Day One...Fifty-Nine Days Later

I'm not going to try to be overly enthusiastic not am I going to hide anything. If at times it seems like I'm complaining, please don't hesitate to leave a straightforward comment. Your criticism is much appreciated. As I would tell anyone else, sometimes I must be told to, "Get over it." I want everyone to know what's going on in my life and at times, it might seem a bit dramatic. Other times, my blog won't be worth reading. Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...

Hi, I'm Jennie, and I've been an alcoholic for 5 years. Kiddin' folks! As you know, I am a Freshman at Southern Methodist University in "Big 'D' little 'A' double L-A-S." Dallas is great, it's "close" to home, and I believe I'm here for a purpose. I just haven't found that specific purpose yet. Though I call myself a Freshman, I have 33 credit hours (thank you dual credit), which makes me a Sophomore. The benefits from those hours have already paid-off immensely. I've decided to endure the long, painful, Pre-med road, but I've thrown in the fun English major just to make sure I cover every aspect of college study. I've also chosen to minor in Biology and Applied Physiology. Don't worry, I have already mapped out my next three and a half years and my course load is going to be light. This girl is going to be just fine. Additionally, one of my summers is going to be spent in Oxford. I don't think there is any room for complaint.

Pre-med implies lots and lots of years in school, right? Right. Well, for now anyhoo. I want to be an orthopaedic surgeon who works specifically with sport-related injuries. And yes, that is an intentional "sport" rather than "sports." We learned that in my Sport Management class. For now, think I want to work in Texas, but there is no telling where my career journey will end. It should be fun. But, what's the English major all about, right? Well, I want to write children's books. Sometimes I think about all the books I read in elementary, and I become so nostalgic. I adore them and I want to generate that same feeling for other children someday. SMU has a fantastic program geared specifically toward an English major with a Creative Writing focus so that's what is in the plan for now.

I say "for now" because there are many options that I still have before me. If I decide that Pre-med just isn't my "thing," I would love to be an elementary teacher. I absolutely love kids and I want to make at least one child look back on his or her elementary days and appreciate them. I dunno, maybe I'm a weird one. God made me that-a way.

That's my academic life in a nutshell. I'm terribly sorry because I know that stuff is always so boring. I've joined a few "clubs" on campus that I think are worthwhile commitments. I am a member of Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), which is a community-service group that brings 4th and 5th grade grade girls to SMU once a month and educates them about some kind of "science." For instance, last week we had "Biology Day" and the girls learned about DNA, cells, protein, and all that fun nerdy science stuff. This month, we're having "Forsensics Day" and all the girls will walk into a crime scene and try to figure out "Whodunnit." I think it's adorable and rewarding beyond explanation. Just another emphasis: I love little kids. In short, WISE is fantastic.

To make Aunt Jackie proud, I've decided to write articles for our yearbook! We call it "Rotunda," just for future reference. I will go to my first meeting Tuesday and I can't wait to get started. I'm sure I will have more to post once I have an assignment, but until then you just need to know I am excited...really excited.

One more group I must tell you about: Reformed University Fellowship (RUF). RUF is one of the ministries on campus and I absolutely love it. We have large group worship on Tuesdays and I meet with a smaller group on Thursday afternoons. RUF really is an amazing group of people and it part of the reason I have made it this far without completely losing my mind. Keep in mind, I have partially lost my head so thank RUF for keeping me somewhat grounded. This semester, we're talking about "Dating, Sex, and Marriage," and it has been amazing. It's so much fun to think about what life will be like when I find that person that will share those ideals with me. For now, it's fun to pretend.

On that note, no I haven't met "anyone." Such a funny term, "anyone," because we just assume that "anyone" would really be "someone" of importance, making them far from being just "anyone." Anyhoo. No, I haven't met anyone. The day I meet the boy at SMU that isn't wearing salmon-colored shorts and yacht shoes, you'll know.

I've rambled, but I feel like I have much more to say! My roomate (Abby Benson) and I get along well and haven't had any problems at all. I said I would be honest, so I will. I'm very different from most of the girls here on campus, so it's been kinda hard finding good friends. But, I met a girl from New Orleans that is not one of the superficial, gold-digging, BMW-driving girls on campus. Yes, I just lumped them all into one category and that's not nice of me. Bad Jennie. Anyhoo, her name is Kenzie and she's really athletic and down-to-Earth, and we like to just hang out and stay away from the frat parties together. It's a ton of fun.

These first two months have been rough, but I'm still alive and there really isn't any valid complaining that I can do. So much has happened and I'm really far behind as far as information goes, but I will try to keep this blog up-to-date so everyone can live this amazing life with me!

Just for fun, this is what my week looks like:

Monday: Poetry paragraph due (these are done before each poetry class)
Tuesday: English paper due, Rotunda meeting @ 6pm, RUF Worhsip @ 7:30
Wednesday: Poetry paper due, Sport Management paper due, Chemistry Quiz
Thursday: Chemistry Lab Mid-term, RUF Small-group Bible study @ 4:00, WISE meeting @ 5:00
Friday:Calculus quiz due, Flight for NM leaves @ 2:50!!!!!!!

Additionally, I try to fit two work-outs in (our gym is amazing) per day and there are other various weekly-committments that I have. I'll mention them throughout the blog, so be patient. If you want to know anything, let me know and I'll include it in the next blog. Let's make this fun, because I really need something to liven up my day, and we all know how much I love to write!

All my love,
Jennie Lee

One more thing. I absolutely adore my poetry professor. One of my "links" will take you to an article in the New York Times where he is featured. Please check out that link because this man is hilarious.