Oh the Places You Will Go...

I can officially cross one more thing off of my 30 before 30 Bucket List.

That's right ladies and gentlemen of the world...I am officially.... A COLLEGE GRADUATE!

As of May 14, 2013 I have an Associate's of Applied Science degree in Paralegal Studies!

This week has been amazing and overwhelming at the same time. In addition to graduating, there have been several other exciting developments, about which you can expect to hear in later posts. Suffice it to say, my life has taken on several changes in the space of a few days. It's exciting and scary at the same time!

The graduation ceremony was looooong and drawn out. Of course, since my degree falls within the School of Public and Social Services, we were the second to the last school to get to walk across the stage. Aaaand...because my last name begins with "T", I was the last person to walk across the stage from the School of Public and Social Services. LOL. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll marry someone who's last name is at the beginning of the alphabet, or at least, more towards the middle. Ha.

Anyway, it was a surreal moment. What was going through my mind as I took my walk of fame? " Heel, toe, heel, toe...don't fall girl." And as I reached the Chancellor to take my  diploma, "Smile girlfriend. Shake with your right, take with your left....keep smiling".

 Haha. And in a moment, it was over. The years of hard work, culminated in a single event that lasted for about 15 seconds. But wow...probably THE proudest 15 seconds of my life. My family was there. My 3 best friends were there. It was perfect.

Now, today...we celebrate!

My mom has been in town since Tuesday and today is my official graduation party. It's going to be a fairly small affair. So don't feel rained on if you didn't get an invite. Lol. I'm not one for big "to do's". My step-dad is going to do what he does best...grill! And that will be that.

And so...on to the next phase of my life....

Can't wait to tell you all about it!

Stay tuned!

20 Days...and Good News

EEEEEK!

I'm SO excited that I just have to write a little blurb about all the good news I received today!

Soooo....

I have an interview with the Louisville Bar Association scheduled for Monday morning! To the great advantage of paralegals in the Louisville and Southern Indiana area, the LBA has a placement service, in which it takes the information of qualified legal professionals, interviews them, and then matches them with a law firm that is looking for someone to fill a certain position. So, even though this interview won't guarantee me a job immediately it's definitely putting me a few steps ahead of the game.

Next...

And this may not seem like a big deal to ya'll...buuuut it was to me. Since I'm lacking in real world experience, many potential employers may be a little hesitant to hire me. As this is the case, many people (myself included) thought it would be beneficial for me to obtain a recommendation from one of my professors. I knew that this was a good idea, but I have been a little scared to ask my Litigation professor for one due to the fact that I feel kind of weird about asking someone to compliment me (LoL) and on top of that, not only is she a professor, but she is also an attorney with an active practice and quite busy.

Well...with the news of my interview and a requirement to provide three professional references, I went ahead and asked for the recommendation. The reply e-mail and the attached recommendation letter absolutely blew me away. I won't go into details, but it was high praise indeed, especially coming from an attorney. It was humbling to see that my hard work had not gone unnoticed and that it might actually aid me in finding a job.

I know that I am only at the beginning of my career journey, but even in little things like this, the LORD is already blessing me!

These are HIS wonderful works and they're marvelous in my eyes!

Good Night BLog Land!

The End and Christmas

Let the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus commence! The semester is officially over! I got an A on the Civil Procedure final and a B on the Tort Final. Not too shabby!

It's an enormous relief. Looking back, the semester seems to have flown by. But while I was in the midst of it, it seemed like it would never end. The most exciting thing is that when the next semester starts in January, it will be the beginning of the end! My last semester ever! Hallelujah indeed!

It's now exactly one week before Christmas and I feel like I can finally get into the Christmas spirit. In honor of the end of the semester and Christmas, I present for your consideration, one of my my favorite Christmas songs...It always makes me cry every time I hear it.

Thankful: My Only Man of the Hour

It's hard to believe that exactly a week from today will be Thanksgiving Day. When November 1st came, the end of the month seemed so far a way, and yet here we are, almost at the end.

As is my habit, starting today I will begin a countdown of the things I'm most grateful for, from the mundane to the hugely important. Given my current computer situation, the next seven days of posts may be a little less detailed than normal, but hey, a little is better than nothing at all, right?

Right.

So today, I am thnakful for my man of the hour. Actually my man of any hour. The guy who, my sister informed me today, started looking for me 5 minutes at a time out of the blinds in our living room when it got to be past the time I normally come home.

My cuddle buddy, pillow, wordless comedian, daily alarm clock, perfect listener, unrepentant kisser, and the best friend any single gal could have...ladies and gentlemen of blog land...today I am thankful for my doggie companion Mr. Oliver!

To him I dedicate this blusey ballad sung by Ms. Norah Jones, who is also a fellow dog lover.
Listen to the lyrics...hysterically cute and SO perfect!