Not as epic as what was circling about in my head earlier, but I did have coffee then.

Chuck Klosterman defines the type of journalism I would love to do: Witty pop-culture references dispersed throughout thought-provoking essays.

My summers of sitting around listening to VH1 while reading The Onion and the New York Times has helped me master the art of combining pop culture and international news in satire. Klosterman is the person that launched this desire for a career in journalism during my high school years, and the more I think about a possibility of working within the confines of The Daily Show, the more I imagine my hidden dreams becoming a reality. Everyone thinks I plan on staying in the realm of the practical: a government job or teaching. But I don't want to stay in the practical. Yes, it is a good idea to always have a practical backup plan, but I want to shoot for the fun.

The only thing that could be better than my dream is my dream....but via blogging and vlogging. My knowledge and consistent use of all of the various means of internet communications and networking is a huge assest for me. Even if my dreams do not pan out like I would prefer them to, I could always look for something in a marketing field just based on my networking skills both in real life and in the virtual world.

I've always hoped that my dry sense of wit could be helpful in life.

Fall 2009 classes

This has already changed three times. I never commit until the end of add/drop week.

Graduate seminar in Russian politics
Russia Through Film
19th Century Russian Lit
Globalization in Africa
Japanese 1

The summer of anxiety

This summer could not get over with faster. I am really excited about starting my senior year of college, but at the same time, the starting of school signals that my time of youthful indescretion is almost over. It will soon be time to act like a responsible adult versus acting like a college student.

As a sort of introductions, my name is Sarah, and I will be starting my last year at the University of South Florida in Tampa in August. I am officially majoring in international relations. The rest of it is still up in the air for a variety of reasons.

1. My first "minor" can be considered Russian studies, but I am in the process of trying to create my own major for this. My university offers two/three options for Russian: the language major, the language minor, and a cultural certificate (which is complete BS in academia at my school). I was originally aiming for the language minor, but that was knocked off course when I dropped Russian 5, thus receiving a 'W' grade and dropping me back a year. When registering for courses for this upcoming fall, I almost re-registered for the class, but scared myself out of it. But....I have a plethora of cultural, political, and philosophical courses on my transcript, way more than what is required for a certificate. So, I decided to create my own major, which is a complete hassle. If this doesn't go through, I need to find a way to get in contact with the phantom people of this certificate. I have to declare everything at least one semester before graduation, and, well, this is kind of the end of the line for all of that. Blah.
2. My second "minor" is another certificate, this time in Asian studies. The only problem with this one? There is no advisor anymore. That is a problem and I am currently working on that one, but it doesn't bother me as much because I added this so I had a purpose to stay in college another year.
   

Basically, in college I have focused on Marxist theory and the countries that have tweaked the original philosophy, translating to and from Russian, and international political economy. I'm a giant dork, I know.

After school, I would love to get a paid internship or entry-level position in intelligence analysis or working with an online magazine or analyst for a news broadcast. I love journalism, but I have never been able to fit in the school newspaper around classes (ie. Staff meetings ALWAYS meet during a class, which blows, a lot). I also wouldn't mind working with a marketing or public relations firm specializing in indie music (music is my other passion in life besides academia).

I would say that this has been a good introduction. I want to use this blog to chronicle specifically the last year of undergraduate studies and the trials and tribulations that come with a real job hunt in the world today. My LJ is too.....not for this.