Pathway on a Change of Plans

I know what you're thinking:  "Oh my goodness.  That girl changes her major like she changes her clothes!"

Yes, I have been indecisive (architecture, art, music, history, society, geography, philosophy, language, literature, CULTURE)...

Applying to UCCS, I said Spanish would be my major, knowing how practical it is to be fluent in the language of our neighbors.  I also said a minor would be crucial to the specialization process which I am going through at the university.

Considering that my interests include various ways of studying humans and their culture, and looking back on the most interesting course I took this semester (Introduction to Human Origins), I realized my best option would be to major in Anthropology and minor in Spanish.  This way, I still become fluent in the language of our neighbors while studying what I am truly passionate about: human beings and their interactions with each other and the environment.

Spring 2010 registration is finished, and this is my final schedule:


~Intermediate Spanish I - a continuation of my Spanish studies! Se habla español.

~Business and Professional Communication - to learn how to effectively sell my skills.

~Nature of Language - anthropological study of tongue.

~Intro to Cultural Anthropology - the counterpart to Physical Anthropology.

~Human Biology & Ecology - to deepen my understanding of human health, reproduction, and demography.

~VAPA Vocal Ensemble - a CHOIR! I haven't been in a choir since high school!

Wintertime Fotos

These fotos were taken in our front yard.

Halloween 2009

Most of my friends have children to costume and parade around the neighborhood.


Here is my husband dressed up to go to work on Halloween.

North American Unfair Trade Agreement

I am too young to remember when it became so popular to make a big deal about illegal Mexican immigrants.  From what I can tell, the numbers of illegal aliens have been dramatically increasing since the mid 1990s.  Is it a coincidence that NAFTA was founded in 1994, at the beginning of this dramatic increase?


What is NAFTA?  The North American Free Trade Agreement allows the trading of goods (but not workers) across national lines.  NAFTA is the installment of a free market between Canada, the United States, and Mexico.  This particular free market is an experiment that has never been tried before.  Is it working yet?


A Brief History:  During a United States labor shortage, thousands of agricultural workers from Mexico were welcomed to this country between 1917 and 1929 as guest workers.  The guest worker program was discontinued during The Great Depression for obvious reasons, and the U.S. Border Patrol was created to protect American interests.  There was another labor shortage during WWII, and the guest worker program was reopened.  The program lasted until 1964 when Congress discontinued it based on reports of ill treatment of workers.  The guest worker program was replaced by the H-2 Visa, a temporary and seasonal worker program that was revised after NAFTA to include miles of classic bureaucratic hoops.


What has changed in Mexico since NAFTA?  Another Brief History: For several decades, Mexico was building internal wealth and growing its middle class by emphasizing community service, by governing the regulation of prices, and by protecting nationally owned businesses.  Mexico had to change its constitution to join NAFTA, and as a result many agricultural workers in Mexico have been displaced.  To keep up with with the new free market, Mexican farmers suddenly had to compete with farmers in the United States.  The average farmer in Mexico is not able to afford to compete with Iowa, so many Mexican farmers are flocking to the cities to find work.  When there is no work to be found in Mexican cities, the displaced farmers must go elsewhere.  To the descendents of the Aztecs who grew corn as a part of their religion, Mexican farmers feel as though joining NAFTA equaled denying their religion.


How does NAFTA change American Life?  Business owners now have the freedom to buy and sell to their advantage, and many have already moved their businesses into Mexico where labor is cheaper.  As manufacturing jobs are relocating to Mexico, illegal immigration is showing decline in recent years, and the unemployment rate in the United States is growing steadily.  In the United States as well as in Mexico, the gap between the poor and the rich is widening.


What happens next?

As the sun goes down

This picture was taken yesterday from Gog Rock, above Manitou Springs.  The sun was setting behind us.

I just have to bring this up...

Have you ever heard of "parkour"?

The urban gymnastics movement?

Sometimes called free running, or wall jumping?

Well, wonder no more and watch in awe:

The Next Ten Years

I was having a conversation with my sister about how time seems to slip away faster now that we are grownups.

In the child and teen stages of life, the days never go fast enough.  Christmas is too far away.  We're not old enough to drive yet.  Life is constricted in a way that makes minutes feel like days, and months feel like decades.

At the end of this day, I will find myself winding down next to the fire after the busy blur of school, homework, chores.
I will ponder on what I've accomplished, over what still needs to be done.  What will I do tomorrow?  And the next day?  And whatabout next year?  In my life, will I get to do everything I want to do?  Realistically, there can't be time for everything in one lifetime.

Wisepeople say that setting both long and short term goals is a great way to get the most meaningful things done.  As for long term, I think a decade's a fair amount of time to look forward to.  In ten years, it's very likely that you can become an expert at something special.  As long as you put the effort into it, and care about it enough to practice every day.

Have you given it some thought?  What do you hope to accomplish in the next ten years?  Now that we're grownups, ten years will fly faster than ever before.  In my next decade, I hope to develop my writing skills, take some trips to other countries, become fluent in Spanish, get healthier, and get a better camera.  I think these are worthy goals for the next ten years.