My Jean Valjean Moment

We had a guest lecturer in one of my classes today: an adjunct professor who mostly teaches and researches in a neighboring state. When she first came in, an older woman with a cord for her glasses and carefully puffed and curled hair, I didn't think I would be terribly interested in her lecture, but I was really wrong. However, the best surprise came at the end.

I can't do this woman's research justice, so I'll try to just avoid describing it. Someone's already yelled at me on facebook because I tried to sum up this professor's research into a single status update. But the developmental theories and applications behind her work were fascinating to me. It was a problem I hadn't considered before, and I admired her clinical work in teaching Theory of Mind and representative play to deaf and hearing-impaired children. My husband called me while the class was packing up, and as I shared my excitement with him, he encouraged me to talk to the professor and network with her about her specialty.

We chatted briefly about if there were any local researchers in her area of expertise, and she asked a little about where I was in the program. I told her that I'm graduating from my undergrad this semester, and that I don't know if I'm interested in continuing to a master's degree. She asked why, and I just said it was kind of hard in this particular program with so much of it being lecture-based (massive simplification of months of frustration). This was my "Valjean moment," which I identified as such in retrospect. She was extremely sympathetic (not in a I-pity-you way) and suggested that I try to get a job as a speech tech or assistant. She shared a story about one of her students who was in a similar boat: she didn't want to go on in the field because she didn't have very good grades. However, this professor asked her to work as an assistant in some research at the time, and when the student got hands-on experience, she just bloomed and loved her work, and then continued on to do well in a graduate program. She, the professor, encouraged me to give it a try, and if I'm interested in the field, to not give up.

I was floored as I thought about it. I was encouraged by her genuine care and interest in me--a student who she only met for five minutes, who knew nothing about. My professors probably couldn't care less if I don't go to grad school, and might even prefer if I don't! But this woman reached out to me from her heart, not from her profession, and encouraged me to keep trying and not give up. I don't know why she wants me to keep going. But her simple faith in me and the easy practicality of her advice to work as an assistant make me want to keep going and give it another shot. I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around what just happened in my heart. She gave me hope, and I don't even know her name. I think I'll try to see if there's a place for me in speech pathology, or in children's language development. So thank you, professor-who-I'll-probably-never-see-again. Thank you.

[The Jean Valjean connection I felt is when the priest gives Valjean the benefit of doubt and through his kindness, offers him a new chance at life, and Valjean is touched by the simplicity of the priest's love and trust.]

Friday Night with Family

Z's parents are in town for a wedding, so we hung out with them this afternoon and evening. It was a lot of fun. They taught me how to play cribbage (I got first place), and we had homemade lasagna, and ice cream sandwiches, and spinach-and-fruit smoothies, and just a really good time. Can't wait for the rest of the weekend!

When we got to our car, the conversation went kind of like this:
Z: Do you know how many times I've ever beat my dad in any game??
Me: You guys were all helping me, though!
Z: You got pretty confident by the end. I can't believe you did that!

So we were laughing and having a jolly time on the way home too. Good times!

New Scarf Knot, a.k.a. I Feel So Cool Right Now

I've seen all sorts of tutorials on Youtube and Pinterest advertising new ways to tie scarves, and while I haven't watched them all to know for sure, I think I figured out a new one that looks totally legit!

I tried it with a thicker scarf, but it didn't look as good. A long, lightweight scarf is what I used that looked best.

First, loop your scarf around your neck like this. Pretty standard.

Then, take your loop and twist it twice (either direction probably works, so long as it's the same direction!). Next, pull the ends of the scarf over and through the new loop like so.

You can leave a gap on either side of the twist, or tug the twist down (gently!) and fluff the outside of the scarf to fill it in a bit. 

And voila! A way to tie a scarf that's a little fancier than a plain knot, but still fills in your neck to keep it warmer (or in my case, to cover up an inconvenient neckline). I feel like "Lock and Key" could be an appropriate name for it, with the twist being like the key. Thoughts?

Enjoy!

Profound...or not.

I was pondering earlier today how pain doesn't really bother me as much when I'm busy. That's probably a generalize-able principle in life, that bad things bother you less (and I usually complain less) when you're busy or have better things to think about. My example was my semi-arthritic ankle. That realization was the profound part.

The silly part is this: my ankle was one example, but it was in context of a few other things. I realized that last night, my arthritic ankle was flaring up, I had some recurring wrist pain, I had scratched my knuckle painfully at work, there are some healing hangnails, and I have burn marks on my fingers from a cooking incident earlier this week.

When I realized this, I just had to laugh. How did I end up with so many injuries/pain opportunities this week?? Silly me.

Mmmm

It feels like it's been a long time since I wrote a food post. So here's an update!

I found this recipe on Pinterest for "Blueberry Cheese Rolls" (and she has an awesome blog name) and wanted to try it because it's so simple. When I looked for berries in the store, strawberries were the best bargain (if fruit could ever be called a bargain this time of year), so I tried them today, and it was so good!

Light and fruity, sweet and creamy...

It made me feel like it looked like this outside,

Instead of this.

There's the power of good food for you. Isn't the bridge picture beautiful? It's one of my favorites from our honeymoon. Speaking of good food though, Z and I chatted last night, and realized that we were both a little worried about our eating and exercise habits. Our plan for now is to try getting some healthy snack foods and eat smaller meals (the smaller-but-more-frequent meal idea), and get more exercise in our daily routines. We'll see how it goes! We haven't done any exercise today, but we're working on the smaller meals and snacking, and it's going well!

Another Blog

I've been keeping a second blog for a few months that in microcosm is about my progress in school and academics, but in macrocosm is about self-reformation and helping me become the person I want to be. I update it more frequently now, and anyone who's been interested in this "Making Happy" blog would probably like reading "My Renaissance Project." I'll try to continue posting in both places, but they have different goals for now, and if I'm successful in the second blog, it will help me get back into blogging here on "Making Happy."

Presenting, "My Renaissance Project,"

Read this.

Everyone should read this address given at Brigham Young University a few years ago. Especially if you're someone who feels disappointed, anxious, unsatisfied, or unappreciated in your life right now and/or are apprehensive about the future. It made a big difference for me.

"What is Your Calling in Life?", Jeffrey A. Thompson, 2010.