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| St. Louis Missouri |
My name is LaDawn Beckman and I am excited to be taking this mythology and folklore class. I have always wanted to know more about the subjects but it never worked out that I could take a class in it. My fall classes are going to be super interesting albeit a lot of work, but it will all be worth it. My summer is drawing to a close as I write this, and fall classes have not technically opened yet. I took two courses at OU this summer, Native American Philosophy and History of Heaven and Hell. Both were really great classes, but I do not feel I got much of a summer break. I did have a few weeks off in June, and my husband, my daughter and I got to take a quick trip to St. Louis Missouri. It was a load of fun. None of us had ever been there before. My husband took the photo above right before we went into the famous arch and museums. So much American history has taken place in that city, it was fascinating to learn so much about the country I live in, and to share it with my teenage daughter.
Camp Verde Arizona
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| Montezuma's Castle |
I am starting my second year here at the University of Oklahoma. I am a Religious Studies major with a minor in history. I graduated from Oklahoma City Community College where I got an Associate of Arts degree in Psychology and almost had an Associates of Applied Science in Business Management but I am one class short of that degree because I didn't want to take finance. I found out that I really don't like business, or accounting. I decided to follow my passions. I am hoping to finish my Bachelors degree here at OU and then start working on my Masters here at OU in the Library Science path.
I love to read, write, travel, garden, bake all kinds of foods, and lounge around in my pajamas. My friends and family live all over the United States, and I am lucky enough to have a sister who lives here in Norman and goes to OU, and is also in this class. Considering we are 15 years apart in age, this is a rather different experience for us! I hope we all have a great semester and have fun learning new things. I look forward to reading all the interesting things that people will be posting!
It's me! I'm the sister (surprise~!)
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad you didn't include any pictures of the Fort, but it's nice to see the Castle again.
I did not think to post of the Fort, that would have been nice. It is nice to see pictures of the old hometown now and again!
DeleteOh, I was going to ask who the sister is... but now I know! :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't know if there have ever been sisters in the class together before; there was a brother-and-sister pair one time, though, and that was fun! And it sounds like this should be a really perfect class for you: the readings will connect up with your interests for sure, and you will get a chance to learn something about books online and the different digital libraries that have full-text public domain books. I'm guessing that will be a topic in Library Science here; OU is a member of the Hathi Trust consortium, for example, which was the source for a lot of the online materials I was able to use in the UnTextbook.
And THANK YOU for these great pictures from Arizona; that is a part of the country that I like so much, but I have never been to Camp Verde. Now I want to go!
I see that you have written some more posts, too, but I am signing off for the night tonight: I look forward to reading your other posts tomorrow. Thanks so much for working ahead like this; I am glad the assignments are making sense (I made a lot of changes over the summer). I'll be back at your blog tomorrow! :-)
Hi LaDawn,
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool that you and your sister are taking the same class! I am an only child so I would never know how that feels, but it must give you guys a lot to talk about. I know how you feel when it comes to not having much of a summer break. I had an internship that ended three days before I came back to Norman for class! It makes me even more excited for Labor Day weekend. I love three day weekends. Are you taking any religion classes this semester? I am taking World Religions in American and I'm pretty excited about it. Hope your semester goes well!
Hi Christina! What did you think of your internship? You sound like this three day weekend is much needed and deserved for you. I hope you have a good break. Yes, it is really great to have my sister to talk with about shared interests. We are so different in so many ways, and very similar in others. I am taking Roman Religion this semester. So far it is very interesting. Your class sounds good too. I love to study the similarities in the many religions we have today. I hope your semester goes smooth as butter!
DeleteHello LaDawn! It sounds like you had an awesome summer. The History of Heaven and Hell has always seemed like an interesting class but I never got the chance to take it. How did you like it? It seems like Native American Philosophy would give you a great background for some of the units in the UnTextbook as well.
ReplyDeleteI also love to read, travel, and bake but I am hopeless as a gardener. My mother has the green thumb in the family so I'll leave the flora to her. What is your favorite thing to bake?
It's awesome that you have a sibling taking a class with you. My siblings and I are also spread out in age. My youngest sister is 21 years younger than me!
The history of heaven and hell was interesting. The Native American Philosophy class was interesting as well. I think to sum up what I learned in the heaven and hell class was that early Jewish and Christians actually did not believe in heaven or hell. I was like, "what!" and Native Americans look at life as being connected to all living things in the universe. Very neat stuff. I love the untextbook. I am really enjoying reading it.
DeleteI love to bake fresh bread the most. Piping hot carbohydrates is a guilty pleasure worth the efforts. Do you like to bake?
How cool that we have families that go long in years. Makes for interesting family time! Not the same kind of sibling rivalry at all.
'ello LaDawn! Things we have in common: a love for reading, writing, traveling, gardening, and baking! I've been to just about every state east of Oklahoma but very few to the west, it's nice to meet someone who can share a bit of the culture from that part of the country.
ReplyDeleteAlso, my best friend graduated as a Mathematics major and went on to work as a library technician at OU Tulsa. She's going for her masters in Library Sciences as well and she really loves her work. (She's also always super helpful when it comes time for me to do research papers!)
Lovely to meet you!
Hi LaDawn!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. I am so happy that you are following your passions and going back to school. I think that is awesome! It sounds like you had your hands full this summer. How old is your daughter? Family trips are always so much fun! Have you every been to Colorado? That's where I am from. I think it is pretty special that you ad your sister are in school together. My sister is only two years older than me, but we aren't in school together.
Best of luck this semester!
Hi LaDawn!
ReplyDeleteThat is so awesome that you’re taking this class with your sister. What a fun memory you two get to share together. I’m really interested in reading your stories now because I feel like you’ve studied many texts so this is not your first rodeo. I wonder if you’ll be able to compare anything from this class to your Native American Philosophy and History of Heaven and Hell classes.
Hi!! I'm glad to see someone else went to St. Louis this summer like I did! I had a blast and would be happy to go back. We also have writing and baking in common. I could bake for forever but I don't want to have to eat all of it. Having your sister in class is crazy! I was surprised to read that. Have a good semester!
ReplyDeleteHi LaDawn! You have such a cool name! Anyways, it is very cool that you and your younger sister attend OU at the same time! Also, props to you both for attending a university out of state! I don't hear of very many religious studies majors, so I'm intrigued as to why you chose it. Nice to meet you!!
ReplyDeleteHi LaDawn,
ReplyDeleteHow was the History of Heaven and Hell course that you took? It’s one that I’ve seen listed, but have never been able to take because of scheduling. It is so interesting that you lived so close to Montezuma’s Castle. That has been on my list of places to see for a while. I’m in the same boat as you with the Associates degree. I need to take one last Calc class and I will have an Associates of Science in Mathematics, however I realllllly don’t want to take it again. I took the class at a different college, and unfortunately, it didn’t transfer correctly.
LaDawn. Wow. I am always so impressed by people who can attend school and have a family too. Way to go! I think that’s so cool your sister is in this class too! I would love that, I am very close with my sister. Your travels this summer looked beautiful. I had to take class this summer too and it really made the summer just fly by! I hope you enjoy all your classes this semester and the work isn’t too much!
ReplyDeleteHi LaDawn!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you got to visit St. Louis! It is one of my favorite places! Like you said, there is just so much history there. Those pictures you posted are beautiful! I also took some classes over the summer and I agree that it feels like you don't get much of a break! It sounds like you took some interesting classes though! Have a great semester!
Hello LaDawn,
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you have a really busy life and I know exactly what that is like. I commend you for continuing to pursue your dreams even though it may has taken some time. Even though you didn't have a lot of time in your summer it seems that St. Louis was a nice break to take. We should always take some breaks. Anyways, congratulations on your achievements!
It must be really hard to be in school full time and have a family. I basically feel as if I have no time and I don't really have anyone else to worry about except myself. This last summer was actually my first one since starting school that I did not take any summer classes, so I definitely understand how you felt not having any time off. It was so nice to finally have a break. Also, I have always wanted to take that History of Heaven and Hell class, it just sounds so awesome. So i'm super jealous. But, regardless, it was nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteWow. I can't imagine having a family and being back in school. It's hard enough for me with only myself to worry about! I have been to the St. Louis Arch and museum as well, although its been about 12 years. I thought it was so cool, although we had a lady who got claustrophobic on the ride up. I have not been to Arizona before, but your pictures and description definitely make me curious! I hope the remainder of your semester goes well!
ReplyDeleteHey LaDawn!
ReplyDeleteThat is so awesome that you are going back to school! Both of my parents went back for their masters when I was in middle school. It was hard, but it paid off in the end! It's also very cool that you were able to visit St. Louis! I've visited it a few times and has always been a blast. It was great to meet you!
Hello LaDawn! Nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteHow was your History of Heaven and Hell class? I'm quite interested in that class. Camp Verde does look mighty green haha. Wait, so did people die in Camp Verde because the fort was green and lush? Or did I read that wrong? haha The pictures of Missouri are gorgeous. I hope you're having a great semester so far. Good luck on the rest!
Hi, LaDawn!
ReplyDeleteSt. Louis is absolutely beautiful! It’s awesome that y’all were able to go up there to visit. Your pictures of Arizona are stunning, too. I’ve spent some time in Tuscon and my grandfather used to live out in Yarnell (he actually lost his house in the big wildfires out there a couple years back).
That’s hilarious that you’re take this class with your sister – I can only imagine what it would be taking a class with mine, haha!
Thank you for sharing and it was fun getting to know you!
-Kirsten
Hi, LaDawn. It is nice to meet you and to read about your life. Congratulations on not going with the degree you felt like you had to go with but choosing the one that you would actually enjoy. I've never been to Arizona but would like to visit someday. It would be weird to have one of my siblings in a class with me but would definitely be interesting. I twas nice to meet you and good luck in your future.
ReplyDeleteHey LaDawn! I finally found someone new to meet. I thought I'd read everyone's introductions already. Camp Verde looks beautiful. And it seems that it's a historically interesting place too. I'm happy that you're at OU following you passion. It was great to get to know you and I look forward to reading more of your material in what is left of the semester!
ReplyDelete