Reflection 7: All but PTJ can ignore this post...

I was sick last week, so PTJ let me write this late. I don't think he wanted me to write this a WEEK late, but hey, I was TRYING to write that stinkin ethnography. So let's see if I can remember that far back...

I remember I wasn't in class that Tuesday because of the beginnings of my sickness. I'm still sick today, so that's what, 2 weeks already? At least it's just a cough now. Anyway, I heard that I missed out on an Invisible Man discussion, which is sad because I might have actually contributed. I really liked that book and got really into it. I think it was because it was narrative fiction, and a little closer to our time than good ole Augustine.

On Wednesday we saw the immigration documentary. I had never seen the story of immigration told from that perspective before. I found it very intriguing and eye-opening. I had only heard of the stories of illegal immigrants who came to stay, not the fathers that only wanted to earn some money and then return to their families. I think it's made me rethink immigration a lot. I think we need a specific policy to help migrant workers move between Mexico and the U.S. easier, so we don't get any accidental or forced permanency.

The economist Mary Hansen came to talk to us on Friday. I must say she was a very different kind of speaker. It seemed like she didn't have much planned to say and wanted to answer our questions. She did discuss her research at the end, but it seemed like the presentation was all on us for the bulk of the time. Eventually we gleaned some valuable stuff from her, like how she discovered she wanted to be a economist. I found that story very interesting. I was never one to box myself in with limited options (I have TOO MANY interests) but the ease in which she was able to change her mind on the direction she wanted her life to take eased some of my worries. Through the college application process, I was worried that I was going to pick the wrong school or the wrong major and was doomed to be stuck for life in a career I didn't like. Now I know this doesn't have to be such a big worry as long as I go with my gut, not what other may tell me.