Hey beautiful people: )

Updates are in order...

First off, I got a new computer. ::does an Irish jig and high-fives self::

It's an HP laptop with 3G memory, and a 320GB hard drive. This is my first real computer..! And by "real", I mean NOT previously owned, NOT refurbished, and NOT a Dell. My dad is a computer technician and he's always putting together some type of Franken-computer that eventually dies over the course of a year. I decided that I'd pay the money for a quality PC because I can't afford another one to break down on me mid year.

In other news, I signed a lease for my first apartment : -D. It's a nice two bedroom close enough to campus to be near the fun, but far enough to be away from the drama. It's newly renovated, newly furnished, and newly carpeted. But the best part is that I don't have a roommate. Whooo! Yall can call me a hermit if you want, but I looooooove my privacy and Me Time. I like the option of going out, but having a quiet place to come back to. But maybe that's just me....Anyway, I move in tomorrow.

It's been a busy week preparing to go back to school, but things are going according to plan, thankfully. It'll probably be a couple of days until I have my internet up and running, but expect me to be updating mucho more often from now on. Within the next few days, I'm doing a picure post. I figure that'll be the best way to sum up my Summer.

Hope you've all been having a fab week.

xo,
bloggal

Approved!

Hey blog family!

I am very pleased to report that, after much shameless groveling, the decision to suspend my financial aid has been reversed! I found out Thursday but this is the first chance I've had to blog about it. In the past few weeks I've been staying prayed up, and trying to be as positive as possible. But at the same time, realize that there was a very big chance I would be kissing my alma mater goodbye. I had come to the conclusion that, if I didn't get the money back, I would just take the semester off, apply to a different school, and attend in the spring. There would be no point in racking up $10,000 for one semester that I wouldn't even be able to pay back. Thank God it never came to that.

But anyway, as I said in my previous post, I knew that how ever things turned out, I'd have a testimony. And that I was sure to have gone through my delimma for a reason. After coming out of the situation victorious, I've learned some very important lessons.

First and foremost, I realized just how incredibly important my education is to me. I've always loved to learn, but I can definitely say that I began to take it for granted. I'd let all the stress of college overshadow the fact that I'm incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to get an education at such an esteemed university. Faced with the possibility of not being able to go back refreshened my perspective, and made me appreciate the opportunities laid before me.

In the same vain, I also learned how passionate I am about what I'm studying. For those who don't know, I am an Art History major. I'm working towards my doctorate in the hopes of becoming a museum curator or art director of a small gallery. It took me a while to figure out what career I wanted to pursue, but I finally came to the conclusion that curation best suit me. It's a career that's research and writing intensive, which I love, and I'd have the opportunity to work with artists. Anyway, this is the first semester that I'll be able to tackle my major courses and I'm ecstatic. The prospect of not having the chance to study art history was what broke my heart the most. The fact that I was so disappointed by the thought is what reaffirmed for me, that this is my career path.

Most importantly, I realized how frivolous my past two years have been. I'm a Junior in college and I don't have much to show for it. I have a decent GPA, but aside from that, my college years thus far have been punctuated by a bunch of childish nonsense. I've let things that weren't important effect my ability to be all that I could be, both personally and academically. I think more than anything else, this past month of waiting for a verdict has really lit a fire inside of me. It's made me want to WORK. I mean really work diligently for what I want in life, whatever it may be. Funnily enough, the way it has manifested itself as I awaited their decision is that I've been working out like a mad woman. In about a month I've lost 15lbs. Yay me! lol:)

Anyway, I'm just excited for another chance. My focus and enthusiasm is at a place its never been in my college career, and I'm ready for this semester. I'm still on probation, and if I don't finish the semester with at least a 2.0, I'm out. My GPA is waaaaaaay above 2.0, so I'm going to set a goal for myself of a 3.5 or higher. I know the type of student I'm capable of being. Nobody, and I mean nobody, is going to get in the way of what I need to do for myself.

I've got loads more to write about, but I'm going to end this post here and pick up tomorrow. Today I went to the Black Girl Long Hair Blog Meet-Up, but I'll save that for another post. And yes, my computer is still busted. But luckily, I'm buying a new one this week, so I'll be back to blogging soon. I promise.

In the meantime, I hope all of you have been great. Thank you all for your support, and kind words. It helps to know that friends have your back when your dealing with tough times :).

xo,
bloggal

ps

Please excuse the typos (I know there's probably a ton) and how scattered this was. I'm in a bit of a rush and can't go back and edit.

UPDATES

It's been over two weeks since I last posted--the longest I've gone without writing on this blog ever. I wasn't going to write about what's been preventing me from blogging, but decided I would. I didn't want anyone to think that this was one of those things when a blog is randomly abandoned. So not the case. I've wanted to write more than ever, but life has been a little complicated in Bloggal's world lately.

While I was seeing a counselor to cope with my hectic and stressful schedule this past spring, she came to the conclusion that it would be best for me to drop a class mid semester. That way, I could finish strong in the rest of my classes instead of spreading myself thin and only doing so-so in all of them. I took her advice, issued a petition, and surprisingly approved. My doctor supported my petition by providing proof of the "major depressive episode" I was having. Unfortunately, the petition that saved me then, came back to hunt me today.

About two weeks ago, I got a letter in the mail telling me that my financial aid has been suspended. The grounds for suspension wasn't that my GPA was too low, but because of a deficiency of credit hours in my last semester. Because the class I dropped was a 4 credit hour one, I went below the amount that I needed to keep my scholarships. They gave me an opportunity to appeal their decision by writing a personal essay stating the "extenuating circumstances" that prevented me from meeting satisfactory requirements. In addition to that, I had to provide documents that supported my claim. I already submitted my appeal and now I'm pretty much waiting on the verdict.

So, what I'm basically faced with at the moment is the possibility of not having the money to go back to school next semester. Well, not that school anyway. Because if they don't reverse their decision, there's no way in hell I'd be able to afford the $20,000 tuition for the next two years. The way this affects me now is, I'm not exactly sure where I'm going to live when I go back to school. Another unfortunate byproduct of my loss of aid is that I'd no longer receive the money I would use to pay for my living expenses. I know you're probably thinking, Ummmm, don't you go back to school in less than a month, Bloggal? The short answer is yes. Basically, I'm working as much as I possibly can right now to make enough money for first month's rent...wherever I'll be saying. After that, I'm not so sure how I'm going to afford it. My job at the art museum only pays minimum wage, and I won't be putting in too many hours since I'll be a full time student. So, I don't know. That' kind of up in the air too.

The silver lining is, no matter what happens, I'm guaranteed my Fall semester. Even if it means I'll be living in a cardboard box, I'll still be able to go to school for a little while longer. And that's enough to make me smile through this nightmare. I know that probably sounds crazy, but you have to find something--even if it's small--to keep you positive in a negative situation. I know that, whatever happens, I'll have some kind of testimony out of this. And as cliche and corny as this sounds, I'm sure I'm facing this for a reason. If my appeal isn't approved, maybe this school isn't the place for me after all.

My computer is still broken, and as you might've guessed, a new one isn't really at the top of the priority list right now. But I will try to keep you guys posted on my situation as often as possible. When I'm settled somewhere, I will get back to posting regularly. That's a promise. But let one thing be known: I'm not going anywhere. Bloggal is here to stay, and I still fully intend on debuting my new blog. That is, when I've got a place to stay, and what not lol.

Anyway, I hope you all are doing well. I miss you guys tremendously.



xo,

bloggal.