Making It A Habit & Dr. S

Apparently in order to for a habit (or get rid of one) it will take you approximately 3 weeks to a month. Should not be too bad if I start slow, right? So far I'm keeping that in mind and instead of opting to go for a run at 5am I am just taking the stairs up and down, no matter where I'm at. Luckily the highest level at the parking garage at school is only 5 flights up and my class is on the 4Th floor. We'll see how this goes.

I suppose blogging could very well be another habit to pick up. Let's call this day 3. Twenty-seven more to go. I really started blogging because a professor of mine recommended it; she always stressed reading and writing to improve our day to day lives. When she found out that I wanted to pursue AmeriCorps, she told me personally to do so. So, here I am. At some point I'm sure I'll email her the link to this and hopefully she'll see how she influenced my life yet again.

I'm going to welcome this digression and talk a little bit about her.

My first encounter with Dr. S was my sophomore year when I took American Government with her. Boy did she rattle my nerves! 8 am class and there were no excuses and no way to get in that door if you were there at 8:01. Did I mention that attendance was mandatory? She did not, and does not, play games. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but when we found out that she is an ex drill Sargent we knew not to mess with her!

Her class, although one of the most difficult courses I'd taken, proved to be a lot of fun. We were constantly analyzing the current political situation and learning to put theories into practical perspectives and this was the kind of thing that I loved!

Dr. S was always someone that I could approach after class. I remember making her late to her next class a couple of times because I loved talking to her. She is one of those individuals who will show you genuine interest (and lack thereof) whenever she can.

Fast forward a couple of years and I am now in my last semester at college (or so I thought). I run into Dr. S at the Political Science department and she greets me warmly. I was so surprised to see that she remembered me. Right away she asked me, "Are you taking my class next semester?" What do I say? Truth is, I hadn't planned on it but there it was, another challenge. Could I do it? On the spot I decided that I wanted to get the most out of the education I'm paying for and told her I'd sign up.

I was waiting to talk to an advisor and she stepped in and did it for me. Needless to say, the guy that was there waiting shot me a couple of dirty looks since I was getting all my questions answered on the spot. I walked out feeling accomplished and excited.

Fast forward again to the first day of her Supreme Court class. Here was where I found out I wasn't the only masoquist out there that was a part of her following. As she was giving her usual "I'm not taking crap from anyone" speech she asked for those that had taken her before to stand up. A good 1/3 of the class rose. She called us crazy and told the rest of the class to ask us if she was serious.

Throughout the semester it was really the only class I focused on. I had no interest in my other classes anymore, I was taking them just to finish and get my degree. Towards the end of the semester Dr. S and I had a little chat. She had noticed that I was "burned out" and said so to my face! Cue the waterworks. Truer words could not have been spoken. This was exactly what I needed to hear. She didn't say it in a judging way, she seemed to understand. And in fact, she did. She told me that she had felt this way once before too, she went off and joined the army.

We started talking about the AmeriCorps option and she pushed me to do it. She said it was a great opportunity and through my tears I told her the programs I was interested it. For whatever reason I am tearing up now and I can only imagine that it is because I have yet been able to express my gratitude to her. This woman does it all. She is a professor and is herself a law school student. How does she do it? I don't know the answer to this but I am so thankful God put her in my life.