Guinea Pig

As an interpreter of UVU I get the benefit of interpreting classes and seeing how the class is run. If I like the teacher, I may take a class from him/her. It's a great way to test out the waters before taking a class. I also like using my siblings as guinea pigs, especially my sister, Lizzie. I keep changing my mind, but I think I want to be a psychology major. The classes are super exciting and interesting to me and I think I could be really good at it. So for now, that's what I've decided.

I am taking a much heavier load of classes next semester and we'll see how it goes! Two of the classes I am taking next semester are classes my sister has already taken and from her exact teachers. She's already given me the inside scoop and is willing to let me have her books! She's a little further than me in her major of Social Work but several of our classes are the same. Hopefully one day we can be in the same classes at the same time! :) That way we can study together. I hope she doesn't mind that I use her as a guinea pig for school! She's also my little testing subject for style. If she can pull it off, so can I! :) She's such a doll.

P.S. I took the compass exam for math today and I placed into Math 1000. Not bad, but not great. At least if I get a good grade I can go straight into Math 1040 or 1050 and be done with it! I am feeling super ambitious lately and I have gotten so much done! Also I'm excited about my schedule for Spring because I decided that I am not going to work at all on Tues/Thurs, and I'm taking all my classes those days. I'm sick and tired of not being able to wear all my cute patterned clothes during the week! So on Tues/Thurs and Fridays it's jeans for me baby!! I know it's silly but I really can't wait! (Both for my classes AND to wear my true style of clothes! Yipee!)

Where to start?

My momma tagged me and I don't know where to begin!It's gonna take me forever to write this post!

1. I am obsessed with the smell of Travis' breath. I know... barf if you must, but I LOVE it. During church I always ask him to "breathe on me" and he'll move his lips to the side and breathe in my general direction. I take a sniff and I always LOVE IT! Don't think I'm gross.

2. I pick my lips when I get nervous or when I'm stressed. When I watch scary or intense movies, I pick. When I was six, my mom told me that if I stopped picking my lips for one week I could get my ears pierced. It was a challenge but I did it. I still do it today and my lips are always scabby and peely. That IS gross.

3. I am the queen of thank you cards. I love writing notes and sending them. I collect thank you cards and I also love making custom cards as well. Any excuse for writing a card and I'll use it!

4. Okay 3 down 3 to go.... this is hard! Alright I thought of one. When I get home I take off my shoes immediately. However, they are never in the same spot. They are right near the door, near the kitchen table, behind the couch, or sometimes in the bathroom. They are NEVER put in the right place when I get home. I have shoes everywhere and it makes it tough when I'm looking for a certain pair and I can't find them!

5. When I get out of the shower I immediately dry myself off while still standing in the tub. I cannot have a drip of water on me. I hate getting my arms or face wet and although I love showers I cannot stand being wet. If my hair is a little damp I can tolerate it and it naturally dries pretty fast anyway. But if Travis has wet hands or just brushed his teeth and has water on his chin and then wants to kiss or touch me, I have to make sure he is completely dry before I can touch him. Wow.. I guess Kats don't like water either!

6. I have a fear of flushing toilets. I must've had a bad experience as a child or something. That being said, I have certain stalls at school and work that I frequent. They have been good to me in the past, so I figure I won't have any problems.

OOPS!

So when it comes to interpreting, I KNOW I am competent. For only being 23 years old, I have succeeded at a rate much faster than I thought I would. I am already Utah Level 2 and plan to take the National Interpreting performance exam very soon. Four short years ago I lived in Logan and went to USU to become a Deaf Education major. I quickly realized how much I loved interpreting. While I was there I wanted to interpret (and because of the law in Utah about interpreting, I needed to be certified). I knew I wasn't good enough to pass level 1 because I had no training so I went and took the interpreting provisional exam. I FAILED!! I had a very short sojourn of a year at USU.

Much to my dismay I returned home to California to pursue an Interpreting Preparation Program and I was one of ten people who were accepted out of sixty to apply. Yipee! After 7 months of the program I flew back to Utah to take the Utah written exam and passed. I was DETERMINED to show Utah what I had and before finishing the IPP, I once again returned to Utah to take the Level 1 performance and passed that as well on the first try. I have worked extremely hard to get to where I am, and it has paid off. I am envious of the people that are fortunate enough to have ASL and interpreting come naturally to them. Honestly, you lucky ducks!

Regardless, when I look back on the past 4 years and how I've excelled at interpreting, I must say, I am quite satisfied. I went from NOTHING to Level 2 in no time flat, thanks to the dedication and perseverence I demonstrated. (Please understand I'm not that special, many people succeed in the same amount of time, or even surpass my skill level. All I'm saying is that I am personally satisfied with how I've lead my life and the path I have chosen for my career. I have a long way to go, but for my age, I have arrived at some great milestones that most people don't reach until later in life!)

The rest is pretty much history and I actually didn't intend to give this much background information before getting to the meat of my story today. All that being said, I do have my days where I have my "moments" and begin to doubt my skills. I interpret a class in which I do a lot of voicing (when deaf people sign, I voice for them). On Wednesday I was 100% SURE I had seen this word signed/fingerspelled and I didn't think about what I said when I said it. The IPP I was in taught me to be confident when voicing and not trail off. My teacher said if you say something with confidence, it is very unlikely people will notice the mistake. Not on Wednesday!

I loudly and confidently said "Diuretic." (pronounced di-a-re-tic). I could NOT have been more wrong. The correct term was DIACRITIC. Just a slight slip of the tongue! If you do not know what either of these terms are, let me do you the honor of defining them for you. A Diuretic is tending to increase the excretion of urine. A DIACRITIC (the correct term) is a mark near or through an orthographic or phonetic character or combination of characters indicating a phonetic value different from that given the unmarked or otherwise marked element. Yep, I'm pretty smart, I know what these terms are, now if I could only get it right!!

The entire class roared with laughter and I admit, so did I. Oops, I guess these things are bound to happen especially when working with 2 completely different languages. Why couldn't I have chosen a profession that required less skill? :)

Higher Education

Recently I have been thinking a lot about education and how important it is for the future. You all know I'm not the smartest crayon in the box, sharpest knife in the bunch, coolest hen in the den (ok I made the last one up) but I have been trying harder everyday to learn something new and expand my mind. As an interpreter my memory is the most important thing besides my hands. I have so many words/phrases/dates etc in my mind and because language is always evolving, so must I.

*mounting soap box* - (Thanks for letting me borrow your phrase, Shanna)

I don't want to give a false impression that I am about to be exalted or that I think I'm all that and a bag of chips, I simply want to share some positive experiences I have had lately. My new focus is positivity and I feel so great about the efforts I have put forth towards that goal. I have seen success and it has been well worth the soul searching I have done in order to begin the journey.

I've decided that the way to increase my memory and expand my mind is through memorizing scriptures. I memorize one a week and I carry it with me throughout the day to accomplish this goal. I figured if missionaries can do it, so can I, right? I has truly helped! Memorizing anything is good for the mind, but I think that because it's Holy Writ that I have seen more improvement. Not only this, but it helps me try to lead a more Christ-centered life.

Yesterday I chose to receive a higher education by attending the temple. I love going with Travis but sometimes I forget that I can go alone and if I have time, I should take up the opportunity. I had the most wonderful experience. Without exploiting the temple or making my experience seem "grandiose," I would just like to say that I went with several questions and ALL of them were addressed. I have said and done several things I am not proud of, but I am in the process of making amends and patching up the areas that I have torn. I have a ton to work on and I am ever aware of what I need to do to improve.

Any time we do a deep analysis of ourselves and present our weaknesses to the Lord, it's going to hurt. No one likes having their faults be made known. It requires a lot of effort on our part to humble ourselves, although being compelled to be humble isn't much fun either. :) In the temple I learned that while I have a lot to work on, I don't have to beat myself up in the process. This life is about learning and although we'll make mistakes, we can always learn to not do it again. All I ask is that you all please be patient with me while I go through this process and in return, I'll do the same with you.

*Dismounting soap box now*

Love her!

I had lunch with Rachel today and it was so refreshing! I always feel so uplifted after being with her, and we have the greatest times together. We can also have a super deep conversation and shed a tear or two but the next minute we could be laughing again. We follow along with each others' moods quite well and I must say it's so nice never having to explain myself to her. She can put me in my place without hurting my feelings and also give me a genuine compliment without it seeming fake. Gosh, I love her! Don't you?! Rachel, can I please be YOU when I grow up? ;)

You Decide

I can't figure out who I look like more. Spock or Audrey Hepburn. I kinda feel more like Spock. Decide for yourself.