When I tell you not to think of the color red, what do you think of?

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

To be yourself… I guess that’s my life goal. Figuring out who myself is, now that’s a lifelong journey.

Oh, to blog. I was actually against blogging at first because I always had the impression that blogging meant that you were really conceited and wanted everyone to pay attention to your life. And, I suppose the types of “blogs” like MySpace and Facebook sustain that stereotype in a way. But, if writers like Thomas Friedman from the NY Times have blogs, then I guess it’s legitimate.

Okay, stepping off that soapbox and onto another: I want to have this particular blog serve as an introduction to the whole idea of weblogs because I know nothing about blogging.

I am going to be a junior journalism major at Oswego in the fall. It’ll be my second year at Oswego, however, because I transferred here last year. I came from Paul Smith’s College in the Adirondacks. I was doing environmental writing there, but that wasn’t the best fit for me, so I transferred to Oswego.

I love it at Oswego, mainly because of the academics. Despite people thinking that state universities aren’t as good as private schools, Oswego State has got a lot of great assets. There’s a great variety of people, activities, classes, weather, etc. But, I’ll talk more about that fun stuff later.

Right now, I am at home in Elmira, NY a.k.a. E-town where we have t-shirts that say “Elmira is gansta” that actually sell pretty well, Mark Twain’s burial site (not really, just a headstone, but we like to think that he’s here), two maximum security correctional facilities within a 15 mile radius, and the national soaring museum for gliders.

I am currently getting paid to take a class to become a certified nursing assistant so that I can work in a nursing home for the rest of my summer. In this job market for our generation, diversity and versatility is key. So, I figured, if I work as a CNA all summer, that’ll broaden my horizon.

I’m also available to my local Star Gazette newspaper for freelance. Which is exciting in itself when I get the opportunity to write about my city.

Meanwhile, I am fundraising for a trip to Ghana over winter break. I have to get $5,000 by October so that I can go volunteer in a community for three weeks in December. I can hardly wait!

Other than that, I am living it up in the Southern Tier, enjoying the scenery and lack of blustery, blizzard winds! Hope summer fun is going well. The calm, carefree feel of summer is great, isn’t it? Enjoy and savor it as much as you can.

Ciao. Hasta luego!