Blog Assignment 1

ABOUT ME

My name is Amanda Ellenburg.  I am a double major here at South in Secondary Education Sciences and Biology.  When I graduate in 2013, I plan to have a bachelor degree for both and teach at a local school while continuing for a master degree in Marine Sciences at South.  I am from a small town in north Alabama called Arab; it’s about an hour and a half north of Birmingham.  It’s a pretty small town, with not a lot do, no movie theater, no skating rink, no bowling alley-nothing, but it is a great place to grow up.  I graduated from Arab High School in 2008.  My dad has lived in Arab all his live, and attended the same school.  A few of my teachers actually had him in there class.  My Mom lived in Albertville about thirty minutes away.  They met at the hospital that our town used to have, where they both worked.  He was a respiratory therapist and she is a lab technician.  My sister graduated in 2010 and is taking classes to become a fashion marketer. 

After high school I attended a community college about an hour away in Boaz, AL for two years. I lived at home during this time, which means I spent twenty years in Arab, AL.  I was ready for a change, so I came to the University South Alabama.  It was definitely an added bonus that they had the degree that I wanted.  I could have attended the University of North Alabama, only two hours away, but I wanted a new experience.  Being six hours from my family is hard, but I love being more independent.  I do live in the dorms, so I’m not completely on my own, but it is the change I needed. 

                I have known since the fifth grade that I wanted to work with the sciences.   In the eighth grade, I decided that I wanted to be a Marine Biologist.  I have been fascinated with the ocean for as long as I can remember.  However, if you would have asked me in the eighth grade if I would ever be pursuing a teaching degree, I would have said you were absolutely crazy.   I never thought I would be getting a degree in secondary education.  I have always had so much respect for teachers, especially elementary education teachers.  There is no way I could work with children under the age fourteen.  As I got older, I realized that being a teacher wouldn’t be so bad.  I do love helping people, and I was a volunteer with 4-H and loved help the youth with projects and activities.  Plus, my Dad has always been worried I wouldn’t find a job as a Marine Biologist with the economy not being so great.  I thought about it long and hard, and decided I could be a teacher.  Teaching will help me with job security and as a plan when I retire.  The more I think about becoming a teacher, the more excited I become.  I can’t wait to see the look on the student’s faces when I helped them learn a difficult concept.

                  When I grow up, I want to be an aquarist.  I absolutely love aquariums.  My favorite is the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.  I want to build the huge displays and exhibits people drive so far to see.  I also want to be part of the education and learning process, and give tours to the school and clubs that come through.  I feel that my education degree will help greatly with this.  

TIME MANAGEMENT

                By watching Dr. Pausch’s video I realized that, I need to ask myself why am I doing this and what will happen if I don’t? I never realized that I didn’t ask myself that.  I feel like this is important because it gives that task at hand importance.  If you don’t know why you are carrying out the task you’re more likely to not do it, and that has happened to me before.  A funny thing about me is that I am a crazy planner.  I like to plan out everything ahead of time, so I know it will get done.   My fault is that sometimes I do push back an item to a later date, which causes problems.  Another thing I realized is, I do the worst thing first, which I am sure is why I get discouraged by my list.  I have the mentality of ‘Just get it over with.’  I see now that if I do the worst item last, or even in the middle to still in on a good note, it will help me with my time management.   I don’t know anything else about Dr. Pausch, however, I do know he has the personality for a great motivational speaker, and I look forward to seeing him again.