At the beginning of this year, Patrick Perry (NSE coordinator) talked to my ACAD class about the National Student Exchange program. He told us it was a great way to perhaps study at different colleges around the country, while still being enrolled at The University of Memphis. We could use the program to take advantage of special programs or classes offered at other schools, learn in a different environment, or just take the opportunity to get away and see different parts of the country. It sounded interesting to me, but at the time I decided I would wait and look into it later on in my junior or senior year of college. That was until when life happened and plans changed.

I'll admit, like almost everyone has done or will do at least once in their life, I let a member of the opposite sex influence me to do something. You see, my boyfriend and his Army National Guard unit were supposed to be deployed to Hawaii for a year. Okay, maybe it was more the Hawaii part (just kidding, Ben), but at that moment I remembered the National Student Exchange program and knew they had a program there in Honolulu. I thought maybe I could check into it and even get to study in Hawaii for a year. I know, I know, the suffering (tongue in cheek) we go through for love and good grades. So, I talked to Patrick Perry and started on the National Student Exchange application packet (a.k.a. a lot of work), with hopes of Hawaii lingering in my head.

Ok, I guess you are wondering how I ended up going to Maine instead of Hawaii. Well, in order to apply to the program you need to write down more than one choice for schools just in case you are not accepted to your first choice. I wrote down five choices: The University of Manoa in Honolulu, The University of Guam, The University of Alaska in Juneau, The University of Maine  at Farmington, and The University of North Carolina in Asheville. Before I even wrote down a school name, I put a lot of thoughtful consideration and prayer into each entry by researching potential schools via Internet and acquaintances. Then, I handed in my application the last week of February and waited for the results from the NSE conference Patrick Perry would attend in mid-March.

I arrived back at campus after Spring Break to find an acceptance notification in my e-mail from The University of Maine at Farmington. Maine? Wait, this wasn't the Hawaii or Guam that I told all of my friends about, not to mention it's alot colder than Hawaii. Yet, I knew I would not have written the choice down unless I had seriously considered it. Besides, my boyfriend ended up not even being deployed to Hawaii. Funny, huh? I guess that's what happens when you make a decision looking through rose-colored glasses. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't advise making decisions like that and I usually don't, but I know that was what God used to get me from point A to point B. Sometimes (?) I am too stubborn to listen any other way. So, I guess it is a good thing that God's in control, for I sure wouldn't know what to do all on my own.

The University of Maine at Farmington has a big education program, which is great with me being an education major. They have some neat education classes there. For example, I want to take sign language as an elective up there. Also, I know I will find a completely different experience from what I have grown up with all my life in West TN. Yet, I wonder if they will have grits and good, sweet tea up there? When I was talking to a girl up in Maine via instant messaging, she told me it was fixing to (fixing to - an example of southern vocabulary I'll need to translate up in Maine) snow. I told her I was sitting at my computer in a T-shirt and flip-flops. I guess that's another thing I'll miss, besides friends and family. Yet, overall, I am pumped and ready to go to Maine. In fact, everything I do now reflects this. I even started a weekend job to save up for spending money and a plane ticket. I'll admit that Maine may not be Hawaii, but at least this fair-skinned, pale person won't have to worry about getting a tan. Which is great, being that I already got my first sunburn this past weekend after only being out for an hour (grin). Have a great week!