Introduction to Me: A Huge History Dork
When I was eight years old my mom allowed me to purchase the book, Mary, Bloody Mary, by Carolyn Meyer (If you care to check it out, here is where you can purchase it here: Mary, Bloody Mary). This wonderful little novel sparked a love of the Tudor and Stuart monarchs that has never stopped; therefore, I have never stopped pursuing knowledge about these intricate rulers.
Fast forward twenty-one years and here we are today. I'm on the verge of graduating from the University of Oklahoma this December and it's been an incredibly long journey. I am an MDS major focused on History and Classics with the intent to continue my education in the Masters of Library Studies program either this spring or next fall. I am very excited to further my education in the hopes that I can work in a public library. I really want to help design children's reading programs and activities for the library. I currently work full time as a logistics coordinator for Love's. It's a pretty intense job but I enjoy planning and coordinating. I'm a highly organized person in my work life.
In my free time, I love to eat and explore the city. I am always down to try the next new things around the city. Chae Modern Korean is currently my new favorite place to eat and if you haven't been there, you should definitely give it a try. Also, Waffle Champion, chicken and waffles might be my favorite breakfast food and they excel at this dish. I grew up in Moore, OK. and I have greatly enjoyed watching the city grow, change, and expand over the last several years. It has brought so many wonderful places to eat and I love them all.
I fell into my love of classics and Greek mythology through a professor at OU. He no longer works for the school but he taught Ancient Epic Poetry and I fell in love with the subject of drama and mythology. I then continued to take four more classes with him and pursue my love of mythology vigorously, it's a passion that has only continued to grow since the beginning of the class.
I look forward to continuing my love of these subjects and being the ultimate planner through this course and then on through graduate school.
Hi Luisa! That's so cool that you want to work in a public library when you graduate. When I was little, that what I wanted to do as I am OBSESSED with reading, but my goals have since changed. I want to be a Physical Therapist so the two are vastly different but now I get to read just for fun! Who doesn't like to eat honestly. I have never tried chicken and waffles, but my favorite is Indian food. My love for Greek mythology is one of the main reasons I chose this class. I'm sad the professor you had isn't at OU anymore because I would have loved to take a class with him also!
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you Luisa! I think it is awesome that you have a love of Tudor and Stuart monarchs. I don’t know much about them, but the little I did learn in my European History class was very interesting! Congratulations on being so close to graduating! I think it is pretty cool that you want to help design reading programs for kids. I hope this class helps your love of these subjects continue to grow!
ReplyDeleteOh, this sounds like it could be such a good class for you, Lu! As you have probably already figured out, I am crazy about books and a librarian at heart (some of my best colleagues online are librarians)... and I came SO CLOSE to getting an MLS myself, but I got this online teaching job and it worked out perfectly. Before I started teaching online, though, I was all ready to get an MLS: it looked like a great career then, and it looks like a great career now. CURATION: everybody needs librarians to help them keep up with the information flow, in books and everywhere else too!
ReplyDeleteAnd I am so glad you found someone in Classics that you connected with in such a powerful way. I taught in the Classics department AGES ago (way back in 1999) when I first came to OU. I am more of a fable person than an epic person, but back in the day I used to teach an epics class where we did the Iliad and the Mahabharata together (classical Indian epic), and that was a fun adventure.
Most of all, I hope you will have fun with the Freebookapalooza, seeing what Hathi Trust and the other great digital library projects can offer everyone for free online. What the libraries around the world are doing to support open educational resources is really inspiring, and maybe this class will be a good way for you to connect up with that great OER movement! :-)
First off, I love the tagline for your blog title, because it’s so true—a lot of mythology is ridiculously fun to read and retell and engage with. It’s awesome that so much of your life has been influenced by what you loved when you were young; I get that plans change with people sometimes, but I also think childhood passions often represent a true, core part of a person, so it’s always cool to see them stick with a person throughout life (and vice versa). In other news, Mary, Bloody Mary sounds like an interesting read, and I’ll definitely have to check it out sometime.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with graduation and everything you plan to do after!
Wow, your mom might not imagine that book “Mary, Bloody Mary” has such a huge impact on you. When I was young, I was also intrigued by the lives of royalties and different monarchs, and so, I discovered the “Royal Diaries” series. One of the books was about Queen Elizabeth, a younger sister of Mary. By the way, thanks for sharing Chae Modern Korean. I was looking for a good Korean place to eat.
ReplyDeleteI read all of the "Royal Diaries"! I loved those books, and read the one on Elizabeth probably a hundred times. I also really liked Marie Antionette's and Cleopatra's "Diaries".
DeleteI loved those stories too! I bought a book from the OU "we're getting rid of old books" sale, " The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory. It's the story of Mary Boleyn, the sister to Anne Boleyn. Anne is the 2nd wife of King Henry the Eighth. Have you seen Reign on the CW? It shows the story of Mary Queen of Scots and King Francis of France, with a little bit of Queen Elizabeth of England thrown in. It's on it's third season now I believe! It's on hulu, so full of drama but I love it so!
ReplyDeleteWow! You are graduating in December…congrats! I am also a MDS major on top of my pre-nursing major and sociology minor. I am fairly new to the MDS major but as of right now I am still enjoying it. With your interests and passions, I bet this is your favorite class! I am glad that you can use your passion and incorporate it into a blog for others to read. I will be sure to read more of your stories since you already seem experienced with it all.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to hear that you are working as a logistics coordinator. In my major (Industrial and Systems Engineering), we do a lot of logistics work. It can definitely take a lot of hard work so I commend you for doing that while getting a degree. I am always excited to try new restaurants, as well, so I will have to check out Chae Modern Korean sometime.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on graduating in December, I am graduating then as well! I think it is awesome you are still pursuing something you felt so passionately about since you were 8 years old. I also love to eat and have to agree with you on waffle champion. I never though chicken and waffles would be good but once I had it, it changed my life! Moore has grown SO much. I don't live there but often drive through and feel like there is a new restaurant, apartment complex or shop that has opened every time I'm there. I wish you luck in your future endeavors!
ReplyDeleteLuisa,
ReplyDeleteYou are the only history major I have seen in this class so far, and the only person I have seen who hopes to enter the library system. I have always liked reading, but obviously not to the level that you must like it. Thanks so much for sharing, and good luck with the rest of this semester.
Andrew
Library studies sounds like a cool major honestly. Working in and having a career in a library sounds lovely and quiet and low stress. To be honest though, I don't know much about the logistics involved so maybe its not but it definitely sounds like a lovely job. Being a food buff is pretty cool too. I love trying new stuff especially since I've traveled a lot and got to try a bunch of stuff from different places. Most recently I tried some Ethiopian food in OKC. I might have to try out that Korean place.
ReplyDeleteHey Luisa! I'm not a huge history person, but I think it's awesome that you're so passionate and that that's what you're pursuing! I absolutely love korean food. We adopted my younger brother from Seoul and my family has been big on Korean food ever since. I'll have to check out the place you mentioned. Also, congrats on graduating in December. I hope you have a great rest of the semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Luisa, you are like my sister – she loves history! I am also graduating from OU in December and I am honestly a little terrified. But congrats on making it this far! We are so close to being done. Anyways, I am really glad I got to read a little bit about you and I am looking forward to reading more of your posts in the future. Good luck with everything!
ReplyDeleteHello Luisa, how great that you are interested in subjects like Queen Mary I of England. I just wrote a horribly long paper on Queen Elizabeth I, Mary's half sister whom she did not feel was a rightful heir to the English throne. I found the paper I bit challenging as I wrote it from a Machiavelli perspective, but I really loved it. I am also a Senior at the University of Oklahoma. I can appreciate your passion for trying different types of food. I am extremely picky, but I am willing to try anything once and most things twice before determining I don't like something. I wish you all the luck in the world in pursuing your education.
ReplyDeleteHey Luisa! I too love mythology but I've never really dove into the tudor's and their rule; you make it sounds absolutely fascinating though. That is awesome that you work so hard and love learning. Motivation like that is a hard skill to find and definitely a value quality for employers to look out for. You are very driven which will take you far and I absolutely love that you want to start library programs to get kids involved in reading! I grew up loving reading unlike most kids so starting those programs may help other kids learn to love literature. Best of luck with your continued academic endeavors!
ReplyDeleteHey! Congrats on almost graduating! I really admire your want to assist in children's reading programs. I enjoy libraries and history as well! I never thought of it as a career but now you have me thinking, I would enjoy that as well! Good luck to you and I know you will accomplish all of your dreams! It's nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteI think it's so cool that you love history! I never got into any of it until I took a history class in college and my professor was incredibly engaging and enthusiastic about the subject. It's awesome that you want to work in a public library.
ReplyDeleteI also love to eat and explore! I think it's really cool that you have such an open mind to new things. I really also love mythology and classic stories. Cant wait to read yours!
Emily
Congratulations on your upcoming graduation. It is a big and exciting step that I feel many of us are about to take. It makes me so happy too when I see people going into a post baccalaureate program, it takes a lot of guts to do that, but you seem motivated and extremely organized, so I am sure that you will do just fine!
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you Luisa!
ReplyDeleteI think it’s awesome that the book you got when you were eight left such a huge impact on you! I’ll also have to try Waffle Champion, I absolutely love breakfast food! Chicken and waffles sounds so good right now!
It's also cool that your able to stay organized, that’s something I need to work on myself haha.
Congrats on graduating soon, and good luck with everything!
Hi Luisa! I feel like it's rare to find someone who loves history. I am happy that I can relate. Sometimes I've found myself in a deep Google search hole of the British monarchy. Going to London this summer brought out my history nerd. Waffle Champion is so good!! The chicken and waffles are the absolute best--even with the crunchy onions on them. Somehow it just works. It was great to learn more about you!
ReplyDeleteHey there Luisa. I'm also a bit of a history nut! I was able to visit London two summers ago and visited the Tower of London, where the Crown Jewels are held. The place was so full of history, I was amazed. The best part was the beefeaters that guided the tours around the place. They know so much about the history of where they live, it's absolutely nuts.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to add that book to my list! I'm always looking for more historical books to read. And I LOVE Waffle Champion. I work in Midtown, so I splurge on that often :)
Hi Luisa!! You remind me a lot of my old roommate she adored History and couldn't ever get enough of it. She's now teaching history to students in Houston. I think it's awesome that you are passionate about working in a library, my mom herself was a librarian so books and public libraries hold a special place in my heart. There is nothing like curling up and reading a book!! I too am graduating this December, ah it's coming up so soon, best of luck with everything!! You convinced me to try waffle champion before I go!
ReplyDeleteWow, what an interesting story you have. It must be crazy being a parent, not knowing what a child is going to be interested in, but especially not something like medieval British history.
ReplyDeleteYou seem like you have a lot of interests, especially in the literary world which really resonates with me! I hadn't read a lot of Greek mythology before, but the stories are super interesting.
Anyway, best of luck to you in the rest of this class and in grad school!
Hi, Luisa! When I think of Bloody Mary, it reminds me of a Bloody Mary chant that kids would say in order to see her. I heard of it while I was in elementary school. I have never tried it because it was too scary. However, I can see that the book might be of a different Bloody Mary. Thanks for providing the link. I read the summary and it sounds very interesting. I may have to check it out one day. Also, congratulations on graduating and good luck with your master’s program!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, this was not what I expected at all out of an introduction... I loved it. I love the vibe your background and the photo of Bloody Mary gave off right from the start...
ReplyDeleteI love your ambition to work in a library; reading is so important for the mind to grow
Hi Luisa! It's amazing that you graduate here so quickly. It sounds that you have an organized life so I bet you will excel at whatever you do. It's amazing how beneficial being organized is. I hope you have an opportunity to work for a library and that you enjoy every second of it.
ReplyDeleteLuisa, I love your blog by the way, And the tudors are my favorite royal family in history as well. Im guessing you know a lot about them. I think its really cool what you want to do after you graduate. I'm kinda jealous in the fact that you know what you want to do after you graduate. I can't wait to read your other posts.
ReplyDeleteHey Luisa! I think your major sounds very interesting and your future career is one I have never really thought about, but it sounds awesome! I have always loved to read and I am jealous that you have made a career out of it. One of the best things about college is that some professors teach multiple classes...this gives us, as students, the advantage of taking multiple classes with them. I wish you luck in graduation and your future career. I look forward to reading your stories!
ReplyDeleteHey Luisa! I love your blog! You and I have the same layout, except my links are on the left side. Great minds think alike! I am going to admit that I am slightly jealous that you already know exactly what you want to do after graduation. You seem super organized and driven which is exactly what you have to be in grad school. Good luck!
ReplyDelete