Top Movies

So I decided one thing I might try to do (over Christmas break...if I can) is to watch some of the top rated movies. I looked online on IMDB (Internet Movie Database) and a few other websites to see which movies they thought/or were rated by thousands of people to be the best movies.

The thing is....I'm not much of an "old movie" type person and of course that was mainly what was listed...so I think I will merge some of the overall movies with some of the best of 2000s and also Academy Award Best Picture Winners. As for now, here is the list I have come up with (not in any particular order):

1. The Godfather

2. Schindler's List

3. Shawshank Redemption

4. The Graduate

5. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

6. The Dark Knight

7. Pulp Fiction

8. Fight Club

9. Momento

10. The Pianist

11. WALL-E

12. Requiem for a Dream

13. The Hurt Locker

14. Crash

15. It's A Wonderful Life

16. Gone With the Wind

17. Chicago

18. A Beautiful Mind

19. Rain Man

20. The Prestige

21. The English Patient

22. City of God

23. Psycho

24. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

25. The Goonies - courtesy of Kristin - haha

There are others listed, but they either really don't appeal to me (there are pretty much all the Star Wars movies, Lord of the Rings, and older ones I'm not 100% interested in) or I have already seen them (The Departed, ET, Toy Story 3, Hotel Rwanda, Slumdog Millionaire, Million Dollar Baby, Forrest Gump, Gladiator, Up, The Silence of the Lambs, The Wizard of Oz, Inception, etc).

You might be thinking....it is going to be expensive to watch all those movies...welllll I got Netflix for free for one month and if I can't finish then it is only $10/month after that, so definitely a great deal.

WOOHOO - what grad school is really about...

So I am done with my first semester after getting my RN license - I guess technically my first semester of real grad classes. They were definitely a "different sort" of classes and I had no clinicals so that was interesting too. I really think I learned "what grad school is about" this semester...it really is about asking questions, seeking out information and answers, problem solving, exploring, and finding your interests/niche. Although grades are important, they don't play that large of a part in your own individual learning now.

We had a project for one of my classes and it was pertaining to Mercer's Maternal Role Attainment Theory (now Becoming a Mother). In a separate class, we had read an article written by Mercer and Walker - and guess what? Dr. Walker actually teaches at UT. I had the bright idea of randomly going to her office to talk with her about the theory. It was definitely a highlight of this semester. Having these resources available, seeking them out, and having an intellectual conversation of mutual interest - what an amazing experience!! And it was all just of my own doing, my own curiosity - and the great thing was was that I was able to hold my own...I conversed with one of the most well known maternal researchers - I could contribute to the conversation and even challenge her thinking! It was wonderful connecting with people and experiencing true scholarly discou

rse. I won't forget it.

Now I have a 5-6 week break before classes start again so what am I going to do with all this free time now? As for now, I am attending multiple holiday parties - wooohooo. I will also spend time with the fam doing Christmas stuff of course. Another big thing is that two of my best friends from high school are getting married in January - so I have a few events for that! I'm also touring new AE applicants around the nursing school and talking with them about my experiences in the program thus far. I really enjoy working with students and can't wait to do it as a job one day!

Break so far: (I don't have a camera anymore because mine is broken....sad days)

Nursing Party - at a beautiful home - me with Kim & Sam

Cheesecake Factory - me & Kristin

The only place I get desserts - Cheesecake Factory - holiday peppermint!

Worthy

I don't say it often, because I know that I am blessed and not really deserving of anything. What have I done that is so special to deserve the best or really anything....? but secretly I know I am worthy. I know I am deserving. I know that I am intelligent, dedicated, and hard working. Others are blind to this...

It can be very frustrating. I want others to see this in me and see how much passion and ambition I have. A little voice is yelling inside me - COME ON SEE ME FOR WHAT I AM WORTH! But then again, does it really matter what others think? Unfortunately in our world, it usually does...

Headache

Just to inform everyone - I had my first real headache today. Shocking I know... And I caused it myself because I was stressing out too much.

I feel bad for people that headaches often: hard to concentrate, hurts, etc. Sad day.

Ambition?

So I was thinking about my life lately and a question kind of arose from this: can you be too ambitious? At first I was like, no, ambition is such a great thing...but then when I started to think even more...it also needs to be combined with the concept of "realism" Going after things that you want or would like to do and putting a lot of energy into them is awesome. Doing this though without any boundaries or taking on too many lofty projects, not as awesome. So I guess it's a fine balance of doing things that you can handle and doing them well. It's kind of like would you rather be mediocre at a lot of things or really good at one thing...good question.

I think this came up just because sometimes I feel really busy, but sometimes I am just sitting around not really doing anything. It kind of depends on what is going on...so in those down times I start little projects or really become interested in something. Then I have a lot of stuff going on, so maybe some of those might fade away.

I hope that I can find my real passion that will stick with me forever - because as of right now - I have a lot of things that I like to do. Maybe I shouldn't be restricted to just one passion or be great at one thing. Maybe I'm meant to be great at a lot of things...I don't really know. I guess I will just have to see where my life leads me. :)