10 MORE DAYS!! (I'm really bad at math so I may be wrong)

SOOOOO I have presented at my first conference and it was amazing!! I can’t wait to do it again. J I am pretty much just chillin’ until we have our poster presentations on August 9^th. I don’t think I have ever networked so much in my life and although I was hesitant at first, I think it was pretty successful. I hope that I can become a McNair Scholar for next summer! *fingers crossed* I am kind of looking forward to staying in Hattiesburg, but remaining productive. J

I am so not looking forward to saying goodbye to all of my summer friends! We are from so many different places that it seems nearly impossible that we will ever see each other again. :-\ Before I left Hattiesburg in June, I was praying for group unity and I think we may have been a little TOO unified. HAHA I am going to miss everyone --even the people with high pitched laughs and the ones who critique EVERYTHING they see. OOOOH MY I just got misty eyed writing that sentence! This is going to be hard…. Ugh. But with that being said, I can’t wait to be back and see everyone!! I miss everything Luckyday, I miss my crazy family, I miss Ekklesia, I miss the DOJO, I miss Hardy Street AND USM pride lol I don’t think these summers are good for one’s sanity. FAR TOO MANY EMOTIONS GOING ON

I think one major lesson that I have learned this summer, and maybe even one of the most important, is to be myself. (Easier said than done!) It’s weird.. Being home, I always knew that I had a really good reputation so that would always be known BEFORE “me”. EXAMPLES: Luckyday (had to send in my resume so everyone knew my love for Service), Job at Payne (boss knew my family), LD Friends (we were all Luckydays so we had that in common), other Friends (a mutual friend that says “this is coco, she is…. Blah blah blah”). Here, the only background I had is I’m Jasmine from South Mississippi (marks against) I go to USM (what is that? Was a common reaction) I’m a sociology/ social work double major (soooo?). It wasn’t until I shared my opinion even when I knew some people would disagree, shared a cooked meal with some of the other peeps in the program, and locked myself in my office everyday from 9-7 until I figured out how to do regressions, recodes and other forms of statistics that I realized that being myself isn’t about hanging out with other people like me or making an effort to be different from everyone, but to just do what I feel is right. I feel like this realization may be a little redundant especially after my last blog, but I guess that’s just the way life works. HAHA ….you repetitively run into a wall until you realize it’s just a wall…

Does anyone have any ideas of how we can let more students know about Leadership Alliance? A lot of other students are on their university’s homepage (NOT HAPPENING), but I think it is a really cool opportunity and I am willing to write something up, send a pic, or make a presentation whenever it would be appropriate. I mean Leadership Alliance is huuuuge! And I know I’m not the only person in the state of Mississippi that could benefit from a program like this.

I MISS YOU GUYS!!!!  

The CRACK is Where the Light Shines Through

The summer is Halfway over!! :-( And I have been doing a lot of reflecting. My friend, Laurie, forced me to reflect last summer and it seemed like an activity that I would never quite understand or willingly partake in, BUT I was wrong!! lol

I wouldn’t consider this blog entry an update, but more of a journal entry that I am sharing with the world. Very un-coco like, RIGHT?? OOOH WELL

I realize that I am a (at this point of the message one of my roommates walked in the room and we chatted for about 45 mins., but I’m back now) very social person. I LOOOOVE meeting new people and making new friends, but I enjoy even more when these new friends become old friends. That seldom happens when you only live with someone for a couple of months... I guess this is why I absolutely HATE saying goodbye’s..

A really cool thing that I have learned about myself this summer is that I often seek comfort in my physical appearance. For example, no matter what situation I am in, I know that I am “me” and so I have the mindset of “I don’t care if these people like me, I’m going to just be ME.” HOOOOOWEVER I did not have that opportunity this summer because I had no clothing to JUST BE ME in, but some kind of way, everyone still got to know “me”. GO FIGURE!!! Hahaha A lot of the students here are very open and it always surprises me when we would be talking and someone would make an assumption about me based on their perceptions of me from the first couple of weeks AND THEY’D BE CORRECT! This has never happened to me and it made me rethink how I felt about myself. When I thought I could care less about what others think, I was PROBABLY hiding behind what was familiar to me (my clothes). :-) --I've grown :-)

GUYSSSS!!!! With everything being said about the awesome people here, I am pretty sure that I am going through the “Confronting Deeper Issues” aka “Frustration and Rage” stage!! It seems like every little thing kind of irritates me that would have NEVER irritated me before…. I think I have done a pretty good job not showing my frustration, but I don’t know how long it will last. :-/ WHAT TO DO?? I am seriously open to any suggestions ...I think I may need to find some community service…

THIS IS THE SYNOPSIS OF THE STAGE: Confronting Deeper Issues - As students confront cultural differences and personal issues at a deeper level, they begin to see a multitude of approaches to their life abroad and to question deeper assumptions about the world. Students may feel isolated at times.

Feel free to comment with those suggestions.

Photo Challenge?? I ACCEPT

THE LD office was with me at the FOURTH OF JULY celebration, but it was a litttle TOO crazy to take photos with them... HOWEVER, THEY DID GET TO SEE ONE OF THE VERY FEW LAURYN HILL PERFORMANCES (I am STILL in shock about that night) Thanks SOOO much for suggesting that concert :-)

LD office got to check out the liberty bell ON THE FOURTH OF JULY!!!

A photo with two of my favorite peeps in the very room where the declaration of Independence was signed!! AAHHHH

In this scene a man goes crazy, accidently kills his wife and buries her in the chimney. He later knocks down the chimney and what he finds is a crazed black cat! --VERY, VERY SHORT VERSION OF THE STORY-- but the LD office seemed to like the story :-)

This lady loves her job SOOO much, when she heard that we had to act out a scene, she not only verbally told us Poe's story about the black cat, but told us the very place to take the photo and supplied props. :-) SHE WAS AAAWESOME

I may have had a little too much funn

SUPER cool Shower

Photo Challenge #6 Institute for Contemporary Art!! Couldn't do a where's Waldo, but I had a BLAAAST with The Happy Show "Money Does Not Make Me Happy"

(LD Office goes to the Institute of Contemporary Art!!)

(Staci got to hang out with my roommate Kat on the Girl's Day)

(Super Sarah really bonded with Goffy Lillie! <3'm)

(Toni and Andreia got VIP treatment from the sweetest lady EVERRR)

(LD office staff gets to meet a lovely couple at Love Park 

.....PHOTO CHALLENGE #1)

(Dr. Sparkman and I got to enjoy a live concert at a small art museum)

What If I Think I Can?

SOOOO I think it has been a pretty eventful couple of days/weeks since my last update! I have a ton of really swaggerific clothes now!! I have an awesome photo challenge that I try to master every free chance I get!! And I have a pretty legit recipe book (I just ate some NIIIICE Sheppard’s Pie)!

I will try to upload some of the photo challenge pictures that I have taken for the photo challenge on to this blog, but they will for sure be on Facebook whenever I upload the entire group.

ACADEMICALLY- My research has progressed extensively over the past week. The things that I have learned so far have been pretty awesome!! My Statistics textbook and I have become very close friends –My sanity has required one major word, DISCIPLINE. I am also pretty comfortable with using the Stata software which at first glance I thought I would NEVER be able to comprehend. Mmmm, I got to sit-in on this video conference with a bunch of faculty from major US and China institutions. This was a pretty awesome experience because the atmosphere was very chill and I got to have a couple of honest conversations with them. I attended this insane GRE prep course today! THAT TEST IS CRAAAZY!!! I’m a little afraid.    Last but not least, I submitted my project title this afternoon!! It is: What If I Think I Can? Understanding the Impact of Positive Thinking on the Future Success of Children in Rural China …Does it sound interesting?

SOCIAL STUFFS- I think I’m going to go visit a friend in New York this weekend!! I’m a little nervous because I may be travelling there and back by myself, but I guess that’s a small price to pay. ORRR I will be going to Hershey Park or Six Flags with a bunch of people in the group. I guess we will see how the cookie crumbles, where the cards lie, which way the domino falls ….okay, I’m done. LOL

You guys should definitely keep me up to date on the happenings back in Hattiesburg!

(One of this guys dreams was to be photographed and remembered by a stranger IRONIC)

Philly is Chilly!!

HEY GUYS!!!

I arrived in Philly Saturday and the company lost my luggage. It was pretty dramatic, but I have come to accept the fact that I only have 4 bottoms and 4 tops. –There aren’t really any affordable clothing stores nearby and I have honestly been too busy to even attempt to get lost in this big city, so I got over the need to be “cute”. Haha However, everyone here is super supportive and have loaned me clothing whenever I actually needed it, like a nice shirt for orientation or a jacket to wear to dinner because it has been about 60 degrees here.

There are 30 of us undergraduates here total. The vast majority of the group is biomedical students and there are 5 humanities students (I fall into this group). The 4 girls in humanities all live together: an Art History major from Florida State, a History major from Berkeley, a Criminal Justice major from Spelman and myself – a Sociology major from USM. We are definitely compatible with each other and get along with each other amazingly so far.

I have drafted a preliminary research topic/idea. I want to look the psychosocial influencers and stressors that Gansu children face in the process of obtaining their education. Gansu is one of the poorest areas of China and it is assumed that the only way to be “successful” is to go to a University; however, there are many factors that stop these children from “just doing it”. I’m going to be analyzing data that has already been collected by my mentor Emily Hannum. She has done research in this area for nearly 10 years and has a lot of data for me to look through and help narrow my research and research question. I have some very interesting ideas in mind but this email is already too long!

The sociology department here DEFINITELY spoils me (kind of like at Southern J). The graduate students here are VERY friendly and so is Dr. Hannum. However, (and you will be pleased to hear this Dr. Miller) they are hands off when it comes to research. I have noticed that they are VERY supportive, friendly and approachable, but have given me complete control over my research topic and ideas, which is a little terrifying. Lol I have office space, but I don’t have mandatory office hours. I meet with Dr. Hannum frequently, but she never gives me deadlines, only things that may be helpful to look over. Lol

I think this is going to be a great summer and I hope to learn A LOT!!

Jasmine Whiteside
Smile