When my husband was getting his M.Div., he had a professor that said the following:

“For some of you, it will be a sin for you not to make an ‘A' in this class because you are intelligent, but lazy. For others of you, it will be a sin if you DO make an ‘A' in this class because you will neglect the things that are most important to you, like your spouse and your kids.”

This quote, in light of the many roles that I play, reminds me to keep perspective. I am a wife. I am a daughter. I am a student. I am a youth volunteer at my church. I am an employee at two places. I am a dance teacher. I am a friend, a sister, an aunt. As badly as I want to make good grades (and believe me, I want to make good grades!)…I don't want to sacrifice time with the people in my life, but I also don't want to miss any ounce of information that could make me a better social worker.

I am learning balance. When to go to Barnes and Noble by myself to study…and when to meet a friend for coffee. When to study through Covenant Group…and when to attend and enjoy myself.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

–Eccl. 3:1

I am learning this.

Thanks for taking this journey with me!

Posted by Carmen at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have been away from campus this week because of a family emergency in Tennessee.

I cannot believe how supportive my professors have been to me. I communicated with all of them via email about my situation, and I made sure to take all of my assignments with me. I had access to the internet, so I was able to email papers and participate in discussions on blackboard.

Just an FYI: my professors are P. Smith, J. Kunz, M. Demidenko, and D. Gioia, and they have all been so willing to work with me during my time of absence.

I fly back to Baltimore tomorrow.

Until I write again, I would appreciate your prayers for my family.

Thanks…

Posted by Carmen at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is anyone else overwhelmed?

During my first week as a full-time MSW student, this is what I learned.

You take 4 classes, each of which lasts for 3 hours. My smallest syllabus is 9 pages long. My assignments for the semester include 10 papers, 1 project, 1 debate, 4 exams, and other stuff that I am sure I haven’t read yet.

You also have a field placement that counts as your 5th class. It takes place 2 days a week for 16 hours. My field placement is at a Baltimore City Elementary School. Within a week, I had to be fingerprinted and get a physical, complete with a TB test, at one of the 3 agency-approved locations.

Then there’s the need to remember which number to use for what things. You have an 8 digit school ID number that most of the teachers ask for during the first class, a 14 digit barcode number on the back of your ID card that you need to log into e-reserves at the library, and a parking permit number to remember just in case you want to buy parking vouchers.

There is a lot to learn both inside and outside of the classroom. My hope is that I would take things as they come, one at a time, and focus on how privileged I feel to study at the University of Maryland. I am excited about the opportunity to learn from and share information with the great minds that I have already encountered in my classes.

Posted by Carmen at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)