Lyrics

*Read the post I did right before this to see why I like these lyrics :)

Marchin On - One Republic

"For those days we felt like a mistake,
Those times when love's what you hate
Somehow
We keep marchin on

For those nights that I couldn't be there,
I've made it harder to know that you know
That somehow
We'll keep movin on

There's so many wars we fought
There's so many things we're not
But with what we have
I promise you that
We're marchin on
We're marchin on

For all of the plans we've made
There isn't a flag I'd wave
Don't care where we've been
I'd sink us to swim
We're marchin on
We're marchin on

For those doubts that swirl all around us
For those lives that tear at the seams
We know
We're not what we've seen

Oh
For this dance we move with each other
There ain't no other step
Than one foot
Right in front of the other
Oh

There's so many wars we fought
There's so many things we're not
But with what we have
I promise you that
We're marchin on
We're marchin on

For all of the plans we've made
There isn't a flag I'd wave
Don't care where we've been
I'd sink us to swim
We're marchin on
We're marchin on

Right Right Right Right Left
Right Right Right Right Left
Right Right Right Marchin On

We'll have the days we break
And we'll have the scars to prove it
We'll have the bombs that we saved
And we'll have the heart
Not to lose it

For all of the times we stopped
For all of the things I'm not

Oh!
You put one foot in front of the other
We move like we ain't got no other
We go where we go we're marchin on
Marchin on

There's so many wars we fought
There's so many things we're not
But with what we have
I promise you that
We're marchin on
We're marchin on
Right Right Right Right Left
Right Right Right Right Left
Marchin On
Marchin on"

Marchin On

I've watched the Biggest Loser here and there in the past, but got hooked this season. Last night they had the final challenge before the season finale next week. The contestants had to carry weighted flags and march through a golf course dropping their flags off at each hole, which represented each week they were at the BL Ranch. Each flag was weighted to what they lost that week so it was hard at first and got easier as they walked on and dropped the weight. While they were doing the challenge "Marchin On" by One Republic was playing (Click here to watch it). It was really touching because as I watched the show I could see the journey the contestants took and it was not easy. A lot of them had self-esteem issues to deal with and by the final week you could really see how they've grown. The song seemed very fitting. Music is really important to me and I always feel like there is a song to describe your current feelings and circumstances. Marchin On is one of those songs for me right now.

I've had a lot of ups and downs in my life, as does everyone and currently I'm in one of those down moments. It's nothing major, just a bump in the road. There have been things that constantly tempt me and even though I've grown stronger and learned a lot from my mistakes, there are always little fallbacks. It's frustrating, but that's life. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel and I feel like I'm on the cusp of something really great. Can that feeling even be real? Either way, I feel like that right now.

My 28th birthday is just around the corner, May 28th. It is my golden birthday! I've always been big on birthdays, but this year especially I'm very excited. I've accomplished a lot in my life so far, but there's still so much I want to do. And, even though I have a lot of accomplishments under my belt I'm not always happy. That is one of my constant battles. I'm my own worst critic and I'm realizing that because I don't always love myself I allow myself to get into sticky situations. It's time that ends because if you don't love yourself, no one else will either. I know that's harsh, but confidence is crucial to happiness. I've been working on mine and am in a good place right now, but there is still more to work on.

One of the long time goals I've had for myself is to run in a race. I say it every year and it never happens. Well, this year is the time. In fact, on my birthday there is a local 10k and I registered for it! I started getting into running about 10 weeks ago and met with a friend once a week. We didn't start on a training routine because we didn't know about the race. We were just doing it for exercise. Five weeks before the race we realized the date and have been trying to train for it. Being that I'm still a beginning runner and can now just barely get done with a mile I know I will not be able to run the whole thing, but I'm still going to do it. I know I can finish it and if I don't start now, when will I? Now is the time! I'm so excited for the race and I really feel like even though I had my little fallback, things are getting better and I'm learning to be happy with me. It's been a struggle in life and definitely like climbing a mountain, but I'll get to the top one day.

Crossing the finish line will be so exciting for me and really feels like it's going to be something special,at least for me. Finally I'm doing something I've always wanted to do. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Even though I won't be able to run the whole race, I know I can do it. There are many other races to come and this is just the beginning. It's the beginning to more races and more self-confidence. I can't wait! I literally have a mountain to climb in my life right now, but I'm climbing and I'll keep marching on :)

Something Borrowed - So Excited!

Hey ya'll! I loved the book "Something Borrowed" and can't wait for the movie. I just hope it's good and not a terrible knock off version like the way they did Confessions of a Shopaholic. Confessions is my favorite book series, but the movie made it look stupid and anyone who hadn't read the books probably thought the people that did and liked it were also dumb. So not the case! Anyway, I can't wait to see it open on May 6th. I'm sure I'll be back on here to give you an update on my thoughts.

There's a sequel called "Something Blue" and I wonder if they'll try to combine the two or if they'll do two different movies. I guess I'll find out soon enough. If you haven't read them, they are great. Of course, they are total chicklits, but I love that genre. It's worth the time if you have it and you can probably read them in a few days.

"How do you eat an elephant?"

"One bite at a time!" My professor told us that at the beginning of the semester. I just finished taking EDUC 871: Advanced Policy Issues and turned in my 34-page paper (43 with references and appendix) right before class and gave my presentation to the rest of the class. It was a great feeling to walk out of there and feel like I accomplished something.

Being a doctoral student, I'm no stranger to papers. On average, each of my doctoral course papers are a minimum of 15 pages, but I've written several that are beyond that and depending on the class, sometimes the professor requires more than one paper. However, there is always a hefty paper at teh end of each of your courses, you can count on that! Thankfully, I'm pretty good at writing, but one thing I always do is wait until the last minute. I'll usually start gathering resources and start working on it a couple days before the paper is due. I always manage to get it done, but it's way too stressful. I've been trying to work on that work habit because I know that the quality of work I'm putting out is good, but it isn't great.


At the beginning of the semester for the policy class I just finished, the course assignment was daunting. I'm an education policy major and took the intro to policy course that I needed for this class, but the assignments were very different. The course I completed had us look much deeper into a policy and gave us a real snapshot into the type of policy work and analysis we'd be doing in our future careers. I loved it, but it was challenging.

In order to produce top quality papers, our professor had us turn in chunks of it along the way, 5 to be exact and every week we met we had to be prepared to discuss with our classmates our updates. There were only 6 students so we were able to always share what we've been working on and not have to rush through it. It was awesome and I was able to get great feedback the from my professor and my classmates. The best part was we didn't meet every week. We had about 4 weeks off here and there to give us time to do our research.

I always waited until a night or two to update my drafts, but by the time we approached the due date there was only a little left to do. I really liked that method because I honestly feel like it's the best work I've ever done! I know it isn't perfect, and I'm sure I could've worked on it harder, but I feel very happy with what I produced. And, thank goodness my teacher set it up that way because even though I had over 20 pages completed on Monday, I still had a lot of work to touch up on and ended up adding 14 pages between Monday and Wednesday. Also, thank goodness I have a student teacher working with me because I was able to devote the entire work day on Tuesday and Wednesday to complete it. I had no idea it would take that long just to tie the loose ends. Now, I just have to wait and find out my grade...and that is always nerve-racking! Even though my professor has given a lot of feedback along the way and I think I'll get an A, you never know!! Anyway, that's just a tiny snapshot of life as a doc student.

Life Happens

I feel like I'm coming to a point in my life where it's time to turn a page. I have done a lot of awesome things and traveled to a lot of places, but I'm getting older and it's time to start thinking about more serious things...like saving money, buying a house, and finishing school. I don't have any major problems in my life, but I do have some insecurities that it's time I start to deal with instead of just escaping on a vacation like I tend to do.

Last week was spring break where I teach and it also happened to be the same week as my brother in law's break so my sister and I rented a cabin in the Red River Gorge area of Kentucky. We booked it through Red River Gorge Cabin Rentals. It was fun. The cabins weren't five star or anything like that, but for the price it was a decent deal.

My sister lives about 4 1/2 hours from me and RRG was another 4 from her place so I had a lot of time to ponder the meaning of life. I feel like I gained a lot of clarity of things that have been bothering me and for that I'm grateful. Perhaps I'll blog about some of those realizations. During that time I realized I need to start blogging more regularly, even if no one reads it, it's therapuetic for me and I'm sad I've neglected it for so long. And, it's about time to make some changes to the blog. I would love to get a new web address, but I don't think that will happen. For now, keep your eyes posted for a redesign. Originally I created this to be a travel blog, and didn't want to post too much about my daily life, but I think there is room for that. I'm a PhD student and perhaps it would be interesting to readers to know what it's like to travel through a graduate program.

Oh, what the hell...why not post something?

Picture = Machu Picchu, Peru. I guess it's probably lame to start my blogs lately with the same old sob story, but I really am swamped with school and work that it is hard to find time to blog. The summer I was traveling all around and I put blogging in the back seat. I'm trying to make it a habit again, but I feel so behind on my travel adventure stories that I don't even know where to begin. Last summer I had incredible journeys to France, Hungary, Myrtle Beach, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru and Bolivia. It was awesome! I was barely home and when I was, I was running around getting things ready for my next trip. When I came back from my travels, work and classes started. I must love torture because I decided to teach 6th grade U.S. History, which was a new curriculum for me and a lot more work since I had nothing prepared like I did last year when I taught Civics again, I also took on 4 graduate classes, coach a step team and dance in a Polynesian group 2 times a week. I have no time to myself, but I brought it upon myself and even though I miss my friends these days, I'm getting more done then I ever thought possible and am amazed at how much more you can do when you have less time to do it.

Anyway, I don't want to ramble about my life right now, but I do want to include a list of some things I can now check of my bucket list...the amazing thing is I didn't even know most of these were on my list until they happened. Maybe this list will pique your interest of my travels until I can catch up on blogging over the holidays. By the way, the picture is me and some of the local boys in Bolivia the day I arrived to their village for a humanitarian project...when I was still clean and showered :)

The South American Bucket List
1. Slept in a homeless shelter in Peru - √
2. Peed in a squatter hole - √
3. Picked up trash from the side of the road - √
4. Pulled a tooth (with the assistance of a dentist) from a dental patient - √
5. Caught and held a chicken - √
6. Picked up dung from a field for a fuel pile (with gloves of course) - √
7. Jumped in Lake Titicaca, about 40 degrees (cold!!), and the highest lake in the world - √
8. Rode down the world's most dangerous road on a mountain bike - √

The tooth pulling...

The dung pile...ick!

The lake jump...I just wanted to get out, it was so cold I could hardly breath!

The chicken I caught...

Mountain biking...

Is your interest piqued?

School's almost out...let the travels begin!

There are 5 more days with kids, 4 more days of work after that (2 workdays, 2 training days) and then I'm off to Europe. Here's the more or less solid travel schedule:

June 25th - July 1 = Paris, France...maybe a night or 2 in London
July 1 - July4/5 = Frankfurt, Germany
July 5 - July 8 = Budapest, Hungary
July 9 - Fly home and then drive to Fayetteville, WV to get my sister
July 10 - July 17 = Myrtle Beach (family reunion)
July 17 - July 21 = Fayetteville, WV
July 24 - July 31 = Buenos Aires, Argentina
July 31 - August 7 = Tour Peru
August 7 - August 17 = Humanitarian work in Altiplano, Bolivia
August 17-August 24 = Relax a little before work starts :)

It's a lot of traveling, but I'm super excited. I've been super behind on my blogging this year so my goal before I leave (and after my GMU classes end next week) is to catch up on my travels and update my blog. It will probably be mostly a photo journal of my trips since some of them are so long ago I might not remember all the stories! I have to say, teaching can be challenging, but the summers off is the absolute best part of the job!! I can't wait to get my travel on :)