Economic Development AGAIN! lol
So I'm sitting here in my Economic Development class and I can't help but think what's going to happen later today. Today are the general elections for the GSA (Graduate Student Association) and I'm running for president. I'm somewhat confident that there will be a good voting turn out, but I'm also a bit scared that I'm not going to get the amount of votes needed to win. Partially because I didn't really campaign very much, and partly because of my competition - Collene Clark. If I don't get the GSA president position I'm not going to die - I mean I want it badly but not THAT bad - so I guess whatever happens happens!
Besides that I'm still in the process of trying to find a summer internship. I've applied to a few in the bay area, and to date I haven't had any official replies. The MTC (Metropolitan Transportation Commission) sent me a card saying that they've received my application. So I guess that means I just have to sit tight and wait for them to make a decision. Worse comes to worse I'm going to head back to Bakersfield and try to find some sort of internship with the city. I know I should be actively doing that now, but I have way too much on my plate that I honestly don't have the time to. I promise I will later this week though! :-P
Where do I start with school. Graduate school is a lot of fun! I'm learning a lot about economic development and about how the United States fucks over the world, but sometimes I wonder what in Gods name am I doing in Indiana! I mean out of all the schools in the United States I ended up HERE! I mean I can't really complain, we're the #2 program for Public Affairs in the country and the #1 in Public Finance - so I'm at a good school. Yep bitches we're tied with Harvard for 2nd place! lol... So all those peeps that are paying 50K+ a year to go to Harvard, I'm getting a similar education for FREE!!! lol Ok ok I'll stop. All in all, school is going great and I'm loving it, but there are a lot of things about California that I miss. Mostly my family, friends, and my old life. I miss multiculturalism, I miss foreign food, I miss hearing different languages. I miss people being more "open to experience" and less judgmental. The latter being the most important!
The cultural differences that exist in this part of the country are somewhat extreme, at least in my opinion. Professor Akers - my business law professor - who on a side note, makes me NEVER want to open my own business because of the HELL known as employment law - talked about a book called "Who's your City" by an Author named Florida. In the book, Florida takes a national survey that was conducted a few years ago and divides the country up into personality types. California from San Francisco to LA, Seattle, Austin, the NYC metro area, and Denver are considered to be the most "open to experience" parts of the country. What he says by this is that in said places, new ideas that are outside of the norm or people who think outside of the box are not shunned or looked at as different. They're welcomed, and although their ideas might not be taken into consideration, they're still welcomed and warranted. In contrast to that, the mid-west is mostly considered to be extroverted, friendly, and also as "following the line." Which is totally obvious here, at least in my experience. People here don't really push the envelope. Most just follow their day to day activities and live - what looks like - happy lives, but it makes me wonder how happy these people really are. I feel like dreams and aspirations are traded for marriage and a home, a stable job, and a country upbringing. I mean it's not a bad thing to want, but I feel like desire and the wanting for improvement is what makes us a better people in general. It's want makes up want equality for everyone, and shows how we're all interconnected to each other. The world doesn't just revolve around us, but around the people we interact with. I guess this is my learning experience, and hopefully it will benefit me when I get back to SF.
As much as I hate being in Indiana, I'm really grateful that I'm having this opportunity to live and learn in the midwest. My friend Alyssa best phrase this experience as "studying abroad," I just didn't really leave the country!
Besides that I'm still in the process of trying to find a summer internship. I've applied to a few in the bay area, and to date I haven't had any official replies. The MTC (Metropolitan Transportation Commission) sent me a card saying that they've received my application. So I guess that means I just have to sit tight and wait for them to make a decision. Worse comes to worse I'm going to head back to Bakersfield and try to find some sort of internship with the city. I know I should be actively doing that now, but I have way too much on my plate that I honestly don't have the time to. I promise I will later this week though! :-P
Where do I start with school. Graduate school is a lot of fun! I'm learning a lot about economic development and about how the United States fucks over the world, but sometimes I wonder what in Gods name am I doing in Indiana! I mean out of all the schools in the United States I ended up HERE! I mean I can't really complain, we're the #2 program for Public Affairs in the country and the #1 in Public Finance - so I'm at a good school. Yep bitches we're tied with Harvard for 2nd place! lol... So all those peeps that are paying 50K+ a year to go to Harvard, I'm getting a similar education for FREE!!! lol Ok ok I'll stop. All in all, school is going great and I'm loving it, but there are a lot of things about California that I miss. Mostly my family, friends, and my old life. I miss multiculturalism, I miss foreign food, I miss hearing different languages. I miss people being more "open to experience" and less judgmental. The latter being the most important!
The cultural differences that exist in this part of the country are somewhat extreme, at least in my opinion. Professor Akers - my business law professor - who on a side note, makes me NEVER want to open my own business because of the HELL known as employment law - talked about a book called "Who's your City" by an Author named Florida. In the book, Florida takes a national survey that was conducted a few years ago and divides the country up into personality types. California from San Francisco to LA, Seattle, Austin, the NYC metro area, and Denver are considered to be the most "open to experience" parts of the country. What he says by this is that in said places, new ideas that are outside of the norm or people who think outside of the box are not shunned or looked at as different. They're welcomed, and although their ideas might not be taken into consideration, they're still welcomed and warranted. In contrast to that, the mid-west is mostly considered to be extroverted, friendly, and also as "following the line." Which is totally obvious here, at least in my experience. People here don't really push the envelope. Most just follow their day to day activities and live - what looks like - happy lives, but it makes me wonder how happy these people really are. I feel like dreams and aspirations are traded for marriage and a home, a stable job, and a country upbringing. I mean it's not a bad thing to want, but I feel like desire and the wanting for improvement is what makes us a better people in general. It's want makes up want equality for everyone, and shows how we're all interconnected to each other. The world doesn't just revolve around us, but around the people we interact with. I guess this is my learning experience, and hopefully it will benefit me when I get back to SF.
As much as I hate being in Indiana, I'm really grateful that I'm having this opportunity to live and learn in the midwest. My friend Alyssa best phrase this experience as "studying abroad," I just didn't really leave the country!