’s needs; this causes a love for learning to develop because the child does not feel pushed or made to feel dumb just because he learns in his own unique way.
Also, homeschooling helps to get rid of the peer pressure problem. Since one learns at home and is not around the influence of his peers five days a week, it teaches him to become an individual. I learned that it is okay if I am not a carbon copy of the girl next to me; I do not have to talk, act, or dress exactly like others around me. Instead of friends being a child’s advisors, the parents have the biggest impact because that is who he spends most of his time with. This can help one to avoid drugs, alcohol, having babies out of wedlock, and many more things because the parents’ advice is seen as valuable and trustworthy even over the teasing and pressure of his friends and peers.
Another benefit of this way of doing school is that it helps create a better family life. Because the parents are the child’s teachers, he is not taught things contrary to his parents’ beliefs. He learns from his parents and therefore, will learn the same values and attitudes toward life. Sometimes I hear brothers and sisters yelling at and calling each other names or teenagers screaming at their parents that they “just do not understand” and I realize why people are shocked that my family really does like spending time together. We have our disagreements, but they never turn into full blown arguments. Because one does not have to leave and go to school every day, one gets to know his family better and therefore, gets along better with them. Homeschooling helps to bring a family closer together.
Some may be worried that homeschooling may hinder a child when he goes to college, but this is untrue; it actually gives him an advantage. Home school teaches one how to study and dig things out of text books for himself. In the earlier grades, this is not necessary, but as one progresses and goes into the higher grades, he has to read the text books and do the homework in order to do well on the tests. One cannot just rely on a history or science teacher’s lectures to be enough to get him by because not every child’s parents are history or science majors; so, one has to learn to get the information out of the text books on his own. As high school was coming to an end and college was looming in my very near future, I was worried that I was not ready for college level work and could not do it. To my great relief however, I found that the classes I had taken throughout my school career and the studying strategies I had learned did a great job of preparing me to handle the work my college professors handed to me.
Home school has so many benefits that, for most people, it would be the best choice hands down. It helps develop a love for learning which is not snuffed out by having to read stuffy, boring books that only tell about something instead of experiencing it for oneself. Learning at home helps a child figure out who he is and be confidant in that, and it creates a closer family which will help a child in more ways than one. Also, it more than adequately prepares one to face all of those challenging courses in college. Homeschooling is a great way to teach a child and truly prepares him for a lifetime of learning!
Is it that time already?! Time to organize my books, calculator,pencils, erasers, pen, and notebook? Time to leave the comfort of my bed earlier than I've been accustomed to the last few weeks? Time to worry about whether there is road construction or something else that will cause me to be late? Sigh...alas...it is almost here...time to head back to...school.
I have to admit that I have dreaded that moment from the time my vacation first started. But it will be good to get back into a routine and actually start learning again. That task is not easily accomplished, though. It takes hard work and determination to get through college...especially a secular one.
A college student really has to take one day at a time...one class at a time. If I start to think of all of the courses ahead of me, I began to feel this overwhelming sense of defeat and impossibility; I have to stop and remind myself to work and get through the day set before me...not the ones in the future.
This applies in more areas than just school. Enjoy memories of yesterday, but don't live there. Pray and plan for tomorrow, but don't live there either. Live in today. Live it to its fullest!
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about
itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
-Matthew 6:34
Charles Bingley (called Bingley for short)
He is a Standard Schnauzer brought all the way from Iowa to southern Illinois. This breed was originally from Germany where they got their name, Schnauzer, because of the big nose they possess. At the moment, Bingley weighs around 33 pounds, but he could reach a maximum weight of 45. He was born in May so he is a spring baby. And I mean "spring" literally. He bounces around like tigger.
Oh, doesn't that face say it all? Sweet, loving, loyal, mischievous, stubborn, and a completely spoiled little stinker! See that big black nose? It gets him in trouble because he sticks it in everything...he is so nosey!
Yes, I'm talking about you, young man! See, he can be serious too! But it doesn't last that long...
