marathoner452

Last weekend when I was back at St. Mary's for the Special Olympics sailing regatta, I got to thinking.  I've wanted an excuse to move back down there since I graduated a year ago May.  I have friends in the area.  It's absolutely beautiful.  It's pretty cheap to live down there.  I know they have a good running club.  I could go sailing all the time. They also-and here's the important part-just started a Master of Arts in Teaching.  It's a one-year program with a bunch of prequisites.  This could be perfect.

So here's what I need to do in the next year or two to make it happen:
-get back in touch with my college professors and see if they won't write recommendations
-find out if Carroll Community classes will transfer and take Intro. Psych and basic math/science classes next semester
-find equivilancies for at least 5 pre-requisite courses in education and start taking them
-start substitute teaching to make sure it's what I really want to do
-start researching student loans and grant opportunities to pay for it

-spend February/March in New Orleans
-spend the last week of June cruising to Bermuda to celebrate my grandparent's 50th anniversary

I'm very happy.  I think not being able to do NPRC really is going to turn out for the best.  This is a very happy birthday indeed.

~Bethany

One year ago yesterday I graduated from St. Mary's College with a degree in history and a concentration in Africa and the African Diaspora. It was a perfect day, clear and sunny and warm. I wandered around afterwards in my cap and gown and bare feet and hung out with my professors, esp. Professor Holden who was my SMP advisor. My family and I packed up my dorm room for the last time and we went out to IHOP for lunch, which was significant because that's where we went out to lunch when I first went off to school. I couldn't even decide what I wanted to eat because my brain was just so overwhelmed by moving away from home for the first time.

I went back down to St. Mary's for graduation last weekend with Christine. That was only the third time I've been down to St. Mary's since I graduated, the other two times being the Special Olympics regatta last summer and Coleen and Tom's wedding last fall. On the way down Christine and I talked about all that we've done in the past year. For her that has been pro-life organizing and volunteering at a crisis pregnancy center. For me that can be summed up in one word, Katrina. I haven't had a chance to miss college life. Sure I miss being able to run during the middle of the day, or sleep in until noon, or hang out with friends over a 2 hour dinner in the Great Room. Sure I miss living down by the water and discussing the minutiae of American slave systems with my professors. Sure I miss nearly unlimited free time and the laid-back lifestyle of a college student, but I love what I'm doing now. Somehow I was lucky enough to fall into the perfect job within months of graduation, one where I'm constantly challenged and inspired and able to make use of what I learned as a history major even if the only history I've needed to know is the history of major hurricanes.

I wouldn't have given up this past year for anything. I can't wait to see what the next year will bring.

On that note, hurricane season 2006 is only 17 days away, and I heard at tonight's Emergency Services meeting that they've already found the first tropical depression in the Atlantic. Apparently the hurricanes don't realize that hurricane season isn't supposed to start yet.

~Bethany

I got to spend last night on my dad's boat, the one he built from stratch and just put in the water June 20th. I honestly cannot think of a better way to spend an evening than kicked back with Hemingway and my Jimmy Buffett books on the deck of a boat, enjoying the breeze on a hot summer's night and an ice cold beer. B-) That was the life. Then the next morning we woke up early and motored out into Middle River. We even caught enough of a breeze to let out the jib sheet, and I got to take the helm for awhile. Ahhhh, I think just stepping foot on the boat is as relaxing as any vacation.

I think that's what I'll miss most about St. Mary's this fall. Sure, I'll miss my friends and my professors and being able to sleep in most mornings, but what I'll miss most is being down by the water. And even if I didn't get out on the water as much as I wanted to, it was always there, and just being able to watch the St. Mary's River at sunset after a chilly fall run was worth more than I gave it credit for.

~Bethany

Well, just a couple of minutes ago I was feeling all sad about being done with college. But now that I'm listening to the Jimmy Buffett music I just uploaded into iTunes, I feel much better. Takes a lot of the pressure off. I don't have to be the best, just my best. The most important thing is remember not to take things too personally, or, even worse, to take things too seriously. If there's one thing I've learned these past 4 years, that would be it. I know more than I think I know, but I don't have to be the best to be successful or happy.

And Key West is my home, right after Hampstead and St. Mary's. B-)

Graduation was very St. Mary's. Plenty of ceremony, but right on the water. We take ourselves seriously, but we don't forget to have fun and appreciate the scenery and people around us. I think my favorite moment, along with walking across the stage and hearing "magna cum laude" was the receiving line of professors at the end, particularly Professor Holden. The look on his face afterwards when he saw I was barefoot was priceless. No, I did not graduate barefoot, but I took off those dang painful shoes at the first possible opportunity. Yes, I was walking around afterwards in my cap and gown in my bare feet. :-)

I'm proud to call myself a graduate of St. Mary's. If I had it all to do over again, I'd still choose St. Mary's.

~Bethany

Tomorrow I'm going to sleep in as late as I want, no regrets. I'm tired of this stay up late then get up at 7 to run or get up for my 9:20 class thing. Ridiculous. I'm writing a SMP here, I deserve to indulge myself with a few extra hours of sleep on the weekends. And I refuse to live off string cheese and canned peaches. Raisin bran and soy milk for me, thanks. One of these days I'll have to stay up all night writing then run at sunrise and go to bed, just to say that as a college student I actually pulled an all-nighter for once.
I love St. Mary's. My 9:20 class let out early, so I headed down to Church Point and hung out on the beach for awhile, then sauntered back to Kent for my 10:40 and wasn't even late. Geez, I'll miss living down by the water. I just realized today that all my running routes feature at least some passing glimpse of the St. Mary's River, never mind cooling down with a little stretching 5 feet from the water afterwards. Can't exactly do that in Hampstead, now can I?
Wow, when was the last time I stayed up this late NOT doing work? I can't even remember.
And if you have time to read your journal in between teaching middle-schoolers about plankton and getting up at 6 am, thanks for coming down for the cabaret Michelle. Wandering around campus with your dog for hours was more fun and relaxing than I've had for quite some time now.

~Bethany

I housed two prospective students for the night Tuesday, got absolutely no reading done but got to take them out sailing and tell them all about how cool St. Mary's is. And I don't want to hear about what I should have told them, Michelle. :-) How many students this school chooses to admit is not my problem.
There seems to be no end to the mountians of reading that I have to do, but at least I'm not TOO behind anymore, what with holing myself up in my room this beautiful weekend and reading about 300 pages worth of slavery, globalization and cultural genocide. Let me tell you, these are some uplifting classes I am taking this semester. The things I do to be able to include Key West in my SMP. B-)
But hey, I ran 1.53 miles in 12 minutes on Tuesday (I'm paying for that now.) And I had a most excellent 12 mile long run Saturday and the Baltimore 1/2 Marathon is in 9 days. I'm already having nightmares about not making it to the race on time, about not picking up my race number before the race, etc. Gotta love tapering. I'm going to try for a 7:00 mile on the treadmill in just a minute, so long as my warm-up works the kinks out of my legs.
I wish my life was more exciting for your sake. No wait, I really don't. A single room, long hours spent reading followed by long hours at dinner, and plenty of room to run is all I need.

~Bethany

out to 489, then a mile or two down that road-I've always wondered what was down that way
these trails that supposedly exist beyond the North Fields-I'll probably have to wait until things dry out though
Snow Hill Manor loop-I was scared by some dogs there my first day back-I'm determined to try again 'cause I really like running there
roads off of Rosecroft, past Broome Howard Inn
-including running to the end of Lucus Cove Road
the full Historic Trail-again, once things dry out a little
south on Rt. 5 to Waterview Road-with a name like that, there's gotta be a view of the water around there somewhere
Elms Beach-right across 235 where Matapany comes out
the park up near Sotterly Plantation-supposed to be some really nice paths up there (but I need a ride)
Chancellor's Run Park (again, I need a ride)
all the way down Rt. 5 to Pt. Lookout-I need someone to pick me up at the end, cause it's 13 miles one way and I don't really want to run a full marathon in training :-)

Phew, that's a lot of running. I'd better get started!

~Bethany