I also spent quite a bit of time with my teenage daughter this summer. It makes me happy that she still likes to hang out with me. I didn't spend this much time with my mom at her age, so I take it as a complement that she enjoys doing things with me. I think my favorite night this summer was when we sent my husband to a late movie with his friends. My daughter and I went to the store for snacks, then played games together until he got home around midnight. We also have a very cute cat named Mario. He's 18 years old and has some health problems. He has a bit of an attitude, but he's so cute that it's impossible not to love him. He likes to wear bow ties for Halloween every year. This year he also wore one on his birthday.
(Photo from my personal collection. Mario, April 2017)
I'm a grown up, I guess, but I really love playing video games. My husband plays them more than I do usually, but I have certain ones that I really like. This spring and summer I spent much of my free time playing Persona 5. It's so fun. I also write fan fiction for Persona 4 and Persona 5. I plan to bring some of those characters into my project for this class. I think it will be really fun if it all works out.
I'm sad that summer is just about over. My daughter goes back to high school tomorrow, and on Monday she starts as a concurrent student in college. I was hoping I would graduate before she got there, but she started early, and I was a bit late. I am studying for my GRE and working on an application for the psychology PhD program. I'm not sure how that will turn out, yet, but I'm going to do the best I can to make it happen. Most of my other classes this fall are psychology courses, which is good because it's why I'm here. The best class I took last semester, and maybe ever, was studio art therapy. There were a couple of papers, but other than that we just picked art projects and sat in a big room making art for the entire semester. It was relaxing and fun, and I loved having to buy art supplies and have ongoing art projects with deadlines. I don't make enough time for it when it isn't for a class, and that just makes me sad. The last project I did for that class, I folded about 300 paper cranes, then assembled some hoops that I strung lights on and hung the birds from. I nicknamed it the bird chandelier. I intended to make 1000 cranes but couldn't finish in the time I had. I plan to someday come back to it and finish them all.
(Photo from my Personal Collection. Paper Cranes, April 2017)
**Note: Thank you so much to everyone who has left me comments. I appreciate all of your kind words. I may not get a chance to reply to all of you but I do read them and every one of them makes me smile!
I am so interested in personality psychology too, Angela! It's not exactly personality psychology but I read a FABULOUS book this summer: The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar (here's a book review). Have you read that one? She described so many ingenious psychology experiments, including some ingenious experiments of her own. Of course your Mario looks very elegant in his bow tie along with his natural tuxedo. And those cranes, WOW, they are BEAUTIFUL. I'm sorry you had to give up cranes to study for the GRE, but I think it's great that you and your daughter are pursuing your educations side by side like that. And I hope you both have a great school year ahead!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read that book yet, but it looks really interesting. I will add it to my list of things I would like to read when I don't have a pile of textbooks on my desk. ;)
DeleteHi Angela!
ReplyDeleteI can definitely relate to the fact that I never feel as though what I am going to say is interesting, but I'll tell you that others see it differently every time. That's awesome that you did an internship over the summer as I'm sure it will get you closer to your goals in the near future as you are graduating so soon.
It's also amazing that you were able to hang out with your daughter so much over the summer. I definitely wanted to do anything but that in my high school days! Also, it's funny that you said that was your favorite night over the summer because mine is very similar. Over the summer and even last semester, my roommates and I have gotten into playing hangman. I think we played for 4 hours straight one night. Who would've thought that's how I would prefer to spend a night at the age of 21?! Those are definitely some of the best times in my memory!
Thank you for sharing!
Hey Angela! I really enjoyed your post. I also thought about becoming a psychology major. I thought it would give me a leg up with PA school, but the prerequisites didn’t really match up so I had to let that dream go. I am taking a psychology course this semester, and so far, it’s really interesting. This summer, I also discovered a new love of video games. I’d never gone much further than Mariokart, but I’ve been really getting into Skyrim. Your art class sounds like a blast. Maybe I’ll have time to fit that in before I graduate. The bird chandelier is beautiful! I honestly think you could make some money selling them on a site like etsy.
ReplyDeleteHello, Angela! So I read your week two story, The Cat, The Leader, and The Blonde Monkey before reading your introduction post and I absolutely love that you are already incorporating characters and themes from Persona 5 into your storytelling. I too enjoy playing video games, and although I have never played persona 5. Right now I am hooked on Fallout 4, and I would highly recommend it. Also, your studio art therapy class project is absolutely beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThank you! My husband is a HUGE Fallout 4 fan!
DeleteHi Angela!
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you! Wow, that art project looks AMAZING. I sure do miss doing projects like that. Last time I did any art related project for fun was back in high school. A lot of my friends are seniors this year and were talking about art therapy, and were telling me to take it. After seeing your post, I definitely will consider it during my final semester at OU next semester. Thank you for sharing! Nice to meet you again :-)
Hi Angela!
ReplyDeleteI think it's really awesome that you and your teenage daughter are able to spend so much time together and be so close. I feel that the relationship between a child and their parent is an important one.
As for your love of video games, you're not alone with that. I too love video games, but, unfortunately, with school at full swing, it's hard to keep up with this love.
Anyways, good luck with the rest of the semester!
• Angela, I am also a senior psychology major but I really like relationship psychology. Sadly, I took all of my psychology classes my sophomore and junior year so now, in my senior year I am having to take random upper division classes. Sometimes they are interesting, like this class, other times I am forcing myself to read through the books. You are that you made is amazing. I wish I could create something like that but I don’t think I am that creative. I am not a very artistic person. My mother also went back to college just as I was about to graduate high school. Showing your daughter that you are still capable of achieving your dreams/goals is amazing and will really leave an impression on your daughter. I don’t know how my mother attempted college, raising kids, and working as an adult, she is one incredible woman. Good look taking your GRE and getting into a great PhD program.
ReplyDeleteHi Angela! What a lovely paper crane piece! I feel similarly about this course as you did about the art course - I enjoy writing stories, but do not make time for it during the school year. I don't know much about Persona 4/5, but I like how you're using the same characters for different stories. I think it's cool that basically this entire course is fanfiction for folktales.
ReplyDeleteWOW what a cat!! Hey Angela! I love the cat's name too, Mario haha that was one of my favorite games growing up and still is! I'm glad you are in the field of Psychology! Especially if you are able to get your PhD, that would be quite the success! There are so many ways that you can help so many people.
ReplyDeleteGood meeting you!
Hello Angela! I keep going back and forth about switching my major to psychology because of all the different avenues you can use your degree for. This is only my second semester at OU but I came in with an Associates degree so it is time for life choices haha. Your cat is adorable, I am a cat person myself. I would be one of the grown ones as well, son just started high school so hair got some more grey. I could never get into the Persona series but hear good things about it, turn based rpg's are just not for me. Play on PC or PS4?
ReplyDeleteMatthew,
DeleteI'm playing on PS4. Turn based are my favorites most of the time. I especially like multiplayer jrpg's so my husband and I can play together.
Hi Angela! I love you cat, he is so cute. Bowties are so cute on animals and Mario definitely rocks his! I dress my english bulldog up for halloween every year. Last year she was a donut and it was so adorable. Psychology is a fun major. My extent of knowledge extends to intro to psyc, but I am going to take intro to personality next semester and I am super excited. Good luck studying for your GRE and applying to Phd programs!
ReplyDeleteHi Angela! Your Crane chandelier is probably one of the coolest things I have ever seen art wise, and I am so impressed that you made that yourself! The amount of time and energy it must have taken to make that was a lot I am sure, but it turned out amazing! I love your cat, he is so cute! His little bow tie is adorable and I love his white whiskers! I'm not much of a cat person but a little old cat with a bowtie on is pretty hard not to like! Good luck studying for your GRE!
ReplyDeleteHi Angela,
ReplyDeleteCongrats on getting to your final semester!! It must feel great! I'm a psychology minor, and I totally get what your saying about how there are so many aspects to psychology! It makes it so hard to choose what classes to take because everything sounds so interesting! And wow, it's great that you and your daughter are so close! Good luck with your PhD application!
Hey Angela! Personality Psychology is fascinating! I am in an online psych class this semester and I love it. Congrats on coming so far, you are almost done! I still have 1 more year left, and graduation seems so far away. Somedays I feel like it is approaching too quickly and others I feel like it will never get here. I think writing fan fiction sounds like a really interesting hobby!
ReplyDeleteAngela! You are definitely not a boring person at all! I would love to hang out with you. I too have played through the P5 game and definitely love it! You like writing fan fiction as well? (Because I do too!), I hope you will enjoy this class because it involve with a lot of creative writings, but fun! And oh man, that crane chandelier you made is amazing. I used to fold about 500 stars and put them in a jar when I was little for wish as well. And once again, you are definitely not a boring person, you sound super fun and I'm glad that you got to spend times with you daughter. It is nice to meet you and your Mario is really cute!
ReplyDeleteVy,
DeleteWhat kind of fan fiction do you write? That's super awesome! Seems like we have a lot in common. I actually am planning to start making jars of stars for fun, I need a new project that I can just do a little at a time!
Hi Angela! I loved reading your intro post — you're not boring at all! This class sounds perfect for you since you write fan fiction — I've always really admired people who can write fiction well. Also, your field of study sounds really fascinating and probably beyond my understanding, and I love your chandelier! That's definitely the most creative and beautiful project I've seen from an art therapy class — you are really talented and imaginative! Great to get to know you — have an amazing final semester.
ReplyDeleteHello, Angela.
ReplyDeleteYour cat is so cute! I am very allergic to cats but I secretly have always wanted a cat. Your art project is beautiful! It must have taken you forever to fold all of those cranes. It is so cool that you are going to college despite the fact that you have already started your life. My mother had me at a young age and I would respect her if she went back to college.
Angela, your chandelier project is stunning! What a creative, beautiful idea. I loved reading about the fun you had with your daughter this summer — some of the sweetest memories I have with my family are simple things like that, playing cards or baking with my parents and grandparents. I hope you're enjoying your semester so far, and I look forward to reading your stories!
ReplyDeleteDana,
DeleteThanks! My daughter and I have been watching the Halloween Baking Challenge TV show all the time lately. We love baking too, so seeing people make crazy stuff is fun and inspiring.
Hello, Angela!
ReplyDeleteI’m curious, since I don’t have that much of a background in psychology: what is an I/O psych study? I’ve only taken a couple psychology classes throughout college since they were prerequisites for medical school, but I agree with you about it being fascinating area of study. What are interested in researching for your PhD?
Also, it’s crazy how there are people in this class in such different stages of life! While people like me only have to focus on school, you (and a couple others in the class) are also balancing being married and being a parent! Huge congrats to you on having the discipline to manage these different areas. I wish you luck on the remainder of the semester and with applying to your PhD program!
Jake,
DeleteI/O stands for Industrial/Organizational. It basically focuses on workplace behavior. I'm debating right now between a PhD in personality psychology and a Master's in professional counseling (and hopefully a PhD later). If I do a research based degree I would love to study the way people cope with stress and why some people respond better to creative therapies like art than others. At this point I'm leaning towards counseling since I want to have the skills to help people one-on-one. Thanks for your comments!
Angela,
ReplyDeleteI freaking love your bird chandelier. It's awesome and I want one! It's also my last semester and I can't decide if I'm happy or sad about it. On the one hand, I'm excited to finally have the degree that I've worked for. On the other hand, I hate that I can't just keep going and taking all sorts of other classes and learn other things. If I went for another undergraduate degree, psychology is at the top of the running. You must made it sound even more fascinating. Good luck with your GRE and everything else in your future!
Thank you!
DeleteHi Angela,
ReplyDeleteIts nice to meet you! That's great that you're in your last semester! The final stretch is almost to an end. I can relate to how much you like video games! I game myself and play a variety of games though I haven't played Persona 5. I mostly play Overwatch and a couple other games like Horizon Zero Dawn and RPG type games. Anyways I hope your last semester goes really well and these last few weeks go very smooth for you that way you aren't stressing about things!
Hi Angela! Congrtulations on this being your last semester at OU. I graduate in the Spring and I am starting to get a bit nervous about what the future holds. I love that you were able to spend time with your teenage daughter. i am really close with my mom and always have been. Although when I was a teenage we did fight a bit more and sometimes I wanted nothing to do with her. Now that I am an adult I appreciate her so much and really enjoy the time we have together.
ReplyDeleteHi Angela!
ReplyDeleteYou are almost at the finish line. Hope you enjoy the remainder of the semester! It was also really cool to read a little bit about you. I really like your origami cranes, I do not think I would have the patience to create 300 of them.
Wish you best of luck and hope that you get into your PhD program!
The kitty with the bow-tie is classic. I have a husband as well! I am just learning that it is difficult to be in college as well as learn how to live with a man. Congratulations to your daughter. It must be difficult to get to know your husband if so much of your time is taken up by video games.
ReplyDeleteHi Angela,
ReplyDeleteThe cat with the bow tie on is hilarious! I am also in my last semester and the end is nearing so fast! It was crazy how fast this semester went by. I also took studio art therapy and really enjoyed it. I hadnt taken an art class since middle school and ended up making some really cool things. It helped with my anxiety too! It was great to meet you!