Ready Set Go!

My professor for my Theories of Personality class told us once that... if you tell enough people you're going to do something, you will most likely follow through. That way, you're not just letting yourself down if you don't follow through, you're also telling everyone else you told that you failed. So, to make sure I follow through with these applications and don't fail myself and others, I am turning to the blog world and informing everyone. I AM APPLYING TO GRADUATE SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORK. Easier said then done.

I have always known that one step in the grad school application process would make me stop short and procrastinate.

The essays.

They're so daunting. Most personal statements for social work programs involve talking about social work ethics, past experiences, why I have decided to pursue a degree in this program... and blah blah blah. I don't even know where to begin with them. I just bought a book off Amazon entitled "The Social Work Graduate School Applicant's Handbook: The Complete Guide to Selecting and Applying to MSW Programs." Hope it's helpful ha.

Today, I'll share the personal statement for the University of Denver. Looking at it now, there are sections that I feel like I could answer pretty well. Though, other sections just taunt me.

A. Rationale
Discuss the primary reasons for your desire to pursue your Master of Social Work (MSW) degree.
B. Attributes and Liabilities
Please identify your strengths, and briefly discuss any knowledge and/or skills that you might need to improve in order to successfully complete the requirements of GSSW’s MSW program.
C. Employment and Volunteer Experience
Please Identify and briefly discuss the relationship between your previous employment and/or volunteer experiences and your decision to pursue an MSW.
D. Education
Please discuss the relationship between your undergraduate education and your preparedness to complete GSSW’s MSW program.
E. Life Experiences
Discuss how your personal experiences have led you to a career in social work. Many people enter this field because of life experiences that have resulted in a desire to help others. Often these experiences can be transformed into passions and strengths that fuel one’s career or can impede one’s ability to develop professionally. Please include any relevant life experiences and the way in which you have dealt with them. Be advised that we are a strengths-based profession, and our interest is in seeing how people have coped with their life challenges.
F. Social Work Values and Ethics
Discuss how your personal values and experiences have prepared you to meet the ethical obligation of social workers to practice without discrimination and with respect, knowledge and skills related to clients’ age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex and sexual orientation. How do your personal values relate to this ethical obligation? What are some experiences that you have had that demonstrate your willingness to fulfill this ethical obligation?

So. Average length of personal statements are 5 pages... and exceeding 7 pages is discouraged. Denver's application is due first, by January 16th. I guess I'll tackle this one first?

I'll be posting my progress on the applications here. Hope everyone here will help me out... offer feedback for these personal statements because they're a big obstacle for me.

Deuces.

On the road...

... to grad school!

I have been using the U.S. News Best Social Work Programs website as a start to my big grand research on different graduate schools in the country. So hard to narrow my list! Considering I will go almost anywhere in the US... well no correction. I will not go almost anywhere. I probably won't go anywhere near the south. Too many weather hazards and bugs. No thanks.

My list is still pretty extensive. Though, I started writing down deadline dates and information sessions at various schools. Curious?

The University of Denver. (costs an arm and a leg)
The University of Maryland, Baltimore. (realistic)
The University of Michigan. (#2 ranked social work school in the US. wishful thinking)
Rhode Island College. (surprising, right? Good program. And I fell in love with RI during those 10 months)
Portland State University. (back to the west coast, maybe?)

Maryland, Michigan, and Portland State all have the Peace Corps Masters International Program within the MSW program... makes the programs so much more attractive.

More to come. Just giving yall a sneak peek.

Time for work.

Untitled

We always spend our lives wishing we had what other people had... wishing we did what other people have done.

Who says we can't do that same thing? I always encourage others to do what they want to do.. and take a chance.

I like to think I've done that... taken a chance. Moved away from everything and everyone that was ever familiar to a foreign region... New England. Ha. Endured a whole lot of crap while working as an outdoor youth counselor with disrespectful and mean teenage boys. And after those rough 10 months, I've moved out of the woods and on to Philadelphia, to keep trying out new things and having new adventures.

But, now I've come to a stand still. I'm in a job that I dislike and I want to quit... and I'm finding that it is easier said than done... to just quit and find a new job these days. I have applied to countless places and barely hear back from them. Send my resume out into the void of the internet world and hoping my resume makes me shine and makes them call me. But, let's me honest, my resume isn't all that shiny when compared to other applicants.

So, I ask myself... now what? Good question, Mel. I have no clue. Though, in the back of my mind, I know what I need to do... what path I need to be taking now. My bachelors degree has only taken me so far, and now I think it's come time for me to get a higher degree. Masters degree, anyone?

My international pursuits can wait, I guess. The world isn't going anywhere, but if I don't figure out some path or plan for myself now, who knows where I'll go and what state I'll end up in.

One thing I do know... a masters degree will open up opportunities for my professional life that I only dream about right now. All I need to do now is get the courage to apply... and not be afraid for the possibility of rejection.

Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies.

So, I absolutely love to bake.

Now, why do I love to bake? Because it is something I know I am good at. I refuse to bake anything out of the box and/or use a premade crust. Everything I bake is 100% baked by Meli. Maybe except for the chocolate chips. Baking is easy because it's mindless work for me... I don't need to think too hard about what I am making. Just watch the ingredients and the amounts of each, and you're golden. And the chocolate chip cookies are golden too, ha. I bake when I'm feeling frustrated, anxious, nervous, bored, restless, ambitious, giving... the list goes on. We are having a housewarming bbq/party on Saturday, the 27th, and I will be baking for that, too! I'll be doing an easy recipe, because we are expecting a lot of people.

I haven't been adventurous with my baking in a while now... mostly sticking to recipes I am familiar with and tweaking them slightly. My most ambitious attempt within the past year were my Butterfinger Cheesecake Bites. They were divine. Who describes food as divine? If you tasted these, you can't help but say they're divine. Unfortunately, no one reading this or anyone else can attest to how amazing those bites were... I baked them for my EYA group, the Manitous, back almost a year ago, either September or early October. I need to recreate these scrumptious desserts soon.



I especially love this one recipe, Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, taken/adapted from VegWeb.com. It is an easy recipe to follow, with not that many ingredients, and it is easy to change it and add/remove some things. I have made everything from cookies, to brownies, to muffins with this one recipe. Right now, I am tweaking the Happy Vegan cookies, turning them from cookies into mini muffin-like cookies. Baking in a muffin pan makes them fluffier and softer, instead of crunchy. My first time using this oven at my new place. We'll see how it ends up! I am using Jessica's birthday gift as well (well one of them, anyway). She bought me a cooling rack, and only a baker would get excited about a gift like that, because I haven't had one in the past year since I moved away from California. This recipe is also easy because there are no ingredients in it that really require cooking. You could eat this batter raw and not have to worry about the eggs. It's dairy-free! Well mine sometimes don't end up dairy-free because of the chocolate chips I use. A few times, I have covered a few rolled up balls of batter with powdered sugar, and thrown them in the freezer. My sister particularly loved them this way, it was a delicious frozen dessert, great with ice cream.

Well. First time using this oven for my baking. Success! Hope the roomies and coworkers enjoy my cookies. I had to try one for myself, hence the half eaten one in the picture. Also, to show how the inside looks. Scrumptious.


Ciao, friends. =)

Been a little M.I.A... =)

Hi friends.

It has been a long time, hasn't it? A lot has happened since I last wrote! I can't even remember what I wrote last, it has been that long. I've finally returned... hopefully returning more consistently now that I'm getting settled in my new house! The most recent update first, I guess.

We moved! From Manayunk to Conshohocken. Jessica and I were tired of our hot apartment, 3 flights of stairs, and crappy parking that Manayunk had to offer us. So forget you Manayunk, we're leaving! So we moved to Conshohocken, into a beautiful house. Where the parking is magnificent and comes with little traffic thanks to avoiding the dreaded Conshohocken curve on the 76, because we no longer have to drive on it. Yay. It is a 3 bedroom + basement, a block of the main street called Fayette, which has a bunch of things to walk to, which was a requirement to move anywhere. Jessica took the master bedroom, Jason (our newest roomie!) took the bachelor pad basement, and I have a smaller room across from Jessica. Since I took the smaller room, I sort of get 2 rooms, because the 3rd bedroom is tiny as well. Though, it'll be more of a tv room/lounge for everyone. I just get the closet hah. Currently, my room is furnished with Ikea furniture, because, let's face it, everyone loves Ikea. I am still sleeping on a futon mattress because I cannot bring myself to spend tons of $$ on a bed just yet So for now, I'm on the floor. Though, I finally have a dresser and bedside table/book shelf. It is strange to finally unpack.. means I'm not going anywhere for awhile.

I've become pretty much a Philadelphian.. I was forced to become a licensed driver, get new car registration and plates, and new insurance.. all in Pennsylvania. My goodness.

In other news, I am a working gal, finally. The 2 months off were nice, but, let's face it, I don't do well with idle time, I need some stimulation. I'm on my 3rd week of work at Devereux... and so far, so good, I guess. I'm on the fence when it comes to if I am happy or not. I'm okay, settling for now, I guess. The job itself is working with adolescent females in a residential facility that have various behavioral and emotional problems. I am trying, but my co-workers aren't the best at training. So, we'll see how I do, I guess.

I visited home, [L.A.] over a month ago now, and it was a pleasant trip home. The 2 weeks flew by, and they were filled with a trip to Disneyland with a friend and cousins, and lunches with aunts and friends from all over. I even got to play soccer with my old soccer team, because they love me. It was exciting.

Let's seee. What else. I am just about a quarter of a century old. Birthday is this Thursday! For everyone that forgets my birthday back home... it's our area code! 8.18 =) Celebrating with a trip to Cheesecake Factory, because I want to splurge and enjoy cheesecake, then wandering over to our favorite Thursday hang out, Plaza Azteca, to enjoy some margaritas and karaoke!

So, that's all folks. Pictures of the house to come soon. For now.. I'll leave you all with this. =)

Peace Corps? Grad School? Hm.

A new friend took me on a tour of Philadelphia this past weekend. He asked me what my plans for the future were, because I had mentioned I don't really plan to stay in Philadelphia for longer than a year. So, he asked me what my plans are. I didn't really have a response. I told him that, right now, I am just planning my life a week at time. I have plans for the future, that is true, but I am not sure what order they are going to happen just yet.

I am having a constant battle of future plans… grad school or peace corps or grad school with peace corps combined in the program? Oh the possibilities are endless. Now Jessica is telling me our next move is going to be to Nashville, and that she will pack my bags for me and force me to move. I can't keep delaying my grad school! I know it is something I WANT to do. Though, the real question is… when am I going to do it? I have several things I am taking into consideration when thinking about the peace corps/grad school debate. One, is the cost of a grad school program in Social Work. It's not cheap. Many schools offer fellowships to people who have done Peace Corps and give $$$. Which is what I need! Also, Peace Corps will make me a better applicant at the competitive schools I am applying to.

Another option is to do a combined program of both grad school and peace corps. Not many schools offer the program, however, so my options for grad schools are severely limited. Though, with this type of program, I know that Peace Corps is also really competitive, and having some education behind me will better prepare me to serve overseas.

Damnit! Peace Corps… then Grad School? Oh goodness gracious. I have too much free time right now, and my mind goes crazy with all this. I need to start working. I accepted a job offer from a company called Devereux.. working as a residential counselor in a mental health facility for adolescent females. Not the job I wanted, but I still have not heard back from another company, the one I really wanted. Hopefully I hear back today or tomorrow.. which will then make me have another debate with myself.. keep the job I accepted or take the other one? Devereux is already full-time, though doesn't start until July 18th. The Center For Autism.. not sure when they'll start but it is only a summer position and not guaranteed for the full. Bah.

So, for now, instead of driving myself crazy with where I am going to be in a year, I am just going to chill out and enjoy my life day by day. I miss the woods and trees, so a friend is taking me out on a woodsy trail to explore and be amongst the wilderness again. Can't believe I am saying this, but I miss the bugs and stillness of the woods, I miss the obnoxious chirping birds and almost accidentally stepping on frogs on the trails. And I miss the hilarious and stupid comments the boys would make. Life was a lot slower there.. I wasn't preoccupied with the future. Ha I was more preoccupied by the swearing and sexual harassment going on around me. Though, camp is an entry for another time.

In other news. I will be home in LA by Wednesday, the 22nd. Home for 2 weeks! Holy crap, what the heck am I going to do with myself for 2 weeks? Make sure you're all free. =)

Ladies Love Country Boys

I found a cuter coffee shop to blog in and drink some coffee. They almost have cups like Central Perk does! One downside is that they don't have any wireless. Boo. My old trusty Saxbys didn't have any working wireless today, so I decided to wander over to this one, which I'm not quite sure of the name of, only to discover it doesn't have wireless. It's alright though, it is really cute. A nice place to recount my time in Nashville. It's a beautiful day in Philly right now, so I'm writing to you all outside, people watching and blogging.

Nashville was a treat. It was amazing to be immersed in the culture of country music for 4 days. I cannot recap the whole 4 days because I know I will not be able to do Nashville justice. However, for those of you who don't know, I was in Nashville for the CMA Country Music Fest, which is a 4 day country music celebration with a ton of country music artists and other fun things. My least favorite part of the entire trip was the drive. From Philadelphia to Nashville it takes about 13.5 hours. I've never driven further than 5 hours, so my goodness, 13 hours was a lot. We left Philadelphia about 6:15am and made it to Nashville around 7pm, thanks to central time zone changes. Ha. Now, our hotel… while not the swankiest of hotels, was not too bad. We did discover that they steal from other hotels, as we found mini toiletry items from other hotels in our shower. Nice job, M Star Hotel.

The venue for the CMA Fest was the Titans football stadium.. LP Field. It's a pretty nice stadium, though not the easiest to move through. During the day, there were 2 blocks of fun, country festivities and free things to enjoy. Jessica and I definitely enjoyed the free things… especially the free ice cream and free t-shirts. My goodness, it was hot! Since it was ridiculously hot there, everyone was handing out little fans, so I have a nice collection of those fans in my car. I'm sure they'll come in handy sometime in the future. Jessica got a nice burn the first day, which thankfully has turned into a nice looking tan. Although today, I noticed she was peeling the skin off the burn… it was rather disgusting and I told her she looks like a snake peeling.

I continued to practice meeting and flirting with guys there. I figured it was a perfect place to practice, considering everyone at this thing is there to have a good time and meet people. Country boys are attractive. The blog title holds true for me now… I'll take a boy in a cowboy hat, wranglers, and cowboy boots any day. While the male country music artists were singing, I'd pretend they were singing to me. It is a fantasy of mine, for someone to write a song about me ha. Unfortunately, I didn't meet any real country boys. We did end up meeting some interesting gentlemen the first day. They were standing right next to us at the outside Riverfront stage, complaining about the heat and grass and having no where to sit. See, Jessica and I are smart, we brought beach towels to sit on during the outdoor concerts. They complemented us on our ingenuity. I figured, I am here to have a good time, right, why not invite these guys to share my beach towel. So I offered mine and made Jessica share with me. They were nice, chatty, complaint. Ha they didn't want to sit on the grass because they would get there khaki shorts dirty. Really? Are you girls? Anyway. To make this rather long story short, we ended up hanging out with these gentlemen most of the nights there, because Jessica and I could never decide where else we should go. I think I did pretty well attracting one gentleman, he was fun. Of course, I got a little neurotic at the end, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't get all quirky, right? Sure.

The 13+ hours back to Philly after all this was brutal. We didn't sleep much ha, we were out a little too late every night, so my goodness, the drive back was hard. I discovered that Nashville during all this requires the same amount of energy as Las Vegas, which I wasn't quite prepared for. Now I understand why they call the Music City, Nash Vegas.

So, now I am back in Philadelphia, back to hanging out with myself most days and trying to figure out where the heck I am going to work. I accepted a job offer from a company called Devereux, acting as a Direct Support Staff for a female residential facility. Not the particular job I was looking for, but the one I reallllly want hasn't contacted me yet. So, until they do contact me, I'll have this job. Whatever. Since I have some free time now before I start any particular job, I will be going home for two weeks, from June 22-July 6. Yay.

So much more I want to write on this beautiful summer day in Philadelphia, but I'll save it for another time. Stay tuned for more… I'll have to update you all on my social experiment… a new way to meet guys at bars ha. A crossword puzzle! So far, it got the attention of two gentlemen. I'll test out the theory again soon and let yall know the result. =)

Deuces!

Movie Ticket for One, Please.

I did something for the first time the other day. After my usual 2 hours in my coffee shop, I packed up my laptop in my backpack and decided to just keep walking until I found something to do. And I did find something to do! I came upon a United Artist movie theater… and I asked a friend if it's sad that I'm considering going to a movie by myself. He said not at all. That was all the encouragement I needed to walk into the theaters. I watched Hangover 2 by myself. Going to movies solo is kind of fun, I enjoyed it ha. I'll do it again sometime.

After the movie, I began my walk back to my apartment. I figured I had spent a good 5 hours outdoors doing absolutely nothing in particular.. I deserved to return to the apartment to do absolutely nothing there. On the way, I stopped in a used bookstore. I love bookstores, I could have spent a long time in there perusing through the shelves. Unfortunately, it was 4:30 and I hadn't really eaten lunch and I really needed to use a restroom, so I didn't spend much time there. It was nice to notice, as I was browsing through the various shelves that are not sorted in any particular order, that I had read several books on the shelves. I politely joined into a conversation that these two guys were having about different books and authors. It first started with the Eragon books, and which order the books went in. Of course I know that answer. Eragon, Eldest, Brissinger. I never read Brissinger.. I actually tried to, but the library was demanding that I return the book, so I never finished it. They were fun books to read. The conversation then turned to Khalid Houssini and his books. I enjoyed his books and am anxiously waiting for him to write another book. We talked about Paulo Coehlo and his books as well. I've only read two of his books, The Alchemist (who hasn't read that book?) and the Pilgrimage. After that, I decided to stop barging in on their conversation, they didn't really seem to want to talk to me, so I dropped it and returned to the books.

I have a lot of books waiting to be read. Before he-who-must-not-be-named was leaving for Indonesia, he collected all the books he had read over the past 2 years while at camp, and was going to sell them. I figured this was a perfect opportunity to update my booklist so I raided the selection before he was able to sell them. I came away with variety of different books. It's probably about time I pull one out and start reading it.

Anyone have any suggestions for books to read? I am always looking for a good book, despite the pile of books I already have.

Deuces!

Here's to a new city.

Hello from Philadelphia =)

Updating for your viewing pleasure from a coffee shop called Saxbys. Let me tell you about Saxbys. Saxbys always has very attractive men walking in and out of it on a daily basis. I have been here a handful of times, using there internet to keep myself occupied during the day. Saxbys is located in my little town of Manayunk. Tomorrow there is a bike race coming through the town. So lately, I have seen many international spandex-clad cyclists with some pretty hot accents. Yesterday, I didn't look so great as I was sitting here hunting for jobs. So today, I made sure I looked better, and put some make up on. Unfortunately, I didn't catch the attention of the attractive Australian cyclists. The only time they looked my way was when I tripped walking off a platform and almost twisted my ankle. Nice first impression, Meli.

Other than my new found appreciation for spandex-clad men, life in Philadelphia has been alright. Unfortunately, I've been spending a lot of time by myself because Jessica works all the time and I have no other friends in Philadelphia yet. Though, that hasn't been too bad to be honest. The past 9 months, living in Rhode Island, I never really got a whole lot of time to myself, so lately, this time to myself has been enjoyable. I have been occupying my time by watching television, sleeping, hanging out in coffee shops, running, the occasional baking, and trying to do crossword puzzles.

The crossword puzzles are the most frustrating parts of my day. Oh, the life of an unemployed 24 y/o female. It's been very exciting. I have been practicing the art of flirtation lately, as I am back to the single life, thanks to that jerk I used to date. Readers, remind me to never again date a coworker. Screw you, he-who-must-not-be-named. I'm glad I haven't lost the ability to flirt, though. A little rusty, but not too bad! Yay for Meli.

On the agenda for the next few weeks: NASHVILLE, TN!!! Jessica and I are roadtripping to Nashville for the CMA Music Fest... four amazing days of country music! Super excited. Additionally, hopefully in the next few weeks, I hear back from some jobs and find out they'd like to hire me. As awesome as this break from employment can be, it's going to get pretty damn boring. Cross your fingers. =)

As the kids say in Rhode Island when someone leaves... Deuces!

boys are stupid. throw rocks at them.

moving to philadelphia in t-25 days.

Been a longg time!

Well, the last time I wrote here was January. Whoops! Guess I'll make a short update now.

So let's see... there isn't much to say really ha. I went to NYC last month to meet up with Natalie and Chris... tons of fun! T.Jay came with me so Nat and Chris could meet him, so that was good times.

As for the latest news, I am moving to Philadelphia and living with Jessica at the end of May/beginning of June. Going to a 4-day Country Music Concert in Nashville, TN with Jessica. Flying home to LA for two weeks at the end of June.. from June 22-July 6. Nice chunk of time! hah.

Then hopefully starting a job sometime in July in Philadelphia. Woohoo.

T.Jay is moving to Indonesia to teach english. Wish I could go live in a foreign country... but I'm not ready for that step yet, so for now I'll wander across the US. =)

That is all. Peace and Love.

Happy Biiirthday Natalie!

Look at mee. I'm in Paris. Hah.

I was thinking about my job the other day... These past 5 months have been tough. Especially the past few days.. they have been the longest ones yet. There have been a lot of changes at camp recently, and I am still trying to figure out my place in all the chaos. I'm taking everything day by day. Camp can only be as stressful as you make it. Unfortunately, I do make some days more stressful than others... nobody's perfect, it gets to everyone at different times in different ways. Camp is not running as well as it used to, and everyone is scrambling to pick up the pieces and figure out a way to put it all back together.

The boys call me Squidword... or however you spell his name. The fool from SpongeBob SquarePants. They all think I have the same nose as him.. which makes me laugh. They're silly.

Anyway moving on. T.Jay and I are going to New York City in March to meet up with Natalie and Chris! I am looking forward to it.. I'm excited for some of the family to meet him.

I finally have a car out here... It's going to take its first drive in the snow later today because I need to get back to work. The roads are always nice and clean, I'm just worried about the road leading to camp, which is plowed but not clear of snow.. so we'll see!

What else what else? I don't know. I am traveling to Philadelphia next week to see Jessica. Yippeee! I'm super ecstatic. =D

That is all.

Loves <3

update! wow.

Happy New Year. from Rhode Island!

What a crazy few months it as been here... I was going to recap my 2010, but that seems pointless. Everyone that reads this was involved in my 2010 adventures, so there really is no point. Started my 2010 in Thousand Oaks... Started my 2011 in Exeter, RI... in a insulated tent with the flying squirrel that lives in my tent with me. SO strange.. hah what have I turned in to?

A lot has changed in the past few months. Slowly getting a hang of things at work.. been here for just about 5 months now. I was talking to one of my coworkers last night at our little local bar.. about how the time has flown and how I'm finally handling the job. I've learned not to get worked up over small things... camp can be as stressful as you make it. It can only affect the boys, and I can't let it affect me. So I'm slowly learning that.. and doing my best to just stay positive and enthusiastic for them.

As for life outside of work.. it's good. Right now the heat in my house isn't working, so I need to go to my landlord about that, but I'm just feeling lazy right now. It's supposed to snow later on today, so that'll be fun to see. Hopefully going snowboarding in 2 weeks with some coworkers at a nearby mountain in Massachusetts. I took some days off at the end of the month to go visit Jessica in Philadelphia so I'm superrr exciited for that! Work is better when I have other things to look forward to when I'm off.

Let's seee.. what eelssee. Nothing really. I do a ton of baking here. Lately, baking for me helps take my mind off of other things.. such as work and other stressors. It's a mindless task for me. I haven't repeated any recipes yet, but I think today I'll make my Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies. They're easy and they're yummy.. and don't go bad because there's nothing in them to make them go bad!

So that's about it. Nothing else to report. Happy New Year! =)
<3