Last Offiical Post of 2008-2009 Academic Year

Music: Red Dirt Road- Brooks & Dunn
Mood: At Peace but slightly nervous

Learned that happiness on earth ain't just for high achievers
I've learned I've come to know
There's life at both ends
Of that red dirt road

WOW! This semester has finally come to an end. Good riddance! But now, I have nothing to complain about (well, maybe some about classes, but other than that, nothing).

I have awesome news to announce. After a countless number of interviews, hundreds of emails, and too much stress, I finally was offered an internship with a large national bank where I'll be working in their commercial banking office in Seattle! I cannot believe how amazing this opportunity sounds! I can't wait to get involved. This is my first financial internship where it appears that I'll get to do valuations, company analysis of debt, pitch reports, etc.! It seems like a great 10 week opportunity, and I can't believe I'll be able to go to Seattle, live with my brother for 10 weeks, take the free bus to work everyday, and enjoy the Northwest!

So to give you a review of this past week, I got my internship offer on Wednesday. After confirm that I'd start on June 15th, I booked my ticket to London, leaving from Houston on Tuesday, May 12th. My mom is in London, so I'll stay with her in her hotel, explore the city, see my cousin goes to college there, and visit either Ireland or Scotland with my mom. Then on May 22nd or 23rd, I'm going to take the Eurostar to Paris, France and explore Paris by myself (or with my cousin) for 5 days. Then after that, I'll fly to Rome on May 28th and meet up with some of my good friends who are studying abroad in Rome for the summer! I'll stay in Rome until June 3rd and then return back to London, where I'll fly back to Houston on June 4th! Then I'll have about a week until I fly to Seattle to intern! I'll intern until August 21st, fly back to Houston on the 22nd, and then move into my house in Austin on Sunday or Monday just in time for classes! It's going to be a whirlwind of a summer, but I'm ready for it, given this semester has been crazy.

So thank you for everyone who has showed concern about my internship search. I really appreciate you for your support and for putting up with my stress and complaining.

In reflecting about this past semester, I realized how much I hated the last four months. This past semester made up 1/8th of my semester which I'll never get back. It's sad, but sometimes, we get caught up in achieve our goals that we don't take a step back to enjoy ourselves. Like I mentioned in a previous post, it's not just about the ends in life but the journey of how we get there. I think many times, I am extremely short-sighted and have my blinders on. With the stress of searching for a job as well as juggling classes, I failed to realize how good my life is-- I haven't really been affected by the recesssion, financially; I'm in good health; I have amazing friends; and there are many more things to be thankful for. I didn't realize this until I talked with my mother and my good friend I met during my freshman internship. Talking with them really opened my eyes and helped me really appreciate everything that I've been blessed with. Even though I've had a hard semester, I'm leaving with all As (hopefully.. unless I get a B in my FAP class, which then I'll be extremely upset), a great summer internship in Seattle, and the ability to travel to Europe for about 3.5 weeks! I'm not complaining.

Before I end this post for the school year, I want to set my goals for the summer and next year.
Summer:

• Explore London, Paris, and Rome, save money but enjoy myself and relax!
• Spend quality time with my brother in Seattle; don't fight; explore the Northwest wilderness
• Learn a lot with my company; keep asking for more work; apply what I've learned; work hard; give 100%
• Get quality running shoes and train for distance runs
• Lose 10 pounds (yes, I know, sounds like a weird goal, but I put on weight since Hong Kong and haven't lost it yet)
• Meet new people in Seattle
  

2009-2010 Academic Year

• Do the Austin Distance Challange: 10k, 10mi, half marathon, 20mi, half marathon, austin marathon
• Go to all the UT football home games, including OU
• Get a consutling full-time offer
• Enjoy Austin places that I haven't been to yet
• Savor current friendships and develop new friendships

That's all I can think of right now. But I'll be sure to update this summer with how things are going, but this is my last official post for this school year! I hope everyone has a great summer!