Carmel Apple Pops Might be God's Gift to the World

Why I Love my Job

For those of you readers (btw thank you to anyone who takes the time to read the randomness I post :) ) who do not know, I work at a nursing home at the front desk. My typical duties include updating computer files, checking the census, filing, answering the phone, sending emails, pretty boring things if I must say so myself. However, all of that aside there are two main reasons why I wouldn't trade my job for the world (well at least temporarily until I get a degree and blah blah you know what I mean).

1. It forces me to do my homework
Yeah, homework is awful and not fun no matter what circumstances it is under, however, for me, homework isn't all that awful because it keeps me occupied at work. I typically have an hour and a half to two hours left after I finish all my typical duties. In this time frame, of course I spend it scrolling aimlessly through Pinterest and Twitter, I use it to type my blog posts (hey hey), but most often I use it to just knock out some homework. I mean, I'm getting paid to do homework, so it makes it a little more bearable. I really focus on my homework at work more than anywhere else because there is such few distractions, and the internet connection at work compared to at my house is like lightening speed. (I could seriously rant about the poor poor internet connection at my house for dayzzzzzzz, but I won't bore you.) On to number two on why I love my job....

2. The residents and family members I interact with are such amazing people.
Seriously, I am so blessed to have met some of the residents and family members especially here at my work. The love and dedication I see from countless husbands and wives who come to visit their ill spouses every. single. day. multiple. times. a. day. is astounding. There is one lady in particular who seriously unconditionally loves her husband, and the way she cares for him truly warms my heart. She is always singing to him, and she does everything she can to make him know how much she loves him. It's amazing to see love that has been there for so long and is stronger than ever. I hope to one day find it myself. The residents themselves here are seriously hilarious and never fail to put a smile on my face. I've had many residents tell me random stories from their "younger years", and I absolutely love it. These daily encounters I have are really what make my job so wonderful.

As you might imagine, when I tell someone I'm a receptionist at a nursing home, they might not think twice about what I really do. Yes, there's the dreary part to my job as there is any job, but to be an eyewitness to daily acts of true love is something I am so thankful for. I've worked at a pool, putt-putt place, and a clothing store, and I wouldn't ever dare to think to go back to those jobs. I am so very fortunate to have found something that will hopefully stick with me for the rest of my college career, and potentially even after I become an R.N.

Transitioning from High School to College

Ok, so I decided to write a bit about this because more than half of my friends I have spoke to about how their college experience has been have all said the same thing. It's something along the lines of: it's pretty good, hard to adjust to the new atmosphere, but I think it will come with time. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that the majority of my friends come from private Catholic high-schools, and unless they went to a private Catholic college, chances are they were thrown into a completely new setting and atmosphere. I know for certain I was. Class sizes went from about 20 in high school to about 200 in some college courses. I'm fortunate enough that all my classes have no more than 100 students in them, but still, that's a major change. One of my most enjoyable classes is my college writing course, and I'm willing to bet it's because there's only about 18 students in there. The atmosphere is more comfortable and familar to me, and it gives us all a chance to get to know each other better. Another major difference I've seen is that in college, you really really have to put yourself out there and make an extra effort to make new friends. Yes, there is sororities and fraternaties, and I'm not at all bashing them, but they are not for everyone. So say, like me, a sorority is not for you. Now what?

In highschool, you pretty much saw the same people every day, multiple times a day, so it's easy to bond, make some connections, and make friends. In college, it's not so simple. At first, you will probably make a temporary friend in each class, and it usually ends up being whoever you happen to sit by. Then you probably exchange numbers or emails to be able to ask each other questions about homework, tests, etc. Yes, you're helping each other out, and enjoy each other's company in class, but are you really making a connection with this peron? Here's where the hard part comes into play: you have to go out of your way and put in effort to actually spend time with that person outside of class. But in reality, it's not as hard as it seems. Just going to lunch one day can really help establish more of a connection with someone and help you build a legitimate friendship. I am so lucky to have a made a really good friend this way - shout out to Jessie if you're reading this since you read my last one! It's kinda strange how much we have in common, and although we haven't known each other all that long, I really value our friendship, and know that it will grow over these next few years as we fight our way through nursing school together :) .

The other major transition that has been hard for me is deciding what in the world to do with all of this extra time. In high school, I seriously was so busy all the time I hardly had time to eat, breathe, and sleep. Here's the thing: you don't go to school for seven hours everyday in college. Here's the other thing: you don't get to play all the sports you played in high school in college. So what exactly DO you do? Here's what I discovered. Find something-anything that you can do at least once a week that you genuinely enjoy and look forward to. For me, this is playing volleyball every Thursday night at LA Fitness. I played volleyball in high school, and I really enjoy the sport, and at LA Fitness, it is so laid back and relaxed where I can really enjoy myself. Here's the best part: I get to play all positions instead of forever being labeled as a setter. I get to actually hit the ball (and yes people I can actually hit the ball.) It such a great way for me to alleviate any stress from the week and look forward to the weekend. So just find one thing you can do once a week that will help alleviate stress, trust me, you'll be glad you did! And to wrap this up here is a video on How to Survive College, and if you're ever bored one day watch this kid's videos because they're pretty entertaining.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyvfJdl_CNI

Random Thoughts

1. Some people should just simply not have their driver's license. Period.

2. Carmel apple pops are seriously the bomb. I know there's been a lot of hype about them lately, and it's all true. They are seriously like heaven on a stick. Try one.

3. I watch too much reality tv, but I'm okay with it... X-Factor is my show, people.

4. I really really wish I could sing. It's not like I have an awful voice, but I just wish I could like REALLY sing.

5. Is it cool to be a night owl (I love owls) and an early bird?!
6. I'm still super stoked about this lovely suprise coming in October -eeeeeek :)
7. Subtweets are really like the worst invention in the world. We are all guilty, but I've been trying really hard to shy away from them. It's like the worst thing - you can put whatever you want in a tweet, and while you don't mention anyone's name... it's pretty obvious. And annoying. So let's all try to stop posting so much sly sneaky junk on Twitter. Like I said we are ALL guilty, but we can all stop.
8. I really want to get a tattoo, but I'm too indecisive, I feel like once I get one I won't want it anymore.
9. I've started to find myself thinking, "Oh I should write about this in my blog!" and then I forget about, so I should really try to write those ah-ha moments down.
10. Did I mention carmel apple pops are freaking delicious. Ugh.

Ok, I think that about wraps things up for now. Feel free to post any comments you have or e-mail me @ perfectlyunperfectblog@gmail.com

Stay classy,
Megan LouAnn
P.S. sorry this post was kind of long and contexty (yeah that's not a word), but I gotta get my thoughts out somehow, well byee!