Whew! It’s been a while since I posted here. I was planning on doing some major revamping this summer but picked up some work that kept me busy. I also spent three weeks studying abroad in South Korea, and only recently returned home. It was a fantastic experience. I was enrolled in Kookmin University’s Short Term Summer Language & Culture program. I lived in a dormitory in northern Seoul with three other girls, made a ton of friends, and explored Seoul almost every day. A fellow graduate student and I also went on a weekend trip to the beautiful city of Busan, and a day trip to the DMZ. What an experience!

Studying abroad in Korea was the highlight of my summer, but I also vacationed in Miami, FL with my husband in early July, and earlier in the summer spent some time in Nashville, TN with a friend where we stayed in a beautiful art deco hotel complete with a speak-easy in the basement. The rest of my summer was spent doing freelance work, taking a class where I focused on learning how to use a laser cutter for designing things like jewelry and ornaments, and unpacking and settling into our new home. It was a much busier summer than expected but a good one.

This semester marks the beginning of my last year as a graduate student. I’m ready to be done, anxious about working on my thesis project, and a bit sad about all the things I haven’t been able to fit into my graduate studies. Now that I’m almost at the end it feels like the last three years have flown by, though my memory knows better. Reminder to self: though grad school has been great, it has also been intensely stressful, frequently dotted with tears and sleepless nights, and a constant test of my willpower to continue. Dear Lord, please help me survive and successfully complete this final year. LOL

Anyways, today is the first day of the fall semester. I’m teaching Digital Literacy again this semester, taking an Art History class, Thesis Research class, and finishing an independent study. I’m going to be doing a TON of reading but maybe this semester will be a little less intense than my past few? Fingers crossed.