Halfway already?

So, they tell me that I'm already halfway through the semester, which boggles my mind a little bit. There's a large part of me that thinks these people are lying, but nope. The calendar doesn't lie. 

Wowie.

Anyway, a lot has happened in the last semester. 

A lot of BIG things, actually! I have a lot to be grateful for.

First off...

As you may recall, I quit my job at Independent Study at the end of the summer and began a two and a half-ish week long job hunt to find something new! I really didn't want to do mundane data entry work anymore, but wanted to find something 1) more teaching/career oriented, 2) people-oriented, and 3) personally satisfying. Some may say that my goals were a little lofty, but Nick and I felt good about moving forward with these things in mind.

After what seemed like HUNDREDS of resumes and cover letters and job interviews, I found myself with not one new job, but THREE. And these three are on top of my on-call consulting job (SCOT) that I already had (and still have) for BYU. 

So yeah... I have four jobs.

1. SCOT: I get to help BYU Professors improve their teaching. It's awesome, and I've learned so much about the teaching and learning process through this position, which is SO valuable career-wise.
2. Library Instruction Assistant: Basically, I get to help the Subject Librarians at the HBLL with teaching research strategies to BYU Students. And I also get to help students with research. Narrowing topics, finding articles, etc. It's actually incredibly fun. It's SO refreshing to have the chance to make a real difference in people's lives.
3. BYU Arts Bridge Program: Now THIS job is a kind of incredible. I get to work with a fourth grade classroom once a week in South Jordan integrating music into their regular curriculum. It's perfect for me. Fourth grade is SUCH a fun age to work with, and I'm thrilled to have the chance to do this. Oh! And I'm also blogging about it. Nothing is up yet, because I won't be in the class regularly until mid-November, but check again then for some songs about the Utah Mountain Men.
4. Getout Games: This job is off-campus (my first non-BYU job since living at home), and it's unlike anywhere I've ever worked, or ever will work. Getout Games is a local business here in Provo that features a series of live escape rooms... which is a completely new brain-bending phenomenon where we lock guests in a room for an hour, and they have to solve puzzles and codes to get out. It's really unlike anything anyone's ever seen before, and it's so much fun to see everyone's reactions when they come in. If you really want to see what it's all about, come visit me. I PROMISE you won't regret it. ;)

Anyway, I love all of my jobs. I'm doing my best to manage my time (using that huge grandma planner from my last post), and it's worked out so far. I've only forgotten a couple of assignments, haha. But nothing earth-shatteringly important, so I'll take that as a success. 

Beyond jobs...

My experience in the BYU School of Music has been very fulfilling this semester. 

First off, I've found myself suddenly a part of the BYU Singers. This is something that I've wanted to do since before coming to BYU, and it is a dream. come. true. to be in this elite group.

That's me!! In BYU Singers. Also, Nick totally took this photo. Dr. Crane (director) wanted a photographer for our retreat, and Nick did it!

I legitimately almost started crying on stage during our first concert because I WAS ON STAGE AS A BYU SINGER. I still can't believe they picked me. I feel beyond humbled to be in such an incredible group.

I'm ALSO doing my recital this semester! No matter how many recurring nightmares I have about me crying on stage, the recital is coming up FAST, ready or not.

Yay! 

But in all reality, I'm definitely excited. There's this inner 9 year old Amanda inside of me that still wants to be on Broadway and loves performing. As long as I let that inner child loose on stage, I think I will be jussst fine.

See?? I loved performing when I was little. I'm sure that's still in me somewhere.  And yes, mom, I logged into your shutterfly account.

Anyway. That about catches up where I am in life right now. 

Nick is SUPER busy with his capstone pitch right now. The official pitch is on Thursday, but he's been working really hard the last few weeks (months, really) to get everything in place for then. His dedication and perseverance is unlike any other college student I know. And on top of that, he's also doing freelance video & photography, project managing a video game for BYU, and regular old classes. I feel very lucky to be married to such a hardworking guy. I sure love him.

(Also, shameless plug for the capstone. If you want to buy a shirt to support it, click here.)

All is well with the Ritters. We're busy, but happy. Life is good. I can't complain.

-Amanda