Lots of Love.

Today I am doing a guest post over at the wonderful blog Cardigan Empire where I will be joining the Beauty-full Tuesday series.
I feel so lucky because so many amazing women have been apart of this :) 
So check it out!

 ALSO
 Just in case you guys didn't have the chance to see the
series I was apart of called Women Who Love.

I wanted to share what I wrote, here on my blog!

Alycia

Age: 22

Love: History and Traveling

How long have you been studying history?

Technically I have been studying history since I started school right? History has always been one of my favorite classes in school, along with all of the Social Studies courses. This is why I decided to get a Social Science Teaching Major along with a History Teaching Minor. I get to study history, geography, politics, government and anything else you can imagine when it comes to people, places and how those relate to each other.

How has studying history made a positive impact on the rest of your life?
I believe that the more you understand a person’s history and culture, the better you can relate to them. I guess my love for history really comes from a love for people.

How has it given you confidence?

I believe that being informed and educated about the world you live in empowers you. When you know where you came from, you have a better idea of where you are going, and what you want to do.

What's your favorite memory of learning about history?

My favorite memory is probably when I was on a bus traveling through Japan. Our tour guide was amazing and she told us old Japanese tales while we traveled to different places. I learned so much about Japanese culture and the people through those stories.

Your favorite historical story?

Oh there are too many to choose! I think for a long time I was most fascinated with Roman history and their stories. Roman history is straight out of a movie, which is why there are probably so many! When I was in Rome I got to see the coliseum. A lot of people know that they use to have gladiator death fights there, but what most people don’t know is that they also would fill the coliseum up with water, put boats in there and have actual pirate battles! Incredible.

Has learning history impacted your love for traveling and culture?

I would almost say that my love for traveling and culture impacted my love for history. When I was in the 7th grade I won a writing contest and was able to be an exchange student in Japan. At the young age of 13 my eyes were astonished at this culture that was presented to me, it was so different from my world. Being there sparked something inside of me that made me want to learn more about other places and people. I developed a strong desire to see and learn about all the other places out there and to meet people different from me. Since then I have been able to travel many other places. So for I have mostly been around Europe, but I can’t wait to see even more!

This love of history is something I want to share with others, which is why I want to teach. I think it is so important for kids to know about their country, their rights, and their ancestors’ stories. In my opinion, understanding your Government and History are vital elements in helping young students figure out what they really want in their lives and in their futures. It helps them figure out who they are.

Do you have any advice for women interested in learning more about history?

Sometimes people think of history and think “boring.” But there are so many avenues that relate to history that are so exciting. I think it is important for women (and everyone) to learn about their families’ histories and the worlds histories so we can continue to learn and grow. I think it is also important to celebrate our successes and unite with people from different parts of the world. Not everyone can travel the world, not everyone can go back to school and learn more about history. But there are specific things women can do every day to play an active role in their learning and growing and participating in history. I think women should be knowledgeable in politics, and VOTE! We didn’t always use to have this right, and it is such a valuable one that helps shape our nation. Women can also document and put together family histories that can be passed down to generations where we can learn about our ancestors, and the things they did for us and their country. I also think women in America can take advantage of the fact that there are such a variety of cultures here to learn from. Women should gather together and have culture nights where they cook and share stories about where they are from and where they come from. Share traditions, stories, culture, celebrate LIFE.

In one sentence, what are your feelings about the importance of learning about history?

Understanding the history of countries, peoples, and places will help you learn how to understand and relate to others, as well as teaching you lessons that have already been taught, that will hopefully make you a better person.

Finals...

So after today I am "finally" done with finals! AH and I can't even enjoy it since I am doing some accelerated summer courses May and June... and those start up pretty quick. I have NEVER done summer school before ever, so this should be fun. I also need to get my eating back on track... during finals I tend to well, eat eat eat. Pizza, Milk Duds, Lemonade Mike and Ikes, Salt Water Taffy, Chips, Soda, Mucho Mango, Peanut Butter Lover's Reese's Pieces, Amazing Euros, Pizza Rolls...and on and on and on, you know all that comfort yummy sugar food to keep the brain flowing!! I think the gym is ready for me...

 So amazing tasting, horrible for you food and super cute pencils, is how I get through Finals :)

So it begins.

So the new semester has started. Boy am I in for it. Not only is my school workload seriously impossible, but I have been assigned a 2 month big project to do at work, people here at the library call it "my baby." Anyways where to begin? Why do Professors purposely assign you so much reading and homework to do as if all you have is THEIR class? I mean I am NOT exaggerating here, I am talking hundreds of pages a night for just ONE class... and all my classes are like this. I guess this is just what happens when you are taking the highest upper level courses. So here are my complaints... ready?

Advanced American National Government
The teacher is so old, which isn't bad except he talks so quietly and is so monotone boring you want to rip your hair out class goes so slowly... (mucho amounts of reading.)

Political Analysis (Scientific Empirical Research)
My teacher is from Turkey... he has THE thickest accent ever, and has a humor no one gets. He is all in all a really nice sweet guy, but I don't understand a word coming out of his mouth, which is bad seeing as this class involves math mixed in with politics.... math being the key problem here for me. (mucho amounts of homework and reading that doesn't seem to even help.)

International Economics
Another teacher with an accent... great. At least this one is kind of dreamy to look at. This teacher is from Germany (I think I have my first student teacher crush here, haha.) Anyways Economics isn't the easiest for me, and I can't always understand him... I can better then the Turkish guy though. But seeing that he is very attractive I tend to not pay attention as well as I should. (good amount of reading with a mucho amount of homework.)

Geography of Utah
Oh man. This lady is CRAZY! You know Professor Trelawney from Harry Potter... this is her. Dead serious. She has her own language, I am not kidding! She uses symbols on her syllabus that mean things and she doesn't give you a key or anything to understand what it is she is talking about. She is THE most unorganized person I have ever met, epically for a teacher. Everyone is already confused with what is going on and instead of using the University website for work (WebCT) she has created her own which is about as understandable as she is. This chick is a nut. (tons of assingments and a huge project due at the end of the semester and tons of reading.)

History of Utah
This guy sounds like a black preacher when he lectures... which I guess is better then falling asleep in Advanced Gov. He really does almost yell when he talks, and puts inflection in his voice like a preacher does, haha. He unlike the Geography teacher is very very organized and because of this has given us a great outline of the massive amounts of readings that we have to do every day. An impossible amount. Which we will randomly get pop quizzes on to make sure we are reading every page... great. Just in two days I think I know everything amount the Anasazi Indians that settled here in Utah. This class is going to be just peachy.

So there.... my ranting and raving is over, for now. I will see you all in 5 months, seeing as all my time will now be spent buried in books! At least I find a majority of this stuff interesting right? geeze, haha.