Go Ahead and Mark That One Off

I finished my master's degree at approximately 2:55 p.m. on Friday, January 28, 2011. And yes, it feels good!

Over the past six and a half years, I have taken about 185 credit hours of classes. If the philosophy of my alma mater is correct then that means I have spent 185 hours of my time in class (because I almost never missed class) and 370 hours outside of class studying, writing a ridiculous amount of papers, working on the dreaded group projects, creating countless powerpoint presentations and reading almost incomprehensible articles and books. That's 555 hours of  hardwork, blood, sweat and tears (really, those papers will cut you).


I still remember when I loaded up my 1998 pearl white Mazda 626 and drove more than 250 miles to Starkville, Miss in August 2004. I was all by myself hitting the road at 4 a.m. I don't even know how I made it there (I had only been there once before), but I did. When I got on campus I didn't even know where my dorm was. I literally had to call the registrar's office and get them to direct me to Herbert Hall. I pulled up to my new home and walked inside. The lady, who seemed very exasperated, handed me a key and told me that I would be "lucky" enough to be one of only three people on the entire campus to not just have one roommate but two. Yippee! I can still see the joyous look on my roommate's face when she opened the door.


Knock, knock.
(She opens the door.)
Me: Hi, I'm you're roommate!
Her: (while rolling her eyes) Gosh, another one!
Me: (shrugging my shoulders) Uh yea, looks like it.
Her: So you need help with ya stuff or what?


Awww joy. That was just the first day of an extremely trying two months of my life. I had no idea how much college would cost. I went to the campus bookstore to buy my textbooks and I was shocked at the prices...and extremely dismayed because I did not have $400 to buy books. And I looked for a job EVERYWHERE! Finally, I took one at Sonic. Needless to say it only lasted one night. So I resorted to student loans (which reminds me I'm going to have to start paying those back here pretty soon).


I was just a kid all on my own. I didn't go up there with a bunch of friends. Heck, my Mom didn't even drop me off. I was courageous, independent and confident. I was ready to take on the world. In actuality, it was more like naïve and ignorant. But I learned a lot over those two years, and then I decided to make my next move.


Hawaii. Ah, the spirit of aloha! I've never been before so why not move over there and go to school? So that's what I did. I boarded a plane in August 2006, and I haven't been the same person since.


Boy, was I in for the shock of my life...a culture shock that is. Only 45% of the students who go to BYU-Hawaii are from the U.S. mainland, while the other 55% comes from mostly the Asian-Pacific Rim and other foreign countries. But this was not what shocked me. I was shocked by all the Mormons! Now don't get me wrong I was raised a Latter-day Saint, but coming from southern Mississippi I was never surrounded by this many Mormons before. Everyone was so pure and spiritually motivated. It was inspiring but depressing at the same time because I felt like I couldn't live up to the school's high standard.


Brigham Young University-Hawaii

We had to follow an honor code while attending. This honor code includes "abiding by the standards of Christian living taught by the Church, being honest in all behavior, respecting personal and property rights, obeying the law, avoiding drug abuse, complying with all university regulations, observing the church's Word of Wisdom (which includes abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, tea and coffee), abstaining from sexual relations outside of marriage, observing high standards of taste and decency, observing university standards of dress and grooming and helping others fulfill their responsibilities under this code." I know what you're thinking: so you sign a piece of paper, but these are college students no one is going to follow the rules. But trust me they did. And I did too :)



My Mom and Me at graduation



Hawaii changed my life. I graduated in December 2008, I left the island and I have missed it ever since.

I immediately accepted a job at city hall that paid well. I always told myself if I couldn't find anything after I graduated then I would go back to get my master's. Well, that time came when my contracted position was not renewed. I looked for another job for the next three months before I decided to apply for graduate school. I received my acceptance letter on a Thursday night in August 2009 and started school just four days later.


It wasn't as grueling as I thought it would be. It was a lot of work, stress and driving (an hour and a half each way) but it went by fast and now I'm done. I can't even believe it sometimes. I feel like I've been in school forever. It's actually kind of weird knowing that I don't have a paper due next week and I don't have any exams to study for. So I'll go ahead and mark that one off my list of things to do...


Get my bachelor's
Get married
Get my master's
Get pregnant...

A Little Culture for Your Thoughts

Read here>>>>10 Ways to Look Like a Local in Asia

Americans can be extremely ethnocentric. We tend to live in our own little free world and think democracy is the only way to go. Even the mere thought of being born and raised in another country can make some people squeamish.

This way of thinking is what hinders us from taking a more in-depth look at all the thousands of cultures that exist outside our little bubbles. In fact, this ignorance is what gets many Americans in trouble when they attempt to live their dream and travel the world.

Just to remind you...no one is purely American. Sure, we may have been born here but our ancestry is from elsewhere. Learn about it, embrace it, be multicultural.

In the meantime, here are some things you can take away from the article:

1) Men in Shanghai always carry their spouses purse.

2) Do it big and eat at least one raw thing in Japan.

3) Refer to all your elders as auntie or uncle in Singapore. (They do this in Hawaii too.)

4) Don't dare cough in public in Hong Kong unless you're wearing a surgical mask.

5) When travelling to South Korea, be sure to know your blood type.