Opening Up To Other People

 With this blog, I am in the process of opening up to other people.  I like to express my thoughts in writing.  I have always been a bit reclusive.  When I was growing up my friends consisted of people I knew from church and in my neighborhood.  Later in life, I came to find that I formed good connections online.  But sometimes, in real life I am not very good at making connections.  There are a few exceptions, such as Bert where I never even asked if he had a Myspace account.  But other people I met in real life, and later connected with online.  I feel like that is when the real connection formed.  I am in the process of opening up my life to other people.  Because of my childhood, a couple times I connected with people through church.  Also, some connections are from the Navy.  For some reason I connect better with people online.  I text rather than call, for instance.  I get on Facebook rather than hangout.  Other than my family, I do not hang out with very many people.

When I was in school, I felt like the school wanted to help me connect with people.  So, I was Director of Members of the Maverick Veterans at UTA.  I opened up a little bit, and because of that, I felt like we accomplished a few things along the way.  It was exciting to be a part of that group.  We did some socials, and other neat gatherings such as the Fish Fry at the Sweet Center (Now the Veterans Assistance Center).  That was in July 2017 to September 2018.  Suddenly, I quit going to my classes.  They were all classes I wanted to be in.  So, I feel really bad.  I got where I wanted to be, and kind of messed it up by not attending my classes.  So, to be consistent I skipped out on the Maverick Veterans to and was replaced as Director of Membership.  I hope maybe I will get a chance to finish school, but for some reason I became overwhelmed and just stopped going.  I also went and got a diagnosis from the VA, and got some counseling but everything was moving so fast for me.  So, I have not finished school and now I need to re-apply to UTA.  I am still kind of looking back and wondering, is there anyway to finish those classes, still.  I suppose I would have to talk with the Professors.  

At the time I was hanging out with Jack and Jen mostly, but still did participate with the Maverick Veterans.  I just stopped doing the functions I was supposed to do.  I wish I had stuck with it better.  But now I am working at Albertsons.  I hope I can get in good with them and go back to school.  I really want to finish my History degree.  Of course, History is much more than a degree.  History, for me, is a way of understanding people.  I took Psychology 1315, and came away with a better understanding of people.  It made me want to take a more advanced class in Psychology.  Along with my history degree, I feel like I would connect better with people through that.  there are life events that I have had that I cannot write about.

Still, it is important to note, most of my good friends are online.  Even though I met a few good ones at UTA.  Sometimes, I find myself wondering how those people are doing.  I guess when you go through something with somebody it creates a kind of bond.  I always felt welcome at the Maverick Veterans.  Also, many of my professors were very helpful in teaching me the material I needed to know.

Of course, my journey in hire education began at Tarrant County College.  There I also met some students, and professors who carried over with me to UTA.  That was neat too.  It made me feel more at home at UTA.  When I was at UTA, I became aware of the great privilege it is to get to grace the learning halls of a great school.   Also, Nancy Gandre, the History advisor was very helpful towards me, directing me towards great classes.  She introduced me to other programs I might be interested in.  Such as Teaching English as a Second language.  That sounded interesting, I wish I had learned about that before though, when I had more of the GI Bill.  It was fancy that she recommended it to me.  

This picture above, is of a water fountain.  It also includes University Hall where the liberal arts are at, including History.  Also in the background is the Life Sciences building where I took American Literature 2301.  Regardless of what happens, I know I can be glad that I actually made it into higher education.  But now, I still want to finish my higher education.  Everyday I think about doing it.  Even though I need to re-apply, I think it will be worth it to finish school.  

I keep focusing on school.  That because to me, school is important.  Just like working is too.  I work at Albertsons because well, I always wanted to work at a Grocery store.  So, I have my dream job for now.  I like working at a Grocery store because I get to help other people.  For now, instead of school, I am working.  I suppose the next thing will be to start back to school.