Update

Hello, World. It's me, AnnMarie.

So, it may be that some of you are wondering, "What's going on with AnnMarie? I heard she graduated, but now what is she up to?" Well, I'll tell you.

It's true, I finally, finally, after seven years, graduated from college. I didn't march at the graduation ceremony, but my degree was formally posted to my transcript on 25 May, which means I'm a bona fide college graduate with a BA in Asian Studies. My job as an ESL aide for a local high school ended last Friday, the 25th, as well, which means I am now a jobless, unemployed college graduate with a BA in Asian Studies. Apparently Asian Studies isn't one of those majors that people are anxious to hire you on the spot for.

Since two of my roommates moved out in the middle of the month, and I wasn't sure if I was going to stay in Logan or not, my landlord decided to just rent her house to a family instead of trying to get three new tenants. I did end up deciding to stay in Logan, but at that point she'd already rented the house and we'd made other plans. So where am I now? A good friend of mine kindly invited me to come live with her and her family, and her family was kind enough to welcome me with open arms. I'm not sure how long I'll stay here, but probably not past the fall, since my friend is leaving on her mission the day before my birthday and her little sister is getting married in the fall, too.

Originally, my plan was to go to Korea this summer, and possibly even for longer (like a year) and teach English. That didn't quite work out, so I was hoping to move back to the D.C. area, my favorite of all the places I've lived in the States. I was too broke for that and not sure I could find a place to work after getting there, so I made less ambitious plans to move to SLC for a year or so and then move out to D.C. None of those proved to be what the Lord had in mind for me, since every time I prayed about it or took the question to the temple, I felt confident He wanted me right here for the time being. It's not that I don't like Logan, but it's not a place I want to stay in for an extended period of time, either. It's nice to have family and friends here, but the cold, hard truth is that there aren't very many job opportunities here, at least not in the kinds of jobs I want to pursue. I'm not totally sure why I'm still here, but I suppose I'll find out over the next weeks and months.