Everything happens so fast, one day I was living in Oneida Hall, and then it felt like a few months later I was living off campus. After graduation my whole world felt like it was moving so fast, everyone was so concerned about what was next in my life. I had answers but not definite ones. For a long time I felt a little lost, lost in all my possibilities, first I was accepted to all six of my graduate programs, when I thought I would not even get into one. It was really hard for me to make a decision on where I wanted to be, and although all of these schools wanted me to be apart of their program, I was still uncertain, I guess all these feelings came from anxiety. After graduation I was so uncertain although I had already knew where I was going to school and what I was going to school for. Everyone said Sherrifa you will be fine, everything will work out. But I wasn’t so sure it would, I was uncertain, and had a little self doubt. But finally, I am starting to find my way, starting to see a much brighter future, I registered for my graduate courses, I am starting to feel much more confident about my future, and most importantly things are starting to work out. Even after you graduate, and you have great plans for your future, there is still anxiety of starting over, and entering the “real world.” The only thing I would recommend is to take your time and find your own way :-).

I am feeling so motivated, this is my favorite time of the year, the weather is beautiful, the semester is coming close to an end, and I am just happy! I am still implementing all of my plans for the end of the semesters; I only have two more schools to apply to, thank God because Grad applications are seriously no joke! There is something that is so exciting about waiting to see who wants you to be a part of their Grad program, I guest anxiety is not such a bad thing after all. Everything just feels good, I am career motivated, mentally, emotionally, and academically prepared for Grad school. I just recently went for my final interview for Teach for America; I was prepared, confident, and passionate! Therefore, the interview went exceptionally well, and it made me feel so confident and motivated for the next chapter in my life… So for now I will just wait to make the proposed plan for the next chapter.

His first day home 🙂

 There have been so many great things in store for me and I must say there has never been a dull moment! This semester started off very well with a slice of joy; I have a new friend who has brought me so much joy lately. It all started on a computer, I went on Google, searched, searched and searched, I added some sites as my favorite, and I also made a few phone calls to some ads that seemed promising. I even made a few arrangements, however they didn’t go any further. Believe me when I say everything happens for a reason, so after a thousand phone calls I lost hope and decided that I was going to give up, but with every new day I felt as if there was a calling I did research after research after research. With every new ad I fell in love all over again and the search never ended. One day I went on this new website and that’s when we made our first connection I made an arrangement that seemed so far fetch but I was still willing to follow through. My dream came through on February 6, the day I met my college companion. His name is Scooby and he is a handful of joy, ever since I had him I have to say the days seem brighter and he is truly a companion. I never understood before how people could speak of their pets in such a special way, but now that I am on that boat I could certainly feel the waves. There are so many stories to share about this little man, he has such an attention-grabbing personality, he is making the end of my undergraduate career so much more interesting, and I am loving every bit of it.

As I count the days down towards graduation, I also have to count the sleepless nights staying awake to fill out grad-school applications, making arrangements for prospective job opportunities, and also re-arranging my final plans. But I have realized something, every time I tell someone, ” I really don’t know how I am suppose to  do this” how am I suppose to take classes, apply for schools, prepare myself for interviews, write personal statements, study, read, eat,  control my thoughts, work, and stay focus?” And most of them respond, “Sherrifa you have this under control, I am not worried about you.” However sometimes I do not feel like I have things under control. I am always running, always on the go, sometimes I feel like I do not have time for time itself, and that is a shame! I have  received alot of encouragements and advice over the last couple of months and many of them have kept me motivated and going, and I am really grateful for all of them.  I have to say that this one advice from one of my professors have really  stuck in my head all week long and it really has motivated me to just keep going and continue doing what I have to do.

I walked into my late class on Monday night, and the professor was down to earth and I was really excited to be there. As he went over the syllabus and requirements for the course, he made sure that we understood exactly what he was saying into a short space of time. He was more eager to get into the lesson. Usually I feel a little disappointed when professors decide to teach on the first day of class; sometimes I just feel really unprepared on the first day, and that is because I am really unprepared, and I just want a day to organize myself before I start learning, but this one in particular I didn’t mind.

He started talking about  general introductions about the course material and it was interesting, but what really drew my attention to what he was saying was when he said ” Students you learn by doing, ok? never forget that, you learn by teaching, or working with others.” Then he asked does anyone know about the learning pyramid? I honestly did not know about the learning pyramid, it was my first time, but I remember him explaining this pyramid and how we can apply it to our lives, and honestly I am so happy that in his lesson plan he provided us with life lessons. 

I remember him saying, grades do not come to you by memorizing and  pulling all nighters, they come to you by doing what you need to do! Do study, Do prepare! Do study groups! Do read! Do listen!  Do everything that you need to do! To me it felt like that was all I needed to hear… So the learning pyramid was a great introduction to my life, and from now on I will do!

I am so happy it is all over… This is my favorite time of the year! The semester is over, there is a long break so that you get enough time to relax, travel, and catch up with friends and family. There is also the anticipation of a brand new start! There is so much that I have left behind, I spent the past semester trying to find a balance; a balance between friends and family, school and work, and even between play and planning.  I think the anticipation of graduation, Grad- School, and the possibility of relocation really keeps me unbalance. I battle with so many feelings, feelings of hope, fear, joy, happiness, fulfillment, accomplishment, and so much more. Even though I am not at the finish line, the anticipation is really killing me. I can’t stop reflecting on how fast 4 years  went by; the best 4 years of my life.  I won’t reflect  on or think about what I will leave behind because the depth of my true engagements shall follow me wherever I shall go; I know that for sure the support, love, and encouragement will not stop from the lovely people I have met here… Next semester I will embrace it all like I have never embraced it before; the closer it gets the more I get anxious. I am awaiting many new starts for next year. There is so much to work on, so much to plan for, so much to enjoy, many more to meet, and many new engagements! I have no New Year’s resolution, except that I wish you the best and I hope that you get all that your heart desire, along with that I wish you peace and happiness… I am waiting and hoping; hoping for the best but preparing for the worst!

You know after a long week sometimes I just want to get away and do something that is satisfying.  This past weekend I did just that. I took a break away from my house, school work, and even friends. I just needed to relax and clear my mind, its nothing better than relaxing and clearing my mind especially after such a long week. This weekend came with more than just relaxing, I received a special surprise from a special person. I received a Wii!!! My goodness it was such a special gift because I wanted one for so long and I finally have one to call my own. The Wii is the greatest getaway and the greatest work out plan, it is so satisfying. I have a new friend one that guarantees me a great time! I am so happy… I cant wait for Christmas!

Around this time of the year I always see some of my peers walking around so strangely as if they are in a battle field hiding from someone,  I noticed this last year and again this year. I never really understood it, some of them would be in full gear as if it’s a costume for Halloween others would walk around with huge toy guns, darts, and even rope sometimes. It all seemed so weird to me, I wondered last year what was going on? I never really paid too much attention, but the only thing I knew was whenever I saw someone running for their life, I knew that they were playing Human vs. Zombies, and I knew to get out of their way fast!  I thought wow, where do college students find all this time to have so much fun to run around the campus from each other. From the outside the game looks like an intense man hunt (if you ever played that game you would know exactly what I am talking about). One day I was walking through the campus center and I noticed that there was a sign that said:  “Sign up table for Humans vs. Zombies” In my head I was thinking “are you serious? Again I have to see my peers running around on campus having all the fun in the world! My goodness, I have to admit watching them play this game makes me so jealous, I mean this is intense, it is serious.  In between classes I see some of them running for their lives, hiding, and even hunting their next victim. As crazy as it seems I wish I was a part of it, what a way to have some fun! I had to blog about this because I was thinking to myself today if I was playing I would be a zombie for sure!  why didn’t I sign up?  It just looks so fun I could imagine myself playing this game with a bunch of my friends I could imagine how much fun we will have. Besides what other time in the world will you ever get to be a zombie on a college campus? I can’t believe I missed out on the opportunity to become a zombie! 🙁

Ok so I promised that as soon I posted the first blog and once I settled down then I will talk about my summer and plans for the semester. I guess this is great because I haven’t  really had time to process anything. For a lack of a better word my summer was ok I guess, I can’t really describe it because I didn’t spend my time going to theme parks, hanging out with friends or family, or going to the beach. All I did this summer was work! My summer was a down grade from how my semesters are. I took an online class which was more adventurous than my days, I also interned at the Children’s Center on campus, which I absolutely loved! It was a great experience; this internship was actually connected to my online class. I also participated in the McNair program this past summer, I spent many days reading articles and doing research, preparing presentations, and preparing  for both the LSAT and GRE my summer was fairly hectic, lots of preparation! Summer in Oswego is not bad at all.I spent the summer preparing and I will spend the semester developing and implementing!

For the semester I am facing all sorts of emotions,  why?I am not sure, maybe its because I am a Senior! Yup, that explains it all. All I have been thinking about is Grad- schools, my LSAT and GREs… I just need to get the ball rolling to start the new chapter of my life.

I know you guys are expecting me to start off my first blog by letting you know how my summer went and what are my plans for the semester but today I have something completely different for you, something that’s way more important… Don’t worry eventually I will give you the update! Here is the reason why I decided to skip all of that  it’s because I have something on my mind, which I would like to call the ” Declaration.”

Yeah I know you’re wondering what in the world is Sherrifa talking about?  Well I am a senior spending my last days of exploration in the land of Oz, and I have all these plans and dreams, where I want to go, what I want to do, who I want to work for, how much money I aspire to make with my BA, and the list goes on and on. All these hopes and dreams are because I want to be successful, and of course I do the preparation to fulfill all these dreams. I learned something very important this summer and I want to share it with you because it helped me understand what to do with your dreams, how to approach success. Ever since I have been making progress towards living in the moment and growing with new prospects and knowledge.

This summer I read a book by John C. Maxwell, ” How Successful People Think,”  Of course I am reading this book because I am panicking, I am thinking oh goodness it’s my senior year, I am going out into the real world, I am going out in the professional field, I want to be successful, who do I turn to?! But that was my first mistake, it shouldn’t have been now that I was hoping to focus on my success, so I say to you all… go and find a John C. Maxwell now!!! This is the time. It doesn’t have to be in a book, it can be your mother, mentor, or professor. Work towards your success now, don’t wait, make connections, reconnect with yourself, develop new plans! Don’t wait until senior year or before the interview, don’t wait!!! Don’t hope for success work towards it every day, maximize your resources.

That’s it ladies and gentlemen, that is the “Declaration” I am not just talking to my peers, I am speaking to everyone, get to it!!!  I will leave you with these last notes from John C. Maxwell, I hope you can use these words for encouragement,  to be a star,  to be spontaneous,  to pave your own path, and  to develop new plans to achieve your success. This is what John C. Maxwell said:

” People who rely on hope for their success rarely make change a high priority. If you have only hope, you imply that achievement and success are out of your hands.”

I will say this to you, place value on your success, leave no room for hopes, starting make blueprints for your dreams.

This is supposed to be the best time of the year; you know happy to pack up and go home to start the summer, however I’m STRESSING!!!!!! Like many other college students. I cannot wait for finals week to be over with, I am looking forward to spending my summer here in Oswego, doing McNair, a summer internship, a summer course, and possibly a summer job…Talk about Fall semester downgraded! I cannot wait until Friday, the end of all my finals and the beginning of my summer!!!