Intern Intern Intern!

InternQueen.com

The past week or so has been all about the art of Internships.  After my first internship prospect for my senior year-long internship at the Lund Family Center fell through, I was a little at a loss for what to do next.  Fortunately, Tarn (one of the Social Work faculty at Champlain) contacted me telling me she had a contact at the Arbors at Shelburne and that she thought this woman would be an awesome supervisor for me.

Soooo...I immediately e-mailed Tara (my potential future supervisor at the Arbors,) and asked to set up an interview and a tour.  A little background info on the Arbors: it is essentially a retirement home that includes a respite program, as well as an Alzheimer's and dementia population.  Last Friday 6/10, I went out for my interview.  I was considerably nervous because all interviews can be a little scary.  But Tara was very welcoming and accommodating, and we had a great conversation about what I could do to help out at the Arbors (AKA my internship duties).  After the successful interview portion, I was taken on a tour through the facility and got to meet some of the other staff and residents.  Tara told me she would love to have me on as an intern, and BAM!  Internship!

At first I was a little skeptical about working with the elderly because I had had a bad experience volunteering in a nursing home when I was doing volunteer work when I was 14 years old.  But, I attempted (and am still attempting) to keep an open mind about this.  After the tour I became very excited because it feels like Tara is going to be an awesome supervisor for me, and the community just feels much more inclusive than my first experience working with the elderly.  This is going to be such a great opportunity for me.  I'm hoping that I find I have a passion for working with the elderly, and that this will prove to be an experience that points me in a career direction I'm meant to work in.  (I am currently picturing Pocahontas with John Smith's compass and the arrow in her heart pointing her in the direction she needs to go.)

Not only am I excited about possibly finding a population I'm passionate about working with, but I'm excited about the job security that will come with this particular population.  As we all know, the baby boomers are all finally reaching retirement age.  Over the next 20 years (at least) there is going to be a great need for people in social services to work with and for the elder population.  This means there will be a promising start to my career and a great kickoff to the first 20 years of my professional career.  Whoo hoo!

My second bit of news relating to internships is that I have been accepted to be an Intern Queen Campus Ambassador for Champlain College!  If you have never been to the Intern Queen, Inc. website, click the giant link at the top of this posting.  Lauren Berger started this site to help students get internships.  Her website has a special system to help potential interns connect with potential employers.  The Campus Ambassadors represent their respective colleges and universities, and help connect the students at these educational institutions to InternQueen.com and ultimately to a future internship!

I am what looks like the first Campus Ambassador for any college/university in the state of Vermont, and consequently, there are very few internships posted for VT.  I'm hoping to change that.  Also, the population of social services/humanities students and potential employers seems to also be pretty bleak.  Again, I hope to work on changing this and to get Vermont more interested and invested in InternQueen.com and Lauren Berger's mission.  I think the concept is absolutely great, and I'm honored to represent this company!

All in all, my professional life is looking up again.  I have successfully secured an internship for my senior year, and it's will a supervisor who I think will meet all of my needs easily.  (I like someone who is approachable and generally accessible in case I have questions or in case an emergency arises.)  I hope I will prove to be an awesome addition to the Arbor's team, and that I find I really do have a true passion in working with the elder population.

Everything in good time.

SO-if you're looking for an internship of sorts, please feel free to contact me!  I currently have the inside scoop.  :)

XOXO
~Megan

Been A While/New Phone!

Sorry about the seemingly unrelated topics in the same post.  It has been a very long time since I made my last post, so I'm trying to make like a good blogger and actually blog.  :P

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/controller?item=phoneFirst&action=viewPhoneDetail&selectedPhoneId=5355&deviceCategoryId=2  This is the link to the new phone I am about to get.  It has landed in Williston, VT, and I am currently waiting for it to get dropped off at the Champlain College mail room so I can pick it up and be on my merry way.  I'm SO EXCITED to have a new phone again.  Verizon is wonderful about allowing me to upgrade/update my 2 yr contract just about every year, and they allow me to upgrade my phone for free.  Which is awesome.  Ordering this phone online was also completely free (shipping and handling included!) so I'm pretty excited about this.

For those of you who are wondering how Ryan and I have been doing...we're fantastic.  :)  Love is in the air, summer is just around the corner (you know, around the VT tornado and flooding,) and life is pretty good.

I'm trying to head home today amidst all the flooding/closed roads/erosion/sinkholes, so I'm taking a half day at work.  Also, I'm trying to beat the next bout of storm which should be rolling in this afternoon between 3-5.  So, wish me luck!

When I'm home safe I'll try to think of a well-thought-out, themed post.  Right now I'm still a little frantic about money woes and how I'm going to get home.  (At least if I'm not able to go home, I'll have gone for a nice ride and I'll be able to stay with Ryan for a few more days!) 

Things will work out somehow.

Until next time!

xoxo
Megan

Happier Than I Ever Thought I'd Ever Be

The day before last, I took the biggest risk of my entire life.  I laid everything down on the line, threw all my cards on the table, and put myself way, way out there.  Literally my entire life, my entire future was at stake, and I sat down to play poker with fate.  (Actually I can't play poker, so looking back on it, that might not have been my smartest move ever.)

HOWEVER, everything worked out sooo beautifully in the end.  For those of you who have been living under a rock  for the past 2 days, Ryan and I are now officially an item.  Oh, yes.  Burlington's new power couple.  After years of dealing with this in silence, I decided I'd had enough.  Now or never.  Time to reveal all.  And the result was something so much more magical than I could have ever expected.

Tuesday I was a wreck.  I gave Ryan the 6 page letter which housed my heart, future, and potentially emotional and mental stability for the next three years at least in the morning before school, and proceeded to act like a crazy person the rest of the day.  I'm pretty sure my body thought that I drank 4 cups of straight espresso every 3 hours or something.  Heart palpitations were in abundance.  I walked down Church St and fit right in with everyone else due to my talking to myself and the random hand gestures that were sure to have accompanied the conversations I had with myself.  Oh yeah, SO sane.

In order to give my body a rest I texted Ryan (as if nothing unusual had happened that day) and told him I'd probably be taking a nap right when I got home from work.  The nap worked out well, although I had some crazy dreams (not all that unusual for me) which I proceeded to text and inform Ryan of.  I got up a half hour before my staff meeting, and decided that I GUESSED I was brave enough to get online and check Facebook and stuff before staff meeting.  Waiting for me in my inbox was an e-mail from Ryan, subject "<3".

Okay, so now take my Church St persona and multiply that by 3.  It was safe to say I was FREAKIN' OUT!  I proceeded to read the sweetest, most vivid and emotional e-mail of my life.  I cried.  It's now saved forever in the catacombs of my e-mail folders.  Needless to say, Ryan said yes, and I found myself saved from total and utter destruction. 

I can't even put into words how happy I am.  It feels so refreshing to get everything off my chest that I've been holding for 2-3 years now, and to be able to finally recognize my feelings and drag them from the dark into the light.  Ryan always has been and always will be my everything.  I don't know how I lived before him, and I can't imagine my future without him.  I love that I can reach out and touch him now whenever the urge strikes me, and I don't have to just pretend I'm just "WTFing" him or something else of the sort. 

I have a boyfriend again!  But Ryan not just my boyfried, he's my best friend.  I am in the most perfect relationship I think I could have ever asked for, and my life finally feels complete.  Thank you to those who helped me through this rough weekend, and who kept me from shattering into a million pieces.  This is the understatement of the year, but WHOA, what a week!



(This is obviously us.  Can't you tell?  LMFAO!)



Invisible Children-Help Me Help The World

Okay, so here is my shameless solicitation for the year.  I attended a program today that really moved me and broadened my horizons in my empathy and willingness to do something good for others.  So, here's what I'm asking of you.

Step 1) Click here: http://ic.stayclassy.org/member/ic-fundraising?fcid=44520
Step 2) Watch the video.
Step 3) Donate $2-$3 or as much as you can to help stop the LRA war happening in the Sudan/Congo/Uganda areas.  Child soldiers are a huge problem, and this war is essentially guerrilla warfare.  Many people's lives and families are being destroyed by the LRA.  This donation goes 100% to help the victims of the war, to rehabilitate former child soldiers, and eventually reintegrate them into society and return them to their families.  The Invisible Children organization is doing an amazing thing, and I'm so excited to be a part of it.  Please donate what you can-my goal is only $50, so a little pocket change goes a long way.
Step 4) Do some research on the LRA-see who they are and what they've done, and feel great about making a positive change in the world.

I am taking a vow of silence on April 25th for 25 hours to recognize this 25 year-long war. 

Let's make 2011 the year it stops.  Let's let this year be the year that positive change begins to happen on a global scale.  Let's make just one more region of the world a safer and better place to live.  Let's make this change together.

Please help me reach my goal.  I have raised $23 so far, and I'd like to keep it going.  I'm going to keep hitting people up for money until the actual day of silence, so don't think I'm just giving up if you say you don't have money right now.  Please do something amazing with your leftover change!

It's Been A While

Hello, everyone!

So, with my laptop finally back in my possession, life is good again.  As of Friday I will be totally ALL caught up on my homework, and I'll be in a good place.

Speaking of Friday, our beloved Eden is coming from 4 hours away at PSU to stay here in Burlington with Ryan and I for the weekend!  This is the first time she'll have been able to see the UVM/Champlain campuses (campii?) from the Meg Ryan point of view.  It is going to be spectacular.  :)

In other news, I've been very gluttonous the past few days.  It sucks.  I need to kick it up a notch.  I was treated by Res Life to an amazing dinner at the Olive Garden last night, and I ate soooo much.  And Ryan got me a bag of Lindor Milk Chocolate truffles....which are mostly gone.  So...needless to say...I should maybe do some crunches tonight?!  I need to lose this weight!!! Even if I have to find a way to shake and shimmy every night for an hour or so!

Another factoid of my life: I may or may not be able to get a car over Spring Break.  So, here's the deal.  My 21st birthday falls on Spring Break from college.  This year (along with receiving the legal right to drink alcohol,) my mother was planning to get me my first car EVER!!!!! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!  BUT-this is all dependant on when she gets her Federal Tax Refund back.  She sent her forms out about 2 weeks ago, and they JUST got there the day before last.  Um...what?  Post office fail or federal government fail?  Maybe both.  They're the same thing, really. 

Soooo...here's my deal.  I thought I would finally have the chance to feel like I'm on equal footing (or tires?) with everyone else my age.  I've been driving my mothers car since I was 15.  It's really hard to hear other kids saying "Oh, let's just take my car" as if it's no big deal for 6 years.  It gets old after a while.  It shouldn't be such a touchy subject, but for those who don't have something that everyone else takes for granted...it's frustrating. 

Having a car is something that Vermont kids (especially) place a lot of value on.  Having your first car means you can finally have freedom.  Because it takes at LEAST a 15 minute drive to get anywhere worthwhile in VT, if you don't have a car, you're pretty much stuck.  I'm so sick of having to depend on other people's schedules and moods to determine whether or not I get to go somewhere.  I've dealt with it for 21 years of my life, the past 6 of which have felt extremely long.  I want to be a normal person with a car!  I would like to not have to depend on stupid bus schedules or mooch off friends for rides to the grocery store!  I would like to not have to barter with my mother during my breaks from school about if she has to work tomorrow, and if I can borrow her car. 

Long story short...this has been a long time coming.  I feel like a donkey with a carrot being dangled in my face.  The federal government better get their $H!T together and hurry up with my mother's refund so I can stop feeling like an inadequate college student.  Please and thank you.

(One vehicle my mom told me about was for sale in W. Rutland or somesuchplace.  It's a black Saturn Vue.  My mom currently has a blue one, but black works for me too!  We're looking into getting a standard because I have so much fun driving a stick shift.  Here's what one will potentially look like:)

Cute, right?  :)

I'm going to do my best to be patient.  I mean, even if I don't get the vehicle (which I really hope I do...otherwise some other plans of mine might be a little screwed...) I can still do this:

FYI...my mother has plans to get me drunk.  It's been a plan in motion since I was 9.  :)

SO-I hope this catches you up to where I'm at in life.  I have missed Blogger!  It feels good to write this out of my system.  <3

Until next time...
May the road rise to meet you (but not too quickly...)
XOXO
-Megan

The Power of Resistance

The Power of Resistance

I'll Be Your Spark

I have finally found the right forums for the right subject matters for my online things.  :)  Blogger I plan to use for any longer posts or rants I feel I need to go on, Tumblr is a great way to find something quick and easy to post, and I've recently joined Sparkpeople.com (basically a free version of Weight Watchers) to get started on my weight loss journey....again.  Wish me luck, I'll need it.  :)

Also to aid me in my journey, I'm going to talk to Ryan to see if he'd like to join to be my online/virtual buddy to try to keep me focused and on the right track for losing the weight I'd love to lose.  :)  Maybe if the support is coming at me from all directions (in real life AND on the site,) I'll feel more like I have to stay focused and motivated.  Let us hope!

____________

In other news, I have a first date tonight with someone I gave my number to on Friday night.  :)  I'm pretty excited, and I think it'll go well.  I'll try to keep up with updates and such if I feel that I must write something about what happened.

Okay, well adios mi amigos!  I need to start my day and get my butt into gear.  Until next time!

XXOO

<3 Megan <3