Really nice compliment

Actually had a super productive bunch of days here, and still have the whole week ahead of me.  It'll be tough, working at 5:30am each day this week, but getting a lot done and feeling ready to start off a solid school year.  It's weird to see all of the new freshmen coming into town.  So budding and young, and they're probably thinking being here at WSU is the coolest thing ever.  I realized today that I don't view my classes now the way I did as a freshman.  As a freshman, classes were just the selection of requirements you got assigned and happened to be taking, if that makes sense.  Now it feels more serious, and each class is more like a stepping stone and an obstacle I need to tackle.  Maybe that's weird; I just know that when you're 18, it's hard to be extremely serious about your education and understand what it all means.  Now that I'm 22, been around a couple blocks, and paying for everything myself, I have a lot more appreciation for what I sign up for and actually work really hard at it.  Might just be speaking for myself here.

Anyway, today in my water aerobics class, one of my long-time students returned after being away most of the summer.  She was very pleasantly surprised to see me back, so we took a few minutes to catch up.  She said to me, "I'm so glad you came back, because I never got to tell you something.  I have read repeatedly about how China is becoming a global superpower, and I just keep thinking, thank goodness Ky's going to be in charge."

: )

My goal for the future is to be a language specialist for the government (probably FBI).  That means that I am not only a linguist, but an expert on a subject.  Now, my intention is for this area of expertise to be Sinology.  People will come to me for consultation on Sino-American relations, I want to translate documents vital to national security, and I want all of this information to come to me with ease.  I am so thrilled by this idea, and there is definitely some level of prestige that comes with being fluent in Mandarin.  Most people, particularly by my age, will not be able to learn it, at least not to the degree of fluency that I intend to have.  I'm not sure how deep this has to go; how many different dialects and accents I will end up delving into.  I'm even considering graduate school as a way of enhancing my credentials as an expert in Chinese language and culture, which is a route I have never been excited about pursuing.  There is definitely a lot of room to grow with this idea/career field, so I'm really looking forward to what my future has in store.