The Life and Times of an Engineering Student Through the Eyes of a Girl

Learning

2009-07-24T04:47:00.000-04:00

These past months I have been learning how to keep my options open, how to not put all of my eggs in one basket. The problem I have is that I get an idea for my future in my head and then I get so convinced of it, that when it changes, it takes me a while to accept it. Take Clemson for example, in my head I was convinced I was going to Clemson, and then came the money issue and I had to find somewhere else to go. I was devastated for days and so upset that I was having to change. So then it was USC for about a week, and then I had to start thinking about other options to the point where I wasn't connected to any of the options. This could also pertain to my life after college and my future family and who I make it with. I have this idea in my head at the time of who it is going to be and when there is any possibility of changes to that, I freak out and it feels like the end of the world to me. I am learning that the only person you can depend on standing by you no matter what, is yourself. It is hard for me not to get deeply attached to an idea too quickly, but I know in time I will be able to put my eggs in more then once basket and not just lay everything on one idea because that is how I get hurt or disappointed when things don't work out. (sorry if this was boring)

Update

2009-06-26T16:22:00.003-04:00

Okay sorry I haven't updated in a while, I have been slammed with the classwork from my two summer classes. I am going to be moving out of my Mom's at the end of the summer and going to Clemson in the fall isn't going to be able to happen. I am going to tech in the fall and take some easy classes so I can focus on options to afford a university whatever university that may be. My classes are going GREAT this summer, I have made A's on the two Calculus tests I have taken and A's on the three dynamics tests I have taken. This has been the first week for a long time where I haven't had any tests, so I am trying to catch up on things and get all of the things figured out for when I move out. I am trying to find temporary homes for Spencer and a permanent home for Zeus (the cats) and Mom is going to keep Mittens. It makes me sad that I can't take the cats with me, because they are like my only friends (sad but true). I am happy that I'm taking summer classes, because I usually get so bored working and not doing anything during the summer and usually miss school about three weeks into the summer.

IT IS SO HOT HERE!

So, all in all I am trying to figure out how I'm going to afford a university, finding homes for my cats, and moving out.

Oh and here are some pictures from when Drew, Mary, Riley and I went to Ohio!

Thanks for reading!

Comments

2009-05-26T22:33:00.002-04:00

Hey I have a request, can you guys please leave your names when you post comments instead of posting anonymously, especially when you ask questions, because I don't know who to respond to when you leave comments. School update soon to follow!

YAAAY SCHOOL!!

2009-05-18T13:11:00.000-04:00

Classes start today, and I am very excited. I got to go to the bookstore this past weekend and get all of my school supplies!!! I love school :)

21!!

2009-05-11T13:33:00.000-04:00

Yay, I am 21!!
Mom is taking me out for drinks tonight, this should be fun!!

Riley's 2nd Birthday Party Pictures

2009-05-09T16:44:00.000-04:00

I know this isn't Mary's blog, but I have all of the pictures of the party so I might as well post them.
Enjoy!

Sorry for the amount of pictures :)

New Picture and Clemson

2009-05-07T16:09:00.001-04:00

So I am in Clemson today to talk to transfer admissions and they said that if I want to help my chances of being accepted at Clemson I needed to add a second choice of a major. So my second choice is now Math which only requires a 2.5 for transfer admissions. If I get accepted into Math then it is up to the engineering department if I can be transferred directly into civil or if I have to take a semester at Clemson as a Math major to raise my GPA. It would be okay if I am accepted into the math department because I was thinking of minoring in math anyway. If I minor in math then I only need to take three extra classes before I graduate to receive credit for it since I have already taken a lot of the math classes required for the minor. But I really hope I am accepted for the fall semester.

I GOT A B

2009-05-05T13:26:00.000-04:00

I got my grade back for differential equations and I got a B. Now I feel a lot better now about my GPA and getting accepted into Clemson!! Here is a problem that haunts me in my sleep.

Intro Post

2009-05-02T22:15:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone,
I am writing this because to some of my family I have been hiding under a rock for a while now. I want to use this to keep everyone close to me informed on what I am up to and what kinds of things I am doing. I hope in showing everyone the things I am working on that they will better understand why I have disappeared. I hope this becomes a good representation of my life during the rest of my college years.

I am done with classes as of Friday and now I am just waiting on my grades. I know I made a B in my Engineering Statics class but I have no idea what I made in my differential equations class. I would be just as surprised to get a B in that class as I would be if I got a C I have never worked so hard for a class as I had for my differential equations class. The only reason I am not sure about my grade in that class is because of my teacher. There were many tests when I went into the test day with a lot of confidence knowing I understood all of the homework questions asked and could answer anything like them, but I would get to the test and there were vocabulary questions. Seriously, this is a very very high level mathematics class and the last time I have had vocabulary on a test was in my high school geometry class in 10th grade. If I don't get a B in that class I know I will be taking it again this summer to make sure that I have learned it.

I have two weeks off starting Monday and in that time I have a lot of things to do.
-Go to Clemson University to talk to admissions
-Get my scooter back and figure out what I am doing with it
-Start looking over material for my summer courses
-Get a job? or somehow get money
-Celebrate my 21st birthday

Well I guess it seemed like more in my head. I am sure some of you are confused on why I am an engineering student and not an art student like I had planned. Before the winter '07 I was at USC for photography and I was doing great. Making straight A's and being able to work, but during my fall '07 semester at USC I moved out of my Mom's and I was living on USC campus and paying all of my own bills. This worked for a while until I got burned out of workin 40 hours a week and then doing work for school 30 hours a week. I failed most of my courses that semester and I started thinking about my future. How was I going to find a steady job in photography if I am not the type of person who can kiss someones' ego in order to get ahead. I was also worried about pay and how I was suppose support my future family with an uncertain amount of income. I then got a job at my Mom's work at an engineering firm and started talking to some of the employees there. I really like the kinds of things they were doing and it incorporated my other love which is Math. I decided to transfer to Midlands Technical College to start taking courses for Civil Engineering. I didn't get kicked out of USC I want to make that clear, I only had a 2.75 when I left USC. I chose to go to Midlands Tech because I wanted to save money. The tuition at Midlands Tech is only $1000 per semester compared to $8500 per semester at USC.

You can only take two years at Midlands Tech and then you are suppose to transfer to either USC or Clemson to finish your degree. I am four semesters in at Midlands Tech and I am hoping to be transferring to Clemson this fall. I am taking two or three classes this summer at Tech including Engineering Dynamics, Calculus III, and if I don't make a B in Differential Equations, I am going to be taking that this summer too.

I am going to Clemson this week to talk to the admissions office. I need to talk to them because I am worried about being accepted due to my GPA. My gpa is a 2.8 at Midlands Tech right now, and the minimum to be accepted into Clemson is a 2.75. I feel like if I explain my situation to them that I will have a better chance of them looking at my situation before they evaluate my GPA.

I am also worried about getting a job. I know that people do it all of the time, but not engineering students. During the semester I am constantly doing school work and burying myself in the library. When I was doing art it was a little easier to be able to work a job too because it doesn't require as much time or mental effort. But it is my responsibility to my Mom to get a job. I am hoping that I can just get a job this summer and save up my money and pay off all of my bills so when I go to Clemson I can just focus on that because that is the only thing mentally possible for me during the semesters.

I am trying to sell my scooter by the time I go to Clemson so I can just buy a bicycle and ride everywhere because the campus is so close together. The pro of me selling it, is that I won't have to pay taxes on it and I won't have to worry about it breaking down anymore. I wrecked it in December because the throttle froze up and I tried to turn after letting off the back brake. I spun out and only had minor injuries, but it has been in the shop ever sense. I spoke to the mechanic yesterday and I was told it will be done this week.

Another thing I have to do before I go to Clemson is figure out what to do with the cats. If I can get an apartment at Clemson I will take my two youngest cats, Spencer and Mittens, and get rid of Zeus because he requires more attention then I can give him.

I hope this catches everyone up a bit I will probably update very little for the next two weeks, but once school comes back I think that I will be able to update a lot more with school related things.

Thanks for reading. :)