What a Week...

Weeks like this one make me question my sanity sometimes...but lucky for me the weekend has finally arrived, and I'm hoping to catch my breath. If you asked me to define what made the week so busy, I'm not even sure I could pin-point it, but I think it had to do with the fact that I went home to work last weekend. So, I ultimately lost my weekend time to get ahead or stay on top of homework. So, this week has been a race to catch up.

Also, I decided over the course of the weekend to apply for a Truman Scholarship. This a prestigious award for those planning on going into public service. The scholarship pays for grad school so obviously it's a huge deal. People from across the country apply but to even make it into that pool of applicants, you have to be nominated by your university. MSU has 4 nomination spots and I'm hoping to receive one of them. The application is intense and I should have started the process over the summer, but alas I didn't really consider it until someone seriously suggested that I should be applying... So now I have a month to prepare my application for the university. Wish me luck!

On top of the Truman application I'm still busy filling out internship applications. I drafted a statement of interest for the State Department and had our career services office look it over along with my resume. I feel like I have a good start on those applications, but there are a lot of places to consider and a lot of forms to fill out...

Then, on top of endless applications I've been working on a problem set for my game theory course. While it's not exactly an enjoyable activity I do enjoy the class and the problem solving thinking it encourages. I've been finding endless opportunities to apply game theory logic to real life. In essence, I am the epitome of a nerd. But you already knew that... I also had a research proposal due today (Friday) for my international security course so that was another task to work on, in addition to class readings. However, on the bright side, I am now finished with all of my summer study abroad papers. They are submitted and all I need to do is wait on the grades! In the mean time I'll just move on to the new papers and assignments. 

I'm preparing myself for an intense weekend of productivity. The more I get done in the next few days the easier the week will be. I hope you have all had simpler weeks than mine! Just as a disclaimer, while I probably sound like I am complaining, I was reminded earlier this week by my aunt that I would be bored if I didn't have so many activities...and she's completely correct. I thrive off of staying busy so I just need to keep working and set goals to look forward to! My light at the end of the tunnel is  the down-time I'll finally have in November when all my deadlines are met. But until then, it's going to be a lot of late nights and coffee! I hope you all have wonderful weekends! I'll write soon! 

-E

P.S. I'm sorry I posted this a day late. I actually finished it on Friday as promised but I didn't have the chance to post it!

Welcome Back!

Hello everyone! So it’s 3 weeks into the semester and I don’t know where the time has gone… My life has been a constant deluge of work, student group activities and reading. I knew it was going to be a busy year, but I wasn’t anticipating it hitting me quite so quickly.

Anyway, I hope you all had great summers. This summer was a once in a lifetime experience for me. I participated in a James Madison sponsored study abroad to Brussels, Belgium for the month of July. There we studied European Union Institutions and International Security with a focus on NATO. It was amazing to be in a city where I could see myself working one day. And yet Brussels was only one fraction of my experience abroad. I worked extremely hard last year to save up money and seek out scholarships so that I could enjoy my study abroad but also take the opportunity to do some additional traveling.

My actual adventure started in Israel in June. I stayed with a friend in Jerusalem for a week and fell in love with the country and culture. After Israel I flew to Rome to visit one of my best friends who was studying abroad there. I had a whirlwind weekend with my best friends (another one of my friends flew in from his study abroad in Valencia) but then took off on my own to southern France. I spent 5 days in Nice where I met amazing people at my hostel and traveled along the coast by day. It was the most relaxed part of my trip to be sure. Then I took off for Brussels to meet up with my classmates. The weekdays were filled with class and group excursions but weekends we had free to travel and explore. During that time I was able to visit the picturesque city of Brugge and then spend another weekend in Amsterdam. Words cannot describe the experiences I had. I summed up my travels with a few days in Paris, France before flying home on August 1^st. Below are just a few of my many pictures. I think I honestly took over 1,500 photos. I’ll make sure to post more photos throughout the year.

Once back in the Michigan it was a rush to get everything ready for the new school year. I had to write a few papers for my study abroad program…which I am finally finishing up this weekend…and pack up my life into boxes so I could move into my new apartment. I moved into my new place at the end of August. It was surreal not to be living in Case Hall anymore but I feel like I live there anyway what with the amount of time I spend there for work, class and student organizations. Nearly a month later apartment is feeling a lot more like. I’ve printed some of my photos and am eager to put the finishing touches on my bedroom next week…if I ever find the time. We’ll see. Lately I’ve just been trying to take everything as it comes. I’ve been fortunate to have a plethora of opportunities lately. Now I just need to prioritize and conquer the to-do list that comes with those opportunities. Wish me luck!

Anyway, I’m eager to share another year with you through this blog. While I’ve made this goal before, I am determined to stick with it this time; I am going to be better at blogging. My goal is to have one blog post a week (at minimum) so that I can keep all of you a bit better informed about life at Madison week by week. Please feel free to ask questions and let me know what else you’d like to learn about. I’ll be sure to share more stories of my summer studies abroad and my current task of filling out scholarships and internship applications. But until my next post (which will be next Friday at the very latest) I will say goodbye! Enjoy your weekend!