I took a stand

Bonjour! Ça va?! Oh you know just working on my French 😉 Hope everyone had a good week! Spring has sprung and I am loving it. Plus that means SUMMER is right around the corner, eeeek! Well just wrapping up the week to start another. Last week was good, super busy with classes though (what else is new) and trying to finish out this week strong because next week it is SPRING BREAK b*tches 😉 Been trying to get some things done before break so I can be homework free and come back strong to finish off the semester here in Paris. It is quite interesting to me we started a couple weeks later than classes in the US but we end around the same time AND have not only 1 Spring Break but 2! I guess all the hard work really does pay off hehe.

This week I have a Test in Entrepreneurial Marketing, a Presentation for French Civilization and a 20-25 page contract due for International Contract Negotiations. Also been trying to work on my 20-25 page Marketing Plan that is due in about 3 weeks for Entrepreneurial Marketing, busy girl I tell ya! Trying to maintain my energy and workload so I can get as much done before my mom comes to see me on SATURDAY!!!!! I am so excited to see her, we will also be traveling to Italy next week and enjoy some countryside in the Tuscany region. WHOOP WHOOP! After break I have 3 classes that following week, 4 classes the week after and then only a couple Finals the week before I head home.

Speaking of home, I booked my flight back to the ICT (Wichita, Ks) for May 22nd! That is kind of early considering they have until June 10th to give Finals here but I only have 2 Finals and my last one is May 15th. That being said I will be returning early because I start Summer classes on June 2nd, blah. The good news about all of this is I GRADUATE NEXT SPRING! Last week I talked to my wonderful Advisor at Wichita State University and asked if we could move my graduation date up to next Spring. Well yes that is possible BUT with a lot and a lot of work the next 2 semesters, including summer. So I will be taking 4 Summer classes and then 6 classes in Fall, phew! I have worked my schedule out to be pretty awesome though. I start 2 classes on June 2nd, one online and then one in the classroom. These only last until the end of June so there goes 6 credits under my belt. In July I have a pre-session class which is a 2 week class for 3 credits, basically a LOT of work in 2 weeks but after that you have another 3 credits down! In August I have another pre-session class before Fall classes start, this one will be much easier because it is only 1 credit (Statistics on the computer BOOOOOOO). As far as the Fall semester goes I have 3 online, 1 online class is only the 1st 8 weeks of the semester. I have 1 class in school for the 1st 8 weeks, 1 class in school for the 2nd 8 weeks and then 1 class the whole semester. Not too bad if I do say so myself. The good thing about after this Fall semester is my Spring semester classes before graduation will be pretty easy, mostly consisting of electives. OH OH I also got an apartment lined up beginning in June!!!! Everything just falls into place when you have a little faith 🙂 oh and patience lol.

The reason I decided to bump up my graduation date is because I really want to graduate in Spring, I was set to graduate Fall of 2015. I never got to walk in my High School graduation, I did not complete one of my online classes in time in order to walk. The crappy thing is that I completed my class the Friday before graduation and got my diploma the day after the ceremony. And why exactly did that conflict with me walking? Ehhh oh well. That just makes my college graduation that much more special to me! I have worked my butt off to get where I am and I am so proud to say I will be on that stage a year from now with family and friends all there to share the experience! Yes of course I will be having a huge graduation party, come on I mean how many times does a girl get to walk on stage for graduation?! HA! In my case, only once so you better believe it will be a BIG deal 🙂 lol. My advisor said to me “you really want to get out of here don’t you” I responded something like “no that really is not it I just am proud to be where I am right now and me walking across that stage is just the sign that anyone can go through all the sh*t and still be up here standing”. When I started college in 2009 I had graduated High School the Spring semester before and barely got away with a 1.9 GPA. It’s not that school was hard for me, to be quite honest I just didn’t care anymore. In a school where everything was based on “cliques” and who was “best” I just never seemed to quite fit in. In a lot of ways I think the only thing that got me by were my friends and how much fun we had outside of school. Not fitting in isn’t a new thing to me, but now it’s only because I choose to stand out. Going into college the 1st couple of semesters my GPA suffered. I was battling dealing with my parents separation and then later divorce as well as a toxic relationship of my own, my brother being in and out of prison only to be locked up for good after his “luck” ran out, friends coming and going and after all of that… trying to discover myself in the world of being lost. And about 3 years ago I came upon my wonderful counselor, whom I now look to as a “father” figure in my life. When things were rough and I wasn’t sure what “stand” in life to take he was there to help guide me along my path, as well as a few others. My mom, who happened to take on this adventure with me, guided me as a best friend and a loving mother. Cynthia, a wonderful psychic, mentor, spiritual guide and so much more. Even the people who came into my life as little rays of light to help guide through the darkness, I take this time and forever more.. to thank you. Thank you for showing me the way, thank you for lending me a hand, a shoulder, a piece of your heart, thank you for always having faith in me and most of all… thank you for loving me.

Huge appreciation to the big changes in my life that have persistently taken place through out the past few years. Almost 2 years ago I set my 1st real goal, study abroad, which just so happened to be in Paris. So after a year and a half of working hard to get my grades and GPA up, I got it up past a 2.5 and was accepted in the program to study in Paris for Spring of 2014. My next goal is to graduate with a 3.0 or higher, I made this one happen and there is nothing stopping me now 🙂

I have had this tattoo for 2 years now. Couldn’t say it any better.

Namaste
Kels