This week is slowly winding down and my spring break is just beginning. i am not so sure i would call it spring break though. one day of no classes does not exactly classify as spring break if you ask me. but even with my one day of freedom i still have to work at my second job. so there really is no break at all. But, my cousin is in town from mexico this week and me and her have been talking up storm. ya know talking family, school, traveling. she is so smart and offers such good advice and is just so wonderful to talk to. we always joke with each other every time we meet. right now i am in the mood where i just want to get the quarter over. after this quarter i am studying abroad in London and i am so ready to get over there. experience new things, and be on my own for once is making me really excited. my whole life i have depended on my parents and it will be nice to experience the real "real world" for once. so lately it has been a little blah. but hopefully my spring break will last longer than it really is.

because i had the time, i went and gave blood this week. i try to give on regular basis but sometimes my iron count and schedule do not always comply. but today (Thursday) i had time and was able to give. even though my iron count was borderline. i don't want to suggest that anyone gives blood if they are terrified of needles. but if you are a healthy person and you think you can handle it i strongly suggest that you try to give blood. every time a person gives blood they are donating a pint of blood. that one pint will be used to save a life. there are a lot of people who need blood transfusions and one unit equals one pint. some people who are injured need a lot of units to be able to survive. I read one story where the 16 year old boy needed over 200 units of blood. that means over 200 people helped save his life. when i leave the blood center i feel like a better person. it makes me wonder how many lives i have saved.   

Finally the quarter is over! It seemed like this quarter was never ending! The closer finals got the longer the days seemed. Maybe that because I leave for London soon for the study abroad program. I am very excited about getting there and then coming back! I know I will be homesick! But now is the time to find out if I can handle being away from home. It was really cool, I got on my facebook to change my interests and stuff and my about me section said, “I can’t wait to go to London and travel that is something I really want to do!” I couldn’t believe that I wrote that like two years ago and now I am finally getting to do it! I did get to spend sometime with my family this past weekend, which is always fun. I have three nephews and the two oldest we at my house this weekend. They are so much fun! I enjoy every minute I get with them! But I will admit that they really wore me out on Sunday. I guess that’s what nephews are for!

Work has not lightened up at all for me. I got stuck working late at the faculty office last night and I am working extra today. That gives me a total of 57 hours this week. But I thought of a very business way of looking at it, “All work and no play makes Rachel a very rich girl”. This quarter was probably the most challenging for me. Accounting was my,” made me want to pull out my hair” class. Critical thinking was my, “I have a headache because you are making me think so hard” class. Small business management was my, “if I have to hear about the poultry industry one more time, I might have to go to a psyche ward” class. The final case was so frustrating because I was so burn out on chicken. I didn’t even want to eat chicken…and I like chicken!!! My composition class was my, “I can’t believe I got an “A” in this” class. I really wanted to excel in this class and I did which I was so happy about! In high school I think I got an "A" once in English most of the time I got a “B”. Besides the fact that these classes were difficult I was working a lot of hours. I am still not sure as to how I managed. It was funny one night my boyfriend was complaining about working 15 hours one week and having school. Let’s just say he doesn’t complain anymore about that. But, yesterday one of the faculty members said something that made me really open my eyes. He said if you complain about how bad your job is, think about all the people who don’t have a job. So yesterday, I was a little mad that I had to stay late. But then I thought about what that teacher had said, and it really did make it better. Plus I strongly believe that god works in mysterious ways, because a fellow classmate came in, while I was past my shift, and had to retake a few test or he failed the entire class. Well if I hadn’t of been there, I wouldn’t have been able to give him my notes. I had everything that he needed to study for the test and now he will get to pass the class. So now I must quote the move The Sound of Music, “when god closes a door, he always opens a window.”